Morning skin care routine

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish will always be my favourite cleanser. I feel my mood is definitely improved after using it! I know that's a strange thing to say about a cleanser but the resulting clean skin feeling you get with using this product cannot be matched.

Having said that I am currently not using C&P:( I ran out a few weeks ago and due to my serious lack of funds I have not repurchased. At the moment I am trying to pay for my makeup artistry course, pay for a stag/hen weekend im going on in august and save to go to my masters graduation in Plymouth in September. Not even a bottle of Coke is being bought at the moment never mind a  17 Euro bottle of cleanser.

Not that I've had to resort to washing my face with soap and water (small inside shudder) or anything horrific like that. I don't know about anyone else but even the thought of this makes my skin feel tight and sore! I received a good bit of skincare at Christmas so I have been shopping my stash a good bit in the last few weeks.

At the moment in the mornings I have been using the following:

Decleor Aroma Cleanse Cleansing Water Face and Eyes
This smells beautiful and is lovely and refreshing for mornings. I just soak a cotton pad with it and cleanse my face. Its not great for removing eye make up so I prefer it for mornings when there is no makeup to remove. Its not the cheapest but its 400ml so will last a good while.

L'oreal Youth Code Luminize Super Serum
I use this after cleansing. It has a lovely citrus smell and has a pearl like finish. It looks a bit like Mac strobe cream on the face of the hand but the texture is very different. Its almost sticky but not in a bad way if that makes sense.  It claims to even skin tone and illuminate. Ive definitely noticed a difference since using this. It glides on the skin and is very light and soaks in immediately. Love it!

Clinique Superdefence Moisturiser
I am weirdly paranoid about sun damage to my face so I really love this moisturiser as it is SPF 25. It also 'arms skin to fight the visible effects of emotional stress'! Who wouldn't need this cream in their lives??! It is not too heavy on the skin - I have the combination oily/oily version. My mum recently bought me a new one of these in the combination/dry version which I am actually happy about as my skin has been a little drier lately.

What I've been up to

Well I know it's been a while since I've posted on this blog. Ive had a tough couple of months but I really wanna get back into blogging again.

I have recently started a makeup artistry course which I absolutely love! I'm doing module 3 in LA makeup academy part time 2 evenings a week. So far we have done natural makeup, bridal, trend look, evening, high fashion and black and white photographic.

I feel like I've finally found something I absolutely love to do and really would like to make a career out of it. I find myself excited for Mondays and Tuesdays now (the nights of the course) which is definitely unusual. 

As you can see from the picture I have bought quite a few new brushes since starting the course, all Sigma as they are excellent quality at a very good price. I will be doing a post on my favourite brushes very soon.

Top 10 Lip Products

I really love lip products. I have many (some would say too many) and I love trying new ones which leads to many more. I love how a lipstick can really finish off a makeup look and how a look can be so totally different depending on the lip product and colour chosen. So here are my top 10.

Sephora cream lip stain in No. 01, Benefit lip gloss in Life on the A List,  Rimmel Kate Moss collection lipstick in No. 16, Mac lipstick in Watch Me Simmer and Mac lipstick in Creme D'Nude.

Sephora cream lip stain in No. 01, Benefit lip gloss in Life on the A List,  Rimmel Kate Moss collection lipstick in No. 16, Mac lipstick in Watch Me Simmer and Mac lipstick in Creme D'Nude.

Sephora cream lip stain in No. 01: Gorgeous classic red shade. This stain stays put on the lips, no need to be constantly running to a mirror to reapply. A liner is needed though as this tends to bleed a little.

Benefit lip gloss in Life on the A list: In general Im not a big lip gloss fan, I find them heavy and sticky and in a lot of cases too sheer. Love this gloss though, as it is none of these things. It's a beautiful nude pink colour that is lovely by itself and also great layered over nude or pink lipsticks. 

Rimmel Kate Moss collection No. 16: Never thought a lipstick this cheap could be this good. Got this and a few other shades on offer in my local pharmacy for 5 euro each! They are amazing! The shades are beautiful, creamy in consistency, dont dry out the lips and stay put as well as my more expensive lipsticks. This shade is a light peachy pink, such a lovely colour for the summer.

Mac Watch Me Simmer: LOVE this shade!! Its a very bright coral shade, so beautiful with tanned skin, Nars orgasm blusher and loads of highlighter, been absolutely loving this look lately!

Mac Creme D'Nude: I guess almost everyone has this in their collection. Nude colour with a hint of of pinky peach. Perfect with a dramatic smoky eye. 

Mac lipstick in Impassioned, Chanel Rouge Coco lipstick in No. 13 Gardenia, YSL Rouge Volupte lipstick in No. 11 Rose Culte, Blistex Intensive Moisturiser.

Mac lipstick in Impassioned, Chanel Rouge Coco lipstick in No. 13 Gardenia, YSL Rouge Volupte lipstick in No. 11 Rose Culte, Blistex Intensive Moisturiser.

 Mac Impassioned: Really bright corally pink shade. I think the Amplified lipsticks from Mac are just amazing. The colour is so opaque and in your face (in a good way) Love them!


Chanel in Gardenia: Definitely a 'your lips but better' kinda shade. Its a browny pink with a slight hint of a pearly finish. The smell (roses) is just amazing!


Mac Ravishing: Bright peach shade.This shade always reminds me of going out in Plymouth when I was living there last year while doing my masters. Love the way makeup, like certain songs and smells, can remind me of good times I have had in the past.


YSL Rose Culte: Another one that I have nice memories associated with. I bought this in the airport on my way to Spain in March. The formula of this lipstick is so creamy and beautiful. It is a rich hot pink colour, the photos here really dont do it justice. 


Blistex Intensive Moisturiser: Brilliant moisturiser for lips. I like to use this at night as it does come out fairly white on the lips but it really does leave the lips feeling so soft and smooth. Nice minty smell too.

Wall Art

I have a few pictures I have painted onto the walls of my bedroom.This is my favourite I think. I got the idea from a tattoo on someone's foot I saw on the internet and I thought it would be perfect on a wall. (Please ignore the ultra cool solar system poster if you can:))

NOTD

So this is my first nails of the day post featuring Essence Rich and Pretty. This is a shimmery silver colour with a hint of lilac colouring in some lights. The quality is ok. It had chipped after one day but for €1.29 a bottle you cant really expect the longevity of something like an OPI. Its a fun colour, not too mad and right on trend for this season's metallic look.

Tank and Rage Face

Tank

Rage Face

These are our guinea pigs. We got them two weeks ago and they live at my boyfriend's house. They are brothers and they are just so adorable! We could see their different personalities coming out after just a few days. Tank is quite shy and reserved while Rage Face is braver and noisier. They are funny because when we separate them they call out and try to find each other. We let them out in their run every day to exercise and eat fresh grass and they seem to be doing well so far. Its a long time since Ive had a pet and Im really enjoying looking after them.

The Eden Project

I did my masters in University of Plymouth last year and my boyfriend paid me a surprise visit in April. Apart from that being the best thing ever cos I hadn't seen him since Christmas, we did a few cool things while he was over. One of the places we went was the Eden Project in Cornwall. Its kinda like a botanical garden but way better. Its built in a reclaimed mine with a large emphasis on education and conservation. Its difficult to describe the atmosphere of the place but personally its one of my favourite places cos I find it so inspirational and just plain beautiful. If you ever get a chance to go I would deffo recommend it!

Flowers in the rainforest biome

Lemons in the Mediterranean biome

WEEE Man made out of recycled household appliances. I love the washing machine doors for eyes!