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?

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What’s in My Travel Makeup Bag?

So I mentioned briefly in my June Monthly Roundup that I am going away on holiday this month. So I thought I would share with you all some of the makeup pieces that have made the cut in my makeup bag. I am going with a streamlined approach, as I like to think anyway by only taking essentials and pretty much one of each beauty product except for lips (obviously, gal needs choices!). So here is what is in my travel makeup bag…

Starting with the makeup bag itself. It deserves its own mention alone because of course its from Charlotte Tilbury. I did a little CT splurge last month and since I never had a decent makeup bag and I was going away I thought I needed this beauty in my life. I love it but I will talk about it all in a little more detail another time…

Onto the makeup. Firstly, base. I have packed my trusty Laura Mercier foundation primer to help pro-long the wear of my makeup in the heat. Not as good as the Smashbox primer in my opinion but it’s still one of the best ones I’ve tried. I also picked up a new base in the form of the Topshop BB cream. I wanted something lightweight for Summer and so far so good with this one, the coverage is actually pretty decent! On top of that of course my favourite Nars Creamy concealer (review here) and the Maybelline Eraser Eye concealer for under the eyes which truthfully I am still a bit iffy about.

Then to give my complexion a bit of a boost. I have also added in my Rimmel Stay Blushed liquid blush in Sunkissed Cherry which is super lightweight but offers such a nice colour to the cheeks. For a little added warmth and glow the Soap and Glory Wonderbronze is a fab bronzer for the Summer months. Also, the Topshop Glow stick highlighter in Play Up makes an addition for an easy swipe of glow and radiance.

Then, in terms of eyes I’ve stuck with two reliable Benefit products. Firstly, the Rollerlash mascara (review here) which lengthens and curls the lashes super well and the Benefit Gimme Brow (review here) to give my eyebrows a little colour and definition. Of course I’ve also got the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze which is one of my favourites, great formula and perfect bronze-y gold colour.

Then I have all the choices when it comes to lips! As I am out and about for once I’ve added in some bright bold shades that deserve a little loving. I love the Nars Lip Pencils, super long lasting formula and super creamy and smooth to apply. I have Yu which I mentioned in my June Favourites, a bold fuschia pink and Iberico (LE) a stunning orange-y red that I am so excited to wear (swatches for both here). I’ve also got my two new Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks in Sexy Sienna and Lost Cherry, both perfect for Summer! Lastly, I also had to get one of the Clinique Lip Pop lipsticks and chose Melon Pop, a beautiful coral-y peach perfect for everyday wear and a little lower key than my other choices.

If you have succeeded to this line then well done, sorry for the uber long post!

What makeup will you be wearing this Summer?

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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!