Wednesday 27 August 2014

Feel Unique Haul

"There's a Feel Unique sale on..."  My sister said and all of a sudden we rushed to grab our laptops and go on the site and click on the sale section. 

My bank account is now silently shaking its head at me as I purchased more beauty products that I definitely didn't need there's not even a liable excuse I can use for this one but for you beauty enthusiasts out there enjoy this surprise because I sure did!



On sale for £11.60

I have been wanting to try the watercolour blush by Daniel Sandler for a while now as I heard that it's a completely different style of blush to any other on the market and this is a water consistency where you unscrew the cap and dab a small amount on the back of your hand then I use a stippling brush to apply to my cheeks. I got the shade 'Cherub' which is described as 'a delicate sheer, pastel pink' great for fair to medium skin tones it adds a soft pink flush to the cheeks. I absolutely adore this blush although saved for days when I have a little longer to spend on my make up it gives a unique watercolour paint effect (hence the name) flush to the cheeks and looks so natural but with a little added translucent sheer wash which makes it that more special.



On sale for £3.41

I feel that this should be a staple in any make up bag and as it was on sale I figured it would be a useful tool to have on hand especially as I wear red lipstick often in the colder months so this will make those red lips stay in place for even longer especially for more moisturising formulas. 


On sale for £5.59

I had been searching for this brush all over and it seems to not be stocked in store anywhere anymore but after months of searching for the perfect brush to use for highlighting I found it on Feel Unique and on sale too I was so glad to have this in my brush collection a handy tool.



On sale for £16.40

After hearing many beauty bloggers rave about the brand First Aid Beauty I had been wanting to try out their skincare and as I had ran out of moisturiser I wanted to try a new one then I saw this set of three of their products and decided to get this set as I would be able to try out a few products of theirs. In the set you get the Ultra Repair Cream which I have been loving to give my parched skin some intense hydration, the Face Cleanser which I have been enjoying using as it makes my skin really soft and completely clean and the Facial Radiance Pads which I'm yet to try. 

That's all for my little splurge I always tell myself that 'this will last me for months now I don't need to buy any more' but it's all just lies I'm Steph and I'm a beauty addict and I've give up trying to stop it.

Any latest beauty products that you've bought?
Let me know in the comments!



Tuesday 26 August 2014

Birmingham Haul

This is the first of three hauls that I've got to go up (I know I should be ashamed) but I see this as getting all my Fall clothes that I needed to go back to uni with I mean I couldn't exactly be wandering around in little summer dressers and sandals anyways I should probably stop with the excuses and get on with the haul...

if you've saw my last post you'll know I went to Birmingham to visit my friend Bekki and I done a little shopping while I was there I picked up some clothing, make up and things for my house.


First thing I picked up was this mug from Urban Oufitters for £9 which I thought would be great for my new house in September and of course this sums up how I'd like to be, take with a pinch of salt.



I found this cocktail shaker in Asda which I thought would be really handy for when I decide to be spontaneous and try to make cocktails this even has the measurements for different cocktails and a measuring shot glass it was only £2.



I'd been wanting to try a heavier coverage foundation and as I had broke out in lots of spots and we were going out on the night so I went to the MAC store and asked one of the make up artists to help see what shade I needed to get. We found that NC20 was the the best colour to match to my body and he explained that while NC10 would match my face colour it would be too pale against my body and he said that if I blended this on my face and down my neck it matched perfectly and gave some colour to my face. This is the MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation which is a medium to high coverage depending on how much you apply I've found I don't need to apply powder with this as it gives a natural look already. I've wore it twice since then and found it hides my spots really well and gives a healthy glow to my face I'd only use this foundation for nights out or days when I have lots of blemishes I want to cover.



I also picked out another pan for my palette I chose 'Print' which is a smoky grey and is soft and easily blended I needed to have a grey eye shadow as I gave my sister my Benefit Smokey Eyes Palette which had the grey I used for smokey eyes but I wasn't using anything else in the palette. I've been really enjoying experimenting with different grey smokey eyes I feel like it's such a classic look and you can add pinks to make it soft and feminine, or dark greens and browns for a sultry earthy look. I'll do a tutorial soon on my go-to smokey eye look as everyone asks me how to do a classic smokey eye and this is one make up trick that everyone should know.



 When we were just finished shopping I spotted the Chanel counter in the corner of my eye and found that I had some money left over to get a little treat so I almost ran over to sneakily purchase the Le Volume De Chanel mascara (£25) as I used this mascara last summer and loved it. This is my favourite mascara I have ever used and trust me I have tried a lot this gives you false lashes within two minutes and can create a subtle flirty wink with a stroke of the wand or dramatic show-stopping lashes I also love this packaging, sleek and monochrome.





Zara Fur Coat - £69.99

I had my eye on this jacket since I tried it on a few weeks ago and decided that it would be the perfect transitional coat to go to Fall with and it is so soft it's like having a hug and as I don't have a pet to give me furry cuddles this will have to do. (Don't worry guys it's faux fur in case you were about to throw paint at your screens)





I saw this trousers in River Island and absolutely loved the fabric it has this diamond print indented on it with this monochrome floral print over it I am normally never pick out anything floral but I love the more gothic approach with these and can't wait to wear them. I'm also in that rubbish in-between sizes stage where size 10 is a bit too big but the 8 is a bit too small hopefully I'll lose some weight so I can be a bit more of a proportionate size as from the waist up I'm an 8.




I saw this maxi dress and I have a similar one like this from Topshop but body con and racerback style and I've been wearing it quite a lot recently so I decided to get this one as the jersey is really good quality and I love how the knot feature hides my hips and most of my stomach. This is a great piece that never really goes out of style and can be worn for lazy days about the house or dressed up and for daytime it's always handy to have jersey pieces like this in as they work into so many different outfits.



I picked this up in Primark for £8 to go with my trousers I bought but I'm not sure if I'll end up using it I'm just not a bag person at all I'll usually just have one bag that I use for everything and keep that until it's falling apart and forced to buy a new one. 

Have you bought anything for Fall recently?

Steph

Monday 25 August 2014

A Trip to Birmingham!

I visited my good friend Bekki in Birmingham for a few days as she lives there while she's studying Textiles at the University, she moved into her new house over summer so I was able to see her new home and have a look at what her life is like in the city. The trip started off with an unexpected coach drama but thankfully I managed to resolve it it quickly so that I was still able to get down and listened to lots of Ed Sheeran and Arctic Monkeys to get me through the journey. I'd never been to Birmingham before so I was excited to see what the city was like and found that it was like a smaller London in the case that it had everything it needed but more closer together so you needn't spend a lot of time travelling to get where you wanted to, it's a really vibrant city and we had lots of fun.

On the first day after I arrived we went back to her house and chilled, had some food and then started to get ready to go out to dinner we decided to wear our higher heels as we only had a little bit to walk (give me flats any day). 



Ready for our mate date!

I'm Wearing:

Green Pleated Dress - H&M 
Snakeskin Heeled Sandals - Topshop

I wore this dress as I was feeling adventurous with colour and the weather was getting quite chilly so picked this longer dress and wore a long black chiffon duster coat over it also we decided to splash out and have a three course meal so didn't want to wear skinny jeans, you should always have room for dessert!


We walked to the Mailbox as Bekki had picked out one of her favourite restaurants to go to called 'Red Peppers'  I had a look at the menu online and everything looked so good take a look and see what you think. 





This was a really beautiful view with lots of restaurants surrounding it.


(Shoe Appreciation Shot)

My nail polish is Essie's 'Bikini So Teeny' if you're wondering.


Cocktail O'Clock!

I got the Elderflower Cooler which had Gin, creme de cassis, elderflower cordial, mint and cucumber which is usually one of my favourite drinks but the cucumber completely spoilt the taste of the elderflower although Bekki ordered the Italian Colado which was delicious and had Bacardi, Amaretto, coconut cream and pineapple juice in it.



For starters I ordered the Grilled Halloumi Skewers which come with cous cous salad and a refreshing garlic dip, it was so good and a good size I don't like it when starters are too big so you're put off your main. Bekki ordered the Potato Skins with garlic dip and she said they were really good too!



For our main meal Bekki got the Coconut Chilli Chicken Pasta which she said tasted wonderful and I ordered the Chèvre pizza which had goats cheese, mozzarella and caramelised onion on it which is my favourite pizza at the moment.


Round 2!

Bekki got another Italian Colado as she loved her first one and I ordered the Cosmopolatian as that's what I normally go for and I wasn't impressed with my first cocktail this was much better and I simply adore pink drinks!



There is always time for desserts we ordered the chocolate brownie which had melted chocolate pieces in, drizzled with chocolate sauce and white chocolate ice cream desserts are always my favourite part of any meal, we then went back to Bekki's and watched Divergent while drooling over Theo James.


The next day we headed into the city centre for a day of shopping and as I had been saving up my wages I was about to do some damage (in a good way of course) but first we needed food to get some energy for the day.


We went to Bacchus which is one of Bekki's favourite restaurant and I can see why the interior is absolutely beautiful and the food was delicious too, I took a few sneaky photos inside so you could get the idea of the experience.



It was underground so when you went down the stairs this was the first thing to greet you on the way down a beautiful Ancient Greece mural.


Like I said I just love pink drinks clink clink!!


I ordered the veggie burger which came with handmade coleslaw with a sweet salad dressing normally I leave the salad but I ate this one because it just tasted so good and homemade chips to top it off this food was absolutely delicious and left me so full i couldn't even finish off the chips. 


A cheeky toilet selfie

I'm Wearing:

Black Cami - Oasis
Grey Pinstriped Trousers - Topshop (£10 in the sale!)
Black Duster Coat - ASOS
Nude Lattice Flats - New Look
Black Leather Doctors Bag - Urban Outfitters

I wanted to go for a comfortable outfit as we'd be walking around shopping all day so I opted for these trousers and flats and a light jacket as it wasn't that cold yet in England I refuse to wear my winter coat until at least October.

I'm going to do a separate post on the things I bought so look out for that...



Arms filled with bags we headed back and had some dinner before getting ready to go for a night out I wore this black lace dress from Topshop but opted for nude flats as my feet were aching from a full day of shopping. We went to Risa which had a room for house/chart music and upstairs a cheese music room which is of course where I spent most of my time singing to the oldies.




The next day we decided to just have a chilled day so we went and picked up some food from Asda and grabbed some pasta salads and walked to a park near Bekki's house and I even made friends with some squirrels I'd really love a pet squirrel one day they're just so cute although I may have to opt for a chipmunk!




It was a jeans and flats kinda day...


Look at this little guy posing for a photo looking all cute and innocent



Who dat? Who dat?









After wandering around the park we went back and watched Now You See Me mainly for Dave Franco and then had some pizza and watched Mortal Instruments which I love and wish they would make the second one already then we got ready for another night out. 

I had a lovely time away big thanks to Bekki for letting me stay, being the best host ever and planning the whole weekend also for letting me get into blogging mode!

Steph