New In My Drugstore Makeup Stash

Yes, this was indeed one of those situations where you go to Superdrug for a pack of cotton pads and end up spending £30 - we've all been there (myself, more times than I wish to admit). But hey, I am justifying this spend by the fact that the usual 3 for 2 offer across makeup was on, and by the fact I am going to share the products with you guys, and give you the low-down on what you do and don't need to pick up. Side note: no idea what other product I bought in this 3 for 2...think it has gone walk-abouts whatever it was though...

Maybelline Brow Tattoo - £12.99

The concept of this product absolutely fascinates me. I was always the kid in art class who covered themselves in PVA glue just to peel it off when it dried, and this brow product is essentially that. You apply the thick paste onto your brows, leave it for an hour or so, and peel it off to reveal a stain on the skin. I was so excited to try this, but it only lasted one day on me, which was super disappointing as I may as well just use my Dipbrow. It was handy however to do my brows the night before, and then in the morning I saved time as I did not have to do anything to do them, so I suppose if you aren't a morning person then you might like this, but don't expect the stain to hang around for long - because it won't!

Maybelline Master Chrome Highlighter in Molten Gold - £7.99

I'll put this out there now, I am not a fan. The pigmentation is not fantastic, and it just doesn't show up on my skin. I think if you have a darker complexion than I do, this will look amazing on you, but it just does not work with my skin tone, and I don't think it would work for anyone paler than myself. I really thought I would like this as I am sure loads of Americans were raving about this when it came out over in the states, but nope, this is definitely not for me - I'll stick to Mary Lou-manizer. 

L'Oreal Paradise Mascara - £9.99

There seems to have been a huge marketing campaign for this mascara recently, and I was definitely sucked in when Victoria (Inthefrow), and Lydia Millen were talking about it. I remember when it was released a while back and everyone went mad because it was rose gold, and this definitely drew me in also. I'm usually very loyal to Maybelline when it comes to mascaras, but this one has definitely converted me to being a L'Oreal girl. The brush is huge which is something I am not used to, but I only need to do two coats of this to get huge lashes (usually I need three), and it doesn't crumble on me. I highly recommend you all go and pick this up, and they do now make a waterproof version for all my straight lashed girls out there who need a mascara that holds a curl.

L'Oreal Infallible Foundation Stick in Honey - £8.99

If you haven't seem every influencer on the planet instagramming this foundation, then where on earth have you been?! I've always wanted to try the Hourglass stick foundation but couldn't justify the price, and hadn't yet picked up my trusty Revolution Foundation Stick, so thought this was a budget way to try out foundation sticks and see how I got on with them. It is very creamy, however not as creamy and blendable as the Revolution one, and it definitely has a more matte finish - on my skin anyway. I would not say that it has a huge amount of coverage, definitely more on the medium side, but I have been able to build it up more where I need it. I just find foundation sticks super quick to use, and they are so much less messy than liquid foundations. If you have very dry skin I probably wouldn't recommend this for you, but if you have normal-combination skin you would probably love this.

L'Oreal Matte Lipstick in 696 Mahogany Studs - £6.99

This lipstick is a dream. I'm not exaggerating. I have been looking for a cheaper, and more moisturising version of my fave Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Lolita, for ages, and I was trying to find one more product to make up my 3 for 2 and found this little beauty. It is almost identical to Lolita so I had to have it. Although it is described as a matte, it is actually pretty comfortable on the lips and doesn't dry them out. It is the perfect dusty-rosy-pink nude and has become my everyday staple lippie. You can see from the swatches below just how similar it is to the Kat Von D one!

Highlighter, Lipstick, Kat Von D Liquid Lipstick in Lolita

I have now put myself on a minimum two week ban from Superdrug and Boots, because I do not need anymore makeup, and I don't think I can keep using my blog as an excuse to go wild! On the other hand, if you recommend anymore stick foundations please let me know, I am obsessed with them and dying to try more!

Becoming too dependent on other people for your happiness

Recently I have come to the conclusion that I am far too dependant on other people when it comes to my happiness. I genuinely hate being on my own, which is something I didn't think I would ever feel.

I spent a whole week with Andy recently, him staying at mine, us commuting home from work together, talking for more than five minutes a day (which is our usual phone conversation, consisting of '"how was your day at work?", "fine, yours?", "yeah was ok, you going gym tonight?", "yeah, you?", "yup, do you have any news?", "no not today", "ok have a nice evening" -  basically because neither of us like to talk on the phone), and actually getting to eat dinner together. It was so nice, but the week after he left I was so lost. I found myself feeling pretty shit, even though I am so used to not living with him and only seeing him at weekends. The week he was here I suppose I had something to look forward to after work, and it made the days quicker, I was overall much happier *cringe*.

I suppose the days of feeling shit made me realise that I need to stop depending on other people for my own happiness - I am more than capable of being happy on my own, and deep down I genuinely do enjoy spending time with myself. We should all be happy in our own company, and yes - we should look forward to spending time with loved ones, but our happiness shouldn't rely on that. It definitely has something to do with a fear of being lonely - really I am never truly alone, I live with my family and am always on my phone texting.

I’m sure I cannot be the only person who feels like this, so please do let me know if you have ever felt like this! I’m definitely going to work on not relying so much on other people to be happy myself, and make plans for after work that don’t necessarily involve me seeing friends - things I can do on my own. Are there any things you guys recommend doing on your own? - I'd love ideas!

My Journey To Feeling Alive

Wow, what a dramatic title - what this post is really about is my journey to not falling asleep on my commute to work (not quite such an exciting title though).

As I like to mention, quite frequently, I am unable to stay awake on my morning commute to work - no amount of Netflix, reading of the Metro, or listening to the Jonas Brothers will keep me awake. I get a very decent amount of sleep every night, around 8 hours, so it has been a challenge to figure out what I can do to make myself feel more alive and awake.

Thankfully (hearing all my prayers apparently...) the lovely team at Pegasus PR got in touch to offer me a box of sleep related goodies in conjunction with National Sleep Awareness Week - yes I know this was a few weeks ago now, but I had to give these products a go before raving about them to you guys. The main product that the box was promoting was the new Benenox Overnight Recharge, a combination of honey, Sustamine and Vitamin B6, which when taken before bed helps to support a good sleep, and supposedly makes you feel more awake in the morning. I was sceptical, I'll put it that way, but nonetheless super keen to try anything and everything that could possibly help with my annoying situation.

After taking Benenox for a week, I really noticed a change in the way I felt in the mornings. Some days I did still fall asleep on the train to work, but overall I felt much less fatigued, and felt like my quality of sleep had improved - I didn't wake up once in the night (possibly a negative as one of my favourite things is waking up at 5am and realising I still have an hour and a half left of sleep). I've also noticed the benefit of having a Clipper 'Snore and Peace' tea before bed, which also came in the gorgeous box gifted to me. I hate normal tea (I know....), and am generally super fussy with herbal teas but my oh my this tea is actually yummy. I'm awful at describing flavours but it's essentially Chamomile and Lavender, and it really does make me feel sleepy - how it works, I don't know.

You get around 9 uses in one bottle of Benenox, and it retails at £9.99 - so not the cheapest thing to be buying, but I think for me it is helping me just that little bit. I do need to get into the basic routine of reading every night before bed rather than watching Netflix or scrolling through Instagram, I think this would definitely help also. If you have any other tips and tricks for feeling more alive in the mornings, please let me know!

Benenox - £9.99

A Makeup Revolution Base

If you haven't heard everyone raving about the Makeup Revolution Conceal & Define concealer, or the new release of their foundation stick, then honestly, where have you been?! I gave in to the hype (as I so often do...), and here is the low-down on these bad boys *hint, you will probably want to buy these after reading this*.

The first time I wore this foundation, incidentally when I took these photos, I did not use primer under the foundation stick, but I can confirm it does look (and stay) a little better with a primer underneath. Applying the foundation itself is a dream, I apply directly from the stick to my face, and draw on a few lines. It blends in amazingly, since the formula is really creamy and blendable. In comparison to the L'Oreal foundation stick which I am a massive fan of, this one actually blends so much easier, and the coverage is a little heavier. The picture below shows my face with one side wearing the foundation, and the other side is just my bare skin.

As you can see, the coverage is pretty damn good, and it doesn't make my skin look super dry which a lot of foundations can do. It does highlight my large pores though, however when I do use a primer underneath, this obviously helps. I wouldn't recommend this foundation for anyone with oily skin though, it is 100% designed for people with dry-normal skin, I have heard reports of it literally slipping of peoples faces who have a more oily face than I do (of course I cannot confirm this, but this is what I have heard). I wear shade F10 for reference!

Now the concealer, ohhh the concealer...it's amazing. If you like a full coverage concealer, something to really hide those late nights or chocolate fuelled spots, this is the one. Very much like the foundation, it blends in easily. The only downside I have is that it does settle into the lines under my eyes, even after baking it - but most concealers that I wear do this (anyone have any tips how to stop this from happening?). I actually have this in two shades C8 and C10, C8 is perfect for highlighting, but I would definitely use C10 to cover any blemishes. If you like the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer, but find the shade range awful and the formula a little drying, this is your saviour. 

I took an uncomfortably up close picture of my skin so you can all see the foundation/concealer duo, and the way that they sit on the skin. You can see where it highlights my pores and where the concealer bunches up into my fine lines, but realistically who is going to be coming up that close to your face (that would judge you for this at least)? I have never ever found a concealer that doesn't go into my fine lines, so this doesn't bother me one bit. 

 Overall, I recommend both products, they are super affordable - and although the concealer in particular is very hard to get hold of (all down to Holly Boon) I would advise all my dry-normal skin gals to go on the hunt for these bad boys - you'll thank me, I promise!

Revolution Conceal and Define - £4

Revolution Fast Base Foundation Stick - £5