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.

My Holy Grail Mascara?

Every once in a while, whilst raking through the aisles of Superdrug, you stumble across a little gem. A little gem that changes your makeup routine, a little gem that is so fantastic that it needs its own post. My little gem that I just so happened to stumble across comes in bright pink packaging and goes by the the title of MUA Mega Volume Mascara. And yes you read the title of this post right, it's my holy grail mascara. I know that term is used loosely quite a lot in the blogging world but this really is holy grail.

If you know me, I'm a mascara junkie. I have far too many mascaras and I say I love them all but this one has topped them all. Yes, that's right, this mascara comes first out of 20+ mascaras. But what makes it so special I hear you ask? Well just take a look at this brush and Bob's your uncle. 

There are NO clumps on this wand. Absolutely none. I almost fainted in the middle of Superdrug. Before you could say 'MUA Mega Volume Mascara' this little tube of amazing-ness was in my basket and promptly made its way to the tills with me.

This mascara promises to 'dramatically thicken lashes with each stroke for mega volume' and I can safely say it does just that. When I took these photos I was having a bad lash day so I haven't quite shown off how amazing it really is, but believe me, it's amazing. 

As you can see above, this mascara really does deliver amazing results. In the photos, I hadn't curled my eyelashes so as well as volumising, it does give your eyelashes some curl. 

I cannot recommend this mascara enough, it's just incredible and it's only £3. That's how much the meal deal at the Co-operative is. I cannot recommend this enough. You can get this mascara direct from the MUA website or from Superdrug (I can't find it on the website but you can definitely get it in-store). 

I hope you've all had a lovely weekend and I'll see you all soon.

Superdrug and Primark Haul

So I went shopping and I accidentally bought more makeup, oops. But fear not, fear not, it wasn't that much and I got other things too, so overall I think I was pretty controlled. *rewards oneself with a biscuit* I won't be going into too much detail about all the products I got though because there will be individual reviews going up in the (very) near future.

Primark

As lovely as all the new PS Love makeup in Primark looked, there was nothing that I really wanted and the eyeshadow palette that I did want wasn't in stock. I did however pick up a few little bits that I'd say are quite essential, but of course what I think is essential might not be essential to you. (what am I talking about?)

I picked up this little mirror because everyone, I mean everyone, needs a mirror in their bags for touch ups and to check the condition of their makeup. It was only £1 and the pattern is really cute.

I also grabbed these eyelash curlers because my current ones from Superdrug were nearing the final days of eyelash curling. I've already used these every day since I got them and I have to say, they're a lot better than my Superdrug ones, and they're only £1. Oh Primark, I do love you and your incredible bargains.

Whilst strolling through the beauty area, I spotted a pack of 2 tweezers for £1 and I couldn't just leave them hanging on the stand, surely not. So they pottered along to the tills with me in my little basket. 

What really attracted me to these tweezers was that they were both different sizes, one had a thicker end and one had a teensy weensy thin end, perfect for grabbing the tiny little hairs when doing your eyebrows.

The last item that made its way to the tills  with me is this matte top coat. I love painting my nails but I haven't been able to do it much this past year as I've been taking cookery at school but very soon I will no longer be taking it so I'll be able to paint my nails all the time, which makes me very happy indeed. I love how matte nails look and yet again this was only £1 so I'm happy.

Superdrug

Ahhh, good old Superdrug. The place my purse goes to completely empty itself. But on this certain occasion, I left the shop with change still in my purse, I was rather impressed with myself.

As per usual, my feet took me along the shop floor to the Collection stand where I finally got my hands on the little babies I've been lusting after for ages (that sounds a bit creepy, oops). Enter the Cream Puffs.

I got the shades 'Cotton Candy' and 'Fairy Cake' which are both very comfortable to wear and they smell incredible.

There is a full review on these going up in the next 2 weeks so I will leave you all waiting to find out my entire thoughts on these, oooh the suspense. 

 My feet also carried me along to the MUA stand where I was calm and collected and didn't go mental and buy everything. 

My first purchase was the MUA Mega Volume Mascara which I actually bought because I pulled the brush out of the tester and it was completely clump free, I kid you not. There yet again will be a full review of this going up soon(ish) so keep your eyes peeled. It was only £3, the packaging is funky (am I allowed to say that in this day and age?) and so far, I'm lovin' it. This post is not sponsored by McDonald's.

Finally my hands accidentally grabbed one of the MUA Power Pout's in 'Runway' which is a very bright, orange-y pink. I guess you could say it's coral but I like my description better. Another full review of this will be up sometime, not sure when though, so yet again, keep your eyes peeled.

Finally finished hauling so I'm off to spend the rest of the evening watching Frozen, I'm not even sorry. Before I forget, Happy Mother's Day to all you lovely mums out there, I hope you've all been spoilt. I'll be back again tomorrow with my (late) Weekend in Pictures. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

My Daily Makeup

Well hello again. As you can probably already see, today's post is going to be about my daily makeup. This post will be quite long so grab yourself a cup of tea or whatever, and get comfy.

To start off I do my concealer. The concealer I am currently using is the ever famous Collection Lasting Perfection concealer.

I apologise for the state of the tube, all the writing has rubbed off.

I do find that this concealer can cling to dry patches and make them more noticeable and even if I do moisturise, it does still cling. If you have very dry skin, I would avoid this concealer like the plague. 

Please comment below if there are any concealers which give the same amount of coverage as this, but are a bit more hydrating. 

I use this concealer on blemishes and occasionally under my eyes and it does a great job of concealing the blemishes but I do find it to be a bit too thick and cakey for underneath my eyes. 

I have this concealer in Shade 2 'Light'. It is an almost perfect match but my only niggle is that it is rather pink toned, I don't know if that's just me or not?

This concealer has a doe foot applicator which some people may find unhygenic because you're dabbing it onto blemishes and under your eyes but I think it works just fine and I haven't experienced any problems at all.

Next I do my eyeliner. The eyeliner I use is Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner. I love this eyeliner so much. It's waterproof, stays on all day, comes off really easily and never smudges.

As the name suggests, it is a felt tip liner. I prefer this type of eyeliner as I feel as though you have a lot more control over the thickness of the line etc. 

This eyeliner is incredibly pigmented and is super black and glossy, exactly how I like liquid liner to be. I'd recommend this to anyone that wishes to start using liquid eyeliner as it is easy to use and affordable.

Next, while waiting for my eyeliner to completely dry (even though it is fast drying, I like to be sure), I do my eyebrows. I use an eye shadow from the MUA Undress Me Too palette as it is a perfect colour match to my brows.

I use the shade 'Lavish' which is an ashy brown sort of colour. It's not the most pigmented but it does the job fine. I apply this to my brows using an angled brush.

To set my brows I use my MUA Clear Mascara.

This is perfect for setting your brows as it doesn't leave a white flaky film (as some clear mascara's have done for me in the past) and it's super duper cheap at only £1. This keeps my brows in place all day and is definitely my new 'go to' brow gel.

Once I've done my brows I move onto my eyelashes. Firstly I curl them using my Superdrug Eyelash Curlers.

  

These were actually a 2 minute purchase as I needed a new pair and I had a bus to catch in 5 minutes so I ran into Superdrug and grabbed these. These do the job and curl your lashes nicely but I will be looking into a better pair for the future as there are many others in the market. I would however recommend these to anyone who is just starting out with makeup because they are cheap, and do a good job.

After curling my lashes I then apply mascara to both my top and bottom lashes. This past week I have been using my new Scandal Eyes Flex mascara that I featured in my 'Makeup Haul' post last week.

I have been absolutely loving this mascara. It makes my lashes look absolutely huge without making them clumpy or stiff. The brush is massive but delivers such incredible results. Look out for a full review of this mascara coming soon.

When I've finished my eyes, I then move on to my lips. I always apply a lip balm before applying lipstick as I like to make sure my lips are always hydrated, even if it is a hydrating lipstick. At the moment I have been using my Burts Bee's Beeswax Lip Balm.

This lip balm is a lovely creamy consistency and it sort of melts onto your lips. It smells incredible, a nice minty smell and when it's on your lips, you can feel it tingling. I have a strong feeling that this will be a staple item in my makeup bag this winter.

Over the top of my lip balm I apply a lipstick. The lip colour I choose to wear usually depends on what sort of mood I'm in, but this past week I've been swapping between 2.

The first one I've been wearing is my Rimmel Colour Rush Colour Balm in the shade 'On Fire'. This is another new purchase that I have been absolutely loving. 

I just absolutely love this shade and I think I will continue to love it all year round as I feel as though it is an 'all seasons' lip colour. These are so moisturizing and so pigmented and I just can't express my love for them. They also smell AH-MAZING. Watch out for a full review coming soon.

The other lip colour I have been swapping my Rimmel Colour Rush Colour Balm with is my Kiko Smart Lipstick in Shade 905 'Coral Red'. 

I love this lipstick. It's so creamy and pigmented and it doesn't dry out your lips at all. 

This colour is a light orangey-red with gold glitter through it. It looks so nice on the lips and out of the few Kiko lipsticks I have, this one is definitely my favourite. It is also very natural on the lips and is not too over the top.

Finally to finish my whole face off, I powder using my Rimmel Stay Matte Powder. This is yet again another new purchase, but I still haven't made up my mind on what I think of this. It definitely doesn't keep me matte all day, 4 hours max. The hunt for the perfect mattifying powder continues. If anyone has any suggestions on a good mattifying powder that WILL keep me matte all day, please leave a comment below.

I have this in Shade '001 Transparent' as I do not wish for any colour pay off, just something to mattify my skin.   

Now, that is my whole face of makeup finished. A lot of you may be wondering why I don't wear foundation, truth is, I just feel like I don't need to wear it so that is why I leave it out. Also I do wear more makeup than this for special events etc but this is just my daily makeup that I wear to school.

I really hope that this post has been helpful and may encourage you to try some new products.