AM and PM routine tag

Oh hey guys!

I recently saw this tag floating around and thought this would be fun to do and share with you guys, it is definitely not my usual beauty related post but I thought it would be fun to mix it up. 

AM

What is your morning (beauty) routine?

This changes daily depending on if I have work, errands or just a lazy day. However, a shower and a face cleanse with the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish, I find this really helps me to wake up for the day. In terms of makeup I tend to stick with everyday makeup (I recently done a post on this) but depending on how I am feeling I can tend to overdo “everyday makeup”.

What is for breakfast?

This varies but my go to breakfast at the moment is toasted brown bread with Organic raspberry jam, quick easy and simple. Of course what breakfast would be complete without a nice cup of tea (blame the English part of me) 2 sugars if you’re interested.

How long does It take you to get out of the door?

Again it varies depending on the reason that I had to leave the house, if its just going shopping with my parents I can be ready in 20 minutes. If it’s a long day out with friends then it can be up to an hour, this also counteracts with the first question and what kind of look I am going for.

What is your go to makeup on a fuss free morning?

Like previously mentioned I have made a blog post on my everyday makeup, however the least I would go for would be concealer and brow pencil. I am trying to be a lot better at giving my face a day or two off from being caked in makeup.

PM

What is your evening (beauty) routine?

My favourite part of the day, taking off my makeup and generally cleansing my face. For this again I use the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish with a muslin cloth. I then go ahead and tone with Boots Traditional Rose water toner and finish with Hydraloron Moisture Jelly.

What is in your bowl for a snack?

I am the worst with eating healthy so I tend to binge on crisps and cakes, terrible I know! I am trying to make it a little healthier so fruit and natural yoghurt are on my go to snacks right now.

What are you wearing to bed?

This depends on my mood, if I am feeling sad or sick I wear the thickest and fluffiest Pj’s to make myself feel snuggly and better. If I’ve given myself a pamper session and have soft legs etc then I will wear my silk nightie. My Pj’s tend to change from raggedy to cute.

What is something you have to do before going to bed?

Lately this has been having a tea in bed and watching trashy TV or Netflix, of course I have to check my phone, messages and social media, and also set an alarm (or not) for the next day.

Confidence - An everyday FOTD

Oh hey guys!

So it's been a while and that is due to a few factors such as university deadlines, zero influence and most importantly my health. Don't get me wrong after the last personal blog post going down well I was back to feeling like a super happy lady with some kind of an influence. However after that I just had a roller coaster of ups and downs with my depression or my DS's (depressive symptoms) and even as I'm typing this now I haven't quite got back to my "normal" self. However I feel like I am letting a lot of people and readers down and theres nothing worse than giving up something you love to try and stop the storm of your life. 

So this post if you haven't guessed it is another FOTD, I noticed that this one of my top ten popular posts so I thought I would appease the readers and do another one. There are definitely new products in this from the previous one so theres an excuse in itself. With my on going struggles with DS's there are far and few times I feel pretty and confidence and therefore on this rare day I thought why not take some photographs to make it into a blog post. So here goes....

 Starting off with the base I used a prep spray to give myself a good starting point, next I used to light to medium coverage BB cream that I have been loving for days where you don't want to completely cake your face. Following this was my favourite concealer for under the eyes as well as to cover the horrendous spots and blemishes scattered around my face.

As you can see I did not go crazy insane for my eyes, I just used a matt beige shade on the lid of my eyes and used a light brown in my crease as a transition colour. As for my mascara I have been using a sample of UD Perversion which I have been loving as I didn't realise how short my eyelashes actually are! Recently Eyebrow pencils have been my go to thing the one problem I found with this one is that the wax end of it always breaks (just me?). 

Since this is a super quick look and not a heavy impact look I used a random bronzer to add some definition to my face but did not use a contour kit as I usually would. My favourite product of this FOTD? Sleek Matte Me lipgloss in Birthday Suit, it is a gorgeous nude that is easy to pull off and is a great price. 

I also took this day to wear a brand new off the shoulder top I recently bought at New Look for under £15 and as the sun was out it was a perfect opportunity! 

As you can see a simple everyday quick make up look that doesn't look to shabby (ignore my eyebrows they were waxed the next day!) I hope you guys enjoyed.

Products Used:

Urban Decay B6 Vitamin Infused Complexion Prep Spray

Clean and Clear Hint of Tint Cover and Correct Cream #Light

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer #Fair Neutral

Benefit Longwear Powder Eyeshadow #Call My Buff

Benefit Longwear Powder Eyeshadow #Thanks A Latte

Urban Decay Perversion Mascara

Loreal Paris Brow Artiste Eyebrow Pencil #Dark Brun

Rimmel London Natural Bronzer 

Sleek Matte Me Lipgloss #Birthday Suit

New Look Bardot Top  

Boutique Salon Soft Waves Hair Wand by Bayliss

Any Products you guys would recommend for an effortless daytime look?

The Life Changing Book.. Reasons To Stay Alive by Matt Haig

Oh hey guys!

So today's post is something non beauty related but super important and something I've been wanting to share for a little over a week, so here goes....

First of all, this is a topic very close to my heart and my aim is to not only introduce you to a must read within the field of depression and anxiety but also share my story in a hope of helping others. It is important that I make it perfectly clear that I am not diagnosed with depression or anxiety as I have not allowed myself to go to the relevant stages after seeing a GP, for me it is a case of someone needing to see someone more than me.

Depressive symptoms have felt like a part of my life since the time I tried to end it all around 14 years old, I never assumed or even had any idea of what was going on at the time except for the need to just end it. I think that although much has changed in the sharing and education of depression there is still a huge stigma around it with most deeming it something to be taken lightly. There are always highs with lows within depressive thoughts and feelings and it is a constant battle that you feel you are fighting alone. You can be in a room full of people and feel like the loneliest one there, you get paranoid and feel numb and yet no matter how hard you try and get someone to understand it seems to fall on deaf ears.  A lot of people don’t understand the choking feeling that comes from being in a state of depression, most people only understand anything physical like a broken bone they can only believe what they see.

One of the best things that I discovered late last year was that I wasn’t alone (within my family) and my amazing cousin too was suffering from depression (and anxiety). Trust me when I say I don’t mean that its good that she is suffering as this isn’t the case, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone it’s the most paralysing feeling. My cousin has been an amazing source of support for me and even suggested Matt Hiag’s Reason’s To Stay Alive which changed my life forever. In all shout out to the best cousin ever, I LOVE YOU EM!

Now on to the life changing book, is I was to describe it in a sentence I would say it is a total page turner of relatable events and feelings that will have you reading it in days. Hiag taps into his own experiences to almost give us a lesson that what we feel isn’t shameful and there is a future no matter what we feel in our dark times. It is important to realise that there are in fact 1 in 4 people that will experience some kind of mental health issues within their lifetime, you are not alone in these feelings that you have, you are NEVER alone.

This book doesn’t set out to define anxiety and depression, but Matt Haig has a way of articulating his own experience that will resonate deeply. The only true way to describe this book for me is: when life is squishing you down into the depths of darkness and you need someone to tell you everything is okay and that there is a light coming soon? This book is that.

I don’t know if my mini review even does this book enough justice but I encourage everyone to read it because even if you don’t personally suffer from depression or anxiety there will be someone in your life that will. If I could convince my mum to read this book I would but she doesn’t read books and she won’t change for me. As I’ve mentioned my parents aren’t understanding of what I might possibly have, they are old fashioned in only believing what is physically in front of them. Just because my mum won’t read it doesn't mean you shouldn’t even get your parents to read it, that is the beauty of the book it is an amazing insight for anyone on the lows of depression and anxiety. As it says on the cover (a quote from Joanna Lumley) ‘A small masterpiece that might even save lives.’

So to all my awesome readers I am here for you, if you need someone to talk to or you just feel alone I’m here. I know how crippling loneliness can feel and to add a condition on top of that really tests someone. You are not alone, I am here, if not me then pick up Matt Haig and trust me when I say there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Trying (and sometimes failing) to be a better blogger...

Oh hey guys!

I thought this week would be an honest post, my blog isn't anywhere near what I want it to be and that is for many reasons. I don't have a crazy amount of time to put towards my blog like I want to, even now I am recently with extra time but it isn't a great deal of time for my blog. Photography is my biggest hurdle I believe in my blogging progress, I don't have access to a good camera let alone any camera so when it comes to pictures right now I am using my iPhone.

Outfit posts are something that is on my list for sure but with no camera or tripod taking long shots is hard and I only want to produce the best posts I can not some quick half hearted post just for the sake of putting up a post. I know this sounds just like a ramble rant of a post but I just want to keep it real with the few readers I have and just let you know what's going on. I am going to try harder, I've tried to increase posts to 2x a week but lately all they have been are either what's in my stash or a wishlist so I need to up my game and provide more of a selection of things.

I am going to a little launch today for Urban Decay's new products so there's that to look forward to, I might do a FOTD for the make-up I wear or even include my outfit if I can. I am constantly trying to do better if not for myself then for you lovely readers and I would love it if you could give me some kind of input to what you guys want to see or read.

I have made small steps including mapping out my blog as much as I can with the badass blog planner and even paying for a new theme to make it look more of a professional blog. All I can do is try and trust me I am doing the best I can, I just hope you guys understand.

Any upcoming posts you want are welcome in the comment box.

That's all for now,

My concealer stash!

Oh hey guys!

So I have severe issues with concealers I can't seem to find the perfect one that sticks to my face all day to cover the spots. So I have a mini harem of concealers that I pile on to try and make it work that I thought I would share and give a mini review about.

1. Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer
This is the ultimate bloggers dream, there isn't really a blogger out there with a bad word to say about this product. Whilst I must admit that the coverage is one of the best out of the concealers I have I find the lasting power isn't there. I've noticed as well that over the years the price of this has gone up and now it retails at which could be due to the high demand for it. This comes in three shades: Light, medium and dark and for about a month or two straight it was impossible to actually get my shade light in any Superdrug store. The application itself is via a dofer applicator that comes with the little tube of ml. Overall this is one of the best drug store concealers on the market within a reasonable budget.  8/10

2. Maybelline Eraser Eye Concealer
This is also a firm favourite among many bloggers and you tubers such as Estee Lalonde and Amelia Liana and its clear to see why.  This concealer is aimed for under the eyes to reduce eye bags and dark circles, it also has a brightner to improve the appearance of under eyes. As it is a drug store product it is affordable at £7.99 which again makes it hard for an audience with my complexion as again this was a hard product to find in the palest shade. This is a twist top product with a mini sponge attached for easy application. I prefer to use the sponge and then use a sponge to press the product on to my problem areas.  9/10

3. Loreal True Match Concealer
This concealer is something I picked up on my mission and failure to get concealers A and B, it is an okay concealer with a good range of shade selections. However it isn't a "match" and I don't find that it blends in well with my skin. However for the availability and price it would suit some skin types better than mine, I would presume oily to combination skin. This comes with a dofer application as well as the Collection one which is the popular method through many concealers. This is currently £6.99.  6/10

4. Rimmel London Hide The Blemish Concealer
This concealer was recommended to me from a colleague at work, I had tried this years ago but I thought I would give it another go. The availability of shades is good and the price point of £3.99 means its within a good budget, I would recommend this for make up starters as it comes as a stick which you just apply and blend. However I find this quite drying overall so I find it hard to blend.  5/10

5. Miss Sporty Liquid Concealer
I picked this up again from a recommendation and I have to say its the worst out of my stash, I got the lightest shade and it just appears very orangey to me no matter how much i try to buff or blend it into my skin. There isn't really much to say except luckily it was cheap and easy to get as it was only £2.99.    3/10

So there you have it, a sneak into my make-up collection and concealers. What do you guys use?

That's all for now,