Sunday 26 February 2012

11 Questions Tag!

Okay, I absolutely and completely love reading these on other peoples blogs, so I'm so happy I got tagged to do one of these! (Yes this is what amounts to happiness in my life :P). I was tagged by Emer who has a great blog which I really love :)

Okay rules blah blah 11 facts, answer 11 questions, make 11 questions, tag people blah blah :P Now for the fun bit ^ - ^

11 Facts (lulz, I feel like soon I'll run out of facts about me!) :

1) I hate segmented worms (Annelida for all you sciencey people :P) I'm fine with other kinds (which is good because we've had to collect them and study them in our lab sessions at uni :P) but segmented ones URGH it's the way they move > . < their muscles contracting making them long and short ew ew ew ew I freak out if I see one :P

2) Every couple of months or so I get a HUGE craving for Dr Pepper, other than those times I'm not really fussed :P

3) Orange squash gives me migranes, and some types of blackcurrant squash, but not all...must be something funny they put in it...

4) I wear a watch constantly from the moment I wake up to when I go to bed (excluding showering :P) because I need to know the time all the time :P

5) I think I failed my chemistry exam yesterday.

6) I'm from Kent, but came all the way to North Wales for uni > . < So far from home!

7) One of my aims in my life is to read all the books my parents own, so far I've only gotten through three, I have three bookcases and 6 boxes to get through still :P (and it doesn't help that they keep buying them!)

8) I have a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever who is the most gorgeous dog in the world <3

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous baby boy <3

9) I named my dog Tolly after a horse in The Archers.... I was a cool kid :P

10) I can only be bothered to do laundry when I'm down to my last set of underwear...it's just SO much effort...

11) I'm so excited for the Spring daffodils to come up ^ - ^

11 Questions:
Favorite shade of lipstick? Mac Lovelorn, but recently I've been loving darker lipsticks, so maybe Dark Side if it suited me and  I was brave enough :P

Who/What inspired you to start blogging and how long have you been at it? I literally started because I couldn't sleep one night because my boyfriend was hogging the bed :P I've been reading blogs and watching make up gurus on youtube for around a year and I've loved it :)

Favorite makeup brand of all time? Easy, Benefit <3

Who do you look up to and why? Family member,famous person etc. I'd have to say my Dad, he's done so much charity work over his life, including living and volunteering at a hospital in Romania for 8 months, I wish I could be brave enough to do something like that.

What shop do you mostly see yourself in when out shopping?  Probably Topshop, unless I go to somewhere with a Hollister, I could stay in there all day...

What is your most expensive beauty product? Hmm excluding my GHDs I think my Smashbox primer, originally £40, but I got it for £30, so far I haven't really bought anything too out of my price range, but I can totally see myself doing that soon :P

Favorite perfume/fragrance? Daisy Eau So Fresh Marc Jacobs love love love love love

How often do you wash your hair? Every other day (unless I've been exercising then I'll do it more often).

What would you look out for mostly when searching for 'The Ideal Boyfriend?'  Hmm, obviously gorgeous with a good body ;) I like muscles, but not the huge scary ones :P Swimmer ones are nice.... But personality is more important, they'd have to make me laugh every day and be a good person :P Okay basically I think my boyfriend is the ideal one for me :P That was really cringey and sickly wasn't it? :P

Do you wear makeup everyday,or just when your going out? Just going out, I don't really care if people see me with imperfect skin or dark circles when I'm going to lectures or when I go shopping (unless it's a proper shopping day, then putting on make up gets me in the mood to waste loads of money! :P)

Name a celebrity which you admire for their great taste in makeup? Aishwarya Rai, she always looks so elegant and classy, I think she's gorgeous.

MY QUESTIONS (yeahhhhh)
1) What's one make up product you cannot live without?
2) Is there a make up/beauty product you regret buying?
3) Favourite high street/drugstore brand?
4) If you got a tattoo what would you get?/if you have one what is it?
5) Favourite song to dance to?
6) Best beauty bargain?
7) What do you think is the worst beauty blunder for someone to do?
8) When did you get into make up?
9) What's your favourite tv show?
10) Favourite nail polish?
11) Do you have any pets?

Here are my people I'm tagging :

http://allthingsbeautymake-upandshopping.blogspot.com/
http://loveallthingspretty.blogspot.com/
http://beautethoughts.blogspot.com/
http://confessionsofasecretshopper.blogspot.com/
http://cosmetic-cravings.blogspot.com/
http://cutiebeauty46.blogspot.com/
http://dashingdollx.blogspot.com/
http://elefont-at.blogspot.com/
http://www.filosophie.net/

^ - ^ These are so much fun to do :P

Sunny xxxxx

Wednesday 22 February 2012

Natural Collection Cover Up Stick Review

My mum sent me this concealer as part of last weeks parcel, I've been using it all week, so now I can give my thoughts :) It's the Natural Collection Cover Up Stick, mine is in the shade 'Fair'.



Firstly I like the packaging, it's not overly pretty or girly (which I usually like), but it's sleek, compact and simple. It's really easy to take in your bag for on the go touch ups.



For the product itself I think it's a good daytime, casual concealer. I found the coverage isn't quite enough to cover up my monsters of dark undereye circles, but it does brighten the area and make them seem less awful. It's really good a covering blemishes I've found, the texture is slightly creamy, so it's easy to blend.



However I have found that I can't use it too much on dry areas, but I have this problem with a lot of products (the skin between and slightly above my eyebrows is always like this > . <) so I can't blame this one for having the same issue. Also I do have to reapply it whenever I wear it alone without primer, but it's not that much effort to add a bit more :P

Pricewise this is amazing, £1.99 each. That's hardly anything, I buy more expensive sandwiches :P

Overall I really like this, I'd use one of my other concealers for nights out though, for when I need better staying power and more coverage. But for general day to day wear I've been loving this concealer all this week.

Side note : I walked to my tutorial in the wind and rain today (40 minutes there and back > . <) when I got back my hair was SO big and fluffy :P I have to admit it was quite fun walking in the wind with my hair blowing out all around me :P I felt like a slightly soggy supermodel XD



Sunny xxxxx

Sunday 19 February 2012

Second Award ^ - ^


I got my second Versatile Blogger Award woo :P I was tagged by Emer at Beauty Moments she has a great blog on everything to do with beauty, I really recommend checking her out :)

Soooooooooo I have to write 7 facts about myself and then tag 15 bloggers who I think are fabulous :D
7 facts about me:

1) I'm one of those awful blackberry people who are surgically attatched to their phones UNLESS I am drunk, in which case I am told I often throw my phone as hard as I can into the road...despite this I still have the same phone and the scratches and dents are minimal....curious....

2) My favourite anime series is Ouran High School Host Club <3 Honey sempaiiiiiiiiiiiii <3

3) I can't stand wine :S I used to be able to drink it, but now just the smell makes me feel ill *bleugh*

4) I had horse riding lessons until I was 16 (when it got really expensive *sadface* )

5) I NEED lipbalm whereever I go, not because I'm going to use it...I just like knowing it's there XD

6) My teddy bear is nicknamed Teddy Krueger because it's a little bit destroyed...I can definetely see the resembelance :S

7) I'm supposed to be revising for chemistry right now :P Lulz

Those were my facts, now here are the lovely peoples I'm going to tag :D
http://yuiyoyo.blogspot.com/
http://starduststew.blogspot.com/
http://thewaitingdamsel.blogspot.com/
http://thesecretblogger-2011.blogspot.com/
http://theramblecorner.blogspot.com/
http://thebeatniq.blogspot.com/
http://swbeautifullife.blogspot.com/
http://samaysonsspace.blogspot.com/
http://onestilettoatatime.blogspot.com/
http://stardust493.blogspot.com/
http://missbarbii3.blogspot.com/
http://justlovinglilacsandbeauty.blogspot.com/
http://littlestagg.blogspot.com/
http://megamegalolz.blogspot.com/
http://changingtidesofsummer.blogspot.com/

Sunny xxxxx

Friday 17 February 2012

Glamour Sample Testing

I love getting little samples in magazines, it's so much more useful that seeing a picture of an airbrushed model and thinking 'oh I see, if I use their product I'll look like that' :P. In this months Glamour there were free samples of Chanel's Perfection Lumiere, Rimmel's Wake Me Up foundation, a 'mystery' face wash (I hate this marketing ploy, but seeing as I tried it I guess it works :P) and Jimmy Choo's new perfume.





The first one I tried was Chanel's Perfection Lumiere foundation. Unsurprisingly I am now in love. It's not really fair to throw a Chanel foundation in my face and expect me not to adore it. It feels light and silky in texture, and feels soooo lovely on my face > . < I get a problem with putting foundation on the centre of my forehead because it's really dry there, normally I have to very carefully add a tiny bit of foundation, a and a bit of moisturiser, and it still tends to look dry. Today I just shoved this foundation straight on, and it was fine right away. It made my face look really natural and dewy * - * I love it! At £36 yes it is pricey, but the moment I can afford it (i.e. after I've finished wasting my money in Korea :P) I am definitely buying this!



Next was the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation, maybe I was a little biased, but this hasn't appealed to me since I first saw the adverts. It smells sort of orangey, not very strongly, but I was a bit put off by this. The moment I put it onto my fingertips it felt heavy and thick. I put it on anyway, and I could really feel that it was there > . < ewww! I'm definitely a light foundation girl. However the coverage was fantastic, all my blemishes disappeared, and though it did feel thick it didn't look cakey, it did seem to look fairly natural, although maybe a bit to matte for my taste.



Now for the weird mystery face wash....which I have just accidentally squeezed out all over my desk - _ - CLEANING BREAK
My desk is now clean. Okay, so this will be my least biased test, because I don't know what it is! The front of the sample has a picture of avocados and cranberries, so it looks promising. It also says it can be used as a wash or mask, I used it as a wash. My first impression on tearing open the sachet was not a good one, it's an unnatural mint green colour and has an awful chemically smell *ick ick ick* it reminds me a little of an Avon facemask I once bought (and HATED). It was quite smooth on my face, but hardly foamed, I know the foam isn't necessary for cleaning, but I prefer foam cleansers. It made my skin fairly soft afterwards, obviously it's hard to judge a facewash from just one use but it didn't seem terrible, until about 30 seconds after when the sides of my nose started to sting :S Slightly odd. I don't like this, whatever it is :P

Finally there was a little smelly perfume flap thingy (that's the technical term) for Jimmy Choo's new perfume. I smelled it and loved it right away. It smells a little spicy and woody, it's beautiful. It's definitely a 'night time' smell, as it seems quite sophisticated and 'grown up'. I love my Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh, but that's more of a girly flowery daytime smell. I simply adore this Jimmy Choo perfume, added to my wish list :P



Slightly random post, but I just thought there were some really good samples in Glamour this month, and I've really been wanting to try the Chanel and Rimmel London foundations :)

Also, I did  the stupid forgetting to bring my camera thing again today, we had a field trip to the beach to collect and measure dog whelks (yawn) but even though it was raining the beach was beautiful. Why do I never bring my camera to things like this!!!

Sunny xxxxx

Wednesday 15 February 2012

Valentine's Day And A Parcel From Home

I've had a ridiculously busy week, so I haven't had time for fun! (or blogging) > . < Sadly next week my project starts officially, so I'll have even less time! *sadface* But I will try and make time for more posts, because all work and no play makes Sunny a dull girl :P

However yesterday was Valentine's Day, love it or loathe it :P I had lectures all day (and planning the start of my project - _ -). So me and my boyfriend decided to have a lazy (and not too expensive) relaxing evening in, eating Chinese (bean curd and black bean sauce = YUM), watching The Karate Kid and playing Tomb Raider III (don't laugh, but I died on the beginning slope 5 times XD). Because we've just had Christmas, and because Valentine's Day isn't really about spending loads of money we kept our gifts simple, my boyfriend gave me some beautiful red roses and some truffles (yummy ^ - ^) and I gave him a mug which looks like a camera lens (maybe one day if I could ever afford the £450 lens he's been pining over I can give him a real one :P).



Also, rather excitingly my mum sent me a parcel and it arrived yesterday. When my mum was little she went to boarding school and her parents sent her parcels, I've never been to boarding school, but now I'm away at uni my mum finds it fun to send me little treats in the post :P



My mum phoned me last week asking if I needed anything, so I replied cotton wool pads, hair grips and pens (I normally lose my pens in lectures somehow...by getting bored and pen jousting people :P). I also got fooooood, ask any uni student what the most important thing they spend money on is and they will all reply alcohol, but second is food :P. I am OBSESSED with gnocchi (it just tastes soooo good) and feta cheese is so incredible, but I never let myself buy these things because I only go for the cheapest of the cheap (so long as it's healthy too), so I cannot wait to eat these treats! I got a little chocolate cow and a HUGE pile of granola bars, my mum knows I'm too lazy to get out of bed and all the way into the kitchen when I have an early lecture, so it's easier to nibble one of these as I dash down to a 9am lecture (or 12pm depending on how late I got to bed :P). For little random things I got a pretty flower hair slide (I've recently become more and more obsessed with hair decorations), a Neutrogena handcream (for when my GORGEOUSLY FANTASTIC AND WONDERFUL L'Occitane handcream runs out and I can't afford a new one) and a Natural Collection concealer in Fair. I really like concealers, so I look forward to seeing if this one is any good :)

Now I could be a good girl and finish my essay on predation in the abyss, or I could be a bad girl and play more Tomb Raider...I wonder which one I'll choose.... :P

Sunny xxxxx

Friday 10 February 2012

I'm Going On Holiday!

I've booked my tickets, I'm going to get my injections this afternoon (ewwwwww) and I'm SO excited to go! Guess where? South Korea! :D I'm going to be visiting one of my best friends (who's at uni in Suwon for the year) for two weeks ^ - ^ I can't wait to go!



I'll be jetting off over the Easter holidays, when I should be revising....I'll bring some notes to study on the plane :P No amount of exams could deter me though, me and my friend have been planning this holiday for over a year now XD

I'm going to take a nearly empty suitcase so I can stock up on cute clothes, accessories and of course make up. I might go a little bit crazy buying skincare products and LOADS of BB creams > . <

And maybe I'll try and do a bit of celeb-stalking whilst I'm there ;)

Sunny xxxxx

Sunday 5 February 2012

Weekly Face Cleansing Routine

So for seemingly every other part of the UK there is a heap of snow everywhere, but in North Wales there's nothing...not one little flake of snow. There's a hell of a lot of rain, but no more *cries* Every morning I wake up and run to the window and all I see is distant snowy mountains, but no snow outside my window :( I love snow! Evil mountains mocking me!



I thought I'd share my face cleansing routine, this used to change quite often, but for the past four months I've kept it exactly the same, and I'm seeing results (excluding when I do silly things like get drunk and leave make up on for two days straight because I'm too hungover...).

My skin type is combination, so pretty common. I have a dry forehead, dry centres of my cheeks and oily everywhere else. I tend to get breakouts around the edges of my face, my chin, and the side of my face where I lean on my hand (I really need to stop doing this > . <).

First I use a small face towel and run it under warm water for a minute or so, I then squeeze out the excess water and press it lightly against my face to open up my pores (when I was about 13 my friend told me to use really hot water or my face wouldn't be cleaned properly, I used water so hot it hurt > . < This was really stupid and caused even worse skin because I was damaging it daily!).

Then (with a still damp face) I grab a teeny handful of oats and, running them under water first to get them a bit soggy, I smooth these gently in circular motions all over my face. I read about how good oats (and the oat juice from getting them wet) are for your skin in Marie-Claire over a year ago now and I never really knew what to do with them until I saw a Bubzbeauty video about face cleansing using oats (google Bubzbeauty oats and watch the youtube video). I stopped using this for a while, but started again when the winter air started really drying out my skin, and what can I say, it's amazing.



After I've washed the oats off (and cleaned the sink a bit :P) I use this Simple Pore-Minimising Toner. My friend made me try this about 6 months ago, I really love it. I used to skip toner all the time, but my skin feels so much better when I do use it! As for the pore minimising bit? I'm not entirely sold on that, but as a general toner I love it, and I really love Simple products with their no added colours or preservatives thing :)



Finally AND MOST IMPORTANTLY I moisturise. I've been using this Simple moisturiser for three years and I don't think I'll ever switch, it's love * - * Even my boyfriend uses it when he gets dry skin XD It doesn't feel oily and it's really moisturising. My best friend has eczema, and for a few months had it really badly on her face and I introduced her to this moisturiser, she really loved it and still uses it now (this moisturiser didn't clear the eczema on her face, it just soothed it and made it look less red and flaky, to cure it completely she had to get medical cream from the doctors, this moisturiser is good, but it's not magic :P).



Twice I week I use my gorgeous Cure Aqua Gel (as seen in my January Favourites). I bought this online from yesstyle.com (a bit pricey but amazing for getting Asian beauty products when all the ebay sellers you find look dodgey :P). I rub a tiny amount (just a small squirt) all over my face and neck, and then wash off the icky dead skin cells that come off :P After using this my face feels incredible, it's so soft and smooth ^ - ^ Even though it's a little pricey (£30) I bought mine in about October (I think) and I haven't even used 1/4 of it yet.


Once a week (although I try and make it two when I have time :P) I make a facemask. I love using facemasks, it feels so pampering and luxurious, even when there's weird stuff all over your face and you look like a monster :P I watch loads of youtube beauty videos, so this is a sort of mishmash of a few similar concoctions I've seen online. I use a tablespoon of yogurt, a teaspoon of honey and a tablespoon of my beloved oats :P Mix them all together and slurp them onto my face (yum :P) I then wait around 20 minutes and hope no one knocks on my door :P I really love this, yogurt is soothing and eases redness of the face, oats are gentle exfoliators and honey is an antibacterial.

I'm going on holiday over Easter and I really want to buy a good facial cleanser, as I don't want to pack two weeks worth of oats and therefore have to endure the inevitable 'oat explosion' in my bag. If any of you guys can recommend me a good (not too pricey :P) facial cleanser I can take with me you'd be a great help :)

Sunny xxxxx

Wednesday 1 February 2012

January Favourites

Right now I'm curled up in bed, my hair in a scaggily pony tail, mascara half way down my face, bruises all over my legs and no memory of last night. A night well spent in my opinion :D Hehe. One of my friends from home came to visit and yesterday was her last day of being here, so we celebrated....a lot....

January is over! It's been surprisingly good (evil exams aside) so here are the things I've been enjoying over the last month:

Beauty:

Cure Natural Aqua Gel - This stuff is magical and wonderful and beautiful, if you don't have it go and buy it! :P It's a really gentle exfoliator, I use it twice a week to buff away the dead skin of my face (the gel makes it come off in little balls which is disgusting, but it works :P). I've been using this for a while now and it's a constant favourite. It just makes my skin so pretty and soft * - *



Batiste Dry Shampoo - I'm lazy, and this means that I can get to my 9am lectures without horrible greasy hair, so I don't have to shower in the mornings when I'd rather sleep (although I do still shower and clean myself, I'm not totally icky :P this just makes it easier when my hairs a little ew :P).



Nars The Multiple Orgasm Blush - A new buy and a new love, it's SO SO SO SO SO SO pretty, I've used it every time I've gone out. The colour gives a really pretty glow and the slight shimmer really brings your face to life. I'm in love <3



Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation - As you can tell from my last post I like this a lot :P



Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat - It's beautifulllllll, I love using this so much, at first I hardly used any and was really precious about it, but the past week or so I've used more and it really brightens up my face and makes me look so much more glowy and pretty :P



Random Things:

Starter For Ten - David Nicholls - I just finished this book and it's amazing. I haven't laughed so much at a book in forever > . < If you like cringey but hilarious situations read this book, I wish I'd read it before I arrived at Uni, but it's still a great read now :P



Nightwish Imaginaerum - I really like this album, a few of the songs are a bit weird and I don't really like :P But overall it's good, very classic Nightwish, I especially love Storytime, although the weird jazz like song Slow Love Slow just makes me laugh :P



NS Yoon Ji The Reason I Became A Witch - Ahhhhh! It's just so catchy, and NS Yoon Ji is beautiful * - * Girl crush!



V For Vendetta (film) - My friend made me watch this a couple of weeks ago, it's amazing, I really want to read the graphic novel now! It did make me cry quite a bit, I do that a lot at films :P The ending was just so poignant, I didn't know if I was happy or sad :P



Finally I have a house for next year!!!! So very very happy, we went to see so many horrible damp, falling apart places (and one VERY creepy landlord who shook my hand and then held it while he told us about the house :S ) but then we found a perfect house, and were told it was ours the next morning ^ - ^ YAY!

Sunny xxxxx