NARS, Monthly favourites and a giant Sorry sorry sorry!!

4 months since a post! Wow I must have been busy! I split with my boyfriend in January so I had to move out of our apartment and stuff which wasn't the most inspiring experience. But, here I am! Trying to do anything I can to avoid my impending dissertation work. To cheer myself up I ordered the cult NARS sheer glow foundation in 'Mont Blanc' - light and pink toned and to get free shipping I splurged on the ever raved about 'orgasm blush and albatross highlight'. I am yet to try them, however I have swatched them and the foundation seems a little too light, although like a complete dingbat i applied fake tan last night, so I will shower it off shortly and have lots of fun with my new makeup :D Yay!

So, having showered and used sheer glow, I will say this - I love it! Absoloutely beautiful finish, great coverage, no smell but naff packaging, I hate spilling out foundation onto my hand to use it. The albatross highlighter is a little darker and more golden toned than i am used to, but the orgasm blusher is lush!!!

& guys, I did my first ever youtube video, I have to say i probably need to invest in a proper camera, however i will attach my first ever attempt (turn your volume up because i am seriously quiet for some reason!) exciting :D

A few other favourites i didn't mention for fear of boring any viewers to death -

China glaze nail varnish in 'For Audrey', I always seem to love this shade in the summer, it cheers me up when i see my little blue/green nails typing away at my coursework :)

Bourgois bronzer in 51, I'm not really a 'bronzer' girl because i'm very pale and have embraced it (well, sort of) and so i didn't really see the need for this product, but i thought what the hell it's summer and bought it, and i was so glad i did, it's a lovely colour, it looks really natural and flattering and it smells like chocolate which is a bit of a gimmick but hell i was sucked in! :)

False eyelashes of every kind, particularly the pre glued ones they do in boots, absoloutely amazing, last all night and so so easy to apply.

Great Lash Waterproof from maybelline (although i've heard they test on animals, anyone know if that's true?). It's a fantastic 'primer' for my lashes, i have unnaturally straight hair and eyelashes and so, when i curl them, i want them to stay as curled as possible for as long as possible and this mascara really helps that, i can usually stick anything on after it's dried and it will hold the curl in place.

Lorel Elnett hairspray in Volume - AMAZING is all i have to say, lift your hair up, spray and let it fall down gradually and you have instant volume that isn't sticky or crispy.

So yeah, hope you enjoyed some of that, i have just washed my makeup brushes for the seoncd time this week (the joys of having a dissertation to write).
Hope you are all happy and healthy :) Sam xxx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkZaPGqv44M

Hey guys!!

Hello guys, so sorry about my lack of posts in recent weeks, i have been so busy with assignments and my 21st birthday that blogging has slipped my mind. But... I will have a pretty sizeable birthday haul post for you very soon which will hopefully be worth the wait, i'm going to do it later in the week when i have time to take pictures, swatches etc. I had an awesome birthday!

That's me with two of my aunties (I'm from quite a large family) sporting my new fringe.
My dress is from Warehouse (size 10 if you please :D) and you can't see anything else so it's pretty pointless naming shoes and jackets. There was only 3 pictures of me my whole birthday and none of them featured my boyfriend so i have nothing to put in the '21st birthday' photoframe. Boo. Anywho i will be posting at least two more updates before Xmas, a birthday haul and what i'm getting people for christmas so you guys might get some ideas :) Although i'm leaving it a bit late because i always do my Christmas shopping at the last minute...ooops. Also my boyfriend and I have decided to shop for presents in the January sales so i am definately feeling a big fat Christmas haul too :D (and to UK residents, there's 20% off in Debenhams at the mo, i saved a bunch on my new makeup)

Hope you all have been happy and healthy

Much love and thankyou for reading xox

Completely shallow post

So when i have a spare minute or two, i find myself thinking about materialistic things, such as... items i would love to aquire for my 21st birthday pressies :D
Top of my wish list is the Urban Decay Naked Palette! They are now selling it in the UK and i cannot wait to get my little mitts on it.


It's £27.50 which is pretty reasonable in my humble opinion! Seriously excited to try it out if someone picks up on my hints haha.

I would also love some new fancy bedding and boudouir stuff because my bedroom feels really... lifeless sortof? I think this bedding is beautiful!!


Also, i would love Dior Cherie. I smelt it in the Airport on my way home from Spain a few months back and i fell in love, it is beautiful both in looks and in scent.
Absoloute lust have -





So... i'm still sat here thinking away. But most of all i would like to have my boyfriend here to celebrate with... i'd rather have no presents and Mike home than him be away for 3 months which is the rumor (he's in the Navy).

I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes :) x

Career

Now i know this is rare on blogs but the blogs i read are about life and ways in which we strive to improve our own, whether that be via having clear skin, ways to save money and now i'm starting to blog about my career too, please just ignore if you don't want to know. So here's how it all began:

Aged 16 i left school with 11 GCSE's and I started to think about going into a business studies degree but these views changed along with my teachers when i went to college aged 16-18 and came out with 4 A-Levels with just a C for business. So i decided on a career teaching English, i went straight into Uni studying English and i'm now approaching my third year. I should really be thinking about my PGCE and getting more teaching experience. So then i thought to myself, do i honestly want to become a teacher? What exactly is it i want to do with my degree?

I'm now in my third year and aswell as studying and working part time to fund my makeup and product addiction, i have just signed up to volunteer for a small business who sell fairtrade coffee and offer jobs for workers in Africe and for immagrants who would otherwise be on benefits here. Any profits go to educating the workforce and building schools in Afirca. The organisation seems to benefit everyone involved and i have been offered a sales/marketing position in schools, giving them business ideas and helping them aswell as getting ideas of how to sell coffee. There are some very important people involved and it's a really great oppurtunity for me as it gives me experience in sales/marketing/retail/education so it's sort of a taster session in many different industries. I will also be acting as a sort of manager so i could also regard it as management experience which is super gooood! I'm really excited and i just wanted to post this to perhaps remind people that these times are not all doom and gloom. Money is a small aspect of enjoyment of life so if you have some spare time, look up volunteering, as i have learnt today there are many different roles to suit different people and the skills they offer so if you can, i would really advise trying something new. I'm really looking forward to this and as you can imagine, the hunt for suitable clothes and makeup begins very soon!

Today on my face i wore -

the body shop foundation in number 5 and the powder in 5 just on my crease and on my eyes, i'm now using it as a bronzer because it is quite a few shades darker than my skin (stupid assistant) and works wonderfully to contour. I wore a few coats of maybelline mascara, MAC blush in pink swoon and i used a bit of vaseline as a subtle highlight, natural yet pretty too. I just wore the body shop lip blam in watermelon (which smells BEAUTIFUL) and was good to go. For interviews i think class is essential so i whipped the Chanel perfume out and was thankful after the good old British rain washed the majority of it off.

It worked, i got the post and i'm happyyy!! :) I don't think a lot of women talk about their career choices that much and with such a gap in the pay stakes between men and women i think we should share hints and tips and work together :)

Good luck to all xxx

Coffee Table drama!

So, i'm relaxing watching junk TV on my sunday evening after dropping my lovely boyfriend off to go to work... i put my feet up and BAM my coffee table gives way. Now we can't expect much from the poor coffee table (rip) as it was very, very cheap as it was strictly a 'oh crap we are moving in with hardly any money and we need a coffee table' purchase. But now, what do we replace it with? I think i want a black, clean looking table and i have seen one on the next website that i am in love with (http://www.next.co.uk/shopping/homeware/livingroomfurniture/15/1). It's £150 which is a bit more than i wanted to spend and i have seen a black one in ikea that's a far more reasonable £45 (http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/40147726). I really love the first one - it's got space for my magazines freeing up a drawer in my bedroom! Although i'm unsure about how childsafe they both are as my boyfriend has a young son. Ahh - i don't want to buy practical at the tender age of 20 (clearly, my last table collapsed) but obviously his safety has to come first. Ahh dramas eh.


*all about a dog attack, skip at your leisure*
Speaking of dramas - My 6 month old puppy got viciously attacked today! By a pug! This horrible little dog came out of nowhere (it's owner was trailing behind it without a lead) and began to really lay into my poor little Harry! :( He was yelping so much when he walked after the attack we had to take him to the emergency vets where we were told he was in shock, had a few wounds that he'd been given antibiotics for and some pain relief because the damage to his leg was really hurting him :( poor little guy is sat in his bed sulking now. Ahh i love my little Harry and i think owners like the owner of the pug should have to go to compulsary dog training if their pet ever behaves like that - i cried a lot afterwards, i have never felt so helpless. I managed to drag my poor injured Harry away from the horrible dog after a bit of a struggle, with it's owner sheepishly saying 'sorry' and making a terrible half-hearted attempt to control the beast! It even managed to bite me as i was picking Harry up. It just about managed to break my skin so i'm waiting til tomorrow to see if i have to have an injection. I reported it to the police and with a bit of luck i will find out where the man lives (very near me i suspect) and he will get a court order to keep that horrible mutt far away from others! :( If you are a dog owner please give your dog the love and respect it deserves, you chose it afterall, because in my opinion if all dogs were properly cared for they wouldn't ever be so callously vicious. Ahh i feel better now.

How have your weekends been? I'm looking forward to the one ahead already - is that as sad as it sounds? :)x

Makeup time!

So i'll be recieving my student loan soon and will be stocking up on makeup for autumn/winter and i was thinking of a few investment items such as a decent foundation, primer and moisturiser amongst all the usual crap from superdrug that i buy. I seem to be moving away from wearing eyeshadow at all and am becoming more focused on enhancing my lips because to me if you try to do both it can be a bit 'drag queen'. So for me, winter is all about looking fresh and having a peachy blush and nice, plump lips. Ok so my thoughts:

Foundation - i have about 5 at the minute (all 'drugstore') but none of them fit the bill and so i think i'm going to go to a counter and get the right formulation and colour for me so i actually get the useage out of it. I'm thinking clinique because i know their products agree with my skin (i have fairly pale, normal skin and occasionally get a spot/blemish) however i have been enticed by NARS sheer glow for a while but it seems more of a summery foundation to me? Any opinions are more than welcome.

There was a tester of the loreal professional primer in cosmopolitan this month and while it seemed quite powdery it left a gorgeous feel to the skin so i'm considering that? And as for a decent moisturiser i'm unsure, although again i'm thinking clinique because my skin seems to agree with their formulations although i think the consistency of the dramatically different moisturising gel/lotion is a bit thin for me? Hm.

Oh and ladies if you have long hair and are thinking of chopping it - dont. I had long hair and had a good 5 inches cut off it (as can be seen above) and never have i mourned the loss of hair so heavily. I find myself actually having hair envy of pretty much everyone with longer hair than me. Hopefully it will grow back fast because i miss it! :( Sad face completely necessary. Sorry for bad photo - i was on holiday and completely do not look like it!

Anywho - 3rd year of uni starts in just over a week. I am terrified. Anyone willing to pass on any organisational tips would be a lifesaver because my idea of organisation is putting anything and everything in a big pile. I'm doomed.

Hope you all had a fab summer x

In's and Outs

Hey guys! Long time no see but i have been enjoying spending time with my lovely boyfriend as he's home from the navy for 5 weeks :) I can report that i have sucessfully managed to lose a bit of weight i am much closer to a size 10 now and i think in 2 weeks (when i go) i may well have accoomplished my mission.

So i'm ill - again- thanks to Mike's son Charlie and so i have decided to indulge in a little what i like and what i don't like therapy. I have found a fair few makeup discoveries lately so here goes!

In's

* Rimmel stay matte dual action concealer (001 Ivory). I tried the Laura Mercier secret concealer (in the lightest shade) and it seemed to only last me a little while, which could of been because of the MAC 195 brush i was using which seemed to just lap the stuff up and come out really waxy - so i'd end up using me fingers to blend which was a little useless. Also, at around £23, it isn't cheap, but it is an amazing concealer, should you be prepared to pay the price. I am however, always looking out for something that goes the one step beyond and i think this concealer is exactly that. I think it was around £4-5 and i would say it's easier to work with, it covers with more efficience, it's compact but doesn't get lost in your makeup bag and you get a lot of product. The consistency is really pleasent and workable and it doesn't flag up any dry patches. Absoloutely love this product.

* 17 Mirror shine lipstick in Nudest peach. I have to say, i'm not really a fan of lipsticks, i find them too severe and prefer to stick to a tinted balm or a gloss but this 'lipstick' makes me feel all grown up when i use it (ha!) and is basically a gloss packaged in a lipstick formulation. It's very sheer but gives a good level of colour and a 'mirror shine'. I do like this lipstick however because of the gloss like formulation after a couple of applications it broke and now resides in my fridge like a lipstick hospital.

* Kleenex 'feel me i'm gorgeous' tissues. When you have a cold (or viral infection) the last thing you want is a horrible chapped nose and i feel these are really the bentley version of tissues. So so soft and it feels nice to have a little luxury in my life when feeling this yucky.

*Maybelline Superstay 24hr foundation in 020 cameo. Lasts ages, wonderful coverage, great colour selection, no funny scents and spf 19. I don't know how it photographs but it's that great on all other levels i don't really care :)

*Holidays and having my boyfriend home :) honestly throughout all this makeup stuff hardly anyone mentions the things that REALLY matter. Like having a wonderful boyfriend make you chicken soup when you're ill or really getting excited about going away for a few weeks. I can't wait to be in the sun for two whole weeks with nothing to do but chill out, eat and drink. Bliss



Outs.

* Viral infections
Noone wants a cold in August. So we have...duh duh duh duhhhh! Viral infections which is just a posh cold. I have a rash all over my back, i'm all bunged up, hot, headachey, my ears hurt, my throat hurts and i'm being more than a wingebag about it! Enough already, make me healthy!

* Sky
Virgin on demand is SO so much better than sky. More fool us for being sucked in by skys stupid offers.

*Lancome Juicy Tubes in 108 - paris. I love juicy tubes and i was bitterly dissapointed with this one, don't get me wrong the formulation and colour is true to juicy tubes, but the scent is disappointing. It smells like plastic flowers. Juicy tubes usually make me want to lick them off they smell so delicious. I got it in a set so i wasn't as dissapointed as i would've been if i had spent £12 or so on it, but still.

So yeah that's about all i can manage right now. I can't even be bothered to spell check or edit becaus ei am hungry and so i will love you and leave you and edit on another day. Any suggestions for things (clothing or makeup) that i should pick up for my holidays? I really want a cute (cheap) kaftan. Hm. x