July Favourites :)

What a month it's been! I've spent so much on make up this month, that it's only expected that I have a favourites crammed with raving and freaking out to myself about the lovely products I've found this month - so very excited for you guys to see! :) It's a bit different from past months where I'm showing you guys products that I've had for a while and loved particularly that month - it's more like a ravefest of new goodies :) Enjoy!

And as for some blogs I've loved this month.. (and the first one I finally found the link to thanks to Charlotte - who's also listed below!) :)

Beauty Mouth

Getting Cheeky

Charlotte's Obsessions

Vanity is an Addiction

Hope you all had a lovely July! Here are some snaps of the lovely Stratford-upon-Avon and the Cotswolds areas that I took while travelling :)

See you in August :)

<3yu

The Goodness of Skintone Eyeliners: UNE SkinGlow Pencils

I remember when I was completely addicted to black eyeliner - I didn't need or want anything else on my face, if I had this I was good to go! For better or for worse, those days are gone!

In its place, though to a much less degree of essential-ness than black eyeliners in the past, are skintone coloured eyeliners, and the one in particular is the UNE SkinGlow Pencil, which retails at around £7 from Boots or Superdrug. I chose this over white eyeliners for the obvious reason - it looks more natural, especially on medium-toned skintones like mine!

The reason why I got this was because I liked the idea of having brightened and awake eyes, and while it does do that, I think the best way to describe its function is to say that it defines your eyes without looking unnatural.

Black eyeliners really bring out your eyes, but it makes it 10x obvious that you're wearing make up, and on a darker skintone like mine, so do white eyeliners. Personally, this isn't a look I go for in the summer, so I wanted this definition without the obvious make-up.

Up close I suppose it's still a little bit obvious, even if this is G04, the darkest shade they have. In this pic I suppose it wouldn't make a difference if I'd gone for a white eyeliner instead!

But from afar, it really does do your eyes a favour - brightens, get rids of the redness on your waterline, and it defines your eyes.

I find that this particular eyeliner doesn't last very long - but unlike black eyeliners where you are constantly worried whether you look like a panda from melting eyeliner, this is a walk in the park because even if it melts it's not so obvious under your eyes, and the eyeliner is easy enough to carry around :) So no harm in being forgetful like me and forgetting to occassionally wipe under my eyes or top up on make up!

So yes - for the summer days atleast, I am a complete convert to skintone eyeliners. That being said, sometimes I do forget to put it on - I mean, it's fleshtone at the end of the day! But I think it's a great thing to have in general for that little oomph to your eyes, especially for days with really red or tired eyes!

How do you keep your eyes natural during the summer? :)

<3yu

P.S. Apologies for the lack of posting/tweeting - I've been on holiday with my family, as they are here in the UK to see me graduate on Friday! :) Will hopefully be back in business on Monday, from good old Japan :) I've got lots to show you, so I'm very excited! Keep in touch :)

Sheer Lip Colour Love :)

A few months ago, tell me a lipstick was sheer and I would've written it off. But somehow over the past few weeks, I've been craving some colour and gloss but not a block of full-on colour that makes it so obvious I'm wearing lipstick. I've been wanting something more natural.

Here are the things I've been turning to, to achieve this more natural look that provides some colour and gloss - not a solid colour like lipsticks, and not a glossy faff of a lipgloss :) (I always find lippies easier to keep up during the day than glosses).

The Body Shop Born Lippy in Watermelon

17 Mirror Shine Lipstick in Nudist Peach (depotted)

17 Mirror Shine Lipstick in Beehive

L to R: TBS Born Lippy Watermelon; 17 Nudist Peach; 17 Beehive

The Body Shop Born Lippy, which retails for £2, gives a really pale pink-ish tint, and the smell is lovely! However, the rest of the range are more like the two lipsticks, in that the formula is more see-through than this - so Watermelon is the one I've been reaching for :)

17 Beehive

The 17 Nudist Peach doesn't do much to my pigmented lips, just give it more warmth. 17 Beehive is my newest addition, which gives me a pale pink lip (as above) - a bit cooler than what I would prefer in the summer, but mixing the two 17 lippies gives a really nice pale peach that I've been loving :) That being said, at £4.59 it's not the most expensive lipstick so I find it has that nasty cheap, plastic, lippie smell.. but the effect is lovely :)

As you can see they have a very nice sheen, that makes it quite natural and great for the summer, and the pigmentation is just right to have a wash over your lips - somehow I associate matte pigmented colour with colder climates and gloss sheer colour with warmer climates.. am I nuts? :P Either way, it's what I've been loving recently! :D

Do you prefer sheerer colours on your lips sometimes?
What are your favourite products for this? :)

<3yu

What I Took To Malta: Beach/Pool Make-Up!

I'm back! Hello to the new followers, and a big I-missed-you hug to the old! Malta was absolutely gorgeous and the perfect wind-down from 3 years of uni. Ben and I also found out that we have graduated with a 2:1 on our degrees - so it was a great week in general!

Today I'll show you what I brought to Malta - hopefully you can take away what I think is great to have for a beach holiday, in case some of you are off on one soon! We had a 15kg limit so a lot of the stuff were compact :)

Before that, I'll show you some snaps of our week there :) We stayed at the Radisson Blu on Golden Bay, courtesy of Ben's aunt for his 21st - we were there with Gary Neville!

Mokka Bar - We always had after dinner drinks here :)

Our kitchen/dining room/living room - I KNOW! We had a suite! :D

TV in bathtub - very convenient for the Wimbledon season! :)

Golden Bay

The pool

The Malta busses - 54p to the capital! :O

Streets of Valetta

 Ben & I at the Grand Harbour

Honestly, I am struggling a bit with a lack of foundation/powder/concealer to match my skin! I also got my nails done, which was fun - OPI Glitzerland is very pretty! On days where we weren't by the pool or the beach, we went to other places like St. Julian's and Mdina - I think my favourite was Valetta - it is absolutely gorgeous!

On to the make-up!

I bought myself a brand new make-up bag for this holiday, and it's this baby from Glitzy Glam. It is so much fun to come up with your own bag, and it's absolutely massive! You can see more in my June Favourites video :) Anyway, this is great for if you're going anywhere for over a week. It also fitted my brushes, moisturizer, and my mini-shower stuff too.

I brought loads of make-up, but the ones I used were things that gave me the most natural and beachy look - here are the kinds of things I'd recommend to someone who is off on a sunny holiday :)

- NIVEA Stay Real Blush in Shades of Rose

This is a great summer shade because it's like a really tanned pink, so it's very natural and goes with the golden glow of a tan! :) Anything else felt too unnatural and unbeach-like because it was too much of a pop of colour.

- CANMAKE Gokubuto Mascara

Waterproof mascara is a must - this one is also natural, in that it separates and lengthens so it was good for a natural beachy look.

- MAC Paint Pot in Rubenesque

I only wore this in the evening, just to add some colour on my eyes - it's a bright gold with a salmon duochrome, which again compliments a tan, and you don't need a brush!

- UNE SkinGlow Pencil in G04

I didn't really use this too much - it got too light as my tan grew! But it's still a great summer-time product that opens up your eyes and no worries about the black eyeliner melting :)

- Lipice Suncare SPF25

Somehow a lipstick seemed too unnatural, and I felt like with such a dark tan, a natural lip was best. So I used this lipbalm with SPF the most, and the lemon-scent is gorgeous! :)

- MAC Moisture Tint in Medium Dark SPF15

While the Bourjois Healthymix was light and natural enough for a beachy feel, I didn't need a lot of coverage because of the tan and my blemishes were going away with the healthy amount of sun! The SPF was a good reassurance too :)

For the bath essentials, I brought mini-things of my favourite body wash and cleanser - the Bodyshop Grapefruit Shower Gel and the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish. I also brought the BodyShop Grapefruit Body Butter, which helped a lot with dried out sunkissed skin!

The biggest difference from my usual routine was my shampoo and conditioner - the LUSH Godiva Shampoo/Conditioner Bar. I picked this because 1) it smells amazing and 2) it's a 2-in-1. It is far from the best haircare, and I felt my hair wasn't in the best condition, but it's definitely a good product for holiday :)

So there you go! I had an amazing time, and I'd definitely want to go back to see more of the country some time. The atmosphere, the architecture, the culture - everything was lovely! And I hope you got some good tips for products or what kinda stuff you might wanna bring to your holiday :)

Who else is off on holiday?
What are your beach holiday must-haves? :)

<3yu

FOTD: ArtDeco Palette #1

On my Berlin trip I made myself a palette from ArtDeco. One of the eyeshadow shades I got was an aqua colour and to be honest - it was kind of an impulse buy, that was triggered by the want to get non-neutral eyeshadows. Perplexed by how the heck I was going to pull it off, I attempted something :)

Face:

Dior Diorskin Forever Foundation in 030

Bourjois Compact Powder in 73 Miel Dore

MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC35

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Peach

ArtDeco Blush in 19

Eyes:

ELF Studio Eye Primer and Line Sealer Stick

MAC Eyeshadow in Honesty

ArtDeco Eyeshadow in 391

MaxFactor False Lash Effect Mascara

K-Palette Real Lasting Finish 24hr Eyeliner

Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil in Hazel

Lips:

Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lipstick in Nude Delight 700

ArtDeco Blusher in 19; ArtDeco Eyeshadow in 391; MAC Eyeshadow in Honesty

I thought it was a good twist to the typical neutral eyeshadow on top, and blue liner on the bottom look!

It actually turned out pretty wearable, and because of the way my eyes fold, when I open my eyes the blue really stands out the most! This colour, when blended out turns into like an ashy dark blue, but concentrated, it maintains its vibrance so it's a really interesting and multipurpose shadow! :)

I also found a great teal eyeshadow look from TiffanyD, but I don't have any pastel teal colours.. couldn't imagine myself wearing it but I'm a bit curious now! :P

How do you wear bright eyeshadows? :)

<3yu

FOTD: MAC's Vegas Volt

I've always loved and looked better in peaches, corals and oranges, but somehow out of fear of having a dupe, I've always found myself buying more pinks and berries - how ridiculous! Realizing how little I actually have of these gorgeous shades, I've been expanding in my blushers and lip products towards peaches and corals.

One such item is MAC's Vegas Volt, that I picked up in Manchester last week. I've been looking for a bright coral, and had Sleek Papaya Punch in mind for weeks, until I gave up searching for it. I'm almost glad I did because Vegas Volt is GORGEOUS.

*Apologies in advance for the crappy pictures - poor natural lighting makes my camera disfunctional..*

An amplified finish, Vegas Volt is extremely creamy and pigmented. I'd say it's a bright coral, that on my skintone, is bordering on red.

This is a great summer shade, and looks amazing with neutral eyeshadow and lots and lots of mascara. This is what I'm wearing today:

Face:

Nivea Ideal Finish Foundation in 04 Sand

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Peach

MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC35

Rimmel Sunshimmer Bronzer in Medium Matte

Nivea Stay Real Blush in Shades of Rose

Eyes:

MAC Paint Pot in Rubenesque

ELF Studio Cream Eyeliner in Coffee

MaxFactor False Lash Effect Mascara

UNE SkinGlow Pencil in G04

Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil in Hazel 002

Lips:

MAC Lipstick in Vegas Volt 

MAC Viva Glam Cyndi Lipglass, Jemma Kidd Hi-Shine Silk Touch Lipgloss in 15 Coral, MAC Vegas Volt, MAC Viva Glam Cyndi Lipstick.

Like I said, I don't have many peaches and corals, but I thought I'd pop in some swatches comparing some products I thought were similar, just in case some readers had these products and wanted to see what it was like :) I'm a NC35-37 atm in MAC shades :)

What's your favourite coral/peach lipstick for the summer? :)

<3yu

P.S. I've got a clearout blogsale going on Flickr here, if you're interested :) Please comment, tweet or email me if you are!

FOTD: TiffanyD's Summer Yellow Look

MakeUpbyTiffanyD is probably one of the first beauty channels that I watched, and is not only my favourite ever channel, but also the inspiration on why I started my own channel. I've learnt so many techniques and tips from her, but her tutorials are something I love to watch and then never do - mostly because she has such a different eye-shape, and she does a lot of bright looks.

But yesterday I watched her "Summer Yellow Tutorial" and I really really liked it - so I decided to give it a shot :) Here's how it turned out..

Pretty alright for the first go I think! :P And here's what I used:

Storm Sunset Palette (yellow)

ELF Brightening Eye Quad in Drama (white and dark grey)

CANMAKE Shading Powder 02

MAC Blush in Style

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Nude Delight 700

What do you guys think? Did I pull it off? :P

Who are your favourite YouTube gurus? :)

<3yu

Summer Foundation: The Decision :)

After the amazing response of my Summer Foundation Dilemma post, it would be rude not to tell you all what I have decided will be my first high-end foundation. Thanks to everyone who gave a suggestion - I looked up each and everyone of them, I feel like a foundation encyclopedia now lol! Anyway, without further ado, I chose..

The Diorskin Forever Extreme Wear Flawless Make Up in Shade 030 Medium Beige

I got this in the Debenham's 10% off sale for about £25.65 which I think is a good price to try a high-end foundation. It usually retails at £28.50.

The packaging isn't blowing me away - I think I'm still feeling awkward because it does not fit in with my other make-up at ALL because it's so friggin' luxurious. I'm sat here looking at it like, "..who are you, where are you from, and what are you doing here, you don't belong here!' (I've developed a habit of talking to make-up.. dear God).

Here are my expectations, drawing from reviews and the description:

- Lightweight

- Long-lasting

- Medium Coverage

- Semi Matte Finish

I've swatched it on my hand and WOW - it's so liquidy, but the coverage is there and the finish is definitely semi-matte, and nothing like what I've seen the MAC Face & Body to be like:

There seems to be no cakiness, or even a feeling that I have make-up on my hand, yet the coverage is there. It's also very velvety to the touch, and has a fragrance, which I didn't smell until I put my nose to it. And it's pretty impressive that what you see above was the tiniest pump I could have possibly done (the pump itself is very high quality and controllable), and it covered the whole back of my hand.

So far I'm preferring it to the Diorskin Nude, Dior Satin Eclat, and the NARS Sheerglow, but I won't know if I prefer it over the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua until I actually apply it.

I'm looking forward to try this out. I have to say I'm not 100% convinced yet as I have yet to get that really giddy and EEEP!-ing feeling about this product, but I think that's to be expected when your face hasn't experienced it yet!

My foundation hunt, to say the least, has been stressful! I've learnt from the lovely Delyteful Speaks (who has stuck with me through my uhm's, and ah's - bless her!) that it's very hard to pick the perfect foundation and that it can be very stressful, but it seems I've found a foundation that in theory matches what I want - here's to the start of the HG foundation hunt! :P

What is your HG foundation? :)

Remember to keep an eye out for the full review in a few weeks time! I hope it's a good one ;)

<3yu

I'm Ready For Summer, Are You Ready For Summer?

I am so ready for summer. Prepare yourselves for a bit of a random post, where I show you some of the things that I've changed up a bit for the up-coming season :)

Wallet:

I got this Laura Ashley purse for Christmas, and instantly when it hit about March, I swapped away my patent Linea zip-around purse for this floral sweetheart <3

Perfume:

Something fresh ought to do the trick I think! I got BodyShop's discontinued Oceanus EDT from eBay for £3 :) Some others I've been loving is Gucci's Envy Me, Cacharel's Amor Amor, and have been eyeing up Davidoff's Cool Water Woman.

Sunscreen:

I don't always bother, but for some summer days I do feel it's a necessity! This is Biore's UV Perfect Face Milk with SPF 50. Sometimes I use MAC's Prep & Prime with SPF 50, just cuz I have a sample :P

Shades:

Some of you may already know, these are from the men's section Next (£13) :D (suited for my massive face).

Tinted Moisturizer:
I'm not a fan of them most days, but still think it's a necessity for those care-free, nice skin days. This is MAC's Moisture Tint in Medium Dark (£20). I also have the Boots Botanics Tinted Moisturizer, but am personally not a fan of the smell.

Lip Balm:
Let those waxy sweet chapsticks to rest, and bring out the light, juicy, fruity lip balms :) My favourite is Body Shop's Born Lippy in Pink Guava (£2), but I also bought one in Mango Peach which I am dying to try out :)

Sandals:
Out with the UGGs, and in with the sandals - these are from New Look, for £10. I do wish I had a pair that strapped around my ankles, but haven't found any that I fancy. Any suggestions?

Accessories:
Here I've got a braided leather bracelet with my name in Japanese engraved in it, and a pair of flower earrings from Accessorize that I got for about £6. Something more chillax and 'earthy' is nice I think! :)

What have you been changing up for the sunshine? :)

<3yu