Brighton Home/ Clothing/ Beauty Haul

For my friends birthday it has become a tradition that we all make a little trip to Brighton as we have now gone 3 years in a row now on and around Halloween (yes this post is 2 weeks delayed I'm very sorry haha but everything should still be in stock). We all love shopping there because of the variety of quirky/ vintage shops that you don't get in our area and it's so nice even if you are just browsing. We also went on the pier in the evening and sat on the deck chairs and honestly it's one of my favourite places in the world.

Probably my favourite shops in Brighton is 'Snoopers Paradise' which is full of so many old nick naks from vinyl's and jewellery to dolls and cutlery. There are 2 levels to the shop and I went upstairs to 'Snoopers Attic' and found a selection of little fake flowers that were too good to leave as they were only £2 in total. There is also an amazing photo booth that we all love to go in and take goofy pictures in which we did this time but I haven't included a photo of them in this haul.

Whenever I go to Brighton, even when it's not on the birthday trip, It has become a tradition that I go into the most adorable shop called Sass & Belle and pick up one of they their decorations for my bedroom. I just think they are so cute and give such nice finishing features to a bedroom/ anywhere else in your house.

I have been after a raglan/ baseball t-shirt for at least 2 years now so when we popped into Dirty Harry's and when I saw this I was all over it. I especially like this one as it's not super tight like most of this style and is a little baggy. It also has long sleeves instead of three quarter length ones which I love and it was a bit of a steal for £12. Such a staple item for winter.

I don't have a stand alone mac store near me, I always have to go into somewhere like John Lewis but in Brighton there is a really nice one so I always make the effort to have a bit of a nosy around. As you may have seen on my Autumn/ Winter Wishlist I have been after the Cranberry eye shadow for a while as it is a 'bright' colour but it is still reasonable subtle and not too in your face.

Along with the cranberry theme, in Urban Outfitters I picked up this little beauty of a nail varnish as I think it is such a traditional winter colour and for some reason I didn't own anything similar to this before so I picked it up and I have actually tried it out and I love it! It dries super fast also which is a must for me. It is in the shade 'Raspberry Beret'.

Finally we went into one of my all time favourite stores called 'Evolution' which I think has a few other stores around the UK as I know there is one in Reading. It sells really unique home peices and I smelt this candle and was in haven. It was only £3.50 which I think is really cheap and it kicks off so much sent and burns for I believe 40 hours, so overall a very good buy!

I'll speak to you all soon,

Sarah x

Autum/ Winter Wish List

In England, despite it not even being the end of August yet, Autumn and Winter are fast approaching and the weather is starting to get chillier. I personally love these seasons as I adore the layering cosy fashion and bolder make-up looks that go around so I thought I'd make a little wish list of things I'd love to get within the next 2 seasons.

Make-Up

 Music

Skin Care

Hair

 Fashion

I'll speak to you all soon,

Sarah x

New York Haul!

I was lucky enough to go on holiday with my family to New York!! I've wanted to go ever since I can remember and as soon as I found out we were going I started to save my money straight away because we all know New York is famous for it's shops!

One of the first stops we made on the trip was to Sephora as there isn't one in England. I didn't want to go too crazy so I just picked up 2 things I was pretty certain I'd love! I brought the Sephora own brand lip crayon trio 'Lips in Bloom' as I could see myself wearing all 3 colours and as you by them in a pack you save yourself $12 which is always a positive. I also brought the 'Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation' as Essie Button always talks about how amazing this mineral foundation is and I have been dying to try this for so long.

I wondered in to the department store 'Macy's' with my family and came across the mac counter and couldn't resist a sneaky purchase. I chose 'New York Apple' because I have in fact been eyeing this up a while because of the beautiful colour and finish but the name of the lipstick was relevant to the trip I was on  plus mac is £5 (!!!) cheaper in the states so I was like ''why the heck not''. And as strange as this may sound but now every time I use this lipstick it will bring back nice memories.

In the states a drug store called 'Duane Reade' I believe owned by Wallgreens (?) became my family's second home as it contained so much food and drink and as I quickly discovered: beauty products!! I couldn't not buy these things as they again aren't available in the UK as far as I know and I knew I'd regret it if I didn't. As you can see I went a bit lip product crazy... I purchased 3 (oops) EOS lip balms in mint, summer fruits and coconut milk because I have given into the hype and really wanted to try them. I picked up 2 wet and wild eye-shadow pallets in 'Sweet As Candy' and 'The Naked Truth' along with a lip crayon as they were incredibly cheep and I always hear good things. And finally a Dr Rescue Baby Lips in 'Pink Me Up' as you can't get these in the UK and after the flight I had super chapped lips, also from the same brand but in the Electro collection I picked up Oh! Orange!

Next up Forever 21! I have always wanted to go to this store ever since I first heard about it so I'm so glad I managed to go in even though it was quite brief. I picked up a really lovely gold feather necklace that looks so dainty and it was insanely affordable (like most of the jewellery in Forever 21) so I could not resist and also this grey bat winged top with super tight arms which is actually quite flattering despite how oversized it is.

I never originally planned to go into American Eagle because I have heard about how expensive it is but I saw a massive sign on their shop window saying all their jeans were $30 (£18) rather than their usual price of around $50 so I headed straight in as I always hear about how flattering their jeans are supposed to be. I picked up 2 pairs; One being a regular black skinny pair and the over a light distressed pair with rips in. I find it so hard to find cheap-ish jeans that are flattering so I would definitely recommend American Eagle. I also was in need of a cream cardigan so I picked up this one which I love and is also slightly bat winged.

A bit of a random purchase was this New York themed magnet. I got this from the New York Public Library which is apparently one of the biggest in the world (?!). It's one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen. It had paintings on the ceiling like in Beauty and the Beast and it just felt so magical.

One of the days I was away my family decided it would be a good idea to go to the Natural History Museum which was so amazing and to top it off they had the most amazing gift shop (Of which I got something for one of my friends in hear and I'm tempted to keep it for myself). I went over to the jewellery section and found a selection of stone necklaces which were so pretty and I was actually eyeing one up earlier that day on Instagram. I narrowed it down to this one as purple is one of my favourite colours and i just loved it.

Now on to some kinda patriotic purchases... I got these adorable 'I ♡  NY' pj bottoms as I couldn't leave without them and they looked so cosy and also this grey New York hat. Not going to lie one of the reasons I picked up this hat is because one of my favourite actresses in a movie wear this and I've loved it ever since and also I'm not a huge fan on 'Snap Backs' I much prefer them curved which is kinda hard to find.

Finally the last shop I brought clothes from was Aeropostale. One of my friends recommend this to me before I went as they said it was super reasonable and they weren't wrong. they had so many by one get two free's I was in my element. The first thing I could were the burgundy and white lace cami's which I loved and are just good quality basic items and these were in the 'buy 1 get 2 free section' so you may be wondering where the other one is but that is actually a gift to the friend who recommended the shop. The second thing I got was a black a white floral skater skirt from the Bethany Mota collection which was love at first sight and is so flattering a fits lovely, you could either wear it on it's own on with thick tights in the winter. A tip I can give you is if they don't have your size out front ask a member of staff if they have any out back as they most likely probably do and it doesn't hurt to ask, that's what I did. And the last thing I got from this entire crazy haul was a pink and blue plaid shirt which i love and is so versatile for all seasons and amazing for layering.

I'll speak to you all soon,

Sarah x

Lipstick Collection

I will be the first to say that my lipstick 'collection' isn't very big but at the moment I am very happy with it and I think lipsticks are my favourite make-up product as they can change a look so much. I have quite an even spilt of high end lipsticks and drug-store. I'm 100% planning to invest in more lipsticks 

From left - right:

♡ Rimmel London (Kate Moss Collection) 05

♡ Gosh Flirty Orange

♡ Mac Politely Pink

♡ Mac Captive

♡ Mac Show Orchid (my most recent purchase and I'm in love)

♡ Mac Crème Cup

♡ Revlon Smoked Peach

♡ Estee Lauder Double Wear Lipstick Stay Raspberry

♡ Rimmel London Tantrum 

I'll speak to you all soon,
Sarah x

What's In My Travel Makeup Bag!

Hello everybody! So I'm going on holiday in 11 days and I'm crazily excited. I've started to plan what kind of things I want to take with me and I thought I'd tell you all what I'm planning to bring with me make-up wise as I love reading these posts myself! 

To start off the bag I'm putting my make-up into is this gorgeous orange and pink waterproof (which is vital so spillages can be cleaned easily) number 7 bag that I got for Christmas a few years ago. It has 3 compartments; a transparent compartment which is great as I have put the majority of my make-up in it and I can see all the products so I can get them out easily, a mesh orange pouch that can be removed (as it had poppers) and this is such a good feature as you can use this as a little make-up bag you can carry around in your bag whilst you're away and finally an open compartment with a little pouch which I've put slightly larger things in that wouldn't fit anywhere else or were a bit miscellaneous. I am storing my brushes in a Cath Kidston brush roll which unfortunately I don't think is being sold any more despite how beautiful it is but I think they have released a new smaller version with brushes included. For me a brush roll is essential for travel so they don't get ruined and it is also very convenient as they are all stored in one place

Lips:

♡ Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balm - Cherry Me

♡ Revlon Super Lustrous Matte Lipstick- Smoked Peach

♡ Rimmel London Vinyl Gloss - Take A Chance

I wanted to bring a minimal amount of lipsticks on this trip that would work for all occasions and I think these 3 fit that as they all work amazingly on their own and give a completely different look but they also work together really nicely.

Rest of the make-up and miscellaneous products: 

♡ Urban Decay Naked Pallet

♡ Hair Bands & Clips

♡ Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge

♡ Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer 

♡ Seventeen Stay Time Concealer

♡ L'Oreal True Match Foundation

♡ Rimmel London Stay Matte Powder

♡ L'Oreal Waterproof Volume Million Mascara

♡ Bourjois Delice De Poudre Bronzing Powder

When packing make-up it can be difficult to travel light so I decided to go for only one base so I included only one foundation, one powder ext. (apart from concealer which I am planing to bring two as I use them for different things!) and then I could change the looks daily with the eye-shadow pallet as with the naked pallet you can go from a really subtle look to a really bold look.

Brushes:

(left to right)

♡ Real Techniques Duo-Fibre Eye Brush

♡ Urban Decay Shadow Brush (Comes with the 1st naked pallet for free!)

♡ Real Techniques Detailer Brush

♡ Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush

♡ Mac 275

♡ Real Techniques Brow Brush

♡ Real Techniques Duo-Fibre Face Brush

♡ Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

I love using way too many make-up brushes at the same time so it was so hard to narrow it down to a few so I decided to go back to basics and only pack brushes I *need* so I chose one brush for everything and then a few extras for eyes because that's the part I can't not use a tonne of brushes on.

I hope this was somewhat helpful?!?

I'll speak to you all soon,

Sarah x

What's In My Prom Bag!

I though I'd just upload a super quick blog post for you! So this is my 'what's in my bag: prom edition post' but lets all be honest I should have really called it 'what's in my purse' as it's tiny.

The clutch bag I had for the night was from Japsar Conran and was around £25(?) and I love it so much. It has a nude patent lining and the main fabric is a nude snake skin effect with little bits of gold shimmer (I don't usually go for snakeskin but I thought this looked so classy). It hasn't got tonnes of room inside so I opted to put my essentials in the bag which were:

♡ My prom ticket - Kind of important if I actually want to get into prom

♡ My phone - Of course only for photo's and if I need to contact my parents

♡ And my lip products - This is because this is always the first part of my makeup to move itself around and look funky so it often needs retouching! If you were wondering the lip products are a Mac lipstick in 'Politely Pink' and a Rimmel London vinyl gloss in 'Take A Chance'

I am planning to upload a few more prom posts in the not so distant future.

I'll speak to you all soon,

Sarah x

Natural Prom Makeup Look

My school prom is coming up very fast in just a few weeks so I thought that I would share the potential make-up look I'm going to wear. I wanted to keep the look reasonably natural so I would look like myself in photos if that even makes any sense?!?

Base:

The POREfessional (Sample) - Full Size RRP: £24.50

I love love love love this primer! Even this little tester tube has lasted me so long as you need only the tiniest bit to cover all you face. A few primers I have tried have broken my skin out in the past but this defiantly doesn't! It controls my oiliness throughout the day and helps to keep my make-up in place for even longer than usual. I specifically wanted these features for prom as I will be wearing more make-up for a longer amount of time than usual so a good primer is essential for me. You can purchase this primer here.

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer - RRP: £4.19

As you can see from the battered packaging that this concealer is deeply loved within my heart and I have repurchased this concealer at least 5 times now. I use the lightest shade which matches my completion perfectly. It's a very high coverage and is super blendable. It is perfect for blemishes and redness and I use this for under eye circles too. For prom I defiantly want a higher coverage because I want my skin to look as flawless a possible for photographs. You can purchase this concealer here.

Revlon PhotoReady Foundation - RRP: £12.99

I often have a massive struggle with finding foundations that are pale enough for my skin tone. Even brands like L'Oreal who have a massive range of shades don't have one that is pale enough. For me this one is perfect. As well as being the perfect shade it also has  the most amazing finish on my skin. It's a lovely matte/ satin finish. The foundation itself contains SPF 20 which is great for summer as I do not fancy getting a burnt face and photographic pigments that claim to 'diffuse light to erase ever flaw' which I completely agree with, especially in pictures (perfect from prom yet again). This foundation is full coverage but feels surprising light on the skin and looks so natural, It's not 'cakey' at all. i like to apply this with the Real Techniques 'Expert Face Brush'. You can purchase this foundation here.

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder - RRP: £3.99

As you can see I have hit pan hard on this powder and this is the second purchase I have made of this which shows how much I love it. It contains no fragrance or added oils so it is great for sensitive skin. This gets rid of all oiliness/ shininess on my skin whilst also adding a little bit more coverage (But you can also get a transparent version if you don't want any more coverage). You can purchase this powder here.

Bourjois Bronzing Powder - RRP: £7.99

This bronzer is fabulous! I have the lightest shade and it doesn't look orange at all. It's perfect for bronzing up the whole face/ to add a slight contour or if you're feeling wild both! It gives your skin a really healthy glow and if you are pasty white like me it makes you look slightly more alive. You can purchase this bronzer here.

Benefit Coralista (Sample) - Full Size RRP: 23.50

This is my favourite blush ever! It's a coral colour (as the name suggests) which you can build up or make look very subtle. I haven't even hit pan on this tester and I have used it almost every day for at least 2 months so buying the full version is definitely worth the money. It has a slight shimmer to it which looks beautiful and is just all round a great blusher. You can purchase this blush here.

Eyes:

I have 'hooded eyes' where the eyelid droops slightly lower than normal eyelids so I'm limited with what I can do without it all smudging everywhere. But if I could I would add winged eye-liner to create more definition.

I also forgot to take a photo of this but  I used the Urban Decay 'Primer Potion' to prime my eyelids and help they eyeshadow stay in place for longer.

Urban Decay Naked Pallet - RRP: £37

Out of this pallet I have used: 'Buck' (5th from the left) to fill in my eyebrows and 'Smog' (6th from the right) all over the lid. These eye shadows are so blendable and pigmented. The only downside is that they do have a fair bit of fall down but you can just sweep this away with a brush! This pallet is definitely worth they hype and worth the price for such high quality. You can purchase this pallet here.

ColourWorks Eye Shadow Pallet - This was limited edition at Super-drug and I got it for Christmas so I have no idea how much it was or if it will be re-released.

In this pallet I mixed a tiny bit on the black (far right in the middle row), brown (on the left of the black) and taupe (top left corner) and used these in the crease and blended them all out with a fluffy brush. I love the way this combination turned out and it made a perfect gradient from the urban decay colour. I also used the white (3rd from the left in the middle row) as and inner corner and brow bone highlight which looks really natural.

Mac Zoom Fast Black Lash Mascara - RRP: £14.50

I love this mascara because it gives lots of definition and makes you're eyes look so fluttery and bigger than usual. I prefer my mascara once it has dried up slightly. Before it dried up a little I didn't like it that much as I felt it smudged a lot and wasn't doing anything spectacular but now a little while later I love it! You can purchase this mascara here.

Lips:

Mac Lustre Lipstick in 'Politely Pink' - RRP: £15

I have a very small mac lipstick collection at the moment but this is my favourite I think! It's the most beautiful sheer pink which gives your lips so much shine. I got this lipstick for my birthday by accident as I actually asked for another one but I'm so glad the accident happen as I don't think I would have personally picked this up myself as it doesn't look that exciting in the packaging but I love it on my lips! It's a lustre finish which means it's really hydrating and glossy too.  You can purchase this lipstick here.

Rimmel Vinyl Gloss in '130 Take A Chance' - RRP: £4.99

This is surprisingly the first lip gloss I have ever brought! I was really sceptical  that it would be really sticky and gross I thought 'why the heck not, pull yourself together Sarah' and my pep talked paid off because it's not sticky at all! It pairs wonderfully with  the mac lipstick as they are almost identical colours and this adds to the shine. I also occasionally wear this on it's own to school or everyday wear as it adds a little colour but isn't too in your face. You can purchase this lip gloss here.

I'll speak to you all soon,
Sarah x