Liebster Award #2

So this is take two of the Leibster award on my blog! I have already done this tag before, which you can see here, but I thought as I had been tagged a few times since I would give it another go, I hope that's ok :) 

This isn't the only time I have been re-tagged so I apologise to the others for not responding to yours, I just felt that, at the time, it was either too close the the previous one I had posted meaning it would have been repetitive content for my readers (which I like to try and keep quite different) or that I had other posts planned and couldn't fit it in any time soon enough that would be fair to the blogger who had tagged me. So if you read this and I didn't respond to yours I am ever so sorry.

If you have read my previous one then you will know how this goes but in case you haven't seen one of these before I'll recap the rules as they have altered a bit since I last did this tag. 

1. Post eleven facts about yourself.

2. Answer the eleven questions provided by the person who nominated you and then create an eleven-question set for the next group of nominees.

3. Choose eleven people to nominate and link them in the post.

4. Let your nominees know they've been tagged- and no tag-backs!

5. Nominate blogs under 200 followers

So 11 facts about me go as follows:

• I currently have quite a few pets; 1 dog, 3 gerbils, 1 hamster and 2 horses!
• I have laid out in the sun all day today (that I'm writing this) and I don't think i have changed colour at all!
• I really want to pass my driving theory test that is coming up.
• I really want to get more piercings on my ear but I'm too scared (not sure why).
• I am currently addicted to fresh or home-made lemonades, sooo good! (keep an eye out in future posts for more about this)
• This summer I am determined to get a tan!
• I am going abroad on holiday for the first time in about years at the end of August, yipee!
• I haven't even thought about starting to draft posts for when I'm away, oops.
• I a natural blonde who is desperate to dye her hair brunette, but yet again, too scared.
• I think the only new years resolutions I have kept is becoming more organised.
• I can't wait to get a tattoo. I have dedicated a lot of time and a massive pinterest board into planning for this!

Next up is the questions I have been given to answer:

1. Where have you traveled to?

I have actually been very lucky and have travelled to quite a few places! I would say the major ones are Florida, Mallorca, France and Italy. All such lovely places and definitely ones I would re-visit in a heartbeat.

2. What is your dream job if it wasn't about money or skills?

Being a writer, either with books or a blog. I just love the thought of being able to reach so many people and having them read the work that you make out of joy and passion.

3. Pick one item out of your closet and describe the best way you can to make your readers want to buy it

Royal Blue Silk Shirt- It can dress and outfit up instantly, adding a side of luxe to the ensemble. However it can also be dressed down with a pair of converse and some denim to give an edgier vibe. It is so versatile and the colour is so flattering on any hair colour or skin tone. It is so comfy and effortless to wear, it looks good yet you don't have to sacrifice any comfort for that like some items.

4. If you could only eat one cereal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I'm not much of a cereal eater so it wouldn't be a tragedy if I couldn't eat cereal any more, however I do have a soft spot for a good bowl of Crunchy Nut so I'll go with that.

5. Who are your fashion and/or beauty icons?

Ohh, I have quite a few! I did make a post about a few of my Style Icons about this time last year here , and I wouldn't say they've changed much since, however for Beauty I would say I always love Zoella's makeup and Kendall Jenner is also an envy of mine.

6. If you could master any talent, what would you master and why?

Singing, 1. because I sing allll of the time and it would probably be a lot more pleasant for those around me if I was actually any good at it and 2. because it's just one thing I have always wanted to be able to be good at. I will be eternally jealous of al you naturally talented singers!

7. When is your favourite time of the day?

About 10am, because if I have a lie in I tend to wake up around then if I'm lucky and I always feel well rested. And also it's not dawn but it's still the morning and you still have the day ahead of you.

8. What is your one beauty staple?

Mascara. No question about it. 

9. If you could test out any kind of hairstyle without the consequences (waiting for it to grow, dying it darker...) what would you do?

Well as I said above I have always wanted to dye my hair brown so, that. And I would also like to see if I could pull of the currently trendy 'lob', but I'm too scared to cut all my hair off!

10. Recommend an artist/band to all of your readers!

Tom James! 

11. Do you think that you will continue to blog forever?
I really hope that I keep it up as it will be something that I can look back on or years to come and also it has been something for me to put my energy and passion into, which I really enjoy. Do I think I will? I'll never be sure. Do I hope I will? Most definitely!

Now onto those who are tagged!
-Straight On Til Morning
-The London Turtle
-Meghan Silva
-300 Days Of England
-It's Me Mel
-Jenny You
-The Beauty Cave

And the questions to answer are...

1. What's your favourite thing about blogging?
2. What's the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?
3. Name one thing that is at the top of your bucketlist/something you want to do over anything else.
4. What's your favourite season and why?
5. Name a current obsession.
6. Morning or night?
7. Top played song at the moment?
8. Favourite hobby?
9. If you could get away with doing absolutely anything for a whole day, with no consequences at all, what would you do?
10. What is the first thing you think of when you see the colour blue?
11. Favourite film/tv series of all time?

I'm looking forward to your responses, I hope you got to know a little more about me through this.

I'll be back next week for my current Summer Obsessions!

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Plain and Simple

I have been adoring plain silver or gold earrings for a long while now. I think the simplicity is so pretty and the style can be built up or broken down to create different variations, which I love.

So I thought I would share some of the looks that I have been loving and aiming for (slowly I must say) as I love to make mood boards and little collages for inspiration. Pinterest is my best friend for this sort of thing, so if you like this idea, head on over and get pinning!

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I think you get the idea, so I'll stop before I overload this post with images! All I really wanted to say was that I love these simple piercings and am determined to get a few more myself (I only have three at the moment) as I think they look so pretty. I will link some Etsy stores below that I have found, that make really lovely and delicate silver and gold jewellery. I have recently purchased some so may do a post on they when they arrive :)

I hope you enjoyed this post and it has given you some inspiration if this is the sort of style you like too!

Mt. Carmel Jewelry

Silverholic

BelovedBijoux 

Kevin N Jewel

J4JewelleryStudio

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Manuka Bee Venom Trio

So I have had these photos stashed away for far too long! I didn't even realise how much time had passed since I tried these out, I mentioned them back in my February Favourites post so I thought I'd best review them before I forgot about them again!

To start off, I got this trio for free.. yes you read that right, FREE! Who doesn't love that? Well that's a bit of a lie, I did have to pay for postage but it was only about £2.50, so it's all good. 

Anyway onto the actual products, in the little set I received a serum, night cream and face mask, which cover all bases really. I was most excited to try out the serum as I had been searching for something to help hydrate my face as well as putting a layer between my makeup and my skin to combat my dry patches. I was really pleased with this as it really did help and left my skin feeling soft and nourished. 

Next up the night cream; this is quite thick in texture and feels very rich on the skin, which is great for 'restoring' your skin over night as it claims, even though it has a heavier texture this doesn't translate onto your face and sinks in really quickly. 

Lastly for the face mask, this is a bit different from others as it doesn't quite dry as most do, and it is more of a cream than a mask I would say but once rinsed off it does leave your skin feeling plump and nourished. I would say this is more of a soothing and hydrating mask rather than one that combats blemishes or skin issues, but it definitely does leave your skin feeling 'rejuvenated'. 

As for the active ingredient, Bee Venom, I have seen this and Manuka Honey becoming a big thing in skincare recently and I can definitely vouch for it! I noticed quite a difference in my skin when using these products, my dry patches were noticeably reduced and so was my redness. It supposedly boosts natural cell regeneration and encourages collagen formation, keeping your skin elasticity and avoiding/reducing wrinkles (depending on what stage of life your at of course). I was curious and doubtful about this at first as it seems a bit of an odd ingredient but after trying it out, I would definitely back it up!

I would definitely recommend these products and you can find out more about Doctor Manuka and the rest of their range here. They have several ranges of products aimed at different skin types so they cater for everyone! I am looking into buying the full size of the serum as I loved using it.

Let me know what you think of this new hype about manuka honey and bee venom in skin care down below in the comments.

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Eyeko Skinny Liner ~ Navy

I was so excited to see this as a freebie in July's Glamour magazine as I have seen so many good reviews of the brand. Previously I had debated buying this at the full price of £12, but I put it off again and again as another eyeliner that I didn't need to add to my collection; which now, I am glad to have done! 

 

Firstly I'll start with the good points:

-I absolutely love the colour of this! It's a lovely muted navy with a hint of teal in it, that really brings out my blue eyes. 

-The nib on the applicator is firm but not uncomfortable on the skin, with a precise point, that helps with drawing a precise line.

-The packaging is very sleek and attractive to look at, and I like how the end is blue so that you could tell it apart from other eye liners and see what colour it is.

However it also has some bad points:

I picked up the navy shade as I was really interested in switching up the colours I'm using on my eye makeup and also I had just read Essie Button's post on her navy eyeliner revelation. However this may have been my downfall as, from other reviews I've read, it seems that this shade seems to be the dud of the two available. As you can see from the images above the colour has smudged from the lash line to above the eye, and also (less visible, in the pictures however very noticeable in reality) had spread over my lid making my whole eye look tinged with blue. I was very disappointed to find this from such a well known and loved brand, and as a first impression it really didn't serve well for me. I gave this several attempts before confirming my decision about it and I even used a primer underneath to see if this made any difference, which to my disappointment, it did not. 

Also, even though I praised the applicator, I found that the formula of the product really let this area down. It dried really quickly, which you'd think would be a good thing, but it actually dried so fast that I was unable to build up an opaque and smooth line before it dried, resulting in odd layers of pigmentation that were patchy, uneven and slightly flaky(?); these also creased, which is what I believe caused to colour to smudge. 

I also think that even though the applicator allows you to get a precise line, it can come out a bit to thin for my liking; meaning that my previous issue was even more prominent as the lines would be uneven and different colours.

However what miffed me the most about the product however is how it blatantly claims on the box for it to be "smudge-proof" and "fool-proof", granted the applicator was designed well for easy use, but I struggled to get a smooth line out of this product and I would definitely NOT say that it was fool-proof. And obviously, this product isn't smudge proof, as proven through the images above.

I really wanted to love this product but the formula was just disappointing for such a well known brand. I don't know if this batch was an odd one as I have heard these complaints before, so I'm not going to judge the whole brand on this one product, but I won't go running to pick this particular one of the shelves for £12!

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#2014BloggerChallenge Topic Thirteen ~ Summer Bucketlist

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So this summer I have quite a lot planned and I know I'll be working a lot as I Need to be saving up money for a car and such expensive things. However there are a few things that I would love to do with my time this summer.

1. Have more bbq's with friends
2. Make time to post more on BIW
3. Pass my driving theory and practical test
4. Enjoy the festivals I am going to and not feel bad about taking time off work
5. Stop taking the beach for granted and go there more often
6. Get over my silly fear of the sea (linked to no.5)
7. Have more no makeup days, so that my skin can have a break
8. Take more pictures, especially with my Fuji film instant camera
9. Get better with saving money, and only spending on necessities (this one's a stretch but you can always try right?)
10. Get up earlier so that I don't waste half of the day

So there's a quick 10 bucketlist points, that I will try my hardest to make happen, some (like no.3) are dependant on money and bookings of course, but I will keep coming back to remind myself to stick to these!

I hope this has given you some inspiration of what you can aim for this summer, and you liked finding out what I'm going to be attempting this summer.

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Summer Series: Highlighters

Personally I am new to highlighters, I was never brave enough to try them out before, but I definitely think they are more of a summer product rather than winter. So I thought I would show you the highlighters that I have in my collection and why I like each of them.

L-R: Colour Works Bronzer brick all, Colour Works Bronzer brick top strip, MUA Undress Your Skin Shimmer highlighter, E.L.F Baked Blush-Pinktastic

So I'll go with the swatches from left to right: To start with is one that I've had for a very long time but kind of ignored, that is the Colour Works Bronzer Brick, I think this is a very good dupe for Bobbi Brown Bronze Shimmer brick, but not owning the Bobbi Brown version I can't compare them properly. I don't know if it's possible to by this anymore and I'm pretty sure it came in a set so sorry about that but if you can get your hands on it I would definitely recommend it. It's highly pigmented and last a long time on the skin, The first swatch is of the whole palette, mixing the colours together to make a shimmering bronzer and the second swatch is just the top colour, which is so so pigmented, however is very white as you can see therefore unsuitable for the cheeks, yet it looks amazing on the inner corner of the eye.

Next up is MUA's offering, I am so excited to write about this one as I have been trying to get my hands on it for a long time now but it's always been sold out! But I finally managed to get it in my local Superdrug and for £3 I am so impressed, as you can see from the swatch it's got more of a blue-y/purple undertone which looks really pretty when on the skin, however is definitely more obvious than the one to the right. Its very pigmented and also lasts a good 4ish hours on my skin before wearing off.

And finally is E.L.F's Baked blush in Pinktastic, I know this is technically a blush but it really is to shimmery and light to be classed a a blush really. It gives a gorgeous champagne-y pin glow that is so natural looking and really catches the light so nicely! It is too very pigmented and lasts well throughout the day. At only £3.95, this is a bargain and definitely won't break the bank, a perfect starter highlight for those not so certain, like I was.

I hope this was helpful for you and that concludes the mini Summer Series! 
Don't forget to pop over the Devise here to read the first post to this series, or here to read the second post.

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