Glowy Make-up for Winter: Houglass, Charlotte Tilbury, Laura Mercier & more

The nights may be getting darker and it may feel bleak outside, but you can still glow with some gorgeous, subtle golds, taupes and shimmer-laced pinks.

My Niche Fragrance Collection

A fragrance is often used as a mood-lifter or that finishing touch before you leave the house. Depending on your destination, that might something sensual or delicate, powerful or polite. To me, perfume is one of life's pleasures and adventuring into the more obscure or less mainstream scents is something I really enjoy. Those in the beauty community may be familiar with most of these, however I would say that there may be some lesser-known treasures here for those who are thinking of a unique gift for a loved one.

Review: Stila Huge Extreme Lash Mascara

The Stila Huge Extreme Lash Mascara was part of my March/ April 2016 favourites and seven months on, I still love it. 

The mascara has a bristle, rather than plastic brush and packs a lot of product within those dense bristles. I find it quite similar to the YSL Faux Cils mascara, minus the fact that the YSL dries up ridiculously quickly. 

Perfect for everyday wear, this mascara emphasises length and adds volume, but doesn't clump unless you really pack it on. The formula is fairly creamy and pigmented, not runny and wet. You can build it up somewhat to add to the volume.

Overall, I would recommend this one for people with mid to long lashes who want definition and some wearable volume.

Other products worn in the photo: 

Guerlain Meteorites Baby Glow foundation in Light

Bareminerals Bareskin Serum Concealer in Light

Mac Lipstick in Brave

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer Review (Vanilla, Creme Brulee and Honey)

Vanilla, Creme Brulee, Honey 

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer comes in an array of shadea, with some more recent additions, including Creme Brulee (a fair shade with pink undertone which is a shade darker than Vanilla). I use three shades for different purposes: Vanilla for adding radiance, Honey for colour correcting under my eyes and Creme Brulee for finishing touches to dark areas.

Autumnal Make-up Feat. Nars Velvet Matte Skin Tint & Portobello Eyeshadow Duo

This is really just an excuse to showcase some products from Nars that I use regularly, however the tones are quite Autumnal!
This everyday make-up look starts with plenty of moisturiser and a primer. My skin is dry and believe me when I say it can look pretty crepey and dehydrated with the wrong base in the wrong light! Nars Velvet Matte Skin Tint is a tinted moisturiser in a matte finish which offers light to light-medium coverage. It isn't ridiculously drying, but could cling to patches if you haven't prepped. The best application is using fingers or a sponge as I find it needs to be worked into the skin. I wear the Shade Finland which is light with a neutral- yellow undertone. This seems to subtly counteract redness. I actually prefer this to Nars' original tinted moisturiser as I prefer a matte finish to a shiny face any day of the week. This isn't the easiest (or indeed most challenging) foundation to work with, but it does a good job of unifying your complexion.

The Divine Comedy at De La Warr Pavillion (Bexhill), Tuesday 25th October 2016

In the small, seaside town of Bexhill-on-Sea, The Divine Comedy put on one hell of a show on Tuesday evening. With the release of Foreverland a month or so ago, it was half-expected that we would be treated to tracks from the album, with perhaps an encore of National Express. What became apparent from the start, was that Hannon was keen to share an array of treasures from his magnificent back catalogue as well as some of the new tracks; it was a truly spectacular show.

Current Most Listened To Albums (September 2016)

How to conceal purple under eye circles

Excuse the creepy peeping eye (left)!

One of the trials and tribulations of us make-up and beauty obsessed individuals is the curse of dark under eye circles. Let's put things into perspective before I begin: this is a real first world problem. A completely vanity-induced issue- but then again, having the knowledge to correct (or improve) this area of make-up application can give you a lot more confidence and project that you are actually part of the living world, even when you feel like a bit of a hag!
I have purple under eye discolouration which shows up splendidly through my pale skin. Using colour theory, I have learned that yellow concealer can brighten this area and counteract the purple tones. Equally, bluish tones can be corrected using peach or orange-toned concealers which I also use. I have experimented successfully with two yellow concealers recently and wanted to share my results because colour correcting is currently being talked about a lot in the beauty community. Make-up artists have been using this theory for decades, but what can the average consumer achieve with it? 
As you can see, the colour wheel shows how skin tone issues can be corrected with the opposite facing colour. There is much hype about this technique at the moment and many products are now on the market that suggest they have the potential to correct redness (green concealers), sallowness (lilac tones) and under eye circles (orange, yellow and even red shades). For under eyes, I have found a cream concealer works best for me. This is because they adhere well to the skin and pack plenty of pigment- something I need! Saying that, I am a bit crepey under the eye, so careful application to the area of concern only is how I apply. I find that careful blending with the heat of my ring finger and a small dab of powder once I have applied some Nars Creamy Radiant concealer in Vanilla works well. 
So what brands do these yellow concealers come from?

The Impractical Jokers: Live Punishment @ Wycombe UK

On Tuesday April 5th, the Impractical Jokers filmed a punishment at Wycombe Wanderers football ground. I was one of the thousands that made a trip up there after seeing their Tweet about the event. 

Review: Bourjois City Radiance Skin Protecting Foundation SPF30

Any product with the words 'radiance' and 'SPF30' immediately get my attention. Pretty pastel pink packaging also helps. The Bourjois City Radiance foundation is a fairly new release and one that I think would be lovely for the Spring into Summer. The colour I chose was the 01 Rose Ivory- a light shade for cool-toned skin. It's a good match for me, but how much coverage and radiance can this so-called foundation really offer?

Review: Lancôme Juicy Shakers (Boom-meringue and Freedom of Peach)

Left: Freedom of Peach; right: Boom-meringue

The latest lip product to excite beauty-lovers are the Lancôme Juicy Shakers. These lip oils come in a range of colours of which I purchased two: Freedom of Peach and Boom-meringue. 

Things That I'm Currently Enjoying (March-April 2016)

Rose gold rings:
I purchased some beautiful, delicate rose gold rings from an Etsy shop called Nikki Stark Jewellery over the last few months. They are handmade, made to order pieces which can be stacked and combined. They go with any outfit because they are minimalist and pared down. I love that you forget you're even wearing them because they are so lightweight despite being real gold.   The rings were bought separately and on both occasions they came within a week and were displayed in a sweet little box with a nice personalised message from Nikki. I'd recommend this designer- you can click the link above to browse her store.

Our adorable kitten, Maisie: aged 8 weeks to 5 months

                               In early December we got a kitten after wanting one for years. Growing up, we always had cats and I've always missed having one around since I moved away in my late teens. We picked up our little black kitten from a lovely lady in Southsea and was told 'she's an adventurer'- little did we know that this was not an exaggeration! In fact, I suspect that she was the most mischievous of the whole litter. Every kitten likes to explore, but ours is particularly curious and fearless. There is no shelf, drawer, cupboard or box she hasn't attempted to enter. For such a tiny cat, she has an amazing pair of lungs on her. On the way home to our house, she meowed LOUDLY non-stop and has since been known to wake us up at 5am crying until we go and give her attention! She is the cutest, funniest little kitten we could have ever hoped for, with heaps of personality. We called her Maisie because it was a cute name for a sweet little girl.