March favourites

Well hello to you my reader chums! March has just gone by super quickly and I can't believe we're now into Spring with Summer coming up, something I'm very happy about! Through the month I've discovered some new gems and have uncovered an old favourite. 

March favourites beauty products

Mac's Russian Red lipstick

I finally got my hands on this in mid-February and it since has become one of my top going out lip products. The colour in my opinion is the perfect red, a glamorous dark shade ideal for the utmost occasions and special days out. 

As its a matte finish, it lasts for a good old while and my preferred choice when it comes to lip products. The lipstick itself is blue-toned, having the ability to make your teeth look whiter, a feature great for that special occasion. I just adore this lipstick, the finish, lasting power and colour are fabulous. 

Mac's russian red matte lipstick
Mac's Russian Red matte lipstick shade

Topshop's blusher in 'Morning Dew'

The next item is Topshop's cream blush in 'Morning dew' which used to be a great favourite of mine, however, I stopped using it for a while until I picked it up at the beginning of this month. 

To me its a very Spring/Summer shade and consistency. As its a cream blush, when applied its creamy to blend yet has a powder finish. The final look it gives is a lovely dewy, pinky glow like a beautiful natural flush to the skin. I would definitely recommend the Topshop cream blushes.

Topshop's blusher in morning dew

BarryM nail polish in 'Vintage Violet'

Most of my collection is Barry M with a few other brands thrown in yet I always go back to the trusty Barry M. The shade I've been loving this month is 'Vintage Violet'. For me, it's a transitional colour from Winter to Spring because the colour is mid purple, not too light or dark. 

BarryM nail polish in Vintage Violet

Garnier Cleansing Lotion in 'Start Afresh'

A new skincare addition has been another favourite of the month, the Garnier cleansing lotion in 'Start Afresh'. One of the main reasons I love this is because it helps take off excess makeup/dirt after I've removed my makeup and leaves the skin feeling super soft, fresh and leaves a lovely scent. It's a very gentle product with a creamy consistency and does the job rather well. I also love how it matches my moisturiser because they both have the same scent! 

Garnier cleanser in start afresh

Blistex lip balm

This lip balm has the most delicious smell, leaves a lovely pink sheen on lips and them feeling smooth, a great Spring lip balm.

Blistex lip balm

I hope you enjoyed my March favourites. What have you been loving this month?

Thank you for reading <3

How to be more positive - my best tips

Well hello to you my reader chums! Positivity is something everybody needs, it helps you feel better about yourself, your life and can leave an effect on others. In my opinion, it's a way of life, ' a negative mind will never give you a positive life'. What I take from this quote is that if you're negative about every scenario which occurs, there will be no positive outcome because you are unable to see a bad situation in a hopeful light.

How to be more positive

Whether you're looking to have a more positive mindset or feel a little happier, here is how to be more positive.

Find something good in every day 

When you're having a bad day where everything goes wrong and you want to give up, stop for a second and think. Think about something that day which has made you smile. It can be the smallest thing from your makeup looking nice, getting a smile off a stranger, or even a funny conversation you had. 

No matter what's gone on in the day, there is always a positive aspect. If nothing particular comes to mind, think about the bigger areas of your life such as friends, family, your job or hobbies, an area which can always make you smile. Practising gratitude will really help to shift your mindset - and a good way to do this is every day, log three things you're grateful for.

Stop comparing 

Comparing yourself to others is probably one of the most natural things, yet has such a negative impact on our lives. Whether it's comparing your appearance or the success of somebody else, both can turn the positivity you have in yourself into a negative. Therefore, instead of comparing, admire. What I mean by this is if you see someone and they have a really nice haircut for example, instead of thinking 'I wish I looked like that', think 'what a lovely haircut they have' and then find something you love about yourself to simply not compare what the other person has. That way you're turning a negative thought into something positive - and it'll have a positive impact on you.

Don't be so hard on yourself 

Linking to the comparing point, being hard on yourself in whatever it may be will put you back into a pessimistic mindset. All you can ever do is try your best, meaning it doesn't matter if you didn't get the top mark on a test or your blog isn't as big as many others, for instance, you're trying and you will succeed in all you put your mind to. 

Success doesn't occur overnight, it takes time, hard work and focus. Next time you're hard on yourself for any reason, just think I gave it my all, that's all you can ever ask for. You're doing the best you can and everybody has hard days.

Dream big 

Being positive about a lot of things will make you grow your mind and lead you to think of bigger dreams for the future. 'Keep your head in the clouds and your feet on the ground'. This quote means, carry on dreaming and aspire to do things beyond your wildest imagination, yet understand at the same time it means hard work and courage. Nothing is easy but continually working will always pay off. Never give up on your big dreams.

Live every day as an adventure 

I've come across this saying lately and I love it. To me this quote suggests, take every day and make it a good one. Capture those memories, have a laugh, stop worrying, and be happy. Easier said than done, but appreciating every day for what it is and take a day at a time will really help you see things in a more positive light.

Thank you for reading <3


Makeup tutorial: Everyday spring look

Well hello to you my reader chums! Since Spring is now approaching, today I'm going to share with you my go to, everyday spring look. When it comes to spring makeup, I like to use quite light and pink toned colours for the eyes and lips. 
To create this look I used the following products:
Base:
Maybelline's BB cream buffed onto the skin.
Collection's lasting perfection concealer- Applied under the eyes and to cover up any blemishes.
Rimmel's stay matte powder- Swept over the face to set the base makeup.

Contour and highlight:
 Body shop's honey bronzer in shade 02- Used to contour the cheeks and dust over the face for a subtle bronze glow.
Topshop's cream blush in Morning dew- Blended on the apples of the cheeks up to the tops of the cheek bones. I love this blush because it gives a dewy, glowy finish, perfect for the Spring time.
Sleek face form kit- Lightly dusted the highlighting shade on the tops of the cheekbones and brow bone.
Eyes:
Maybelline colour tattoo in 'Rose Gold' blended all over the lid as a base.
Naked 1 palette- Pack on the shade 'Sin' all over the lid and 'Virgin' in the inner corner. To slightly darken the look and contour the eye, blend the shade 'Naked' in the outer corner and lightly through the crease. 
Naked 2 basics- Apply a small amount of the shade 'Cover' through the outer corner to add some subtle definition.
Loreal's super liner- I drew a small line above the lashes.
Maybelline's sensational mascara- I applied several coats.
Lips:
Revlon colour stay matte balm in 'Elusive'.

The final look:
Here are some close ups:

I hope you enjoyed this fresh spring makeup tutorial.

Thank you for reading <3

Day in the life:The Nutcracker Ballet and mini haul

Well hello to you my reader chums! Yesterday I had a lovely day out with my twin sister Maria. We are both big ballet fans and when found out the Nutcracker was going to be performed in one of our local theatres, we grabbed at the chance and bought tickets! As it was on later in the day we thought we would make a day of things, by having a browse round the shops and going for a meal out.

Here's a couple of snaps of Maria and I on the way there.
As you can tell we got a bit hyper, it was such a funny day!
I'm on a bit of a spending ban at the minute since I'm saving for holiday spending money and therefore didn't go on a big splurge like I usually do when I'm shopping, (I'm a bit of a shopaholic). However as Canterbury is my nearest Lush I had to pick up a few bits. The first item I bought was the 'Hoppily Poppily' bath bomb. I have a big obsession with rabbits, they are my favourite animal and so when I saw this, I was like I'm getting this! It has a rather sweet scent similar to the sweets parma violets. I'm intrigued to try it as I'm pretty sure its one of their newest additions to the Easter range and I love the unique smell.
The other bath bomb I bought is my ultimate favourite- the 'golden egg'. I'm sad this isn't available all year round because I'm addicted to the scent. It's an amazing sweet smell like honey! It leaves your bath golden and glittery as well, what more can you want in a bath bomb? I'm definitely going to stock up on this before Easter is over!
The last product I picked up from Lush was the 'Brazened honey' face mask. I used this over the Christmas period as I was having skin troubles and it did wonders. Due to this and as I'm again having a bit of skin trouble, I thought I'd purchase it to help fix the problem. For a more in depth description, I wrote a review that you can check out here.

The only other shop I bought something in was Tiger. I adore this shop; it has a variety of home ware and craft items all for a minimal price. I saw a rabbit cotton wool holder like this on Pinterest and thought it was the cutest thing so when I found it in the shop for only £2 I had to buy it! I also got a toothbrush holder for only £1.

After our look round the shops, we went for dinner. Once we had a walk around, we saw that Pizza Express was tucked away down a little lane and thought we'd give it a go. The lighting was pretty dark in there and it was quite difficult to take pictures, however the food was scrumptious!
I went for the Pollo ad astra which was a pizza covered in chicken, sweet peppers and red onion which was absolutely delicious!

For dessert, I as usual had to go for something chocolaty and chose the chocolate fudge cake which was just beautiful!
Once we were all full from dinner, we headed to the theatre. Both of us were rather excited as we've wanted to see the Nutcracker for years and it sure didn't disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute and was mesmerised at times with the moves performed. Ballet to me is such a magnificent art form and leaves you transfixed. I've now watched two ballets and would happily go see some more!

The day was full of laughter, fun and an unforgettable experience, all of which I shared with my best friend, my twin sister Maria.

I hope you enjoyed this day in the life style post.

Thank you for reading <3


February favourites

Well hello to you my reader chums! Today as we're now into March, I thought I'd share with you my favourites of the past month. As February was quite a short month there aren't too many favourites, however, within my favourites are products that I recently tried out and have been loving.

February favourites beauty products

Maybelline's Lash Sensational Mascara 

Initially, when I used it, I wasn't the biggest fan. There was a lot of product coated on the layered brush causing excess mascara to be applied and the lashes looking a tad clumpy. However, after getting the hang of using the brush, I was able to apply it with an amazing outcome. My lashes looked voluminous, elongated, and covered. 

The effect of the mascara meant the lashes stayed curled all day, something which is a rare occurrence. Also, the brush itself helped separate and get right to the ends of each lash, resulting in full-looking lashes. As well as wearing it on its own, I've loved to pair it with Maybelline's the falsies, one of my favourite mascaras. I find it adds a bit more of a dramatic lash look when worn together.

Maybelline's Lash Sensational mascara
Maybelline's lash sensational mascara brush

Maybelline's Baby Skin Primer

At first, I was a bit skeptical when using this because I was unsure if it would actually do what it claims on the bottle. Despite this mindset, I gained a liking for this product. After putting it on in the morning and doing an 8 working day, I would usually come home to see my makeup all faded off and not held in place very well. However, when using this, I noticed I would get home and my makeup was still intact, not as fresh as it was in the morning, yet it hadn't faded away and looked like I just jumped out of bed!

 This primer did the trick and as it's rather inexpensive, I would really recommend it. It does also claim to reduce pores, I think it does this to an extent but I wouldn't say it's an 'instant pore eraser'. An attribute I do love though, is its ability for a smoother base to apply makeup onto.

Maybelline's Baby skin primer

The Body Shop's Honey Bronzer

It's a rather warm-toned bronzer, which helps achieve a lovely bronzed glow all over the face. I've been loving it to contour with because it gives a natural contour, where the cheeks are still defined, just not to the extent of full precision. Too much of the product can result in a slight orange look, yet I find not too much is needed anyway for the complete bronzed look. 

The Body Shop honey bronzer

The Body Shop Honey Bronzer

Tresemee Keratin shampoo and conditioner

Towards the beginning of February, I wanted to make a change with my hair care routine and picked up a new shampoo and conditioner, the keratin smooth range by Tresemme. Since I  already used the keratin heat defense, I thought I would give the shampoo and conditioner a go. I didn't really know what to expect, although I did end up loving them. After I had washed my hair and it had dried, my hair felt super silky and smooth. It smelled divine and the healthy look lasted between washes.

Treseme Keratin shampoo and conditioner

I hope you enjoyed my February favourites. What have your favourites been this past month?

Thank you for watching <3