Being a Tourist at Home

 It's not often that we spend time really exploring the areas in which we live. I for one am very guilty of getting caught up in the details of the day, and not truly appreciating what's around me. I came back to Bournemouth last week and for the first day, my awesome friend Daphne joined me. Daphne and I have a strange sort of friendship, forged by bonding over tea, lipstick and all things American. We haven't been friends for all that long, but we have become really close really quick! Anyway, whilst she's in the UK she's on a mission of sorts to explore as much as she can, so I figured why not take the opportunity to be a tourist in my own home? 

We started the morning bright and early with a makeup session much longer than necessary, and headed out to explore. We ended up in Christchurch which is a little village basically at the other end of my road, somewhere I love because it's still got a lot of traditional English heritage and features. We explored the quay (where Daphne attempted to make friends with a Swan against my warnings that they aren't as nice as they look), wondered round the ruins of the old castle, saw the ducking stool that ironically wasnt used on witches, but rather women with 'loose tongues', sat in the stocks and of course ate a lot.

 I got Daphne to snap some outfit pictures for me too, while we were in the ruins, I love the look of the old walls as a background! I love this outfit right now, it's so comfy! The top is just an oversized grey Primark tee (super soft and comfy, and won't show your food baby!) and the necklace is Primark too, I am obsessed with necklaces with triangles, so when I saw this last month for £3 I had to have it! The leggings are from Monki, and are the most 'out there' article of clothing I own. I chucked on my Nike 7.0 Free Run Trainers, they're seriously comfortable and we walked really far! My bag is new from Zara, it's the Mini City Bag with Zip Details in the colour 'Jeans' and I adore it. I wear so much black and white, it's nice to add a pop of colour with a bag! Please excuse my chipped mani, I know, I'm an awful excuse for a blogger. I love wearing my hair like this right now, I just let my hair dry naturally overnight, drop a few curls in amongst my natural curls with my GHD's, and then just brush it out with my fingers. I just love the laidback look it has! 

 We also played the typical blogger card and had pancakes for lunch (hey, I was on holiday, okay!) in one of my favourite little cafe's, Cheese and Alfies. All the food is freshly made and delicious, and the cafe is filled with cute art and battered second hand books. And doesn't Daphne take an attractive photo?!

I think this has made me realise I really need to appreciate what's around me a lot more! It's been a long time since I've done anything like this and it was such good fun! I need to start making the most of what's around me, even in London!

The Review: Bare Mineral Ready Eyeshadow 8.0 The Power Neutrals

 And the award for longest product name definitely goes to the Bare Minerals Ready Eyeshadow 8.0 The Power Neutrals. What a mouthful. You may have seen me mention the Bare Minerals Ready Eyeshadow 2.0 The Epiphany a few weeks back, my first foray into the Bare Minerals world, a very impressive eyeshadow duo. So when I found this eight shadow palette in the ASOS sale, I whipped out my £20 voucher courtesy of Amelia and picked up this palette for a bargain £4.

What really attracted me to this palette is that despite being a neutral palette the shades are a little different. There's a khaki kind of shade, a couple of taupes, it's just a little different to your usual brown neutral palettes. That being said, all the shades on the eyes are SO wearable, even more so than they look in the palette.

As far as formula goes, I genuinely think Bare Minerals eyeshadows are the best I've ever tried (and that's saying something) they're so so soft and incredibly pigmented, I haven't found any other shadows that come close.They wear amazingly well throughout the day, and they are just so damn reliable. 

I'm not sure if this palette is still widely available, or if it was on sale because it's been discontinued but I would wholeheartedly recommend all Bare Minerals Eyeshadows!

Have you tried anything by Bare Minerals?

Glossy Lip Picks

I've recently started favouring a glossier lip, I feel like it's more suited to Spring and Summer months, and matte lips belong in the colder seasons. I've even gotten into lipgloss, which is saying something since I'd never normally go near lipgloss with a barge pole, and I know a lot of you feel the same! So I thought I'd give you a round up of my favourite lip products that give a glossy effect, without actually wearing a gloss.

One of my favourite lipstick ranges right now is the Bobbi Brown Sheer Lip Colour Line, pictured here is the shade Rosy. As the name would suggest, the formula of these is pretty sheer, but easily buildable. What I love about these is the fact that they have a super glossy finish, but they still last ages on the lips. They aren't cheap but as far as I'm concerned, they're totally worth it. 

Another high-end pick I wanted to mention is the NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencils. Pictured above is the shade New Lover and I just love this as a not-quite-nude my-lips-but-better shade, that just adds a little colour and shine. This range of pencils is just so easy to wear, and perfect for chucking in the handbag for on the go.

Another pencil option that's a lot more budget friendly are the Bourjois Colour Boost Lip Crayons (pictured above Peach On The Beach). When these were first released I didn't think I'd wear any of the shades, but actually they all look quite different on to how they look in the bullet, since they're quite sheer. Again, I love these because despite their sheer, glossy look, they last really well on the lips.

I've raved about the Kiko Kiss Balms a lot on this blog, and quite deservedly. Under five pounds and incredibly moisturising, with just a sheer hint of colour, I'm a big fan of these. Since they're technically a balm they leave a super glossy effect to the lips, but with a pop of colour. A definite handbag staple. 

The Korres Lip Butters aren't necessarily the most practical of lip products, the pot means it's not ideal for on the go, but I do love them all the same. Super moisturising, but they come in a super pretty range of shades (pictured is Pomegranate, my favourite) and they give a seriously glossy finish.

And lastly the Revlon Lip Butters. In all honesty I'm not a massive fan of these, I find the colour range a little suspect but the above shade, Berry Smoothie, is the most wearable, and with some of them they're just a bit too wet, if that makes sense, they're kinda squishy in the barrel. However, they do leave a glossy, pretty finish on the lips, despite not being moisturising at all.

What are your favourite glossy lip picks?

I'm Sorry, I've Changed My Mind

Sometimes, you can really like a product, and then for no apparent reason, just change your mind on it. It happens a lot to me, sometimes I'll buy a product and not be that impressed, and then one day I'll suddenly fall for it, but today, I'm talking about the products I used to love, but now I'm not so sure.

First of all, let's talk about the Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation. As a drugstore foundation this is great, good medium but buildable coverage, natural looking on the skin and it's got a good wear time to boot. However, over the last few months I've found that it it's so heavily scented that a) it makes my stomach turn, and b) it breaks me out. It's a shame since as far as drugstore foundations go, this is one of the better ones, but it's just not working for me anymore. 

Benefit Boi-ing Concealer was one of my first high end purchases, it's marketed as an industrial-strength concealer, and I must have liked it to start with since I've hit pan on it! However, I now find that despite the good coverage, this actually slips off quite quickly and leaves that blemish you painstakingly covered in the morning shining in all it's glory after a couple of hours. 

This one will be controversial, but I have completely gone off the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze. I don't like to wear this on it's own any more since I find it starts to sheer out after a couple of hours, and I don't use it as a base because it's too shimmery to apply shadow over. It's a shame because it's a gorgeous colour, but I'd rather reach for the Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Paint in Rich Russet, which wears much better.

And last but not least Batiste Dry Shampoo. I'm pretty sure there was a point in time where if you wanted dry shampoo, Batiste was your only option, and then it was great. However, now there are so many dry shampoos out there that not only make your hair look clean, but they make it feel clean too.

I'm sure some of you probably love these products, but for me they just don't work well anymore. Have you ever changed your mind on a product?

This Week's Most Loved #12

Happy Sunday! I apologise for the low quality photo, I'm back in Bournemouth and my house is pretty much sheltered from all angles by trees, so it's super dark! I hope you've all had a good week anyway, I popped back to London for the beginning of the week to spend time with the Boyfriend, and then I spent the latter part of the week back home, being a tourist with Daphne, and spending time with family. 

I also wanted to give you a little update, I switched the blog commenting system over to Disqus this week which was sort of a long time coming. I've had several problems with Blogger's own commenting system, people writing comments but they don't save properly, the comments not working with mobile devices, stuff like that. Also, if I or anyone else reply to your comments via blogger, you won't know about it, whereas Disqus will notify you! Hopefully this should make it easier for all of us, but if you have any issues with it please do let me know! It may take a couple of days for all the previous comments to be imported and they might look a little strange on older posts, but hopefully this will be better! 

Anyway, onto my favourite picks from the week! First up, I've been trialling out the Bourjois Happy Light Matte Primer, in an effort to try more drugstore primers. It's too early to give you a full lowdown on this yet, but as soon as I can I'll give you a full run through of my thoughts! Just wanted to give it a mention, because it definitely helps keep your skin matte, good for the (hopefully) impending hotter months.

I mentioned the Real Techniques Contour Brush in my March favourites, I've been using it with my MAC Mineralize Skinfinish for a good six or seven weeks, but this week I've also been using it to apply my blush and I love it. Because it's so small and tapered it gives a much more subtle look!

I've always liked using the Smashbox Halo Highlighting Wand on the top of my cheeks and under my browbone, but this week I've been mixing it in 50/50 with my under eye my concealer and the effect it gives is so brightening and reflective, it makes me look much more awake! 

The lipstick I've been loving this week is the MAC Lipstick in Peach Blossom, a gorgeous pink nude with a hint of peach to it. It's one of those lipsticks that goes with every makeup look, and is super easy to wear.

I've also been loving wearing my hair curly this week! It's finally long enough for me to wear curly and not look weird! 

What have you guys been loving this week?