Top 5 Places To Visit

So in anticipation of my trip to Paris tomorrow!! I thought I'd do a blog post about my top 5 places to visit. This is all from my personal experiences which as according to Been, i've only visited 6% of the world!!

So counting down here goes; Number 5 is County Mayo in the Republic of Ireland. Now this isn't your typical holiday destination and the only reason I've ever visited this remote county is because my dads side of the family live there. I wouldn't recommend it to anybody that doesn't drive as the closest shop is a good 10 minute drive away. However the scenery is idyllic, the people are so welcoming and friendly and it's the perfect contrast to a busy city life. The weather is very changeable like the English weather and you're not guaranteed sunshine but on the lovely days you're blessed the walks you go on open your eyes to a different kind of living. Me and my family are privileged, as i mentioned, to have family there to guide us on the best places to explore. If you care to rent a car and venture further, there are lots of places to visit. Gallway for example is a 2.5 hr drive but the biggest shopping mall in southern ireland and you can get a bargain from Penney's (Primark). There is also Achill Island to explore, authentic Irish pubs and lots of fresh produce markets. In essence I would say Ireland is probably a destination for people who like to explore but at a slower pace than most of society. Having said that I've visited a couple of times over the year and I've enjoyed it every time, even as a moody teenager!

Number 4 is Amsterdam. I visited Amsterdam expecting red light district, coffeeshops and not much else. Oh how wrong I was! There is so much more to this beautiful city than we are led to believe such as the beautiful tulip fields, canal cruises, the vintage market and countless museums. There was of course the R- Rated stuff there too but my point is you can avoid it if you so choose. Being the inquisitive woman I am, we of course ventured to every part of the city and chuckled like children in the sex museum. However just walking around the streets constantly surrounded by the water of the canals was very calming, that is when you weren't afraid to be roadkill from all the bicycles!

Number 3 is Rome. These past few years I've become quite taken with the idea of visiting the major cities in the world. Rome was a compromise as my boyfriend originally wanted to go to Barcelona and I refused because that meant a weekend in the Camp Nou (Barcelona's football stadium for those like me). So we agreed on Rome and off we went. On the journey from the city to the airport I was amazed at the amount of graffiti and litter, however the closer we got to the centre the better it got. We visited the vatican museum, st. peters basilica, the sistine chapel, trevi fountain, piazza navona, the spanish steps, the pantheon. Basically every tourist-y thing there. The Via Candia which is the shopping street was amazing and we spent a full day there. I loved the atmosphere on an evening, sitting outside a restaurant eating your meal with music playing from one of the street artists. Everyone should experience that once. Oh and just so you know, the other half did manage to get a football game in. We went to the Olympic Stadium to watch Lazio; compromise is key, right?

Number 2 is St. Lucia. I realise i'm in a privileged position to have been able to visit such a place at such a young age, I was 8 when we went. However it was for a special occasion, my mother and father's wedding! This was up until 2014, the most amazing place I'd ever been. White sandy beaches, crystal clear seawater offset beautifully with a backdrop of deep green hillsides; this place is paradise. The hotels have all kinds of amenities and activities and are basically little communities in which there are things for all ages and all interests. There was not a day as an 8 year old that I was bored and upon speaking to family on the same trip, they also share my views. This is a fantastic place to visit and my favourite place in the carribbean so far. I would 100% go back it can be a totally tranquil getaway or a water sport- fun packed adventure depending on what you prefer.

And finally, my ultimate number 1 place to visit is New York, New York; so good they named it twice. I have nothing but good things to say about this place. I visited for a week last year after it being a dream of mine for years. I bawled my eyes out when I saw the skyline for the first time. I was completely awestruck by every aspect of the city. Due to the popularity of New York in the Tv&Film industry theres a sense of familiarity, a kind of deja vu. It's very strange to feel so at home in somewhere so unlike home. There is obviously 1001 things to do in New York and even in a week we didn't manage all of them. My absolute favourite part was central park, there is so much more to it than I realised. When I go back (which i hope will be soon), I plan on spending a lot more time exploring it. I also adored times square and spent hours and plenty of money there. We used the open top bus to get around for the first few days as I didnt want to take the subway incase I missed something above ground. However the last few days we just walked everywhere. Unfortunately not everyone shares my sentiment, my mother says she's glad she went and experienced it but she wouldn't go back. I think this is because it wasn't a relaxing holiday because we didn't miss anything and for those people looking for a break or to slow down, the big apple is not for you. But everyone should experience the big city at least once!

Winter Make Up Tutorial

I love winter. I love Christmas, snow, New Year, jumpers, fire and everything that comes with it especially winter makeup! Now in winter I love a matte lip. So here it comes... my first ever pictorial makeup tutorial. Part 1 is gonna be the base. Here goes nothing.
So here is me in all my bare faced glory

Products Used:

maybelline baby skin instant pore eraser primer

Benefit cosmetics Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow in Ivory

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge

Mac Pro Longwear Concealer in NC20

Estee Lauder golden spiral compact in lucidity

Bobbi Brown creamy concealer duo in porcelain

Mac Mineralize Skin Finish in Soft and Gentle

Revolution ultra blush palette

Benefit Cosmetics Hoola Bronzer

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in soft brown

Urban Decay Naked Palette

Mac 224 blending brush

Benefit cosmetics They're Real Mascara

L'oreal contour parfait lip liner in 656 Honey

Bourjois rouge edition velvet in 07

My Skincare Routine

Hi guys, this may be a long post but I'm gonna tell you all about my skincare routine. I'm 21 incase you were wondering and when I first started being aware of makeup and my skin I was around 14 and at the time I thought I had very dry skin. This was because any foundation I used would just stick to dry patches and I would look like I just had a flaky face basically.

However this year for me has been like the dawning realisation that my skin was terribly dry because I didn't look after it. I've come to the conclusion that I actually have pretty normal skin not too oily or dry. Thank god for skincare eh?

So anyway back to the important stuff. The first change I made came with my 21st birthday because it was an important one and that meant I could be cheeky and ask for something a little pricier than your average birthday present (It's £125). The Clarisonic Mia 2 came into my life. Bow down ladies this is the Holy Grail of skincare! 

 

 

Top left is the Clarisonic with the Deep Pore Cleansing brush head (comes with sensitive brush head)
Bottom left is the travel case it comes with and bottom right is what it looks like on charge. You can buy this here.
   

This is what a pack of replacement brush heads looks like - you get 2 for £35 (£21 each) and they should be replaced every 3 months. The actual brush is the one on the pictures above. They can also be purchased from the Clarisonic site or on Amazon. There are a couple of different types but I would recommend the sensitive for first uses until your skin is used to the brush.

This is the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser. I first got it last Christmas and used it with the muslin cloths it came with but it works 100x better with the Clarisonic. The one shown is sweet orange and mint limited edition and it smells divine! The original is quite fragrant and not really what I would class as a nice smell but it is cleanser is a must have! This is my second bottle this year. Here's the link. This starts from £8.50 for a 50ml bottle and £19.75 for the 150ml that I have.

This cleanser is the newest to my skincare family. I heard a lot about it especially when researching what to use with a clarisonic. Many bloggers and YouTubers claimed that this cleanser was an essential to pair with it. I've only used this twice (mainly because I love my hot cloth cleanser so much) but it is a good product. It's less creamy than the Liz Earle so may be better for people with oilier skin. It's also less perfumed so could be better for people with sensitive skin too. Click here to buy. (I have the 240ml which is £15.75

 This is my most recent buy and was recommended to me by my best friend Emily who was recommended it by none other than YouTube royalty Lauren Curtis. (You can find her channel here ). So basically it is a cleansing water. I use it as an eye makeup remover before I use my clarisonic and it is so gentle on the skin. It is recommended for all skin types and because it is so gentle and oil free I think this would be perfect for everybody. I just use it on some cotton wool and lay it on my eyes for a few seconds before wiping away gently and voila. So you too can be like Lauren Curtis for £4.99

The next step in this tried and tested skincare regimen is serum. I didn't know what I was missing until I tried this bad boy. This stuff is AMAZING! You know when you put moisturiser on and it's taking ages to sink in and you think 'woah my skin must be pretty hydrated'. Well your skin is lying to you! My skin just drinks this stuff up. You only need a tiny amount for your whole face and hello hydration. I'm in love with it.. and unexpectedly its from Benefit cosmetics. This was my first dabble with their skincare products and I'm extremely impressed. This is their Specialist Instant Comeback Facial Serum and you too can fulfil your skincare dreams. This is £36 for the full size. I only have the sample size but I will be repurchasing when I run out







Then comes moisturiser, this one came with the serum in a gift set I got for Christmas with the Benefit comesmetics Porefessional Primer (but we'll save that for a later post). I use this after the serum and before my makeup (obvs). The consistency is thinner than I've had previously (think teenage dry skin from earlier in the post if you're still with me). However it applies really well and you only need 1-2 pumps for your full face. My skin is so soft after all this which is really beneficial for a flawless make up base. It's also oil free so shout out to my oily skinned friends. You too can buy this Benefit Moisturise Triple Performing Facial Emulsion for £21.50. Did i mention it also has SPF, what more could a girl want? I love the sun but my GOD the wrinkles are not worth it!

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation - Review

The Estee Lauder Double Wear is like a cult foundation among my make up junkie friends. I've seen some of them look totally flawless and some like they've shovelled it on! Obviously I had to investigate and find out for myself. I went to the Estee Lauder counter at Debenhams and got my iMatch sample (more about this later). My shade was Ecru and she gave me a sample to try at home. I wanted to save it for a night out to put it to a full test.

Background info : I have normal skin, sometimes drier in winter with relatively small pores.

So my Christmas night out came and out came the double wear! It seemed more pink than my usual going out foundation (Mac studio sculpt in NC25) and quite thick in consistency. I alway always always use my real techniques miracle complexion sponge for foundation application. You can buy this from Boots here. So I applied it the normal way and it did feel a little heavier on my skin. It was fairly easy to apply and very blendable with a medium coverage. I set it with powder and finished my makeup and off I went for a night on the tiles.  Here is me on the left ...

OMG ! It never moved !! And I got so many compliments on my face! It was strong stuff.

Obviously I found the double wear to last as I forgot to take my makeup off when i rolled in (I'm going to hell I know) and it was still intact the next day!

The negative points on this product I suppose are the price and the consistency. I mean don't get me wrong I do splurge on products from time to time but I believe this is around £29.50 which is one of the more expensive foundations and not in everybody's price range- let's be honest! Secondly although it fulfils all the claims of staying power and is great for a night out. The consistency and coverage is a little too heavy for everyday wear in my opinion. I prefer something I can sheer out for day to day wear. 

Back to the iMatch sample though. So the people who work on the counter do a colour match service and then in the sample pot they give you they provide 10 days worth of foundation! I was most impressed with this as there was no pressure into a sale and it allows you to make a fully informed decision of how the product works with your skin before you buy it. So if you wanna invest in this product you can find it here. For those of you like me who prefer a lighter coverage there is the double wear light which you can find here. But if you can I would head to your nearest Estee Lauder counter and take full advantage of the iMatch service.

Hi Guys

So, this is my first blog post on my first beauty blog. As a self confessed make up junkie (and skincare obvs- you need the perf canvas for your makeup) I'm so excited to share my favourite products, techniques, high end and budget makeup and skincare and terrible makeup faux pas.

First post should be important right? Lets go with "What is Beauty to Me?". I'll be honest I'm not the most confident person in the world. I'm no model figure with perfect features or anywhere near the societal idea of beauty, I'm just a normal girl. However a good skin or makeup day makes me feel a 100x more self confident and when I feel more confident I carry myself differently. So there you go; to me confidence is beauty. So you girls do whatever makes you happy and confident because we're all gorgeous

loves

L