Swear by Makeup Basics

Hey guys!
So, today I'm going to be talking you through my personal 'Swear By' Make-up products.
These are products I would 100% recommend, so if you are in search of something new to try in your daily makeup routine here are some suggestions.

Firstly you need a base and by this I mean foundation.

I, personally, am not a huge fan of cakey foundations. I really hate the way they feel on my skin and whenever I wear them I feel paranoid that by attempting to cover my spots I am just making them worse.

This is why I found a BB cream to replace my previous foundation as they are much lighter. Hell, I must've found the most incredible one! The BodyShop Tea Tree- BB Cream is one of the most incredible makeup products I own and I know I will forever be purchasing more bottles. As it is BB-cream it feels much lighter on my face yet the coverage is still equally as good, if not, better! You do not need too much to cover a whole face therefore each bottle lasts months! But that's not all! My favourite thing about this is the fact it is Tea-Tree. I have used The BodyShop Tea-Tree skin products before as my face is spot-prone and they have always helped my skin. This is no different! There is a noticeable difference in my skin from using this on a regular basis, it is clearer and I have recently been receiving compliments on how good my skin looks! How crazy is that! It's incredible that a makeup product can actually help my skin whilst hiding all my blemishes!

One of my closest friends has acne-prone skin and followed my recommendation and purchased some of this BB-cream. She also is raving about this product and has seen a noticeable change in her skin.

I seriously suggest you buying this if you want a product that feels light on your skin, has an amazing coverage and does good!

(The BB-cream is £8 from The Body Shop, it is in liquid form and applied in the same way as a foundation - I use the Real Techniques foundation brush and expert face brush to blend it in.)

 

Next, the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer, I'm sure you've heard this mentioned many times - either via Youtube or from friends. But seriously, it is so so so worth the buy! It also has incredible coverage and lightens up the skin! It's creamy and long lasting, and to be totally honest you could wear just this concealer with some matte powder the coverage is that good! If you are looking for a new concealer and were stuck between an expensive brand and this, there's no competition! Buy this one! And trust me, you'll be raving about it too!

(The Concealer is only £4 and available in both Boots and Superdrug, however it is very popular so your colour may not be available. It comes with an applicator but I blend it with the Real Techniques expert face brush.)

 

Eyebrows are hella important! They frame a face and I know that if I have good eyebrows I have more confidence. I recently bought the Topshop Brows eyebrow pencil. I purchased the lighter of the two shades that they have, however it is still very dark. Yet it is still an amazing pencil! I use it to fill any sparse areas (I don't draw my eyebrows on fully) as I prefer my brows to look natural but they are getting continuously complimented and I've never been more pleased with them! I would definitely suggest purchasing this if you have reasonably dark/dark eyebrows because it is a great product!

(The Pencil is £6 from Topshop. It only comes in two shades which are both quite dark - I wouldn't suggest purchasing if you have light eyebrows.)

 

If you've mastered winged eyeliner, you've mastered it all. And the Soap&Glory Supercat eyeliner makes it an incredibly easy talent to master. It's so easy to apply and get a neat line, either thin or thick. It is in pen form so very easy to control and get the perfect flick. It's also not an impossible task to get both eyes equal, thank god! Not only this, but its also long lasting. I know this will be the eyeliner I always buy from now on.

(The eyeliner is £6 from the Boots Soap&Glory section.)

 

So that's all for tonight and I really hope this is helpful! I genuinely suggest purchasing these as they are a few of my Swear-By makeup items. Not only that but they're also cheap.

If this blog is insightful and enjoyed I can talk about some other of my swear-by products; powders, blushes, mascaras etc at a later date.

I'd also just like to say these are my personal views and you don't feel the same way about one of these products I'm sorry about that, but I love them!

 

Thanks for reading, A x

20 of my "Must Listen To" Songs

As a teenager, music is a life necessity. It helps to block out the world when you need an escape, it gives you something to dance to in front of the mirror, (don't worry we've all done it), it even has the ability to make homework that little bit more bearable.
So, I thought, why not tell you some of my favourite songs - old and new.
One of my closest friends recently found my Spotify account and started listening to my newest, most updated playlist. As the nice people that we are, compliments are very very rare between us, so when she said (and I quote) it was "sick" and "radio worthy" I was pretty damn pleased.
I have quite a varied music taste, and I could never ever list all of the songs I like, because there'd be too many to list, and I could never name all of them in one go. So here's 20;

1) The Neighbourhood; Sweater Weather
If you have never listened to the Neighbourhood you are sincerely missing out, especially 'Sweater Weather' - it's definitely my favourite.

2) M83; Midnight City
I would bet you anything you have heard this song before - you've just never realised it. A lot of people say to me "oh my god, its the made in Chelsea theme tune", and yes it may be but hell, its an incredible song.

3) Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros; Home
Again, you've most likely heard this before on an advert, but its such an cheerful song and so brilliant for long car journeys, my mood is immediately brightened whenever I hear this.

4) Fall Out Boy; Sugar, we're going down
Old but still fricking gold! This is one of my favourite FOB songs, and crazily, I am seeing them on October 3rd!!! (I know 3 exclamation marks looks awful, but I'm insanely excited). Fingers crossed they perform this.

5) James Bay; Sparks
I originally heard of James Bay because of "Hold Back the River" (also an amazing song!), and once I'd heard that - I had to hear more, and god, I love this song.

6) Imagine Dragons; Nothing Left to Say
So so so so powerful. Imagine Dragons are crazy and I would love to see them live one day.

7) Disclosure; White Noise
I've loved this song since summer 2013, and it's still going strong, despite the story it is telling.

8) Mumford & Sons; I Gave You All
This definitely has the ability to make me very emotional.

9) Lana Del Ray; Video Games
I don't understand how you can't like this song.

10) John Mayer; XO
Yes, it's a Beyoncé cover, yes Beyoncé is queen, but yes this version is also incredible.

11) Foster The People; Pumped Up Kicks
Hell yes, I am bringing this back.

12) American Authors; Think About It
If I were you, I would 100% listen to their album "Oh, What a Life" I love it and it's so happy!

13) Panic! at the Disco; Far Too Young to Die
Anything by Panic! is always so so good, this is just one of the many songs I really like.

14) Paramore; For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic
Genuinely don't know how I decided on just this one, the albums "Brand New Eyes" and "Riot" are both amazing!

15) Taylor Swift; Bad Blood
I couldn't not have a bit of Taylor!

16) The Weeknd; Earned it
Despite the whole song being one giant innuendo, I love it.

17) Ellie Goulding; Love Me Like You Do
Sorry for the two 50 shades references but, Ellie is a major woman crush for me, I used to listen to her first album when I was around 10, and I've adored her and anything she done since. (Particularly this song but who doesn't love it?)

18) Hozier; From Eden
I loved Take Me To Church in summer last year, and suddenly in December/January it got really big so I started listening to other Hozier songs like "Like Real People Do" and just recently "From Eden". You should check this one out.

19) Bastille; Weight of Living, Pt. I
I've loved Bastille for so long and Bad Blood is such a good album!

20) One Direction; Stockholm Syndrome
I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. Everyone's got to listen to a bit of One Direction now and again.

So they're just 20 of my favourite songs. I could go on for hours about music but I think I will leave this one here.
If you've been struggling to find new music to listen to you should definitely look into these artists, you'll thank me later!

Thanks for reading,
A x

Norwich, the pretty city!

So, last week, all my closest friends went away on a skiing trip. I didn't really want to go because I would have got really freaked out on the slopes, and by god it was expensive! So, guess who was lonely at home all week? If you guessed me, you got it.
My mum, bless her, tried to make the week as fun as possible when she knew my friends were having a great time in Italy whilst I was stuck in dreary England washing cars and internet shopping with pretend money.
So when she told me that on the Tuesday and Wednesday we were going to look round Norwich and the University of East Anglia (for my sister), I knew I was in for a good time.
(You probably caught on to the sarcasm there - but I was surprisingly impressed once we arrived, honestly.)
So I packed an overnight bag, a hoodie and snacks for the car journey, and most importantly my headphones. I basically zoned out for the whole journey listening to my Spotify playlist - except for when we arrived at McDonalds - I had to be sociable then to tell my mum I wanted a mayo chicken legend meal with a coke.
But you know what it's like, a long car journey is the best way to listen to good music and feel like you're starring in your own emotional music video with the (rare in England) sun glaring in your face, the volume up full, and streets passing by, it's just how it is!
Once we arrived, though, we headed to the hotel to down our bags, before heading out to see what the centre was like. It was actually so pretty!
We first of all went into the market, the picture doesn't show just how cute it was. Each stall was built to look like a beach hut and there were so many it was like a maze! Everything was being sold here, from spices to watch straps. (And there was a cupcake stall that I was particularly in awe of.)

Terrible photo of the market.

Then we browsed the shops, and there was a pretty impressive selection! My sister continued to tell me that Norwich is in the top 10 for the best city for shopping in the UK. Impressive!
After that, of course we headed to "the arcades" which were just so quaint and pretty.



The Arcades + dad's head.


At one point, we went to NEXT and spent about 45 minutes finding a pair of jeans for my dad, to replace the ones he's had for the past 10 years, and these new ones - of course - had to be of the perfect quality to last the next 10 years.
Is it just my dad who only buys something new every few years? The shirts he wears on a daily basis have been in his possession since my birth.
Nothing to do with my dad or NEXT - but here's the cathedral from The Forum windows.

The Cathedral

For tea, we visited Jamie (Oliver)'s Italian, if you've never been YOU MUST. They're in most cities, and my god the food is a gastronomic masterpiece. I've been in London, Manchester and now Norwich. This time I had the steak and quite honestly, I would marry it if I could, genuinely it was that delicious - It was probably the best thing I've ever eaten.
(Also the staff at Jamie's are so friendly, if you ever go to the one in Manchester and have a ginger-curly haired waitress called Debbie, she is the best waitress ever, literally.)
 

The bread board me and my sister shared at Jamie's.

In the morning before visiting the University, we went to a dainty little café called No.33 and it was so lovely. Just thought I'd show you this picture from my snapchat because, well, I thought it was funny. And I like tea.
 

 
 

That's all for tonight, sorry if this one was a bit of a bore, I just thought Norwich was worth writing about. The architecture and general atmosphere were lovely, everyone looked so happy and honestly I can imagine myself living their in the future. Who knows!

 

P.s If you're from the Yorkshire/Lincolnshire area (like moi) Norwich is kinda similar to York. But cooler.

 A x

Millies Cookies? Er, yes!

Everybody loves Millies Cookies, right?

The only thing is - if im out shopping and I pass one of their stalls - i'm instantly drawn in by the smell of freshly cooked dough and choc chips and im desperate to buy at least 3, but I always, reluctantly, turn away because - as a teenager - money is tight, and of course, new clothes are just a necessity for me.

However, now I have my own recipe to create almost exact replicas! They are so easy to make and it is cheaper to make my own at home than buy them from the shop! Not only that but they're fun to make and of course I get to lick the bowl afterwards!

You need;

-125g of softened butter

-125g of caster sugar

-100g of light brown sugar

-225g of self-raising flour

-1 egg

-1 tsp of vanilla extract

-1/2 tsp of salt

& 

-200g bar of chocolate

Step 1. 

Preheat oven to 180 degrees c/ gas mark 4, then get a large tray and cover it in baking-paper ready for the cookies to be cooked on.

Step 2.

Break up the chocolate bar into large chunks - suitable for the cookies (personally i feel this is better than buying small chocolate chips.)

Step 3.

Cream together butter and sugar. Then add the egg and vanilla. (If the mixture looks curdled it doesnt matter - when you add the flour it won't be.)

Step 4.

Sift in the flour, then salt and then put in the chocolate chunks.

Step 5.

Roll into balls and place on the tray.

Step 6.

Cook for 11 minutes. No more. When you take them out, they will look undercooked and doughy, that is what you want. Put them on the side, leave them to cool and soon they will harden to be exactly like Millies cookies.

You should seriously try this! I love this recipe and them!

A x

P.s Sorry i havent posted in so long i am having laptop difficulties and still am - this is being posted from the ipad.

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Inspired

Do you ever feel drawn to something? Or like something was made specifically for you to do?
...Yeah, me too.
And that's why I've started this blog.

Yeah, I know, a teenager writing a blog is most definitely not an unusual occurrence anymore.
But, today - in a cliché school assembly - we were given the typical "follow your dreams." "you can do anything!" speech, and later after some typical Instagram stalking I was lead to BlogSpot. 
I then quickly decided, yeah, even though I have German homework that really needs doing - writing a blog is something I really want to do.

So here I am.

Still neglecting the German homework.

I don't specifically know what this blog will include, or how interesting it will but I will be dedicated to it. Writing is something I love to do, so why should I hold myself back from doing it?

Not only that but recently, I've been a bit down *cue sob story*. I've just felt a little panicked about school work and my grades, and it's really got to me. So much so that I even freaked out when my brownies were too stodgy, but hey - who wants a stodgy brownie? 

Anyway, as one of my best friends has just told me, doing this will help me relieve some emotion and give me something to look forward to.

The only thing is, I am so terrible at keeping things up.
I said I wasn't going to eat chocolate this week - it's only Monday and I've already eaten 8 squares of the gigantic oreo Milka bar my best friend gave me.
I said I was going to run and well... that never even started.
I also said- well, you get the point.

But I promise to try.
And even if no one else even reads this, and it's only for me - I'll still love doing it.

P.s I really need to do this homework.

instagram; alectra.grace