Like Food? You'll love Degustbox!

I heard about Degustabox through seeing it on people's blogs. At first, I thought this was just be another beauty box, but when I found out that it was a subscription service to receive a box of food products, I knew I had to sign up!

Make-up to Brighten a Tired Face!

I haven't blogged for a little while. Work is full on and I'm finding myself with very little time to myself, especially during the week- but hey, such is life!
This morning I really fancied doing a full face of make-up. If you're like me and only have ten minutes or less to do your make-up in the morning, you tend to stick to the bare essentials: a coat or two of mascara; a dab of concealer under your tired eyes; a swish of blush to make you look like you actually do belong to the world of the living! Make-up becomes less about fun and enjoyment, and more about necessity. 
So when I was confronted with a slightly work-worn face this morning, I couldn't wait to reach for my favourite brightening products:

Making Over Mum

My family live a few hours away from Hampshire and I therefore don't see them too often. My mum came to stay this weekend and kindly volunteered to be the subject of a post! Like most of us, she deserved a bit of a pampering, so I did a simple, pretty make-up look on her and put some loose waves in her hair. Here's the before and after:

If you want to know what we used to create this look, click the link to read on:

How to cope with stress: 5 tips

Many of us lead incredibly stressful lives. Are you reading this now, whilst simultaneously thinking that you have a list of things you should have done today? That sums up my thoughts as I write this. It's the start of term and the amount of things I am expected to juggle is enough to make me curl up in the foetal position and start to cry! In fact, I already had a little cry this week because I was so overwhelmed by it all. Maybe I'm not the most qualified to offer advice on this topic, but I'll share my thoughts anyway, why not!

Review: By Terry Hyaluronic Hydra Powder

 You might have seen some months ago that I was pining over By Terry's Hyaluronic Hydra Powder, a cult face powder which is ridiculously expensive, but gets some out-of-this-world reviews.

So yes, stating the obvious, I caved in and shelled out on this 'dream product', and I wanted to give a review, after having been using it for the last month or so.

The Hyaluronic Hydra Powder comes with the sort of claims that make any dry-skinned gal stop what they're doing and sit to attention. Phrases like 'banishes pores and fine lines', 'protects', 'prevents shine without drying' all made my little ears prick up. When you've got dry skin (and you're no longer a twenty-something), you don't want to cake your face in a powder that turns your face into even more of a desert than it already is. But also, if you're like me, you know you need to keep that shine at bay, somehow!

How to choose a career: 5 tips

Early acting ambition

From the very first years of school, we are encouraged to give an answer to the question: what do you want to be when you grow up? And we are encouraged to believe that "yes, of course you can be an astronaut, a film star, or even a dinosaur, if that's what takes your fancy!" because of course anything is possible if you want it enough.
But that is not reality for most people.
Now don't misunderstand me here. I am not saying that we cannot have dreams, or even fulfil the goals that we set as children, but these things don't just happen. Also, our interests and aspirations can change a lot over time. And that's ok. 
So here are my thoughts on how to decide on a career or job, based on my own experience so far:

La Roche-Posay Skincare Haul

I had some skin issues last month. For some (still) unknown reason, I developed sporadic itching and rashes on my hands, scalp and even my face dried out even more than usual for a short period of time. I went to get it checked out, but other than suggest antihistamines, they didn't offer up much of a solution. I've considered many causes, including washing detergent (we changed this and then changed back to our original brand); stress; reaction to baking ingredients, cleaning and beauty products. 

It seems to have eased up, but one way I coped with it and restored my skin health was by turning to La Roche-Posay, a French pharmacie brand whose Cicaplast Soothing Skin Balm was my saviour when I had a terrible reaction (swelling and mild chemical burn) to some Murad products a few years ago. Yes, it was as horrible as it sounds! I decided that now was the time to try out more of the range, so I placed an order with escentual.com  Here's what I purchased:

My Top 5 Autumn Jumpers

It's that time of the year when you start raiding your wardrobe for a comfy jumper. No longer can you get away with strolling outside with just a T-shirt on: Autumn is officially here! 
I have built up quite a collection of jumpers over the last few years because, in my opinion, there is nothing more satisfying than wrapping up as the weather starts to get cold. Personally, I look out for cotton blends rather than 100% acrylic because I prefer the texture and find high content acrylic items can quickly lose shape when washed. The knitwear in my collection was bought mainly last year, often in sales, therefore you will probably not find these exact items. You may, however, enjoy snooping a look at what knitwear I love to wear from Autumn into Winter: these are my top 5!

Herringbone: This pattern is so chic and smart. I love my American Apparel sweater. I picked it up in a sale in a unisex size 'small'. This pattern never really goes out of fashion, so it's quite easy to find herringbone pieces, especially accessories like scarves.
Forest green: My Monki jumper is such a lovely flattering shade. I think this Isa knitted top is available in new colours now. 
Boucle: This type of knit can look rustic and unique if done in the right colours. I think I picked the QED London brand jumper from New Look a few years ago. The brown colour with multicolour accents looks laid back and quite 'folky' (which works for me, being a bit of a 'folkie' myself!).
Olive: I put off buying the olive clean rib jumper, so was delighted to pick it up this year in the sale. This style of jumper comes out in different colours throughout the year at Topshop.
Mustard: This shade is popular for Autumn and I can see why. Yellow can be quite an intimidating shade for some people to try and pull off, but mustard, on the other hand, is far more flattering against a range of different mix of colourings! I love my River Island cropped jumper in this shade. I also have it in navy and love the length for wearing with skirts and high-waisted jeans.

What is your favourite jumper/ sweater?

To cull or not to cull: When should I throw a lipstick away?

We all know that make-up doesn't last forever. Lipstick should ideally be used within a year or two after opening it, but do you really abide by these rules? I'm afraid to report that I don't.

A Few of my Favourite Things #6 (August 2014)

Currently wearing

  Comfy jumpers

Summer is well on its way out and this means that the jumpers come out in full force. This olive jumper from Topshop is warm and nicely oversized- perfect to throw on with skinny jeans. The colour is perfect for Autumn and I love the neckline. 

If you love comfy Autumn jumpers, look out for a future post about my favourites for this season!

Autumn Make-up Trend: Matte Nudes

Left to right: Bourjois CC Cream; Benefit They're Real mascara; Urban Decay Naked eyeshadow; Mac Kid eyeshadow; Rimmel Notting Hill Nude lipstick; Mac Tenderling blush; Urban Decay 24/7 eye pencil in Underground; Nars Creamy Concealer 

Word about town is nudes are in for Autumn. I've seen nude matte lips on many blogs recently which is part of the 90s revival apparently! I say 'apparently' because to me, the 90s were only yesterday and it surely can't be time for a revival yet? (That's when you realise you're getting old!)

Make-up Storage in Pictures

How do you store yours?

Investment Pieces

 Today's post is an ode to those beautiful items in my collection that I treasure and adore. I am not suggesting that you have to spend lots of money on high-end purchases to enjoy using make-up. But if you do spend out on luxury brands, I believe it is important to appreciate and love what you have. These are some of the pieces that I see as 'investments': products that were well worth the spend and will be enjoyed for a long time.

Washing Your Hair Without Shampoo? Review: Ojon Cleansing Conditioner

I heard about the concept of washing your hair without shampoo through a link on Twitter to an article on the Cosmopolitan website. Cleansing conditioners have been popular with those with afro hair for some time now, but Ojon have recently released their Rare Blend Moisture-Rich Cleansing Conditioner, so I decided to try it out.

The Liebster Award: nomination #2!

I've been nominated again, how exciting! Pat from All About Me By Pat nominated me and has posed some excellent questions. As I did the Liebster Award Tag previously, I won't re-nominate or give 11 facts about me. You can find my original post by clicking on the link at the bottom of this post. 

Folkestone Triennial Artworks

On Saturday, I was lucky enough to visit Folkestone, a town in my home county of Kent, to see some of the Triennial artworks for 2014. It is great to see art being made available in such a way and the town was alive and bustling as a result. I also took the opportunity to shoot a range of photos on my daytrip, some of the area in general and some of the pieces that I encountered whilst walking around the harbour.