Everyday make-up

Hiya! Sorry I haven't posted in so long, but my summer holidays have been super busy, with Florida, camping, seeing friends and family etc! Todays post is about the make up I wear on a day-to-day basis. This is the make-up I tend to wear for school, but at the weekends I usually wear something a little bit different. I also included the make-up brushes I use as well, which are a bit grubby looking in the photos as they are due a wash!

I start with a tiny amount of the baby skin primer and tap it onto my nose. This makes the pores on my nose less visible and leaves my skin feeling super smooth. I then go onto my collection lasting perfection concealer, and dot it under my eyes and blend it in, either with my fingers or with a mac 190 brush.

Then, I take a small amount of this maybelline colour tattoo and blend it in with my fingers. Sometimes, if I've put a little too much on, ill put a little bit of power on my mac 275 brush and blend it into the eye shadow, just so it doesn't look way too shimmery. I then do my eye-liner, with the collection 24h felt tip liner. For school, I tend to do a thin line along my upper lashes, with a tiny flick at the side. After that, I take my eyebrow pencil and fill my brows in. At the moment I'm using one from maybelline, but I don't really recommend it as its too pale even for my literally bleach blond eyebrows! Then I do my mascara with the kiko curve tech mascara. This is almost running out, which is bad as its such a good mascara, and doesn't smudge, so no dodgy panda eyes at 4pm! After that I powder my t-zone and under eyes, with the super drug B. set sheer powder. This is a little too yellow for my skin, but I like the texture of the power as its not too chalky. I apply this with a mac 129 brush. I have a few different blushers I like to use, normally its either the rimmel stay blushed cream blush in a touch of berry or the maybelline bouncy blush in fresh pink. These two blushes I picked up in the states so I don't know if the shades/products are available in the UK. I then take my mua highlighter and place a little bit at the top of my cheek bones. Usually my lip chosie changes everyday. Sometimes I'll wear a tinted lip balm, gloss or lipstick depending on what I feel like, but I love the Vaseline rosy lip balm, the benefit dandelion lip gloss or the maybelline baby lips crystal in gleaming coral.

Issy x

Summer nails-Barry M Gelly Polish's

Hiya! For ages I've been on the hunt for the perfect summer nail shades, which last and are affordable. I came across the Barry M gelly range last year, when they only had a few shades and picked up one called 'Guava.' Ever since then I've been in love with the impressive formula and colour range.

My nail varnishes always seem to chip at around the 2 day mark, even with a topcoat. However, these Barry M polishes last for days, even without a topcoat! I had the pale lilac shade on for 8 days and it only began to look a bit tatty by the 6th day of wear. Even the palest shade only needs about 2 or 3 thin coats before its fully opaque and does not go streaky like all my other pastel nail varnishes. I love the very glossy look they give as well. I've never had a gel manicure before, so I can't compare it to that, but I think they are definitely more glossy than your advantage polish. At only £3.99 per polish, they are not only affordable but also fantastic product! I cannot wait until they bring out darker shades for the autumn/winter time!

Issy x

Spring Playlist

In the resent few weeks I've been completely in love with these few tracks. Some of them are old favourites, others are new discoveries!

1. Drowners-Button on your blouse

2. David Bowie-Fashion

3. Grimes- Vanessa

4. Blue Hawaii- Daisy

5. Foals-Heavy Water

6. Bonobo- Cirrus

7. The XX-Together

8. David Bowie- Sound And Vision

9. Foals-A Sketch For ESG

10. Peace- Money

11. Drenge- People In Love Make Me Feel Yuck

12. Dog Is Dead- Burial Ground

Happy listening, Issy x

The Monochrome Trouser // Day To Night

Hiya! On Saturday it was my birthday, so as a little extra present my mum took me shopping and bought me these trousers, top and sandals. I'd had my eye on these lovely trousers for a while, but my local H&M stores were sold out in size 6 for ages, luckily on my birthday I found some in the correct size! This week me and all my friends are going out for a birthday dinner and coming back to mine for cake,(I'm making a six layer rainbow cake, which I'm so excited to bake!) so I wanted an outfit I could wear in the day, as well something I could wear out at night time. The trousers are a bargain at only £12.99 and are super comfy, stretchy and well-made.  My only problem is they are quite short on me (as I'm 5'10 with 36in legs) but they are 'cigarette pant' style which make them cropped anyway.

Day  

I paired a simple white t-shirt with the trousers, as i didn't want something to fussy, as the print on the trousers is pretty full on. Its super light, however quite sheer so i put a white cami on underneath. Because its still a little cold, I added a black cardi with 3/4 length sleeves, as its not too wintry, but still adds layers of warmth. The sunglasses are a very old pair from primark, but i've seen this style of glasses in H&M, Topshop and Urban Outfitters.

I chose a big, roomy bag as it has plenty of room for everything, and it adds colour to the black and white outfit. My nails don't really match, but I am wearing Barry M gelly paint in the shade blueberry. 

I chose nude flats as they are super comfy and make the outfit look casual. These are H&M from last year but topshop do a very similar pair here

You also could wear simple patent shoes if it was a colder or rainy day.

Night

I chose the same top to go with the trousers but decided to go for a leather jacket, as it gets colder in the evening and leather looks a little more 'dressed up' than a cardi or jumper. This jacket is from H&M. I wnt for red lipsto add a pop of colour, which is something I never wear, but I really like it with this outfit.

Again, I wore a white cami underneath the top, but if you were feeling daring, a white lace bra like this would look lovely with the slight sheerness of the top. The necklace is something I picked up in the urban outfitters sale, and I love it! Its a gold metal, and because of the simpleness I can wear it with pretty much everything! 

I like these heals as they are not too high and are very plain, which goes well with the trousers. These are from next last year, but pretty much every store is selling shoes like these!

If you wanted to go for flat shoes in a similar, minimal style, these sandles from topshop are perfect. They have a block heal, which is only about an inch in height, so they are easy to walk in, yet still make you look a 

little dressed up.

I dont own a bag that suits this outfit, but I am desperate to get my hands on the zara 'stressed, but well dressed' clutch! However, any big, squishy clutch bag would look great with this outfit.

I am super happy with these trousers and can't wait to wear them for my birthday meal! I enjoyed creating this post, and i might do another day to night post featuring a skort that I bought recently! I hope you all enjoy Easter weekend!

Issy x

Sprinkles,sunshine and shopping

Hiya! I know I said I'd try and post a little more, however I have been super busy with school work, going on days out and visiting family. Anyway, yesterday me and a few friends popped on a train to our localish big shopping centre. We needed to buy a friends birthday present and just felt like a good day shopping!

Somehow, I managed to drag myself out of my bed before 10am, in order to get ready and do a bit of homework before leaving! I made myself porridge topped with honey and sprinkled a handful of sultans over it, this is one of my favourite breakfasts, as its filling and tastes amazing. I decided to pant my nails in my favourite nail varnish of last spring/summer, which is a Barry M gelly paint in the shade papaya. I added some sparkles and did one nail in a M&S polish in the shade mint.

I really felt like using my MUA heaven and earth palette when doing my make-up, and came up with a natural, soft brown look. I really enjoy the quality of this palette and the price as its only £4! I also used my regular make up products! I never wear foundation, but my auntie gave me a set of mac brushes, and I wanted to try the mac 190 foundation brush. Its perfect for a good, natural looking base. I curled my hair using a Remington pearl wand, which creates big fluffy waves. Once my hair was curled, I lightly set them with hairspray, and used my tangle teezer to gently brush them out. 

After I'd completed my make-up, I decided what to wear. It was lovely and sunny outside, and I really wanted to wear this new top. As it was only around 14 degrees C, I layered a warm, knitted cardi over it, added my mid-wash joni jeans and put on my grey converse.

I found my old Cath Kidson handbag, and I'd forgotten I had this pretty gem! It fits a lot in, even though it looks small, which is a bonus. 

I managed to get to the station in time to buy a ticket and hop onto the correct train, which is a miracle, as train stations confuse me so much! The journey only took 30mins and we ended up in West Quay quickly. 

After popping into boots for a quick browse, we all decided it was time to head down to sprinkles. If you live in or close by to Southampton, visit sprinkles and try a waffle, crepe or sundae, they are so good! I had a mango, passion fruit and pistachio sundae. Each scoop looked like a whole tub of Ben and Jerry's, the sprinkles portions are huge! This is a picture of my friends, as I forgot to take a pic, before eating it...

After the ice cream break, we mooched round the shops for hours, picking up make up, the lush Easter range, a few books, DVD's and presents. We caught the train home, tired and still stuffed from sprinkles!

 It was a great day, and night as we went round a friends house for her birthday! It actually feels like spring is here at last, which means two things: Easter and my birthday! Woooooooo! Have a fantastic week! 

Issy x 

http://www.sprinklesgelato.co.uk/ 

   

Beauty haul/review

Hiya! Finally I am back, after a break, I am so happy that I now have the time to blog. Now that I have my own laptop, it makes it so much easier to write without my family constantly checking if the computer is free. Today, I felt like a big haul/review post, as I have bought some new things, repurchased a few, and tried some Christmas gifts out. Not everything here was bought by me, but most of them were. I've also accumulated quite a few nail varnishes, but I might do a separate post on them.  I'm going to break this post down into sections, as there is quite a lot...

Skincare-

 

I ran out of face wash and moisturiser about 2 weeks ago, and switched up my routine and began to use these. The Nivea refreshing facial was gel, leaves my skin so fresh and clean feeling, which I love. Its made for normal/combination skin, which I have. It doesn't break my skin out, or leave a gel-like residue like other brands I have tried. The best thing of all was I picked it up for £1.50, as it was half price.  The Olay complete care moisturiser for normal/oily skin, is lightweight and sinks in fast. I use this stuff twice a day, in the morning and a night. I has spf 15, which is perfect for the winter time, but I usually get a moisturiser with a higher spf for summer, as I have very pale skin. Olay do this in a few different formulas for different skin types, from dry to sensitive to one with a subtle tint! The smell is classic and very pleasant. The best deal of this whole haul was the pore strips. My local superdrug has a clearance section, where from time to time you can pick up some great bargains. I found this box, unopened and undamaged for 80p, yes 80p!! I bought 3 boxes and between us me and 3 friends cleared the shelf. I felt like I was on extreme couponing... Since they retail for around £8, I was delighted. Before I use a strip, I steam my face for 5 minutes then apply one of these strips right way, I don't even dry my face, as I find this method is the best for ripping out blackheads and other nasties! Then I slowly peal off the strip, which is a bit painful, but the results are worth it!

Hair care-
I am a dry shampoo addict, hands down. I use it practically every other day, to keep my hair looking grease-free and volumised. Normally I go for the batiste tropical one, but I wanted to try something new, and went for this. It adds volume, but no more than a regular dry shampoo, and the scent is a typical shampoo product. Its not bad, but I prefer my batiste tropical one! I bought this aussie deep conditioner today, so I've not used it yet, but I have used other aussie deep conditioners in the past. I am never disappointed by aussie, so I am excited to use this. The smell is that amazing fruity affair that fills the hair care isle at boots and Superdrug's up and down the country!

Fragrance-

 I didn't buy either of these, as they were Christmas gifts. However, I am in love with both of these! The Elizabeth Arden green tea and cherry blossom is very fresh, floraly and citrusy. When you first apply it, its very citrusy, which is ok but not my favourite. When you leave it to settle for a few minutes, it smells like flowers and lemons, which is a beautiful smell. Its something I see myself wearing throughout the spring/summer time. Its not sweet, but more fresh and clean smelling, which I love! The other fragrance is the body shops white musk Smokey rose. This one is more for the evening, as its quite powerful, however I wear it in the day as its wonderful. I reminds me of one of my favourite perfumes, which is Alien by thierry mugler. Its rose smelling, however its dark and strong at the same time!

Make-up-
First of all, I'm a huge sucker for pretty makeup! I love all the colours and packaging! Anyway, The collection concealer is the best one I've tried. It hides under-eye circles and spots perfectly, it lasts all day, and is the perfect colour match for me. I've given up trying to find an affordable foundation, as they are all too dark, and I just use this and a dust of powder! It is something I'm going to repurchase and repurchase. The Maybelline baby skin is a primer, which helps smooth pores leaving you with perfect skin. Its silicone based, which I know some people don't like, but it works for me. I apply this on my nose and around the areas of spots. It 'fills' in any pores, and makes my skin feel amazing! Its also non pore blocking. After reading a billion blog posts, I caved in and bought a Maybelline colour tattoo. I have the shade pink gold, and its lovely. I wear it everyday, and it leaves you with a champagne lid with a hint of shimmery pink. Usually I would never go for pink shades for the eyes, but somehow this really works. It doesn't crease and stays on all day. While circling boots, I found that no7 had a sale on. No7 is normally out of my price range, but this lip crayon was only £2!! Its a lovely coral shade, with a hint of soft gold glitter. My only problem with it, is its a bit sticky at first, but once it skins in, its ok.

 

Candles-

 

For Christmas, my gran bought me an electric tart warmer, and a selection of yummy candle scents to go with it. She bought me sparkling cinnamon, and another Christmas cookie, but I've already used them! My favourite is the lemon lavender, its so fresh and definitely not old grannyish. I'm not too keen on the cookie one, as its very sweet. My favourite scents are more spicy and floral, but its ok. If you want to have a lovely collection of candles, but find them too expensive or get bored with scents easily, wax tarts are brilliant. They are only £1.25 and are very powerful scent wise. You wouldn't think you could scent a whole room, with a tiny bit of wax, but they are amazing! Yes, you do have to buy a burner, but on amazon they are only around £5 for a proper yankee candle one. With the medium jars from yankee candle being around £15-£20, its a huge saving! 

 

I am trying to blog more now, but with GCSE'S it can be tough. I love my blog, and I really want to get back into blogging!

 

 

Issy x

My Sunday facial deep clense

Hiya! I've been away, but now i'm back!! Today's post is definitely not the nicest or loveliest post, but It helps me deal with my skin! Unfortunately like most of teenage girls and boys I get blackheads and the occasional spot or five on my face. After years of hating my blackheads and spots and trying every method under the sun to remove them from home remedies to face packs and lotions, I've finally created a routine that actually works. The best part is, its cheep, easy, not too harsh on your skin and you've probably got most the stuff at home already! I do this every Sunday and it helps my skin to look its best. For me blackheads are more the problem than spots (glamours, i know) but I've done this routine when I've had a breakout and it really helped. I wouldn't recommend doing this more than once a week, but occasionally ill do one or two of the steps if my skin is bad, but ill never do the whole routine more than once in a 7 days. I always complete this routine before bed!  

Step one:  Firstly, i'll completely remove all my makeup from the day with a cleanser. At the moment I am using the body shop cucumber and aloe calming facial cleanser, which is great at removing all the makeup and not being harsh on my skin. I make sure that all the products are removed so the routine works its best.

Step two: Next, i'll fill a kettle of water and boil it. Whilst the kettle is boiling i'll drop some ground ginger and a squeeze of honey into the bowl and mix it into a thick paste. The ginger has properties in it which helps deal with inflammation and honey is a natural anti-septic! Then I pour the hot water into a Pyrex bowl. I'll place a towel over my head and put my face close to the bowl, but not too close to make it uncomfortable. I'll sit with my face over the bowl for around 5-10 minutes. The steam open up pores and helps to 'loosen' the blackheads (yummy...) Once I've steamed my face ill go a make my scrub.

Step three: After I've steamed my face, i'l make my own scrub. To do this I use a tablespoon of milk, and a table spoon of baking power. I mix these together into a paste. The lactic acid in milk helps break down old skin cells so they disappear when you rinse your face, and the baking powder helps get rid of the oil, offers the scrubby power, and leaves behind really smooth skin! Ill put this on my face and scrub, especially around my nose, where the blackheads accumulate. Once I've scrubbed, ill rinse this off with warm water.  

Step four: Then I will put on a face pack. At the moment i'm loving the lush BB seaweed fresh face pack. It is very softening, cooling and great at reducing redness. I'll leave this on for 15 minutes and then wash off with warm water. 

Step five: After washing off the face pack, i'll apply my toner and a thick layer of oil-free moisturizer. Then I will apply my Clearasil rapid action spot cream on any spots. This is really good and reduces spots quickly. The spot cream is pretty expensive, so if you don't have the money to buy a spot cream, toothpaste is the perfect alternative. It drys out spots pretty fast, which is great for something you use on your teeth! Just apply a thin layer to spots before you go to bed.

So that's my weekly skin care routine! I am glad that I've found something that works and is pretty cheep as well! My posting might be a bit more sporadic now I've started my GCSE'S but i'm trying hard to find the time to post! 

Issy x