Showing posts with label makeup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label makeup. Show all posts

Favorites Friday! - from kitchenware to makeup!

Between now and just before Christmas I have collected a few new things that I really love and I just want to share with you! I’m going to say from the start that none of the brands or stores that I am about to mention have anything to do with this post. Everything I’m about to share with you are things I bought because I wanted them!

I don't buy a lot of kitchen stuff these days because I have most of the stuff I need. It's the odd occasion I add stuff to my collection and here are a few of the random things I've recently added!


The cookie stamp that says "Eat Me" I picked up at Home Sense on clearance for £1.99! I couldn't say no and I have yet to use it! Perhaps this post will make me go make some cookies so I can at least  say I used it once! If you have never been to a Home Sense I have to recommend that you do! It's a sister store to TK Maxx therefore it's very similar the main difference being that it's all homeware! It's wear I bought 2 of my 3 Nordic Ware bundt pans for only £16.99! 

The Mummy & Me mugs I bought around Mother's Day from Sainsbury's. My youngest loves elephants and a good cup of tea so I couldn't resist getting these mugs as a matching set! 

The butter dish is from Lakeland's and was bought with a gift card from my father-in-law gave me for Christmas! It was a little bit more spendy then just a regular butter dish, but it's insulated and is suppose to keep butter at a spreadable consistence at all times. Which has been mostly true as the weather has started to warm up. However our kitchen is the coldest kitchen and in the winter the butter was cold because the dish was cold and therefore not very spreadable! 

I used to have so many and as I love to share my baked goods with friends and family most of them have gone "missing." I decided it was time to invest in a nice set of cake tins - these are called Hearts Cake Tins and I also got them from Lakeland's with my gift card! 


I have a confession I am a coffee drinker! What I live in England! I know, but I just prefer coffee. I used to drink a lot of of those Nescafe cappuccino and latte sachets until they started effecting my bowels. No the most pleasant thing to talk about on here, but I realised that something in the sachets were upsetting my stomach so I was on the look out for an instant coffee that suited me. I have been drinking this CafeDirect for about a month and I really like it! I sometimes add the vanilla syrup to make it a bit like a latte! 


These post cards are my absolute favorite - Gotta love Paperchase! Especially the Loch Ness Monster one! As long as you believe in yourself then nothing else matters! 


Everyone always tells me to shop at Primark and when I do go in I very rarely seem to find something, but my last stop in I came across these two t-shirt and I couldn't say no! At about £5 a shirt why not? 


When I was in teenage years I loved candles! It's only been recent I've started buy candles again. The top one is from Paperchase and smells like avocado and mint - I have yet to burn it so will have to get back to you on it. The other two smell great and burnt evenly across. If a candle doesn't burn evenly and it just goes down the middle it's not a good value candle. Candles should burn straight across and another way to ensure this is by allowing candles to burn for at least an hour at a time. Of course as always with candles do be careful - never leave it unattended and in reach of children or on ledges where pets may jump up on. 


Never in my whole life have I ever been into make-up and beauty type stuff, but I suppose things change!

At the top is what I recently bought from Kiko at the Oracle in there 5 items for £10 deal. It was hard to choose, but I went with a nail buffer block, white shiny nail polish, a nude lip gloss, a red lippy and complimenting red lip liner. Wasn't impressed with the nail polish, but love the nude lip gloss!

Speaking of lip glosses I added my two favorites at the moment! Vaseline (limited edition) and classic Carmax! Keeps my lips from chapping! 

Speaking of chapping I love love love Soap & Glory's Hand Food lotion for dry/chapped hands! I have used it for years now! I also included a new face wash from Soap & Glory that I like and have been using for about a month now.

I ran out of eye make up remover and decided to try one by Simple and I find it quite nice. It doesn't try out my eye lids and is fairly gentle on my skin.

Since I had my hair cut shorter it means it needs to be styled more! When these two products, Smoothly Does It - Frizz Free Cream and Mega Hold styling mousse have been my saviours most days!

And I almost forgot the Barry M foundation primer and concealer! There isn't a bad thing about them and would recommend them to those who need make up on a  budget.


These are from Barry M - the lip glosses called Cor Balmy! are just the right about of color and moisturiser and they come highly recommended! The Sunset nail polish is also from Barry M and I have to admit I am pretty impressed with these! If the instructions are followed two coats of the color topped with the Sunset curing polish they last absolute ages! 

That's it for my Favorites Friday! There is no way I could write one of these every week or month for that matter as it's taken me months to collect all these new things! I haven't been baking as much lately because life stuff has been taking priority. It's unfortunately not easy life stuff either. I do hope to bake this weekend and will be sharing with you next week!!

Day Out in Reading, Berkshire! {WOLF, Snog, Urban Decay}

A few posts ago you saw how I went to an Urban Decay event at the Oracle and since the night was a bit rushed Alyssia, a fellow blogger, went back for round 2!


First we went to lunch at a new place in Reading town centre called WOLF: Italian Street Food. It's a bit like Subway. You choose your base: pasta, wrap, bread, salad. Then you choose your meat/veggies followed by sauces and hot toppings and cold toppings.

I picked out an olive bread and had the hot and spicy chicken with peppers and cheese sauce. Topped with more olives, sundries tomatoes, and rocket. It was so good! I couldn't recommend this place more! With only three locations across the UK if you are in Reading it's definitely worth a try!

Then we did a little shopping in the Oracle stopping at a few stores (more of that in a future post) before stopping for a little snog.... at Snog!


I went for the salted caramel frozen yogurt topped with blueberries and dark chocolate chips and covered in caramel sauce! It wasn't my first Snog and it won't be my last, but it was my favourite I've tried so far!


Then we headed upstairs for our Urban Decay makeovers by the same two guys we saw at the event. It was nice to catch up with them and check out a few of the new products!


I went for a day look as I had the school run later, but I did get to try out Gwen Stefani palette which was fun! On my lips we used a lip liner called Liar and the lipstick was Lovelight. We also used the complexion primer, B6 Vitamin-Infused complexion prep spray, liquid makeup foundation #2, Naked flushed palette - bronzer/highlighter, and the chill - cooling & hydrating makeup setting spray. 

We even booked ourselves in for a few weeks time to try out all the new spring products! It should be another good day out! 

Check out Alyssia's post - Girls Day Out!

note: All opinions are my own. We went on our own money and had a great day out! Please see my contact/policy page for more information.  

Makeover! with Urban Decay & The Oracle

A couple of Friday's ago I was invited to The Oracle for a Valentine's event. I know it's been a couple of weeks, but the event is relevant Valentine's Day or not!


This particular night we went to House of Fraser and were greeted with a glass of prosecco and three very lovely makeup artists! They were friendly, bubbly, and know everything there is to know about Urban Decay.


There were four of us and we did a sort of speed dating makeover. So, one of us started with either face, eyes, or lips and the fourth wondered around taking photos!


What I learned: 

Lips - that lip liner isn't just for lining your lips! It's best to fill your whole lip(s) in with the liner before applying the lipstick. 
Eyes - if you wet an Urban Decay eyeshadow it gives you a bold and shinier color! Which can help create a different look. 
Face - it's better to match your foundation to the color of your neck then your face so it doesn't look like you're wearing a mask. 

Urban Decay was started in the mid-90's, when Wende Zomnir was tired of boring lipsticks and nail enamels and with her co-conspirators created their own! Influenced by the decaying urban landscape they filled a void that no one knew existed - products that gave beauty with an edge. The brand has exploded since the 90's and includes all sorts of high-performance cosmetics and skin products.


My Top 3 Urban Decay Products (that I use): 

  1. Naked Palette - Smokey
  2. Perversion Mascara
  3. B6 Vitamin-infused Complexion Prep Spray

3 Urban Decay Products I want in my life: 

  1. Revolution Lipstick 
  2. Naked Flushed - Bronze, Glow, Blush pressed powders
  3. Eyeshadow Primer Potions


If this blog post hasn't convinced you to check out more products by Urban Decay then I suggest you hit up the counter in House of Fraser and meet one of the lovely assistants and ask them anything! Maybe even get a little makeover while you're there!


What we got in our goodie bag to try at home: 
  • Little Perversions bag: 
  • perversion mascara - black
  • ink for eyes precision eye pen - black
  • all nighter eyeliner - black
  • subversion lash primer
  • 24/7 glide-on eye pencil -black 
  • Afterglow 8-hour powder blush - Quiver 
  • Eyeshadow - Bust 
  • 24/7 glide-on eye pencil - Deep End & Goldmine 
  • Browbeater (pencil and brush) - Taupe
  • Sheer Revolution Lipstick - Sheer Walk of Shame 

The Oracle Shopping Centre,
Reading,
RG1 2AG


Oh and I forgot we also got a treat from Hotel Chocolate - also located in the Upper Mall at The Oracle!
Don't Forget to Check out Alyssia Rose's post over on her blog here! 

note: I was invited to the event by Frank PR - all opinions are my own and there was no other compensation besides the goodie bags. If you haven't noticed The Oracle is my "local" shopping mall and I love promoting local businesses and events - if you need an event covered in Berkshire please see my contact page and give me a shout! 

Jeans, T-shirts, and Shoes oh my!

Fashion is something that has always fascinated me, but has seemed like something out of my reach.

Being a family of four clothes for myself is one of the last priorities.

I read a lot of fashion and beauty blogs and envy the ability to just go out a buy a new outfit whenever I’d like and have it stylish.

I try to stay away from trends because if I spend the money on new clothes I need them to be “in” for longer then one season.

That is why I will usually be seen in Gap jeans and a novelty tee.

I am a lover of novelty tees.

My favorite novelty tees come from Johnny’s Cupcakes. It mixes my love of novelty tees and cupcakes!

I also recently came across this Shoe Bakery and I would love every pair, but these Mint Ice Cream Flats are my favorite!


With my birthday on Friday it's probably too late to add them to my wish list! Maybe for Christmas then? 

I have a very low-key beauty routine, I wash my face with soap and apply Clinique’s Redness Solutions Daily Protective Base before lightly dusting a bronzer on. I use Urban Decay eye shadow of various shades depending on my mood or what I’m wearing! Then I use Clinique mascara to finish off my "natural" look!

For now I will continue to ready fashion and beauty blogs and learn as much as I can so that when the day comes I can buy a new wardrobe with years of learned fashion know-how.

notes: This blog post was written for Blog Every Day in May day 13, Fashion, Beauty, Grooming was the topic. It was a little awkward for me to write, but I guess that’s the point of this challenge. It was not sponsored by any of the brands I mentioned above. The picture of the shoes is from the Shoe Bakery website; the other picture is an awkward photo of me wearing an in-store exclusive Johnny Cupcake tee. All opinions and views are my own please see my contact/policy page for any further information.