Real Techniques Core Collection

Real Techniques Core Collection, £21.99, Boots

'The Real Techniques Core Collection kit by Samantha Chapman includes 4 coverage essentials: detailer brush, pointed foundation brush, buffing brush and contour brush. All of these tools are held in a professional case & stand.'

The Real Technique brushes by Samantha Chapman seem to be a hot topic at the moment. I like the Pixiwoo girls, so when I saw the rave reviews these brushes were getting I was very intrigued. My personal brush collection was severely lacking foundation brushes and I decided to purchase the Core Collection, costing £21.99 for 4 brushes. The price of the set is pretty reasonable when compared to the likes of Mac's brushes however they are not as cheap as brands such as Eco Tools (whose brushes I love!), a single RT brush also costs around the £10 mark, so buying a set makes financial sense....or at least that's what I told myself!

Initially I was surprised at how small the brushes were, even though I had read that they were small they just seemed....small! The brushes come in a black pouch which also transforms into a brush holder, I have kept the pouch but chosen not to use it as a holder, as I like to keep all my brushes together in one place. The brushes are made out of a lightweight metal with a black rubber bottom and feel sturdy, the bristles are Taklon and are nice and soft on the skin, I also haven't experienced any shedding. These are nice quality brushes and the small size makes them perfect for using on all areas of the face.

The Core Collection set consists of (From left to right in the photo):

Contour Brush: Recommended to use for applying highlighter, I also like to use this brush to apply bronzer and I'm a big fan of the tapered end. 

Pointed Foundation Brush: This is a pretty standard foundation brush and probably the brush I have used the least from the set, however it's always handy to have an extra foundation brush on hand. 

Detailer Brush: A brush recommended for use with concealer or lipstick. I have used this with concealer and found it great for targeting individual blemishes that may need a bit of extra concealing. 

Buffing Brush: This is my favourite brush from the collection and the one I use the most. I have found it great for buffing in foundation, powder blushers and cream blushes as well as face powder and highlighter, it's a very versatile brush and the flat head helps produce a flawless finish. 

I have to say I love these brushes and the buffing brush has found it's way into my everyday make up routine. I have noticed from seeing these brushes in Boots that the single brushes seem to be bigger than the ones that feature in the sets, I have most definitely got my eye on the blush brush, stippling brush and powder brush!

What's in My Holiday Bag? Part 1

I am off on holiday this week and ever since I booked my tickets I have become obsessed with What's in my Holiday Bag videos on You Tube. I don't want to presume anyone has any interest in what I'm taking on holiday but I couldn't resist doing a post on the products I'm taking before I go, In the hope that maybe someone out there - at some point in the future - might find this useful. I haven't included every single product I'm taking (otherwise we'd be here forever!) to save you all from complete boredom I have omitted all the boring products, I'm pretty sure no one wants to see my bug spray, deodorant or toothbrush! :)

L to R: Garnier Body Intensive Hydrating Lotion 400ml £2.99, Superdrug,
Nivea Sun DNAge Face Sun Cream SPF 50 50ml £7.69, Superdrug,
Hawaiian Tropic Sun Lotion SPF 30 200ml £12.25 Superdrug.

First up is Sun cream. Being such a pale thing I don't fair particularly well in the sunshine, I do tan but it takes a long time and I'm prone to burning. I can't stand being sunburnt, not only is it painful but it's also very bad for your skin so I tend to wear a high factor. The suncream I have chosen to take on holiday is Hawaiian Tropic Sun Lotion in Factor 30, I have never used this before but it was recommended to me by a fellow pale skinned girl who just got back from two weeks in Mexico so it should be fine on my skin. Whilst I love the smell of all sun cream (mmm coconut scents!) this one smells particularly lovely! It doesn't feel sticky or greasy (v. important!), absorbs into the skin quickly and best of all is water resistant and has UVA and UVB protection which is a must with all sun cream!

Next up is the Nivea DNAge Face Sun Cream SPF50. I always use a really high factor on my face as I develop freckles easily and I'm hoping to avoid looking like a leather handbag by the time I'm 40. Nivea is a brand I trust and I use Nivea lotion every single day, so it was natural to buy my face sun cream from them. This will be slapped on my face, hands and decollete, I also pop higher factors over my moles - I have no idea whether this makes any difference but I like to be cautious and cover them in a high factor. The cream feels light and not too heavy or greasy for the face area...no one likes it when sun cream causes break outs! 

The price of After Sun is ridiculous so rather than spend £10 on a bottle of 'official' After Sun I opted to spend £2.99 on this bottle of Garnier Body Intensive Hydrating Lotion with Aloe Vera. It smells lovely and fresh and will hopefully feel cooling on my skin after a day in the sun.

L to R: The Pink Cow Vanilla Biscuit Bath and Shower Gel 500ml £2.99, Boots,
Alberto Balsam Coconut and Lychee Shampoo and Conditioner 400ml
£1 each, Poundland

Whilst the size is a little excessive I chose to take The Pink Cow's Vanilla Biscuit Shower gel as the boyfriend and I agreed to share it - I'm sure he'd kill me if he knew I'd revealed his love of girly fragranced shower gels on my blog! The product smells great, sweet and vanillary and best of all it doubles up as a bath foam and shower gel. I was not going to bother taking any body products but I'd rather take my own than rely on the hotel's toiletries, plus it is cheap enough to chuck out at the end of the holiday.

It's become a bit of a holiday tradition to purchase the very cheap Alberto Balsam shampoos and conditioner for my holidays. I tend to buy a different scent for each holiday and as a result certain fragrances remind me of particular places - the freesia one will always remind me of our family apartment in Florida and Sunkissed Raspberry (my favourite) makes me think of a friend's hen do in Malaga. For this holiday I chose coconut which I was delighted to come across (in Poundland no less!) as I have never seen this fragrance before and I am a total coconut fiend! These shampoos are very basic and gentle, they don't do anything fancy other than clean your hair and are perfect for holidays when you are constantly dipping in and out of the water.

Stay tuned for part two of this series which details my holiday make up :)

Mac Shale

Mac Shale £11.50, Mac Counter

I am always more than happy to add a new Mac shadow to my ever growing collection, my latest purchase is  Shale, described as a Mauve-plum with subtle shimmer. In general I really struggle choosing shadows from Mac mainly due to my indecisive personality, coupled with Mac's overwhelming choice of colours (I just want them all!) but I decided to purchase this shade after seeing it featured in a (fab!) Pixiwoo tutorial...err who doesn't want to look like Kate Middy?!

I had been on the hunt for a purple-plum shadow for quite some time and Shale couldn't be more perfect. The purple is a lovely subtle shade that looks great on green eyes without being too purple. I guess the best way to describe this colour would be bruised - perhaps not the best description but it really is a beautiful shade and makes a great soft, daytime look but can also be paired with smudgy blacks and greys for an evening smokey eye. 

I like shale as it suits my colouring (super pale) and the purple/plum tones make it an ideal eyeshadow for Autumn. Whilst Mac says it has a subtly shimmer I never noticed that this eyeshadow was remotely shimmery, from the photo of the swatch below you can see that it catches the light ever so slightly, which I think is really gorgeous!

Only Girl in the World

Thought i'd kick off the weekend celebrations by posting this video - Only Girl in the World by Rihanna. 

I love the pinky hues in this video, it gives me really bad cravings for summer. How I wish I could frolic around in the sunshine wearing a pretty pink dress.....and I really want a go on that swing!

Happy Friday everyone!

Blue Monday

Moet and Chandon via The Daily Mail

Today has been labelled the most depressing day of the year. I can see why the January blues strike at this time, Christmas is now a distant memory and pay day is still that bit too far away. However, all is not lost, I have compiled a little list of things to do, to cheer us up and keep us entertained for the rest of January.

♥  Bake. I find baking ridiculously enjoyable. I love the whole process of making something delicious out of a few basic ingredients...most of us have flour, butter, sugar and eggs lying around at home. You can go for fairy cakes, a Victoria Sponge, or keep it simple with good old fashioned (but very tasty!) rice crispy cakes....or even a no bake cake (all you need is butter, melted chocolate, broken digestive biscuits, marshmallows and what ever else you fancy throwing in there!).

♥ Read. Reading is a great way to escape your everyday life and in all honesty I don't read enough. My favourite books to read at this time of year are ones that transport me to an exotic, warmer location. I just finished Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert which documents the author's travels through Italy, India and Bali. Other great escapism books are The Island and The Return by Victoria Hislop and also The Beach by Alex Garland. In reality, I'll read pretty much anything, chick lit, classic literature, coffee table books, The Twilight Saga etc...I'm just about to start Life and Laughing: My Story by Michael Mcintyre which I hope will cheer me up on these gloomy, dark nights. If you're struggling to decide what to read, i recommend Goodreads, a website where you can find hundreds of book reviews and even write your own. I generally buy all my books from Amazon, which sells them for dirt cheap prices, charity shops also sell used books for a couple of quid...and if money is really tight there's always the good old library.

♥ Revitalise. January is the month for self improvement and resolutions. If your new year's resolutions have fallen by the wayside, now is the time to get them back on track. I'm still keeping an eye on my January goals and whilst I have completed most of them, there are still things I need to do...not to mention February's goals to think about! Eating better and exercising more is easy to say, hard to do, but we all know it will leave us feeling better in the long run. Aim to go for a walk, or even a swim, join a fitness class or a running club....I've been meaning to join a friend at aqua aerobics for months now! If exercise doesn't appeal, burn off some calories by giving your room/house a good clear out, always refreshing to chuck out the old and make way for the new. If you have the time you can always start a new project, I have been toying with the idea of starting a project 365 (where you take a picture everyday for one year) for a couple of weeks now.

♥  Pamper. Nothing screams pamper to me like a Lush bath. The bath bombs/bubble bars cost roughly 3 pounds and transform a boring old bath into something fun. For depressing January nights I would recommend Sakura (spring in a bath), Big Blue (so you can imagine you're swimming in the Mediterranean, rather than your dirty bath water) and Sunny Side (summery, citrus scent). If baths aren't your thing, try a hair mask, face mask or body treatment......cold blasted skin needs good exfoliating and moisturising! I'm currently perfecting the art of applying nail varnish with DIY manis and pedis, and also trying (and failing) to get used to the pain of epilating....it just hurts so much! Failing all that, I love to play and experiment with make up....this used to be a nightly occurrence when I was in my early teens, but nowadays I struggle to find the time to take my makeup off! It is nice to have a play around every so often, and create some new looks or follow a you tube tutorial....I still need to master the art of contouring!

♥  Watch. Sometimes I love nothing more than digging out a feel good chick flick...my personal faves include The Devil Wears Prada and both Legally Blondes. I am also fortunate enough to own the complete box set of Sex and the City which I will never tire of, watching those episodes always puts me in a good mood.

♥  Re-decorate. A lick of paint can really transform a room and is pretty inexpensive. Failing that an ornate mirror, or picture creates a new focal feature. Keep it simple by adding some fairy lights...I have USB fairy lights which i can easily use and pack away again. Plants also make a great addition to a room, I think my orchid which I have had for 2 and a half years is one of my absolute pride and joys....can't believe I've managed to keep it alive for this long!

♥  Wish. Aahhh the wishlist is my friend in this eternal month of January. Whilst I'm waiting for my long overdue February pay check I can do some online window shopping, my Amazon wishlist is quickly building and I've pressed the save for later button on Asos more times than I care to remember. I love looking at all the new season's clothes and deciding what I want to be wearing once the weather does finally warm up or (squeal of excitement) on my summer holidays. What's more, thanks to the invention of the wishlist (thank you online shopping Gods!) I know my saved items will be there, ready to be purchased, come the beginning of February.


Happy Monday Everyone!