Hull Blogger Meet // 7-12-14

I never thought in a million years that when I started this blog in January, that I would have attended 5 different blogger meet ups and made some amazing friends. I was planning a trip to Hull anyway to hopefully meet up with some of my Hull blogging friends that I met at the first meet up in March, and then Hull Fashion Week, so when Alex emailed me telling me that she was organising another meet, I was excited.

This meet up took place in a little restaurant called 'Fudge' that I always went past on the bus, but never went inside. It always caught my eye with it's pretty pastel colours. I was a little late due to having to drive from Grimsby,  but luckily I arrived before the events ahead had commenced.

My goody bag was already on my chair and full to the brim of treats. I resisted diving straight into it though, as our first guests had arrived. Some ladies from Arbonne UK came and allowed us to try out some of their products and ask them questions. Although I have enough skin care to last a life time, I was interested in having a consultation, though I'll have to do it next year as I'm so busy at the moment!

For lunch, we had decided on Afternoon Tea which is quite possible my most favourite thing in the world (I had it about twice a week at one point.) There was so much food, there was still some left at the end, and considering there was 22 of us, that was quite an achievement.

Next, some ladies from Younique came to show us their 3D Fibre Lash Mascara. I've heard of Younique before, not all of it good, and although I liked their product, it wasn't enough to convince me to buy it. I'll quite happily use my Magnifibres and They're Real :)

After a quick demonstration of The Library of Fragrance from the hosts, we had the raffle. All the money we raised went towards the charity 'Look Good, Feel Better' an amazing charity that teaches women with cancer to do simple things to make themselves feel better when going through treatment.

I was lucky enough to win a beanie hat from Bob Greens, which I have been wearing non-stop. Hopefully, I'll style it in an outfit post soon!

I had such a good time, and can't wait to meet up with everyone again in the hopefully, not so distant future :) Thanks again to Alex , Jaye , and Jenny for organising the meet up.

The Perfect Contour Powder?

I think most girls either have a love or hate relationship with contouring. I love the effect it gives other people, but I wasn't sure it would suit me. I tried using plenty of different matte bronzers to contour my face, but I find brown shades create a sun tan look rather than a shadow or else they leave my face looking really muddy and streaky.

I was about to give up when I discovered the blush 'Taupe' by NYX. This is a grey colour rather than brown and is perfect for pale faced girls everywhere. It isn't overly pigmented but I don't have a problem with that as it means that the contour can be easily built up. I use my Real Tecniques contour brush to apply this.

NYX makeup is available on their site and also in Next stores.

Have you tried this product before? What did you think?

Life

Before Christmas I had so many plans for my blog. I had so many plans in general. I wanted to bake, watch films I hadn't seen in years, write, see friends. However, this was all wishful thinking, as I was naive to think that working in retail over Christmas would result in any free time whatsover.

I guess the point of this blog post is bare with me. I'm sure there aren't people sat patiently by their laptops, waiting for me to update my blog. But if you do so happen to stumble across my little piece of the internet, rest assured that I am still blogging. I'm also currently working 60 hour weeks as well.

I'm hoping now that Christmas is over, I'll get more than one day off a week so I can actually sit down, plan, write, schedule, take photos and go back to building my blog up.

I'm so overwhelmed that in my first year of blogging, I've received over 200 followers. This may not seem like a lot to some people, but considering the fact I've blogged only once in an entire month before, that's quite an achievement.

I haven't really set any goals for my blog, except to simply get better. Take better photos. Post at least twice a week. Do some more outfit posts. Also do more 'article' style posts as I really enjoy writing them.

I should be off now, writing those promised posts. How has life been treating you at the moment? Are you still getting over the hecticness that is Christmas?

My Top 5 Autumn/ Winter Lipsticks

Earlier in the year, I did a similar post writing about my top five summer lipsticks. However, those summer brights have been replaced with darker shades. I'm going to share my favourites with you.

1) Rimmel 107

I think everyone whose wrote a post similar to this one has included this lipstick. The Rimmel lispticks are my favourite highstreet ones and this shade is a cult classic. It's a deep wine red, completely matte but not at all drying on the lips.

2) Revlon - Black Cherry

I love this lipstick but it's not to everyones taste. It's a very dark purple/ brown colour that looks almost black on the lips. I like the formula of this lipstick as it feels quite moisturising.

3) Mac - Rebel

One of the first Mac lispticks I bought was Rebel and this is the perfect berry shade. I actually wear this on nights out a lot

4) Lime Crime Poisonberry

This is very similar to Rebel, however I'd say it's more purple that berry. I find that this lipstick can be slightly drying, but I apply it over lipbalm and I'm usually okay.

5) Rimmel Lasting Finish - Asia

I did a post on this lipstick a while back and it's very similar to Mac's Brave. This is my perfect nude as it's a pinky brown shade. This is perfect with a smokey eye.

What are your favourite winter lipsticks?

No 7 Beauty Advent Calendar// Day 1-12 Review

I really wanted a beauty advent calendar this year after finding out about them way too late last year. I was really torn between the Body Shop one and the No7 one. With Benefit, I found that most of the things I want to try, I already own through various kits. I decided on the No7 one as I thought there would be more chance of getting makeup- which I love- as opposed to bath stuff - which is okay but nothing to get excited about.

Day 1 - This calendar really started off with a bang. Whilst my friend text me to tell me that she got paper clips with her Benefit advent calendar, I text her back to her that I received a highlighter- but not of the stationary kind. I received a sample of the Skin Illuminator Radiance Boosting Beauty Fluid. I use this just on my cheek bones to create that festive glow, however some people like to use it all over, under their foundation. I was definately happy with this product and I think, although a sample, it will last ages.

Day 2 - I love a good lip product, so when I recieved this High Shine Lip Crayon in the shade Daydreamer, I again was very happy. The shade is very similar to my beloved Brave by Mac.

Day 3 - The next was a makeup brush - the Eye Colour brush. I like receiving makeup brushes but I just don't think this one is very good. It feels cheap and synthetic and I don't know what I would actually use it with.

Day 4 - I received some Youthful Eye Serum. I haven't used an eye serum before and you can use it under an eye cream so I'm excited to try this,

Day 5 - I actually love the colour of the polish that was behind day 5. I've already used it and I quite liked the formula so it's possible I would by more in the future. The shade is Highland Mist.

Day 6 - To be honest, I'm never that happy to receive mascaras, simply because I have so many. This one is okay and it gives a very natural lash look, but I wouldn't buy it again.

Day 7 - I don't often buy single eye shadows because I'd much rather buy a palette. These shadows are £7 on their own, so a nice treat. However, the shade isn't really festive or that unique for me to get excited about. It's a neutral grey/ taupe colour that I don't think I'll use very often as I have all the neutrals I need in my Naked palettes. I wasn't happy about how scratched up the packaging was either.

Day 8 - I got the Beautiful Skin Radiance Exfoliater. This is a perfect size to take travelling. I currently use a Soap & Glory exfoliator but it's a bit rough for me, so I'll happily try this to se if it's any better,

Day 9 - Protect and Perfect Intense Day Cream was nice in the calendar. My skin has gotten so dry lately, so I'm hoping the 'intense' is true and it will really hydrate my skin.

Day 10 - I got the Blissful body wash. I said earlier that bath stuff didn't excite me, but this smells so lovely, and again is perfect for travelling. I'm actually really excited to use this.

Day 11 - I got the Beautiful Skin Eye Makeup remover. I don't use eye makeup remover and tend to just use a micellar water. I tried this yesterday and wasn't impressed at all, but I'll give it another go, or at least til it's all gone. I think I'll get maybe a weeks use out of this.

Day 12 - This is the only thing I've received upto now that I've tried before. I liked the Stay Precise eye liner but found it dried up fast.

Upto now, I've been really happy with this advent calendar and I think it's been worth the £35. Did you get the No7 calendar? What do you think?

Festive Nails - Week 1 // Barrym Limited Edition Polishes

For the past five years I've always had essays or exams to revise for over Christmas, so it feels strange having all this free time on my hands without stressing over uni stuff. I love doing anything creative over Christmas, whether it's making decorations, baking or trying out new makeup looks, so I'm hoping to do a few festive inspired posts over the next few weeks.

My mum asked me to pop into Superdrug the other day, and I walked past these limited edition Barrym polishes in the shade Jingle Bells (gold with red flecks) and Christmas Tree (green with red flecks.) They were so pretty and festive, I couldn't leave them behind. They're priced £3.99 each, however there's currently an offer where if you spend £6 on Barry M products, you can get one of these nail paints free. 

I decided to paint these on top of Barry M's Coral which is a bright red, almost orange looking shade. I only used one coat of Coral but wished I used more; however I don't think it matters so much as the glitter covers most of polish. 

On alternate fingers, I used Sally Hansens Jet Set Jade, which is a gorgeous colour in it's own right. 

I can see myself getting a lot of use from these glitter polishes this Christmas.

Have you tried any festive inspired nail looks this Christmas yet?

(Also, sorry for the sad state of my nails. Working in retail means they are forever breaking!)

Soap & Glory Archery Brow Tint and Pencil // Review

I feel like I should post more reviews on this blog, but I like to use a product for months at a time to decide properly whether it's any good or not.

I picked up Soap & Glory's Archery Brow Tint and Pencil a few months ago in Meadowhall. It always seems to be out of stock in my local Boots, so I was glad when I finally got my hands on it. This costs £10, which I do think is a little steep for a 'high street' product, but did the price reflect the quality?

The product came in a small box, which I liked as it meant that I knew for definite it hadn't been tampered with. The look of the pencil is pretty simple; a standard black pen shape, with the two separate products either end.

The brow tint is by far my favourite part. It looks a little like a felt tip pen, and it isn't too dark, which makes it perfect to outline my brows and keep them looking natural. I've been using this for about three months now and it still hasn't dried up which was something I was concerned about.

The pencil part of the product doesn't really impress me. It looks a little off in colour and I don't know whether that's because mine is dodgy or that it is supposed to look like that. I have to press down quite hard to get any colour pay off, but when I do, my brows look quite natural.

I probably wouldn't repurchase this, as I think it's quite pricey for just the one element that I love, Hopefully, in the future, they will release the tint on it's own.

Left - Tint, Right - Pencil

Have you tried S&G Archery? What did you think?