Make-up of the Day

Mac Strobe Cream: found here

Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue: found here

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer: found here

Zoeva 142 Concealer and Buffer Brush: found here

Benefit Hoola Bronzer: found here

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit: Sold out

the Bam Mary Loumanizer: found here

Real Techniques Blush Brush: found here

Real Techniques Setting Brush: found here

Real Techniques Travel Essentials: found here

Bourjois Colour Edition 24H petale de glace: found here

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette: found here

Zoeva 240 Luxe Petit Pencil Brush: found here

Mac 217 Blending Brush: found here

Mac Kohl Liner Teddy: found here

Primark Eyelash curlers: found in store

Bourjois 1 Seconde Volume Mascara: found here

Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade Medium Brown: found here

Makeup Revolution E104: found here

Bourjois Rouge Edition Souffle de Velvet Ravie en Rose: found here

Today I decided to show you my make-up of the day. This is the sort of make-up that I would wear on a regular day, I know that some people will wear less or more make-up on an average day but this is just what works for me. It's super hot at the minute in England so I think this glowy, light make-up look is super appropriate for the current weather. I'm normally one for wearing a medium to full coverage foundation but as the weather has got warmer I've started to wear the Bare Minerals complexion rescue which is a super light glowy base with added SPF. 

So I thought that I'd start by showing you a (rather scary) bare faced photo of me. My skin has actually been behaving itself recently and I've put this down to continued wear of the Bare Minerals complexion rescue which contains skin care properties that are supposed to improve the skin with continued use. 

I started off by applying Mac strobe cream which is a brilliant multi-purpose product for those of you who love all things glow. I then followed this with the Bare Minerals complexion rescue and applied the Collection lasting perfection concealer to my under eyes and blemishes. The next step was to apply my Hourglass powder in diffused light which I applied just to my under eyes to prevent creasing. I didn't powder the rest of my face, I just swept over a generous amount of Benefit's Hoola bronzer in place of my usual harsh contour. For blush I used mood exposure also from my Hourglass Palette. 

For an all over eyeshadow base I used the colour edition 24h in petale de glace from Bourjois. For eyeshadow I decided to pull out my Naked 3 palette which I think is the perfect palette for spring. I used the shades limit and nooner in the crease and applied dust all over the lid. I then applied Mac's kohl liner in teddy on my top lash line. For mascara I used the Bourjois 1 seconde mascara which I got recently and packs a punch in the volume department. I used the Anastasia dipbrow in medium brown and an angled brush to fill in my brows, then applied the Balm Mary-Loumanizer to the high points of my face and finished with the new Bourjois rouge edition souffle de velvet in ravie en rose.

Shona xx

Let's talk about Anxiety.

I know that anxiety has been talked about many times on the blogosphere, but I just feel like I needed to write this post, as much for myself as you. I developed social anxiety in 2013 and started to receive treatment at this point, I’ve been told that my anxiety was fuelled by my body dysmorphic disorder, which had stemmed from years of bullying.

After three years of living with anxiety I’ve concluded that it’s like walking through life with yourself as your own worst critic, the meanest bully - you devise the worst ideas about what you could do wrong and then cast this self-doubt as a dark shadow over your day so that it taints everything that you do. I spend a large portion of my day feeling suffocated by my doubts and fears; what if I look stupid? What if I fail? It’s hard to take chances and live your life when you believe that the outcome of all your actions is going to be bad, you begin to stop doing things because you believe your anxiety. You believe that you will make yourself look stupid, that you will fail. The more that you avoid these triggering situations, the more you nourish the anxiety, anxiety feeds on fear and avoidance.

I can manage my anxiety quite well most days, but I do feel like it holds me back from living my life to the fullest and being the happiest that I can be. I hope that one day I will wake up without the suffocating feeling engulfing me.

It’s important that you don’t let the anxiety win. You don’t have to worry about taking a massive jump into the darkness, just concentrate on taking baby steps. Don’t feel pressured into taking medication or having CBT if you don’t want to, choose the treatment that you want and see what works for you. Personally, CBT didn’t work for me, but after trialling different medication I’ve found something that helps me to manage my anxiety to a certain degree.

Shona xx

Midweek Rant #1

Hey guys, this post has been a long time coming for me. In this day and age there are still some people who are ignorant to eating disorders and mental illnesses and try and dismiss these illnesses which other people have. A common thing I've seen is people using the word 'anorexic' to describe people who are very skinny. Now, as most of us know, anorexia is a mental illness, simply being 'skinny' does not make someone anorexic. Anorexia is quite often accompanied by Body Dysmorphia (which is an illness in itself.) This Body Dysmorphia makes the person perceive defects which aren't there (such as being fat when you aren't.) Anorexia stems from low self esteem and an inability to cope, it often involves under eating, skipping meals and over-exercising. Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.

Now, most of us will know that anorexia is a very serious illness which the sufferer can not help, and being 'skinny' is simply a symptom of this disease. Some people can be very slender but perfectly healthy, as we are all different shapes and sizes and our bodies work differently.
Something that recently made my blood boil was seeing this image posted on a companies twitter.

As you can see this image is highly offensive and unsympathetic to those suffering with Anorexia, and compares Anorexia to having breast implants. In my opinion, a company should make sure that whoever is working on their social media pages does not post idiotic, offensive drivel like this image onto their twitter. I tweeted them stating how offensive this image was and they deleted it, but I received no response or apology. It's safe to say I will not be buying any of their products!

I think I've managed to get my opinion across in this post, but I thought that it was an important post to make. It's important to think before we post pictures or say something on social media which may be offensive to others, especially those struggling with illnesses.

Shona xx

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation - worth the hype?

Hi guys! Today I'm going to be talking about the Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation. Now I know this product has a lot of hype surrounding it, however I have only had this foundation for the last month or so because the lightest shade (51) is just too dark for me for most of the year. Now that the summer has arrived and my skin has darkened, shade 51 is a good match for me and I've been able to wear this foundation. The foundation itself smells of apricot which is a lovely scent, however this is something to watch out for if you don't like using scented make-up.

Bare Skin

                                                                  
First of all, the packaging is very nice for a drug store foundation, it has a nice glass bottle and a handy pump which means that it's easy to get the right amount of product out of the bottle. The foundation has a medium - build able coverage which I agree with.

With Foundation

                                                                 
Quite a lot of foundations tend to cling to the dry patches that I have around my nose however this one doesn't, I use my fingers to apply this foundation and it glides over the skin beautifully. This foundation claims to last for 16 hours wear which I have my doubts about, however I usually wear this foundation for 6-8 hours (set with powder) and it doesn't slide around or fade, it wears nicely throughout the day with a good lasting power. I have combination skin, and as I said this foundation doesn't accentuate dry patches and doesn't get oily throughout the day.

With Full Make-up

                                                             
This foundation claims to leave the skin luminous however I would say that the finish is more satin than dewy, leaving the skin with a natural glow.

A downside of this foundation is the colour range. There aren't many shades available in this foundation, pale girls (like me in winter) aren't catered for, and there are no shades suitable for anyone who is darker than a medium tan skin tone. This is a problem which comes with all of the foundations by Bourjois, not just the Healthy Mix. However, if your shade is available in this foundation then I would highly recommend that you go out and buy this product! What more can you ask for for £9.99!

Please comment down below and let me know if you've tried this foundation!

You can buy Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation here

Shona xxx

Sunday Chit Chat #1

Hi guys :)
I'm having a very lazy sunday today (as usual) just chilling out watching youtube videos, reading blogs and drinking Pepsi Max.
I have recently started Weight Watchers online in order to lose those few pounds that I've put on since September. With me being at uni and living with my pesky friends who don't like many veggies and love chips and fish fingers it can be quite easy to put weight on! I've used weight Watchers online before and it honestly works wonders. Weight watchers allows you to eat a variety of foods, you just need to stick to your pro points allowance and hey presto - you'll lose weight. I did try juice plus but I really don't recommend this method of losing weight. I was starving all of the time, which led to me craving snacks so I didn't lose any weight for the weeks that I used Juice Plus. In contrast, I've only been on weight watchers a week and a half and I've already lost weight. Losing weight in a natural and healthy way is always a better idea and helps you to keep the weight off long term.
I've been home from Uni since the 27th of June and I'm still living out of suitcases, I always find it such a chore to unpack all of my bits and bobs when I return home from uni - i'll only have to pack them all up again in September! haha.
I'm going to pop up a few beauty posts this week so please keep an eye out for those!

Shona xxx

The Perfect Nude Lip

Okay guys, as you may or may not know, I am a huge lover of the bright lip; reds, purples, oranges you name it. But recently I've been using two products to create this nude lip in the picture below.

The products in question are the L'oreal Paris Colour Riche Collecetion Privee Lipstick by Cheryl (what a mouthful) (buy here) and the Tanya Burr Lip Gloss in Chic (buy here). I've been wearing the L'oreal lipstick all over my lips and then dabbing a bit of the Tanya Burr Lip Gloss over the top. Personally I've really been loving this combo and I think the nude lip is growing on me.

Let me know of any nude lipsticks that you guys are loving so that I can try them out!

Shona xxx

Mac Wishlist - June 2014

Hey guys! As you may or may not know, Mac is one of my favourite cosmetics companies and I absolutely love their products. Mac was one of the first 'high end' companies that I tried and I have to say, everything that I've bought from there so far has been great - especially their lipsticks and eyeshadows.
I've recently been craving a few products from Mac and I thought I'd put together a Mac wishlist so I could share my product cravings with you guys.

1. Lipstick in Morange - Mac lipsticks are well known for being lovely and pigmented and coming in a wide range of colours. I personally am really into bright reds, and although I have a couple of lipsticks which are on the orange side of red, Morange is quite a true orange and is a shade which I do not have. I think this shade would be especially great for spring & summer.
Buy Here

2. Eye shadow in Sumptuous Olive - This eye shadow is described as a khaki with pearl and it is a really gorgeous colour - unlike anything else that I have. This colour would look perfect on hazel and brown eyes, however even though I'm a blue eyed girl I'm sure this colour will look great on me too.
Buy Here

3. Pro longwear paint pot in Painterly - The Mac paint pots are cream products which can be used alone all over the lid or can be used under powder eye-shadows to increase longevity. Painterly is a nude beige colour which can be used to block out the natural discolouration on the eyelids of people with light to medium skintones.
Buy Here

4. Pro longwear concealer in NC15 -  This concealer is medium to full coverage and works well at covering dark under-eye circles which I suffer from. I've heard lots of people rave about this concealer so I'm really interested in trying this.
Buy Here

5. Mineralize skinfinish in soft & gentle - This is a much raved about product in the bloggersphere, the Mac mineralize skinfinishes are well loved and I think the shade soft & gentle is the most raved about of these products. The colour is described as a gilded peach bronze and would give a beautiful highlight to the skin.
Buy Here

6. Strobe Cream - This is actually sold under skincare by mac and is quite a multi-purpose product. Strobe cream can be used as a moisturiser under make-up, can be mixed in with foundation and can be used as a liquid highlight. I recently received a sample of this and I am enjoying mixing this in with my foundation to give a subtle glow.
Buy Here

7. 208 Angled Brow brush - I don't currently have a good brush in my collection to use on my brows and I love using powder products on my brows.This brush would give a lovely defined shape to the brows when used with powder.
Buy Here

8. Eye Brows in Brunette - I love buying lots of different products to use on my brows as I think that a lovely defined brow can bring a make-up look together. I've been looking at this product for ages and I think I might have to give this product a try.
Buy Here

Please comment down below guys and let me know which Mac items you are lusting after!

Shona xxx