July Favourites

If you read my latest Life Lately post then you may know that this month wasn’t my strongest beauty-wise. I kept to a low-buy all month and the majority of it was spent makeup-free. Since I haven’t bought many new things either, when I have been wearing makeup it has been sticking mostly to my known favourites from my stash. So, in terms of favourites this month it has been pretty short and sweet and more skincare focused.

Starting with the one makeup item however that I have been obsessed with for the past couple of weeks. Not a newbie by any means and one I have mentioned plenty of times before, in fact it may have been in a previous favourites? It is the cult favourite Mac Velvet Teddy lipstick. Now it really took me a while to truly love this shade. I have a lot of Mac lipsticks in a similar colour family with others that I prefer more like Mehr and Twig for being that bit more pink and flattering. Velvet Teddy lies to the browner toned side of things with a hint of peachy tones. I always liked it but it never blew me away until recently. I strangely was desperate to wear it one day and I have been wearing it constantly recently. It is just a perfect nude that isn’t too brown and basically the whole my lips but better. So worth the hype!

Moving on to skincare bits, I have been trying a few new things recently skincare-wise and have been sticking to a much better routine now especially since I have had so many makeup-free days. First up is another cult product, this time the Pixi Glow Tonic. I had been desperate to try this exfoliating toner for so long cause if Caroline Hirons approves then it has to be a winner, right!? This is the first product I’ve tried from the Pixi brand but I am already thinking of many more products I want to try out. I have always been pretty poor and irregular in using toners/exfoliators in my routine but since I picked this up I have been trying to make sure I am getting my regular use. At first use it is quite difficult to understand what the product is doing but after a good few weeks I can definitely see a difference in my skin. Scarring from blemishes have been massively reduced and that is always my biggest concern as well my skin appearing fresher and smoother. I think I’ve found myself a great staple now in my routine!

If you recall my Origins beauty box post, then it will be no surprise that I am mentioning a product included in that post. I finally got to try the Origins VitaZing SPF 15 Moisturiser and I have been loving it from my first use. I do find moisturisers can be quite tricky to get right, many are pretty basic but not this. The consistency isn’t too thin yet it isn’t too thick and heavy, it feels moisturising and firming on the skin without feeling tacky. It also has a very sheer tint and delivers the most beautiful radiance which just makes this moisturiser so worthy of the pennies. It adds a lovely glow to the skin that looks flawless and healthy. Oh and did I mention it also has SPF included, winner! Again, this could be another long time skincare favourite of mine!

What have you been loving lately?

Twitter | Pinterest | Bloglovin | Instagram

Life Lately #7

Summer just seems to be flying by and it’s crazy to think that August (my birthday month, eek!) is about to begin! This month has been a little crazy. Since my last job came to an end and uni has stopped for the Summer, I have been looking desperately for another job. Luckily, I got a few job interviews which has taken up some of my time to prepare for, hence the job interview makeup post!  I succeeded in my first interview and took the job. I started it last week however it hasn’t been great. My first day wasn’t great and I just felt more and more demotivated. It really isn’t the job for me! However very luckily, I was super relived when I came home from my first shift to learn that I had been offered another job which was one I really wanted! So next month I am super happy to be starting another new job that will hopefully turn out much better than my current one!

Job searching aside, the weather has been pretty poor except from the odd few days of heat in the UK. That didn’t stop me however taking a nice little weekend away with one of my friends before I started my job. I hadn’t been doing much during the month or had much planned so it was nice to just spend a few days chilling and having pretty much no internet! Other than that, nothing else really happened during July, much to the busyness of dealing with my interviews and how bad the weather was.

In terms of blogging, I have to admit there has been times this month were I just haven’t been feeling it. Before I went away and when I started work, I did feel pretty pressured to ensure I had a good blog post arranged for those times and it has been a bit of a struggle even finding time to take photographs never mind thinking of a good post idea. I did mix it up a bit though with some more lifestyle-y posts particularly my foodie post talking about ingredients to have in your cupboard which was so different for me to write about. I also haven’t worn much makeup for the most of the month so I did feel a little uninspired beauty wise! Hopefully though next month, I will have a few new beauty things to share (like my recent little Charlotte Tilbury splurge!) and of course being my birthday soon, I gotta treat my self, right!

Catch up with July posts: Favourite YouTube Channels, My Bag Wishlist, Inexpensive Decor Ideas, Photography Tips, Inside My Sample Box Part 2 and the Origins Mix and Mask Box.

How did you spend your July?

Twitter | Pinterest | Bloglovin | Instagram

July Playlist

Another month, another playlist. In the Summer months excluding my holiday time, I don’t tend to listen too heavily to music unlike when I am constantly listening to new things when travelling during uni time. So for the mean time, it has been listening to long time favourites and just getting addicted to catchy dance tunes on the radio. I was super excited to see that Mumford and Sons had released a new mini album entitled ‘Johannesburg’ which features a collaboration with a few South African musicians. There really is nothing better than the folky sounds of M&S which I adore teamed with traditional African sounds. Such a great collection of unique tunes!

In my last playlist, I mentioned my love for Twin Atlantic, this month I am still as ever hooked on their albums, this month however their second album has been playing constantly! From the rockier sounds of TA to the complete opposite side of the spectrum, I’ve also had songs from Drake and Rihanna stuck in my head along with another few chart songs that aren’t really my usual style but are so damn addictive!

What have you been listening to lately?

Twitter | Pinterest | Bloglovin | Instagram

July Goals

Summer has officially began, it is crazy to think we are now in July! Christmas is only a blink away people, sorry! Since my holidaying in the sun is over and I have so much time left before going back to uni, I am hoping that the next couple of months will be very productive! So here is my goals for the month ahead were I hope to be kicked back into gear (and shape!)…

• Maintain a regular fitness routine
• Keep spending to a minimum (unless I get rich)
• Try out new healthy main meal recipes
• Write more lifestyle-y blog posts
• Interact more!

What do you wish to achieve this month? 

Twitter | Pinterest | Bloglovin | Instagram

July Favourites

It’s hard to believe I am writing another favourites post. July seemed to fly by and now its time to reflect on some of the beauty bits I have been loving over the month. There are a few summery inspired products, a killer eyeshadow palette and a couple of other essentials.

First up is the killer eyeshadow palette itself, the Zoeva Cocoa Blend palette. After a bit of online browsing (the usual) I came across this stunning palette from Zoeva. Now I was never really interested in Zoeva as a makeup brand, more really for their brushes but this palette really captured my heart. The shades are just so me! Chocolate-y browns, bronze-y shades and that gorgeous cranberry colour that pretty much made me buy it. I am not going to ramble on too much about it as I will be giving you all a full review very soon!

Next up, is a pretty summery nail polish from the Essie Summer 2015 collection. The shade Chillato was basically calling my name. Its a pale yellow/lime colour which just screams Summer. As you would expect from Essie, it has a fab formula and lasting power. Again I will show you this one in more detail a little later!

Of course I couldn’t have this favourites post without mentioning my two new amazing lipsticks from Charlotte Tilbury. I did my first CT purchase this month and picked up the two lipsticks; Lost Cherry and Sexy Sienna. I reviewed and swatched them both here. The formula of these is amazing, no other matte compares! They are super smooth and creamy to apply and the two colours are just beautiful! It won’t be long before I will be making another purchase!

I also rediscovered an old favourite this month in the form of Soap and Glory Archery. It’s a popular one and for good reason. I used this a lot this month (until it ran out! weep!) and I remembered how great it was. S&G Archery was the first real kind of eyebrow pencil I ever used and it really got me into filling in my brows. It creates such a natural but fuller brow. It really is fab and a great place to start when looking for a eyebrow pencil!

Last but not least was a real life saver this month, the L’Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil. Frizzy hair and humidity is a no go. I was braced with a tough challenge of bracing the Spanish heat and dealing with my thick frizzy hair. It was difficult to say the least but this oil made things that much easier. I literally had to slather my hair in oil every night (and I am talking a lot of oil here!) to get it to cooperate in the slightest. My hair is very dry so it needed a lot of nourishment and moisture and this oil made it more manageable and much silkier. I can’t quite imagine my holiday without it!

What were you loving this month?

Twitter | Pinterest | Bloglovin

 

 

 

July Playlist

It’s that time again when I give you all a snippet into the music I’ve been singing along to for the past month. As I’ve probably mentioned for the gazillion-th time I went on holiday this month so it gave me the perfect opportunity to listen to some new music. One album I had been so desperate to listen to in full was Hozier’s album titled Hozier (genius or what!). I had heard Take Me To Church and Someone New a lot and fell in love with his amazing unique voice. I basically had the album on repeat while lounging by the pool on a daily basis and it really is an amazing album. My favourite song has to be In a Week, which also features vocalist Karen Cowley and other favourites include From Eden and Jackie and Wilson. It’s definitely a great album I recommend giving a listen! As well as the soft sounds of Hozier, I also enjoyed some upbeat songs from the likes of Rita Ora, 5SOS and Little Mix. I also reengaged my love for Mumford and Sons by listening to a couple of new tracks from their album which I still need to properly listen to in full but I am loving their sound (as usual).

What did you listen to this month?

Twitter | Pinterest | Bloglovin

Monthly Round-up: July

It’s time for another monthly roundup, oh how fast time goes! It feels like just yesterday I was rambling on about going on holiday and now I am back home to the miserable weather! Anyway this month was pretty full on and a lot busier in comparison to my laid back month of June (catch up here). So luckily I do have a few things to mention from what I got up to this month!

So obviously as I have already stated (a million times) I went off on holiday this month. You may have noticed my slight absence this month on the blog and from my related travel posts (you can them check out here and here). Of course during that time I was spending my days lying in the sunshine enjoying the heat that has been pretty non-existent in the UK. I went to the South of Spain which was just so lovely! The weather was incredible and definitely some of the highest temperatures I’ve ever experienced abroad so the sun cream and ice cream appeared quite a few times! So overall I had a fab time and also got a little spendy at duty free but I’ll probably dish the deeds on that one later!

As well as having a fab time in the sunshine a couple of other exciting things happened back home. Firstly, I got a job! If you are unaware basically I am a full time uni student at the moment so most of my time is spent in education but for the longest time now I was looking for a part time job and I finally got one. I obviously don’t have a lot of hours but just having the feeling of being able to earn my own money is so satisfying. It is just a basic retail job but I have been enjoying it so far and I’ve been working alongside some lovely people too!

Also, just last week I passed my driving theory test. Yay! I am not sure if I had mentioned about driving on my blog before but for a year now I’ve been learning to drive and I only just got to taking my theory test. I am super happy to get it out the way and now look to taking my actual driving test which is super scary but so exciting! I just can’t wait til I can legally drive and not have to get the train to work! So that was my exciting month, now here’s to August… my birthday month 🙂

Catch up on July posts: Thee Charlotte Tilbury splurge, Mac Mehr lipstick, Vanilla Cupcake recipe and the Summer Nail Edit.

How did you spend July?

Twitter | Pinterest | Bloglovin

 

 

Vacation Diary 2014: Portugal

We are reaching mid August now (already!? I know where does time go!!) and sadly our long Summer nights will be ending soon however I did have some splendid moments this summer and I hope you did too! Well this summer I took a trip to the sunny Algarve in Portugal which is located at the very south coast of Portugal and I thought I would share some of my memories here 🙂

As I stated before Algarve is at the south coast of Portugal therefore promising a lot of beautiful sunny beaches and it definitely stayed true to its promise. There were a variety of beaches particularly in Albufeira (where I was and a very popular tourist destination) and the beaches were well equipped with plenty of sun-loungers and beach side bars and cafes looking onto the incredible view.

Enjoying a cocktail by the beach 🙂

The food was fabulous and most places were pretty good value. There was two places in particular which I just loved. O Poeta (above) was located in the main strip of Albufeira and was absolutely delicious!! The restaurant specialized in Tex Mex food (my fave!) serving the likes of tacos, burritos and quesadillas. It was well worth the money and left me incredibly full afterwards, as well as being well entertained by a Mexican singer it was great. I also visited an amazing sushi restaurant named Fuji which has to be my favorite sushi experience ever and I love my sushi! The service, presentation and the quality of the food was very much on top!

We all do love a bit of sightseeing when we are on vacation and there is no better way to do it than an open top tourist bus which allowed me to view many great places and see so many amazing features to the beautiful Algarve such as the many interesting roundabouts (above).

How awesome are these sand sculptures!

Overall Algarve in Portugal was fantastic, great value food, cheap and fun night outs, sunny and beautiful (most of the time) weather, lovely people and just a lovely place. I would definitely be up for another trip!

Pick of the Month:July 2014

This months pick of the month are these gorgeous Yellow peep toe platform sandals from River Island. Only a couple a months ago I also posted a pair of cute shoes from River Island as Pick of the Month and there is no denying that they are top of the class when it comes to shoes! These beauties are perfect for summer whether teamed with white skinnies and a floral cami for daytime or a cute cami and a floral skort for a night out. They are priced at £55/$110 and the perfect shoe for this summer! 🙂 So will these sandals be making an appearance in your travel suitcase this summer?

 

Credit to River Island for image.