Star Wars Day Makeup

Hello everyone! 

Today is May 4th, and we all know that means it’s Star Wars Day! Yes that is nerdy, and no I’m not really into Star Wars, but Mr.Gingersnap, like most men, is a fan. So I am being a supportive girlfriend and trying to get into things he likes too. The best way to do that here is through makeup! I have come up with two different makeup looks for you guys today, both of them using the Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons eyeshadow palette.

These looks are so simple, this is all you need! 

The first look is more of a day time style, I have tried to channel the whole desert, sandy, jedi vibe for this. After I’ve done my whole face of makeup, apart from eyes and lips, I’ll pat some Benefit Air Patrol eyeshadow primer onto my lids. The first colour I like to use is Divinity as a base, it’s a lovely creamy colour to sweep across the whole lid. Then I’ll take my number one favourite Almond Truffle and curve it over the whole crease of my upper eyelids. This shade is so beautiful, I adore the mauve tone to it! Next I’ll pat the warm, sparkly Molasses Chip onto the outer and middle sections of my lids. I then use this same colour to line my lower lashes. Next I’ll dab Satin Sheets into the inner corner of my lids to lighten my eyes and make them look more intense. Then it’s onto the blending stage, do this gradually as you can blend too far and end up with muddy eyeshadow with no real definition. Finally I’ll use Divinity again across my brow bones, below my eyebrows as a highlighter. 

Left to right: Divinity, Almond Truffle, Molasses Chip, Satin Sheets

Mascara and lipstick add the final touches. For this look I used the Lollipops Paris Ladycat’s Power Volume Mascara. It gives me super long lashes, but still with quite a natural defined look. For lipstick I wanted a more neutral colour, but not a nude. I feel this look needs a bit of pink to it. I love this Bigune lipstick in Beige Rosé, it’s a wonderful dusky, matte rose that goes with everything! 

Of course, I had to do a Dark Side inspired look too, it was inevitable. This look is really dramatic and I love it for an evening look, especially a night out. To start I will prime my eyelids, then take Dark Truffle and sweep it across the crease of both eyelids. This deep, rich brown will provide the definition of the look. Then I’ll take Earl Grey and pat it onto the middle and outer sections of my lids. This gunmetal blue will look slightly strange until you blend it with the brown, but I promise once it is blended it looks beautiful. Take Black Current and pull it along the lower lashes, I love how this emphasises my eye colour! Finally I take Café au Lait and pat it into the inner corners and use it to highlight along my brow bones. Then I blend gently to really bring the look together. 

Left to right: Dark Truffle, Earl Grey, Black Current, Café au Lait 

As this is a dramatic eye, I wanted lashes that would stand out more so I used the L’Oréal Miss Manga Punky Volume mascara. It gives my lashes so much volume and a wonderfully vintage spiky look! To pull the look together I needed a real show stopper of a lipstick. It was a hard debate, I hesitated between a matte red or a deep berry tone, in the end I chose a gorgeous plum colour. I love wearing MAC’s Satin in Media in the evenings, it goes on so smoothly and contrasts so well with pale skin! As an alternative Charlotte Tilbury’s So Marilyn is a great red for this look. 

I hope you guys have enjoyed these looks :-) Let me know if you have any great ideas for looks or plans for the day in the comments below. Aaaaaaannnnndddd, May the Fourth be with you! Sorry guys, couldn't resist...

xoxo

P.S. Check out my Facebook here. 

YSL and Benefit Mini-Haul

Hello everyone! 

The other day I was browsing in Sephora, as you do, and oops some treats just fell into my basket! I had actually been eyeing up these two products for a while, so why not? It's all for the good cause of providing reviews for you guys :-) 

I had heard rave reviews of the YSL Rouge Volupté Shine lipsticks, so many people love these products and I have to say I can see why. It would be so easy to go mad and buy them all. The packaging alone makes them collectible. I think it is actually the best lipstick packaging I have ever seen. The classy gold bullets with the YSL wrought chain around them is simply beautiful, add to that the way the coloured band around the bullet reflects the colour of the lipstick and you have pure perfection. They aren't just a lipstick though, they are also an oil based lip treatment which nourishes the lips with 6 essential oils as well as having fantastic pigmentation. I have definitely fallen in love with these, just look at this colour! Y'all should go get one, right now! I went for the colour 41 Corail à Porter, which is a lovely peachy, coral pink, perfect for summer and so wearable as an everyday girly colour. 

I really struggle with eyeshadow primer, my eyes are so sensitive that all the cult classics like the Urban Decay potion primer make them puffy and sore! Which is such a shame, as it is a much raved about product. I tentatively tried some samples of Benefit Air Patrol and it worked like a dream! Maybe it's the BB cream element that makes it more gentle on my eyelids? Since I've been using it my eyeshadow stays on so well. The only thing is that it is quite hard to start using the product. Normally you turn the bottom part once for each eye so you have the perfect amount of product, but the first time I had to turn it so many times to get it to work! You have to be patient and wait for the product to start appearing out of the sponge tip, which is not great if you are low on patience. 

I love the packaging, with the old school US army pin-up theme, it looks so sleek and pretty. However, they have done the whole extra sticky out bit of cardboard on the packet again, which is so pointless! Never mind, it's the product that counts and I honestly couldn't recommend it more highly! 

Have you guys tried these products? Let me know in the comments below :-) P.S. Follow my facebook here.

xoxo

April Favourites

Hello everyone! 

Where did the last month go?! I swear I only started March a couple of days ago. Well, never mind let’s get cracking with what I was loving through April. Let’s split it into hair, body, makeup and general life :-) 

Since I’ve been in Paris I have been going out more in the evenings to explore and meet new friends. It has been fabulous! However, the last thing you need on an evening out is flat hair. My favourite remedy for this is a good old texturising spray. Usually I like a sea salt spray, but this time I’ve been trying a mineral powder fixing spray on fluffed up hair. The L’Oréal Wild Stylers spray by Tecni.art is so lovely! I flip my head upside down, brush back my hair and then spray this in and I’m good to go. It doesn’t make my hair sticky or dry, but it lasts for hours! 

For body there are two products I have been really loving. The first is a new one to the Body Shop, they have out a new range of spa type products called Spa Of The World. They have three different scents, of the three I prefer the Hawaiian Kukui Cream smell as it is so heady and luxurious! The body lotion is so creamy and buttery on my skin. It applies super smoothly and soaks in incredibly quickly. My skin feels so soft and hydrated since I started using it. 

The second product is a kind of a group really. I have never seen the Ushuaia shower gels in the UK so I have been making the most of trying different scents while I’m here. So far I have tried three, but this pomegranate hydrating gel is my favourite. Pomegranate is my favourite fruit, so of course I would love it! The products have a neutral pH and have no parabens, making them very gentle on the skin. I feel so refreshed and awake after using these. 

Now onto makeup, that classic red lip from Charlotte Tilbury has to make an appearance! So Marilyn is a repeated favourite. It is so wearable, for both day and night, and the creamy texture makes it a joy to wear! I have featured this many times, so I won’t waffle on any more about it. 

Lately I have been doing a lot of night shifts and working very long hours. I think my eyes would have been suffering a lot more if I hadn’t been using Benefit’s Puff Off before I apply my makeup in the morning. The smooth gel and cooling iron tip have had such a soothing effect, reducing any soreness or puffiness just as the name suggests! 

Finally, I have been loving spending free time outside in the sun either reading or listening to music. If you were wondering about my deeply fabulous sunglasses…they are vintage, I picked them up in a little store in Bastille called Tilt Vintage a couple of months ago! 

What have you been loving this month? Let me know in the comments below :-) P.S. Check out my Facebook here.

xoxo

A Vintage Wedding Book Review

Hello everyone! 

For a while now I've been reading a lot of heavy books, so I decided to go for something a bit more light hearted. A Vintage Wedding by Katie Fforde is a lovely, summery book! I think it's perfect to read on holiday. Let's dive right in with a little review shall we? 

Vintage Weddings features three women, Rachel, Lindy and Beth, who all find themselves in a bit of a life rut. They are all struggling to make their mark and find something to make them happy. When a chance meeting in the run down village hall sparks off a friendship they decide to make the most of it. Rachel is a recently divorced, OCD accountant, Lindy is a young, single mum of two and Beth is just looking for a nice job and a way to prove her overbearing mother wrong. 

Beth's sister Helena is getting married and has asked Beth to organise it, when she asks her new friends for advice it turns out they all have useful skills. Lindy is a whizz at sewing and crafts, Beth is full of fabulous ideas and Rachel is the most organised person on the planet. And so on a boring evening in the pub, Vintage Weddings is born. With many ups and downs, both romantically and at work they learn how to run a successful business and cement themselves into the community. 

Although this book isn't very deep or challenging, it is heart warming and very funny. Sometimes you just need an easy, predictable book that you know will make you smile. It was such a lovely, enjoyable read! I would recommend it for sure as a beach or pool side book. It makes you dream of flowers and sunshine, you end up wishing the characters were your friends too! 

Have you guys read anything good recently? Let me know in the comments below :-) 

xoxo

Two Sides To Every Benefit

Hello everyone! 

For a little while now I’ve been working on a post with Emily over on her deeply fabulous blog! We’ve both been trying out different Benefit products that we think would work well together :-) Emily has been trialling Benefit’s well loved Porefessional collection, they have some really cool new stuff out! To take a peek at her post click here. 

I have been trying out Puff Off, which is a much older product, but I feel is the perfect companion for the Porefessional. Porefessional does so much as a primer, but does nothing for under your eyes. If you are like me and work long hours, even night shifts, having something to treat your eyes pre-makeup is absolutely essential! Puff Off is an under eye gel designed to soothe puffiness and provide some cooling moisture. 

Let’s start with the packaging…It’s huge! Why does it have an extra cardboard bit? Why write more on the extra card that is already written on the little paper insert. Other than that it’s very nice, I like the pastel orange, blue and cream theme. It still keeps that vintage vibe that Benefit has going on. The product actually smells kind of like peaches, which is a bit of a bonus. 

I honestly cannot be more enthusiastic about this product. The ironing tip could be considered a bit of a novelty as it actually looks like a tiny iron, but don’t be sceptical! It really works, the metal is always cold and the iron shape works really well for the under eye area. The point gets right into the inner corner and helps spread the cool feeling everywhere. The product is very moisturising and soaks in super fast! I’m not sure if it’s the cream, the cold metal or the combination of the two, but the puffy soreness of overtired eyes instantly feels relieved! 

Yes I know, I should just get a good night’s sleep, but sometimes you have to keep going. This does help, I actually look forward to using it and it will definitely be a repurchase when this runs out. However, that could be some time away, you only need a tiny drop of cream for each eye. You just squeeze and blob onto each eye then smooth it out! I’ve been using this for about 3 weeks and it has made a massive difference. I love how you can wear it under or over makeup, so I can reapply it as necessary during the day. 

Have you guys tried this product? Or have you only tried the Porefessional? Let me know what you think in the comments below :-) Also if you don't go over and show Emily some big love then you are missing out! Her blog is fantastically written and her photos are divine :-) 

xoxo

P.S. I promise my photo quality will improve soon, lighting in my temporary room here isn't too great *sigh*. Also I have a Facebook page you can check out here! 

Q&A With Smiley Central

Hello everyone, 

Not so long back I saw a request for bloggers to do some Q&As over on Smiley Central :-) Smiley Central is run by the lovely Catherine and is filled with inspiration, motivation and the odd beauty post. She writes some really fabulous posts so you should all hop on over and check it out! 

I'm honestly so glad that I emailed her, we have become really good friends through this collaboration and regularly email each other with news :-) To see her post with the questions she sent me click here, but if you want to know a little more about Catherine then keep reading. Go on, you know you want to know more! 

What made you want to start up your blog?

There are so many reasons that I wanted to start blogging, I was really into YouTube before I started my blog and I wanted to be a YouTuber but I didn't have the knowledge or equipment to be a YouTuber, then I found out about blogging, I started reading some popular blogs like Sprinkle of Glitter and Zoella on and off and felt like blogging was for me. Once I found out how to start a blog, I was right into it!

If you had to pick one type of post to write forever, what would it be?

Oooh, this is a hard one! I would probably say inspiration/motivational posts because it so amazing when people tell you that you have helped them, even if it's in a small way. A lot of the time when I write inspiration/motivation posts, I take my own advice. When I'm writing those kinds of posts, it's like another force takes control of me and I end up reading back my posts in the editing stage and thinking "where did that come from???" and "I should really follow my own advice!". Inspiration/motivational posts are a positive experience on both sides of the screen!

If you could go back to the beginning of your blog, what would you say to yourself?

I wouldn't want to tell my past self to change my writing style or probably tragic blog template because in that case, I might not have the amazing opportunities that I do today. I would probably just tell myself that it's going to be okay. I will eventually find a blog template that isn't that horrible (I hope it isn't haha, we all have different opinions), I will eventually get some form of a writing style, I will eventually have amazing friends like Hattie from blogging alone and that I will eventually get a few regular readers.

What gets you most excited to write?

I would probably say the thing that gets me most excited to write is when I'm passionate about what I'm writing about. The feminism series - Let's Talk About Feminism for example, I am very passionate about feminism and I want to tell everybody about feminism and that means I'm excited to write and to share what I know with the world!

Where do you see your blog going?

I would love to see my blog have a few more regular readers, it's not that I care about the numbers, it's just that I really want to grow our small community. My ultimate blogging dream is to be a full-time blogger. I can honestly see myself blogging as a full-time job and I can't wait to see if that is what the future holds!

Quick Fire Round!

Favourite colour?

I don't have a favourite colour because in my mind, picking a favourite colour is not very nice to the other colours, I'm very right-brained, I know.

Favourite food?

Anything vegetarian. Meat tastes like guilt and emotional strain.

Favourite flavour haribo?

In New Zealand, we have Haribos but they aren't very well known and I think I might have tried one packet once. I can't really remember the flavours but I think I remember the clear-ish one being amazing.

Favourite movie?

The Fault In Our Stars, everything about this movie is beautiful and meaningful.

Tea or hot chocolate?

Tea. Hot chocolate is wonderful but tea feeds my soul.

Snow or sun?

I am definitely more of a winter person. In Rotorua, where I live, it snows very, very lightly about once every 10 years so I don't really know if I would find snow annoying or not.

Pinterest or Instagram?

I'm sorry Pinterest, but Instagram wins. I love Pinterest shopping every once in a while but Instagram is something that I check a lot more, plus Pinterest needs to lay off with the emails!

I hope you enjoyed this Q&A, we're thinking of doing some more collaborations in the near future so let us know what you think in the comments below :-) 

xoxo

Too Cool For School

Hello everyone! 

As I was searching for a good new contour kit I stumbled upon a Korean brand called Too Cool for School. It’s limited to only three shops in the whole of France so I feel as though it was a lucky find! This brand looks so exciting, I just had to treat myself. 

Too Cool for School is cruelty free which is a mega bonus for me. They have a huge range of makeup and skincare with some very original themes. The three I find most exciting are the Glam Rock, Art School and Dinoplatz collections. Check them out here. 

In terms of the actual products, I got the makeup artist to try the contour on me and the colours were perfect for my rather porcelain skin. Contour kits are so hard to find for paler skin, so finding a good one is like looking for the holy grail. This kit isn’t actually for me, I was researching a cruelty free brand for a friend who asked me for some beauty advice. She is thrilled with the idea and will soon be purchasing this kit, so I’ll see what I can do about getting a review for you guys! 

The Art School products were all so cute and kind of hipster, deeply fabulous! I had to seriously restrain myself from buying all sorts. Their eyeshadow pair palettes looked amazing and their liquid lipsticks looked like acrylic paint tubes! I will probably go and buy some things from there soon though, just waiting for my self control to break…

I was in need of a face mask and was originally looking for a one use face pack. I needed some deeper skin care after being dried out by air conditioner. Although Too Cool for School has a wide variety of face packs they also have a pumpkin sleeping mask in a big tube which lasts for ages. It uses enzymes to peel away any dead skin and provides moisture, nutrients and exfoliation while you’re sleeping. 

I love the cute little sleepy pumpkin <3 

I have been using this every other day for just over a week now and I love it. I use a pea sized amount for my whole face and then I just leave it alone over night. In the morning it feels like I have been using a moisturiser and my skin is wonderfully smooth and silky. As it is a mask, I do still need to remove it in the morning and I do this with a cleanser before getting ready to do my makeup for the day. 

They also gave me a teeny tiny sample of another sleeping pack which I can't wait to try! I'll be doing a samples galore review soon so stay tuned :-) 

From what I have seen and tried, I would really recommend this brand! If you guys have any particular requests for reviews on this band let me know in the comments below :-) 

xoxo

P.S. Follow my Facebook! You know you want to :-)