10 Things I've Been Loving Lately

I used to love doing Kate La Vie and Cupcakes of Cashmere-esque lists talking about things I'd been loving that week. I used to do posts about pins I'd found that I thought were cool. I used to post about whatever I wanted. Last month I put up a post on Instagram talking about embracing just talking about whatever I wanted and taking photos of whatever I wanted. But I've struggled to actually do that. So, here's an old-school lovin' lately post to try and get back into that.

01 Being lazy. Don't get me wrong, I have shit to do and I get it done. But in my free time it's nice to just sit on the couch with a face mask on and do nothing. I've perhaps been doing that a little too much this summer, but sometimes it feels necessary. I think a lot of people get caught up in doing something all the time and forget to just breathe.

02 Rewatching the Vampire Diaries. Speaking of being lazy, I've found that time consumed by rewatching TVD. I didn't mean to fall into the trap, but my girls at work started the series and I was like what the heck why not? As we all know starting a series over is basically a black hole of Netflix binging. I seriously need to read a book (recs, please).

03 The sun. Shock. Horror. Amelia what are you talking about? You hate summer!! Hell yeah I do. But the new house has a covered back porch that overlooks a sunny meadow and it's blimmin gorgeous. So when it's a bit cooler I've been loving sitting out there. I'm really in a do-nothing mood lately aren't I?

04 McDonald's Iced Coffee. Okay, honestly I'm a little peeved no one told me how good McD's coffee is. And it's $1. Here I've been, wasting my money on $4 Starbucks water with a lil bean juice thrown in. When $1 McDonald's nectar has been right there all along. Just to clarify, I do actually drink proper coffee from locally owned shops. My mum works in a coffee shop for heavens sake. To-go iced coffee is strictly for work and errand running.

05 Not washing my face in the morning. Okay that just sounds gross honestly. But, I've been using Pixi Glow Tonic in the morning instead of washing with a cleanser and it has helped my skin dramatically. Rather than stripping all of the oils away and then covering my skin back up with a moisturizer to hydrate, I'm just letting it breathe. Idk what science this is but my skin has physically improved since starting this.

06 Planning my trip back home. I haven't been back to England in probably six or seven years. And I've been getting really really antsy to go home. Because I love England. Don't get me wrong the states are cool, but it just is soooo different. So my friend Elle and I decided to go this summer as an early graduation present to ourselves. My gran lives in the middle of nowhere and I am so excited to be back in the countryside. We're also planning to go to London, York, Cambridge, and Blakeney with various family members and I couldn't be happier. Now I've just gotta plan my outfits, yikes.

07 Pinterest. Speaking of planning outfits, I've fallen back in love with Pinterest. Honestly, if I think too much about the concept it really series me out. We save pictures of things we want and will probably never have onto curated boards full of pictures we didn't take. Weird. But it is a great source of inspiration for things like wardrobe and outfit planning!

08 Wearing very very little makeup. This probably goes along with the being lazy thing, but I've hardly worn makeup the past few weeks. I'll do Skin Tint, Brows and maybe mascara but it rarely goes past that. And I've been really liking it. It takes me about 5 minutes to get ready for work and I can spend the rest of that time actually eating breakfast, win.

09 Interiors. I've always loved homewares and organizing and making my room look perfect. But right now since I'm sharing with my sister I am dreaming of having my own room back. The room I'll have in the new house is quite small, but I'm super excited to be able to make it my own again.

10 Finding new bloggers. I've been discovering so many new blogs through Instagram and Pinterest lately and I looooove finding new sites to read. Sometimes I think it can be a bit overwhelming to keep up with everyone because there are just so many people out there! But I've become addicted to blog reading again, and it's super inspiring. Who are your faves at the moment?

x

Bobbi Brown Lip Favourites

I'm a Bobbi Brown girl. I've loved them for years and years and years, and I honestly don't think I've ever come across a Bobbi product I didn't like. I love everything the brand stands for, and that they're kind of the og 'love the skin you're in' makeup line. But sometimes, it's fun to add a punch of lip colour. And with a million formulas and shades, it can be a bit overwhelming to choose. So here are some of my faves!

L  I  P    C  O  L  O  U  R
I think my favourite formula is just the normal Lip Colour. It's a creamy, semi-matte formula that feels super comfortable and delivers a huge amount of pigment. They have 30+ shades, all of which are beautiful, but I do have a few must haves. I've almost gone through an entire tube of Burnt Red, which a huge shocker considering the amount of lipsticks I own. This is a beautiful brick red that doesn't lean too warm. I'm also big into Brown which was the first lippie Bobbi ever made. It's a medium-tone pinky brown and is pretty much the perfect every day shade.

L  U  X  E    L  I  P    C  O  L  O  U  R
The Luxe Lip Colours are fairly new to me, but I fell in love quite quickly. They're incredibly pigmented and long-wearing, but also somehow moisturizing without moving all over the place. I think they may actually be magic. I'm convinced. My all-time favourite shade is Parisian Red. This baby is sitting squarely on the list of 'Amelia's All Time Favourite Lipsticks.' It. Is. So. Flattering. I never thought I'd be able to pull of orange-based anything before trying this. But my opinions have changed. Bobbi describes this as a yellow red, which is maybe why I like it. Again, it's warm without being too warm. I could honestly happily buy all of these lipsticks, the nudes are divine. But if I had to pick two more faves they'd be Uber Beige and Pale Mauve.

L  I  P    P  E  N  C  I  L
I also bloody love the Art Sticks but am somehow missing all of mine (kind of freaking out). This is one of the best and easiest lip formulas I've come across. They're sort of like a chubby stick, but in a properly sharpenable wooden pencil. They're a creamy-matte finish that truly wear all day long. I sort of want to buy them all, but I think my faves are Dusty Pink and Sunset Orange (the most perfect guava shade). The reaaaally awesome think about these is that you can also use them as blush! I'm also a  big fan of Bobbi's normal Lip Pencils. Again, they're super long wearing but actually comfortable. Red is one that I'll purchase again and again.

Are you guys as in love with Bobbi as me? I think I have a bit of a problem (oops). Also! I've been switching up the format of my posts a bit, do you like these smaller sectioned off bits of info? Or my rambly long paragraphs? Maybe a bit of both!
x

Drugstore Favourites

It's no secret that I don't really talk about drugstore products very often. I don't think I exclusively talk about high end brands, because we all know I love the Ordinary and Pixi. But when it comes to makeup, I like spending a little extra money for that luxe packaging and higher quality. Because lets face it, most drugstore packaging isn't the prettiest. But! I do have some products from the drugstore that I really do love and reach for often so I thought I'd tell you about them.

B  A  S  E

We all know I'm a foundation-floozy so I've obviously tried a bunch from the drugstore. Generally I don't love them, but these two are really great. The Maybelline Better Skin Foundation is actually up there on my favourite foundations list. So much so that I've almost used this entire bottle. Me. Use up a foundation. Madness. It's got quite a thick, creamy texture but feels really lightweight on the skin and blends easily. The finish is a demi-matte and it has a medium coverage. It's also super long wearing and strangely water-resistant. I used the Pixi Makeup Setting Spray over this yesterday and it took two oil-based cleansers and a makeup wipe to get it off. This is meant to help make your skin better over time but obviously I don't use it often enough to see results from that. A good ol' tried and true foundation is the L'Oreal True Match. I go back and forth between loving and hating this, I think it depends on how my skin is acting. I think the main selling point of this is that it comes in a millllllion shades. It's a super liquidy consistency and provides a decent amount of coverage. It's got a satin to dewy finish and is honestly just really easy. A must try!

The Maybelline Master Concealer is one of the most full coverage concealers I've ever used. It's really creamy and a little bit goes a loooong way. I like it because it isn't super drying on my face, but still lasts well. However, it can definitely be really drying under the eyes so go for the Age Rewind if you're looking for an undereye concealer. I suppose I'll include the NYX Wonder Pencil here because it's sort of a concealer. This little guy is so incredible if you like clean lines in your makeup. I'm not so much bothered any more, but I used to use this around my eyebrows to make them super sharp. I really only use it now to create a really clean and crisp red lip. It makes it super easy to straighten out the lines of your lips, and the creamy formula means it blends effortlessly. The last base products I love from the drugstore are the Pixi Glow-y Powders. They are so finely milled and pigmented and beautiful it's kind of unreal. I wish the packaging was a little nicer, but the product is amazing so I deal with it. My favourite is London Lustre but the other two are equally as gorgeous.

E  Y  E  S

I don't use a ton of eyeshadows period any more, but I do still really like the L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadows. They're basically like pressed pigments so have a ton of colour payoff and apply really nicely (especially with your finger). The wear time on these is pretty incredible, they basically stay as you applied them from dusk till dawn. Win. I also really love the elf Smudge Pots. I've talked about these before, but they're basically a gel-like cream shadow. The formula is super lightweight but I find that it easily lasts all day on me. My favourite shade is Cruisin' Chic, a taupey brown, but I definitely need to pick some more up! I think elf is generally a huge drugstore win. Their products are pretty hit or miss, but they're so cheap I don't mind picking things up just to try. Plus Target has an awesome return policy so if I reaaaally could be bothered to return things you can. Anywho, I discovered a gem this way...

L  I  P  S

I picked up one of the elf Matte Lip Colours to make my order reach free shipping from Target (lol) and ended up falling in love. That was the shade Rich Red, which conincidentally is kind of like Target's red. It leans a little more orange and I love it. I recently picked up Natural and Tea Rose as well. The formula is similar to the NARS Velvet Matte Pencils, but a little creamier. They seriously last all day, and when you eat they actually fade pretty well (thank god).

As with the eyeshadows, I can't often be bothered with doing a full-on lip. But, the Rimmel Exaggerate Liners make the job a whole lot easier when I decide to. This is one of the first things the blogging community made me buy wayyy back when and I still love em'. They're really creamy so go on like a dream but once they set they seriously stay put. I mostly use Red Diva, but the neutrals like Ravish are nice as well.

S  K  I  N

As far as drugstore skincare goes, I'm a Pixi Loyalist through and through. I have an entire post here about my favourites from the brand. If I had to tell you to go pick up a few things today, I'd say the Glow Tonic, Glow Mud Cleanser, and the new Rose Caviar Essence. These three are my faves at the moment. I don't think that I'll ever stop using Glow Tonic (100% serious, like never), it's incredible. I've started using it in the morning as well instead of washing my face and my skin loves me. I'll have more to say about the caviar essence soon but it feels incredible going on. SO hydrating.

That's it from me! Do you have any drugstore things you can't be without?
x

Links I Love

This week I thought I'd give a little love to some of bloggin' babes and talk about some awesome posts!

01  Nida's post on Getting Rid of Skin Texture
02  Jennifer's post on Glowing Summer Skin
03  Cindy's Current Makeup Edit
04  Anna's Wedding Beauty Guide
05  Rebecca's post on Storing Beauty Products Safely (v important)
06  Kelsey's Makeup Lately
07  Kate's post on her City Travel Staples

I love reading blogs more than anything, so leave me some posts you've been loving in the comments!
x

A Simplified Skincare Routine

Sometimes when you try a million and one products a week, your skin can freak out a little bit. Even elephant skin like mine. So, I have a pretty simple skincare routine that I always go back to! It's nice and soothing, hydrating, and still keeps my skin looking goooood.

Honestly, these are all products that I'll never stop using so sorry if I say that a lot. Having said that, Milky Jelly Cleanser is the best cleanser I've ever put on my face and I'll never stop using it. It's pH-balanced and incredibly conditioning so it cleanses but never strips. It's gentle enough to use on your eyes and it removes makeup. Basically the full package. I follow that up with the Estée Lauder Micro Essence. It's an essence-in-lotion and it is soooo hydrating. This product is originally from the Asian market and was then brought over here, so it's made with the ideals of Asian skincare. Aka hydration and anti-aging. It contains sodium hyaluronate to hydrate, caffeine to firm, and chamomile to soothe. Since using this, I've definitely noticed more hydrated and brighter skin. It's obviously quite pricy, but it is incredibly similar to SK-II and half the price. We have it at my CCS so I would check your local one!

Next up in the routine is my beloved Rose Hip Seed Oil from the Ordinary. This stuff is holy grail, it's actual magic. Rosehip Seed Oil is rich in linoleic acid, linolenic acid and pro-vitamin A, which means it's super hydrating but also helps repair the skin. It contains polyunsaturated fatty acids which when absorbed into the skin convert to prostaglandins, which are involved in cellular membrane and tissue regeneration. It's also one of the lightest oils on the market, meaning it absorbs really well. Aaaand it's super high in Vitamin C! More on that in an upcoming post. I'll seal that in with Glossier's Priming Moisturizer Rich. This baby is also rich in fatty acids, as well as ceramides, which help to reinforce the skin barrier over time.

In the morning, I've been toning with Pixi Glow Tonic instead of cleansing and my skin is looooving it. I find that this gets rid of grime without wiping all of last night's skincare goodness off. I also use this every night in between MJC and the Micro Essence. (I've also got $5 off your first Pixi purchase here!). Finally, I use the Glossier Invisible Shield. Every. Single. Day. I'm a little scared @ the universe because I'm listening to Thinking Out Loud right now and Ed sang "I fall in love with you every single day" as I was typing every single day. Okay. Anyway, sunscreen is the most important thing people!! You can slather on all the expensive creams you want. If you aren't protecting your skin from the sun you will never see the fruits of your labour. This one is my favourite because it's clear, lightweight, and is full of antioxidants to protect me from free-radical nasties.

And that's it!! A simple five-product (okay six) routine from Amelia?? Who am I?
x

Makeup Medley No. 06

I haven't done a Makeup Medley post in a while, and since I didn't get a favourites up last month I thought I'd talk about the things I've been loving. We're still rolling with the boring/lazy look if I'm honest. But I really love these easy products that are super duper good quality and just sort of elevate my natural look.

The Burberry Fresh Glow Foundation has officially become The Best Foundation I've Ever Used™.  I talk about it quite a bit here, but I just really want you to know that it is absolutely stunning. It has a light/medium coverage, but is definitely buildable and it truly truly looks like skin. It blends effortlessly so that it's almost undetectable and leaves a radiance to the skin. It's not overly dewy in a shiny way, it just really looks like you're glowing. It doesn't accentuate pores or cling to dry patches, but it also doesn't get oily throughout the day. Basically, if you want to look like you have perfect skin, you need this. Totally worth the price tag. For a little added glow, I've been using the Charlotte Tilbury Wonder Glow underneath. This is really kind of ott but I want to glowwww. It sort of almost blurs the skin like a primer, but adds the most incredible radiance. It's one of those "lit from within" products. For blush I've gone back to the Bite Beauty Multistick in Gelato. Bit annoyed with myself for forgetting about this but the colour is so perfect. It's a beautiful almost lilacy pink and the formula is divine. They're super pigmented and blend out easily but the best part is that they seriously last all day.

Speaking of lasting all day, I've started tightlining again (who am I?). When I wear eyeshadow and mascara, I like to use the Bobbi Brown Long Wear Eye Pencil in Jet on my upper waterline. This makes your lashes look super full and voluminous, and just adds a little somethin somethin to the look. The LWE formula is easily the best eyeliner you will ever use on your waterline. It glides on super easily and does not budge. Plus Jet is a super duper rich black. Love. For shadow I've gone back over to the Chanel New Moon side. I've said it before, but this is one of the most unique shadows I own. It's like a coppery-brown but is also sort of purple and leaves the most beautiful shimmer on your lids. The gel formula is really easy to work with and can be built up. It's definitely more sparkly than the rest of the Illusion D'Ombres but I loooove it.

Those are the things that I've been reaching for on a pretty daily basis! What have you been loving lately?
x

The UK Beauty Wishlist

I need more makeup/skincare like I need a hole in the head, but when in a different country who can resist? There are a few high ticket items I'm looking to get while the exchange rate is in my favour, but I'm honestly most excited to peruse the aisles of Boots for new releases and the 2for3 signs. Drugstores in the US are a bit rubbish (especially where I live). With a bit of help from Grace (she basically wrote out enough products for me to spend my entire life savings on) and some other UK blogger stalking I've got a rather long list going eek.

M A K E U P

I think the number one makeup product on my list at the moment is the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder. Mostly because I want to swatch shades 1 and 2 to see which matches better, but also because it ends up being $5 cheaper (win). My friend ordered this recently and its unbelievably smooth and weightless. I may also be tempted to get the Light Wonder Foundation but we shall see. Grace suggested I try out the Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation which sounds right up my ally. It's meant to be super lightweight and dewy, but also has a decent amount of coverage. I'm interested to compare it to my beloved Burberry Fresh Glow. I'm also psyched to pick up some more Sleek Blushes because I loooove the formula and they're so so inexpensive. I've been in the market for a new liquid liner and the Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner is supposed to be the creme de la creme so I'm sure I'll be picking that up. I'm also very excited for the Topshop beauty section, Grace reccomended a bunch of products to me but I'm all ears for more. I only have a small TS section in Nordstrom here, and they definitely don't carry the beauty. We can get Burberry here obviously, but I'll probably be picking up a few bits and pieces. I specifically have my eye on the Cashmere Concealer and possibly a Lip Velvet. There's a couple of Soap and Glory bits on my radar, but I think I'll just go to Boots and grab whatever I feel like (lol). I think those are the only things on my neeeeeed list, but please add to it for me!

S K I N C A R E

Right. This list I'm thinking could get a lil long. Sorry in advance to my bank account. Eve Lom is a littttttle pricy but I think I might pick up the Rescue Mask. Grace has said that this greatly helped her hormonal acne which is what I'm struggling with at the moment. I really really really want the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream. I highly doubt that I'll take the plunge even though it is a bit cheaper, but it's so beautiful. We can get Embriolysse here obviously, but Grace gave a glowing review so I think I'll pick it up while I'm being spendy. Can you tell I'm basically modeling this list on her recommendations? Not quite sure what yet but I'm definitely going to pick up some La Roche Posay goodies, probably something from the Toleraine Ultra line because it's quite hard to find and Kate recommends it. There's nowhere near me to get Aesop so I think I may get a bit crazy if I find it in my travels. I have my eye on the Parsley Seed Masque, Hand Sanitizer (lol), and Fabulous Face Oil. I've been missing the Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream a lot lately so I'll probably pick up a fresh jar, and I'm thinking of getting the new SPF version! This is so so great under makeup, especially during the colder months. I was thinking about picking up some Pixi bits from a counter, but it's weirdly expensive from what I can see. The last thing on my need list is the This Works In Transit Camera Close Up which Grace said she thinks I'll love. Literally got three words into the description and added it to the list, sounds like a proper miracle.

My list is actually a bit shorter than I expected it to be, but I also have some pretty pricy items on there so it's for the best. I'm mostly excited to just browse around, but if you have any suggestions for additions to my list let me know!
x

BioClarity: An Honest Review

There has been a lot of noise going around about BioClarity in the beauty community lately. I'll be honest, when I first saw the posts I thought oh here's another proactive/younique/rodan+fields type campaign. I was very very skeptical. A lot of influencers were reviewing the products, and there a lot of rave reviews (which isn't a bad thing, but sometimes seems questionable to me). I didn't see that much out there though talking about the specific ingredients and why/how they work. And you know that's how I roll. A lot of you guys asked me what I thought of the line, so when BioClarity reached out to me I decided I'd go ahead and test them out to tell you my opinions.

BioClarity is a three-step acne fighting system using salicylic acid and Floralux (their naturally derived powerhouse). It consists of a cleanser, treatment gel, and restore gel. The three products are meant to be used on their own twice a day (more on this later, but lets go through the products first). The Cleanser is a foaming cleanser with plant-derived extracts that are meant to throughly cleanse the skin but also soothe it. It uses cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine, sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate, and cocamidopropyl betaine as foaming agents which are derived from coconuts. This means that it doesn't use the horridly drying sodium laureth sulfate to foam. It uses green tea leaf to detox and cucumber to cool. I wouldn't say its overly soothing or detoxifying, it's just a nice basic cleanser. 

Step two is an Acne Treatment Gel that uses salicylic acid. I've found salicylic acid to be the best ingredient to rid my acne, and I have a whole post here about its benefits. The acid basically works by breaking down dead skin cells, freeing clogged pores, and can also reduce sebum production. I like this gel, I just put on a nice thin layer and I actually really noticed a difference in how quickly my breakouts went away. This also contains lactic acid, a chemical exfoliant, which is really going to help with texture and scarring. I was a bit worried this would suck the life out of my skin, but it contains hyaluronic acid and squalene to help hydrate. I only use this step at night instead of twice a day since salicylic acid can sometimes be a bit harsh. The gel uses the maximum strength prescription SA (2%) so I wouldn't recommend using it more than once a day. 

The third step is the Restore Gel with Floralux, which might be my favourite product of the three. Floralux is derived from chlorophyll, which is actually sort of incredible for you. Drinking/eating things containing it strengthens your immune system, increases your antioxidant intake, and promotes digestive health. But it also is amazing for skin. Chlorophyll increases red blood cell production, and because its rich in antioxidants helps fight free radical damage and is anti-inflammatory. The gel also contains Niacinamide which is anti-inflammatory as well. Squalene hydrates, and Licorice Root helps with uneven skin tone. Honestly, I have noticed a huge difference with this product, my skin looks much more even and brighter and I noticed a huge reduction in the redness of my skin. The dark green colour is a bit scary, but it blends away into the skin!

Okay down to a bit of nitty gritty. I genuinely like these products, and I have gotten good results from them. BUT I'm not a huge fan of the fact that it's sold as a system. If I run out of one of the products I want to be able to purchase it. It's meant to be a monthly to bi-monthly subscription thing, but I rarely get through products that quickly even if it is the only thing I use. I'd also really only purchase the restore gel and possibly the acne treatment gel. It's not that I don't like the cleanser, it's just that I have other cleansers that I prefer. 

I will also say that if you're a skincare junkie like me, using these products alone is not gonna cut it. They're not really fun (I hope that doesn't sound mean, lol), they're just simple products. And we all know I like my luxury products/packaging. I used these alone for 1.5 weeks (I've been testing for a month now, so I could get through a full 28-day skin cycle) and I missed my other products! So I started using these in conjunction with my other things and I personally find they worked just as well. I also couldn't use them alone, especially not in the winter, because the system just isn't hydrating enough for me.

Overall, I think they're nice products and they did work well for me. I wish you could buy them separately, and I wish the packaging were a bit prettier but they do get the job done! BioClarity is vegan, cruelty-free, gluten-free, paraben-free and has a 100% satisfaction guarantee (aka if you don't like it after 30 days you can get your money back!). The system is $29.95 monthly, you start off with a 30-day supply and then you're sent a 60-day supply every other month (still charged once per month). So breaking it down to $10 per product it's a pretty great deal! If the products were sold individually as well for $12-$15 I would love it. If you guys are interested in trying the line out, you can use the code 'AMELIA' for 50% off! 

Have any of you guys tried the line? Let me know your thoughts!

x

*This post has been sponsored by BioClarity. As always, this in no way affects my thoughts or opinions towards the products and I am always one billion percent honest with you. Sponsored posts help me to put more resources back into our little space!

Some Shit I Really Like

I was reading Sally's post earlier about going back to the blogging basics and I 100000% percent agree with her. She talks about feeling uninspired, and feeling like she has to talk about products in "collections." I absolutely love doing edit posts but I feel like it's kind of all I do anymore. I used to just review products I loved because I felt like it. But recently, I feel like I've been trying to connect products together into some magazine-esque edit. I'm not saying I'll stop doing those because I do like it. But more that I'm going to start blogging how I used to. By posting about whatever I damn well please.

So anyways, here's some shit I like! I kind of forgot about the Onomie Powerful Priming Serum and started using it again a few days ago. It gives your skin so much hydration and makes it look super radiant. It also contains actives like willowbank (natural source of salicylic acid) and blackjack (natural form of retinol) to help brighten and help with the texture of you skin over time. I'm definitely going to continue using this to see if those claims are true, but from using it the past few days it makes your skin look pretty radiant! Switching to something pretty random, I have been loving the Ritual multivitamins the past few months. The idea behind these is that they're the perfect daily vitamin for women and you only have to take two pills a day to get the benefits of nine ingredients. I'll let you go to the website to read up on them, but they tell you the source of the ingredients and literally everything they do for you, plus the studies they used to decide on them.

I have kind of fallen in love with the Chanel Les Beiges Foundation, I've basically only been wearing this and my Burberry Fresh Glow Foundation. It has a bit of a love or hate reputation online, but I sit firmly in the love category. It's a lightweight creamy texture with a medium coverage and looks glowy without being greasy on the skin. I personally wouldn't say it looks dewy, more like beautifully hydrated skin and we know I love me a skin-like foundation. That sounds so gross if you think too much about it. On me, this lasts really well all day. I just set my t-zone with powder and I'm good to go. Because it's quite hydrating (it has hyaluronic acid in it) if you have oilier skin you'll want to set it properly. The pump on this is also fucking brilliant. I don't know about you guys but some pumps on foundations really miss me off, they dispense weird amounts and just feel difficult to use. This is going to sound so nerdy but this depresses so so easily and I'm kind of obsessed with it and the packaging in general. You get what ya pay for people!!

I've been wearing very very little eyeshadow lately. But I'll make time for this beautiful Chanel Ombre Première Cream Shadow in Undertone. It's such a beautiful warm gold that leans a little icy in certain lights. The formula is super smooth, sets down, and lasts all day. I'm definitely going to be picking up some more colours once I'm off my spending ban! PS, going to the UK next month and will be spending allllll my money there so scold me if you see me buying new things. If I have a little extra time I've also been using a bit of the MAC Pink Opal pigment on my inner corner for an extra kick. I think they stopped making this (boo) but Vanilla is pretty similar, just has less of a duo chrome. I forgot how much I love the MAC pigments and was thinking about picking up some more (you just get so much bang for your buck) but the new packaging really annoys me so I'll be sticking to my oldie-but-goodies for now. I'm also still obsessed with the packaging of this Bobbi Brown x Richard Haines palette so I just threw it in there. I think they're properly sold out everywhere, but we have them at my CCS so check your local one!

I hope you guys are on board with me going 'back to basics' on the blog, if there's anything you'd like to see from me let me know!
x

Repurposing Packaging

After the excitement of getting a package in the mail, I get a bit sick thinking about all of the waste. I 10000000% recycle all of the cardboard, etc., but it got me thinking about the empty packaging of products that I threw away. It's obviously not a new thing now, but I thought I'd do a little post about the ways I reuse packaging as well as fun ideas I've seen on the interwebs!

Obviously Diptyque candle reusing is poppin on Instagram. And I still love it. I use these to store brushes, q tips, paperclips. Basically anything. They're so so pretty. And because they come in different sizes they can store a ton of different things. But Amelia, you say, they're so expensive! Why yes, grasshopper, they are. So I'll let you in on a secret, that big Jasmin jar? I made it (smiley devil emoji). With an old glass and some sticker paper and the logos I found from searching, easy peasy! I also love storing my cotton pads in a pretty jar, because lets be real the plastic packaging they come in is both ugly and a pain in the ass. I've got them in an empty French Girl Organics pot here, tres chic!

I cannot bear to throw away my Supers bottles, they are too pretty. So I have them scattered around the house with wee little flower stems in them, and they look so cute! I'm planning on doing this with some other pretty skincare things as well once I'm out so I'll have a veritable garden! I also think it's really cute to house succulents in diptyque/other branded jars! I'll include a few images of other lil' projects I love here as well.

worshipblues.com / the beauty lookbook / grittypretty.com
the beauty lookbook / tamira jarrell / unknown (help!)

Do you guys repurpose old packaging? Let me know your tips!
x