A New Focus

Long time no blog. So I started writing this at 1am on Friday morning on Notes on my iPhone because I couldn't sleep, and knew I wouldn't be able to until I put pen to paper, so to speak. I wasn't sure whether or not to put this into a new blog post, but here goes nothing!

I haven't blogged in quite a while, partly because I've been lacking a bit of inspiration and because I'm not exactly sure what direction I want this little corner of the internet to go in, and partly because I've just lacked motivation, which is something I've felt in other parts of my life as well. Quite often this summer, with not being at university and living back home, I've been feeling like I'm just stagnating and I think a lot of that was down to not having any goals or not having anything I particularly wanted to achieve. I have had to deal with some problems *read: boy problems* which were definitely of my own making in many respects, and I've since realised that I can't rely on other people to make me happy and to assuage this feeling of unfulfillment.

I saw a quote from Buddha recently, I can't remember the specifics, but the idea of it was that everyone can learn something from their mistakes and bad experiences, rather than play the victim; that life is a great teacher. I've definitely had my fair share of rough times, and although I'd like to think I haven't played the victim (I am guilty of throwing the odd pity party now and then), I don't think I've made the best of it, or taken away the lessons that I should have - until now.

This has all stemmed from my new found love of the gym, something I never thought I would be passionate about - I never thought I would be one of those people who misses working out when they skip a session. Since becoming more serious about my work outs, I now know where I want to be in terms of fitness levels and appearance, and I know what to do in order to achieve it, and that feels awesome. I think the idea of putting hard work in, and getting visible, tangible results really appeals to me, which it is something to can actually apply to a lot of different things. But the reason why it was exercise that made me feel this sense of purpose comes down to one thing: self-love.

When people say things like that someone "loves themselves" it is usually said with negative connotations, but that shouldn't be the case. I am a big believer that loving yourself, and being happy in your own skin, and with the person you are is a big step towards being happy, plain and simple. Especially because my generation and younger generations face so many unrealistic expectations, on how to look, how to behave, how to feel - all of which are unattainable. Which is why i think it's important, especially when you're younger, to take a step back, be selfish, and just focus on yourself for a while, because you can afford to and there is nothing wrong with that. I'm going to the gym regularly and focusing on getting myself to a point where I'm happy with my body, not because I'm trying to impress anyone, or because I'm vain, but simply because I want to. And if going to the gym is not your cup of tea, that's totally fine as well, just do what you want to do and what makes you happy. Having a great support network of friends and family is so important and should definitely not be taken for granted, but often we feel pressure to please other people over ourselves so we don't disappoint them, but doesn't it feel worse when we disappoint ourselves? I know I have done many times. We are all human and we all make mistakes, but the important thing is to learn form them and to constantly try to grow and develop as a person, and to actually discover what kind of person you want to be. If you feel stuck in a rut, like I did and like everyone does from time to time, the only person that can get you out of it is yourself, so be that person - be yourself.

I think I'm going to wind this down before I ramble on too much, but congrats if you've made it this far - thanks for sticking with it. Feel free to share and comment, I'd really love to know what you guys think of this new kind of blog post. I think the overriding message of this is one of positivity so I'll leave you with the very wise words of Justin Bieber, love yourself.

here's a pic of me being selfish and taking time out on holiday recently

How To: Blue Lips

I actually love this look a lot more than I thought I would, and it is surprisingly wearable. I used the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creme in Moscow and I did review this product a little while ago (here) so I don't want to babble on too much about that. Although this isn't the best liquid lipstick ever, it does work if you persevere, and I found it worked best when you apply it one coat at a time and let it dry down slightly in between each one.

As this is such a bold shade, and I am still a bit of a make-up noob, I decided to keep the rest of my face pretty simple, just sticking to my everyday make-up routine, you can find the basics in this post. I just added a light brown eye shadow to the crease of my eye for a bit of definition, and added a lot of mascara. I wanted the lipstick to be the star of the show.

I personally think this looks best with a good contour and highlight combo, it just makes it look a lot more polished.

This isn't the easiest look to pull off, but I am in love, and am definitely going to be taking more risks with  my make-up in the future. Let me know what you think of this look. Is it something you would try? 

Votre Amy x

Pretty in Pink

I love wearing "pink" make-up in general, but I especially like it when the weather's nice so I thought now would be a perfect time to show you guys one of my favourite make-up looks, and how I achieve it, hope you enjoy!

There are a fair amount of Soap and Glory products in today's look. simply because they're great products, great quality and really affordable. I started with their One Heck of a Blot foundation, which is a medium to full coverage. For the rest of my face, I used the Bobbi Brown palette and L'Oreal brow gel to define and tame my eyebrows, I used the Maybelline Master Sculpt compact to define my cheekbones, and I then used my trusty Topshop highlight on the high points of my face. I haven't actually featured this clinique blusher in a make-up look before, which is a surprise as I wear it almost every day. It's a lovely pink-coral shade with quite a bit of shimmer, but it doesn't leave your face looking glittery, instead it leaves you with a fresh natural glow. 

For my eyes, I went in first with the shade 'Pink Diamond' all over my lid, then I used 'Favour' in the outer corners and underneath my eye, both from my Makeup Revolution palette. I then packed on this super glittery pink shade from my Bobbi Brown palette, which is just stunning.

I then just added a thin line of black eyeliner, as a base for my Fleur de Force eyelashes, and added a thin coat of mascara before putting on the lashes in 'Fleur Loves'. Finally, I moved on to lips, and this is one of my favourite ever combos. I slightly over-line and fill in my lips with this Max Factor lip liner in a pink-mauve shade, before adding this Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker gloss in this light pink to make my lips look super plump.

And here is the final result! Let me know that you think.

The pictures really don't do this super pretty glittery eye makeup any justice at all!

Votre Amy x

May Favourites 2016

So we've come to the end of May, which means the start of summer, if we are so lucky. It also means that it's May Favourites time.

Beauty

Beauty-wise I've been loving a couple of things, some old and some new. One of the new products that has made it's way to my favourites is this Skin Wow illuminating 3-in-1 product by Seventeen. I personally use this under my foundation as an illuminating primer, but you can mix it in with your base or use it as a highlighter on the high points of your face. Although this looks quite glittery and scary when you swatch it, once you put your foundation over the top it just adds a really nice, natural glow, which I have been loving. 

I recently used this Clinique Chubby Stick in Ample Amber in a make-up look, which you can check out here, so I won't go on too much about it. I just really love the shade and think it really compliments my eye colour, and looks good with a tan as well! 

My sister got me this Bobbi Brown palette for Christmas a few years ago, and it really is stunning, especially the glitter shades. But this month I've been using it for another purpose. I use the two brown shades to define my eyebrows, as it adds a natural but neat finish.

This nail varnish is an old favourite of mine, but I recently been reaching for it more and more often. My nails are slightly chipped in this picture, but I've had it on for a good 5 or so days. This is the Maybelline Super Stay in the shade 'Golden Brown'. I don't know if I would say this lives up to it's 7 day claim, but it does do very well in the longevity department, and I would definitely recommend it. 

Homeware

I have a few favourites from this category. The first being this room scent from Marks and Spencers. As soon as I smelt it, it had to be mine. They do a whole collection in the scent, Neroli Lime and Basil, including oil diffusers and candles, but I went for the Room Spray as it was only £5. Admittedly, I only got this a few days ago, but as I'm already obsessed with it I thought I would include it. I know that Jo Malone are releasing a similar fragrance in September, which will be very tempting indeed.

Another thing I have been loving is having fresh flowers in my room. I bought this jar from Joy a little while ago, and I just think it adds a really nice edge.

Fashion

I have been getting into going to the gym recently, probably to destress from exams and other stuff, and I do like to look good whilst doing my work out. If you guys want to see a full post dedicated to what I wear or my work out routine then do let me know! But to represent all of this, I thought I would include these Nike Juvenate trainers, which I got for just £15 from the Nike store at York Designer Outlet - such a bargain.

Other

Music-wise, I've been loving the song Blame by Denai Moore, I would really recommend checking her out, this song has been on repeat ever since it popped up on my Discover Weekly.

I also watched the show Master of None on Netflix, and really enjoyed it. It's just one of those shows that's easy to watch, and is really funny as well. On the opposite end of the scale, I've been loving The Killing. I'm only on Season 1, but I don't know why I've never watched it before, as it's right up my street - I love a good crime-thriller. 

What have you been loving this month?

Votre Amy x

Golden Girl

I've recently rekindled my love for this Clinique Chubby Stick in the shade 'Ample Amber' so thought I would do a quick make-up look based around it.

I've been testing out this new 'Skin Wow' primer from Seventeen, and I am really liking it. You can use this three ways, but I like to put it on before my foundation and find it adds a nice healthy glow to the skin. The rest of my base make-up is more of the same really, after my foundation and concealer I sweep bronzer pretty much all over my face, contour slightly, and add a heck of a lot of highlighter.

I've started using the two brown shades from this Bobbi Brown palette to define my eyebrows, because I think it adds a nice shape while still leaving them looking quite natural. I use the dark brown shade ('saddle') in the outer 3/4 of my brow, then the lighter of the two shades ('nude') in the front of my brows to keep it natural. I use this L'Oreal brow gel to set everything in place. The eye make-up is also super simple. I used the Clinique Chubby Stick all over the lid and also blended it into the crease, then used a flat eye-shadow brush to pack on the shade 'Sunset Hour' from my Makeup Revolution palette all over the mobile part of my lid - this shade is the perfect rose gold glitter and one of my favourites. This eye-shadow combination really brings out my eye colour, and I love it! I used my usual L'Oreal Telescopic mascara on my lashes and really layered it up to add more definition, and voilà! 

Don't forget to let me know what you think of this look!

Votre Amy x

The Spring Makeup Edit

I recently found this BITE lipstick at the bottom of my cupboard and I wanted to do a really nice, simple, bronzed makeup look to go with it, so here it is.

First, I applied my Estée Lauder Perfectionist foundation using my Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge, and then used my Soap and Glory Kick Ass concealer to cover my dark circles and any blemishes or redness that were still peaking through the foundation. I wanted to leave my brows looking quite natural so I just put some of this L'oreal Brow Artiste Plumper on them, which just adds a bit of a tint. I then contoured slightly using the Maybelline Master Sculpt and swept the Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer pretty much all over my face to give it a nice sun-kissed glow, and used this bronzer to define my crease ever so slightly.  I blended the Topshop Glow highlight on the high points of my face and then applied a thin line of the Soap and Glory Supercat eyeliner on my lash line, just to disguise the false lashes. I curled my lashes and applied a small amount of the L'oreal Telescopic mascara before applying these Fleur de Force lashes, which are 3/4 length and look really natural. I then put a little more mascara over the top and moved on to this BITE lipstick in the shade 'Lingonberry'. I thought this lipstick was perfect for this time of year when the sun comes out, and looks really great with a tan.

Let me know if you want to see me try out any other makeup looks!

Votre Amy x

April Favourites: Beauty and more..

I can’t believe it’s the end of April already – a slightly terrifying thought as I now have less than a month of university left! It’s hard to condense all the things I’ve been loving this month into one post, but I’m gonna do my best!

Beauty

First I’ll start with the beauty items that have not left my face or my handbag for the past 30 days. I recently bought the Estée Lauder Perfectionist foundation, I’d say in the past few weeks, but I’ve had a sample since the beginning of April – they give really generous sample sizes! This foundation is just lovely – super dewy, really nice medium coverage. I suffer with dry skin and, although this foundation doesn’t hide it completely, my skin doesn’t feel uncomfortable at all throughout the day – it’s just an all-round great product. 

The second make-up product I haven’t stopped using since I got it is the Makeup Revolution Fortune Favours the Brave palette – created and designed by British Beauty Blogger Jane Cunningham! This palette is simply stunning – I could stare at it all day, I wouldn’t, but I could. Admittedly some of the eyeshadows don’t have a great colour pay-off, but for the under £10 price tag, you can’t really complain. On a day-to-day basis I like to use the shades Buffer and Drama Queen to define my crease, and just sweep Latte all over the lid, but with this palette, the possibilities really are endless.

Along the same lines as the foundation, I’ve loved having very dewy and fresh-looking make-up throughout the whole of April, and am a massive fan of highlighter. My highlighter of choice this month, and of all time, is the Glow highlighter by Topshop in the shade Polished, which is a lovely champagne colour with a bit of a pink iridescence to it. I’m surprised I haven’t heard more people rave about this, it’s a great dupe for MAC’s strobe cream.

My next favourite isn’t actually on my face in the picture above, but if you read my last blog post, you’ll have seen MAC’s Whirl make an appearance, if you haven’t, then you should! This is a very recent favourite of mine but, dare I say it, it’s becoming a Holy Grail item. It’s a perfect taupy brown, and doesn’t feel too drying or chalky on the lips, like some MAC lipsticks tend to do – I am in love. Don’t be surprised if it makes it into next month’s favourites as well.

Skincare

As for skincare, I never really change things up that much, but I’ve had an old favourite making its way back into my routine this month, and that is the Nuxe Rêve de Miel lip balm. I actually bought this a while ago but fell out of love with it and gave it to my sister. When I was at her flat recently, I realised she wasn’t using it, and my lips have been super dry lately, so I thought I’d steal it back. It is a really hydrating, intense balm with quite a thick formula, and has quite a luxurious feel to it, so I usually use this quite liberally at night time, then just apply a thin layer throughout the day as and when I need it and it seems to do the trick!

Fashion

Moving on to a fashion favourite of mine, this hoody from Topshop – oh my god this is so fluffy inside, it’s unbelievable. The downside is that it tends to get fluff on everything else, but I can deal with it. This hoody is perfect for days when you want to just chill out, so I usually pair it with leggings or skinny jeans. The colour is a super nice faded pink which I just find really flattering, and it falls really nicely too. I’m quite petite so sometimes hoodies can drown me or look too boxy, but this does neither, definitely a new wardrobe staple.

Everything else

Music-wise I’ve rekindled my love for Jamie XX’s album ‘In Colour’, it’s just so chilled, and I really like the vibe of this album. I have a slight addiction to Netflix, definitely an unhealthy one, and one show that I would totally recommend is a Netflix Original called ‘Love’. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but it is really awesome, also features some darn good music. It’s also perfect to binge on, but you didn’t hear that from me. I went to see Captain America: Civil War last week, it was insanely good, and definitely makes the cut as well. Let me know what your April Favourites were down in the comments.

Votre Amy x