Sunny Sunflowers

My nan brought my mum these saying that they 'reminded her of my mum' - she's such a cutie! Anyway I thought I'd share the pictures I took of them.

I used my iPhone camera to take them then edited them with the app VSCOcam and I think they turned out good - aha.

Lauren x

How Much Is My Face?

I was tagged the other day by Tania over at Make Up Maggie (who is a total sweetheart so be sure to have a look at her blog!) to do a How Much Is My Face post. I have never really stopped to think about how much money it costs for everything is use before so I thought this post was such a good idea, so here is my version. I based it off my everyday make-up look, which for me is very simplistic and a 'try to be natural' look.

After I have cleansed my skin I used the Nivea Daily Essentials Express Hydration Primer for Normal to Combination Skin. I have only started to try this but I really like it so far and keeps my  makeup from sliding down my face. It also helps hydrate the skin which is a plus! This costs £4.99.

Then I went round all my blemishes and red patches with my new No7 Match Made Concealer  which costs £7.50 and followed with the No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation which costs £12.95. I really like this foundation so far, it matches my skin perfectly and I don't have to follow with a powder as it's already 'matte'. I applied this using the Real Techniques Contour Brush (I don't actually use any of these brushes for their intended purpose - just warning you all) and I find this brush perfect for putting on my foundation as I can blend it out really easily.

After I stroked a tiny amount of the No7 Perfectly Bronzed Dual Bronzer which cost £11.50. I have a feeling this is going to last a while as you really don't need a lot of product on the brush (I use a regular powder brush for this).

Next is eyeshadow. I use the Avon True Colour Eyeshadow Quad in the shade 'Mocha Latte'. They have re-designed it but it's basically the same palette. I love this palette so much, it's the only palette I use and the colours are lovely. I put the lightest colour all over my eyelid using the Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush, then put the lightest brown in the crease of my eye and blend from the outer corner using the Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush (as I said - I don't use them for their intended purposes - take that Real Techniques! - aha). I also put a little under the eye as a sort-of-eyeliner using the Real Techniques Accent Brush. I then lightly fill in my brows using the darkest brown, as it matches perfectly, and use the Real Techniques Brow Brush. This palette costs £9.00. I then highlighted under my brows using the No7 Stay Perfect Eyeshadow in 'Innocence' which cost £7.00.

Then went on the mascara and I use the Avon Infinitize Mascara which now costs £10.00 but when I brought it is was cheaper (oh well). This is my favourite mascara of the ones I have tried, and I have tried a lot! It makes my lashes look so long and the applicator makes it so easy to apply.

I then finish with my lips. As i wanted it more 'natural', I decided to use the Rimmel London Lasting Finish Colour Rush Balm in the shade 'Drive Me Nude'. I love this colour and this balm/lipstick/chubby stick. It's definitely one of my faves and only costs £5.99.

The Grand Total = £68.93

Honestly, I thought it would be a lot more.

Anyway thanks for reading, I hoped you liked it. And I don't really know who to tag as I'm quite new to Blogger so who ever wants to give this a go, please do! and let me know in the comments section below when you have and I'll give it a read ♥

Lauren x

No7 Haul

Wow. A lot of shopping hauls at the moment - I really do apologise.

Anyway... on with the post. As I haven't had much luck with foundations, I decided to put away my social awkwardness for 10 minutes and go to one of the No7 stands in Boots and ask for a skin test. The lady was so lovely and really helped with deciding which foundation would be best. I turned out to be the lightest shade they do - Calico - and helped decide that I should get the Beautifully Matte Foundation. I have high hopes for this foundation, especially for the price tag (£12.95) as it's the most money I have spend on a foundation.

While I was there I decided to get the No7 Match Made Concealer (£7.50) in the same shade, to see if it's better then to one I have at the moment.

When the No7 lady was testing the foundation on my skin, she put some of this bronzer (the No7 Perfectly Bronzed Dual Bronzer which cost £11.50 *yikes*) on as well, just to see. I have never used bronzer before, as I was always scared I was going to go overboard and look ridiculous, but after she put this on, I just had to get. I'm hoping this lasts forever!

And I also decided to get the No7 Stay Perfect Eyeshadow in 'Innocence' for highlighting which cost £7.00.

At the moment, they have an offer with No7 products. All you have to do is buy 2 or more selected No7 products and you get a free gift of No7 Perfect Lips Kit worth £25 which includes No7 Stay Perfect Lipstick in 'Classic Rose' (£9.50), No7 High Shine Lipgloss in 'Smile' (£8.50) and No7 Lip Brush (£7.00). I got two of these 'gifts' as I brought 4 products - bargain!

I can not wait to try all of these products! I have high expectations for No7 products so I really hope I'm not disappointed.

Another thing, I'm debating getting AdSense. Would anyone click on the ads that I would put on? Does anyone else have it? If you do, please let me know what you think and whether it's worth it? It would be a huge help!

Also I will post my Dorothy Perkins haul as soon as I have typed it all out (which I can't be bothered to do at the moment - I know I'm lazy). So until next time,

Lauren x

A Small Boots Haul

I practically live in Boots at the moment, as I always have to go in to get my lunch and where they decided to place the food section, you have to walk through the whole of the shop to get to it. So I'm there taking a stroll through Boots and my eyes are always catching the site of products that I really want to buy! I have feeling I'm going to end up spending all of my student loan in this place. Anyway. On with the haul ...

Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation (£5.99) - I'm really hoping this is a nice foundation. I find with most liquid foundations, they leave me looking quite oily, so I wanted to give this new 'liquid mousse' foundation from Rimmel a try.

Rimmel London Lasting Finish Colour Rush Balm in 'Keep Mauving' (£5.99) - I already have two of these and I love them so much! I really wanted a dark purple lip colour, which seems to be the latest trend in lip colours, so I though I would see if this colour comes close.

Johnson's Daily Essentials Gentle Eye Make-up Removal Pads (£3.29) - As I normally scrub my eye make-up off at the end of the day, making my eyes sting like hell, I wanted to try these pads to see if they work. Also in Boots they have a 3 for 2 offer on lots of different beauty products, so I got these with two packs of cleansing wipes.

Nivea Daily Essentials Express Hydration Primer for Normal to Combination Skin (£4.99) - I have never tried a primer before, so when I saw this I wanted to give it a try as I know Nivea are a good brand so I have high hopes of this little pot.

I also have a Dorothy Perkins haul coming up in a couple of days (hopefully) so keep checking back for that. Also if you have tried these, let me know what you think. I love hearing from you all.
 
Lauren x

p.s. I you like my blog, please click the follow button (pretty please!!) and I will follow back as soon as I can ♥

Battle of the 'Chubby Sticks'

After hearing so many good things about the Bourjois Paris Colour Boost Lip Crayons I decided to give them a go! Unfortunately I couldn't find the colours I wanted for a few weeks and it wasn't until I went to Newquay that I was able to find them! A few weeks later, while browsing the make-up stands I noticed a similar product in Rimmel called the Colour Rush Balm. I have always loved Rimmel make-up so I also brought two to try.

I love the Bourjois Paris Colour Boost Lip Crayon! They are so nice to apply and also feels like they are balm and moisturise you lips while you have it on. The two colours I brought was 'Peach on the beack' and 'Orange Punch'. The Peach on the Beach is probably my favourite of the two as it is such a lovely pink but I'm starting to really like the Orange Punch.

I do like the Rimmel London Lasting Finish Colour Rush Balm but I just do not think it is as nice as the Bourjois, due to the fact it's more sticky then balm-y but the colours are still lovely and bright. The two colours I brought was 'Drive Me Nude' and 'The Redder, The Better'.

You've got to love the names they come up with for these - aha!

Anyway, let me know if you've tried these or anything similar, I would love to know what you think!

Lauren x

Jo Malone - Peony & Blush Suede

Today I received my free sample of Jo Malone's new fragrance, Peony & Blush Suede, and I must say - it smells amazing! It was a nice surprise to come home to a little present. Definitely put a smile on my face.

It is a nice floral smell, but it is strong. I only used a tiny dot of it and it was enough, which I think is a huge plus. The packaging it came in was girly and beautiful, something I always love.

I hadn't really heard of this brand until it showed up on A Model Recommends (which is where I heard about the free sample) but I might take a peek and check out some of their other fragrances, if I see one of their stores. Unfortunately I wouldn't be able to afford the price tag but if I ever had the money, I definitely might splurge on this.

Definate thanks to Ruth from A Model Recommends and Jo Malone for letting me have the sample.

Lauren x

Cornwall Holiday - Day 6 - Falmouth

For the last day we decided to visit Falmouth. We have been before but we didn't see all of it and missed the beach, so this time we covered that and had a walk around the little streets as well. We also walked around the gardens right on the beach front. They were so pretty, with lots of different plants and nice for a quick walk through.

I also had a quick play around with focusing and blurring and I was very pleased with the end result (which you can see below). I love the softness of the picture.

After Falmouth we went back to the caravan to pack up and start off home. I think we left around 5-6pm and got home around 9-10pm.

So that's it for my holiday posts. I really hoped you liked them!

I'll probably slow down with future posts as this week I am starting my first year of University! I am dreading it. Most people I know are so excited but me... half the time I'm sat hyperventilating in the corner (probably a bit of an exaggeration - more freaking out internally). So wish me luck!

Lauren x

Cornwall Holiday - Day 5 - Boscastle

After Tintagel, we decided to visit Boscastle, a small village and fishing port, as my mum wanted to visit after seeing it on the news in 2004, when a flash flood caused extreme damage to the whole village. It pretty much destroyed everything and the water level was at the roofs of the houses.

We walked around the whole of the village and used on of the many paths to the top of a cliff/rock (I don't know what its called). It was made of slate so the path wasn't a smooth one, my mum gave up halfway there as it was quite unsteady. The view from the top was just breathtaking and worth the journey up there.

Definitely worth the walk!

There is only one more post from my holiday to do now, so I'll probably have that up either today or tomorrow, but please let me know what you think? I would love to here it! So until then...

Lauren x

Cornwall Holiday - Day 5 - Tintagel

We decided to visit Tintagel as there are the ruins of Tintagel Castle which is allegedly the birth place of King Arthur. As it was part of the English Heritage (another organisation, like the National Trust,  but is funded by the government and members to protect historical places in England e.g. Stonehenge), we would of had to pay so we decided not to go in. The view around it is just beautiful so it was worthwhile anyway. 

The walk down to the ruins is very steep so me and my mum took the Land Rover service back up, otherwise we would of passed out within the first 10 minutes (we are not very healthy - at all).

Then we decided to go in the Tintagel Old Post Office (which was part of the National Trust). It's only a small place so it took around 15 minutes to walk around but it had a really nice garden at the back with fields beyond that.

After we left Tintagel, we went to Boscastle, which I will cover on the next post.

Lauren x

Cornwall Holiday - Day 4 - Starry Skies

One of the things I love about Cornwall is how clear it is at night, when there is no clouds - just the stars in the sky. And they were so beautiful! 

So I had a go at night-time photography and try to capture the stars. Here is how they turned out.

 

I merged a set together, as I took them in groups of 4, to create a star trail. What do you think? Has anyone got any tips, as I really want to take good pictures of stars, they've always facinated me?

Lauren x

Cornwall Holiday - Day 4 - Newquay

Day 4 was pretty uneventful as we took a walk around Newquay, waiting for my pharmacy for fax my prescription to the Newquay pharmacy as I forgot to pick up my medicine before I left - whoops!

So we took a walk through the main street and had a look at all the shops and stopped around the harbour. While we were there, a couple of the fishing boats were just coming in and following them was a seal. Apparently he is there everyday for some fish - greedy bugger!

Lauren x