I didn't go too in depth when taking photos of this, because lets face it, everyone and their cat has seen or heard about this foundation. I was previously using two 17 foundations, one too pale & horribly cakey, and one too dark. I was in the market for a new one and was debating getting my first 'high end' foundation, but because i really don't have problematic skin, so there's never really been the need to splurge. Considering this is such a raved product, i thought I'd give it a go before skipping over to MAC and getting one for double the price. I don't have problematic skin at all, i have pretty normal skin verging on dry every now and again, oh and i love a matte finish and a heavy enough coverage to hide my rosy cheeks.
This is marketed to leave a 16 hour perfectly glowing complexion. The glowey "dewey" look on ME makes me want to vomit, so it was a risk when i bought this, but a risk worth taking ;-).I like a matte finish, and even with foundations branded to be matte i still feel the need for a setting powder (MAC MSFN) but with this, I'm good to go. Which is strange because its marketed to be 'glowey' but i can bare to be parted with my powder when using this. I really like the finish, i wouldn't completely call it matte, more satin. It is also a dream to apply, i use my fingers cos I'm a bokka, but it also smells DIVINE. Which is fine for me because i don't have sensitive skin, but if you do, be aware that it is perfumed.
The shade is perfect for me, but with that said, its not a broad shade range. If you have darker skin tones then this really isn't for you, also if you're paler than me (hard but possible) then maybe not either. Also without sounding like a complete dork, i really like the packaging. Because of the way it is dispensed non of the product is wasted at the bottom of the bottle where the pump can't reach. But unless you've seen the bottle or a bottle like this, you wont have a fucking clue what I'm talking about.
Overall i really like this foundation and I'm going to stick with it for now. Until i get bored of it, because i have a serious tendency to do that with foundations...
Summer shopping always gets me excited, especially this time around due to the almost heatwave the other week. Which is pretty much a distant memory to us all in the UK now, considering when i brought these, it was snowing outside.
I went shopping with my grandma and brought quite a fair few things! We went to Fosse Park in Leicester as we always do. Its an outside complex with few yet large shops. My Grandma has an addiction to Monsoon quite similar to one on crack, Fosse park has a very large Monsoon. I'm not a fan, its aimed much more at the mature woman, so the only shops i tend to ever purchase anything from at Fosse park is New Look (on the odd occasion, it seems to have gone down a very steep hill) Accessorize and River Island.
Aztec print scarf [Accessorize]: This may as well just have 'Hannah' written on the label. Its aztec print AND its a snood. What more could i ask for in life? Its perfection, but the price tag isn't, at £18 i think its a tad excessive, but i will get my use out of it.
MTV t-shirt [River Island]: I've seen this top in my local River Island but in white and just thought 'meh'. Don't get me wrong, i love a good white t-shirt, but it just seemed a little too plain in white. However when i saw it in pink, it was a whole different ball game, which i wanted to play. I imagine it will look lovely over sized with a blazer or tucked into shorts or a skirt. £20, not bad, I've mentioned before that River Island have defiantly sorted their prices out.
Chelsea Girl lace dress [River Island]: I'm a massive fan of skater dresses, and I'm a massive fan of lace, but some of the lace skater dresses you see aren't anything special at the top and lack detail, and seen as though my top half is in my opinion my better half, I'd preffer all the detail to be there please. I love button at the front, it just gives it that more vintage feel, the sleeves are also perfect, I'm not a fan of my upper arms, and the frills flatter them nicely enough that i wouldn't feel i had to wear a cardigan or jacket with it. Its also cream and not white, which just makes it look nicer. £25.
Denim shorts [River Island]: My best friend recently got a pair of vintage Levi cut of shorts and she looked amazing in them, i tried to imagine them on myself in vomited. I have short fat legs, with an arse and hips, this is where me and jeans struggle, being the same material i stayed clear of shorts as well. I usually wear skirts or stick to leggings in the summer. I never thought i could pull off the whole 'cut off shorts' with tights that works so well for people with amazing legs. I admit these shorts look scary for someone of my size on the hanger, but i tried them on, cos unless you try then you'll never know, and they actually looked dead nice on, they didn't look as short as they did on the hanger, and me. I. Hannah with the short fat legs and the massive hips liked shorts with tights. Bingo. £25.
I also bought the Bourjois Healthy Mix and Benefit Hoola Bronzer. Original of me, i know. But if you would like a review of these, from the perspective of, well me, then do let me know :) x
Who'd have thought we would see the day I'd have gel nails again. Its safe to say my first experience of gel nails wasn't the best, I'll like the post here. The nails felt like nothing more than a bog standard polish i would use myself, you could see the stains of my actual nail through the polish, and they chipped after one day in my mums case. Not an experience that makes you think, oh yeah I'll have that done again, definitely.
Before i had a lady whom I'd never met before come to the house and do them, this time i went to a salon my my local village (hate that word.). I was apprehensive when i went to have them done and nearly opted out and told her to do acrylics, but every things worth a second chance eh. I straight away felt a little more at ease when i saw she was using Orly, i wasn't actually aware Orly did Gel nails, but its always comforting when you see a brand you know and trust i suppose. She showed me the colours on a sheet that they had in stock, and if you can't spot it already all you nail geeks, i chose "Rage". At the time i thought all of these colours were purely Gel colours, but I'm actually they are just Gel versions of Orly's normal line.
This time the Gel took around 30 - 45 minutes, as apposed to the hour and a half last time, I still can't get my head around that they're dry straight away. I'm really happy with them actually, i didn't think I'd like them as much as i have. They feel much thicker, much like i anticipated them to last time. Not thick in a fake way, but thick in a promising professional way. I've had no chipping and in direct sun light (top photo) they shine so much.
When i got home i was curious about Orly's Gel range and if it was readily available. The website confused me so of to eBay i went. All the colours, base and top coats seem to be around the £15, i started counting it up how much it would actually cost to get my own equipment and do them myself - I know haha, here we go! You can fart around with primers and cleansers, but from the looks of it and observing the lady who did mine, all you really need is the base coat (£15) colours (£15) and a top coat (£15) and obviously a UV lamp, ranging in price. So its around £50 to set up, but at £15 every time i go and have them done, that will soon pay off, momma agreed and i bought the base & top coat, and a colour in "rage" from this eBay seller.
Who'd have fucking thought. Until Saturday i hated Gel nails, now I've brought my own kit. Bipolar. I will do a post regarding how long they last, and if you'd like, a post/video on how my own DIY Orly kit goes.
I think its pretty safe to say this is going to be a massive one within the Blogging and YouTube communities. I don't religiously follow MAC collections, nor do i usually care or go out of my way to get my hands on them. But a few weeks ago, i was casually browsing the MAC website, as we all do ;) and there was the advertisement for the Viva Glam Nicki Minaj. My jaw dropped in excitement, quite literally. I fucking love Nicki Minaj, and that is an understatement. Previous to this i didn't have my email set up with MAC for releases, because if theres anything i need, I'll usually read or see it around Blogs or YouTube, but i put my email down for this bad bitch. I was not going to miss out on this one after the Iris Apfel collection not long ago.
So Wednesday (22nd Feb) emails went round for the early release, i wasted no time and ordered it right away. I didn't even look at the colour or finish. I would never do this with any other collection, ever, but i thought Nicki deserved special treatment. All was well until delivery. All i have to say is fuck you Yodel.
I saw Vivianna from Vivianna Does Makeup and Cole from Coleyyyful had already got theirs on Friday (thought it was quite ironic actually pink Friday har har har), but I'd not had mine, i tracked my order and it was due to come on Friday too.. and then i went into panic when Liv from Icklelivzi tweeted saying Yodel had lost her order. And sure enough i got home and Yodel had delivered my order to a completely random street in my village with the same house number. What kind of company does that? SRSLY. So some random person whom I'd never met had signed for my parcel, and I, ME, had to go and retrieve it. MAC postal is quite sleek and interesting looking, someone intrigued or who knew MAC only had to open it and realise they had a lipstick that wasn't even out for another week yet. When i got there though she was an old lady and hadn't touched it, thanks Yodel, so thoughtful.
With that out of the way, to no surprise i love this lipstick so much. I'm quite pale, and have dark red natural pigmented lips, so baby pinks look like a chalky hideous mess on me, and i feared this would be like that, but it isn't at all. Vibrancy was to be expected, and it doesn't disappoint, but the Satin finish leaves it feeling creamy as well. And as for staying power, my momma went for a meal last night wearing it (yes) and it was still there when she arrived home. I wasn't actually aware of this until i bought a viva glam, but all the proceeds go to HIV and AIDS, which is an amazing thing for a huge company like MAC to do. Was i the only one who didn't know this?
I've mentioned before that i don't live near a MAC at all, other than Nottingham (which I've now found haha) and after this delivery, I'm not feeling amazing about ordering online again, meh. One last thing i will say is, my 4 month puppie loved licking this lipstick of my lips, he ended up with it all over his mouth, y he so cute.
I'll be the first to admit I'm a little late on the Benefit box powder band waggon, and i can't say my first impressions of benefit where impressive. I did both a post and video on my Christmas wish list, and i put the Benefit Powda Wowza on there, it seemed value for money, and a good way to get a taster of the Benefit infamous blushes. However Christmas came and went, and so did the majority of January, and it still hadn't turned up. I can't even put it down to ordering too close to Christmas, i ordered within the first week of December. And just to add to my disappointment, the compact is a seasonal purchase, that they mainly release for just Christmas. My babe of a Grandma ordered me a singular blush instead, if I'd have been able to choose which one, i probably would have asked for Coralista as it was the one i was most looking forward to trying in the Powda Wowza compact.
Benefit is loved so much, being a sucker for packaging i was also curious, but with the Christmas ordeal, i wasn't anticipating much. Thrrrob is actually the perfect colour for me. Its a very barbie pink with just the right amount of gold shimmer, but lacks in pigmentation. I find as a general rule, go light handed with blush, i have pale skin, so that's just life, but with this, i feel like I'm going back in with my brush for more. I tried to swatch the blush for the post, but what with my camera, and the lacking pigment, it just wasn't happening. On reading other reviews, just nosey for everyone else's opinion, I've noticed a recurring comment about it being chalky. I can see exactly how that would be if you were much more tan than me, but for my colouring, there is no problem.
The blush has made it to my everyday draw, and i do really like the effect it leaves. But the pigmentation is a really disappointment for the price tag. £23.50 are you being deadly serious? Natural Collection blushes are 10x the pigmentation, and are £1.99, you could get 11 of them, for the price of one of these. I probably would ask for another box powder for a birthday or Christmas, but never would i justify spending £23.50 on what is essentially a cardboard box, with a nice but crap pigment powder inside.
(me on the left OBVS, my gorgeous grandma on the right)
Isn't he the most beautiful doggie in the entire world? The correct answer to that is YES.
I did a introductory video which i posted to YouTube to show you all the new addition to our family. But with the whole excitement of it all, i forgot a lot of the points i wanted to include. So i thought I'd do a meaty blog post about it all instead, in case any of you were wondering about the more minor details.
Firstly my mother has horrendous asthma, and has pretty major allergies to animal hair. She grew up with dogs, and my doggies are something my Grandma has always had, but obviously, dogs and puppies don't do her the world of good medical wise.
About 18 months ago, my mum started noticing a man in our village walking a white little fluff ball, she complimented the man on his dog and they just got talking, she explained her allergies and he informed her that this breed was a Bishon Frise, one of the only dogs that do not shed hair, all year round. Mum was on a mission to find one to call her own.
We searched high and low for a Bishon Frise puppie, we had quite tight specifications though. Bishon's are notorious for being pricey, however as with most breeds of dog, there are many dodgy breeders out there, which are sometimes hard to spot. Kennel Club was a website we were on constantly, but nothing came up within the Midlands of the UK, or non of the breeders seemed genuine or the right one for us. August this year we finally called it a year, and said we would try again next year.
Yesterday my Grandmas partner called in advanced saying he wanted to bring a chair round for Christmas day (every ones coming to us this Christmas, but we only have 4 chairs, because its just us 3 living here). So here he was half 2 maybe it was, I hadn't even got dressed yet, i was happily still in bed watching cheaper by the dozen 2. He shouted up the stairs saying he wanted me to help him carry something, i went downstairs, annoyed as i was removed from my bed, 'what?' and before he even replied, my little 2 month old puppie was sat there in my mums arms. It was the best surprise ever ever ever ever ever ever.
My Grandma had found this breeder in Leicester, hes a farmer but breeds Bishon Frises once a year, the bitch had 5 puppies but ours was the last one left, my grandma said she would have bought another for herself if there had of been one. Me and mum had said 18 months ago we wanted a little boy puppie, to be called Bruno. And that's what we've got. Grandma filled the pedigree forms and naming certificates, and bought him straight round.
My sister is physically obsessed with him, shes also longed for a doggie for so long, and we're so happy we finally have one.
When Grandma brought him home, along with her she brought a massive bag of dog food provided by the breeder, and also a cage. I hate the cage, but he has to have it. He's so small he couldn't possibly left to sleep where he pleases downstairs. And we are trying our hardest not to let him sleep upstairs, but last night we caved. 10 we came up and watched TV in bed, and left Bruno in his cage for the night. At first he just whimpered, but then it turned to high pitched barking. We let this go on from 10 until 3am, then we caved and let him in mums room, he still cried in there, he hates his cage, and ended up getting his own way and slept in mums bed.
We've looked into DAP which basically releases synthetically created appeasing pheromones, identical to the ones the mother will release. In english, this means his mother releases these calming 'vibes' that he gains comfort form. So i suppose it kind off explains his crying, hes basically being deprived of a drug his mother was supplying, and now he doesn't have mother, or his pheromones.
He hasn't had his injections either, so he cannot play outside until he's had them, which we've quickly got him in for his first lot tomorrow..
He takes so much comfort in things that look like him or feel like him. Like fluffy white slippers, cushions and blankets. He likes checking we're still there every now and again, and he hates being alone.
At the minute hes on four little meals a day, which once he is 6 months is supposed to be cut down to one meal a day, but that seems a little, harsh. so maybe he'll have one meal, and lots of treats instead:)
I've always been a fan of the acrylic nails, and i cant say much has changed since having gel nails. Me and my mother decided to have gel nails applied, well because we just did. My grandma always has Shellac, which is just another brand of gel apparently, and she raves her little heart out about them, so we decided to give gel nails a whirl.
We got the beautician to come out to the house and do them, just because we were both having them done and we were aware it was going to take some time. But we weren't aware how long it was actually going to take.. She arrived at 3 and didn't leave until 6. Where we usually get our nails done don't do a home service so we'd never had this girl before. So it was the whole small talk thing, "going away?" "are they for a special occasion or just a treat?" and along with that came "I've got 7 years experience" when she later went on to tell us she was only 20.. started doing professional nails at 13 did you....
She had a small selection of colours, which non took my fancy, so i had a french.. if you couldn't already tell from the picture aha. It was a pretty long process, every time she put a layer on, my nails had to go under the UV light, and my thumbs separate, but you're never going to get away from that with gel nails. The one immediate bonus is that they are completely dry once completed, non of that waiting around in case they smudge... but then you don't get that with acrylic either..
My nails take a lot of hammer, i paint them every other day, sometimes every day depending on if they've chipped or not. So as a result of this my actual nail is stained, but with acrylic you can't see the actual nail whatsoever, where as with gel you could still see my stained nail through the gel, which i wasn't too happy about.
The woman explained they would last a minimum of 15 days, which we believed, as you do.. 7 years of experience and that.... She also explained that there was no other way of removing them other than her coming back to do it. My mum believed her but i just looked at her like, you bullshit. I'd already researched it, what with blogging and everything, acetone does the trick.. haha.
The day AFTER we had them done, my mums slightly chipped, she wasn't too impressed but got over it, it wasn't a large chip. After having them done 2 days, one of mine started peeling off, and within 4 days of having them on 4 had completely peeled off, and mum had peeled all of hers off. So much for 15 days eh? Turns out we didn't need or, or the acetone.
Maybe we just had a shit nail technician, but i can't say I'd ever have gel nails again, MUA nail varnish lasts longer than they did.
