Fireworks| Perfect Until..

This isn't a post I'd normally do but I thought it was something I can share you all on a more personal level rather than just always talking about beauty or style etc. Just like a conversation between two friends..

This was me on fireworks night, all snuggled in my big fluffy coat, makeup on (as I don't always get a chance to play with makeup due to work) and a plan to see the fireworks without going into town and trying to find somewhere to park and be constantly surrounded by people (it can get so busy!)

We (Ash and I) had the plan of watching the fireworks which were going to be on a boat at Poole quay, but instead of going to the front we went round the side, where some other docks were. 

We thought we'd make sausage sandwiches and bring snacks and coffee in a flask to sit and watch the fireworks on a blanket (to me this sounded an absolute delight!). 

So we packed up a cool bag with the food in and made our way down to the spot we had planned. There were barely anyone there which was great! So we sat down on the blanket with a great view and started our snacking!

We finished our food and cuddled up to keep warm. The boat was just about ready to start the fireworks. 

After about a minute of the display starting, I saw something move right by my feet. All I could see was this grey body and a tail. A rat! It had probably been there under a little crate the whole time but now it was running around near my feet. 

I can safely say both Ash and I jumped up and packed the rest of our food away quickly! So instead of being dazzled by amazing fireworks (which from what I could see were very beautiful) we were keeping a very close eye on our new friend that had joined us hiding under the crate! 

Well that's one way to ruin your fireworks night! 

Has anything like this happened to you before?

Hope you enjoyed this little chat!

Speak soon!

Love Claudia x

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Estee Lauder| Sumptuous Extreme

Okay, so you might be thinking 'beautiful packaging' and may feel intrigued to see what this performs like.

To be honest, I'll keep it short...just like my lashes were when I applied it. I don't always apply two coats of mascara (mostly because I don't have time) but with this mascara, even when you apply two coats it just doesn't do anything for my lashes.

Not only this but because the brush is so large it means that you easily get mascara everywhere else apart from your lashes. The length of the wand is way too long, it does not allow control, so (again ) it gets everywhere.

Overall I wouldn't recommend this, it is a shame because I usually love Estee Lauder products however for me this just doesn't work.

Hope you are well!
Love C. xx

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Makeup, Food and Drinks| My Kind of Night

Makeup done- CHECK! Outfit chosen- CHECK!

Let date night commence... 

Beautiful weather...For ducks

Drinks...

Food and a natter.. I love this combination of food. Olives are yum and so are rolls with oil and balsamic! If your not an olive person, they say to keep trying to eat them until you like them. It is true! Although I don't like the really salty ones- but these were so good!

Outfit of the night was kept casual, although its Spring here in the UK it is cold and wet right now. This was warm enough but didn't shout 'its still winter!' haha.

Afterwards we popped over to 'Maitai', a classy yet lively bar and had some drinks. I decided to have the Elderflower cosmo (Mmm so good) and Ash had the 'James Bond' drink- it was very strong! Not one for me to be honest. But was a lovely night non-the-less.

Hows your weekend been? 

Love C. xx

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Eye moustache| HD Brows before and after

I am rubbish at looking after my eyebrows. The hair grows in all directions and in some places there isn't enough hair. I'm just too lazy half the time.

I've tried plucking, waxing and treading my brows which I've found great, but there has either been some hairs not removed or they're not actually shaped for my face- just..tidied.
Tidied is good but for me, I found my eyebrows to be particularly unshaped and to be honest, they were really doing anything for me. Last July I stumbled on an advert about HD brows and looked at this in more depth. They actually do 7 steps to the perfect brow.
I was interested to find out more so contacted a woman who did them. She was lovely and explained that the treatment consists of tinting, waxing, treading, plucking, trimming etc. They measure your face and ask how you'd like your eyebrows to look and also can put makeup on your brows to make them look fuller and more defined.

I have loved getting HD brows and have done it since. I don't think I would have them done any other way now! I still have a lot of progress to do (I have some areas that need growing and taming! (Blogpost to come about a hair regrowth product I've been trying)) but overall I love the look of my brows already.

Here is my before picture when I had them done today:

As you can see, I tend to leave my eyebrows in-between sessions apart from the middle.. mainly because I know if I start plucking I will ruin the progress I've made so far with them, which in my opinion is quite a lot of progress. So sometimes its worth walking around with a bit more hair on your face than you'd like! haha

This photo is after- so excuse the redness!

In these pictures below, I've popped a tiny bit of makeup on them to add more definition.

If you are unsure about what to do with your eyebrows I would really recommend trying HD brows. The only issue is finding the right beautician to do it. Luckily I've had two ladies (the first one moved) that have both been great!

Prices vary, depending on who does it but again- I feel that what is done for my eyebrows and the quality is great for the price I pay.
To find out more click here: HD Brow website

I hope you enjoyed this post and hope to see you soon!

Love C. xx

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How to| What makeup brush does what?

When it comes to makeup brushes, it can seem a bit intimidating. There are so many shapes, sizes and densities that it may seem difficult to distinguish what brush does what?

For that sake of this blogpost I'm going to use one of my previous blog posts on the Zoeva Brushes to show you how and where I use the brushes on my face.

1.  Foundation
Recently I've been using the 'Silk Finish' brush as my foundation brush. I use a liquid foundation as I find powders and mousse's quite drying for my skin. I find that it blends the foundation out really well on my face without leaving brush strokes or wasting product. Other options for this are brushes like a 'stippling' brush or you could even use a 'beauty blender' which is basically a clever sponge but makes your makeup base look flawless- I'm eager to try one of these.

2. Concealer
I tend to apply liquid concealer and dab it in with my finger, especially under my eyes. However, when I do use a brush it tends to be the 'Concealer Buffer', again, in dabbing motions so as not to pull the under eye area or move the concealer away from the area that I'm trying to conceal.

3. Powder
Some girls may find that they do not need to powder they're face, especially if they are not susceptible to an oily T-Zone (forehead, nose and chin area). However for the girls that find after a few hours their nose gets oily, then powder if a must! I tend to use a large fluffy brush. The one from the Zoeva collection is lovely as is soft and fairly large. However, I do alternate between that one and one I got fairly cheaply off eBay which is a bit bigger and just as soft.

4. Bronzer
This is the same as the powder for me, as the large brush covers the areas of my face that the sun would naturally hit very quickly and effortlessly.

5. Contour
Now contour can be different, depending on what product I'm using. If I'm using a powder to contour then I tend to actually use my Eco tools 'mineral powder' brush from THIS set as it is flatter and can fit nicely into the hollow of my cheek. However, if I'm using a liquid or cream bronzer I will tend to use the 'Face Shape' and blend out with the foundation brush if necessary.

6. Blush
I'm only just starting to like blush, I was always afraid of it and to be honest I'm not sure why because there are so many beautiful blushes out there! I guess it was to do with precision and me being scared I was going to look ridiculous with big pink circular cheeks! At the moment I am using a powder blush and to apply it I use the 'Luxe Sheer Cheek' which is soft and angled. This brush is great because I can apply it lightly in the exact place I want it to be.

7. Eyebrows
Some Eyebrow products have the tint (colour) and brush in one, like the 'Gimme Brow' from Benefit. However, if you like to switch up what you use and like to wear powder then I highly recommend using either the 'Winged Liner' brush or the Mac '266'. My preference if the Mac brush as the bristles are more sturdy to apply to colour but the Zoeva brush can do the same job. To brush to hairs into shape you can use a spooly or even a brow setting gel like the one I use- Rimmel Brow Gel Clear

8. Eyes
In my opinion, you CANNOT use and blend eyeshadows without brushes. From my experience, the eyeshadows are not put on accurately and are smudged in places you don't what it and are not blended well.  I like to use the 'Soft Definer' to apply the main colour to my eyelid and then either blend it out or apply a slightly darker colour to the crease and blend with the 'Petite Crease'. These are both excellent brushes that I really enjoy using. If you're applying gel eyeliner or a dark eyeshadow to line the eyes I really like the 'Winged Liner' brush for this too as it is super soft to my eyes yet accurate in where you're placing the product.

If the Zoeva brushes are too expensive, especially if you're just trying brushes out- then I would definitely recommend buying cheaper versions (I quite like Eco tools) and use the Zoeva kit as a guide.

Love C. xx

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Infinity Dreams Award| Nomination

So recently I had a comment on one of my blogposts that I had been nominated for the Infinity Dreams Award. I personally hadn't heard much about this but was intrigued none the less and thought it would be fun to answer these questions too!

The rules of the award is to thank and follow the blog that nominated you,
I was nominated by That Deer Girl so thank you!

Then answer the questions set by the blogger that nominated you; which should allow all you wonderful people to get to know me!

After that nominate 11 bloggers and set questions for them.

So here are my 11 questions, enjoy:

1) Where do you see yourself in 6 Years time?
I would like to think that I will potentially be living and working abroad, perhaps Australia?

2) If you could do blogging as your full time job, would you?
I would definitely consider it, it is a big commitment and I think I would have to cross that bridge when/if I ever got there.

3) Does your family and friends know about your blog?
I think all my friends know I have a blog and most of my family know too! They're all pretty supportive of it too which is nice.

4) What was your favourite subject at school?
I was a science girl, I really just found it so interesting. I wasn't amazingly clever at it but I just enjoyed it. I also quite enjoyed art, but I think my style was more abstract haha!

5) What is your current job and is it your dream job?
I currently work in the NHS and at the moment I would say it is, but I would never say it is my dream job for life because goals and dreams can change and I'm always open to change! :)

6) What is your favourite hairstyle?
I love when my hair is super bouncy and voluminous, just down or maybe with a cute hair accessories pulling back my bangs loosely.

7) Do you have any animals?
No I don't, I used to have a giant french lop earred rabbit who was adorable. I would love to get another rabbit or a dog. Sometimes I do borrow my friends dog to take on walks though.

8) What is your dream car?
I would love a Baby Porche 4WD, or and Audi A3 soft top.

9) Do you have any siblings?
Yes I have an older sister and an older brother. So I'm the youngest at 21 years old.

10) Do you enjoy reading? If so what are you currently reading?
I do like reading, its more to do with not having a lot of time to read. I'm currently reading Tanya Burr's book 'Love Tanya' which I'm enjoying. I would really recommend 'The first fifteen lives of Harry August' by Claire North.

11) Favourite high street clothes shop?
How could you ask me this? haha It's difficult to only choose one....so I'll choose three haha!
Love Urban Outfitters, Topshop and Asos!

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO ANSWER:

1) What is your favourite food?
2)If you were stuck on a desert island, what would be your one and only beauty or skincare item you would bring?
3) What is your favourite way to spend a Sunday?
4) Favourite colour?
5) One restaurant you would recommend and what food they do?
6) What is a staple item of clothing that you would not go without?
7) If you could write a little message to your best friend, what would it be?
8) If you could write something to your 50 year old self, what would you write?
9) Sleep or Stay up?
10) Pets? If so what is their name or what would their name be if you had one?
11) What is your plans for tomorrow?

I now nominate:
Carly's Beauty World
Raspberrykiss
ThumbalinaLillie
MegsBoutique
AGirlAndABeautyBlog
Ellie'sRamblings
TheBeautySeries
MascaraAndMaltesers
ThouShaltNotCovet
BeautyGeekUK
TheSaltLifeWife

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this blogpost and feel like perhaps you know me a bit better!

Love C xx

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Lip Injection?| Too Faced

Some people love the size of their lips and don't particularly even think about using lip plumping glosses or balms.
Some people, like myself are interested in these glosses and wonder if they actually work.
I was recently scrolling through my Instagram and came across a picture of a beautifully manicure hand that was holding the 'Too Faced- Lip Injection'. I was instantly intrigued.

Pretty packaging, and an easy applicator this little gem is a bit more on the pricey side but I would say it is one to try. I would suggest if you aren't one to buy something straight out when it is expensive, try and get a little sample of it if you can.
I've taken several photos of before, during and after so that you can see the progression. These photos were taken over 10 minutes.

Before:

Straight after application:

After 5 minutes: 

During this time I started to feel a tingling almost burning sensation and could definitely tell something was happening. My lips felt as though I has had something quite spicy and started to turn a more pinky rose colour. The packaging does 'note' that there may be some 'slightly intense tingling that can last up to 5-10 minutes'. 

After 10 minutes: All tingling had gone by this point and I could see and feel my lips plumper! Personally I wasn't totally keen that my lips had turned this rosy colour (as I do like my nude colours). Despite this, it still looks great and I would recommend anyone to try this who feels like they want plumper, fuller lips. It is cheaper than injections!

I definitely think my top lip had swollen to match my bottom lip. I will put the before and after next to each other just so you can see a side by side comparison.

I hope you guys enjoyed this review or at least found it help and interesting to see the difference between before and after.

Let me know your thoughts on these products and if you think they are worth the money.

Love C. <3

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Color. Love. Makeup.| Zoeva Brushes

Zoeva.

You may have heard a heck of a lot about these make-up brushes, but you may also have heard nothing at all.

For those of you who don't know much about Zoeva brushes or those of you who just want to know what they are like- keep reading!

Firstly, how beautiful is the packaging? I am a sucker for rose gold things even though I prefer wearing silver. The rose gold hardware near the bristles and on the writing just add that extra bit of class.

I purchased the Rose Golden Luxury Set which comes with 8 brushes for daily make-up use and a high quality make-up bag.
The Brushes:
106| Powder
102| Silk Finish
127| Luxe Sheer Cheek
110| Face Shape
142| Concealer Buffer
227| Soft Definer
231| Petite Crease
213| Wing Liner

The face brushes are dense but super soft and I actually found that my previous (cheap off eBay) brushes just moved the product around my face leaving stripy brush marks, whereas these just buff the product effortlessly into my skin. I actually thought it was my foundation that was wrong for my skin- it just goes to show that if you have the right tools to start with you can create a more flawless make-up look.

The 'pick up' and 'put down' of these brushes is amazing and I found that I definitely didn't need as much product as I usually did (which was actually wasting product as it was still in the bristles of my previous brushes).
This set has both natural hair and synthetic taklon bristles making them ideal for liquid, cream and powder products.

I thought I'd show you my first make-up look, personally I was super impressed with my foundation application- the brush just seemed to blend it perfectly.
For some of you who know the Mac 266 brush, I will say that the Zoeva Wing Liner is softer around the eyes and in my opinion make applying eye shadow around the lash line more comfortable. However, as the Mac 266 is more sturdy I do prefer this for my eyebrows.

I hope that this review helps those of you interested in the Zoeva brushes. I would say that they are a great set of high quality brushes, especially when you are first getting started and would highly recommend these to anyone.

What are your opinions and impressions of these brushes? What brushes would you recommend?

Love Claudia xx

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Naked 3 palette dupe??| Review

Hey!

Are you one of those people who wish they could afford some of the nicer products to try them out? Me too, I am always trying to find dupes for some of the higher costing products when I can't afford them.
Currently I am trying 'In the Nude' which is a dupe for the 'Naked 3' palette by Urban Decay. I purchased my 'In the Nude palette from Ebay but I'm sure there are other places you may be able to purchase this.

'In the Nude' ranges in price from £2.99-7.99 which is pretty decent. The 'Naked 3' palette however, is usually around £37.00.

As I haven't actually tried the Naked palette before, so it is difficult for me to assess the difference between the pigment concentration etc. However, I can tell you whether or not it is worth the money while you cannot afford the 'real deal'.

So as you can see the darker pigments are stronger than the lighter ones, but the lighter ones still have some nice shimmer and colour to them when you are looking for a neutral, minimum make-up look.

I do feel like I have created some nice looks with this palette, again, being very neutral (hence the name) but I have been able to create some great smokey eye looks too, using the darked colours in my crease.

In my honest opinion, I would recommend (if you want or can afford it) getting the original palette as from the reviews I've seen, they are well pigmented and have beautiful colours that are ever so slightly different to these. However, if, for example, you are like me and cannot afford the higher end products currently or just that you do not wish to spend that much on a palette then this is something I would recommend trying this product as it is so much cheaper.

Please let me know if you have any dupes of any products that you would recommend as I'd love to hear from you.

Love Claudia xxx

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The Beauty Box| Estee Lauder

I recently got this from my mother for Christmas, what a present!
Firstly, look at the packaging- how beautiful! I am nearly always influenced by the packaging of the product I'm using, there is just something about a amazing product that is wrapped up in a pretty casing.

This set contains a large make-up case, a lip gloss palette, nail polish, advanced night repair, Modern Muse perfume, mascara, revitalizing supreme anti-aging creme (because you can never start too soon), eye pencil, three lipsticks (16 Candy Shimmer, 61 Pink Parfait, 86 Tiger Eye), eye make- up remover and a eye shadow palette.

I love all the products from this set but I am totally and utterly in love with this eye palette. It just ticks all the boxes, it's neutral tones *tick!*, it has great pigment *tick!*, beautiful blendable colours *tick!*, it also has a handy large mirror *tick!* and well.. need I say more?!
I think this is a lovely gift set to give or get given and I'm so thankful my Mum got me this because it has been so handy and I have been able to create some wonderful make-up looks.

I know this is a tad late after Christmas but hey! Sometimes I can be a bit late to the party!

Hope you are all well and getting through the January 'blues'.

Love Claudia xx

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