Faces of the Week - Holiday in St Ives

Hello lovelies!

I do hope you're well and that you had a fabulous weekend!

Today I'm going to share with you the make-up I wore each day of my holiday. This, like my holiday OOTD's, will be quite a long post and also quite a picture heavy post. I know that not everyone likes this sort of thing, but it's a good way for me to share the kind of make-up I enjoy wearing, and hopefully it does appeal to some of you. I'm hoping to start writing a few more posts about things I'm buying and also some reviews. But I hope you do enjoy this post all the same!

Sidenote - All the eyeshadows I've used are from the Urban Decay Naked palette. I thought I'd tell you that now so I don't have to repeat it every time. I also got back into curling my eyelashes - WHY HAVEN'T I BEEN DOING THIS FOR LONGER?! Gosh!

So, this was the first day and I wore my usual foundation/concealer/powder combination which is Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow liquid foundation, Fakeup concealer and Hello Flawless powder all by Benefit. I wanted to keep my eyes fairly simple so I used Virgin eyeshadow from the Urban Decay Naked palette all over the lid, in the inner corner as a highlight and under the brow bone, applying this with a simple shadow brush from Boots (cheapie but goodie). I then went in with Buck from the same palette in the crease and outer third, applying this with the Good Karma Shadow brush by Urban Decay (this was the free brush I received with the Naked palette). I then used a Sigma E30 pencil brush to blend these together. I then used Maybelline Lasting Drama gel liner and the brush that came with it to line my lash line, together with Bourjois Kohl & Contour black pencil liner in the water and tight lines. Finally I finished off with Benefit They're Real on my top and bottom lashes.

So, this was . So, same foundation/concealer/powder/eye pencil/mascara combination as always. Virgin all over the lid, inner corner and up to the brow bone. I then applied Hustle to the crease and outer third of the lid, applying a little of Toasted to the middle third of the lid.

I actually wore the same make-up on the next two days because I really liked the combination of shades. So, same foundation/concealer/powder/eye pencil/mascara combination as always - these are my staple products that never really change. I started with Virgin all over the lid, up to the brow bone and in the inner corner. I then used Smog all over the lid and Darkhorse in the crease. Then, just in the middle third of the lid, I applied a small amount of Halfbaked to create some more colour and sparkle - brighten up the eye a bit. I then used my Illamasqua Sculpting Duo kit to contour and highlight, with their blush in the shade Ambition. On my lips (and I actually wore this everyday but apparently took photos before I applied it on every other day apart from this, doh!) I wore a new addition to my make-up collection which is part of the L'Oreal Paris Color Riche Collection Privee. This is Cheryl Cole's lipstick in the shade Barely Greige by Cheryl. I absolutely LOVE this lipstick. It's very moisturising and very subtle. You do have to reapply it throughout the day, but that doesn't bother me too much. Over time I hope to buy the others in the collection because they're all so pretty, especially Barely Peach by Julianne Moore. So lovely!

Again, same foundation/concealer/powder/eye pencil/mascara combination as always. I used the eyeshadows as the day before, except more of Darkhorse and no Halfbaked. I kept it more natural on this day - so didn't use any blush or contour either.

(Apologies for the inconsistent flash in these photos - I officially HATE my camera!)

Aaaand once again, same foundation/concealer/powder/eye pencil/mascara combination as always. I applied Virgin all over the lid, up to the brow bone and in the inner corner, as I often do. Then I used Toasted all over the lid. I did this look when I went to Leeds, post here, and as I talk about in that post, I LOVE this eyeshadow. You can use it on it's own because it is iridescent and looks more built up. Great if you don't want a heavy look. Illamasqua contour kit and blush was the same as the other days.

Hope you enjoyed this post!

IOTD - Courteney Cox. I watched a few episodes of Cougar Town last night, I really enjoy it, makes me giggle A LOT.

SOTD - Moi Je Joue by Brigitte Bardot

What I Wore on Holiday

Hello!

As you might know, I recently visited St Ives with my mum for a week long break away. We had a really lovely time - went for walks on the beach, did a little shopping, had toooo many sweet treats and just had a lot of fun!

In August last year I went to France for a holiday and took photos of my outfits each day, so I thought I'd do the same thing on this holiday. I'm really sorry that there aren't any full length photos, the way the room was arranged meant I couldn't take them in the mirror. But you'll still get the idea. Hope you like them!

On this day, I wore Joni Super High Waisted jeans from Topshop, a white long length vest top from H&M and this pretty top from Oasis which has a swan print.

This dress is from New Look and has a daisy print. It looks, for some reason, like I'm wearing thigh high socks in this picture - I'M NOT! It's just my hairbrush on the dressing table at an unfortunate height. I wore this dress with nude tights (granny, haha) and the yellow cardigan featured in the photo below.

Another pair of Joni jeans, this time in the hyper blue shade, with a ditsy print ruffle top from Oasis and a cardigan from Dorothy Perkins. I also had a black H&M vest top underneath.

Same pair of jeans as in the first photo, with another white vest from H&M and a pussy bow blouse from Oasis. The cardigan is from New Look.

Tried a different angle this day, but I don't think it was any better! Dress from New Look with a cardigan from Next. I wore Topshop heavyweight leggings with this.

Finally, Joni jeans from Topshop, a white vest and a pink top from Oasis. I didn't take a photo of the back, but it's really nice - it has gold buttons down where your spine would be.

Hope you enjoyed this post!

IOTD - Clea DuVall

SOTD - Let Go by Frou Frou

My Skincare Routine and Photography Page

Hello!

Today's post is a pretty standard beauty blogger's post - most of the blogs I read have done this at least once, so here I am, jumping on the bandwagon. I will make a confession here - I am terrrrrrrrrrrrible at doing this everyday, let alone twice a day! I make sure to moisturise my face at least once a day, but the rest sometimes gets "forgotten". I really am trying though... I think...

So let's start with exfoliating. I use St Ives Apricot Scrub, which I've been using since my early teens and it's just always impressed me so I've never really tried anything else. I like quite a scrubby scrub, if you know what I mean. Harsh enough to make it feel like it's really getting into my pores and eliminating any dryness and flakiness which is something I unfortunately suffer from. I either use it in the shower, just applying it with my fingers, or I use the Olay Professional Pro-X Cleansing System (without the Olay scrub) which is similar to the Clarisonic, but MUCH less expensive. I tend to use it with the Pro-X if I'm not in the shower, simply because it's battery powered and I don't want to put it under running water.... obviously, haha.

Then I use Diadermine Cleanser which is a relatively new product in my routine. I first bought it when I visited France last August (post here) and really love it. It's perfect for softening my skin and I feel very clean afterwards. It's very creamy without feeling greasy.

I also use any variety of cleansing face wipes that are suitable for sensitive skin - these from Tesco are what I'm currently using, though I'm not really too fussy. These are generally for removing for my make-up or in the summer for a freshen up.

Following that I use Diadermine moisturiser which was also purchased in France, although I've recently discovered I can buy it on Amazon which I'm really pleased about - saves a trip, haha. This is a great cream I've been using on and off for about 7 years. It's really thick but not oily in the slightest and sinks very nicely into my poor dry face, especially when it's cold like this!

Because I'm very fair, redness tends to show up quite visibly on my face, particularly my cheeks, so I dab a little of this No7 calming balm. It's ok, but to be honest, I think it's my make-up that's the real saviour here. I'll use it until it's all gone though.

Then I use a Garnier caffeine roll on to try and calm dark circles, which also isn't something I'll re-purchase.

Final step before make-up is Benefit POREfessional which erases visible pores. I absolutely LOVE this product! It works wonders. I tend to use it on my cheeks and chin as that's where my pores are most visible after previously having acne (post here).

So that's my full routine, although like I said, I need to get better at doing it more often. Also, you've probably noticed that I don't use a toner. That's simply because I don't like them, I think they're very harsh to the skin as they often contain alcohol which in turn makes them very drying - not ideal for someone with already very dry skin. If I was ever to purchase something similar, it would be a tonic like the one that's part of the Liz Earle range.

On a completely unrelated note, I'd like to share with you my photography page on Facebook. I'll hopefully be starting a BTEC in photography this coming Autumn and the page is in preparation for that, to see if people would be interested in my work should I pursue it professionally so I'd appreciate any likes from you lovely people.

IOTD - Kate Hudson. She has THE most beautiful complexion!

SOTD - Happy by Pharrell Williams. Try and listen to this song without feeling like you want to dance. I dare you...