Candle Lovin'

I know, I know, I've been a bad blogger again. Life got in the way and I wasn't prepared! I've been at work pretty much every day this week, and not getting home til it was too late, and too dark to start photographing beauty products and trying to think.

I've also been staying at my boyfriends as he's in the process of moving out, so I've been giving him a hand, but I haven't had my camera. But, I wanted to start burning these candles so I did what I hate, took a photo with my iPhone, and I'm sorry!

Anyway. I'm not sure if you heard, but recently, Asda has started stocking a diffusion line of Yankee Candles. Asda isn't normally my supermarket of choice, but once I heard about this, I headed straight down.

It's a different range of scents in different jars to your standard Yankee Candles, but the burn time is just as long, and the scent just as strong. In my local store they had five scents, Soft Cotton, Cherry Vanilla, Lemon Cream, and then Vanilla Frosting and Shoreline, but those two weren't in stock in taster size.

I picked up the three taster sizes in stock to test them out, in comparison to standard Yankee Candles, before committing to a full size. I love all three of these scents and I'm pretty sure I will end up purchasing the full size of them all. I love to burn soft cotton when I'm unwinding before bed, I find the scent (exactly like fresh washing) so comforting. I've been burning Lemon Cream whilst working, it's an overpoweringly sweet scent, but I really like it, I think it would be lovely to burn whilst in the bath! Cherry Vanilla is more of a wintery scent, but I love it, I'd like to pick up a full size to burn in the living room of my new flat on a rainy day.

The prices are a little cheaper than the standard range, and the jars are different, but I think I might prefer them!

Are you a fan of Yankee Candle?

The Holy Grail Product - Catastrophe Cosmetic

I'm pretty fickle when it comes to skincare. I look for the best, and I get bored of products easily. Having said that, there is one product that I would never not have in my rotation, and that is Lush's Catastrophe Cosmetic fresh face mask. It's the only skincare product I repurchase straight away when it runs out, in fact, it might just be the only repurchase I've ever made, and I'm surprised that it's taken me so long to post about it.

Catastrophe Cosmetic is a fresh clay based face mask. Made from blueberries and camomille, it's designed to calm your skin in times of trouble. Slap this on your face, and it will give your skin a good cleanse, dry your spots without drying out your face completely, and clear up any pesky breakouts.

And it works. I use this once a week, or the night before an important event, to clear out my skin. It's the only failsafe spot remover I've found, and it's pretty damn good.

And a few other bonuses? Made with all natural ingredients, proved by the fact it's got a six week expiry date, and it's pretty reasonable too. It works out at around a pound an application which isn't bad for something that works!

I've recommended this to a ton of people, all of whom have loved it! This is definitely holy grail status if you ask me!

Have you tried any of Lush's fresh face masks?

The Wishlist #1 - New Flat Things!

Ikea Alex (small) £55 // Ikea Micke Desk £40 // Ikea Tobias Chair £65 // Keepsake Photo Box £8 // Therapie Himalayan Detox Salts £35 // Everything Will Be Okay Print £16 // Muji Acrylic Five Drawer £25 // Debenhams Set of 12 Glass Candles £6.40 // No7 Illuminating Mirror £24.00 // Pink Embroidered Cameo Cushion, Butterfly Home by Matthew Williamson £8 // Ikea Lots Mirror 4pk £6 // Diptyque Mimosa Room Spray £34 // Glass Jar, Butterfly Home by Matthew Williamson £8 // Daisy Plant £4 // Mango Peach Salsa Yankee Candle Large Jar £19.99 //

So if you follow me on twitter, or I think I mentioned it briefly in a blog post a while back, you'll know that I'm moving! I didn't want to mention it too much too soon so as not to jinx it, but we are at the contract signing stage now, so I'm letting myself get excited! I've been living in uni halls this year, and whilst I'm very lucky to have had a studio room that was a little bigger, in a brand new building, I still feel like I'm coming back to a hotel room, so it's exciting to be moving into somewhere where I can have a little bit more freedom! I'll be moving in with my lovely boyfriend too, which is kind of scary, but also quite nice to know I'm not going to have to go back to an empty flat every night! 

Being the shopper that I am, I've already compiled a list of things that I want to treat myself to (how convenient is it that I'll be getting the keys on payday?!) and it's been a very long time since I've done a wishlist (I think the last one was in March!), so here's the rundown!

Now, our new flat is furnished, but it's missing desks. Both my boyfriend and I have desktop computers as well as laptops, so desks are kind of essential, for uni work too. The flat isn't massive so I've been on the hunt for a little desk that will go with some of the other furniture, and fit in the small gap I have for one, and I found this one from Ikea. It's small enough to fit in the flat, but big enough to hold my massive screen. It's got one drawer underneath, that I will probably use for storing my blogging notebooks and my laptop when I'm not using it, but I could do with a few more drawers for Uni work, samples, press releases, stuff like that. I know everyone has the Ikea Alex units, but it's pretty much the only option I have if I want something that will fit the room and layout. I've been looking for a reasonably priced ghost chair too, since I want something that won't be too imposing on the room, and the cheapest one I've found is this Ikea one. I'm hoping to find one a little cheaper though, since £65 for a bit of plastic seems a little excessive. 

Whilst perusing blogs the other day, I noticed that the lovely Gemma also has a shop. After falling in love with all the jewelery pieces on it, I also found this little photobox. I've been searching for a box to keep on my bedside table for ages, to keep my watch and jewelery in overnight, and just think this one is so cute! I love that you can add your own photo in. It would also make a great gift! I also found the Everything will be okay print. I love this quote so much, and as a self confessed worry wart, I'd love to keep this by my desk, as a little reminder! 

So the best thing about my new flat? It has a bath! I can't even tell you how happy this makes me, if you only knew how many nights I come back to my flat with aching limbs, after a long day in the city, ahem, working (read: shopping), desperate for a bath and having to settle for a shower (really not a suitable alternative) you'd know how happy this makes me. There are so many bath bits I've wanted to try out, but I never want to take them home in case they get pinched. High on the list is the Therapie Himalayan Detox Salts, which have after one particularly convincing video from FleurDeForce, I became desperate for. I've always been a crappy sleeper, so anything that could help me in the slightest is a welcome addition! They're pretty pricey but if they work, so worth it! Speaking of baths, also hitting the wishlist is a set of 12 glass candles from Debenhams, perfect for dotting around the bath at the end of a long day! 

I've got a fair bit of Muji storage in my flat already, but I still have an old Glossybox under my desk with my most used blushes, highlighters and bronzers in, basically all the stuff in pans. The acrylic Muji storage has been boyfriend approved, and this five drawer unit would store the last few bits perfectly! Until I buy more makeup, that is.

I spotted this Matthew Williamson cushion in the Debenhams Sale, and whilst my boyfriend would never let me have something like this on the bed (far too girly, all my current bedding has already been exiled) I figure, he can't tell me I can't have it on my desk chair, right? I love to have cushions on my desk chairs, since I tend to sit there for hours on end when I get 'in the zone' and I just absolutely love this one!

The lighting in the bedroom is pretty terrible in terms of makeup application, and there's no mirror either, so I whilst I want to find a full size wall mirror, I also need a mirror for doing my makeup in. My mum has this No7 one, and it's great, it's got a normal mirror, a magnifying mirror, and a light, so it'll be perfect for going on the chest of drawers where I'll be keeping my everyday makeup. 

I've never really gotten the blogger hype around Diptyque candles. I think they're ridiculously overpriced for very little product, and I've never really liked any of the scents that much, I'm more of a fruity, sweet candle kinda gal. However, I do really like the Mimosa scent, and whilst I'm not going to be spending £40 on a little candle anytime soon, I have it on good authority that the room sprays last forever. Besides, haven't you heard? Boys are smelly...

How cute is this Matthew Williamson jar? Another Debenhams sale find (it's a good 'un!) perfect for keeping cotton wool in in the bathroom. And if the boy doesn't approve, it'll just miraculously turn up anyway. I bet he'd agree if it was for keeping chocolate...

We also have a pretty sizeable balcony with our flat, and I'm excited to get a few plants out there! I love giant daisys, and I'd also like to get an Aloe Vera plant for inside, since you can use it on cuts and burns and all sorts.

I am a Yankee Candle addict. I'm not technically allowed candles where I live now, so I stick to a sneaky little Ikea toffee candle for whilst I'm blogging, and Yankee samplers for reading time before bed, so if they were to get confiscated, it wouldn't be such a disaster. I've been after the Mango Peach Salsa candle for ages, every time I'm near a Yankee Candle stand I have a fifteen minute sniffing session, and I can't wait to get one of these to keep in our living room. Aptly, it's a pretty summery smell too.

So that's what's made my wishlist so far! I'm probably going to head to Home Sense next time I'm in Bournemouth and try and find some nice, thick white bedding, since the boyfriend has vetoed all my flowery stuff, and his is all, well, brown, white was the only colour we could agree on! I'm on the hunt for one of those thick grey knitted throws too but I can only find them in weird colours now. Maybe I'll be able to find one after all the summer stuff is out of the shops!

If you have any recommendations, let me know!

The SPF Factor

So when you're the pastiest shade of white known to man, SPF in the summer is not just a necessity, it's a life saver. When exposed to the sun, my skin goes from uncooked chicken, to beetroot, in under thirty seconds, so it doesn't really matter that we get very few sunny days here in England, if there's no clouds in the sky, the SPF comes out.

These are the two sun protections that wiggled into my suitcase when I went on holiday. I realise I'm committing a massive blogger crime by photographing these used, but I wasn't going to post on them originally!

First up, I was using the Piz Buin Wet Skin Transparent Sun Spray SPF 30. Because it was really hot, I was darting in and out of the pool, and this stuff is great since you can apply it to wet skin. I always start my holiday with a higher SPF, just until my skin is a little tanned, which is why I picked the SPF 30. I really liked this SPF, it kept my skin protected throughout the day without really having to touch up much. The only gripe I had is that despite this being an oil, it was really drying my skin out.

After the third or fourth day, I switched to the new Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration SPF 15, since my skin was a little tanned, and was really dry. I wish I had a picture of this before it got all melted and mixed up in my bag, because it looked really pretty! This is quite a unique product, it's a suncream laced with 'hydrating ribbons' meaning it's pretty damn moisturising. My skin was being dried out by the sun and Piz Buin spray anyway, so my skin really needed this. It smells gorgeous, is super hydrating, applies easily and evenly (not like the oil spray that left me pretty patchy) and in terms of the amount you get, goes a lot further than the Piz Buin. I'll definitely be using this on my legs this summer, if we get any more nice days!

Have you tried any of these?

The Weekly Round Up #15 - The Holiday Edition

So if you follow me on my twitter or instagram, or read any of last weeks blog posts, you'll know that I darted off on an impromptu holiday, before starting my new job, with my family. It was a real last minute thing as we realised that that week was pretty much the last chance we were going to get to go on one last family holiday (I'm old now, sob), so we booked up five days before we left, and headed out to Mallorca.

In an effort to make this blog a little more personal, I thought I'd share my holiday instagram snaps, and add in a little bit more information about what we did/where we stayed, stuff like that!  Hope you enjoy this!

 

 We stayed at the Protur Biomar Gran Hotel and Spa, which is a five star hotel located on the east of the island. I don't think anything I say will really do this hotel justice, but I will say they deserved every single one of their five stars. We were given a complimentary upgrade to two suites, I don't actually have any photos from the room because I took them on my camera and the memory card has bugged out :( but it was a beautiful room with a long corridor, a little tv room with a sofa and arm chair, a big twin room and then a gorgeous new bathroom complete with massive tub! (needless to say, I got in there pretty sharpish!). We arrived really late, and had missed dinner but the hotel kindly sent up an assortment of meats, cheeses, salad, bread and fruit for us to eat (good job too since the champagne at check in was going to my head having not eaten!). The hotel was pretty quiet, we never struggled to get a sunbed, breakfast and dinner were never busy and there weren't many kids there (there was a separate sunbathing area for over 16s anyway). There were two big outside pools but we spent most of the time at the one pictured above, since that's where the bar was!

With our room we also got complimentary access to the spa, where there was a giant pool with different jacuzzi seats and big jets of water, and also steam rooms and saunas of varying temperatures.

The staff also were all incredible, very eager to help and all very polite and chatty.

We were half board and ate at the hotel for a couple of lunches too (the sandwich and burger both came from the terrace bar).  Despite the hotel being pretty pricey, the food and drinks were actually quite reasonable. Lunch was around the ten euro mark, cocktails were 7€ and the sangria was 5€ (pretty impressive when you consider the size of that thing!). All the food I ate there was incredible, and there was a huge selection, but it was the desserts that really impressed! They had the biggest selection of hot and cold desserts, along with selected ice creams and fruit, as well as a chocolate fountain. I'm probably about a stone heavier now!

 The downside to this hotel is that the surrounding area isn't great. It's got a lot of tacky tourist shops, and cheapy english bars, but that wasn't really what we were after. Luckily we had a hire car so we went out a couple of days exploring, with some recommendations of places to visit from family friends! We headed out to Mondrego on the south coast (middle two pictures) which is a very small cove in a nature reserve with beautiful views, crystal clear water, and white sand. It's tucked away at the bottom of a nature reserve and was pretty quiet. The water was gorgeous (once you got used to swimming around next to the fish!). We also visited Porto Christo (bottom picture) where we had lunch. My parents and sister also visited the Drachs Caves at Porto Christo, I sat that out however since I'm incredibly claustrophobic! On our last day we drove up to the northern part of the island and planned on visiting Formentor beach, which had been widely recommended, however, parking was really expensive, you had to pay for a whole day, and we only wanted to go down for a little look, so we followed the road round to Formentor Lighthouse. Whilst the drive is pretty hair raising (think narrow roads, winding round cliff edges, jagged rocks and no barriers) the views were incredible, along the drive and from the lighthouse, so it's well worth a visit!

I shall be getting back into the swing of blogging asap, but I'd like to thank my wonderful guest posters for helping me out while I was away! If you haven't already, go check out Ambi, Elysia and Linda's blogs!

Hope you've had a good week!

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess

Has there ever been a product that once you discovered, you just had to own? A product that you thought of, dreamed of, fantasised about? Well, that's how I felt after one sniff of Estee Lauder's limited edition skin scent, Bronze Goddess.

This is a perfume that Estee Lauder roll out every summer, and it flies off the shelf almost immediately. Each year the packaging is different (I have to say, I do prefer last year's bottle, but beggars can't be choosers) and it comes in one size only, 100ml, which for £45 is pretty damn good.

I'm crap at describing scents but I'll give it my best shot. It's a summery mix of citrus and floral notes, blood orange, coconut, sicilian citron, vanilla and sweet tangerine are all pretty strong in there. To me this just smells like summer, like coconut and orange and suncream and Pina Coladas. It's gorgeous.

One smell of this will literally transport your mind off to a Caribbean island. It's the sort of scent you could never get tired of, and I've had so many compliments on it!

What is your favourite summer scent?

Top 5 Under £10 From The Drugstore

Another guest post for you! Don't say I don't spoil you! Today's post is coming at you from Elysia, who is genuinely one of the loveliest people! I count her as one of my biggest enablers, following her Instagram is downright dangerous! Make sure you all go follow her blog!

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Hello, Bed In The Kitchen fans! My name is Elysia and I blog
over on the LittleBeautyBlogg.
When Jaye asked me to do a guest post on her blog, I was over the moon. I have
never been asked to write a post for someone else so I instantly said yes and
jumped at the opportunity. Being asked to feature on one of your favourite
blogs is probably the best feeling ever and Jaye is such a lovely girl! I love
the style and honesty of Jaye’s posts so I just hope that this guest post
compliments her wonderful blog.

It would be nice to have a makeup collection that’s
completely high end but unfortunately for me and luckily for my bank account; I
don’t. I could spend forever walking around the beauty halls of different
department stores drooling over all the stunning makeup offerings but sometimes
I like to have go and have a look around the drug store. I love a good Boots!!

There are some absolute drug store gems out there and I
thought that I would share my top 5 drug store picks that are under £10 with
you all today! Sometimes, the high street offers some wonderful products and
these are the ones that I cannot live without.

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Real Techniques – Expert Face Brush £9.99

I’m pretty sure that you have all heard of Real Techniques
because the brushes are all over the beauty blogosphere! It seems that beauty
bloggers can’t get enough of these brushes but they really are amazing! They
were created by Samantha Chapman (one
half of the extremely talented PixiWoo sisters) and they use synthetic
fibres that are cruelty free.
I absolutely love my Expert Face brush. I use it for applying foundation and it
works the product into the face perfectly. I feel as though this brush applies
the product slightly heavier than the Buffing Brush (this is another Real Techniques brush that can be used
for blending foundation and it is included in the Core Collection – a
collection of 4 face brushes) but doesn’t make your face look cakey.
Although, I mainly use this brush for applying my foundation, you don’t have
to. The head is rather small and dense so can be used to blend in concealer,
apply cream blusher or cream bronzer. I definitely couldn’t live without this
brush in my collection. I have quite a few foundation brushes of all different
shapes and sizes but this is the one that I constantly come back to.

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No7 Natural Blush Tint Powder – Coral Flush £8.00

I’m deathly pale and
the only colour that I really have is in my cheeks; they’re always rosy! I like
a foundation that has a pretty good coverage. Due to needing such a pale
foundation, I feel as though I am often left looking either like death or
unhealthy (neither of which are
a good look)! I find that blusher is a pale girl’s best friend as it
instantly perks your complexion up and leaves you looking healthy and perfectly
flushed.
I love this No7 blush in ‘Coral Flush’ because it’s affordable, has amazing
pigmentation and is a lovely pink shade. I bought mine around 3 years ago and
stopped using it for a long time. However, recently I was ill and needed
something to stop me looking like a corpse and this blush did the job
beautifully. In the pan there are slight gold flecks visible but these don’t
show much on the skin. When applied onto pale skin, you are left with a
stunning rosy healthy glow that looks natural.
This blusher has amazing pigmentation so a light hand is needed otherwise
you’ll intentionally end up looking like a clown.

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Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder – Transparent £3.99

Something that many beauty bloggers and gurus have in their
collection is this Rimmel powder. At £3.99 it’s most definitely not going to
break the bank. I was a little sceptical when first picking up this product as
I didn’t think it would actually be that good. I was wrong.
Rimmel say that this powder has the ability to control shine and keep the skin
looking matte for up to 12 hours. They also say that this powder won’t clog
pores, applies easily, helps to minimise the look of imperfections and allows
the wearers natural skin to show through. 
As a sufferer of eczema and just generally having sensitive skin, I was
pleased to see that this powder is formulated without the use of parabens,
fragrance and oils.
This powder is available in 6 shades and I chose Translucent because I just
wanted a setting powder. I don’t suffer from particularly oily skin but this
powder definitely does make my face perfectly matte and helps it to stay that
way all day. This Translucent colour doesn’t add any extra colour or coverage
onto foundation that you may have already applied and it just purely for
setting makeup. I highly recommend this powder!

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Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer – 01 Fair £4.19

This concealer is one of those infamous drug store gems that
most beauty bloggers have in their makeup bag! The concealer is an absolute
bargain, at £4.19. The formula is amazing  and the concealer is available in 4 different
shades (fair, light, medium and deep) so there is a shade for everyone.
I use this concealer to cover any blemishes that I may have and to hide my
awful under eye bags. One of the downsides about being pale is that under your
eyes automatically look darker. This concealer covers any discolouration or
blemishes up perfectly and most importantly it doesn’t crease much! The
concealer comes with a wand that has a doe foot applicator on the end and is
therefore perfect for reaching any area of the face. This concealer stays in
place all day, applies well, is easily blended and doesn’t look cakey; a
definite must have for any beauty addict’s makeup collection.
The only downside to this product is that the writing on the packaging rubs off
so easily; hence why mine looks awful in the picture.

Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner – Black £7.99

Eye liner is something that has been a staple in my makeup
up bag for many years. I used to use a Khol eyeliner by Lancome but found that
smudged too much under my eyes, I then used a liquid liner from No7 (Stay Perfect Liquid Eyeliner) but
changed to this Maybelline gel liner a few months ago after hearing lots about
it.
This eyeliner is amazing and is packaged really well. It comes in a little
glass pot and even comes with a little eyeliner brush; for £7.99 I think it’s
amazing. Maybelline claim that this gel liner can last up to 24 hours and
although I haven’t ever worn my makeup for that long I seriously think this
liner could stay in place for that length of time! I wouldn’t say that it’s
difficult to remove … but it doesn’t come off right away and a good makeup
wipe/remover is needed. The colour is a true deep black and it doesn’t apply
too glossy. The small round pot makes this product perfect for travel and as
long as you don’t let it dry out, it should last a while. This is also
available in a range of different colours and I definitely think it is worth
picking up and great value for money.
I apologise for including a picture of a product that has been used. However,
you can see that this is well loved and there is still a heck of a lot of
product left!

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Well those are my top
5 drug store products for under £10 and I hope you have enjoyed my guest post
on Bed In The Kitchen. A big thank you to Jaye for letting me feature on her
blog and a big thank you to her wonderful readers for taking the time to read
something that has been written by someone else; I hope I haven’t let Jaye
down!

Elysia xxxx


Blog: www.littlebeautyblogg.blogspot.co.uk
Twitter: @PurpleElll
Instagram: Elysia)_JW

The In Flight Beauty Bag

It seems that no matter how long I fly for, one hour or thirteen, my skin likes to go haywire. I'm also a very nervous flier,  so I like to have something to distract myself during the flight. I alter what I do depending on the length of the flight, and my flight to Majorca is pretty short and sweet, it's two and a half hours, so what I do beauty wise will be pretty short and sweet, but all the beauty products I will want to reach for throughout the day will need to be in my carry ons, so I thought I would show you what will be in my bag.

I absolutely hate wearing makeup on a flight. The air conditioning dries my hair out like nobody's business, and wearing makeup just enhances that, so the first thing I'll do on the plane, or sometimes, particularly if it's a night flight, I'll take it off before we board. This time I'm packing these Tesco baby wipes, which I love because they're compact, super soft, and there's not much other than water in these, so they won't aggrevate my skin. I'm a pretty messy person too, and you can guarantee that the walk through duty free will have left me with a few swatches up my arms, so they're handy to have.

I'm pretty prone to the sniffles, and I tend to get a runny nose on flights (niceeeee) and I blame the air conditioning again, so I like to carry a packet of tissues.

My flight out to Majorca is at the end of the day, so my deodorant will be wearing off anyway, and sitting in a tin can with 200 other people with very little air won't help, so I've chucked my deodorant in too!

The Caudalie Beauty Elixir is the most important of all these products. I could lose everything else at the airport, but this I need. Whilst this product is great for the skin, clearing up blemishes and it works well as a toner, the essential oils calm my panicked, flight fearing brain, so you can guarantee this will be half empty by the time I land.

Once I'm on the plane, I will smother my face in the No7 Beautiful Skin Hydration Mask, which is the most hydrating product ever. It is a mask so you can apply it for ten minutes and then wash it off, but I will probably just put a little less on and leave it. This is going to double as my nighttime moisturiser while I'm away too.

I have a miniature of Benefit's It's Potent Eye Cream which I will apply after the No7 mask, but this is also my eye cream for the trip!

Nuxe's Reve de Miel is by far my favourite lip balm, I love everything about it, the hydration, the scent, pretty glass packaging. Anyway, I'll put this on the flight, and in the evenings before bed!

Hopefully after doing all this, I'll be able to curl up and watch a film on my iPad, and not be scared!

I'm a bit of a hand sanitizer freak, and I would never get on a plane without one, since I get ill so easily anyway, I like to keep clean! I normally have the fruity scented ones from the Body Shop, but since the Soap and Glory range was on offer in Boots I went for this! It's got a really lovely scent but I do find it quite drying, so I also picked up a miniature of the Soap and Glory Hand Food, which I;m going to keep in my handbag after!

Now, onto makeup. The products I have with me in this bag are the ones I'll want for touch ups throughout the day, and for if I decide to pop on a bit of powder and mascara when I get off the plane, so as not to scare anyone. I've got a miniature of Benefit's Hello Flawless foundation, which you can get for free from any Benefit counter. I went for this foundation because it does look nice and natural when applied with fingers, so I don't have to bring a brush. It's pretty light, but you can build it up for coverage if you need to over any uneven areas. I've got my Bourjois Healthy Balance Powder, because it's very natural looking, but it has good coverage, it's also packed with fruits and nutrients so it's not too bad for your skin.

I'm not taking a lip colour, I'm just gonna stick with the Nuxe Reve de Miel, but I'm going to take my YSL waterproof black eyeliner* (which I will drop into my makeup bag while I'm away) and my YSL Babydoll mascara sample* both of which I love! I also have a sample of YSL's Manifesto perfume, for freshening up!

So that's what I'll be taking on the plane! What do you guys like to take on flights?

Ambi's Everyday Essentials

Today's guest post is coming at you from the lovely Ambi, who is one of the first bloggers I got hooked on! Make sure you check out her lovely blog!

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{page:WordSection1Hello - I'm Ambi, a medical student most of the time and a beauty
fanatic the rest of it. I write about blush, bronzer and big hair (yep, I ran out of alliterations there)
over on my blog, Bombay Rose.

I umm-ed and
ahh-ed over what to write about whilst Jaye is off on her jollies. Being a bit
of a nosey-parker, I'm an absolute sucker for 'Everyday Essentials' posts, so no second guessing what I finally
decided on... although the title may just have given that away!

First up,
body lotion. Even if I have no intention of leaving the house, I still have to
put on a moisturiser - I have incredibly dry skin on my arms and legs, so it's
something of a necessity. My pick? Garnier Body Ultra
Softening Lotion for Dry to Extra Dry Skin - it smells good
enough to eat (don't recommend you do
that though) and leaves my skin feeling smooth and hydrated all day long.

I love the
entire La Roche-Posay range but when
it comes to an absolute essential, I couldn't go a day without Effaclar Duo - I use it as a serum between
my toner and moisturiser, and have found it to be the only skincare product
that has successfully tackled my congested, spot-prone cheeks... I only wish
I'd discovered it sooner!

Good quality tools are essential to
making your makeup look its best - Kevyn Aucoin Eyelash
Curlers take my lashes from long and straight to perfectly
curled, minus the nasty eyelid pinch (ouch)
I've experienced with many a cheaper equivalent.

I wear winged liner most days, so when
it comes to creating the perfect cat eye, nothing beats Maxfactor Glide & Define Liquid Eyeliner in Black. Application is completely foolproof -
the eyeliner looks like a felt-tip pen, and comes out as a rich, dark black
which lasts all day.. even on the oiliest of eyelids!

Nothing beats Real Techniques when it comes to affordable, great quality brushes,
and the Stippling Brush
is my absolute favourite for creating a flawless finish. I buff in a thin layer
of foundation, then stipple in extra product under my eyes and around my nose,
where I need a little extra, ahem,
help.

I just can't resist a dewy, Millie
Mackintosh-esque finish to my skin and have found a 50/50 mix of Bourjois Healthy Mix
Serum Foundation and Nars Pure Radiant
Tinted Moisturizer gives great coverage and leaves me with a more radiant-looking complexion... all
without looking too 'made up.'

I usually
wear my hair in big, tousled waves - unfortunately, it is super thick, which
means very few hairsprays actually hold my style... that is, unless I spray
enough product to burn a sizeable hole in the o-zone layer (sorry polar bears - I don't think my
hairspray habit is helping your plight all that much). L'Oreal Paris Elnett
Satin Hairspray, however, is a bit of an exception to the
rule. It's seriously strong stuff, and manages to hold my careful backcombing
and blow-drying in place all day long.

My
everyday choice of perfume is Lovestruck by Vera
Wang; a gorgeous, fresh and feminine scent. The bottle is
beautiful, if a little O.T.T in its size and design, meaning it ain't all that easy to take from A to B. Probably
not a perfume you can consider packing for a weekend away, especially if you end up with the 100ml bottle, like I have!

 

What are
your everyday beauty essentials?

Feel free to come and say hello to me over on my blog - I'm
currently running a MAC lipstick giveaway, click here to enter!

Loving Lately #1

 I feel like although the months seem to fly, monthly favourites posts just aren't enough to tell you all what I'm loving. There are a lot of products that I love using in the month, but they just don't necessarily make the cut for monthly favourites, so I think I'm going to bring these posts in in the middle of the month, so you can see what is making the rounds in my beauty bag.

First up, I'm loving the Kleenex Facial Cloths for taking off my makeup. These can be on the pricey side, but they are often on offer and are currently available in Poundland. It's basically an oversized cotton pad, but thinner and more gentle. They're made from ecoform natural fibres, and are incredibly soft. I use one of these with my Bioderma, cleanser and toner, and I also use them to dry my face after washing, since they are much more hygenic than using a towel. I really like these!

A recent MAC purchase with my holiday in mind has been getting a lot of love, in fact I think I've worn it every day since I bought it, and that's the Paint Pot in Rubenesque. I'm not a fan of Bare Study, it's too glittery and pale for me, where as this is a more natural shimmer, with a bit of gold. It looks quite orangey in the pot but it wears as a gentle golden shimmer. It looks lovely worn alone, with a slick of black eyeliner, or with a darker colour smudged into the outer corner.

A nail polish that's doing the rounds in the blogosphere at the moment is Rimmel's 60 Second polish in Rose Libertine, and this blogger is no exception. This is a beautiful dusky baby pink that just looks great against pale skin like mine. It's very glossy, and even more so when paired with Seche Vite. I just think it's a very pretty, girly, summery shade.

A bit of an odd one, but I wanted to mention Dove's Go Fresh 48 hour Cucumber and Green Tea deodorant. I very rarely buy the same bottle of deodorant twice, but I think I'm on my fourth bottle of this one, and I have a bottle at my boyfriends, and a spare in my handbag. It's a very refreshing scent, and it's the only deodorant I've ever found that I can still smell on my skin at the end of the day, and I quite often get asked what deodorant I'm wearing. You can usually pick this up on offer for about a pound too!

I'm not really a Revlon Lip Butter kind of girl, I never really understood the hype. I thought they were okay, but nothing special. This particular shade however, Wild Watermelon, has been getting a lot of love recently. I like it because it's pretty versatile, you can slide it over your lips once for a sheer pink gloss, build it up to a bold pink toned red, or pat it into the lips for a pinky red stain. My one problem with these however, is that the formula is a little too soft and they melt whenever the temperature is above about 15 degrees. Not so handy.

Another lip product, I picked up my first Balmi lip balm a couple of weeks ago. I'm not really a fan of the EOS ones, I think they're pretty pricey and not all that hydrating, but I really love this one. I love the strawberry scent, the moisturisation, and the cute little pot. I put this on in the mornings once I've done all my skincare but before I've done my makeup, to prep my lips for colour and it works a treat. I've since picked up a second one for my keyring!

Last beauty product and it's a shout out to my L'Oreal Matt and Messy spray. I'm pretty fickle when it comes to hair products, my bathroom is full of products that I've started using and lost interest in after a couple of weeks. However, I bought this probably around two months ago, and I'm now half way through the bottle having used it every day since. It's basically a salt spray but it doesn't smell, make your hair crispy, or clumpy. I use it after I've straightened my hair to add texture to the ends, or after I've blow dried to define the waves. A big thumbs up from me!

Lastly, I wanted to mention my new favourite notebook, this cute pink leather one from the Martha Stewart range at Staples. I picked up a few a while back, this is my journal, and I have a cute light green spirally one that I use for organising blog posts. They're pretty pricey normally, ringing in at around the £10 mark, but they've recently been buy one get one free! To any stationery lovers out there like me, they've got thick, good quality pages! I love them!

What have you been loving recently?

What's In Linda's Travel Makeup Bag!

If all goes to plan, whilst you're reading this I should be basking in the sun, drinking a cocktail, on a sun lounger in the Mediterranean. Hopefully I might even come home and need to buy a new foundation for my tanned skin. Wishful thinking probably, I'm a burner, not a tanner!

I thought that since I am away, this is the perfect opportunity to introduce to you a few of my favourite bloggers, and get a few guest posts up. So today's post is from the lovely Linda, who you should all go follow right now!

Hello
Everyone,

I have
had the pleasure of doing a guest post for the very lovely Jaye at
BedintheKitchen so I thought I would give you all a peek in to my holiday make
up bag!

I thought
about doing this post before I went away, but I know that I would have ended up
changing my mind about what I was taking so I have waited till my return so I
could tell you all exactly what I took. I went for the simple approach this
year. I will usually take a whole bunch of stuff that I never end up using. I
usually have the idea that I will be creating smoky eyes of an evening, but as
soon as I am in holiday mode, I can never be bothered.

I decided
to stick to the same type of look each night. I wanted dewy skin, lots of
mascara and a bold lip! I took eyeshadow palette with me so I could have the
choice of doing a nice eye look if I fancied it, because I am a woman, and we
do change our minds!

So my make
up bag that I usually take is from Primark. It was about £3. I’ve had it a
couple of years now but I like it because it holds a really good amount.

For skin
I took one of my favourite tinted moisturisers which is Clinique Moisture
Surge. I love the look this gives the skin. It has a decent amount of coverage
to even out the skin but still lets your skin show through and it just makes
you look like you have really naturally, dewy skin. It leaves such a nice
finish to the skin. I adore it! I always took Clinique Line Smoothing Concealer.
I love the staying power of this concealer and it works really well with the
tinted moisturiser. It is also excellent for toning down any red bits if you
have stayed in the sun a bit too long like I did!  For blusher and bronzer I chose Benefit Fine
One One and Benefit Hoola. I wanted to keep the cheeks dewy and this is perfect
for that. It gives a natural flush to the cheeks and compliments Hoola so well.
It gives a warm look to the skin and Hoola is probably one of the most natural
looking bronzers I have ever used. Not a hint of orange! I also took the opportunity
to use my MUA Cosmetics highlighter. This is a very soft pink and looks amazing
on top of the cheekbones, It lasts all night and it photographs beautiful.

For eye
make up I took the MUA Cosmetics, Heaven & Earth palette. This was perfect
as it had every colour that I needed without having to over load the make up
bag. Mascara was Seventeen Doll’d up Mascara. I am in love with this mascara.
It looks good all day and doesn’t flake so I knew it would be perfect for warm
weather. My favourite kohl liner is a Bourjois smokey effect liner in grey. I
find this is the perfect shade for me. It is perfect at defining the eyes
without being too harsh. For eyebrows I took my beloved Mac Lingering. This is
an amazing product and you can create natural looking brows with, even if you
are an ex tweezer junkie like me and you have destroyed your eyebrows! I took
the new MUA Cosmetics Pro Base eye primer with me also. I used this a couple of
times and so far, so good! I will have to use it a bit more to give me full
thoughts on this one though. Last but not least for eye’s are my Tweezerman
eyelash curlers! They give the perfect curl. I have a bit of trouble trying to
find a set of eyelash curlers that I can use comfortably and they work perfect
for me.

So on to
lips! As I said I wanted to go for a bold lip but I wanted a product that I
could literally throw on and forget about. I took 3 MUA Cosmetics power pouts.
These were perfect. They leave a great stain on the lips that lasts for ages. I
also took Mac Hue with me, just in case I did go for a full on smoky eye as I
would need a good nude lip. Hue is one of my all time favourite nudes.

So I hope
you enjoyed my post. Please let me know if you do and also let me know what you
take in your holiday make up bag.

Love
Linda xoxo