Newbies In My Makeup Bag & First Impressions...

Besides my love of fashion, makeup is always a keen passion of mine.

So I love nothing more than buying new additions to add to my collection- quite an expensive habit I must say...

So would you like to see what I brought?

First up:

Maybelline Lash Sensational Black Mascara £7.99

This mascara has been raved about all over the internet, so I thought I'd leap on the bandwagon so to speak to find out what exactly people were talking about.

I love the curved brush of this mascara, it will be really good to lift and separate lashes. 

This mascara does come in brown and waterproof but I like plain and simple black mascara...

Second up:

Revlon Colorburst Balm Stain (in the shade Rendezvous) £7.99

For a while now I've been wanting to try out an orange lipstick, I thought orange on the lips might bring out my blue eye colour more 

This lip crayon does not disappoint- it's a subtle amount of colour without being too bold and in your face. 

Third up:

Maybelline Blushed Nudes Palette £7.99

This palette is so cute and it is amazingly priced for the amount of eyeshadows you get for £7.99, I brought it because I really liked the pinky undertones in all of the colours, I think it's a great palette to really make your eyes pop and stand out. 

Quite a few of the eyeshadow colours have glittery tones in which I love because I think they'd be great for going out at nighttime. 

Fourth up:

Barry M Coconut Infusion Gel Paint (in the shade Flamingo) £4.99

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love nothing more than painting my nails. I just find it really relaxes me and it's something that I could sit and do for hours. 

So I'm always on the lookout for new nail colours to add to my already rather large collection. 

I think especially around summertime it's good to experiment with colour which is why I brought this orange shade, for starters it's a pastel shade which I love. 

This nail vanish is also really good for your nails as it's infused with coconut so it will nourish your nails while you wear it.  

I hope you liked this post,

let me know if you've tried any of these makeup products in the comments below.

Have you got any other makeup recommendations?

Take care and I'll be back soon with another post.

X

A Cookie Full Of Yumminess...

For me cookies are one of life's little pleasures especially gooey, chocolate cookies!

 (Alright, alright I admit I'm a bit of a chocaholic- Who's with me?)

So I thought I'd attempt to make my own and I was pleasantly surprised by how well they turned out.

After all I am no baker-

 My family have this running joke that I'm going to live off a Mars bar when I go to University because I'm not very good in the kitchen and do you know what the worse thing is?

I don't even like Mars bars! (Sobs to self) 

So armed with Tanya Burr's trusty 'Milk and White Chocolate Cookies' recipe, I thought I'd give this baking malarkey a go...

I mean how hard can it be anyway?

Equipment and Ingredients you will need to make ten cookies:

200g butter

300g caster sugar

1 egg

325g self-raising flour

150g white chocolate 

150g milk chocolate 

(In Tanya's recipe it said 200g of the two different types of chocolate but I found 150g was enough to use)

A whisk 

Mixing bowl

Baking trays

Greaseproof paper 

Scales 

A spoon to release any mixture stuck in the whisk 

Small bowl and fork to crack the egg in 

(because knowing me I'd probably drop the shell in)

Now your ready to bake! 

Just before you start pre-heat your oven on to 200 degrees 

Ready, get set, bake...

(A little "Great British Bake Off" reference there)

Step 1.

Measure out the 300g of caster sugar and tip into the mixing bowl 

Step 2.

Measure out the 200g of butter and tip into the bowl with the caster sugar. Now mix the two together with a whisk until the two become combined together. It should go a pale yellow colour.

Step 3.

Now crack the egg into the bowl, you can do this straight into the main bowl or you can do it in a small bowl first to ensure you don't drop any of the shell in (like I probably would).

Mix the egg, caster sugar and butter together until it becomes an even consistency.

Step 4.

Measure out the 325g of flour and gradually tip it into the bowl a little bit at a time until all the flour is nicely mixed in. By now you will have noticed that the mixture is getting quite tough to mix but don't worry this means it's going right.

You can do this!

Step 5.

Once the flour has been mixed in, the mixture will resemble a lot like dough. If you dough feels a bit dry add a splash of milk or water, likewise if it's very sticky add a bit more flour like I had too.

Step 6.

Now for the fun chocolate bit, snap up both bars of the 150g chocolate bars into chunks and fold these chunks in the the dough so it's nice and even. 

It okay also if some of the chocolate accidentally on purpose ends up in your mouth during this bit, just make sure you wash your hands!

Step 7.

Now as evenly as possible split the dough into 10 equal balls and place on the greaseproof paper on the baking tray.

Step 8.

As you've already turned your oven on, it should be warm enough to put the cookies straight in.

Be careful though because it's hot!

Leave them in the oven for 11 minutes 

Step 9.

 As you can see my cookies all merged together but don't worry we can sort this out later, leave the cookies to stand on a cooling rack for 25-30 minutes before touching.

Step 10.

Careful with a knife sliced around each cookie to separate it from it's little mate and place on a plate to share with your family and friends- or just enjoy the lot to yourself!

Enjoy!

I hope you liked this post and that you found my instructions easy to follow.

I'd love to see how your attempts at these delicious cookies turned out in the comments below.

Would you like to see more baking posts?

I'll be back soon, Take Care.

X

I'M BACK WITH THE LOWDOWN ON AN ART FOUNDATION!!!!!!!

Hey Everyone!

Well it's certainly been a case of 'long time no blog' for me and it just really makes me feel so sad. 

So I thought I'd do a super quick post just explain why I haven't been blogging as much as I'd like to lately.

And the reason is....

(drum rolls please)

MY FINAL MAJOR PROJECT DEADLINE!!!!

I know I went a little crazy there

but it's feel so good to get it out of my system 

As some of you may or may not be aware that this last year, I have been doing an Art Foundation at my local University, which has now finished (well apart from the final show). 

Like I'm not even joking when I say this, it honestly feels like I blinked and this course moved quicker than I can get to the chocolate cupboard and believe me when I say I can get there quick!

For me doing an Art Foundation was quite a last minute thing that I signed up to do because I didn't really know what I wanted to do yet.

In all honesty I still don't 100% know what I want to do but I feel that by doing this course things have become a lot clearer to me.

If any of you are thinking about doing an Art Foundation, whether its next year or in five years time- I strongly recommend you just go for it.

I feel like I've learnt so much more than I ever could have imagined by doing this course, and not only do I feel like my drawing has improved but my creativeness has too.

A year ago I would never have tried so many of the techniques I grown to love now. 

For my Foundation each student had to come up with a project brief and follow this idea through for their FMP (final major project), as I'm a fan of writing I decided to do my project on typography entitling it "Lost Letters".

I wanted to explore how letters can be used in different media.

Here's a couple of pictures of my final outcome:

I don't yet know if I've got the grade I need from this course because my tutors are currently marking all of our work as I write this, but fingers crossed they'll like it.

I'd love to hear what you think about my project and if you want to find out a bit more about doing an Art Foundation then feel free to leave me any questions you may have in the comments below.

Now my deadlines are all over I'm hoping to blog a lot more regularly than before, I even have a second post coming later today and I'll let you all in on a little secret, it's a very taste one. 

Hope you've enjoyed this post today and be sure to give my blog a follow so you don't miss that second post which is coming out later on today.

See you in a bit!

X

Makeup: Express or Impress?

What is the reason behind why we put our faces on? 

We all have had our own morning routines since time began but why? Is it to make us look more attractive? Feel confident? Or to just simply impress others? Whether its mascara, lipstick or foundation, we just can’t seem to leave the house without it. Has it always been like this though?

Are we choosing to express and enhance our present features or is it just used as a tool to impress men? Even in the 1940’s makeup was an essential part of a women’s outfit, so it seems society hasn’t changed much in 75 years. Maybe the actual physical motion of putting makeup onto ourselves hasn’t changed, but the reasons behind why we put our makeup on has.  Take the 1940’s for example, then makeup was puffed and powdered onto their faces for one reason alone. Was it because women wanted to feel more glamorous? Be taken more seriously? Or to simply make themselves more attractive for men? The answer was the last one. Back then makeup wasn’t used as a tool to express and enhance the features you had already- it was used so you would appear datable; it was about appearance over personality. Primarily because women wanted to find a good husband, who had a good job so they would and could be provided for. But today society has changed. Yes we still want to find all of these traits in a man but we want our own career- something that truly represents who we are as a person.

Society was different in the 1940’s, it was a ‘Man’s World’ but as the song goes ‘it would be nothing without a woman or a girl’. Society was primarily ran by men, barely 30% of women had jobs, Makeup gave these women those opportunities, it helped them to seem datable, to be able to get married, start a family and live happily ever after.  As a women’s main role in life was to look attractive and look after her husband and children. The man was seen as the ‘wage earner’ so other than getting married and having children, women didn’t have many opportunities in life.

But society isn’t like that anymore. Women have proven themselves to be just as good as men with or without a touch of concealer along the way. We are now using makeup to make ourselves bolder, stronger and more graphic. Women and men are now seen as more equal wage earners within the workplace and at home, the divide is smaller nowadays. Women in 2016 are doing the same jobs as men; they’re fighting on the frontline wearing the ‘war paint’ that got them there. We still want to be wanted and to seem enticing. But we want to express our personalities more nowadays.

Even the makeup brands we use is different now, in the 1940’s they used brand names that they trusted, which were close to their hearts such as ‘MUM’. Whereas in 2016 we would rather put our faith in ‘Max Factor the makeup of makeup artists’ as we prefer to put our trust into skilled professionals as we feel they can teach us what we need to know. ‘MUM’ is out ‘Max Factor: Makeup of makeup artists’ is in.

So what if we don’t do our makeup to simply impress anymore. This is no longer a ‘Man’s world’. We have makeup and know of techniques nowadays that women in the 1940’s couldn’t even have dreamed of.  We should use makeup to express ourselves! Why spend your life doing something for someone else rather than yourself? The looks we can achieve are endless. No more purity and innocence, we can go all out with our bright lips and eyes, whilst using brushes to contour, cover and create the ‘perfect’ look.  We should want to boost our own confidence and self esteem. Say goodbye to 1940’s dainty and innocent makeup of the past and hello to the 2016 bold red lips of tomorrow! We aren’t seen as weak anymore as we have wonderful tools and techniques to give us confidence 24/7. Makeup is there to produce reactions.

It is a marvellous tool that can take us from day to night. Some might say it’s ‘a girl’s best friend’. It can help us to create so many different looks; going from a grunge look one day to sophisticated and glamorous the next. Makeup offers us a world of endless opportunities. So next time you take your foundation to your face or your mascara to your eyes, make sure you create a look to express rather than to impress. Embrace the confidence makeup gives you, as a little touch of mascara can help you to do whatever you want to. So if you want that new position at work then go get it because with the confidence makeup gives you, you can. Because ‘You’re worth it’ as said by L’Oreal Paris.

Would love to hear what you thought of this post in the comments below.

Would you like to see more of these posts?

Hope you enjoyed reading both of today's posts,

If you missed the one earlier then check it out here:

I find out what it's really like to be a Blogger and YouTuber...

See you next Saturday- Hope you all have a great week!

X

INTERVIEW TIME- Find Out What It's Really Like To Be A Blogger & YouTuber.

Today I have something I'm very excited and passion about to share with all you lovely people...

As some of you may or may not know, one of my great ambitions in life is to work for a magazine. So a couple of weeks ago I managed to get the fabulous opportunity to interview the lovely Sarah Murgatroyd for a magazine competition. 

I'd never done anything like this before but it was an absolute pleasure to interview a fellow Blogger and YouTuber to find out what it's really like!

Sarah if your reading this I would again like to give you a massive, heart felt thank you for letting me interview you. 

Sarah is an amazing Blogger and YouTuber so I strongly recommend you check her blog and YouTuber links below:

Sarah's Blog 

Main Channel 

Second Channel 

In this modern age, Blogging and YouTube are seen as a common occurrence, YouTube is no longer a field in which no one dares to enter. Top vloggers have laid out the path to a fresh, new, exciting career- one where no previous experience or qualifications are required, all you need is an idea, a laptop and you can run away with yourself. Today I caught up with the lovely Sarah Murgatroyd, a blogger and vlogger, who despite her busy lifestyle still manages to greet me with a warm and welcoming hello, from the off it is easy to see just why people choose to follow these down to earth people over traditional celebrities.

Sarah begins by explaining just how hectic her day and life in general is, having a full time job and a house renovation project alongside her two YouTube channels and blog is no doubt hard work. Yet Sarah admits she wouldn’t have it any other way, laughing she speaks she honesty replies ‘Where else would I get my inspiration from?’. Still in shock from her busy schedule, I ask her how she manages to fit everything in, ‘Well I normally film at the weekend, it takes the whole day to plan, set up, do lighting checks, film and edit before pressing the upload button”. It is here she tells me that she is even uploading a video to her channel as we speak. It is clear a YouTuber’s work is never finished. Sarah goes on to tell me that she feels she expresses herself differently on camera to on her blog, “I just feel that my daily vlogging channel is more random as it’s less structured, but the viewers like it when it’s more personal, well I hope they do anyway!”. She says, smiling as she replies. 

I go on to ask her what she focuses more of her precious free time on, “YouTube takes up more of my time as I need to plan ahead more whereas I only tend to blog when I feel like it, with blogging I have to capture what I want to say right away before it’s forgotten because I could never recreate a post in the same way twice”. Clearly Sarah is inspired by things rather than people, “I don’t think I’m influenced by anyone in particular other than the internet”. Social media and the internet are a massively influential factor for both Bloggers and YouTubers, likewise it is with the rest of the world, Sarah promptly replies “The internet drives us to do nearly anything, the opportunities are endless and YouTube is a big part of that”. It is apparent that big time YouTubers are not only inspiring the young generation but they are their role models too, “a dangerous place is turned into something much more positive which pushes people to be more confident in themselves”. I ask Sarah what it is exactly that she loves about YouTube, “I think it’s the interaction with people I would never normally meet, on YouTube I feel I can express my opinions like an open book with like minded people- it’s a community of people coming together”. 

But like everything surely YouTube has a dark side? 

“YouTube can be a hateful place, luckily I don’t experience a lot of this, personally I feel Blogging is more of a positive place because you’re not being so open to your audience as you’re not talking directly to the camera”. Clearly to become a successful YouTuber and Blogger you have to have a lot of character about you? “Yes you do, you need to be entertaining to watch. No one wants to watch someone try to be someone else, you need to be your own person” Being ‘yourself’ online is easier said then done, it is only natural for us to want our online persona to be ‘likable’.

As the conversation moves on, I bravely ask Sarah if she feels blogging could be the future of magazines, “Yes and no, I think people nowadays want more diversity in viewpoints but I feel magazines could work with bloggers to give vary content”. Put wisely “The future’s going to be a long process of working together”.

Looking to the future Sarah reveals that she would like her ‘hobby’ to become a full time job, “What can I say I just love it! I want to be able to reach and inspire people all over the world, sharing my passions and hearing other peoples makes me feel so happy”. I asked Sarah is there anything she like to see changed about YouTube, “Only that I would love to make YouTube a society where people can share their passions without being judged and made to feel upset”. 

I am surprised by how kind and honest her answer is, maybe the days are gone where people pull other people down in a bid to push themselves up in the success ladder.

I hope you enjoyed this slightly different post today- I'd love to hear what you thought in the comments below.

I'd love to interview more Bloggers and YouTubers so if your interested then leave a comment below and we'll try & organise something.

Before I finish this post I would just like to say sorry for my recent blogging hibernation- it will be getting back to normal in the upcoming weeks. You'll just have to be patient with me.

To make up for my lack of posts lately I've decided that there'll be two posts going up today- so the next one will be going up in a couple of hours or so.

So see you again later!

X

(The pictures featured in this post aren't my own)