The Neutral Palette Favourites Post...

Who doesn't love a neutral eye shadow palette..?  There's nothing like having a sea of pale browns and taupes all conveniently laid out in one perfect little compact ready to whip up any lid look.  It will come as no surprise that my favourite neutral post should include the 'Naked' palette or the 'Too Faced Natural eye' palette with them being two of the most popular beauty blogger approved products out there.  You can't go wrong with either of these and they've been a staple in my makeup stash for so long I wonder if I should still be using them - I've probably had them for over 5 years!  I however have attachment issues and could never part with them.  The MAC Cinderella palette is more of a recent addition to the makeup stash and as it was limited edition this was top of my birthday wishlist last year - thanks hubby!  I find myself reaching for this the most with the top two shades 'Vapour' and 'Phloof!' providing the perfect matte and shimmer highlight.  The middle two shades 'Omega' and 'Quarry' are the perfect transitional shades and the bottom two shades 'Satin Taupe' and 'Stroke of Midnight and the ideal outer corner/lashline shades.  For those that managed to get the Cinderella palette when it was released, you probably cherish it just as much as I do.  What is your perfect neutral palette - a girl can never have too many!

NYX Cosmetics comes to Boots stores...

Yes! You heard right... NYX Cosmetics have hit Boots stores.  You could not imagine my excitement as I was browsing through my local Boots store just picking up the usual bits and bobs when I spotted the stand.  Understandably there were women swarming over it like flies on... (Y'know) but I still managed to spend a good 20 minutes just slapping a bit of whatever I could get my little mitts on all over my hand and swatching like a mad woman.  

I knew I wanted  a good look at the soft matte lip creams so after swatching whatever I could I decided on the shades Abu Dhabi and Cannes.  Abu Dhabi being the browner of the two shades and Cannes being the pinker.  I also picked up the liner brush and the brow pomade in black as I actually wanted to try this for eyeliner.  Since picking up these products I've actually been back and picked up a couple of other bits so expect another little haul post featuring NYX and a first impressions post once I've had a good play with them all.  If anybody has any recommendations from NYX then please let me know as I have a feeling I'll be a regular at that NYX stand for the foreseeable future.

The Gentle Cleanser Post...

Anybody that's been a long term reader of my busy little musings will know that my skin does tend to have a hissy fit at the first sign of something it doesn't like, be that something I've eaten or a new product I've used that my skin hasn't taken a liking to.  So I'm constantly on the lookout for gentle cleansers that will be tough on makeup but not cause my skin to freak out too much.  Now these are a few I've been using recently and having given them each a fair trial I thought I would share my feelings.

The Body Shop Camomile sumptuous cleansing butter says it's suitable for all skin types but you know if it has camomile in it, it's going to be calming and gentle on the skin.  Apart from the fact it comes in a tin that you have to dig the product out of I really can't fault it.  It has a light floral scent and you know with The Body Shop you can't really go wrong with the ingredients.  Once warmed up in the hands and applied on to a dry, full face of makeup this just melts away everything you have on including stubborn mascara and all you need is a clean muslin cloth or flannel to rinse away the product.  It's great for my dry skin as it leaves my skin feeling nourished without that tight feeling some cleansers can leave.

Now you may think if you love the cleansing butter so much why buy more cleansers but it was the messiness of it that led me to the Boots Botanics All Bright Cleansing Foam Wash.  This says it 'gently lifts away makeup and impurities' which I would say it only half does.  It has a gel like consistency which you are supposed to massage into damp skin to remove makeup but I always find I'm left with panda eyes from my mascara and eye liner after using this and even if I then go in with a second cleanse I still don't feel as though it's all gone.  I don't really feel as though my skin benefits in any way from using this although it is marketed as containing Hibiscus as 'Nature's brightness booster' and that natural AHA's from the flower act as a mild exfoliant to smooth and brighten.  There could possible be some slight brightening effects with this but aside from that and the convenience of a gel cleanse it's pretty redundant.

And finally the No 7 Beautiful Skin foaming cleanser for normal/oily skin.  You're probably wondering why I would buy a cleanser targeted at more oily skin types but I don't use this everyday.  This is more a cleanser for those evenings after a sweaty long day at work or for a quick cleanse after a good gym session.  This again does nothing for removing mascara or eye liner although it says it dissolves makeup I beg to differ and because this is targeted at removing oil and tightening pores it does leave a little bit of a tight feeling just after washing but as long as I only use this once or twice a week and I go straight in with a good toner, serum/oil and moisturiser that feeling doesn't bother me too much.  I will however continue to hunt for the perfect gentle cleanser and if anybody has any suggestions please do pop them below.

Out with the old, in with the new...

Brace yourselves for a very cliched post about new years and new beginnings, about spring cleans and de-cluttering and ways to feel better both inside and out, body and mind.  Oh yes! it's that wonderful new year post filled with high expectations and low achievements, broken resolutions and more ups and downs than you can stomach.  But it has to be done right?! and new year wouldn't be a new year if you didn't sit yourself down and give yourself a good talking to about how not to repeat the mistakes of yester-year and how this one will be the best year of your life because lets face it it probably wont be and in about 350 more days you will be right back here re-living this whole experience but it's a tradition I kind of never want to break..

Although it wasn't the best year of my life it certainly wasn't the worst and there have been lessons learnt along the way i.e.

1. how to be less of a twat and learning to tolerate others that are bigger twats.

2. how to never let others try and define who you are, yes you may be a twat but if that is part of who are then embrace it and move on, there's always this great need to try and fit in with society and it seems as though it's drummed into us from a very young age but the older you get the more you realise you don't want to be a part of that gang anymore.

3. Taking time for yourself is not selfish nor should you scold yourself for doing it, slip off into the sunset, drift off inside a good book, take a long drive with no real destination and then pull yourself together and carry on, you have no other choice but to so appreciate what you do have and live for the moment.  Spend atleast 10 or 15 minutes a day in just your own company and do a little something everyday that makes you happy.

4. Appreciate those around you, speaking solely from experience, tell your mum you love her as many times as you physically can, you can never say it enough, because should the time come you no longer have the option to, you will want to say it more.  Say please and thank you, it's the way you were bought up and it's the way I hope to bring up my own children one day.

5.  It's a new year which means we're allowed to wipe the slate clean and start again, remove everything that doesn't make you happy from yourself be that the clutter of your surroundings or certain people that bring you down and give yourself room to breath.  That means getting rid of the things you no longer have a use for, using things that can be used and storing the rest for the many rainy days we have to come.

6. And last but certainly not least, take care of yourself.  Feed from within and only with good things.  I read somewhere the other day that 'Food is the most abused drug for anxiety and depression and exercise is the least utilised antidepressant'.  I couldn't have put it better myself.  You will never regret going for that run or even taking a quick walk through the park and eating good things instead of junk and you will look and feel better for it.

This year I'm not calling them resolutions because that means they are made only to be broken in a few months, I'm calling these my lessons learnt of 2015 only to be improved on in the following year.

Do let me know if there are any lessons you have learnt in the past year that I haven't mentioned and what your ambitions are for the coming 12 months.

New MAC purchases...

So recently I made and impromptu pit stop into a MAC store which doesn't bode well for any beauty addict's bank balance but I hardly ever buy anything from MAC ( I think I have about 5 products in total including those pictured above) and sometimes the things you pick up on impulse tend to be your most treasured.  Case and point on this particular occasion where I spent all of 2 minutes swatching all the nudes I could find and I ended up taking Angel and Velvet Teddy home.

For an impromptu purchase I couldn't be happier.  Don't let the picture fool you they look very similar but they are very different.

Angel is a Frost finish so a bit sheerer than Velvet teddy and it is most definitely a pinky nude with a slightly glossy/shimmery finish on the lips.  Velvet teddy is a bit more of a browny nude and a Matte finish so gives more of a Kylie Jenner-esque finish that everybody craves these days.  Velvet Teddy is very close to my natural lip colour, just slightly browner in tone and although it is matte it's not drying in the slightest and leaves a comfortable feel.  I can't believe it's taken me this long to try MAC lipsticks but I think this may have started a new found love affair which may be very bad for my bank balance but very very good for my inner beauty addict.

What are your MAC favourites and do you guys have any lipstick recommendations? 

Nip and Fab Bee Sting Eye Cream...The verdict

After posting this picture on Instagram a fair few weeks ago it got quite a bit of attention and I promised a full review with my thoughts after I'd spent a bit more time using it so this is what I'm sitting down to type up for you today.

Having used this now for quite a while, about 9 weeks to be exact I'm still a little bit torn.  Nip and Fab is a brand that always intrigues me when I step into a Boots store and I often spend a fair few minutes perusing their interestingly named products which claim to contain quite innovative ingredients.  Not only do they have a Bee Venom range but also a Viper Venom and Dragon's Blood range to name a few.  Not going to lie it's the Bee Venom that initially attracted me to this product but actually when I started using it my under eyes just drank this up and loved me for it.  There is a slight feeling of a tingle or tighten when first applied but now I don't even notice when I put it on but it's become a staple in my daily routine and am quite enjoying the thick creamy texture for my dry papery skin.

The reason why I say I'm a little bit torn about this product is because before using this I was using nothing for an eye cream and so I can't differentiate between whether  it's actually the Bee Fix that reduced the puffiness and dark circles or whether ANYTHING would have given the same results given the utter deprivation my under eyes were experiencing.  I will however give the product its dues as it has reduced some of the puffiness, my dark circles seem to be lighter and although I haven't noticed a huge difference on the fine lines I was concerned about I think it will take a lot more use and persistence to impact those crows feet but I will continue using it as the Nip and Fab website does claim big things from this little yellow tub of craziness and I'm hoping it delivers.  I'm intrigued to try some of Nip and Fab's other products so if anybody has any reviews or has tried any of their other products and has any thoughts on them please do let me know...

Adjusting to a Gluten Free life...

I'm writing this post as somebody who is still very new to this whole Gluten Free way of life.  I've pretty much exhausted every avenue of educating myself on how to adjust and how to make the changes without feeling like it's all a chore.  I'm hoping that this post will not only help others that are feeling a bit lost on the whole subject of Gluten but also help myself to break it all down and absorb everything.

So lets starts with what gluten actually is..Gluten is the name of the composite protein present in wheat, rye and barley and their various cross-breeds.

For those suffering with Coeliacs disease there is an autoimmune reaction to Gluten which leads to very physical symptoms such as Diarrhoea, Cramping abdominal pain, Weight loss, Fatigue and Joint pain. Having suffered with a fair few of those symptoms on and off for many years, I recently said enough is enough and began experimenting with different food types.  I began keeping food diaries and noting which foods resulted in the worst symptoms, I tried cutting out all dairy to see if this made a difference which it didn't.  So i knew I wasn't lactose intolerant.  I then decided to trial a few weeks without any gluten and almost instantly felt much better.  I had the occasional flair up but nothing as extreme as what I had been suffering with for years.  So I made an appointment with my GP who booked me some blood tests but for an autoimmune reaction to show in the blood tests it meant I had to bring back as much gluten into my diet as I could, the more the better she said but as I did I noticed I was constantly tired and fatigued, constantly in pain and just felt horrid.

Although the blood tests showed nothing significant I am still in the process of having lots of investigations and food allergy tests to rule out Coeliacs, but in the meantime I'm adopting a completely GF lifestyle (as much as I physically can!)

I do have the occasional relapse and eat something with gluten in just because it's easier and let's face it...tastes so much better!  But I always regret it and vow never to touch anything with gluten again.  I think my mind hasn't totally accepted this way of life because I haven't had a physical diagnosis of anything but until then I'm doing what feels right for my body.

Now this Gluten Free journey is all very new to me and I'm still not a hundred percent sure it's what I'm intolerant too or if it's other foods that are contributing to my symptoms but I'm going to keep you all posted on my new food journey.

I would love to hear all about other's Gluten Free journeys and how you found the adjustments so if there is anybody else out there going through a similar journey please do leave me a comment as I'd love to hear about it.

The importance of us time...

Having not typed a post in quite a while I fancied writing one today but I didn't want to do a review of a product or talk about anything in particular so this post is going to be a little chatty musing about our recent little holiday and the importance of just leaving the daily grind behind every now and then and experiencing something new...

Since getting married everything changed and I've considered writing a post about surviving marriage for newlyweds because I sure wish I'd read the handbook before I experienced the tears and tantrums myself but here we are a year on and things are looking up, life is getting easier and I may put together another post about surviving the first year of marriage for now this is just a ramble about the benefits of R and R.

Sometimes life stops being fun and just becomes a bit of a chore, everyday turns into the same monotonous repeated routine of waking up and going to work, coming home and having a meltdown from the stresses of work, then dragging yourself to bed only to wake yourself up again 6 hours later just to go back to work again.  Well for us, having not had a break since our honeymoon which was a year ago, this routine had just become too much!

Cue the beautiful views you see below courtesy of Tenerife.  A good dose of vitamin D and a few days free from the everyday worries of life is just what we needed and we've come back feeling fresh, and ready to tackle life again with a new perspective on what had become a dull and boring life.

I've recently come to realise I'm Gluten intolerant and where adjusting to the big changes in food at home where everything is familiar was hard enough, doing so on holiday was a bit of a nightmare.  i would recommend contacting your hotel resort first or even just doing a bit of good old googling on the location and their dietary facilities.  Luckily for me I work with somebody who lived in Tenerife for two years and so she had already educated me on the local supermarkets and said I would be able to find all I needed at a place called Mercadona, a supermarket owned by somebody who's children are all gluten intolerant which meant he stocked absolutely everything I could need or want.

Now that we are home we can't wait to book the next holiday!

Any recommendations?

A bit of a different one...My anxiety story and how I'm learning to cope

This post comes to you, coffee cup in hand, headphones in and anxiety through the roof!  Having spent the last three days in bed off work and covered in my own vomit (nice image that!) Inevitably my anxiety has progressively skyrocketed and my over-worked brain just simply couldn't handle it anymore hence this post... I think I should just add here as a side note that I have a viral infection which is why I have been off sick from work and why this is vomit in my hair, the anxiety is secondary to this, not the primary cause...

Now if you would like shortened down version check out my latest Instagram post which explains in a nutshell how I'm feeling and what pushed me to begin writing this today.  If however you're brave and want the long winded torturous version then wow are you in for a fun filled ride.  Sit back with a (strong) drink and brace yourself...

All jokes aside this is going to be quite a serious post, with some pretty personal background noise so if you do feel the need to comment please be pleasant.

Recently anxiety has become a much more spoken about subject with a lot more high profile faces coming out of the anxious closet and although this gave people, people like myself included to accept it more, I still didn't quite understand it but I didn't feel as much of a freak as I did when I first had a panic attack on a bus because the driver was having issues with the doors not closing properly, everytime he turned the engine on and off and those bus doors refused to close my heart began to beat faster and faster until I literally felt like I couldn't breath and ran from the bus only to end up on a lonely street with no other way of getting home.  Long story short I ended up calling my dad who, as a dad does, dropped everything and came to get me.  I panicked for about 20 minutes and then slept for about 3 hours after because I was exhausted.  So although I really do believe the increased coverage on anxiety has been a very positive thing I can't help but think it's been a bit glamourised, is it cool to have anxiety now?  Has the word been thrown about a bit too much and a bit too loosely to be taken seriously anymore?  I'm sure anybody who suffers with anxiety will know it's not nice. it's not glamorous and I frankly wish it would just sod off for good!

It's safe to say I led a good childhood, being blessed with an amazing and loving set of parents meant I never went without, they always have and continue to strive to ensure we come first and I will never be able to repay them for everything they have done for us but where things were not so happy were school, I never felt I fit in completely and flitted from one set of friends to the other, this continued to college and when it came to university I had more or less isolated myself from the world.  I moved away from home and went to live in London for Uni so I literally knew nobody there.  Without delving too deep into the past as some things are quite raw and personal, a serious of events occurred whilst in London that consequently led to not only anxiety and depression and taking a lot of time off but also being told I may have to quit my Uni course.  I never spoke to anybody about those events, they stayed very bottled up even to this day.

Fear not this story has a happy ending, I fought for my place on my course and refused to let what had happened get the better of me, even when I had given up and I called my mum to say I couldn't do it anymore she said I had nothing to lose and give it my last shot, I passed and it led to me walking up that stage twatted up in a cap and gown holding my scroll for dear life constantly thinking they may take it away from me at some point.  Wow I didn't realise how hard this would all be to write...

OK BREATH...

Ultimately whenever negative events occur in life, however small they may be whether it's an argument with a loved one or becoming a little bit poorly my anxiety flairs up progressively and the longer the negative occurance continues (for example being sick for 3 days and counting...) the worse my anxiety seems to get.  Having just started a new job being sick isn't ideal in anybody's books but sprinkle anxiety on top of it and you get me! Frantically thinking I'm going to get back into work and be fired because I caught a virus I had no control over!  My brain does not think rationally when things don't go to a plan and I begin to see the worst POSSIBLE outcome, however unlikely it may be, if it's a possibility, it's a reality to me!

So ultimately this post is to help me and anybody else who could quite possible have a nutty as brain as mine to think, hold on there! Have you heard yourself?!  Evidently these were actually my husband's words today after I said...'But what if I get fired?!'  Sometimes I know how stupid it sounds but my brain somehow makes it sound rational and all I really want is for somebody to say, listen you crazy bitch, the likelihood of that happening is almost the same as pork loin airlines doing chartered flights to europe but... maybe in a more diplomatic way.  So husband, if you're reading this, when I turn into crazy neurotic bitch resist the urge to slap me and just tell me everything's going to be fine.

Firstly, when anxiety and paranoia strikes DO SOMETHING, anything just get your mind off whatever it is that is frantically going round and round in your mind.  I have tried a lot of thing today, reading (Gone girl is my book of choice at the moment), watching youtube videos (I will never tire of watching Hannah Michalak and her beautiful little family), cooking (although recently I have become sick of cooking), cleaning (yes I most definitely am sick!).  Literally anything to get myself out of that rut that is feeling sick and consequently letting anxiety rule my life.

Sometimes however rather than giving your brain more to do it's better to try and give it less to do, so run a nice hot bath, this is one of my favourite things as with my anxiety I tend to be very tense which leads to headaches and then I just can't switch off.  I run a nice hot bath with something which is going to help me relax.  Aromatherapy Associates bath oils are amazing for relaxing the mind or if you're after something a bit more fun, Lush is the place to go.

Venture out of your safe little bubble, us anxious little beans have a very naughty little habit of creating a lovely cosy little hole for ourselves which has everything we need to survive, our constant caffeine supply, all of our social media and worst of all absolutely no signs of human life for miles around.  This is not beneficial behaviour and will lead to you eventually becoming a snivelling anxious mess, believe me, it's not pretty.  As much as it will physically hurt to peel back the covers and get yourself outdoors, DO IT! I have spent the last three days projectile vomiting and nauseous like a bitch but unless you're physically crawling on your hands and knees you have no excuses not to step outside.  Get some fresh air, take in the sights, soak up the vitamin D and I promise you, you will come home feeling just a little bit better, lighter, calmer and less anxious.

Talk to someone, now that doesn't necessarily mean a counselor or professional.  That never worked for me and I tried many things from just talking to someone to CBT.  It may work for you in which case USE IT, don't take it for granted and implement the techniques into your day to day like to ensure you get the most from it but if you're like me and it's less beneficial for you talk to your mum, or your dad, your best friend or your partner but someone you trust and who understands your circumstances.  For me I have certain people that I know I can go to in certain situations who will instantly calm me and ease my worries, they are my rocks and they know who they are, and I don't tell them often enough how much they keep me sane and how much I really love them.  They each play a unique and integral part in keeping me grounded and helping me constantly grow so that I can lead a more 'normal' life and well that's very very important to me so thanks guys! You're all amazing in your own rights.

I seem to have opened the floodgates and literally cannot stop rambling now so I will stop for now but what I've learnt just from piecing this post together is that the two days of tears, tantrums and copious amounts of coffee have helped me release some of the anxiety that had been accumulating for a while.  So maybe another tip should be to sit down with a notebook and pen or diary or laptop and just begin releasing as this has helped immensely and now I'm off to try and enjoy the rest of my day.  I hope this was helpful to atleast somebody out there and if it wasn't well, it helped me so it wasn't a total waste.

The Dreamy Foundation Post...

Excuse my horrible nails and feast your eyes on my new favourite foundation.  This is quite literally the dreamiest thing to have had the pleasure of gracing my face.  I picked this up on a whim because I really do NOT need another foundation in my collection but after noticing it on the shelves and swatching it on my hand I simply had to take it home.  The colour match was perfect (on my hand) and it was as if I was blending air onto my skin,  As it says on the bottle the Dream Flawless Nude foundation is very fluid-like.  It's safe to say the consistency is a strange cross between an oil and water and I'm sure when you try this you will kind of understand what I mean by that.

On application it sort of slips onto the skin as though a silicone based primer would or an oily base and I'm often left blending for dear life thinking is this even working but the end result is as close to perfection as you can possibly get with a medium coverage foundation which to me leans more towards the full end of the spectrum.  I'm fairly blessed in that I rarely breakout and my under eyes don't need a three step concealer programme to hide any lost sleep so this does a pretty darn good job of making my skin look...well flawless as the name would suggest.

When I picked this up it was on for the introductory price in Superdrug for £5.99 which was even more of an incentive to impulse buy, not that I really needed one.

I'm always up for trying new foundations so leave me comment with your favourite foundation picks and let me know if you've tried this one and what you thought of it?

Lush Valentines picks that have me in love...

Recently I Skipped into my local Lush store eagerly anticipating the new Valentine's collection and consequently spent a good half an hour smelling everything that didn't look remotely familiar and basked in the Lushy ambiance.

BTW I do realise this is yet another post about Lush but that is what I really wanted to talk about and with V-day just around the corner it seemed apt.  Unlike the Christmas collection which consisted of quite a few trips to town and stockpiling ButterBears and Yog Nog soap to an unhealthy extent, the Valentines collection didn't quite excite me as much but two products in particular had me in love instantly.  The Unicorn Horn bubble bar and the Floating Flower bath bomb.

The Unicorn Horn is probably the most talked about product this Valentines day and it deserves every bit of love.  Described as 'a magical bath filled with beautiful neroli and lavender essential oils, sparkling lustre, rainbows and dreams'  

Just a small section of the horn created an entire bath filled with lilacy lavendery goodness and I may have to stockpile these magical mythical creature before they become extinct.  The Floating flower is my favourite though as it smells just like the flying fox shower gel which at one point was all I used in the shower!  There is only one word to describe this product...Jasmine!  It's packed full of jasmine absolute which makes me very happy and you're left with beautiful shades of pastel pink and orange bath water.

If you love Lush but aren't too sure what to pick up from the Valentines collection these are two products you should definitely have a play with...

What's your favourite of the bunch..?

 

My Mac Giveaway Winner...

Hello there!

I have finally gotten around to picking a winner for my MAC lipstick giveaway! Woop Woop

The winner was chosen at random using Random.org and the winner is...

Summer of 69

Congratulations Hun!!

I have emailed you to let you know that you have won and to get your address so that I can get the prize sent out to you!

Thank you to everybody who entered and for all your kind words, love and support!

I've actually really enjoyed hosting this giveaway and can't wait for the next one!!

Using up my Lush Stash...

So Tonight's post comes to you directly from the bath! I picked up some of the new Valentines editions from Lush and thought it was about time I started using up some of the Christmas products I'd been hoarding! 

Amongst a lot of Yog Nog soap bars and a few of my beloved Butterbears I found this crumbling mess of a Santa and thought why not treat him to a nice hot bath, he really looked like he could use one!

It's never been a secret that I absolutely adore Lush products, I've always found their products so innovative and some simply beautiful.  I still remember the first time I stepped into a Lush store and just simply got lost for what seemed like hours just playing and smelling all the different products deciding on what to put in my basket.  It was love at first sight and it's been a match made in heaven ever since...

Stay tuned for many more Lush related posts and tell me in the comments below what your favourite Lush products are...

Daily Beauty Log... The I'm over ready for food shopping face

Introducing my version of the FOTD post.  I'm going to be call them my Daily Beauty Logs but it is essentially just what I've chosen to slap on my face that day.  The other day I sat down, had a good 'ol rummage through my makeup stash and picked some bits for a natural, dewy no fuss makeup look and picked the above.  Liking the results slightly more than my dull grey I just woke up look I thought I'd log the look for when I'm lacking cosmetic inspiration.

Rimmel Wake me up concealer - I don't have a method or fancy concealer routine, I pretty much just swipe this all over my face in a child-like scribble and then blend blend blend!  I then go in with my Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser as a sort of highlighting concealer under the eyes and down the centre of my face.  Since discovering this in the bottom of an old makeup bag and falling back in love with it, it's not left my face and I don't think it ever will.  My new found love in the face powder department still remains to be the MUA Pro Base Powder.  I have an entire post raving about this powder so I won't ramble on about it again but I use a smaller face brush and dust this under the eyes and across the centre of my face to set the concealer in place.  My overall base of choice lately has been the Loreal Skin Perfection as it gives an even skinned finish and moisture but no heavy coverage which is what my skin is enjoying as of late.  For eye shadow I usually use a creamy base before adding any shadow to give it something to adhere to and recently the Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow stick  in the shade Bluffing...

Over the Bluffing base I then like to use my Two Faced Natural Eyes  Palette.  I love to sweep a bit of the shade Push up all over with Silk Teddy in the inner corner and Erotica in the outer V and under the lower lash line for a light smokey eye.  This palette has seen me through quite a few years and I don't see myself loving any other palette more than I do this one!  Thank you Two Faced, thank you!

Cue an awkward selfie to try and demonstrate this beauty log photographically.  I'm hoping I will grow accustomed to taking pictures of myself and posting them on the interwebs.  Until that day here is another awkward full facial shot of my mug!

I hope you liked this sort of post as if you've been a follower for a while you'll know I don't usually do FOTD type posts but I quite enjoyed it..

New Year tips...Ditch the sugar!!

Unless you're mixing your sugar with some olive oil and scrubbing it on your body then you shouldn't be going anywhere near refined sugar if you're thinking of looking after your body in 2015.

Now I have a major sweet tooth so this isn't as easy as it sounds, I should know!  But once you've quit sugar you'll never want to go back.

First let me tell you why you should quit sugar:

• Added sugar is just empty calories, There are absolutely NO nutritional benefits to added sugar but a LOT of added calories, which will do nothing for your New Years resolutions and you will probably continue to put on weight.
• Sugar that cannot be metabolized effectively is stored and turned into FAT! Also while the liver is desperately trying to metabolize all the sugar you've just consumed in that can of coke, it's not metabolizing your breakfast, or your lunch, or anything else.  Sugar SLOWS down the Metabolism, slowing down the rate at which you breakdown the food you eat and the rate at which you will lose weight.
• Excessive sugar consumption can cause the body to become resistant to the insulin hormone and we know where that will eventually lead...DIABETES!
• Sugar has been highly linked to Obesity levels, High Cholesterol, Heart Disease and even Cancer.

Now these are just some of the harmful effects of excessive refined sugar consumption, I could probably go on and on about why sugar is bad for you.

Try substituting refined sugar for sweeter alternatives, Honey, Sweeteners, Agave Nectar.  Substitute full fat/full sugary drinks such as Coke with their 'zero' or diet alternatives and look for the sugar free options with squashes and fruit juices.

Add berries and fruit for a naturally sweet hit to breakfasts and cereals or smoothies and for a treacly hit chop up some dates or sultanas.

Does anybody have any other tips for quitting sugar?  Please leave me a comment and let me know... xxx

The Kylie Jenner craze...How to get the look

If you haven't heard or seen some sort of Kylie Jenner related post or tutorial then you've probably been living under a rock!  Kendall and Kylie formerly only known for being the younger half siblings of Kim Kardashian have really begun to grow into their own and Kylie's look has probably been one of the most re-created looks of 2014. 

Kylie's look is defined by the big fluttery lashes and of course the full nude lips.  After doing some research into the actual products Kylie uses to create her look and watching a lot of KJ inspired tutorials I think I've managed to suss out her look and how she creates it.

• Find a high coverage foundation.  Something without any SPF as it's most likely Kylie wears a foundation that's not going to leave a white cast or flash back when being photographed.

• Define the brows, She has a definitive arch and quite a full thick brow, again you're looking for something that's going to last a long time and photograph well so I'd recommend an eyebrow pencil rather than a liquid pen.

• Add a light wash over the lids with a matte rather than a shimmery skin toned shadow and define the crease and lower lash line with a mid toned brown.  This is just a general eye shadow look for KJ however as she has many different looks but this is her more 'go to' look.

• Sometimes she has a bit of a cat flick going on, so any cream or gel liner should do the trick for this with a khol pencil in the waterline.  The real key with Kylie's eyes is lashes! Full fluttery lashes, the Ardell whispies would be perfect for this look.

• The lips being the key to Kylie's entire look I have desperately tried to find the exact products she uses.  I know she uses the MAC lip pencil in Soar which judging by it's recent sell-out in most stores, I think has become public knowledge too.  However according to Kim she only uses MAC's Soar and Spice pencils to achieve her full nude lips and just fills the entire lip with the pencils, no lipstick or gloss required.  To achieve the full lip look without the use of surgery use your chosen pencil to slightly over draw the natural outline of your lips, line straight over the cupids bow without accentuating it to give a fuller upper lip and use a slightly deeper coloured pencil on the outer edge of the lip and slightly lighter colour to fill to fake a full lip.

Has anybody else become as obsessed with KJ's looks as I have?! If anybody has any dupes for the products she uses please link them below as I'd love to feed my Kylie Jenner obsession!

Giveaway time...MAC lipstick of your choice! CLOSED!

Recently I posted on twitter that if I reached a certain milestone on Bloglovin I would do a giveaway.  Now by no means was this a massive milestone but it was huge to me!   And the closer I got to this milestone I began thinking of what I could actually give away!

So I decided on giving away a MAC lipstick and thought why not let the winner decide exactly which shade they would like to receive.  So if this little giveaway interests you at all then please enter by following the simple rules...

• You must be follower of my blog, either by GFC or on Bloglovin as this giveaway is to show my appreciation to each and every one of my followers old and new.

• Leave a comment on this post letting me know which MAC lipstick you would like to receive should you win and also leave me an email address to contact you on should you win the competition.  The winner will be picked at random and receive an email from es-jaymakeup@hotmail.co.uk.

• Once you have entered, tweet a link to this post saying..'I've just entered Es-jay Makeup's MAC giveaway'  or something along those lines...

• This giveaway is open internationally and your choice of lipstick should be from the MAC permanent line as I may not be able to get it for you otherwise...

It's as simple as that! From the day this post goes out the giveaway will be open for two weeks and I will then post with the details of the giveaway winner and contact then via email.  If you are entering and under 16 please get a parent or guardian's permission as you will need to disclose your address in order for me to send out your prize.

I think that is everything so Good Luck and I just want to thank you all once again for all your love and support.

Happy New Year...Resolutions!

As 2014 has well and truly said it's farewells I thought I would wish all those reading this post a wonderful year to come.  Without sounding too sentimentally soppy I woke looking back on the past 365 days and realised I've experienced some of my most happiest moments in 2014.  Starting the year in Egypt with my amazing parents before coming home to get engaged to my lovely husband before planning my entire wedding and eventually getting married all in the same year.

I felt blessed beyond belief seeing in the new year with both my own family and my new extended family and I couldn't help thinking about what the future could possibly hold but here's what I hope to achieve for myself in 2015...

• I hope to do more of what makes me happy, I realise that sometimes I can become so caught up in trying to make everybody happy that I forget to take a step back and breathe so although seeing those I love around me happy ultimately makes me very happy it does consume a lot of my energy.

• I am going to add in a total cliche here and say I'm going to aim to go to the gym atleast 3 times a week. Not only to lose weight but to get fit again, Since getting married I've become a bit of a slob and I refuse to do it any longer!

• As a side note to the above statement I aim to do more activities.  I realise that going to the gym can be a bit monotonous and grim so I aim to try and mix it up as and where I can with swimming, climbing, long walks and generally just learning to enjoy life!

• I've come to realise I have a real interest in photography and videography in the previous months and I hope that 2015 will be the year I get to seriously have a play with making videos and building a portfolio I can be proud of.
• I think this year will also mark the beginning of many travels to far away lands and both I and my husband are building up quite the list of places we want to visit before we settle down with a family so here's to hopefully travelling new lands and meeting new people.

• And finally the most cliched but obvious one of all is just to spend more time with those that I love and that make me happy, I hope to spend more time with my parents as I miss them so much more since getting married and moving away.  I hope to spend more time with my gorgeous niece and extended nephew and enjoy watching them grow into amazing little people and I hope to see much more of my wonderful, loyal, childhood friend ( If you're reading this...YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!) I just want to say I love you and I miss you and I hope to spend lots more fun times with you in 2015!  And last but not least I hope to make many more wonderful memories together with my husband who I grow to love more and more each day...

And that concludes but cheesy sop-fest guys, it's only taken me the best part of 5 hours, a share size bag of Doritos and lots of Hannah Maggs videos in between to finish this post but for some reason I'm really feeling the whole 'New Year Cheese' this year and would love to hear all your Hopes and dreams for the following 365 days...

Comment down below and let me know what you hope 2015 will hold for you...?

Our Winter Wonderland...

This post is a little bit of a different one but I was scrolling through our pictures from a recent trip to Winter Wonderland and figured with it being so close to Christmas I'd put together a festive little post.

Being a couple that had never been to Winter Wonderland before we figured we'd make our first winter as a married couple the one to brave the cold and venture through Hyde Park...  

We masqueraded and then got told off for doing so...

We then realised that we were very very silly and forgot to bring cash, which way is the cash machine...?

We snapped Santa and his Sleigh in the Ferris Wheel...

I took some blurry pictures in the crowds...

We walked and walked and got a bit lost...

We found the Haunted House and...

...We picked up some very over-priced tickets for the haunted house and came out a little disappointed but all in all it was a very picturesque and romantic evening and I really enjoyed it.  we then walked through Sloane Sq and nuzzled our hot cups of coffee home.

The lip lovers perfect little gift...

Coming from a family that doesn't give Christmas presents but rather just all get together to eat our body weight in sweets and poultry I couldn't do a full fledged Christmas gift guide but on a rare shopping day in London I decided to seek out this adorable little gift set with my John Lewis vouchers in hand.  I'd watched Vivianna's gift guide and instantly fell in love with it and coming in at around the £17 mark it's great value for money. 

I'm probably one of the only girls on the planet that still hasn't tried the infamous Instant light natural lip perfectors and this gift set having two mini's in the shades 01 and 06 meant it was a no brainer! The set also comes with a mini Rouge Eclat satin lipstick in #13 and a Gloss Prodige in #04.  All wearable neautral shades and the Clarins attendant was lovely and picked out all the shades from their testers so that I could actually see what came in the box and let me have a quick swatch but I had walked into John Lewis knowing I wanted this and with some John Lewis vouchers from my wedding burning a hole in my purse I took it without a second thought.

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not you have to agree this is the season for gift sets and a bargain so If you're looking for the perfect little gift for a loved one or just a little treat for yourself like me I'd recommend checking out your local Clarins counter!