Breakfast Banana Smoothie!

Sometimes, the most simple smoothies are the best ones- and this one has only four  ingredients.

All you need is one banana, porridge oats, milk and cinnamon (optional).

I break the banana up with my fingers and put it in the smoothie maker. I add 2 tablespoons of plain porridge oats, and then pour in enough milk to fill the size of the glass I want. I then add cinnamon to taste.

This takes me less than a minute to make, and is delicious. I recently went to a little cafe in the town centre which did the same smoothie and charged £3.50.

Do you have a favourite smoothie recipe?

Seventeen Mirror Shine Lipstick 'Beehive' // Review

Seventeen is a brand whose makeup stand I often walk past. But everything I've tried from Seventeen, I've really liked.

I recently rediscovered my Mirror Shine Lipstick in the shade 'Beehive' which I bought a while ago. The Youtuber Lily Melrose shares the same taste in makeup that I do, so when she recommended this in a haul I watched ages ago, I went out and bought it straight away.

The lipstick is only £4.19 and I can say I don't own anything else like this lipstick. The shade 'Beehive' is a peachy nude colour which is a perfect everyday shade. I recently went on a trip to Whitby and this was the only nude I brought with me.

The finish is quite glossy and sheer, but also moisturising which is what I'm looking for as we keep having these mini heat waves. The packaging is very sleek and smart, and also has a mirror tucked in with the lipstick which I don't have on any other packaging.

This is such a great everyday shade, and it will probably end up in my Florida makeup bag now I've rediscovered it.

Have you tried any lipsticks from this range? What did you think?

Shopping My Stash // Skin and Body Products

I love bank holidays as I use them as an excuse to sort out a load of my stuff. The first May bank holiday, I took as an opportunity to sort through all of my makeup, chucking out what was old, or giving away what I didn't like/ use and it was quite successful.

However, I own quite a bit more skin care/ hair care/ body products than I do make up. So much so that I have a full Ikea Alex 9 drawer full of products, a train case, a Christmas Soap & Glory box full, and two more bags spilling over with items.

I'm not a compulsive buyer. However, I frequently go to blogger meets where the good bags are over flowing with products. Also, I'm subscribed to Glossy Box, and although Christmas was five months ago now, I'm still tackling my Lush and S&G xmas items.

The main reason for wanting to 'shop my stash' was to make more room and also save a bit of money. I have my favourite cleansers, however, instead of buying a new one when it runs out, I should use one of the five I already own.

I'm a collector, but I'm also a creature of habit. I like trying new things, but I also have my favourites. I  know a lot of people like to 'shop their stash' but I'd thought I'd write a quick post on my methods. Maybe it will inspire someone else to have a clear out, or maybe someone can offer me their own tips.

First of all I empty everything I have onto the floor and sort into piles. Some of the piles were quite specific, whilst some more general.

With my bath stuff, I simply split into body lotions and shower gels.

With hair care I split into shampoo and conditioner, dry shampoos and hair products.

Skin care was by far the biggest piles; moisturisers, serums, toners, face masks, face washes, sun cream etc...

If a product had been opened a long time, I generally threw it out, unless it still smelt/ looked okay.

Then it was time to organise everything. I tried to make my process simple. I would use my drawers (as they're the easiest to get to) to store my everyday items. The products that only had a few uses left would go in there too, and I plan to finish these first. With some items, like toner and face masks, I would only put one in the drawer, so I only had one choice and would use these first.

I had an empty Victoria Secret's bag, so I decided to put my 'back ups' in there. I put in all of my shampoo and conditioners samples. Shampoo and conditioner are 'everyday' products' and I know I buy them quite regularly. Although I already have some on the go, instead of buying more when I've finished the bottles, I can just dip into this bag.

I've also put some make up removers and cleansers in the bag. I love my Garnier Micellar Water and Soap & Glory Cleansing Milk, but I know that as long as I keep buying those products, the others won't get used.

I've also put in shower gels I've opened and used, but not finished. I have so many shower gels on the go, that I don't think I'll need to buy any until next year.

Overall, 'shopping my stash' was quite therapeutic. I've got my first ever empties post scheduled for tomorrow so be sure to check back.

Do you 'shop your stash'? Do you have any tips for me.

Gwen Stefani Urban Decay Eye Shadow Palette // Review

I'm not a huge Gwen Stefani fan so I wasn't overly excited about the collaboration between her and Urban Decay. However, after reading some reviews and watching make up tutorials of the eye shadow palette, I decided that when I reached my first weight loss goal, I would treat myself.

I've had the palette just over a month now, and I've already decided that it is the 'one.' To start with the basics; it's £40, £2 more than the cult Naked palettes by UD. You get 15 shades as opposed the 12 in a normal Naked palette. There's a variety of matte and shimmers and each shadow blends beautifully. 

I'm not going to lie. When I first saw the palette, I thought it was a weird combo of colours. Nine of the shadows, I would class as 'neutrals' whilst another three are darker, smokier colours. And last, there's the three 'jewel' colours. 

But it just works. The main reason I like this palette so much is because when I go on holiday, I usually end up taking at least three different eye shadow palettes. But this palette does it all. I thought I already had all the neutrals I could possibly need with owning three different Naked palettes, and that was the main reason I was hesitant to buy it in the first place. But the fact there's such a broad range of colours convinced me it was worth the money. 

I'm not going to go into all the shades, as I haven't had a chance to try them all out yet, but some have already stood out as being favourites. 

'Blonde' is a perfect inner corner highlight shade. It's an off white colour and at first I thought it was matte, but there's a slight shimmer running through it. 

'Steady', 'Baby' and 'Pop' wouldn't look out of place in the Naked 3 palette with their pinky undertones. 'Pop' is a particular favourite and is very similar to Stila's 'Kitten' and MAC's 'Naked Lunch.' 

'Stark' is the colour I find myself using the most. I've hit pan on my Naked Basic's 'Walk of Shame' and although 'Stark' is slightly darker, it's a very good alternative when you're just after a skin coloured matte to pop all over the lid. 

Everyone's favourite seems to be 'Punk' and I can safely say I own nothing like this. It's a dark reddish brown and completely matte. It's the perfect crease colour and although deemed an Autumn shade, I think paired with other neutral mattes and a cat eye, it will create the perfect evening look all year round. 

I'm so glad I bought this palette as I love everything from the packaging, to the shade range.

Do you own this palette? What do you think? 

My Drugstore Beauty Favourites

I've been obsessed with Youtube KathleenLights lately and became inspired by her Drugstore'
 and High End favourites video so I've decided to write a blog post letting you know mine.

Base

My favourite foundation at the minute has to be Max Factor Face Finity Three In One and I use this almost every day. It's full coverage, and is a primer, concealer and foundation in one and saves me a lot of time in the morning. Another favourite is the Bourjois Healthy Mix but I've ran out of this.

Like most people, I love the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. I have two tubes on the go at the minute and it covers all spots and dark circles. This is £3.99.

I don't really have a favourite low end primer, but I've been trying out the NYX Angel Veil and I like how it makes my skin feel.

I don't tend to wear much powder, but I love the Rimmel Stay Matte.

Face

The Max Factor Creme Puff Blush are my favourite blushes, and I love the shade Lovely Pink. E.L.F's blush in the shade Candid Coral is also stunning and my go-to Spring/Summer blush.

I love the No 7 highlighter; I dab it on my cheek bones and blend it in with my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush.

The low-end bronzer I use the most is NYX Taupe.

Eyes

I don't really use low end eye primers as eye primers tend to last ages, therefore I'd rather just buy a high end one. However, the Instablur from The Body Shop is very good.

My favourite budget eye shadow palettes and the ones from Sleek. There are so many to choose from and I have three, however, I think my favourite is the Garden of Eden palette with it's smokey greens and purples.

The best low end mascara I've ever tried is the Bourjois Two Seconde mascara; everyone raves about this one. It manages to separate, lengthen and add volume to my lashes.

It's hard to pick one favourite eyeliner, because there are so many different types. The Soap & Glory Smoulder Kohls are incredible; especially the brown one. The best felt liner is the Loreal .
I don't really use liquid liners, but I've not found one that beats the NYC liquid liner.

Lips

Of course, you all know my favourite lip glosses and the butter glosses from NYX. I wrote a review on them here. My favourite shade is Peach Cobbler.

The Rimmel Lasting Finish lipsticks are amazing. I use the shade 'Asia' a lot, which is the perfect dupe for MAC's Brave.

I don't wear lip liners everyday, but the ones I most enjoy using are the Essence Lip Liners. I especially love the shade 'Satin Mauve.'

What are you favourite 'drug store' products? 

Sunday Ramblings // 2

I've not written a 'rambling' post in while. I thought it could have been something I did weekly, but to be honest, my life is just not interesting. I spend most of my time at work, and the rest of my time watching Gossip Girl or reading.

I think in my last post, I spoke about how happy I was for Spring. Today the weather is glorious, and I want nothing more to be able to sit outside with a blanker (it's not that warm yet) and read a good book. However, at the minute, my garden is a pile of mud with pieces of fence everywhere.

We're currently preparing our garden to be turfed, and we're hoping it will be done next weekend. But then we still have to wait a couple of months whilst the turf sets. If anyone would like to see a garden 'before and after' post, please let me know, because although it's time consuming, we're really enjoying preparing our garden for summer.

I recently posted on twitter that I wanted to blog everyday in April, and as you can see, that hasn't happened. I will do it one day, but it's the fact I have to write and take photos for 7 blog posts in one weekend. Although there is still some sunlight when I finish work at 5 now, so perhaps it will happen next month?

Tanya Burr Eye Shadow Palettes // Review

Eyeshadow Quads are my favourite type of palettes. There's something so easy about them; you typically get an all over lid shade, a crease shade, a highlight and a colour that could be used as eyeliner. And more often then not, they're all designed to work together.

Tanya Burr isn't my favourite Youtube out there, but I do like her make up tutorials. I've already reviewed one of her lipglosses, and I own a couple of her polishes. As soon as I saw her palettes, I knew I wanted to try them.

The first palette I bought was Galaxy. All the palettes come in a stiff cardboard packaging, with a large heart shaped mirror. Apart from the fact the outside packaging can get a little grubby with fingerprints, I really have no complaints about it; it feels sturdy and I think it would be suitable for travelling.

I really like the Galaxy palette; it reminds me of shades you'd find in Urban Decay's Naked Smoky, which I do not own. Snowflake is a sparkly white shade, which I use mainly for an inner corner highlight. Moonlight and Stormy Sky are my favourite shades; Moonlight is a pale grey, whilst Stormy Sky is a dusky purple shade. Starry Night isn't a shade I use too often, as it's dark grey and sparkly but it's still very pretty. 

I really like the quality of the shadows and I don't notice much difference between these and my MAC shadows. 

I bought the Hollywood palette a few weeks after Galaxy, as I liked Galaxy so much. Nude Delight is a perfect all over lid shade. However, I love wearing Gold Coin all over the lid,with Book Worm blended into the crease. Enchantment looks absolutely stunning in the pan, however, it's the most dissapointing shade. The fall out is terrible and it does not build up at all. 

Overall, I love these palettes and use them on quite a regular basis. At only £6, they're a steal. I hope she brings out more palettes. Have you tried any Tanya Burr cosmetics?