BUDGET BEAUTY | BACK TO SCHOOL!

As back to school is looming, I thought I'd join in with the Back To School blog posts and videos. Although I am not going back to school, college or uni this year, I still thought I would share with you some affordable pieces from the drugstore that you could wear to school when in a rush.










First up is this Botanics Beauty Balm. This has no colour to it like a lot of the others you will find in Boots or Superdrug but this is quick and easy to use when you're in a rush, it's laminating to make you look lit from within and awake. This would've been right up my street when I was in school as I found foundation was just too much of a hassle.








As I've mentioned foundation can be too much of a faff early morning when you're in a rush. So instead, the concealer will be giving the coverage you may need for pesky blemishes or those dark bags under your eyes from staying up too late. I love both these concealers as they're both high coverage so will cover pretty much anything on your face. The Collection Lasting Perfection concealer is probably easier to use as you can dab it straight on and it blends quickly, however you'll have to work at the Seventeen Phwoarr Paint a little more as it's a cream concealer. As I said I love both and they're both around the £4-5 mark, so you could use whichever you prefer.








Again, as we skipped foundation, I would use a bronzer to warm the face up a little more. This is actually an MUA Pressed Powder bought in a few shades darker than my skin tone to be used as a bronzer so it is actually matte. This will not only set your makeup in place but will give you a little more colour to avoid looking like a zombie, you know as you've probably just rolled out of bed 15 mins before school starts. 




Another product you could use to make you look more alive is blush. I've chosen the Sleek Blush in Rose Gold which is a gorgeous coral shade with flecks of shimmer. With a light hand this will give a lovely flush and also add radiance to the face seeing as it has a light shimmer running through.








Next is mascara. When I was at school and I couldn't be bothered to do the rest of my makeup, I'd give my lashes a quick flick of mascara to make me look much more awake and put together. Again, I've chosen two here. The Maybelline One By One is in Brownish Black which will look more natural for school. The Collection Lengthening Mascara is a little more affordable but both are amazing for creating length and I love fluttery lashes as they look so natural and pretty.








In Year 10 and 11 was when I started to do my eyebrows, and boy were they horrific. I wish I left them alone and just used something like this Maybelline Brow Drama to give them a little colour, set them in place and make my whole look more put together. This is around to £5 mark but instead you could use a clear mascara, although it won't add any colour it will set them in place all day and you can pick them up for about £2. 








To complete the look I'd opt for this Babylips in Pink Punch. I didn't understand the hype when these were raved about a few years back, but I think these would be ideal for school as they're moisturising and add a little colour to the lips. 




I forgot to take a picture of the complete look but this is super natural so I'm sure you'll be able to get away with it if you're not supposed to wear makeup to school. This only took me about five minutes so would be ideal for those mornings you've overslept and are rushing for school- we've all been there!




WHAT ARE YOUR SCHOOL BEAUTY ESSENTIALS?




♥   ♥   ♥

November Favourites | The Mixture

Hello!

December is here so I thought I'd write up my November Favourites! I've decided to just call it my 'November Favourites' as there has been quite a mixture of things I've been loving this month so without further ado, here goes...

 First i'll get the only beauty product out of the way and that is the Maybelline Colour Drama Intense Velvet Lip Pencil in Berry Much. For a few weeks I popped into every local Boots and Superdrug and the shade Berry Much was nowhere to be found and it seemed the others were in high demand too, while wasting some time in Superdrug before work there lied Berry Much! It was a 3 for 2 offer so I picked up Red Essential for my mum and a mascara for myself, anyway more about the pencil. These glide on the lips very easily as they're so creamy though I have to be careful with these to avoid looking like Miranda Sings, they sit on the lips lovely and last a pretty long time once blotted with tissue. I'll definitely be picking up some more in the near future!

While having a nose on the Primark website before my next lesson in college, I noticed they had fairy lights, clear and coloured for only £1.50 for 20 or £2.50 for 40. My friend said she had bought some for her room and that she's had no trouble with them at all so I quickly nipped into Primark to pick up some for myself. I had no idea what I was going to do with them but I needed them to make my room a little more festive, seeing as I have fairy lights wrapped around my bed all year round. I picked up 20 coloured lights and I've been trying out different places in my room to find where I like them best, though i'm not settled- I love how they look and they're a bargain for just £1.50.

Recently I felt like I was lacking in the technology department, I have a laptop(though its not strictly mine as I broke mine a long while ago- cries), my iPhone wasn't cutting it. I've wanted an iPad for a while and I was going to wait until Black Friday to pick up the best deal, although my brother told me I can get something just as good or better for much cheaper. After a bit of searching for the best android/windows tablets out there, I settled on a Lenovo Yoga 2 8" with multiple modes and 18 hour battery life. Since I've had it I've not really been off it- I'm completely smitten with it and it fulfills all my needs seeing as I can use Instagram, Twitter, Blogger and even do my college work on there.

I've been loving the festivities this month and i'm super excited for Christmas. My Christmas shopping is nearly done and I just have to pick up one last bit for my mother(I'm putting it off each week as she's so hard to buy for), I've been Christmas decoration shopping and the Christmas lights are up in my town. I've been hinting to my mum to get the tree up but she's having none of it, so it'll probably go up around the 12th December!

That's it for my favourites this month but rather than leave it there, I thought i'd share some of my favourite blog posts I've read this month(in no particular order).

-Budget Beauty Multi-taskers by The Sunday Girl

-Tavel Wishlist | U.K by Thrifty Vintage Fashion 

-GOING TO UNI WITHOUT GOING TO UNI by Rachel Coco

-The Me Time Tag by Hey It Is Jess

-1 Year by Porcelain Beautyx 

-Sweater Weather OOTD by Megan's World

What have you been loving this month?

Are there any blog posts that stood out to you?

Let me know below, 

Until next time,

♥   ♥   ♥

What's In My Makeup Bag? | Travel Edition

Hello!
As you can tell from the title of this post, today i'll be giving you an insight to my makeup bag and in particular what i'll be taking away with me, or rather what I've taken away with me- depending on when this goes up! I'll let you know now, I don't have the most luxurious high end makeup although I would love some- it's just not within budget at the moment and I feel the drugstore offers great quality products at more affordable prices so here we go..

Again, I don't have the nicest of makeup bags that are on offer to me, but this is handy as it fits everything in nicely without the need to leave the bag half unzipped! This is just a pink mesh bag that came with a gift from The Body Shop- handy!

First up is foundations, notice the plural? I was using the L'Oreal True Match foundation for a while on it's own, although it's great on it's own I wasn't too keen on the finish for summer as I prefer a dewier finish. I had the Rimmel 25 hour foundation lying around as I wasn't using it as I picked up the darker shade on accident.Now I know it looks really dark in comparison but just a little mixed in with the L'Oreal foundation creates the perfect finish and colour for my skin in the summer, so that's why I'll be taking a 2nd!

Next of course I couldn't go without concealer so in there I've thrown in my trusty Collection Lasting Perfection 16 hour concealer, perfect for the job and it's small, so perfect for travelling!

To then add some colour to my face I have a blush, this isn't a Barry M blush I just had to re-pot as it had shattered everywhere from the previous pan. If you can't tell already I love this blush which is why it had to be re-potted, it's a little hassle to use but I just tap a little into the lid and swirl my brush and it's fine! This is just a natural pink colour to give a flush on the cheeks with a little shimmer in. Usually I wouldn't be keen on shimmer but it's ever so slight and gives a glow to the cheeks also! No need to pack a highlight, great!

Moving on to eyes, mascara! I couldn't leave the house without a quick flick of mascara as quite frankly I look dead! Mascara just opens my eyes and makes me look more awake, so I've packed 2- again none in particular just ones I had lying in my stash to use up! I don't really notice the difference in mascaras as they all seem to have the same effect on my eyelashes, so I've packed both Rimmel mascaras, the Scandal Eyes for my top lashes and the Extra WOW lash for the bottom!

I could go without eye shadow each day but I love creating subtle looks to make my face look more made up and like I've made an effort! So in I've put the MUA Heaven and Earth palette which are a range of natural slightly shimmery shades to create subtle or more dramatic looks as each of the shades are so versatile! Also I forgot to mention, there are 12 different eye shadows in this tiny compact palette so again, perfect for travelling!

For my brows I sweep through the Maybelline Brow Drama brow mascara in Medium Brown- this matches my brow colour perfectly and makes them look fuller and more put together!

Last but not least, moving on to lips! I love applying lipstick last as I feel it just pulls the look together, providing you choose the correct shade not to clash with your blush or even eye makeup! Of course, i'm not the expert but I've included a range of 4 shades that are practically fool proof for the looks I tend to create on a daily basis. From left to right, MUA in shade 14 Bare, Natural Collection in Rose Bud, No7 in Vanity(bare in mind this is old, passed onto me by my Auntie who's quite the makeup hoarder) and lastly another MUA lipstick in the shade Nectar.

Bare- the perfect nude colour liptick- I think this could work for a range of skin tones too!
Rose Bud- a lovely pink colour that almost matches my actual lip colour so it's great for natural days!
Vanity- don't be fooled by the bullet like I was, this comes out as a natural brighter pink on my lips, I love it for a pop of colour!
Nectar- this is a lovely bright coral colour which looks amazing and so summery on a brighter day!

Last in the terms of actual makeup products is again another lip product, or eye for that matter! The Beverly Hills lip and eye primer, again passed down from my wonderful Auntie to make my lipstick and eye makeup last a lot longer on those warmer days!

Of course i'm taking makeup brushes to apply the makeup, these all fit in so nicely without squeezing them in and ever so slightly bending the bristles like I have done in the past! I'll list these like the lipsticks and explain what I use them for..
Eyelash Curlers
Real Techniques Buffing brush- buffing in foundation and concealer.
Real Techniques Pointed Foundation brush- applying foundation and concealer.
Real Techniques Contour brush- to apply blush.
Lydia eye shadow applicator- to apply the base shadow.
ELF Blending brush- to blend all eye makeup.
Real Techniques Detail brush- to apply a darker shade to the crease and outer corner.
Lydia Brow brush/comb- to brush through my brows and comb through my lashes.

And that's all for my travel makeup bag! For me this is just the right amount, admittedly I don't need to take 2 foundations, 2 mascaras and 4 lipsticks but if you've got the room- why not!? Let me know what's in your travel makeup bag or what would be if you were travelling this summer!

Until next time,

Amy X

A few beauty buys!

Hello!

So i'm aware the last post that went up was written before and was a tad out of date by a few days when it was finally posted, but this one won't be! Today I'm going to share with you a few beauty purchases that I've accumulated recently, as many bloggers explain 'these were collected over a few [insert length of time here]', and these very much were but I can't remember exactly when these few items were bought. So i'm gunna get right into it and try and present this is some kind of order.

Vitamin E Cream Cleanser- The Body Shop

First i'll start with skincare, now I only bought one item of skincare this time- it's the Vitamin E Cream Cleanser from The Body Shop. As you can see I purchased the smaller version of 60ml at £3.00, to try it out before I purchased the full size. I love the Vitamin E range from The Body Shop, it seems like just what my skin needs! I've tried both the moisturiser and eye cream, so definitely wanted to get my hands on the cleanser as I'm trying to get into a solid routine to sort my skin out. I'm hoping to give a more in-depth review on this in the near future and perhaps this may feature in my 'skincare routine' once I get it sorted.

L'Oreal True Match Foundation in shade N1 'Ivory'- Boots

Next i'll move onto makeup as the following 3 items are. First up here is the L'Oreal True Match foundation, I have this in shade Ivory which I do believe is a very good match for my skin tone. I've wanted to try this for a while now as I've seen many people rave about it, I felt like my previous foundation just wasn't doing it for me anymore so bit the bullet and got myself matched. I felt so pleased with myself, I told her that I thought I was shade Ivory but I wanted to be sure, so she went ahead and matched me- I was shade Ivory after all. I really like this foundation so far, but she used a primer before hand and I much preferred how it looked then, so I think I better get down and purchase a decent primer too!

MUA Lipstick in Shade 14 'Bare'- Superdrug

I purchased 2 lipsticks, one MUA and the other Maybelline. First I picked up the MUA lipstick in shade 14 'Bare'. This is just a really lovely nude in my opinion and I think it really suits my skin tone, 'Caitlynslifex' on YouTube recommended this and I loved the look of it, so for £1 I couldn't leave it.

Maybelline Color Sensational Popsticks- Tesco Direct

'Cherry Pop'

The second one I picked up, well I didn't actually pick up-

I ordered it from Tesco Direct, strange place huh? I can't remember which exactly but a blog I follow on bloglovin suggested looking at the offers on Tesco Direct in the makeup section, I saw she purchased this Maybelline Popstick in 'Cherry Pop' and I loved the look of it, and at £1.80(usually priced at around £7) again I could not leave it!

L'Oreal Prefernece Wild Ombre Kit in shade 'No. 1'- Boots

Last but certainly not least is this L'Oreal Preference Wild Ombre Dip Dye Hair Kit in shade No. 1. This dye is for light brown to dark brown so I'm pretty sure this will work on my hair as mine is more of a dark blonde to light brown currently. I didn't really purchase this to follow the trend of 'ombre/dip dyed' hair, I'm wanting to go lighter as before I was a mousy brown with lighter tones, so this will be a starting point for me. I'm planning to do from the middle of the ear down blonde, and then depending on the outcome will go from there, I don't really have a specific aim but I know I just want to end with a lightish ashy blonde colour as I originally was. I'll keep you updated once I pluck up the courage to go for it!

So that concludes this post of my recent beauty buys. I'm hoping to be blogging a lot more often then I have been the past few months, so keep your eyes peeled for reviews, wishlists and lifestyle posts to come very soon! Hope you've enjoyed this post, why not comment below some recent purchases of your own? I'd love to hear as I'm always on the look out for new things, the shopaholic in me screams.

Until next time,

Amy X