Going nuuuuude

Since I started wearing my new 'Studio Fix MAC Foundation' I've discovered that I don't really need to wear much on my eyes so I've been doing something I never thought possible before-skipping the eyeshadow and wearing barely there mascara. Normally I look like a door mouse but apparently with a pore and blemish free backdrop your eyes suddenly become bigger, rounder and more colourful.

Using my 'BadGal' mascara by 'Benefit' (all time favourite) I concentrated my wand mostly to the outer corners and went pretty light on my lower lashes. I thought I'd massively regret going without my usual smokey eye by the end of my eight hour day at work but everyone said I looked exactly the same without make up as I do when wearing it which quite frankly is worrying! I seem to be getting a lot of comments on how sweet and innocent I look at the minute which people were forever telling me when I was a teenager so I've come to the conclusion that less eye make up has clearly knocked five years off me.

Not sure how I feel about being called sweet and innocent though..

Although I did spend my Tuesday night at a cake decorating class making cupcakes so maybe they have a valid point. I don't care though, it was the most relaxing two hours I think I've ever had! I was concentrating so much on what the teacher was saying all my other worries just disappeared through sheer focus and dedication to my cupcakes. Each class is about £20 but well worth it, have a look if local bakeries or colleges do something similar in your area. I take classes at a family owned bakery about half an hours drive away and the daughter takes the classes in groups of ten. Last time was vintage inspired cakes and she also does celebration cake classes if you wanted to make your own wedding cake or a personalized birthday cake.

Due to the odd weather we're having I've been going from wearing my favourite tortoiseshell 'Topshop' sunglasses (£18)...

...to bringing out my favourite 'FatFace' bobble hat (£23).

I'm not complaining though, with skies like this who could?

Come onnn Spring, let's get going!

Bella

x

OOTD and MAC foundation review

Outfit Of The Day

Finally my skin has cleared and I look a lot more human which means it's time to get low cut and backless once again. 

Scallop top from 'Topshop' £16

Leigh jeans from 'Topshop' £38

I decided I was going to actually save my money this month and massively cut down on my shopping sprees so I can finally go on a few travels over Summer. I was allowed three things under £30 and one big night out and one of the things were these boots from 'Topshop'. They were £75 at full price but with my discount I got them for £28 and I uhmmed and ahhed over them for literally months. All the girls at work were after a pair but they were flying off the shelves until there was only one pair left. They were my size and it was payday- it was meant to be! They're not even a big heel but everyone keeps commenting on how tall I am and I am probably around 6ft in them so yes, pretty tall. But they're lush so I don't care if I'm a giant and they don't hurt a bit.

 The second thing I was allowed was getting my nails done. At full price they're £27 but as my best friend was doing them for me I got a mate rate.

They look super natural due to their rounded shape and I got them without the french tip so I can paint them if I so wish to. I feel like these are more the fashion nowadays but when I first started getting acrylics done it was all long, square and bright white tips. If you happen to be in the Chester area drop into 'Joanne Harris Nails & Relaxation' in Rufus Court and ask for Vanessa Link!

Accessorised with my favourite necklace from 'Topshop' (obv). I literally wear this everyday! I love when you find something you want to wear for years to come and it cost you nothing, my only fear is it will unravel one of these days.

My third and final splurge was this foundation by 'MAC' which was £20.

Which brings me to my rather in-depth review...

I confess I'm not much of a 'MAC' lover. I don't know why, I guess the sales assistants make up scares me a little. I'm not much of a bright pink lipstick and black eyes with fishnet tights kind of girl, I'm more of a nude lipstick and bit of bronzer and a nice pair of heels kind of girl so you're much more likely to find me at the 'Bobbi Brown' or 'Chanel' counter. The only times I've really bought anything from 'MAC' is when I've seen a girl wearing something truly amazing and asked her where it was from and she's said 'MAC' which is my cue to go running to my nearest 'Debenhams'. Other than those few and far between times I've always given it a wide berth. Again, I can't really put my finger on why exactly. We just haven't clicked the way a beauty obsessed girl and a beauty counter should. 

I had bought a 'MAC' foundation before but I returned it on the basis that it showed up every flake and pore going. Fast forward a few years and my little sister received a 'MAC Studio Fix' foundation for her birthday and I'm not exaggerating, she looked like she had a different face! After another couple of months trying desperately to find a full coverage low end alternative and not having much luck I finally ate some humble pie and went off to 'MAC'. My sister is the whitest thing ever with a smattering of adorable freckles so she uses her NW30 as war paint to match her bright white face to her fake tanned body. I have fairly olive toned skin but with a touch of redness and as the sales assistant instructed me is that foundation is meant to cool your skin tone and take away any redness.

When they colour matched me to NC25 I said it was too light but the next one up was too olive toned. As they had no samples to try out I didn't have long to try before I bought but I went ahead anyway. 

I think this may well be the best foundation I have ever bought! As a person with oily skin prone to the occasional spot here and there the 'Studio Fix' seems to absorb any oil and stay matte all day. The best part is that the longer it's on for the more 'glowy' it gets and it still feels light weight and doesn't look cakey despite it being full coverage which meant I didn't need to use a concealer.

My only negative point is that it does highlight blackheads and any dry patches although I think most foundations would find it difficult to completely disguise those. 

And if I had to add one more negative it would be that you have to buy a pump with it which is annoying. If you're going to charge £20 for something it should come with all the necessary attachments at least. If 'MAC' listened to their customers and read their reviews instead of rising the prices of pumps perhaps they'd have a few more converts. That said their foundations are that good most people would buy them anyway, but even so!

9/10

Bella

x

OOTD

Outfit Of The  Day

As it was super sunny outside I left the layers at home and went for a leather skirt (saucy).

All by 'Topshop'

Top I think is around £22

Skirt £40

Shoes from 'Primark'

Make up wise I went for barely there foundation and concealer as my skin is still having an epic Mariah Carey fit and it always makes me feel like not wearing any make up at all or I end up all kinds of colours and textures.

Eyes were an all over taupe colour by 'Bobbi Brown'.

I've had this eyeshadow pallette since I was in Highschool and all the names of the eyeshadows are in Japanese so I have no idea what colour it is. It looks golden in the picture but it's definitely a taupe!

Then a flick of 'Magic Liner' by 'Topshop'.

And then I felt like giving blusher another chance (something I always live to regret). I went for 'Frosted Rose' by 'Bourjois' over the top of my bronzer and it seemed to come out pretty well although I'm still not at all convinced blusher is my thing.

I'm so happy the sun is finally coming out! I don't want to jinx anything but I am SO OVER Winter! 

Bella

x

Waste not, want not

I came back to my room today to discover someone had left me some presents...

Apparently it was my very lovely neighbor! I LOVE 'Planet Spa' because everything smells of Japanese rice, a strange homely smell that makes you want to keep smelling it. You can keep your florals and fruity scents, I'm happy with rice! They do a great illuminating moisturiser which has tiny sparkles in it so it's perfect for your legs on a night out. Well these two treats are 'Thailand lotus flower deep pore cleansing face mask' and 'Japanese sake and rice refreshing eye soother'. 

Lovely!

Then my grandparents dropped this 'Morrocan Argon Oil' off for me. They're always worrying about my hair because it's naturally curly and if I go round with straight hair or I've dyed it a different colour they're always horrified I've done some irreparable damage. I use Argon oil anyway but it had run out so I was glad of the extra stash! Some people swear by it but I've never noticed a massive difference although maybe I just haven't been using it regularly enough.

Then my Mum popped in with some goodies as she has sensitive skin and 'Clinique' doesn't sit right with her so as her offspring I get all her cast offs. This 'Seven Day Scrub Cream' looks pretty interesting! I'm not sure what's meant to happen after seven days but I'm guessing it's something good and I always go for the scrubs because I just feel like they get down into your pores and I feel squeaky clean and soft afterwards.

And then she gave me this 'Anti-gravity firming lift cream' also by 'Clinique'. I don't know if I'm the target audience for this but it's never too early to keep the facelifts at bay.

So that was that. A good basket full of products and I never even opened my purse!

Bella

x

Sunday's

Having never had a normal Monday to Friday job before, the weekends are still a big novelty to me! Saturday's are usually spent getting ready for a night out but as I'm having a rest this weekend I went to the gym instead. I get so annoyed with myself if I don't go to the gym for a while but as I haven't been settled in one place for quite a few years I've always been a bit off and on with it. For half a year I'm really passionate about going and get really obsessed with running or Pilates classes and then I'll move into a new house that's a bit too far away from the gym for my liking and won't go anywhere near it for a good half a year! 

Well I knew it was time to get back into it when I started fidgeting far too much so off I went and had a 'taster session'. I chose a step class, assured the teacher I had been to several before and then off we went. Well I don't know what happened in that hour to be honest. I didn't have a clue what she was yelling at me, I floundered like a limp fish and failed miserably to get a single step right. At one point the teacher actually asked me if I was 'free-styling' to put it politely. Half an hour in I went to get a drink of water...and never returned. That's right, I bolted! I ran as fast as I could and never looked back. One of the men that had been in the class spotted me by the exit later on and told me I should give it time and keep practicing  I asked him how long he'd been going, TEN YEARS he said! If I'd been going to a step class for ten years I'd expect to know those steps back to front and inside out!

So with a Saturday as hectic as that I let Sunday do its thing i.e. ate some fig rolls and walked the dog.

As I spend five out of seven days looking like a runway model (pff!) the weekend is make up free so I woke up looking like the above ^ and stayed that way.

I found my dog Roxy asleep in a sun patch but she soon woke up when I told her I was taking her on the walk of her life.

And off we went. 

Roxy is the most sociable thing in the world when it comes to human beings to the point where she actually flirts but is worryingly aggressive when it comes to other dogs, she's tiny but I can assure you her size does not get in her way. We crossed two westies, a bulldog, a labrador and a pug in a pink jumper and she tried to take them all on. She literally just doesn't care! She's the ultimate side kick.

My lovely walking outfit consisted of some pretty muddy 'River Island' skinny jeans, a 'H&M' waterproof coat and some walking boots that have accompanied me on every school trip going where my mum feared there'd be a single splash of mud.

I took her to our village hall and it was so busy! Dog walking must be what everyone does on a Sunday and I've been so out of the loop! Well not anymore, Sunday is officially 'dog walking day'. I thought she might back down a bit once she saw just how many other dogs were on her turf but no, if anything it made her even more determined to fight the competition, even the ducks! 

Bella

x

OOTD

Outfit Of The Day:

All from 'Topshop' (naturally)

This complete outfit was on a fixture at work and I knew I already had the skirt somewhere but it just seemed to go so well with the top. I went home, thought about it and then ended up going into work early and getting it. It was £22 and is super baggy so I got an extra small. It was the comfiest outfit I think I've ever worn and it got lots of compliments!

Make up wise I went for a taupe eyeshadow by 'Bobbi Brown' that I think is called 'Mushroom' and 'Black Out' by 'Urban Decay' as a liner with 'Bootycall' in the corner and my usual 'BadGal' mascara by 'Benefit'.

Bella

x

OOTD

Outfit Of The Day:

I have an obsession with collars at the minute and thankfully 'Topshop' has about a billion. I was having a panic about what to wear on a night out that I had to go to straight from styling the store mannequins at 9pm on a Monday so I asked my sister to pick me something up from the Sheffield store and she came up with a cream collared top. I have literally worn nothing else. It's so easy to put under jumpers (as below) and it was only £18. They also come in dark green, pink, white, red and black. They're also perfect for putting under sheer tops (as above).

I went for bouffant hair and a side fringe but it was second day hair and refused to do what it was told.

Make up wise I went dark, silver and smokey using some waterproof liquid liner and lots of 'Benefit BadGal mascara'.

And that's all folks!

Bella

x

Valentines OOTD

As promised I wore my favourite bright pink jumper to work today to celebrate all things romantic, heart shaped and lovely.

Topshop £28

With Converse high tops 

I texted all my friends wishing them a 'Happy Valentines Day!' and then skipped off to work. My little sister got twelve red roses and a card from a secret admirer but she wasn't very interested. It reminded me of when I was in high school and boys would push Valentines cards under my locker door and my Gran would always send me a card in the post even though I saw her everyday and pretend it wasn't her. I love the tradition of sending someone a card and signing it 'From a secret admirer' and I definitely sent a few when I was little, covered in glitter and written in scented gel pens. I really hope people still send them in the future, getting a facebook 'poke' really isn't the same thing.

I watched 'Valentine's Day' with one of my friends in the week just because I was so excited and I'm loving romantic comedies at the minute. My favourite character is played by Jessica Biel and is a PR exec who hates Valentines Day and sets up an annual party for her and her single friends with a massive heart pinnate. However, this year she has a big melt down on a reporter played by Jamie Fox and they both bond over their hatred for the day and he turns up to her party that evening and I assume they fall head over heels in love. It's not ground breaking but if you're looking for something nice and filled with famous people then it's a good one to watch with a mug of hot chocolate.

My sister and I made Valentine's cakes the night before and I made a flower! It looks really difficult but it was actually pretty easy although it looks far too good to eat! We also made Lilo and Stitch and Minnie and Mickey Mouse cakes.

 I was literally covered in icing sugar from head to toe and everything in the kitchen got covered in cake mix from mittens to the dog.

Make up wise I went for a smokey gold eye inspired by this picture:

It so didn't go at all how it was meant to! It did look really dark in real life but the picture doesn't really show the colours and I didn't go as dark as I could have done because my eyes don't really suit super dark colours. But if I'm going out I would definitely go to town and do it properly. I wish there were more looks for people with blue eyes, I feel like any dark eye make up styles are always done on people with dark eyes but you can't always get away with the same shades on lighter coloured eyes. 

Anyway, I'm staying in with my Valentines date (my mum) and watching 'The Vow', the only chick flick I can persuade her to watch and that was only because it has Channing Tatum in it. Not that I'm complaining!

Bella

x