December Birchbox Review

My New Job!

Annoyingly I won't be able to have a fab blog post for you all this week because I've been so busy, but I have a reason why - my new job! As you can tell from the logo above, I am now a Beauty Consultant for Benefit Cosmetics!!

Anyone who knows me knows that I have been trying to get a job in the makeup field for over a year and have been rejected so so so many times. However I finally had some luck when applying for a Christmas temp job and being granted with a phone interview. From there it was a long process, with another interview at a benefit counter far away from me, a stage on the shop floor for a few hours and then another interview at the actual store I would be working in. I won't be revealing the store I actually work in though because of crazy people out in the world...

My Favourite Winter Lipsticks

I have a simple post for you all today - my favourite Winter lipsticks! I'm definitely a bold lip kinda girl and during Winter you can get away with so many dark shades. I've included a mix of drugstore and high-end so hopefully there's something for all of you, from a Winter nude to a Winter bold lip. Instead of boring you with loads of text, I'll just insert the swatches and pics with the name of the lipstick!

Second Issue of Glamtrotting Magazine!

Hey everyone, I have great news! As some of you may know, I am a regular contributor to Glamtrotting Magazine, an awesome online magazine that supplies beauty articles for women all around the world. The issues are bi-monthly so the issue for November/December has just been released!

I am so excited because loads of new contributors have been added to the Glamtrotting team and there are so many experienced and knowledgeable women writing great articles for you all.

NEW HAIR: Brown Balayage Ombre

Kylie Jenner Makeup Look

The Kylie Jenner makeup trend is taking over everything at the moment and has even brought back the 90's style of makeup - dark brown/pink lips. I took my own twist on Kylie's classic makeup look, adjusting the eye liner to my eye shape and trying my best to create that 'Kylie' lip colour.

BASE

Foundation: L'Oreal True Match Foundation in 'W3Golden Beige'

Concealer: LA Girl Pro Concealer in 'Creamy Beige'

Powder: Ben Nye 'Banana' Powder under the eyes and Rimmel Stay Matte 'Transparent' Powder all over the face

Contour: Benefit Hoola Bronzer

Blush: MAC 'Desert Rose' Powder Blush

Highlighter: The Balm Mary Lou Manizer

BROWS

Defined the shape with Anastasia Beverly Hills 'Brunette' Brow Wiz

Filled in with Bobbi Brown 'Cement' Eyeshadow

Set with MAC 'Beguille' Brow Set

Highlighted underneath with Benefit High Brow Pencil

 EYES

Base: Mica Beauty Eye Primer

Eyeshadow: Stila 'In The Know Palette'

'Wind' all over the lid

'Desert' and 'Fire' buffed into the crease and under the lower lash line

Liner: Maybelline Gel Eyeliner in Black and Rimmel Glam Eyes Liquid Eyeliner on top

Mascara: Maybelline Great Lash Mascara

LIPS

Lined around and all over the lips with MAC 'Soar' Lip Pencil

Filled in with Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick in 'Nude-ist'

November Birchbox Review

REVIEW & SWATCHES: MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquers

During a recent shop in Superdrug, I came across the MUA section. If I'm completely honest, I have never taken an interest in MUA products before but they had a couple interesting things on show, in particular these lip lacquers!

Seeing the world 'velvet' and the fact that they were a liquid lipstick instantly reminded me of the Limecrime Velvetines, a type of product that loads of companies are producing at the moment. The lip lacquers were in a fancy packaging which caught my eye, with a sleek black and gold colour scheme and a variety of amazing shades. From nudes to reds to bright purples, there's a shade for everyone and I'm tempted to buy them all...

Left to Right: 'Atomic' and 'Halcyon'

Exclusive Meet and Greet with Zoella

I happened to be one of the few lucky people to be selected to personally meet Zoella! In case you don't know who she is, she is basically the biggest and most successful British vlogger and blogger to date, as well as one of the biggest in the entire world. I entered the competition online from one of Zoe's twitter posts and a month later, I received the email saying that I won!

Liquid Glitter Phone Case

I recently bought this liquid iPhone case from the brand Skinny Dip, since it was exclusive to Selfridges! I have been obsessed with Skinny Dip and their range of phone cases for ages and have been waiting for the best moment to buy one. There was a baby pink faux fur case that I was desperate to buy but it sadly went out of stock. So now that Selfridges and Topshop stock Skinny Dip, it is easily accessible to us all.

October Birchbox Review

From my monthly recurring subscription to Birchbox, this month I received the October edition. I made sure that I didn't look at the #birchboxuk on instagram, so that what I received was a surprise!

Due to the month being October, the box had a pink theme supporting Breast Cancer Awareness and an awesome message sporting a 'Work It!' attitude. This meant that all the products in the box were ways to allow women to get through the day and fight any beauty problems they might come across!

My Trip to WAH Nails

For my birthday, my mum booked me an appointment at the WAH Nails salon in Topshop Oxford Street which I have been wanting to visit for AGES! If you haven't heard of them before then check out their instagram page, since they're one of the best nail salons that specialise in nail art, in London. If anyone knows of any other nail art salons, then please let me know in the comments!

September Birchbox Review

Birchbox is a monthly subscription service that costs £10 per month (plus £2.95 P&P) from which you receive a variety of full sized and sample sized beauty and hair products, as well as sometimes food?! At the moment there are a TON of beauty subscription companies ranging from all sorts of prices, so for AGES I have been checking out the #birchboxuk on instagram to see what people receive in their monthly subscription boxes. Between other brands, I decided that Birchbox seemed like the best since it tends to give high-end products and hard-to-find products. SO I finally caved in and signed up for the monthly recurring subscription, which is awesome because you can cancel whenever you want!

Update: Lack of posts!

Hi everyone!
I am so so sorry for the lack of posts in the past few weeks, I normally love to blog at least once a week but ever since school started, I've been SO busy.

Firstly, I was juggling two jobs during the beginning school- trying to leave one and start one at the same time! So that took up the majority of my days in the week and school work had to be my priority whilst I had free time. Thankfully I now have one part time job which only takes up two of my days in the week, giving me much more time to get my blogging together.

Also, the past month was the time for me to start my University application and meet my school's deadline for completion. That meant whenever I had completed my school work, I had no choice but to work on my personal statement and research Uni's. That has all now been done and dusted, but if anyone has any questions about the Uni process and is in the same boat as me, then feel free to comment below!

Update On My Bio Sculpture Gels

As promised, I have an update on my Bio Sculpture Gels that I had done just before my holiday to Turkey.

I had them painted around late July and now had to remove them early September (4-5 weeks) for school. I most probably could have left them on for a few weeks longer, since they had held up really well.

I had a tiny bit of peeling and chipping on my thumb nail and pinky, but apparently that was because I went in the sea a lot and that caused the polish to erode? I'm not entirely sure but I still managed to keep the polish on all summer!

Below are some before pictures of the gels when they were freshly done!

REVIEW & SWATCHES: NYX Butter Glosses

Wearing 'Peaches & Cream'

The NYX Butter Glosses are revolutionary in the makeup industry for their affordable price, amazing pigmentation and smooth formula.

I myself have two shades- Vanilla Cream Pie and Peaches & Cream.

School Shoes Ideas

Whether you're going to primary school, secondary school or sixth form, I'm sure this post will help you out since I have two choices of school shoes suitable for anyone!

As I'm in sixth form, I purchased both a pair of flats and a pair of heels depending on the weather. All my school life, I have worn flats but I thought that this year I'd spice things up with a pair of heels for some days.

FLATS

Drugstore Back To School Makeup

(Sorry for the lack of posts recently, I was away in France!!)

I came up with a step-by-step makeup look for anyone going back to school, college or university and wants something REALLY quick and simple, whilst keeping it all drugstore! Please remember that this look is suited to my preference and what I prefer to wear to school, but of course you can apply less or more than I have, whatever you like.

P.S. I was using natural light for these pictures and the sun washed out a lot of the colour

ONE

After you've applied your moisturiser, go ahead and even out your base with a liquid or powder foundation. If you have flawless skin then honest to god, don't bother with this step, it'll save time!

I went with the L'Oreal True Match Foundation in W3 Golden Beige but only a small amount, and then buffed really well with a RT Buffing Brush- remember to blend it down your neck! Most of the time, I go for my Bare Minerals Original Foundation so have a look in your local drugstore for a cheap alternative if you prefer light-weight powders!

REVIEW & SWATCHES: Soap & Glory Smoulder Kohl Eyeliners

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

SUPERBLACK, COCOA BEAN, GRAPEVINE, AQUABAT, BLUE MY MIND

 I recently received the Soap & Glory Crazy Sexy Kohl set as a gift, which includes these five waterproof eye liners and three eye shadows. The only link I can find for it is from Amazon! However, I thought I'd still review and swatch the eyeliners since you can purchase them individually.

My Go-To Summer Makeup Look

This is the makeup that I've been doing all summer when I have to go out but its nowhere special and I haven't got the energy to do perfect makeup. Anyone can achieve it with these 3 key products and no specific technique!

SKIN

- Olay Sensitive Day Fluid

- Anatomicals Eye Cream We All Scream

- Body Shop Concealer in 05 blended with ring finger under the eyes

- Bare Minerals Original Foundation in Medium Beige with RT Buffing Brush

- Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Transparent with Bare Minerals Full Flawless Face Brush

- Benefit Hoola Bronzer with Elf Bronzing Brush

Holiday Braids

Whilst I was on holiday, I had four French braids plaited on the side of my head to mimic the shaved-side look showcased by loads of celebs e.g. Rihanna.

I wasn't dedicated to having my whole head braided so this was perfect; only took 20 minutes and isn't too drastic!

Surprisingly it hardly hurt whilst having it done and doesn't hurt at all now, so I think I'll be keeping them in for a few more weeks.

This can easily be achieved at home if you have a friend with you, just section the hair into four parts and do really tight French braids. Also, spray the hair wet first to make it easier!

Holiday Lookbook

Here are pictures of my outfit and makeup for every evening during my holiday in Antalya, Turkey.

SIDE NOTE: Many of the clothing items are from old seasons so I cannot link them all, sorry!

DAY ONE

Playsuit: Primark (current season)

Shoes: River Island

Necklace: Primark (current season)

Lips: Milani Nude Crème Lipstick

DAY TWO

Dress: H&M

My Holiday to Turkey

I recently came back from a 7 night stay in Antalya, Turkey which was my second time there and was amazing!

The majority of Antalya hotels have similar entertainment but it is unlike any other city that I've been too. The staff provide 24/7 entertainment for both adults and children and you'll never get bored at any resort that you stay at - we only left the resort once to check out the shops.

Turkey is also known for providing amazing fake bags of good quality, not that I bought any myself, but if you're interested in any then defo go to Turkey!

For our second time, we decided to stay at the Limak Lara De Luxe Hotel and it was beautiful. With a number of pools, tons of food variety and great entertainment from morning till night, it was worth the money. So if anyone is thinking of a place to go for a relaxing family holiday but still want to have loads of fun whilst staying all-inclusive, then visit Antalya!