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 :)