Monday Loves ♡

Hello lovelies! Hope you've all had an enjoyable Monday! - Well as enjoyable as a Monday can be! I've developed a cold and had to go to the doctors today for a needle so I'm feeling a bit rubbish really. I thought I'd do a little post on all the little non-beauty things that are making me happy right now! 

Festive spirit // Quotes like this // Twilight Breaking Dawn Pt 2 - Epic // Abduction starring Taylor Lautner, If you've never watched it, check it out // 1000 Years - Christina Perri. 

Realising that there are millions of little things that can make you happy daily can make horrible doctors and feeling poorly seem so unimportant. Of course my family, friends & boyfriend make me happy every moment of every day!

♡

Max Factor Face Finity 3 in 1 Foundation. ♡

When I first bought this foundation (around a month ago) I really hated it. It was a weird shade and just awful, but I paid money for this and I wasn't going to waste it, so I decided to work with it. I purchased the Real Techniques expert face brush a week later & applied this foundation using that and it's the perfect combination. I think I picked the wrong shade in this as it's a little dark but once its blended and set you can't even tell. As for the claim that it's a primer, concealer & foundation in one is a bit steep. I don't think it's as good as it makes out. It's okay coverage not the best but definitely buildable. 

Overall though it's a really nice foundation and it feels really lightweight on my skin which is a bonus. Lasting power on this is around 6-7 hours without topping up which is really good in my opinion. It could last a lot longer with a dusting of powder to freshen it up. It doesn't oxidise on the skin after a few hours either - bonus! 

Hope you all have a lovely weekend whatever plans you have!

♡

Ghost of make-up past. ♡

Products used:
- Revlon Colour Stay foundation 'Ivory.
- Natural Collection powder.
- Rimmel Bronzer 
- Rimmel Professional Brow Pencil.
- Sleek 'Storm' Eye Shadow Palette [Gold & Champagne colours for lid & inner corner, Burnt Red for crease & Lower lashes]
- Collection 24/7 Eyeliner pen.
- Soap & Glory eye khol
- Maybeline one by one Mascara.
- Collection cream puff Lipcream 'Fairy Cake'

Soo, my spending ban is almost up! I decided to use products I'd forgotten about to save all my higher end products until I can afford to restock them because some of them are running low & I can't afford to run out of them at the moment! So I shopped my stash & I'm really pleased with my finds. It was like a jumble sale in my make-up drawer & I discovered products I loved, that were cheap & that I forgot about when I bought bigger and better things. I loved doing this, I felt like I was discovering lost treasure - No really! Haha. It was fun & my I used all 'drugstore' products, not one high end product was used. Not even the brushes, I used Real Techniques Expert face brush for foundation, an elf powder brush for powder, Elf complextion brush for bronzer & a no name brand eye shadow brush, and to be honest it doesn't feel or look much different to how it would look if I used high end products so win win. 

♡

FOTN - Glitter Eyes ♡

Products used - 
- Estee Lauder Double wear foundation. 
- Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer.
-  Rimmel Stay Matte Powder.
- MAC Impeccable Brow pencil (Dirty Blonde).
-  Famous by Sue Moxley bronzer (Miami).
- NYX Jumbo eye pencil (Milk)
- MUA Eye Shadow (Shade 1) 
- Black Eye shadow from 120 Palette.
- Eyelash glue as a base for the glitter all over the MUA shade 1 (white shimmery colour.)
- Illamasqua Pigment in Beguile all over the lash glue for a solid glittery lid.
- Collection 24 Eyeliner pen.
- L'oreal Volume Million Excess mascara.
- Soap & Glory black pencil eyeliner.
- NYX Soft Matte lip creme (Adis Adabba) 
- Barry M Lipstick (158)

Jeez, writing all that out looks like a lot of products to put on one face doesn't it! I love wearing this look when I go out though. So glittery & gorgeous. I wore a Primark dress it was black with white flowers all over it & had ruffles all over the boob area, it's gorgeous. However my make-up didn't look like that by the end of the night as I got a tad more drunk than I expected! Haha, nevermind! I only spent £20 though which is a bargain! (Spending ban is still on, I forgot I promised this night out before I started the ban.) I'm now snuggled up in bed watching Harry Potter nursing my hangover!  

Hope you've all had a lovely weekend! 

♡

Spending Ban Wishes ♡

As I've mentioned a few times I'm on a spending ban! BOO! I planned on being on it until the end of December but I just don't think I'll cope that long so I've shortened it to the end of November so It's one month instead of two. I think that's very reasonable! I'm really struggling on sticking to it to be honest & It's getting me down! But that's the reason why I'm on it. I don't want to feel sad just because I can't afford to spend huge amounts on make-up & clothes, I mean c'mon?! Anyway..

♡ Palmers Cocoa Butter Gradual Tan £5.35 - I saw this in Boots the other day & I love love love Palmers Cocoa Butter so It'd be even better with a natural glow! 
♡ MAC Velvet Teddy Lipstick (matte) £14.00 - This is on my Christmas list. I always thought it was too brown for my skin but I've fallen in love with it. I cannot wait to try it! 
♡ River Island LTD Edition Studded bag £40.00 - I'm also in love with this bag. I've been looking for a new bag for ages! Too bad I find the perfect one when I'm on a spending ban & It's LTD Edition so I can't even get it later on! Sad times. 
♡ River Island riding boots £55.00 - These are gorgeous too. Although even if I wasn't on a spending ban I wouldn't spend £55 on Boots I've found a similar pair on Ebay for half the price but these are too gorgeous. 
♡ River Island Silver wash Skull Studs £1.50 - Love these too, good price at £1.50! I'm definitely going to order these if they're still there at the end of the month! 
♡ That Vanilla Moment Bath & Shower Gel £3.03 - My boyfriend bought me the body scrub to this a few days ago and I love it. It smells like cake mix & it ex foliates beautifully so I really want to try the bath & shower gel too, A bath full of this would be heaven. 
♡ No.7 Soft & Soothed Cleanser & Toner £8.00 each - I've recently started getting into cleansing my make-up off instead of attacking my face with a baby wipe & I really want to try these as they're hypo-allergenic and hopefully won't irritate my skin!!

Two weeks left of the ban! I hope it goes quickly *how sad please?* 

♡

Current Hair Care Routine ♡

Hair care is something I take seriously. My hair used to be one of my best features, it was long, thick blonde & I always got complimented on it. Then in 2009 it all went down hill when I decided to dye my locks black and then got bored & wanted them blonde again. BAD IDEA! Very very bad idea on my behalf. I didn't even do it the good way by getting it done in stages I wanted bright blonde hair again then and there. It obviously wasn't happening so my hair got ruined, it all broke off right up to my shoulders. It went from just below my boobs to sitting on my shoulders. Which was horrific enough but it wasn't even a real colour, it was orange, and in some bits white and other bits pink, here is a picture of how bad it was. Note the frazzled hair, mismatched colour & just horribleness of it. Since then I've been brown & red alternate until April this year I went back to my natural blonde again professionally. I vow to never let my hair get into this state again, now on to the lovely products. 

♡ L'oreal Hair Expertise Eversleek No sulphates Smoothing Care System with no silicone Shampoo & Conditioner - Firstly, what a long name these have! Mouth full or what. Secondly they're amazing. This is what L'oreal says: "Specifically designed for coarse and frizzy hair, the EverSleek Smoothing & Nourish range is a Smoothing Care System with non-sulphate cleansing and smooth conditioning care." I say they definitley do what they say they do. I'm not entirely sure what the non sulphate and no silicone do to the hair but they've completely transformed my hair into managable soft, smooth and silky locks. They're £6.99 in Tesco's which is where I got mine from I'm sure they're widely available though. I'm going to get some more from this range when my spending ban is up! 

♡ Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Intensive mask - Love this. I love the Shampoo & Conditioner to this too. I first bought the Shampoo & Conditioner just as because I was going on holiday to Barcelona in last May and I wanted something hydrating which would counteract the sun drying out my hair and I loved them and the mask is no disappointment either. I love the smell  so much, obviously It's not about the smell but it helps doesn't it! I love drenching my hair in this once or twice a week depending on how my hair has been that week, wrapping my hair in cling film to keep the heat in and sitting for 45 minutes - an hour and it really really makes a difference. This was £4.39 in Tesco's also but I know they're widely available. 

♡ L'oreal Mythic oil - A blogger/YouTube sensation. I like many received this in a Glossy Box last year. I use it every time I wash my hair and It's only just got to the half way point. I love this a lot. I never thought I'd be able to use oils in my hair because it would instantly make it greasy and limp but this one is gorgeous. I use two pumps in my hand rub my hands together and distribute this on the ends of my hair, then air dry/blow dry as normal and my hair is left feeling soft & protected. I've never actually smelt this so I'm not sure on it scent. This can be found for £12.76 on Cheap Smells. Obviously cheaper than argon or Moroccan oil but certainly a good dupe.

♡ John Frieda Sheer Blonde leave in conditioner/heat protection spray - This is incredible. It smells unreal & the fact it's a leave in conditioner as well as a heat protection sold me on this even before I bought it. I'm so lazy it's a known fact & If I had to pick between putting a leave in conditioner on or a heat protector I'd choose the conditioner. The fact this is two in one means I don't have to worry because my love for leave in conditioner will be satisfied and so will my hair from the heat protect. I spay this in my hair when it's wet, air dry/blow dry then also spray some in when it's done & always before straightening and curling too. I can't find this on the Boots website, I'm probably just being really thick it's probably on there but its around £4-6. 

I tend to usually air dry my hair unless I'm in a hurry & only wash it once a week, twice if I'm going out on the town over the weekend. Between washes I use Batiste Dry Shampoo & always try to limit the heat to my hair. I sleep with my hair in a French braid to prevent it pulling/getting tangled in my sleep.  

Does anyone have any hair growth/hair care tips for me?

I'm always up for trying new hair products!

♡

Sunday Summary #7 ♡

There aren't many pictures of my face on my blog so I thought I'd share this one. I was particularly happy with my make-up that day. The lipstick I'm wearing is MAC Rebel.

♡  The spending ban is going well. I'm really struggling though. There is any 3 Lee Stafford for £12 in Boots at the moment and it's taken a lot of will power not to go crazy on products, like serious will power. My boyfriend has practically had to drag me away from the make up counters I feel like a drug addict gone cold turkey. I'm doing well though 8 days I've done so far without buying any sort of beauty product. My boyfriend did buy me a gorgeous vanilla body scrub from Tesco but that doesn't count cause he bought it right? yes. 

♡ ALEX BOX TWEETED ME. Yes, The Alex Box creative director for Illamasqua tweeted me. I adore her, I think she's absolutely beautiful AND she's the reason I've pushed myself to become a make-up artist. She's my Idol career wise and she inspires me every single day. Having her tweeting me makes so much difference to my ambitions and it's made me even more determined to achieve.  

♡ It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! I've just given in my Christmas list. It's not big. It has 5 items on it accumulating to £85.00 because that's the absolute most I want my Dad to spend on me. I don't need to ask him for Chanel products or expensive clothes and jewellery because If I wanted those things I'd buy them myself. I've asked for things I've wanted for ages and things I've recently wanted. I don't love Christmas for the presents any way. I love it for the atmosphere, the gaudy Christmas lights and how friendly everyone becomes.  I love Christmas for everything in this picture.. 

                                                  I hope you've all had a lovely weekend, Monday tomorrow - BOO. 

                                                                                                                       ♡