- A lazy bank holiday spent with The Boy. We did very little and it was fantastic.
- Over the last week we rewatched all of the Harry Potter films. Despite being a total Potterhead, it's the first time I've watched all the films in order since the last movie came out. I irritated the boy all the way through by pointing out all my favourite book bits that didn't make the cut.
- Cooking a midweek roast. I just love any food that's covered in gravy.
- Treating myself to the latest Jamie Oliver and Elle Decoration magazines, and curling up with a cup of peppermint tea to read them. Blissful.
- Receiving the most wonderful package in the mail from my friend Alexandra. I feel so lucky to have such wonderful friends!
- Enjoying how beautiful Bournemouth is! I love driving around as the sun is low in the sky, and admiring how the sun shines in beams through the trees! It's so nice to be around so many trees!
- Being bought breakfast in bed by the boy! He's a good'un really!
- Being back in my own bed. I don't have much stuff left in my room at my parents, so it always has a slight hotel-stay feel to it, now that all my teenage clutter has disappeared. My bed is SO much comfier than our London bed (damn you furnished flat), and I always sleep so well at home. Until I get woken up by the birds at 4am. I can sleep through traffic and sirens, but birds? Not a chance.
- The tastiest salad in the world! I picked up some lunch from the Sainsbury's salad bar this week and it was so incredibly delicious!
- Spending the day down on the beach with my Dad, his dad and my sister. I see a lot of my mums parents because they live in an annexe on my parents house, but I don't see much of my Grandad on my dads side. We went for lunch down at the seafront and generally had a really nice day.
- Listening to the rain fall first thing in the morning whilst I'm still cosied up in bed. I think it's one of my favourite things in the whole world!
- Last night my dad, sister, Con and I all headed out to the cinema to see the new Disney movie Tomorrowland. It's so nice to get to do stuff with my family, I get to see my mum a lot but I don't get as much time with my dad and sister!
Ever since this fateful night when I stepped out of my comfort zone with a jewel blue eyeshadow and LOVED it, I've been feeling the urge to break out of my champagne-shimmer and neutral-brown shadow rut. Don't get me wrong, I love a good neutral eye, but life's too short to only wear brown eyeshadow.
I've made some progress, by playing with a few darker, smokier looks still in the neutral zone, but now I'm feeling ready to step out of my comfort zone and play with some colour.
This is where you come in! I want to know how you incorporate colour into your eye looks, inspire me! Do you stick to neutrals, do you like a pop of coloured liner, or are you brave enough to rock an out and out coloured lid look? What products do you love for getting a bit of colour? Enable me, ladies.
Are you a neutral shadow lover, or are you a little more daring?
I deem packing for an overnight trip right up there with picking what sides to order with your pizza (it's always garlic bread and wedges in the end), trying to find a matching pair of socks and concealing my under eye circles. It's tricky.
When packing for just one night, the aim of the game is packing as little as possible, and sometimes taking a full face just for a day seems excessive. But for someone like me, who is totally addicted to makeup, leaving behind a handful of steps just isn't an option. Of course, it depends on where you're going, but you know, a girl's gotta have options. So here are my top tips for keeping your luggage as light as possible.
- Put together your makeup & skincare bags as you get ready the morning you leave. This will ensure you don't forget anything, if you pack as you go along.
- Pack miniatures wherever possible, especially those single use sachets you think you'll never use, perfect for chucking out after using them! I have a giant box where I put every sample and mini product I can lay my hands on, and reserve them solely for travel!
- Go brush free where you can. A foundation that blends in nicely with your fingers, cream cheek and eye products, that sort of thing. Brushes can really bulk up your bag, so avoid them where possible!
- Pick your foundation based on what's compact and travel friendly. For example, I'd pass over something like the YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat foundation, a large heavy glass bottle, for something like the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua or Jouer Matte Moisture Tint, a small compact plastic number.
- Sacrifice what you can. Do you really need blush, contour, bronzer and highlight? Do you need a twelve shadow eye palette? I tend to opt for just a shimmery blush and cream shadow instead, and go more simple.
- Invest in a mini hairbrush. I love the compact Tangle Teezer! It'll save you a ton of room, and comes in handy for windy days too.
- Check what's in your handbag. If you're anything like me, you'll probably have a powder, a concealer and about thirty lip products in there too. Don't pack what you're already carrying in a different bag!
- Pack multipurpose products. Cream blushes you can use on your lips, an eyeshadow you can use as contour and to fill in your brows. That kinda thing.
- Think twice before you pack. I once found myself packing my hairdryer, straighteners, shampoo and conditioner, styling cream and heat spray for an overnight stay, before realising I'd done my hair that morning. I took it all out, and chucked in a bottle of dry shampoo. Just think about it.
- When all else fails, deploy a five product face, like this one!
What are your tips for overnight travel?
Back again, this time with the classic, sit down and babble to the camera about errr.... my trash. Not as weird as it sounds, I promise.
I love these kind of videos because I really feel like once you've used up a whole product, you can give the best opinion on it! Prepare yourself for a lot of hair products and mascara!
What have you used up lately?
I think it's fair to say that these brushes have reached something of a cult status amongst beauty bloggers and lovers alike, not least for their shiny rose gold hardware. I resisted the urge to pick up this set for the longest time, but after chucking out a few brushes and identifying a few gaps within my brush wardrobe, I decided to pick these up, a 10% off code sweetening the deal.
Zoeva have recently bought out a new version of this brush set, but I went for the original, I prefer the brush selection in this one, and I slightly prefer the black handles to cream. The set contains eight brushes and comes with a beautiful brown leather pouch to store it in, complete with matching rose gold hardware.
So the brushes! There's a mix of face and eye, natural and artificial bristle brushes in the set, and I honestly can't think of any other brushes you'd need!
106 Powder Brush - Good for powder as the name would suggest, the super soft synthetic fibres pick up the perfect amount of powder so that things don't look cakey. I also like this one for bronzer, getting right up under the cheekbones and it blends colour out a treat if you go overboard with the blush.
102 Silk Finish - Possible the perfect foundation brush? This rounded top brush is the perfect shape and size for really blending foundation into the skin for a natural, streak-free finish.
110 Face Shape - The only one I struggled to find a use for. This is nice for under eye concealer, and also for cream highlight and contour products!
127 Luxe Sheer Cheek Brush - A small, natural, tapered bristle brush. This works equally well with contour and blush, it's the perfect size for getting under the cheekbones, or for dusting over the top. It blends product in a treat, leaving a really natural finish.
142 Concealer Buffer - Again, as the name would suggest, perfect for buffing in concealer. This works both under the eyes and on blemishes, and really creates a seamless concealed look.
227 Luxe Soft Definer - A perfect MAC 217 dupe, amazing for packing colour onto the lid and blending it in too. An eye essential.
231 Luxe Petit Crease - I actually prefer this for getting shadow along my lashline as opposed to the crease, the firm tapered bristles are perfect for creating a soft powder liner look.
317 Wing Liner - I like this for gel liner, but I prefer it for filling in my brows! It's dinky enough to be perfect for the job!
So the verdict? Absolutely worth every penny. Especially when you compare it to something like the Real Techniques Bold Metals Brushes that are £25 for one and nowhere near as good.
At around £55 you're getting a lot of bang for your buck, and this really is an entire brush collection, you don't really need anything else! I am in love with every single one of these brushes!
What are your favourite brushes?