Goodbye?

So you may have noticed, that recently my blog has been a little bit neglected. I've been posting less frequently and my posts have not been as good as they can be. Truth is, I'm just not motivated to blog anymore. I've fallen out of love with blogging and I've realised that maybe, blogging isn't for me. These past few months, I haven't been blogging because I enjoy it, I've been blogging because I feel I have to for all my followers, and that's not how it should be. Blogging started out as a hobby for me, but now it's turned into a chore and I don't want it to be like that. I've decided that I'm going to take a blogging break. Whether this may be for 3 weeks, or 9 months, I don't know yet. I'm not entirely sure I'll come back at all. This year at school is one of the most important years of my life. I'm sitting my exams and they are what I should be focusing on and worrying about, not my blog. It has to take a back seat, for my sake. This is hard for me to write because my blog holds a lot of memories and I've made some great friends through blogging, but it's for the best and it's what's best for me. I really hope you can all understand. 

These past 11 months have been great. Thankyou all for your support, for reading my blog, for leaving lovely comments and for following me. It's meant the world. 

My Top 5 Summer Essentials

This year, we've actually had a summer. The sun made an appearance, I got a tan (this is a big deal) and at times, the UK was hotter than parts of Italy and Spain. And if that's not impressive, I don't know what is.

Over the past few weeks, I've noticed myself reaching for the same few items over and over, and I couldn't keep them to myself, could I?

Any of you oily skinned girls out there, like myself, will know that in summer our faces look 400x more oily than they do in winter. And trust me, the 'I just smeared some olive oil onto my face' look is not a good look. Which is why I've turned to these little trusty fellows. The blotting papers. Or the 'oil absorbing sheets' if you wish to be more posh and precise. These are just lifesavers. They absorb oil like nothing else on earth and they just work like a dream. I'm not fussy at all with what brand I use, but I do really like the Boots Skin Clear ones. 

My next essential is such a typical essential, but it's an essential essential. (Could I say essential any more times in one sentence?) It's an SPF face cream. I know how important it is to protect your skin from the sun, and I found this mini No7 Protect and Perfect Day Cream lurking in the back of my drawer so I thought I'd give it a go, and I've fallen in love. It's so light, non-greasy, moisturising, it sinks in like a dream and most importantly it doesn't break me out. Which always gets a big thumbs and a pat on the tube back from me.

Waterproof mascara. Another typical summer essential, but it really is a great thing to have, especially if you're at the beach or in the pool on holiday (I'm probably on the beach as you read this). The one I use is the Collection Killer Curves Waterproof Mascara in Black as this really is waterproof. It doesn't run and it stays on my lashes all day until I need to remove it, which unfortunately, is a pretty horrific task. Why must it be so difficult to remove, why why why? It makes my lashes look nice and long but my only problem with it is that it's really dry? I don't know if maybe I just picked up a dud tube, but it's like applying tar to my lashes, and I can't layer it, which kind of sucks. 

In summer I need to use an SPF lip balm. My lips burn SO easily and I end up rocking the 'crispy lobster lips' look for a good few days, which really isn't fun. My favourite one is the Palmers Dark Chocolate and Cherry Tinted Lip Balm. It almost smells too good (is that even possible?) and it gives off a lovely red tint, I love love love love it.

Finally, sunglasses. These basically go without saying. My eyes get insanely sore in the sun and I get these lovely wrinkle lines on my forehead from screwing my eyes up so much, so in summer I basically live in sunglasses. The only disadvantage of them is that you think you're tanned then you take them off and realise that you still look like a glowing milk bottle. Oh the joys. I would tell you where these are from, but I honestly have no idea. Oops.


I'm currently on holiday so as you read this I'll either be by the pool or down at the beach. Don't be too jealous;) I hope you're all having a lovely summer and that the weather has been good to you too.

'Oh I do like to be beside the seaside'

Last week when the UK was having a crazy heat wave (*insert overly excited emoji*) and we were all slapping on the sun cream like nothing else on earth, myself and my family decided to make the most of the rare sunshine and take a trip to the beach. I love the beach and although taking a walk down the boulevard with the wind blowing in your face and seagulls squawking all around you sounds like hell to some people, I actually quite enjoyed it. I enjoy some weird things, I know. Anyhow, I took a few photos and I thought I'd share them with you all seeing as we now seem to be getting attacked by clouds and rain. Oh I love British summertime. 

The amount of weird looks I got when I was kneeling down on the sand to take these were quite amusing really. Oh the things I do for my blog.

Some typical feet photos for you all. If you don't like feet, I do apologise. 

No trip to the beach is complete without a tub of fresh mango and driving with the windows down. I think I may have possibly eaten more hair than mango. 

And that was my day at the beach. Sometimes it's great to just go outside, leave the wifi behind (it's hard I know) and enjoy yourself. The outdoors isn't as scary as it looks, I promise.

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick / Olé Flamingo

I've done it. I've gone and jumped onto the blogger bandwagon and I've bought a Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick. I couldn't resist. It was sat on the stand with the '£3 off' sign screaming at me. I had a gift card, and it happened. This little tube of bright pink-ness was on it's way home with me. And I have no regrets.

Before I even begin reviewing this product can we just take a moment and admire the packaging? How can it look cute, yet sleek and high end at the same time? Bourjois how do you do it? 

The shade I picked up was '05 Olé Flamingo' which is a bright, bright, bright pink. Yes I know, my description skills are crap, but it is what it is. A bright, bright, bright pink. And being the 'I'm going to wear the brightest coloured lipsticks I can find because I do not care what people think' person I am, this shade is right up my street. 

The above swatch is just one coat. The pigmentation is insane.

The Rouge Edition Velvets have a doe foot applicator which makes them really easy to apply, and if you know me, I adore doe foot applicators so extra brownie points from me. In terms of application, these apply like an absolute dream. It honestly feels as though you're applying velvet to your lips, and once it's on your lips, you wouldn't know it's there. Bourjois promise 24hr lasting power but who actually wears lipstick for 24 hours? Let's be real now. However, I wore this the other day for around 13 hours and by the end of the day there was only slight fading in the centre of my lips. Impressed doesn't even cover it. 

I honestly could not recommend this product enough and if you're not so into bright colours, there are some more neutral shades in the range too, which I may also have to try. I have the urge to buy every single shade in the range, but I know for a fact that my purse will not enjoy that. Sigh. But I'll definitely be picking up more shades sometime soon. Not that I actually need more lipsticks. 

I don't know how long this deal is on for but the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvets are currently £5.99 in Superdrug so I'd suggest running (or speed walking, whichever you prefer) to your nearest Superdrug and grabbing one before the deal ends. You won't regret it. 

'Perfect'?

Perfect. It's a phrase we use very loosely and very often in today's society. We open up magazines and go 'wow she's perfect', we scroll through our Instagram feeds and think 'I wish I could be her, she's perfect'. But does 'perfect' really exist? Why have we as a society labelled what we think is 'perfect'?

Society today has been constructed around this idea of 'perfect' but perfect does not exist. Photoshop exists. Filter exist. Makeup exists. But perfect doesn't. The 'perfect' that we all know is a construction. Apart from surgery, fake tan, makeup and all that jazz, there is very little that we as human beings can do to change our bodies and the way we look. How we look, although it is superficial, has a huge impact on our lives. For the past few centuries we have defined beauty, not just as health and youth but also as tall, slim figures with perfectly toned tummies, long shiny hair, perfectly clear skin and tanned, smooth, glowing legs. These are the sorts of things that we see in magazines and adverts. When in real life have you ever seen someone that has absolutely flawless skin with no pores, scarring, freckles or imperfections? When? Never. 

Every human being to walk this earth has imperfections. Whether it may be acne, freckles, cellulite, wrinkles, stretch marks or scars, everyone has something. But what I think has gone wrong is that girls look at women in magazines and adverts with their flawless, poreless skin, then go look in the mirror and see fault in everything they see on themselves. Yes, we all have days when we feel a bit crappy and down about our appearances sometimes, I definitely do, but what we look like doesn't define who we are as people. You could have the bubbliest, happiest personality out of everyone and you may have a few spots or squint teeth and see yourself as 'ugly' or 'not good enough' because you don't look 'perfect'. Your looks do not define who you are. Although it may feel like it, looks aren't everything.

Let me tell you now, as cringey and cliché as it may sound, we are all beautiful. We need to learn to accept our flaws and turn them into positives. It's quite ironic really because it is us as a society that have created these problems but it is us as a society that have created the idea of 'perfect'.Who's to say that having acne, messy hair and braces doesn't make you beautiful? What is any less beautiful about that girl that just walked by you in the street with cellulite and yellow teeth than a model that has been airbrushed beyond belief? The way I see it is that imperfections are okay. It's okay not to look like a model that you've seen in magazines, 9 times out of 10 that model will have been photoshopped within an inch of her life and in real life has imperfections, just like you. We want to see the real people, the people behind the layers of photoshopping. We want to see the imperfections. We don't want to see a skincare product in a magazine and only see an airbrushed, edited photo of the lady's face, not showing if the product actually does anything at all. We want real images. Not constructions.

There is no such thing as perfect. How can you even define someone or something as 'perfect'? 'Perfect' could be defined in many ways, whether it may be a size 16 or a size 6; small breasts or large breasts; long hair or short hair. 'Perfect' could be anything. But, I have one question. Why did we, as a society decide that models that are 6"2, have tiny waists and poreless skin are 'perfect'? Why did we, as a society decide that stretch marks, acne, squint teeth or large noses are 'ugly'? Why? 

You are beautiful. Whether you may think it or not, you are. It's okay to be different, it's okay to have imperfections, it's okay not to look like a model. You're you and you are beautiful and amazing just the way you are. 

Stila In The Light Palette

Now then, you're probably thinking 'where the heck have you been it's been ages' etc etc. In response to that little voice in your head, I've been on a bit of a blogging break and I took some unplanned time off to rest and recuperate. It feels great to be back though. During the short period of time I've been away it was my birthday and for my birthday I was very kindly treated to the Stila In The Light Eyeshadow Palette *drools*. It is quite possibly the most beautiful palette I've ever seen and after a whole year of lusting after it, I finally got it. I know I know, I'm insanely late onto the bandwagon, so late in fact I think the bandwagon may have left and is now potentially on the moon.

As with most Stila products, the packaging is very minimalistic. It's constructed of (very) sturdy cardboard and is held closed by a strong magnet which is great as I find that some eyeshadow palettes have very weak magnets holding them shut which then results in eyeshadow getting everywhere, Barry M I'm pointing the finger at you. Inside there is a large mirror and a little quote by Sarah Lucero which I think is a lovely touch. It's not everyday your eyeshadow palette has a cute little quote inside. It also comes with a little book filled with eye looks you can create with the shadows in this palette.

I did a bad thing and used this palette before photographing it, ooops.

The Stila In The Light Palette features 10, 0.49oz (in non number terms, that is quite big) eyeshadows that you can use wet or dry. Very unlike the Urban Decay Palettes that focus on either warm or cool toned eyeshadows, this palette provides the best of both worlds. If you didn't start singing the Hannah Montana song there you're lying. Another upside to this palette is that there are 3 different finishes, frost, glitter and matte. What more could you want? Or need?

L-R; Bare, Kitten, Bliss, Sunset, Sandstone.

L-R; Bubbly, Gilded Gold, Luster, Night Sky, Ebony.

As I'm sure you can see from the above swatches, all the eyeshadows in this palette are insanely pigmented. I cannot fault a single shade. If you wish, you can intensify the colour pay-off even more by using the shadows wet. The eyeshadows are buttery, soft, and they blend like an absolute dream. I did find there to be a minuscule amount of product fallout when I applied the glitter shadows to my eyes but it was nothing major and nothing that a cotton bud or two can't fix. On my rather oily eyelids, without a primer these eyeshadows last a good 5-6 hours before they begin to crease but with a primer I can get a good 8 hours wear out of them. 

The palette also comes with a full sized Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Damsel, a deep, matte brown shade. The eyeliner is retractable so there is no need to have to scrabble about in your makeup drawers for a sharpener every time you need to use it, which I think is great. It smudges out very easily and once it sets, it sets and it's there to stay until you wash it off. I can get a good 8 hours wear out of this on my top lashline and around 5 hours on my waterline. I have insanely watery eyes so this is very very impressive for me. I'm usually lucky to get an hours wear out of eyeliners, any other watery eyed girls out there find this too? 

This is hands down one of the nicest palettes I have ever come across and now that I have this, I don't feel the need to buy any of the Urban Decay Naked palettes at all. Yes I really just said that. It's perfect for every occasion; work/school, parties, meals, basically just everything. The pigmentation gets a good old 5 stars from me and I genuinely could not recommend this palette any more if I tried. This palette is only £25 and considering the eyeliner is worth £19 on it's own, this is a palette that you can't say no too. It's available from Feel Unique, Stila (obviously) and Asos. 

I will be back to my usual posting times as of today so I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you all on Wednesday.