Sunday 27 September 2015

Go-to Autumn Makeup

So, autumn has rolled around once again and it's is one of my favourite times for beauty and fashion! I have spent probably too much money on autumn/winter clothes in the past few days, but I won't regret it when I'm nice and cosy in the coming months. I decided to show you some of the products I reach for most often when I'm getting ready in the mornings!

Base Products



L'Oreal True Match Foundation has been on my list of foundations to try and I can't believe I waited this long. It has a good medium but buildable coverage, which you can sheer out with a moisturiser if you aren't looking for too much coverage, but I have quite problematic skin so it's perfect for me! The finish is more on the matte side of things, however I always set it with a powder so you could probably get a less matte finish if you want to. I believe the colour range is quite wide however smaller Boots or Superdrugs will have a smaller range of colours. It costs £9.99 which I think is an amazing price for such a high quality foundation!

This is the powder I've been using recently,  this one isn't anything extraordinary but it does the job!

If you've been following me for a while you'll have seen this palette before. The Sleek Blush By Three palette in Lace, which costs £9.99. The formula of Sleek blushes is absolutely incredible, they are insanely pigmented and very easy to blend. I could not recommend them more!

Eye Products

You will have heard about how much I like these products to define my eyebrows if you've read any of my posts before! Eyebrows really do change up your whole face so, although my eyebrows are dark, I like to fill in any sparse areas and set them into place with Soap & Glory Archery and L'Oreal Brow Artist Plumper!

MAC Painpots have been mentioned in my posts many times before, so I won't go on and on, but they're the perfect bases for eyeshadows and they do not crease (a problem I had with Maybelline Colour Tattoos). The colours I have are Rubenesque (at the front) and Soft Ochre (at the back) and they cost £15.50 each, but it's worth it!

I love the Molten Copper shade of Accessorise Eyeshadow. The red tone makes my eyes look really green and I just love copper really! I have no clue whether they still sell this colour but a copper eyeshadow is a must for autumn/winter!

Bronze and gold eyeshadows are also essential for autumn/winter. I love the Nude Bronze palette from Collection.. Just like the Sleek blushes, they are so pigmented and easy to blend, at a very low price!

Lip Products


The revlon Lipstick in the shade HD Rose is a beautiful pink-nude that combines high pigmentation with a moisturising formula, which is perfect for autumn and winter when you find your lips can get quite dry.

One of my very loved MAC lipsticks, and a perfect nude, Kinda Sexy. This is a matte formula, so although it can be quite drying (applying some lip balm before helps) it is long lasting! I wore it to my Prom and it lasted most of the night.

I never really got much use out of this Lip Butter, but I've rediscovered it and I'm so glad! Macaroon is a beautiful berry shade but more on the pink side than a deep berry! Again, the formula is super moisturising, so perfect for the colder months!

I decided to include some swatches of the lip products and blushes I mentioned! from left to right - Revlon Lip Butter in Macaroon, MAC lipstick in Kinda Sexy, Revlon HD Rose, Sleek Blush By Three in Lace.

I hope you enjoyed reading about some of the products I've been drawn to when doing my makeup recently! What other autumn/winter blogposts would you be interested in reading?

Lots of love,
Emma xxx




I've been revisiting songs and albums I love recently, and I've been listening to Pixie Lott's album Turn It Up a lot, I loved this when it came out around 6 years ago, it brings back lots of memories!

Sunday 13 September 2015

Meditation

Sometimes life can be quite stressful. This can be for various reasons, which differ from person to person, but I'm sure you can imagine the situations I mean.

Whenever I talk to people who are worried or stressed about things going on in their lives, one of the things I always recommend is meditation

Why did I start meditation and how has it affected me?

I used to get quite stressed out about exams, especially the time of the exams I took in year 10, so in year 11 I decided to do something about it. I struggle to switch off, especially at night, which means I can find it very hard to get to sleep sometimes. I consider myself as a positive person any way, so I wasn't doing it for that, I just wanted to be able to relax more easily. Before the start of exam season, I started meditating every night before bed, I felt more relaxed and found it easier to drop off to sleep. During exam season I remained, cool (as a cucumber), calm and collected, and I managed to get plenty of much needed sleep. 

Meditation is something that doesn't have to take up long in your day, but the impact it makes on your life is amazing.

How do you meditate? Simple, there are plenty of apps these days that will guide you through meditation. My personal favourites are Headspace and Calm.

Headspace is an app with a ten minute a day, ten day programme (although you can take the sessions again after you finish the full ten days, and there's more if you're willing to pay for subscription). The sessions are by a man called Andy, who has the kind of voice that is very inviting and calm!

Calm is another guided meditation app, there are choices of relaxing background sounds (my favourite at the moment is Celestial Sunbeams) and you can choose how long you want to meditate for.

Its good to remember that it won't drastically change your life after one ten minute session. Stick it out for a few weeks and see how it goes! Meditation might not be for you but it's definitely worth a try!

I hope you enjoyed this post, and found it helpful! If you have any questions, feel free to contact me and if there are other topics you'd like me to write blogposts about let me know!

Lots of love,
Emma xxx

Sunday 6 September 2015

Summer Pop of Colour!

I know, I know, the summer is nearly over but that's not stopping you from from experimenting with fun makeup looks! I was actually meant to post this ages ago (don't kill me) but I didn't have chance to write it before I went on holiday. Better late than never!

In July, I had some of my friends around to help me with some photos for art (they couldn't resist the offer of pizza and Maltesers) and I did their makeup and took photos. On Izzy, I used a blue underneath her eyes, and i really liked the way it looked so I thought I would use that for a look on myself for a blogpost!

I used a more copper toned than bronze and also made the blue stand out a bit more!

I started by using MAC's Pro Longwear Paint pot in Rubenesque as a base, I have mentioned this a lot before because I absolutely love the shade!
When I was sorting through the photos for this post and editing them I realised that I kept switching between two different lenses, so if they look different to you, that might be why! The lighting wasn't the best either!
Next I used an Accessorise eyeshadow which I believe is in the shade Molten Copper, they might not sell it any more but most brands sell gorgeous copper shades. I love copper because the red tone makes my eyes look very green, most of the time I have no clue what colour my eyes are (it changes I think). Make sure to tap off the excess eyeshadow to avoid fall down because as you will see in the next photos I forgot.


I used a Barry M Super Soft Eye Crayon in a metallic blue colour (that doesn't have a shade name) on my lower lash line, this helped to intensify the next eyeshadow but of course if you're wanting a more subtle look you can skip that (I don't think a blue eyeshadow will ever be that subtle though!)
I then took a Rimmel eyeshadow that I also don't know the name of (I'm such a bad blogger, I apologise, but I doubt they sell it any more!) and put it on top of where I applied the pencil/base. Yes the look is really as easy as that!

I then curled my eyelashes (not very well) and applied my new favourite mascara Maybelline Lash Sensational in the waterproof formula as usual. I promise you it usually looks a whole lot better than in the photo above, my lashes were not cooperating. The packaging also matches the look so it makes everything better!

To finish the look, I decided on a bright lip (on Izzy I used Mac Kinda Sexy for a nude lip), using the Rimmel Kate Moss lipstick in 16 (I only know the shade because I checked Kate's Recent Beauty Buys post so thank you Kate;) )
So that is the complete look!  

This is an accidental collab with Lauren (again) but for her youtube this time! We happened to have done similar looks so made it into a collab, what a great coincidence! I absolutely love her videos so be sure to check out her channel and subscribe! 
For Lauren's video, click here!

I hope everyone who has started school this past week has enjoyed it, and if you're starting this week, good luck with the early mornings;)

Lots of love,
Emma xxx



My song for the post is Can't Sleep Love by Pentatonix. This song is so catchy and I could listen to it on repeat all day! Definitely give it a listen, you'll love it! Also, if you haven't listened to Troye Sivan's EP WILD, also give that a listen!

Tuesday 1 September 2015

#3 - Serenity

I know, I know - I promised a new playlist every week of the summer.... Well I guess that didn't happen !! *embarrassed emoji* I'm sorry, like, extreamly sorry. One week I was away, the next I was at drama camp, and I didn't have much time to myself and couldn't prepare those two weeks for you all.

But, here I am with the third (and last) instalment to the summer playlists. I am sure I'll post more playlists for you all in the future, but this will conclude the summer playlist section!! 

So, without further ado, here's my end of summer mix, with songs that slow down the pace of life, ready for autumn and school, or what-not.


1.Come Under the Covers - Walk The Moon 

2, Chamber - Amber Run

3. Monster - Mumford and Sons

4. Cherry Wine - Hozier

5. Drive - Halsey

6. Me - The 1975

7. Infinite - The Xx


FULL PLAYLIST HERE