Round of applause for eBay

Yay I finally have my MacBook back. It's been a very long 10 days with out it hence the no blog posts and recent tweets. However there was a bit of shopping on eBay.

I go through fads with eBay. Some months i'll be addicted to it and others i'll never be on it. I think it's amazing that it's one online "store" which you can find virtually anything.

I'm currently making a big change in my skin care routine and am switching to high end brands to see if they make a difference. I thought i'd try eBay first to see if any bargains could be found.

I manageed to pick up a 50ml bottle of Estee Lauder Idealist Pore Minimizing Skin Refinisher. That is certainly a mouthful, if your lazy like me Idealist will do.

This retails for £49 and I bought it for £26. This should hopefully last me a while. I also bought a sample size of their Advanced Night Repair to try before I make the commitment of getting the full size. I've only used it once so it's too soon to tell if it's actually doing anything.

As well as these items I am also waiting on an Origins moisturiser (paid £15) and Laura Mercier Perfecting Water (paid £8).

Don't worry I haven't fallen of the no spending wagon already. These are christmas presents from my mum who didn't know what to buy me. Come January and most importantly pay day I will not be spending any money on me so that hopefully in February i'll be able to buy that beautiful Balanciaga handbag.

I have bought myself one present but this was purchased almost one month ago and arrived in the post yesterday.

Yep it's one blingtastic phone case. It's pink and tacky and I love it! This too is also a purchase made on eBay.

All I can say is that eBay, at the minute I heart you :)

Do we have any other eBayer's in our midst? What are your recent purchases?

Joining in

From the start of the New Year I shall be joining Laura aka Lollipop26 and everyone else who is participating in Project 10 Pan.

This will be a first for me and is going to be tough because I never finish anything so it will probably take me forever to complete this.

There are two reasons behind my decision.

1) My boyfriend doesn't think I can go without buying makeup and I want to prove him wrong.
2) The money saved is going towards buying a special present for myself :)

The present i'm taling about is a Balenciaga Giant City handbag.




I've been hmming and haaing about this bag for the past few months. The pricetag to me seems a tad unrealistic, I'm definately not a saver.

I don't expect to be able to pull together the cash for this bag by just cutting back on buying makeup. Oh no. Therefore i'm cutting back on all unessacary expenditure. Basically i'll not be living much for the next few months. Luckily for me I don't have alot of outgoings apart from rent and paying off a store card.

My justification behind this purchase is that it's a bag for life. It will also be my first designer bag unless you count a Juicy Couture daydreamer which i've owned since my teens. I'm maturing now so feel the need to transition to a more "grown up" bag and I work hard so it's only right to treat myself to something extravagant once in while.


What is your most recent treat to yourself?

Outfit of the day: 5

It has been a miserable day here in Belfast with plenty of wind and constant rain. It was also my day to work, thats two consecutive Saturday's i've been in the office although hopefully i'll not be doing anymore until after the Christmas holidays.

My outfit choice today was influenced by comfort more than style. This weather calls for the winter accessories i.e. scarves and gloves and my flats have been retired well at least for drier days.

Anyway on to the outfit.

- Black double breasted jacket - Topshop (a few years ago)

- Black turtle neck jumper - Primark's finest :)

- Navy denim skinny jeans - Topshop Baxter's

- Black leather boots - River Island

(Gloves and scarf were also worn but not included in this photo)

It's a very basic outfit I just pulled together but it ticks all the boxes for me. Does it keep me warm? Yes. Does it keep my feet dry? Yes

Sundays Plans

I've just spent most of the morning organising and decluttering my coat wardrobe. I've been putting this off all week but my bf has taken his little brother to the wrestling so it was the perfect excuse to get it done.

I moved my coats and scarves etc to my old wardrobe in my old room removing bits and pieces I no longer wear as I went along. Now I have my coats, jackets, bags and half of my shoe collection all in the one place.

I love a good decluttering session. I can't stand hanging on to things just for the sake of it, instead I bag it before I can change my mind.

This is the result of a few hours work.

There's a combination of spare dressing gowns, halloween costumes, shorts for summer and then my jackets. I have put my shoes that come with boxes at the bottom too, though I still haven't decided what to do with the shoes that just come loose. I have considered maybe buying those clear shoe boxes and transferring them all to those that way its easier for me to find a pair.

Most of my bags are now stored in the bottom drawer and are easy accessible.

I always wonder what's in peoples wardrobes, I guess i'm just nosey like that. Feel free to let me know how you organise your wardrobe.

Saturdays Outfit of the Night

Saturday was my friends' birthday. To celebrate a crowd of us went to Rain and had such an amazing night.

I bought a new dress for this occasion, it's very rare that I would wear the same outfit for a night out twice. I chose a black dress from Miss Selfridge and accessorized with a clutch and heels. In my opinion you can't wrong with a black dress.

It's a black denim dress which flares at the bottom, with a faux leather band around the waist and also across the chest which wraps around the neck. For a better idea you can check it out here.

I paired this with my New Look stud blazer

For shoes and bag, I wore my staple Red or Dead black stilettos which have a suede effect and get dirty very easily. They are also murder on my feet but vanity wins over comfort! The clutch bag is a cheap one from New Look. I love this style of bag. You have two options, it can be worn in hand or under the arm and it was only £8 :)

NARS EOTD

Sticking to using products I haven't touched in a while, I broke out the NARS and came up with this "eye of the day".

To create this I used the following:

1) Mykonos cream shadow. On the website this is described as copper but in real life I would say it is more of a burgundy brown.

2) On top of that I applied MAC's Naked Lunch which is a gorgeous shimmery beige.

3) On the lower lash line and in the crease I used Lola Lola.

These were all applied using MAC's 239, a brush I had previously overlooked, it couldn't do anything my 217 couldn't do. I only began using it again after watching tutorials from pixi2woo.

This girl is beautiful and has some amazing uploads, a few which i've already favourited. If you haven't watched any of her videos I urge you to check them out.

This weeks favourites

There are 3 products i've been using consistently this week and no they're not new, i've had them all for about a year now but I have only recently rediscovered them lurking amongst the rest of my make makeup.

I feel like I'm stuck in a bit of a rut. I reach for the same things every day and the rest of my collection is neglected. I really need to make more of an effort with my choices and shake things up a bit.

This week i've been wearing:

1) MAC Sculpt & Shape powder in bone beige/emphasize has replaced my Natural Collection bronzer as a contour.

2) Urban Decay Primer Potion - My go to base is always MAC's Painterly which works really well with my oily lids, the primer potion not so much.

3) NYX Trio TS15 - This is a lovely palette for a quick daytime look. The colours work great together. I have a few of these trios but this is by far my favourite.

And when you put them altogether...

Ohh! Blushed again...

It's finally Friday and I'm feeling very lazy so I've cheated and stolen the blog title from the product I'm about to talk about.

I was in Boots last week picking out some cheapish makeup to use in my makeup class. The stuff we currently have to use is a disaster and extremely cheap. It makes me very grateful that I can return home to my MAC, NARS etc...

I bought a few shadows, eyeliner and bronzer. I also picked up a blush but in the end I changed my mind and decided to keep it for myself :)

It's by Miss Sporty and is £2.99. There are three shades available. I went for the lightest which is Rose. This is a very pretty baby pink, not that dissimilar to MAC's Well Dressed.

To look at it straight on it looks like a dusty pink but in some angles I think there is a hint of peach. Overall it's lovely on and lasts just as long as my more higher end blushes.

Have a great weekend everyone. I'm starting mine with some popcorn and Confessions of a Shopaholic :)

Brush Cleaning!

Its not a job I like to do and one I certainly don't do often enough. I'm yet to find someone who can say they like to clean their makeup brushes. It's very tedious! If I had a smaller collection of brushes I probably wouldn't find it as bad but it's not until I have them all lined up on the towel to dry that I realize just how many I have.

I am ashamed to admit that I'm lucky if I clean my brushes once a month :O I know it's bad and unhygienic but as of now that will change.

I typically wait until all my brushes are dirty and then do a bulk deep clean. This leaves me stuck if I need to use a particular brush. But now I'm going to start cleaning my brushes as and when I use them.

I prepared myself last night and washed all my brushes. There are so many of them it took me close to an hour to wash them all.

After applying my makeup this morning I separated the dirty brushes from the clean and set them aside to be washed in the evening (which I've just done).

I stored the dirty brushes in a straw basket I got from Dunnes which use to house my nail polishes. This makes it handier for me to cart them to the bathroom.

Once all clean and dry they go back with the rest of my makeup brushes which I keep in these metal plant pot style containers filled with rice, a very cheap substitute for vase fillers.

How often do you clean your brushes? Are you guilty of being lazy?

Belated Holiday Post

I'm definitely behind in posting some photo's from my recent holiday, but better late than never.

When it comes to taking photograph's I'm really slack. It's very much a chore to me. We didn't take alot of pictures mainly because I didn't feel I needed to capture the days that I was sick and that was about half of the holiday.

But anyway here are a few snapshots from my time spent in Lanzarote.

This is a few from the balcony

There was 3 pools but this is the one we used as it was just outside our apartment

This is a view of the beach from the strip, featuring some pretty palm trees :)

Enough of the scenic pictures here is one of me in my favourite dress looking more sunburnt than tan

Watch out for some pics of my sister's wedding coming soon :)

Buy of the Week!

Last night I did a bit of late night shopping with my mum. We trundled off to T K Maxx to find her a purse however I found myself looking at the sunglasses.

I found an amazing designer pair at an amazing discounted price. Not that I will be needing them any time soon, however they have inspired me to pull my finger out and get booking another holiday pronto.

The sunglasses are by Oscar de la Renta. They are oversized square frames with a tortoise shell pattern and have some copper detailing at the side. The only signature on them is a tiny O on the leg which I prefer rather than have huge symbols at the sides.

I'm not sure what the original retail price was but I paid a bargainous £12.99.

I have a bit of a thing for huge sunglasses and have a drawer full of them, yet I only ever seem to wear one pair. These could be my new faves:)

I'd love to read what bargains you have found lately.

X

D.I.Y!

I finally decided to bite the bullet and tint my own eyebrows, something I should have done along time ago and now I'm wondering what I was so afraid of.

I viewed paying someone to do this as a wasted expenditure and the results were not that great and didn't last long.

The task in hand itself couldn't have been simpler.

I used a dark brown dye for lashes and brows by Colorsport (purchased from Boots for about £7-£8) which contains enough for 16 applications and the effects apparently last for 30 days. So far it has lasted a week so I can't comment yet.

These are my brows before:

Not a great picture I know but you get the idea, they are pretty non-existent!

You mix some cream dye with a few drops of developer liquid until its a paste like substance and then apply it to your brows with the wand included. It should look a bit like this...

The instructions say to leave for 1-2 minutes before removing but this didn't work for me so I left it on for roughly 10 minutes. These are the results...

Not a vast improvement but there is a definite difference

Now I can go makeup free to my course and only look half as scary as now I have a bit of framing to my face and don't look as dead.

How many of you tint your eyebrows or get them done professionally? I'm very jealous of those who have full, dark brows.

Another blazer.....

On Wednesday morning before I left for work I placed an online order on New Look's website. I spotted a blazer which is a web exclusive and from that moment it was love at first site. Wednesday was also payday so I ordered it before my size went out of stock. I chose express delivery, thats how badly I needed this jacket :). Having never ordered from their site before I didn't know what to expect but it was hassle free and my package was with me before noon the very next day.

You can see the blazer here. I'll also leave you with an idea of how it looks on.

Its a basic black blazer with studded detailing embossed on the lapel. I'm not one for following all the fashion trends and I certainly can't keep up with them but even I know studs are very in at the minute so you can say this is my contribution.

Keeping on the lines of first times, I also called in to Space NK, a shop I have never stepped foot in before. I don't know why this is but I think I was a little intimidated. I picked up the NARS Pleasure of Paris palette which was being held over for me. Many bloggers and YouTubbers have raved about this product and now I finally have my hands on it. No doubt this will feature in tomorrows makeup.

And here's a little picture of it.

Hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend. Me and my boyfriend spent a small fortune in HMV so we've planned a movie marathon tonight :)

New Skin-care Routine

For those who don't know i've recently enrolled in a makeup course which entails learning a bit about skin care. In a nut shell you have to be able to analyze your clients skin and determine which products will be appropriate for their skin type.

I never really took much notice of what I was using on my skin and whether it suited me however my tutor spoke about the consequences of a lack of daily skin care routine which leads to dehydration, skin sensitivity and wrinkles!!

The latter made me panic a little. I'm a firm believer that it's never too early to start using anti-aging products. It is better to prevent wrinkles rather than begin to use treatments when it is too late.

On tuesday night I was the guinea pig and let the tutor assess my skin. The verdict is I am dry/sensitive skin type. Those with dry skin are more perceptible to wrinkles and can look very dull in appearance and the products I was currently using were not designed for dry skin so I was in need of a change.

Whilst I was in this new frame of mind I took advantage of Boots 3 for 2 offer on their skin-care and picked up a new routine.

We have:

1) Norwegian Formula Foaming Cleaning Wash - I really like Neutrogena skin care and am still a loyal user of their Visibly Clear 2 in 1 wash and mask and this cleanser is no different.

2) Garnier Soft Essentials Soothing Toner - I don't usually use a toner but I do in class so I thought i'd give it a go plus it helps remove any excess cleanser.

3) Neutrogena Visibly Clear Oil-free Moisturiser - This will do for the time being but when we move into winter I change to a thicker moisturiser because my skin gets very flaky and rough.

I don't see any harm in mixing products from different brands and hopefully I'll see some improvement in the condition of my skin as it could be better.

Maybe i'll blog more about other tips I pick up from my course.

Also whilst in town I did drag the bf to MAC to check out the new collections and i'm pleased say no purchases were made from them however I did buy another set of lashes and shale e/s :)

Sundays Effort

Despite me still being in my pyjama's I did apply full face makeup. It gives me an instant pick me up and I do this even when I'm sick.

Todays face consisted of Milani shadows, Coralista blush ("borrowed" from mum) and YSL Rouge Volupte No. 2. I also added some false lashes which I've been meaning to try for ages.

I was sent a combination of false lashes and nails from Janet, the assistant brand manager for Revlon. The set I'm wearing today are part of their Fantasy Lengths range in 91128 Lush.

I haven't seen this particular set for sale in the UK so they may only be available in the US :( You get four individual pieces per eye, as you can see I only used three and there is a glue included however I applied these using Lash Grip.

They remind my of the individual lashes although I prefer the effect these give as they contain more lashes which vary in length. They are perfect if you find it difficult to apply a full strip of falsies. I find those very fiddly.

Lashes without flash:

Lashes with flash:

Out of the lashes I received, I would say these are the most daytime appropriate. They add depth to the lash line but also give you some length. What more can you ask for?

Has anyone else tried these particular false lashes?

Second time lucky

Before I went on my holiday I had the sudden urge to remove my gel nails, not because I didn't like the way they looked or because I wanted to have my natural (unglamourous) nails back. No it was because I had a botched infills job done and I didn't want further damage to occur.

This was my first set of gel extensions so I didn't really no what to expect. The initial set application was fine but the infills were a nightmare. Basically the gel already on my nails had to be buffed done and then new layers of gel would be applied. It doesn't sound too scary does it? However the nail technician not only buffed the layers of gel away but part of my natural nail bed on a few fingers which left me with red, sensitive nails. This was strengthened by the new gel but the damage had already been done and I felt butchered.

I chose to remove them myself (which was not an easy task) rather than go back to the salon an give my nails a 2 week break. Surprisingly the nails that weren't damaged were still strong and had grown quite long under the extensions.

I booked an appointment with a different salon which specializes in gel nails before I went away and explained what had happened just in case they weren't happy with applying a new set. I had my nails done on Saturday and they did a fabulous job. The nail technician was lovely and answered any queries, it was all very professional. She actually looked at my nails in horror in particular my thumb nail which is missing a partial bit of nail and had lots of gel still on it because it was too painful to buff it off myself.

The gels I have now are Biosculpture in a french manicure style and in my opinion are more realistic than the previous tips:

My experience hasn't put my off nail extensions, I like being pampered at a nail bar and they make my nails look normal compared to whats underneath. Although these are slightly more expensive than my previous it set it really goes to show you get what you pay for. I'll happily part with the extra cash if it means I will get professional treatment as well as results.

Have you any beauty treatment horror stories? Feel free to share.

Lanzarote here I come!

Today was my last day of work and the official start to my summer holiday. Tomorrow morning I will be leaving for Belfast International airport to jet off to Lanzarote for two sun filled weeks.

The majority of my stay will be spent catching up on some light reading, something I haven't had a lot of time for recently and to work on my tan, a natural one that is. So as you can tell nothing too exhausting.

I will probably manage to fit a bit of shopping in too. I haven't got a list prepared or anything in mind of what I want to pick up in duty free, I'm just going to "wing it" and see what catches my eye.

For those with any suggestions for purchases please let me know and for those who have been to Lanzarote before, please leave me recommendations for places to eat, visit and shop :)

I won't have my laptop with me so can't update :( I'll have a lot of catching up to do when i'm home.

Playing with minerals

After reading a blog post by Lollipop26 which featured an E.L.F mineral shadow in Natural, I was influenced to buy it. But I couldn't just make one lonely purchase so instead I made three :)

We have Natural (shimmery champagne), Caffeinated (bronze with olive and gold undertones) and Confident (frosty brown).

They are £2.50 for 0.85 grams and can be ordered from E.LF's website. The downfall of the E.L.F website is that the online swatches can sometimes differ from the real thing and they don't offer shade descriptions. I played it safe and googled for alternative swatches which I found more helpful although a little time consuming.

I used two of the shadows yesterday and here is the finished look, taken at approximately 9pm so they are long wearing.

For eyes I applied Natural all over with a tiny bit of Caffeinated in the crease using the 219.

And for everything else....

Face - Revlon Colorstay Sand Beige - I find this heavier than my SFF and a bit too light for my face but I want to use it up.

Cheeks - Smashbox Tint

Lips - MAC Pure Rose L/S - Released in the Emanual Ungaro collection and I really wish I had of bought a back up :(

Next combination.... maybe a light dusting of Caffeinated with Confident in the crease?

Todays Face of the Day

I opted for a subtle smokey eye today which isn't very dramatic at all but still has that little bit of definition.

I also incorporated lots of shimmer into todays face, something I rarely do.

Onto the products used...

Face:

- MAC SFF NC30

- Smashbox blush in Tint (I adore this product so much)

- Natural Collection bronzer in Golden Glow which is my bronzer of choice this week.

Eyes:

- Painterly paint pot

- Naked Lunch applied all over lid, under brow and down the centre of nose

- Patina on the outer third

- Twinks - Just a tad concentrated on the crease for some depth

- Blacktrack fluidline and lashings of Maxfactor false lash effect mascara

Lips:

- YSL Rouge Volupte No. 7

I couldn't resist a pouting pose, it's not often i'm daring enough to sport a brighter lip :)

On another note I think i've conquered St Moriz! I have to apply a generous coating of moisturiser and let it set a while before applying the tan.

Enjoy the rest of your bank holiday weekend x

Packing light

When it comes to packing I tend to overdo it and end up with everything bar the kitchen sink in one suitcase all to myself.

Clothing is a big issue and is not an area I can afford to bring too little of however with beauty and skin care I can downsize a little.

Every year i've made the mistake of lugging about full size bottles of everything and with limited luggage weight allowance, it's not the way to do things.

This time I'm going to organize myself properly and attempt to pack light.

As part of my mission I bought several travel size products including tiny bottles of Tresemme shampoo and conditioner and mini Sensodyne toothpaste all of which can be purchased from Superdrug.

Now unfortunately my skin care regime isn't available in handy sized bottles so as an improvisation I picked up an empty travel set from H&M for £2.99.

How cute are they?

Included in the set is a squeezy bottle and two small plastic jars with screw off lids which are embossed with Hello Kitty's head.

My nail varnish remover has been allocated to the bottle and i'm thinking of filling the jars with moisturiser but i'm wondering if that will be enough to last me for 2 weeks?

I get overly excited when it comes to packing and become a tad OCD, I make lists of everything although i'm undecided what to do with my MAC palettes and how to travel safely with them.

What is the best way to pack them so that none of my shadows break in transit?

Outfit of the day: 4

Technically this constitutes as an "Out of the evening" as it was only about an hour ago that I decided to get dressed :D

Sundays for me are a day to lounge about in sweats/pj's, catch up on YT, and watch House.

My choice of outfit was really lazy and kinda rushed but it was ok because i was only going to the McDonald's drive-through.

Outfit consists of:

- Navy nautical style top from Primark with white sleeves, and yes the flash on my camera has picked up my bra underneath.

- Topshop skinny jeans. I really do live in these! Next on my shopping list is a pair of bootcut or straight jeans. If anyone has any recommendations let me know.

- Black flats, again another bargain buy from Primark.

- Too top it off flat, unstyled hair.

Not only did I return with a yummy McChicken sandwich meal, I got a free limited edition pink can style glass. You get one with every large meal or salad and there are six colours available.

What are Sundays all about for you?

Itty Bitty Haul

I think we all now know that the first Thursday of every month (well at least in the UK) marks the release of a new MAC collection of in this months case, three.

1) Graphic Garden

2) Love that Look

3) Baby Bloom

Two collections from which I made purchases.

From Baby Bloom I picked up the Studio Moisture Tint in Medium. Although you can argue that it may be the wrong time of year to release a tinted moisturiser, there are no doubt people who wear one all year round not only for the summer months. My purchase was purely because i'm yet to go on my holiday and will like a lighter coverage. It also has SPF 15 so for those who are like myself and are not completely comfortable with sunbathing with zero makeup you get minimal coverage with a little bit of protection. I tested this moisturiser at the weekend. It was refreshing to say the least and it lasted extremely well.

My last purchase were from Love that Look. I picked up two shadows in Glamour Check and Style Snob. I skipped the Starflash shadows when they were originally released last year but decided to give them a chance this time around. Glamour Check is a brown/red with gold pearl. Style Snob is a light brown with purple undertone, to me it looks similar to Satin Taupe also by MAC.

Left: Style Snob Right: Satin Taupe

What did you pick up from these collections? Did I miss any essentials?

You!

The count down to my summer holiday has now begun and I'm itching to get packing my suitcase. But first things first I need clothes to fill it.

I don't have a lot of day time dresses due to the unpredictable Belfast weather, I play it safe with jeans. So for this month I want to invest in a few that I can take with me but also that I can wear when I'm home.

I popped into New Look because i'd seen some pretty 2 in 1 dresses on their website. Unfortunately they didn't have any left or there wasn't any in my size but as I made my way out down the store towards the exit I came across a boutique brand i've never heard of.

You! They had a small collection of dresses but one in particular caught my eye.

Its a strapless dress which ends above the knee. It also has a cinched waist to add some shape. I will probably cover the seam with a tan belt to define my waist that little bit more.

The dress is grey with lilac, purple and magenta flowers all over it. There are also buttons at the bust which is slightly a love-heart shape.

I plan to wear this with sandals on holiday and whilst at home I will team it with tights or leggings, flats and a cardigan.

Please leave any suggestions where I might find nice "summery" dresses.