My MAC Palette

After months of buying the odd shadow here and there, I finally purchased my final 3 shadows and completed my MAC palette!

Going downwards, the first three shadows are my inner corner/brow highlights:
Vanilla - a creamy white
Dazzlelight - a full power pale shimmer
Shroom - a shimmery light beige

Second and third row are my 'all over the lid shades:
All That Glitters - a beige with gold shimmer
Patina - a gorgeous taupe with gold pearl shimmer
Woodwinked - a beautiful bronze

Sable - a plum/red with bronze pearl shimmer
Mulch - a deep bronze
Satin Taupe - a muted purple taupe

The final two rows are my crease, smoky eye shades:
Omega - perfect for filling in my brows and also as a initial crease shade
Wedge - a muted beige
Cork - a muted gold/brown

Charcoal Brown - the classic brown for the crease
Coquette - a grey toned taupe
Mystery - a plum toned brown which I love for giving my lash line more definition

I'm so happy with this palette! I definitely want to expand my collection as there are still many more shadows I want to try! Stay tuned for a post on my favourite quad of shadows and a look using them!

x

Makeup Menu | May

Let's kick things straight off, I prime with Benefit's Porefessional Primer and my foundation base is MAC Studio Fix Fluid with a pump of Seventeen's Wow primer to give a bit of glow. To conceal my breakouts I used MAC Pro Longwear Concealor which is insane at covering imperfections. It's not cakey and matches my foundation perfectly in colour. I set my t-zone with a quick swiz of my trusty Rimmel Stay Matte powder as I get particularly oily here. I bronzed and contoured slightly with MAC's Harmony Blush and used MAC's Soft and Gentle Mineralise Skin Finish as an all over cheek highlight which is a new addition to my makeup collection and I wish I'd have bought it sooner. I love it. Any MAC/Makeup lover needs this in their stash. 

I primed my eyes the same way as usual, with my MAC Painterly Paintpot and then used MAC's Omega and Charcoal Brown eyeshadows from my MAC palette and a 217 blending brush to define my crease and warm up my eyes. I then packed the shade Bubbly from the Stila In the Light palette (another new addition) over the centre of my lid and took it into my inner corner and tearduct for a highlight. I then deepened my outer corners with the shade Glided Gold from the Stila palette and ran this under my eyes for added definition. I took the darkest shade in the palette, Ebony, and ran it along my lashline with an angled brush to define my lashes and give the appearance of thickness. I applied a few coats of Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara which gives length and a bit of volume so is good for everyday.

My brows were simply combed through and filled in using an angled brush and MAC's Omega eyeshadow, not my favourite method but my Sleek Eyebrow stylist is running low so I thought I'd go for this instead. 

To finish, I applied my new MAC Faux lipstick which is a satin 'muted mauve-pink' perfect for everyday. I'd never tried the satin formula before but it's a winner. Creamy, full power pigmentation and longlasting - everything I want in a lipstick.

This inadvertently turned into a very MAC heavy face... probably because I received money for my birthday so had a big splurge in there! Plus it's my favourite higher end brand so I use at least one product from them everyday. I'm really enjoying a very bronzed, glowing look and this fits the bil for this move into "summer".

How I Take My University Lecture Notes

I was recently requested to write a post on how I take notes at university, specifically, how I use my iPad for my university studies so here goes!

The first app I use is Microsoft Word for iPad which I use to take notes in lectures and seminars. I save all documents onto the online cloud One Drivemeaning I can access all my files on my laptop instantly. 

The format of my notes is pretty simple. I use Calibri Light in font size 12. I simply underline my titles and subheadings. My title (usually the lecture title/topic) always goes in the middle and then I split my document into 2 columns. I do this as I write my notes as short bullet points so therefore they don’t fill the whole line so it not only looks neater to have two columns but it also saves paper!

I always make my notes on what the lecturer is saying rather than copying what is on the powerpoint slides as these are available for me to access before and after the lecture so I can add this detail in at a later date, whereas you can’t hear the lecturer over and over (unless you get permission to audio record!). I try to be as concise as possible so I don’t miss anything, you can always add detail in at a later date. 

As far as printing goes, I don’t print these notes unless I’m doing an assignment on that topic as then I prefer to have a physical copy to highlight/make physical notes on. But other than that I save all my files in folders on One Drive but also on my laptop. 

A secondary use I have for my iPad is reading Journal Articles which means I can have them next to my laptop as I work and I don’t have to spit screen my laptop. Not a necessity but I like working this way. This also means if I want to quickly read an article for a seminar I don’t have to use my laptop, I can just quickly use my iPad and read it anywhere really easily. 

I hope you’ve found this useful! Are there any other posts you would like to see on this topic or anything I do at university?

x

Review | Sleek Brow Stylist

I've always been a 'Mac Omega and a 266 brush' kinda gal but after seeing the love everyone has for the Hourglass brow sculpting pencil I went on the hunt for a more budget friendly option. Obviously I can't compare this Sleek Brow Stylist to the Hourglass offering as I haven't tried it but as far as I'm concerned the Sleek one is fab. Here's why...

I had never used a spoolie until buying this product and it has seriously changed the look to my brows. It allows me to comb the hairs through before applying any product and then during application in order to sheer out the product and leave no harsh lines. This means that I can still get full brows but ones that look far more natural.

Most brow products in the drugstore are extremely orangey and red tones which doesn't work for most people. You may as well use bronzer on your brows, amiright?! Although the colour range isn't great, I found that the medium shade is actually a pretty good match for me, and is quite ashy toned but also has hints of red tones which works with my hair colour. 

I've always been scared of pencils because they have the potential to be extremely harsh (I found out the hard way - see my previous blog post on my brow history) but this pencil is very different to the one's I've tried before. It's quite waxy but also sets like a powder so you can sheer this out and also build up the colour to your desire. It's got a triangle sort of shape which is good because you can get precision on the tail of your brows but can cover a lot in one go on the full part of your brows, the shape works very well. 

Overall, I am a total convert to this way of doing my brows, it's so easy and carrying one product for travelling is so much easier than carting around brushes and eyeshadows. This is a definite repurchase and if you're in the market for a budget brow option (it's only's £5.99!) then I suggest heading to your nearest Sleek counter because you won't be disappointed. 

Comparison | Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Oil and Butter

If you have been reading my blog for a while you'll know my love for The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Oil so when it was running low again I thought I'd give its butter counterpart a try. Overall they are both amazing products which do a great job but they both have their pros and cons.

First of all the formula, both of which melt away makeup so easily and both leave my skin completely cleansed and makeup free but also surprisingly soft too. I have to say, the butter is far easier to work with as the pump sometimes squirts oil everywhere which is a bit of a mess to clean up. Also with both products, a little goes a long way which is great cause you really get your money's worth and they last a long time. 

I simply rub a bit of either product in my hands, just to warm up the product and then massage onto my dry face and neck, whether I have my makeup on or not. I then soak a flannel or muslin cloth in warm water and then buff and wipe away the product to leave my face squeaky clean! 

As far as packaging goes, the butter is definitely easier to travel with as it's compact and slim so fits into a small crevice in your luggage. I've also found that the oil can easily leak, I don't know if it was a fault with an individual bottle of mine but it made a big mess all over my packed clothes. Not fun.  

Overall, I love both products, they both do an equally good job but for the packaging differences I think I'll keep repurchasing the butter rather than the oil as it's much easier for me when I stay at my boyfriend's house. 

x

Wishlist | My 20th Birthday

It's almost a month until I turn the big 2-0 so I've been trying to recount all the things I've been saying "ooooooh" and "aaaahh" over for months. These guys made the cut so this is my little reminder of what I could spend any money on or ask for if I'm lucky enough! Plus I just like lusting after all these things again and I also enjoy wishlist posts and hope you do too!

First up if the thing which I have been lusting after ever since I set eyes on them. The Zoeva Rose Gold Collection. Oh. My. How stunning are these?! I loooove Zoeva brushes so I know they are insane quality, pretty cheap for the price (all of these are only around £50!) and they are rose gold which is simply beautiful. What's not to love?

Topshop Joni Jeans are one of the styles of Topshop jeans I am yet to own but I recently found love in a pair of H&M high waisted jeans and now would like to try Topshop's more expensive offering. Ripped knees are bang on trend so I want a part of the action cause I think they would bring a bit of casual to any outfit.

I've been wanting to hit the gym for a long while and since I've been drowning my sorrows in a serious amount of McDonalds nuggs I really need to but don't have a pair of trainers with sufficient support for my poor ex-dancers ankles (curse you pointe shoes!). Plus these Nike Roshe's are gorgeous and I love the pop of atomic red.

As always my wishlist of MAC lipsticks and eyeshadows is as long as my arm so I'd hope to contribute a little more to my collections. I think Amorous and Creme in your Coffee lipsticks and Patina and Espresso eyeshadows are high up there.

I'm after a new bag cause I'm definitely a 'new academic year, new handbag' kinda gal (don't know if that's a thing but I'll certainly make it one). I love the look of this Topshop Tote bag with Arrow Detailing cause it's big enough to fit in all my stuff and is a little less structured than my satchel style that I usually go for. I love the shape of this and fancy a bag that can go on my shoulder rather than with a huge long strap leaving my bag bashing against my thighs all day.

Finally some Muji storage for my ever-growing makeup collection. I did infact buy some draws from eBay quite a while ago but they are in no way big enough to fit my makeup anymore so I think it's about time I invested in some larger which will look beauts on my dresser.

Apologies for the volume of stock photos on this post, obviously it's hard not to when it's wishlist but I did include my own photos of the lisptick and eyeshadow (for reference they are 'patisserie' lipstick and 'sable' eyeshadow). Hopefully I am a lucky egg this year but I stress that I'm grateful for any gifts I receive and buy all my makeup and clothes with my own money. Do I even need to say this? I don't know, got to cover all bases on the internet, right?!

Any ideas of how I can celebrate my 20th? Let me know!

x

Review | L'Oreal Fibrology Range

When the first tv ads for this range popped up I was sold by all the swishy hair and the promise of long-lasting thickness, and after using both the shampoo and conditioner for around 6 months I feel I can now tell you my thoughts. 

First of all, does it make my hair feel fuller and thicker? Yes. It is noticeably full of volume and has given it a new lease of life. My mum has also been using this and her hair is visibly a lot thicker, she's received lot of compliments! It smells lovely and as the consistency is thick, a little goes a long way and the bottles last aaaages. 

But, on the downside, it really does weigh my hair down. I feel like it leaves a lot of product in my hair and if I've used a lot of hair spray for an evening look I feel like my hair isn't quite clean after using this. So it serves the purpose of thickening my hair a treat, and I'll keep repurchasing for that but I do think I'll be adding a clarifying shampoo into my routine to use every other wash. Any recommendations for a good clarifying shampoo would be greatly appreciated cause I'm a novice when it comes to hair! 

On the whole, I'll keep repurchasing it, cause I love it and it's given my hair lots of bounce and volume but I need to add in another something to give my hair a bit of a break every other wash. I'd recommend this to anyone who feels thier hair is a bit limp or thin, you'll notice a difference after the first wash!