August Glossybox!

I'm completely new to this Glossybox concept, only having signed up at the very beginning of this month. I think that Glossybox is a lovely idea, the whole 'six beauty surprises' just grabs me and makes me want to subscribe. I've always been on the verge of subscribing but never really built up the courage to bite the bullet and spend the monthly £10, but I decided that I should just go for it and here we are! My August Glossybox!

As you can see, there are six products within my glossybox, along with some fancy-looking black crinkled paper and a little card that tells you about all the different products. This months box is deemed the 'International Superstars' box. On the back of the card, it mentions that they've selected brands that are well known in the UK along with some others that have cult status in other countries that you might not have heard of before- definitely the case for me! I'd only heard of Lipcote before, the others were a complete mystery to me!

From left to right, Alessandro Pro White, Lipcote, Vera Valenti L'ombre a Paupiere Margarita, Glossybox Lipstick in Glossy Pink, DHC Deep Cleansing Oil and All For Eve Eve's Balm.

I'd never heard of Alessandro before, nor had I ever used a brightening nail polish. When I first saw this in the box, I was excited to see if this product actually works, because my nails can sometimes look a bit dull and dry. The card with the product information says that this product has an optically brightening effect on the nails- which sounded good to me! I used this product that same day on one of my nails to compare it to another and I must say, it did look considerably healthier and brighter than the one that wasn't coated in the stuff. Definitely recommended if you aren't someone that constantly wears nail varnish and wants pretty nails! This product is usually £7.85 for a 10ml bottle. The product is considerably smaller than the packaging it comes in- so it's a waste in materials and gives you the sense that you're getting more for your money, when really you're just getting a big bottle and a little bit of product. Misleading? Yes. Willing to put aside my differences for how good this product is? Double yes.

Can we all take a second to appreciate how gorgeous this product looks? Lipcote (according to Glossybox's leaflet) is 'the original lipstick sealer and the secret of long lasting, feather fade and water resistant lipstick'- thank you Glossybox, I couldn't have put it better myself. Basically, once you've puckered up and put your lipstick on, you slap this on top and you've sealed your lipstick on for the rest of the day. Easier said than done, I hasten to add. The product has an overpowering smell (which is the smell I was greeted by when I opened my box. It stank the place up!) and a nail-varnish like applicator brush. I was quite confused by this, because I'm meant to be putting this on my lips. Without a mirror, I attempted to swipe this across my lips to no avail. I then proceeded to do this in front of a mirror rather sloppily. The brush seems to pick up a little too much product for my liking, but once I'd blotted it off a little, I left it for the rest of the day. Thankfully, my lipstick stayed on all day with no smudging at all! I was very impressed with the product itself, but the application process was something I didn't appreciate too much! This normally costs £3.99, which is pretty cheap considering. Next time, make it easier to apply, Lipcote! I'll leave you to decide whether you pronounce it like lip-coat or lipcoté!

  
 Maybe not the most professional looking eyeshadow palette, but the colours look absolutely lovely, don't they? Especially those greens! It'd be hard to find colours like that normally! Well, those were exactly my thoughts when I studied this product. I thought that it definitely wasn't my favourite product in the box, but if the eyeshadows are as good as they look then perhaps it's a gem in disguise! Sadly, I was proved wrong. I swatched each colour individually and I wasn't impressed. The pigmentation of each eyeshadow wasn't as strong as I hoped they'd be and overall I'm not going to be repurchasing this anytime soon. This brand went over my head completely, having never heard of it before- and I hope I don't come across it again in a Glossybox! I suppose I'm being a little harsh, but I don't think I'm going to be getting much use out of this. The colours are lovely to look at, but that's about it. The palette is usually £3.85, so if you're really enthusiastic to buy this, there you go.

Glossy Pink is the colour I was treated to from Glossybox. According to the leaflet, it's a professional beauty lipstick for soft and glamorous lips with a luminous, long-lasting colour. I can definitely vouch for the long-lasting part. I swatched this lipstick when I was taking photos but didn't manage to be able to take a good enough photo to show the colour completely and the swatch has still not come off my hand! So, that says a lot. I wore this out a few days ago when I went shopping and it didn't budge from my lips the whole day- no Lipcote needed for this lipstick, ladies! I'm unsure of the colour range that was available, but I'm more than happy with the one I received- definitely something I would pick out of a range of colours! I love this lipstick.  It's completely unscented, so that's a bonus if you're someone that hates having a smell directly under your nose the entire day! This lipstick is usually £9.50, so this needs to be sold in shops somewhere. Please?

This is the product that I know absolutely nothing about and I'm far too scared to use it on my skin. I know, you're probably thinking- well Katie, Glossybox is all about trying new products out! Especially skin ones! This product is a deep cleansing oil. I have oily skin. I don't think that this product is going to do me any favours! For those of you without oily skin, all I've noted with this product is that it has no smell, is comes out yellow on the hand and rubbing it into the skin leaves it very oily. Definitely not going to attempt using this! The leaflet tells us 'this revolutionary water-soluble cleanser is better than any other make-up remover you've ever tried' which I can't agree or disagree with because I'm not going to be trying it. I will, however, be giving it to my friend so that she can give me some feedback on it. I received a 30ml sample, but the product is usually £18.50 for a 200ml bottle. Something to try if you have a dry skin type!

Finally, this product could have been one of three things. Some got the marvelous imPRESS nails, others got a perfume sample and I received a lip balm. Safe to say I wasn't ecstatic with this, but I digress. After using the product, I actually really enjoyed it. It was the same as any other balm I'd used previously and came with a nifty little mirror- but the difference is, is that this is for charity. This product is usually £4.95 which I would usually complain is too expensive for a balm when you can pick up vaseline for £1.00 in Boots, but this is for Charity and I'd be more than happy to pay it if I knew it was going to a good cause.

So, that was my August Glossybox. I hope that you've already received yours so you didn't ruin the surprise when you read this post! Thank you for reading. Please leave suggestions and comments down below!

Update | Busy Few Days!

Hey everyone, I thought that today I could give you a little update as to what's going to be happening over the next few days. I'm going to be super busy the next few days. Whilst I'm doing these things, I want to spend time with my family and just have a good time, instead of thinking about having to write a blog post whenever I can squeeze them in. So! I came up with a plan. I've wrote seven blog posts in advance to be uploaded over the next week, so all I'll have to do is upload them daily. I hope that you can all understand that I want to spend time with my family- but you're still getting content, which is the only thing that matters, really!

I'll be going to Cardiff on one of the next few days, on a huge shopping spree- so look forward to seeing some of the goodies that I picked up in a blog post when the week is over! Another thing that I'll be doing is celebrating my Granddad's birthday, who I'm sure won't mind me saying, is celebrating his 77th birthday this year. I'm really looking forward to seeing everybody over the next few days and having a fabulous time! I'm sure the diet will be put on hold, though!

As far as blog-related things go, I've been toying with the idea of making an almost-daily update channel, but I'd actually have to get some readers that'd be interested first! So I think that will remain a distant plan. Another thing that I've been thinking of is to have a bit of a follow spree on Blogger of loads of beauty blogs that I'd find interesting to read, so if you think I'd be interested in your blog- feel free to comment or tweet me @dailybeaut.

Another thing that I'd like to mention is that I'm going to be starting 6th form when I go back to school at the very end of August, which is exciting! I'm actually looking forward to going back to school- but I've just got to finish all of my induction work before hand, otherwise I might not get there! Also, more exciting news is that I'll be getting my exam results on the 23rd this month, so I'll probably give you an update on those once I've found out what they are!

And finally, the only remaining news is in early November, I'm going to be going on a cruise on the Queen Mary to places like Bruges and Guernsey for a few days, so I'll be writing blog posts before and just uploading them every day. I'm super excited!

So, I hope you have a fabulous few days! Don't forget that posts are still going up, they've just been pre-written, but no worries- everything'll be back to normal in a few days time when everything dies down. See you soon!

Car Safety Workshop!

Last night I attended a Woman's Workshop all to do with car safety, so that my mother and I could find out a little bit more about what do to if you're in a bit of a sticky situation when your car breaks down, if you need to change a tyre etc. The reason that they chose to make this even a Woman's only event is largely because they realized that sometimes women can feel intimidated by men that appear to know all of this car-malarkey whereas I personally couldn't pick a flat tyre out of a line-up!

Whilst at this event, there was a stall from a local beauty salon that were showing people how to curl hair using hair straighteners. My mother and I had a nice chat with Jan, a woman who owns the salon along with her daughter, and it turns out that they recently took part in an episode of Don't Tell The Bride! This'll be airing sometime in September, so I'll be sure to make another post when I've watched the episode saying 'I've spoken to that lady!'. The salon offers a range of beauty therapies, such as hot-shell massages and chocolate face masks (yummy!) and is based in Leicester.

After we had watched the hair demonstration and treated ourselves to some nibbles, we got to watch a presentation all about what we should do if we ever do find ourselves in scary, intimidating situations whilst we're out and about in our cars. An example that we were given was the anagram 'Flower', which stands for Fuel, Lights, Oil, Water, Electric, and Rubber- which reminds us of everything that we should check to do with our car to make sure that everything will (hopefully!) go smoothly on our journeys.

Now, onto something a little more beauty-orientated. We received a lovely goody bag from the lovely ladies at the salon, Volkswagon, Next and also Rainbows the charity organisation. I thought that I'd share with you what we received in the bag.

Firstly, we received a lovely perfume from Next which smells absolutely lovely. Think autumn scents with a hint of musk! The main thing that I loved about this was the bottle, which is an adorable heart-shaped bottle with a stunning regal-looking lid to it. I was very impressed with this perfume and the bag in general!

Secondly, the bag contained a large cinnamon-scented candle. Cinnamon isn't normally a scent I would go for, but I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that the smell wasn't too overpowering so it can just go on if I want a little bit of luminosity in a room. This is what made the bag so heavy!

We were also given a keyring and a pen from the car dealership, which always comes in handy! The keyring will be going on my set of car-keys next year and the pen will be residing in my bag. I'll look so classy getting out my Volkswagon pen when I need to write something down! The envy of all pen-lovers, I bet!

Another thing that was included, which I'll never say no to, was a flapjack with a yoghurt base. Nothing much to say about it, except that it was a whopping 495 calories that I'll never get back! Recommended for the taste-buds but not for the stomach! As it was devoured, sadly you've got no picture to stare at- which is great for the diet, just not mine!
 
Finally, we were given some leaflets that had lots of details about car servicing, the Rainbows Charity Organisation and also some discounts on paint jobs for a new car. All in all, a pretty successful event and a lovely little goody bag for us all to gawk over! I really did enjoy my evening and I definitely recommend it if there's one near you anytime soon. It was very informative and made you think about what you should do if you were ever faced with an unwanted situation! As I'm currently learning to drive, it's definitely something that I wanted to go to so that I'd be a bit more aware of dangers that I might face and how to overcome them.
 
So it wasn't completely a beauty-focused post, but it's interesting none-the-less! Keep your eyes out for an informative post tomorrow. Nothing serious! Thank you very much for reading. If you have any suggestions on posts that I could write in the future, please leave a comment below or tweet me @Dailybeaut. See you all tomorrow!

Tag | Most Worn Things This Summer!

Hello everyone! Another tag today- but something that you might have seen running the beauty video's circuit recently (Olympics reference!). It's the 'Most Worn Things This Summer' tag, which I've absolutely loved watching and I do find really interesting. This might not be your bag, especially if you've been suffering the weather in the UK like I have and you just wanted to sling on a jumper instead of some shorts! The weather can make you quite fed up and not as enthusiastic to do your makeup or dress up, but I've managed to get out and about when we did have those few days of hot weather and I also went on holiday, so I have gotten a little bit of use of my more summer-y items! On with the tag!

1. Nail Polish 

My absolutely most-worn nail polish this summer has been Blue Moon by Barry M (spoken about here), which is an absolutely lovely pastel blue colour. Love it!

2. Hair Product

I'm far too lazy with my hair than what I should be! I've been using my Pantene Pro V Aqua Light Shampoo, which I do use all year-round and isn't just a summer thing, but I don't really use much else on my hair! 

3. Bag 

My most worn bag has been my black studded bag that I cheekily purchased off an eBay shop. I absolutely love it! I do have to mend the strap a little bit, which is a pain! I shouldn't have taken it to that festival.

4. Shoes

My most worn shoes this summer have been my brown brogues that I got about a year ago from Peacocks. They're too comfortable to not wear all the time! I've got a very prominent tan line on my feet from them, though!

5. Clothing Item 

My most worn clothing item this summer (when we actually had sun) has been my white blazer from Topshop, which I absolutely adore. It's such a nice fit and is very comfortable! 

6. Accessory 

My most worn accessory this summer has been my hamsa hand necklace from Kukee - I love it!

7. Foundation 

I only ever use my MAC Studio Fix Foundation because it gives me just the amount of coverage that I need.

8. Bronzer and/or Blush

I've only really worn my MAC Fleur Power this Summer because it's such a lovely coral colour, definitely recommended!

9. Lip Product 

My most worn lip product has been Collection's Matte Lipcream in CandyFloss. It's a dupe for NYX Matte Lip Creams, but doesn't offer the range of colour like NYX do. I've wrote a review of the Collection's Lipcream here. 

10. Mascara

I'm not going to go on about this much because I think it's featured in every post that I've ever wrote. Clinique's High Intensity Mascara. That's all.

11. Eyeshadow 

I've been wearing colours from my Sleek Storm Palette recently, which are highly pigmented. I might right a review my Sleek Palette's soon. 

12. Fragrance

I've been wearing my Chance perfume by Chanel relentlessly this summer- it's so lovely and floral, if you like those things in a fragrance, then you should try that out. It's amazing!

Well, that's all for today's post! I hope that you've enjoyed reading today. Pretty soon I'm going to start phasing out my long introductions because they can be a little tiring to read- so I'll just start with the post and then put a little bit of an ending paragraph with things that are included normally in the first paragraph. Anyway- I'll stop rambling! Thank you for reading today's post and please follow this blog if you'd fancy reading more. Bye everyone!

Tag | Make-up and Skincare!

Hello lovelies! Today has been pretty hectic and I swear I haven't been getting enough sleep. The humidity recently has been unbearable here in the UK and combined with multiple mosquito bites doesn't put me in the best of moods, but I'm willing to work through it to write today's post. I actually wrote a post earlier today, published it and for some reason it didn't upload. I'm quite distraught, to be honest with you. Taking time out of my day to write a post that just varnished off the face of the earth is very disheartening and doesn't really improve my mood at all.
Anyway, putting all that nonsense behind me, I'll write today's blog post. Today I'm going to do a nice tag on skincare and beauty. I'm not completely sure who made this tag, but I think it's absolutely lovely and a lot more suitable for a beauty blog rather than questions about myself. So, let's get started.

SKINCARE

-How many times do you wash your face daily?

I wash my face twice a day. Once in the morning (not with 100% focus, I mainly just do it to wake myself up for a busy day!) and then again in the evening, making sure I cleanse, exfoliate etc.

 
-What skin type do you have? (dry,oily,combo)

I have an oily T-zone, but if I exfoliate too much it gets dry, so I make sure to only do it every other day. So, perhaps combination? It's very confusing.

 
-What is your current facial wash?

I just use Boots' Essentials Facial Cleanser, which does the job. I've not really invested a lot in facial wash- I'm more of a make-up remover and exfoliate girl.

 
-What brand do you use?

I use Boots Essentials.

 
-Is it really important to moisturize? 

I think it is quite important to moisturize, mainly because it can either help with keeping your make-up on, or keeping your skin soft and healthy.

 

-How often do you moisturize your face?

Every morning and every evening.

 
-What moisturizer do you use?

I alternate between Boots' Essentials and Benefit's Total Moisture.

 
-Do you use sunscreen?

I do if the sun is out, which is rare in the UK. I also make sure to have SPF in my foundation and concealer, just in case I'm out and about, the sun is shining and I've not got any sun tan lotion to hand.

 
-What is your favorite skincare line?

That's a hard one. I love Bioderma's line and also Clinique (even though some of their products do tend to break me out! Not what you look for in a skin-care brand!)

 
-Do you have regular facial treatments?

Never. I've never had one, but I'm hoping on getting one the next time I go away on holiday.

 
-Do you have freckles?

I have very light freckles on my cheeks and nose when the sun comes out, but apart from that they're unseen.

 
-Do you spray water on your face during summer?

I do! I recently got a water spray from boots because I get very hot and sticky when it's sunny.

 
-What do you use for cleansing your face?

I use Bioderma's Make-up Remover and then Boots' Essentials Facial Cleanser.

 
-One skincare routine that is a MUST for you?

You mean what I do? I remove my makeup, cleanse, exfoliate and moisturize.

 
-Why do you think we should take care of our skin?

I think it's very important that you should take care of your skin, mainly in the sun as if it's not completely protected, you could be at a high risk of getting skin cancer. It's also important to take care of your skin so that you have minimal wrinkles when you age and also it just feels nice to have soft, healthy-looking and feeling skin.

MAKE-UP

-What foundation do you use?

I use Mac's Studio Fix Fluid SPF15 in NC15.

 
-How about concealer?

I use Mac's Studio Fix Concealer SPF35 in NC15, too!

 
-Do you know your undertone color?

I have quite pink undertones, which is never good! It just means that I have to have full coverage of foundation otherwise I look all red and blotchy!

 
-What do you think of fake eyelashes?

I've never really tried fake eyelashes myself, but I really want to start wearing them when I go out. I think I'm going to buy a cheap pair soon to see what they feel like and if I'll be able to get used to the application of them and if I'd be able to wear them on my eyes!

 
-Did you know that you are suppose to change your mascara every 3 months?

I do indeed! If it still works, I do tend to keep using them though. Bad example, I know!

 
-What brand of mascara do you use?

I use Clinique's High Intensity Mascara.

 
-Sephora or Ulta?

I've never tried/been to either of them because I live in the UK.

 
-Do you have a MAC Pro-card?

Not yet. I have to ask in my local MAC store, though. It's only available in the US and Canada online, so I have to ask in store. What a pain!

 
-What makeup tools do you use in make up application?

My real techniques core collection is all I use to do my basics. Otherwise, I use my fingers!

 
-Do you use make-up base/primer for the eyes? 

 I don't actually. I apply my face primer to my eyelids, so it works there too!

 
-For the face? 

 I do! I alternate between Boots' Moisturiser and MUA's Facial Primer.

 
-What is your favorite highlight powder?

Definitely the one from Topshop. I love it!

 
-What is your favorite eyeshadow (color or shade)? 

I'm definitely a neutrals fan, definitely! Browns all the way! 

 
-Do you line your eyes? 

 I do occasionally.

 
-Do you use pencil or liquid eyeliner? 

 I use liquid above my eyes and pencil (if I'm going for a more striking look) along my waterline.

 
-How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner pencil?

 Never! I mastered the Kohl years ago. I was even the envy of my friends, being able to apply it with just one hand!

 
-What do you think of pigment eyeshadows? 

 I think they look very scary! I don't own any myself, so I'll be very cautious if I ever fancy making a purchase of some!

 
-Do you use mineral makeup?

I don't really use mineral makeup that much.

 
-What is your favorite lipstick? 

Pink Plaid by MAC is my favourite lipstick I own, but I'm absolutely in awe of Dior Addict's Lipstick in Diorkiss. Divine! 

 
-How about lipgloss? 

 I'm not a lipgloss kinda' gal', to be truthful.

 
-What blush on do you use? 

 Fleur Power by MAC, mostly.

 
-Do you buy your makeup on ebay? 

 I've never bought makeup off ebay, mainly because you don't really know if you're buying fake items or not. I never want to risk it, so I'll stick to saving up and buying from the store!

 
-Do you like drugstore makeup?

I love drugstore makeup. Cheap and cheerful is something I live by!

Thank you for reading today's post! I'm glad that it's finally up! If you fancy, leave a comment below on posts that you might like to see in the future. I'm also looking for ideas for my first ever Youtube video- so any tips and tricks with that would be greatly appreciated! See you tomorrow!

Birthday Shopping!

Hello everyone! Today I went on a lovely outing with a group of friends to celebrate one of their birthdays (Happy Birthday Emma!). We went into town and had a little nose around the shops. I swear, the majority of people that I know have their birthday in August.

Anyway, I had sworn to myself that I was only going to buy the Bourjois 1 Second nail varnish remover because of my strict non-spending ban I've forced upon myself- but then I found this lovely shop called Blush and it sells everything from OPI nail vanishes to Sleek Makeup. It's safe to say I was ecstatic.

When I saw the Sleek Eyebrow Kit, I couldn't quite resist the urge to buy it, so I snapped it up quickly and cheerfully. Sleek is normally only in the occasional Superdrug store and whenever I find a stall, they never have the eyebrow kits in. I bought mine from Blush in the shade 'light', making a guess as to whether or not it would suit me (luckily it does!). I'd been wanting to try this kit since I'd first seen Beautycrush raving about it in one of her videos. I've always been unsure about my eyebrows, just filling them in with an eyebrow pencil from Rimmel that I'd just picked up in Wilkinsons on a whim and plucking away the odd hair or two. I'll keep you up to date with my use of this product- which I'm sure will be quite excessive.

The other thing that I bought was the Bourjois Dissolvant, which I was a little skeptical about. I've seen Zoella talking about this product in her monthly favourites video, just as I ran out of my usual Tesco-branded cheapy nail varnish remover and I thought that I might as well give this a go. This product is Acetone free, which is something you should always look for, and also doesn't contain paraben. Boots did have an offer for 2 for £8, but as I wasn't sure it'd be for me I only bought the one for £5. When we had a rest in the park, I realized that some of my nail varnish had chipped- so I thought it would be a perfect time to try out my new nail varnish remover. So, I followed the instructions to 'dip your finger into the sponge and twist' with each finger and it all came off afterwards. It didn't take the one second which it was advertised at, but after four or five seconds my nails were completely stripped of the polish. So far, I'm loving this product- so try it out if you're looking for an acetone free nail varnish remover!

In other news, my first Glossybox arrived today (two days before it was predicted to arrive, get in!) which I was very excited about. I won't go into detail as to what was in it just now, because some people might not have received theirs yet and want it to remain a surprise. If you would like to know what I received in my box, comment below and I'll make a post on each item and keep you up to date on whether or not I use them.

So, today's post was half-update and half-product buying. I hope that you enjoyed and might fancy reading some more- if so, press the follow button! Thank you for reading!

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream

Hello everyone! I've just gotten back from an intense training session at the gym and I'm completely worn out. When I got home, I found some samples that I signed up for on the table. These samples are for the new Dream Fresh BB SPF 30 cream from Maybelline and are still available to order from their website here. Now, this post is just going to be an introduction to the product and later on in this month I'll complete a full review of the cream and post it to this blog.

The samples that I got came in a folded card with information about the product and three sachets of the BB cream that are used for different occasions. For those of you who don't know, BB cream is used in place of foundation. It's a moisturiser that applies smoothly onto your skin to make your skin look fresh and revitalized. The information that comes along with the samples tells you that it's a water-based gel formula which is oil free. It also mentions that it's an '8-in-1 skin perfector', listing how it blurs imperfections, gives a natural looking glow, gives a fresh feel, compliments skin tone, gives the skin a smooth look, hydrates the skin, protects your skin from the sun with SPF 30 (thank goodness! Always something you should look for in either a BB cream or foundation. Make sure you're protected!) and is oil-free and doesn't make skin look greasy, which is great for me because my skin can look very oily sometimes if I don't apply foundation.

The BB Dream Fresh Cream comes in four different shades, but I luckily got sent the 'light' shade which should suit my skin tone perfectly because I'm very fair-skinned. Each of the three samples have occasions which you would wear them to. Now, I'm not completely sure if this is the same product within the three sachets or each is slightly different. One cream is for at the office, the next around town and the final one is for in the club. I don't know if these are made specifically for those occasions or if they can be worn to all of them, so this'll be exciting to find out!

BB Dream Fresh Cream is available from Boots, Superdrug and from any other retailers that sell Maybelline products. They're mainly sold for £7.99, but look out for 3 for 2 offers! Make sure to check back soon for an in-depth review soon to see if it might be a product that you'd want to try out in the future.

Thank you for reading today's post! I hope that you enjoyed and don't forget to subscribe if you want to read more.

Mini Haul | Birthday Presents!

Hey everyone. Today I thought that I would show you the presents that I bought for my best friends birthday. Now, her birthday was actually on the 3rd of August, but she's been on holiday in France for two weeks so I couldn't give it to her on the day. So I had to wait ages to actually give her the birthday presents I bought for her- hence why this is up super late.

 Barry M's Mint Green Nail Varnish, a Brown Shoulder Bag from Primark and a £10 topshop voucher.

Firstly, I thought I'd get her a Topshop voucher, because I'm pretty useless at picking out things for other people in Topshop- they have a lot of different styles going on and my style can be quite odd at times. So, I thought a voucher would do the job nicely so that she'd be able to buy something that she's had her eye on. These cards work like every other gift card, just buy the card for the amount of money that you'd like to put on it and voila! Just give it to whoever you want (preferably someone that'd actually use it!).

Next, I popped into Primark because I know she has a love for over the shoulder bags that you can just fling your stuff into and walk out the door, so I thought that I'd see what Primark had in store at the time. I found this lovely bag, which buckles underneath the base of the bag and has a strap which you can alter the length of. Inside the bag is a small pocket and a substantial amount of space for say, a purse and a phone.. and maybe your favourite nail varnish!

Which brings me nicely onto the final item that I bought her. I saw her tweet the other day that she really wanted Barry M's Mint Green Nail Varnish and also their Raspberry Nail Varnish- so I went into superdrug with the intention of buying both nail varnishes so she'd be surprised. Sadly, they only had Mint Green available- so I decided just to buy her that. I've wrote about Barry M's Mint Green Nail Varnish here, so make sure you check that out.

Thanks for reading this post everyone! It's safe to say that she loved her presents, by the way! Have a great day. 

Review | Real Techniques Core Collection

Hello everyone! Today I'm writing to you, sat in my bedroom wearing jogging bottoms and a tank top after having a two hour gym session. It's ridiculous how much energy you can muster up just by having enough motivation and a filling breakfast! Recently, I've been falling short of having enough energy after a long day to sit and write a blog post, take pictures and then post it to my blog, but if I don't achieve all those things, I instantly have the feeling of disappointment at how dull the post looks and how it's not been as well received as more in depth posts that look generally more appealing and interesting to read. I really want to write a post every single day, so hopefully I'll be able to apply the motivation that I have when I go to the gym, into my writing, picture taking and posting. Anyway, after that long introduction and excuse, let's get into the post! Today I'm going to be writing about my Real Techniques Core Collection brushes, so sit back and enjoy the ride (sorry, I'm in an odd mood).

The Real Techniques range was created by Samantha Chapman- one of the lovely ladies on Pixiwoo, that you probably would have seen before. Now, I've always wanted to try the Real Techniques range, but I never really knew what brushes to go for- so I went for the Core Collection, mainly because I've seen video upon video of people raving about two of the brushes within the pack of four and I really wanted to buy some.

 

(I apologize for the amount of makeup that's on the brushes- I didn't quite get around to washing them in time for this post, but they are so over-due for a shampoo it's ridiculous.)

From left to right, Buffing Brush, Contour Brush, Detailing Brush and the Pointed Foundation Brush.

 

 

 The Buffing Brush has to be my favourite out of the set. It was one of the two highly recommended brushes and I can understand why. When applying my foundation, I much prefer to buff it in afterwards, otherwise it can look a little bit streaky and like a three year old just decided to rub it along my face or something. So- with this trusty, soft brush I buff the foundation into my skin in a circular motion and the foundation looks flawless and it's covered my entire face as it's been spread across- so it makes good use of your foundation too. I don't think this brush is available on it's own, but it's definitely worth buying the set if you did just want this brush individually, because it's completely worth it and also, you get three other brushes which is a bonus. 

 

 

Second brush! The contour brush is the other brush that's often raved about excessively on many youtube channels. It's used to apply your bronzer which you contour your face with as it fits perfectly under your cheek bones- but I mainly use it for blush because I don't really use my bronzer all that much. This brush is unbelievably soft on the skin and applies just the right amount of blush to my cheek bones so that I don't look  bright pink after I put it on. This brush is absolutely lovely, so definitely a thumbs up from me. 

 

The third brush in the collection that I thought was pretty nifty is the detailing brush. I use this to apply my concealer to my spots, under my eyes and any other blemishes that I want to cover. I just dab the brush into my concealer pot and then drag it along the spots I want to cover and then pat them in with my finger. To some people it might seem like a pointless exercise, but if you don't really want to ruin your concealer by pressing your finger on it or possibly you don't want to use an excessive amount of concealer, this brush eliminates both of those problems by picking up just the amount of product that you want and doesn't make it all clumpy. I like this brush, not as much as the buffing brush and the contouring brush, but I still find use for it- so I think it's beneficial to some people and maybe not others.

 

 

The final brush that was in the core collection is the foundation brush. Most people don't really use foundation brushes because they just apply the foundation with their fingers in dots and then buff it around the face with a buffing brush. I'm not one of those people. I like to make sure that my foundation has gone all over my face because I like quite a lot of coverage because I have blotchy skin, so I place the foundation on the back of my hand and then dab this brush into it, brushing it along my face until it's been applied all over. This does leave a streaky effect on your face- but with the buffing brush, that effect is easily eliminated. If you like foundation brushes, this does the job. If not, you can just add it to your collection because you've just purchased three brushes that are great and one that you don't care for. Either way- I like this brush a lot.

So, I hope that you enjoyed today's post. I know I said I wouldn't be doing reviews for a while, but I've been in a rut and this'll help me out of it. Please leave suggestions in the comments of other things that I can write about. Thank you for reading!

Beauty Wishlist

Hello everyone! It's just going to be a short one today because I'm tired and I just want to fall on my bed and sleep for years. For the majority of yesterday, I spent my time sat on my laptop hunting through websites like MAC, Topshop, Benefit etc. to make a complete wishlist of stuff that I want to buy over the next few months. I earn £5 an hour and do around three hours a day, so it's not as if I'm making a fortune- but I'm going to be saving up a lot so I can do a huge haul for you guys (and more importantly, have a lot of beauty items that I can bask in!).
I thought that I'd share with you what I've put on my list.

MAC

Pro Palette Eye Shadow x 15, £11.50

Painterly Paint Pot £14.50

Ricepaper Eye Shadow £10

Embark Eye Shadow £10

Corderoy Eye Shadow £10

Tete-A-Tint Eye Shadow £10

Carbon Eye Shadow £10

All That Glitters Eye Shadow £10 

Ruby Woo Lipstick £14

Hue Lipstick £14

Impassioned Lipstick £14

Frankly Scarlet Blush £17.50

Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation £20.50

Total: £166

Topshop 

Lipstick £8

Sunbeam Highlighter £9

Neon Rose Blush £6

Total: £23

NYX - www.cocktailcosmetics.co.uk

Addis Ababa Matte Lip cream £5

Istanbul Matte Lip Cream £5

Amsterdam Matte Lip Cream £5

Total: £15

Benefit (free delivery from feelunique.co.uk)

Total Moisturise Face Cream £26.50

Total: £26.50

Essie

Mint Candy Apple Nail Varnish £7.99

Sand Tropez Nail Varnish £7.99

Total: £15.98

Real Techniques Brushes

Stippling Brush £11.99

Real Techniques Starter Set £21.99

Real Techniques Powder Brush £12.99

Total: £46.97

Models Own

Pastel Pink Nail Varnish £5

Beach Party Nail Varnish £5

Top Turquoise Nail Varnish £5

Lemon Meringue Nail Varnish £5

Coral Reef Nail Varnish £5

Total: £18

Total: £311.45 

I know, it's ridiculous. I think it'll take me a long time. If there's anything that you think I should add to my beauty wishlist, make sure you comment so I can force myself to save up even more! I'm also on a spending ban until I earn enough money to buy all of these beautiful things. Also- if you own anything on my wishlist and want to tell me a little bit more about it, make sure you tweet me or comment!

Thank you very much for reading today's post. I'll make sure to do a proper one tomorrow with pretty pictures and anything! Leave me a comment if you have any suggestions on blog posts to do. Subscribe if you like! See you tomorrow! 

Made Up Mum

Hello lovelies! Yesterday my mum asked me if I'd do her makeup as she was going out for a lovely meal with some friends to celebrate somebodies birthday, so I happily agreed and rushed up to my room to get all her make-up ready and threw in a few bits of my own that I thought might go with her outfit. She had decided on a grey and white striped dress that's very flattering, a silver cardigan and black heels- so I had to pick make-up that wouldn't clash with her outfit. She also asked me if I'd be willing to try and boost the volume in her hair by giving her some curls, which I also agreed to.

 
These are the products that I used, (from left to right-ish) MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation, Gold by Giles Highlighter in Pleasure, CreamPuff Lip Cream in CandyFloss, Sleek i-Divine Original Eyeshadow Palette, Rimmel London Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Brown, Clinique High Impact Mascara, MAC Studio Finish Concealer and MAC Fleur Power Blush.

I first applied some moisturiser to act as a primer for her makeup. When that dried slightly I started to apply her foundation. My mum has quite oily skin, so I chose her foundation that gives a matte finish so that she wouldn't look too dewy in the light and just too shiny for her liking. I dotted the foundation over her T-zone and buffed it out over the rest of her skin with her Real Techniques Stippling Brush. This gave her medium coverage, which did the job pretty well. I then applied my Studio Finish Concealer by MAC just around her eyes to give her more coverage on areas of her skin that she isn't as confident with.

Once her foundation and concealer had been finished, I applied MAC's Fleur Power Blush along her cheek bones to bring some colour to her complexion- I applied this with my Real Techniques Contour brush so that it didn't go too wild on her face and just stuck around her cheek bone area, which is what we all would want. After that, I applied some highlighter onto the start of her cheek bones, along her 'nasal bone' and a little along the brow bone with a foundation brush.

 
That was her base completely finished, so I moved onto her eyes. I quickly filled her eyebrows with my Rimmel London Eyebrow Pencil (as my mum's eyebrows are perfectly matched to her hair and they aren't unruly, they didn't require much work!) and brushed them down so that they looked perfect. I then applied a skin-coloured base for her eyelids and then added the two pink colours that you see in the above palette. The lighter colour went along the lids and then the darker went along the crease to give a slight hint of a smoky eye.

I then finished up with applying some Matte Lipcream in the shade CandyFloss (raved about excessively here) just to make sure that she had some lippy that'd stay on all evening without her having to lug about a make-up bag. I also applied some of my Clinique mascara to give her eyelashes some boost and volume.

Once I'd finished her make-up, I started on her hair. I used my Babyliss curling wand just to create curles with her hair, which I then tweaked and combed to make more wavy and less tight curls. My Mum always wants more volume in her hair, as she thinks that it looks quite thin at times- so I puffed it up slightly by backcombing her hair a little bit with a comb and swooshed it about a little.

And here is the final product! She was very pleased with her make-up and hair, which I'm glad of. I'm more knowledgeable when it comes to doing make-up rather than hair, so as you can imagine, I freaked out slightly when things didn't look the way that I'd pictured. Overall, I think that she looked absolutely lovely and she enjoyed her meal out- which is a bonus!

Thank you for reading today's post! Don't forget to follow this blog if you'd like to read more! Have a great day everyone.

My Wardrobe Essentials As Of Now

Good morning, afternoon or evening depending on blah blah blah. For today's post, I'm taking a fashion route and I'm going to be showing you key pieces of my wardrobe that make-up different types of outfits that I wear. Hope you enjoy and make sure to follow if this stuff interests you (as I'm sure it does. If not, why are you here?).

The Peplum

Above you see my Black Peplum top from Topshop that cost me £16 before they took the non-zippy ones away and replaced them with zip-backed £18 versions that seem to do exactly the same thing. I'd been eyeing these tops up ever since I saw them on the Topshop app- in particular fancying the black and white coloured ones as they can pretty much be shoved on with the majority of my clothing. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw how lovely the fit was when I tried it on, so I decided to spend my pennies for this lovely addition to my wardrobe. I think that this can be worn with a tube skirt, a pair of slim-fitting jeans, leggings (if you go for any colour other than black in the top) mainly just to make the outfit a little bit more sophisticated and classy. On second thoughts, skip the leggings. 

The Blazer

Right now, blazers are definitely growing in popularity. At first you might think "well, they can look a little bit like interview-wear" but I think that they can be worn wherever depending on what you wear with them. If you fancy going out for a slap up meal, go ahead and wear your heels, dress and your new swish blazer. If you just want to go out shopping, wear a casual t-shirt, pop some leggings on and shrug a boyfriend blazer over your shoulders. I think that if worn with the right stuff and you've got a nicely fitting blazer for your body type then go ahead and make it a go-to wardrobe item. Why not?

 

The Dainty Dress

So it doesn't have to be mint green and from Primark, but that's just what I consider to be dainty. Along with a pretty white belt and some white flats, ooh yeah- I'll be wearing that soon. Anyway! I think that a pretty dress for day-time wear is a definite essential for girls confident enough to get a bit of leg out. Next time you see a pretty dress in a shop and you think "I'd love to try it on, but seriously, when could I wear it?" remember that you can dress down dainty dresses with flats, tights and a cardigan or you can dress them up to the heavens with heels and a blazer. Confidence is key, my friends.

The Denim Jacket

I'm going to be writing a post all about how I style denim jacket's pretty soon, so stay tuned for that. I love wearing my jacket to all sorts of things, from shopping to getting my passport photo done. Seriously- I did that. I really love denim jackets. I'm more towards ones with sleeves rather than the gilet version, but whatever floats your boat. I'm really tempted to buy some studs off ebay and stud the corners, but I'm afraid I'll do it wrong somehow and ruin it. A definite wardrobe essential for me.

 

The Maxi

I love wearing my maxi skirt all the time, especially because it's black and it slims me down! Both maxi dresses and maxi skirts are lovely pieces to have in your wardrobe mainly because they can be worn pretty much all throughout the year and still provide you with approving glances from people that walk passed you on the street. They might not be for everyone, but they are definitely for me. I also think that they look lovely on larger women as well as slim-jims. I'm not slim in any way, shape or form and I still feel confident when I'm wearing either of them because they just have that effect on you.
 

The Heels

So I had to throw them in. Heels, no matter if they're neon pink or black with studs- Heels are essential, especially to girls that are 5"4 and never going to grow again. So perhaps you can't dress them down if they're 5" or whatever, but by god are they lovely to look at. Wedges are definitely the more comfortable version of heels and I find myself struggling with these platform babies all the time (my feet kill so badly!) but I think it's worth it just to get a confidence boost (and the height is a bonus!). Maybe if you're super tall already, you might not think that you need heels- that's fine, but for now please excuse me whilst I oggle at my pair (of shoes! I had to add that after reading the whole thing.).

       

The Casual White Tee

My final essential item is the casual white tee. I got mine from Topshop recently, oversized and a little see-through, but so easy just to chuck on with some leggings or jeans and pop up to the local shop for the newest copy of Elle. I absolutely love this top, mainly because it is so plain and you can just do whatever with it and still look lovely. It's official, I love it.

I hope that you enjoyed today's post. I'll explain in a future post about what's going to start happening with this blog. It's not earth-shattering, but I think it's more inviting for sure. Don't forget if you enjoyed today's post to follow this blog and tweet any suggestions to @dailybeaut. 

Thanks for reading, bye bye!

Tag | Get To Know Me

Hey everyone! Today I thought I'd do something a bit more simple and quite similar to the 20 questions tag I did the other day. I was sort of running low on writing energy today so I thought something simple and interesting (hopefully) would do the trick nicely. If you want to read the 20 questions post, head over here. Hope you enjoy!
 

Basic Information!

 

Name

Katie Marie Goodall (sounds like it needs to have 'the third' on the end, or something!)

 

Nicknames

My parents call me Kate, other members of my family call me Skates and my best friend has taken to calling me a range of things from Treacle to Ugly-face. She's a doll.

 

Birthday

31st of December. Feel free to send me gifts.

 

Place of Birth

Swansea in South Wales. I lived there for nine years before I moved to England.

 

Star Sign

Capricorn.

 

Occupation

I'm currently in school and I can't get a part-time job anywhere, so that's out of the question. 

Appearance!

 

Hair Colour

Dark brown at the moment. A week or so ago it was brown but red in the sun- I removed the colour from it now, so it's just dark brown but for some reason, lighter at the ends. Has an ombre effect without doing anything.

 

Hair Length

I'd normally say below my shoulders, but it's seemed to have a rapid growth in length recently, so around about my chest area at the moment.

 

Eye Colour

Boring old blue, but in the sunlight they go super bright. It's fab.

 

Best Feature

I think my best feature is my skin. It takes a lot of effort for it to remain my best feature and when I get even the smallest spot I cringe- so I try and maintain my skin to keep it in it's current condition. All my family say that I'm lucky my skin is so smooth and clear.

 

Braces

I've never had braces. I've never had any fillings, either. I'm just lucky with my teeth, I suppose.

 

Piercings

I have three piercings. A simple lobe piercing, a second lobe piercing and one cartilage piercing on my right ear. Nothing fancy. I'm going to be getting my third lobe piercing done pretty soon, though- so I'm looking forward to that.

 

Tattoos

I don't have any tattoos because I'm not eighteen yet. I don't really want to risk getting one done in a place that allows anyone under the age of eighteen to get one just because the quality might not be as up to standards and it might not be completely safe, so for now I have one and a half years of making up my mind. 

 

Lefty or Righty?

I'm a righty, which is fine by me! 

Firsts!

Best Friend

My first ever best friend was a girl called Lindsey Brown. I met her in reception at my primary school in South Wales. She was super short (and still is!) with brown curly hair and huge brown eyes. I always remember that we used to pretend to be the powerpuff girls and I used to be blossom and she'd always be buttercup. Come to think of it, those roles suited us pretty well. Sadly, we don't get to see each other anymore due to how far away we live from one another. We don't really have the same personalities that we used to either- so we've grown distant, which is a shame.

 

Award

My first ever award was a trophy, which I'm so proud of even though I didn't really do anything spectacular to gain it. My trophy was given to me by the teacher of my karate class when I was around seven years old. The trophy was dedicated to me for 'the highest attendance'- not even for my amazing karate skills! Can you believe it? I was still chuffed to get an award though. 

 

Sport

My first sporting club was the karate I just mentioned. I didn't really enjoy it all that much, but my mum used to force me to go because I wasn't really active when I was younger. I didn't like to socialize like the other kids did and I much preferred to be in the comfort of my own home. But, alas, I had to join something- so karate was my choice and I stuck to it until I reached blue belt. 

 

Real Holiday

I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I think my first holiday abroad was to Majorca, possibly. Like I said, I'm not too sure and I'm a little hazy on the details. It was either Majorca or Lanzarote. 

 

Concert

This is so shameful. My first ever concert was McFly when I was eleven. My parents let me and my friend go to the NEC to watch them live by ourselves (which I was very nervous about, to say the least!). It was exhilarating and my ears were extremely messed up afterwards, which was a completely new experience to me then (but one that I'm very used to now).   

Favourites!

 

Film

My favourite film has to be Monsters Inc. and I know I sound really childish saying it, but it's honestly my favourite film that I've ever seen Disney make and I love love love it. Mike Wazowski is definitely my favourite character, along with Randall. Amazing film.

 

TV Show

I think my favourite TV show has to be Friends, mainly because it's one of those shows that you can see a million times and still put it on and enjoy. I think I can recite most episodes and I often quote Pheobe's 'Oh no' in many situations. For example! "Katie, it's raining and the washing is out on the line!" "Oh, no" in her sarcastic manner is usually a brilliant response to show how little concern I give. 

 

Colour

My favourite colour is light blue.

 

Song

My favourite song alternates all the time with what's current in the charts. At the minute, I think that it's 'I Won't Give Up' by Jason Mraz, which I absolutely love and find myself dancing around the house and singing to.

 

Restaurant

I don't really go to restaurants that often, so I don't really know many. I think my favourite is the Harvester, mainly because I've been there and they serve really cool bread rolls. (Simple things please simple minds.)

 

Store

Has to be Topshop. I love everything in there, even if I can only afford one item per year, or so it seems.

 

Book

My favourite book at the moment is The Guilded Cage, by Josephine Cox. It's lovely and romantic, but set in the 1900's in London. Loved reading it.

 

Magazine

Elle is my favourite magazine one hundred percent. I love flicking through my brand new monthly copy and seeing all of the new fashions that'll be gracing our stores in the future. Also, they interview celebrities that are actually interesting. The writers have such a lovely style to their writing- as if they're telling a story rather than telling you a celebrities answers to a dull question.

 

Shoes

I don't have to own them, do I? Because it won't ever happen. It just so happens to be these beauties. Chanel Short Boots. I absolutely adore them. Look how gorgeous they are. Swoon.

 

Currently...

 

Feeling

A little worse for wear at the moment. I've had on-and-off headaches and dizziness over the past week. Hopefully it'll wear off soon.

 

Single or Taken?

Single and not really bothered at this present time.

 

Eating

I'm not eating anything at the minute. But I have been eating a lot of chicken curry of late- it's awfully nice.

 

Listening to

Not listening to anything either. Apart from the constant drone of my fan that I have swinging in my room and the tapping of my fingers on the keyboard. I think I'll have to turn my music on soon. A bit of Britney, anyone? Like I said though, I've been really into a bit of Jason Mraz recently. He's got such a pretty voice.

 

Thinking about

What other blog posts I could do, how I should really head over to the gym today, is my phone charged? and what colour should I paint my nails. But I should be thinking about starting my homework, which is never good.

Watching

I can only assume this means what I've been watching recently, which is Pretty Little Liars season three, E! News daily, the London 2012 Olympics (of course! GO TEAM GB!), Masterchef Australia and Big Brother.

 

Wearing

Recently I've been wearing my denim jacket quite a lot, along with black leggings and a baggy top tucked into them. I've been a little slobbish recently, so nothing snazzy. 

Future...

 

Want Children?

Definitely. Ideally I'd like a girl, but in the distant future, I'm sure I'd be just as happy as long as he/she is healthy and doesn't cry too much.

 

Want to Marry?

I'd love to get married. I always imagined myself getting married to a lovely hardworking bloke that doesn't mind my nagging. Hopefully that'll happen!

 

Career Choices?

I'd love to do something in the fashion/beauty industry, but I don't think that any of my qualifications would get me in- so I'm thinking of going down the ICT and Computing route and hopefully work for a fashion/beauty company doing computing- which is something that I think I'm good at.

 

Where do you want to live?

My ideal place to live would be in a swanky apartment in London, but unless I marry someone extremely rich or the computing industry starts paying big bucks, I think I'll just be happy living with the people that I love, no matter where the house is. 

 

Beliefs!

 

God

I don't believe in God- but I would like to believe that there is something out there that helps us along.

 

Miracles

I think that miracles can happen every once in a while, but I'd just like one to happen to me!

 

Love at first sight

I wish I could believe in love at first sight, but I'm a bit too worried that if it did happen, it would never happen to me. I think my personality is stronger than my appearance.

 

Ghosts

Don't be silly!

 

Aliens

I don't believe that there are green life-forms on other planets with seven eyes and tentacles, but I do think that there is life on other planets (such as a plant, or something- I don't know!).

 

Soul Mates

I don't believe in soul mates (really Katie? After you just watched Crazy, Stupid, Love just a few hours ago?). I just think that there isn't just one person out there for someone. Imagine if you never found them? You could spend your life believing that one day you'd find your soul mate and you'd live happily ever after, but you might never find them and die alone. Or you could think you've found your soul mate, get married, something goes wrong, you get divorced and then what? You spend your rest of your life thinking that you're never going to find anyone that's right for you apart from your ex husband/wife. 

 

Heaven

I believe that when you die, you either get reincarnated as another living thing or you go up to heaven, so yes.

 

Hell

I don't believe in Hell, mainly because it isn't a nice place to think about- so I just avoid putting my mind in a position where it thinks about it.

 

Kissing on a first date

I think it's fine if the moment is there and you feel the same way.

 

Yourself

I try my hardest to believe in myself and I'm working on improving that.

  

Well, that was fun to write. It made me think an awful lot, too. This tag, I believe, was initially created by MeganIsobel but I originally saw it on NiaSays' channel here. Feel free to do this tag yourself- I tag all of you! Thanks for reading!