Summer Favourites

Summer is a really awkward time make up wise, because I'm not usually too fussed with wearing things like foundation, as I'd usually have a tan, so would go all natural - mostly so it's easier to tan. But for the evenings or where I want make a little bit more of an effort and have some coverage, I'd definitely say Chanel Perfection Lumiére. I am extremely lucky with my skin as I rarely get spots and have a reasonably good PH balance, making it not too greasy or too dry. This foundation is one you can just brush on and go. It has reasonable coverage, but isn't one of its best factors. I realise it is quite a pricey foundation but personally, would recommend it to the people with average/good skin as it gives you an airbrushed look and is very hydrating. I will always set it with a bit if powder, but don't find it lasts any more than 8 hours without having to give it a little touch up. 

I use MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural Powder to set my make up, I don't like heavy powders but I like to use a little to stop shine and keep everything in place. I absolutely love this powder as it's light but also let's your skin breathe, it gives it a healthy glow and does everything you'd want it to do and is extremely soft. 

Benefit They're Real! - £19.50Chanel Perfection Luminére - £36.00  YSL Rouge Coture (shade 33) - £25  MAC Mineralize Skinfinish - £22.00   BarryM Gelly Nail Effects (Satsuma) - £3.99

I'm a massive fan of coral this summer as I find myself wearing a whole lot of black and white, it's always really effective to have a statement colour. I have a massive obsession with YSL's lipsticks so just before I went away I chose one of their coral ones from the Rouge Pur Coture range and needless to say, I absolutely love it. It's very bright and very bold which is ideal for the summer and also lasts for ages. The packaging is also gorgeous with YSL - I sometimes use the side of the lid as a mirror.

Also, in coral, I bought a Barry M Gelly Nail Paint which is so fun. It's such a summery colour and is so easy to apply. I prefer their Gelly range as I find it looks glossier and even when painting. It also provides bold colour which is a must have for this shade. 

My last product is my lifesaver! Benefit They're Real! mascara. This, I cannot live without. It is such a lovely mascara. I heard a lot of hype about this at work for a long time, so I thought I'd try it, and I honestly wouldn't go back! I am a complete mascara fiend as I feel I could go without any product other than mascara. I love big, long, thick, dark, statement eyes and this will certainly help you achieve this. I am a little bit of a cheat as I had eyelash extensions put on before I went away to actually not let me rely so much on mascara, but when I want a nice evening eye, I'll always use this to top them up!

These are my absolute summer favourites, what are yours? 

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E.l.f Review

So being a blogger and reading/watching a load of blogs I have seen a ridiculous amount of 'Elf' thinking to myself it looks like a pretty decent brand. Although, living in a small town in the South West of England.. I don't get the biggest choice of make up without travelling atleast 30 mins, so being in LA and having everything you could possibly ever need here, is so refreshing! I was walking through a massive department store, Target, and saw this little beauty for something ridiculous like $8, I had to give it a go! 

It was between this and a pallet of 100, but I picked this as I felt I would use the colours more. 

I was shocked for so long about the price of the few products I saw (I couldn't stay too long as I knew I was no here for another month and cannot afford to completely fulfill my beauty desires) so took to the good old internet to see if this was a crazy sale, or just a crazy brand. After a bit of research I found that it was just an amazingly priced brand - I guess kind of equivalent to the UK's MUA make up brand. 

After trying the product itself, I was honestly astounded. The colours on the pallet are gorgeous but it can always differ a little once actually applying, but I was amazed to see that they were just as pretty on than off. The make up itself is very pigmented and strong, with obviously the rule of the more you apply or blend the different looks you can create. 

Overall I'm so happy with this product and will definitely stock up on some more before I go home, it was an absolute steal! I'd highly recommend and am excited to see what else they have in store.

What do you think of Elf? Worth the dolla? 

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My Travel Essentials

If you read the last post you would probably know that I have migrated to Cali for the summer. Since I'm out here for so long, I was verrry unsure of what to pack and also had to be cautious of the amount I packed. Although I would have absolutely loved to have brought my entire cosmetic collection, I couldn't. Luckily, at the moment, I'm reasonably low maintenance with skincare so here are some of my summer travel essentials.

SKIN PROTECTION.

I'm going to start with the obvious, for going to a hot climate, suncream. Skin protection is one of the best cosmetics you can get, as it prevents you from premature wrinkles, dark spots, burn and pigmentation. I chose Hawaiian Tropic Sheer Touch sunscreen as it is so hydrating, leaving you with a lovely, luminous look. It also has a really fresh, summery scent to it and is oil free! It's a liiiitle bit more pricey than some other brands, but I'd definitely recommend paying that little bit extra.

MOISTURISER.

On the same note as skincare, my next essential is Clinique's Dramatically Different. I will be completely honest and admit, it isn't my absolute favourite moisturiser I've tried as I've found it isn't the easiest to spread and becomes a little bit tacky, but it does get rid of the dryness, which is a must have in a hot climate. It also leaves my skin feeling quite fresh and soft and comes in a smaller size, which is ideal for traveling - less is more with this.

MAKE UP REMOVER.

I've gone with Estee Lauder - Take It Away, simply because I, occasionally wear Double Wear and it is pretty much THE only thing that can get it off. It also takes any other make up you have on with minimal effort, which is always something that you appreciate when you just want to go to sleep, it smells lovely and leaves your skin feeling refreshed after use.

EXFOLIATOR.

I have brought two exfoliators out with me, as when you're tanning and in the sun, its really important to get rid of the dead skin sells - especially if you want to keep your tan looking healthy and make it last. The one's I have chosen are both Clarins as they smell gorgeous and I always trust Clarins with skincare. One, exfoliating body scrub and the other, Gentle Refiner Exfoliator - for face. 

HAIRCARE.

I didn't really bring a lot for my hair as I don't like to put too much on it as I'm currently trying to let it recover from my excessive bleaching phase! I did, however bring, salt spray. Im'm still trying to work out how to properly use it or if I even like it, but I thought it was a really handy idea to have effortless waves in your hair without really having to do anything to it. The other item, Schwarzkopf - Got2B powderful for volume. I absolutely love this product for nights out, or anytime you'd need dressy hair, you literally put a tiny bit in the roots, rub it in and it gives you so much volume!

HEALTHCARE.

So I didn't picture these as it would have looked very boring but there are some must haves everyone needs when going away, especially when you're as accident prone as me. 

-Plasters

-Hypercal (helps with cuts and grazes)

-Paracetemol!! I go nowhere without this, and the alternative isnt as cheap in the US

So thats what I brought with me, would you bring anything different? Let me know!

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BACK (for good) and July 4th in LA

Soooooo I'm definitely in LA right now. It's been a ridiculous amount of time since my last post and I am completely aware but it's been so frantically busy this past few months, so here's a bit on an update: I've finished college, it's now summer, I'm now 18, I've had a conditional offer from London Met University to study Fashion Marketing and journalism, I've quit my job and am living in LA for the summer. Quite a bit really which I'm sure as the posts continue I will go in more detail and fill more gaps, but I promise to stop slacking and neglecting this blog, I have no excuses to not write anymore, so here's where I am now - July 6th. Two days after my first and very legendary 4th of July. As you most likely know, I'm British, which means 4th July isn't something we celebrate, so I was very excited to find out I would be in Los Angeles for this momentous occasion. For the two weeks that I've been here, almost daily I was asking my brothers (and all of their friends) what we were going to end up doing and no one had any solid plans, and it was going to be, very much going with the flow. The morning of the 4th came and we were invited to our friends apartment downstairs for mimosas (Champagne and orange - or as the British say, Bucks Fizz) and Crepes, which was an offer I couldn't refuse! Only issue was, I had absolutely no idea to wear so was running round the apartment finding an outfit that could take me through the day but still looked presentable! Eventually, I went for a simple Topshop vest top and a pair of ripped Levi shorts. Later I added my Topshop kimono that could dress it up if I felt I needed it.

I had absolutely no idea how his day was going to go, so I went downstairs and was greeted by lots of smiley faces and American flags! More people arrived for the breakfast and more invitations for parties for the day and with that. it very quickly turned into day drinking fuelled beer pong (with the classic red cups of course.) The drinks got more and more potent and we decided to go to the first of 3 possible parties. We had an awesome group and had a really fun car trip to the first party, in West Hollywood. I had absolutely no idea where we were going and was a little tipsy so it was all very exciting. The first party we arrived to was on a rooftop, it was awesome. There was a massive stand with the American flag, lots of beer, music and of course, beautiful people. We didn't spend too long here as we were running on a tight schedule for the day and everyone seemed to knew everyone.. Apart from us. But it was really fun to be in the atmosphere of a rooftop party in a completely foreign place, with a really awesome group of people, not the kinda thing I get the opportunity to do often in England!

After about an hour and a half, we decided to take off and try the next party. Another car trip (and a slightly drunken service station stop) we arrived somewhere near Venice beach. It didn't immediately seem like anything special from the outside, but once we got up the stairs of the complex we heard music, people talking and this seemed a liiiiiittle more what I was used to. There were two apartments next to each other that were hoasting a joint party so people just went in and out as they pleased. Everyone was extremely friendly and within minutes of being there I was kidnapped for people to make me drinks and see where I came from. It was really fun to have people obsess over the way I talk and visa versa! I then made to play beer pong for the second time in my life, and also that day. Things got very competitive and it may have ended up being Brits vs Yanks and of course, we won.. Twice!! So, I can imagine that being a little embarrassing for the Americans on there Independence Day. It was all clean fun though and I met some really lovely and most of all, interesting people there! Sadly, after our second game.. We had to go to the final party. We said goodbye to everyone, took some selfies, swapped some Facebooks and left. It was such a lovely, friendly atmosphere at this one and showed the realness(?) of friends being proud of where they're from and enjoying their lives. 

Our last party didn't go so smoothly, we had to drive to a place called Marina Del Rey for this boat party, the issue was.. There was a couple hundred others trying to do the same thing! We cut it a little fine as everyone decided before the last place, I HAD to try an "In and Out Burger" I had no idea what this was but went with it. We arrived in this chain and there was so. Maaaaaany. People! Honestly the drive through was ram packed and so was the restaurant, but I completely get why.. It was incredible! So after this debacle of food and traffic (and a lot of walking) we arrived at the final destination, and what a beautiful destination it was! It was a lovely warm evening and there was a lovely, chilled group of friends that met us on the pontoon right next to the boat, it was a completely different atmosphere to what I was expecting but was equally as fun. We sat, talked, drank and ate. Perfect! 

It was really lovely to see how people celebrate this events differently but most of all, the unity that it gives Americans. A chance to celebrate all that's good and do exactly as you please. I can honestly say I had one of the best days of my life, not for any reason other than the experiences it gave me. It teaches you that they don't always have to be mountain sized experiences but to appreciate the small things and not waste a minute. So kudos to you America, you gave me an incredible day and hopefully it won't be my last 4th July! 

Xxx

P.s I know I haven't really done any fashion or beauty posts yet but it is all definitely in the works, promise!

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