Sunday 31 August 2014

Review | Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet

Browsing boots a few days ago my eye was caught by an adorably packaged little product. I'm sure all of you will have heard about them. The Rouge Edition Velvet liquid lipsticks *Swooooon*. Curently on offer in boots for 3 for 2, I bought my go to foundation the Healthy Mix Serum and then bought two of these little beauty's in the shades '08 Grand Cru' and '05 Ole flamingo!' I wouldn't have been right to just get one, so I bought two.  



I went for both very bright shades. They come in plastic packaging that to me seems pretty sturdy indeed. They have a little 'Bourjois' embossed down one side which I think is such a cute little touch. 


When I first tried these products I was honestly shocked by their pigmentation, it's insane. They glide onto your lips like an absolute dream. When I first applied mine I was looking in the mirror confused because they where supposed to be a matte finish. However, they apply slightly glossy and dry to a matte finish. Once they dry fully you can 100% tell why velvet is in the name. They are so smooth and well velvety on the lips. Such amazing quality for only £8.99, I think they actually beat many high end lipsticks that I have tried. Most certainly, I will be collecting all of these over the winter as they are not the slightest drying on your lips! 
Ole Flamingo - 05

Grand Cru- 08


Recommend me some new liquid lipsticks?
All my love x

Friday 29 August 2014

Garnier | Micellar Cleansing Water

Cleansing waters, again i'm late to the hype. I've read review after review of Bioderma but never ever bought any. If any of you don't know what these relatively new 'Micellar Cleansing Waters' do. They remove all the makeup and day-to-day grime from your face without the need to rinse your face afterwards. I'm no good at science but i'm quite sure that the chemicals within these products break down the daily dirt from your face. I seen this product in Superdrug on offer for £3.32 and reached for its huge bottle with delicate pink details. It had to be mine. 


This product seemed perfect for my sensitive skin... Fragrance free, hypoallergenic, no need for rubbing and it soothes your skin too? Surely that's a lot to claim, Garnier? I haven't had this product too long so I guess this is kind of my first impressions. When I first tried it, it was after a long day, a full face of make up. Challenge accepted. I put it too the test by adding the product to cotton pads and began to wipe away my face. It perfectly removed my skin and lip makeup however it struggled a little on my eye makeup. Having not tried any other cleansing waters, I cannot tell you if this is the norm for me. I removed my eye makeup with my current eye makeup remover but fair play to Garnier because I am currently using a water proof mascara. My face did feel soft and refreshed after but I wasn't too sure about the 'no rinsing'. I really don't want my skin to break out. 


Containing 200 uses probably won't happen when i'm the owner of the product. Lets just say that i'm a little bit splash happy with my bottle. I think this product is worth the money, for £3.32 how can you go wrong? I'm 100% up for trying some new Micellar Waters if anyone can recommend me one?

Have a lovely day and thanks for reading,
Antonia x


Wednesday 27 August 2014

Evening Pamper Routine

Evenings are actually my favourite time of the day. Now and then we just completely need to take the whole evening out to wave good-bye to the stress of the week. I'm no expert but I think it's very important to have a pamper evening every now and then to look after your self both mentally and physically. It's one of those nights where you use all of your most loved things and make your self feel special. No matter how much you're dealing with clear your mind, relax and just take a break from the world. Now Autumn is creeping up on us, I thought that it would be a very apt time to share my pamper evening routine.




Step One: After I have ditched all my things at the front door, flung my coat to the side and been to the kitchen for multiple snacks (probably crisps and Kitkats *slaps wrist*) I will drag my self up the stairs to the bathroom. Despite my love for makeup, after a long day there is nothing better than just wiping away your face of the day. As you all know, my current evening cleansers are all part of the range by body shop which I reviewed here. I go ahead and use either the cleansing butter or oil to wipe away all of the makeup in the skin. I find the smell of the Camomile is so soothing making me already feel relaxed. I then use some of the Camomile eye makeup remover on a small cotton pad and rest it on my eye lids to give it a little time to do its magic! I hate the feel when there's any mascara left in my eyelashes, it really bugs me. I finish off my face with a face cloth and wipe away anything that is still left on my face! 


Step Two: I run my self a bath and light a candle. Usually I prefer the shower but the bath just screams ultimate relaxation. My favourite bath product for this type of evening is the Twilight Bath Ballistic by Lush Cosmetics. I express how much I love it in a review which I did previously. I'm just going to say, it's BEAUTIFUL. It makes my skin all silky and soft, whats not to love? When washing my hair I currently am using the Repair and Protect Shampoo by Pantene Pro-v and the conditioner to match. It really suits my hair. Washing my hair is such a chore because it's so long so I tend to wash my hair every 2-3 nights. I dont really enjoy blow drying my hair so often enough, I just leave it to air dry. I just brush though it with my Tangle Teaser and add some oils or a mask if i'm feeling it.



Step Three: One of my favourite parts, skin care time! Before I touch my face I moisturise my whole body with the Soap and Glory Butter Yourself moisturiser while my body is still warm from the bath. I don't know if this is just be but I am that much of a cold person, in winter it takes ages for my moisturiser to sink in and sometimes it just wont rub in because my body lacks heat, weird. Also my nails take ages to set too because my hands are like icicles, off topic, sorry.  As you may have read in my duty free haul. I bought the highly recommended Moisture Surge Extended thirst relief cream. I love this moisturiser for both day and night time. Day time because it's lovely under makeup and night-time because it's oil and SPF free. Moving onto my eye's, I pop on the all about eyes serum, de-puffing eye massage all around my eyes in a circulating motion. To finish off I just pop a little Carmex on my lips and I'm all sorted.




Step Four: Time to chill and enter your own little world. I say enter your own little world, if you're anything like me you probably live in your own little bubble. I'm like an old lady when it comes to spending an evening in. I like to pop on my comfiest jarmies, stick the soaps on the tv and kick back a little. Of course there's time for cups of tea, lots of tea is essential. I spend my evenings in lots of different ways. I find reading my favourite magazines relaxing too or watching a disney film (it's a shame my bestfriend, boyfriend or family don't like The Little Mermaid or Frozen though, Damnit) 




How do you spend your relaxed evenings in?
Thanks for reading,
Antonia x 

*Side note: I found out that my grandad reads my blog. So... Hi Grandad if you're reading today, I really fancy some of those chocolate cookies from Sainsburys x*

Sunday 24 August 2014

The Body Shop | Camomile Range

Offer alert! Before I go into any detail about my new favourite cleanser, just all hold your horses. The body shop are a trusted brand loved by many! Until a little while ago I have never branched any further in their shop than their deliciously smelling body butters, which may I add are amazing! Pink Grapefruit is my fave! *dribbles*. For £23.00 at the moment you can get your hands on a massively hyped concept a 'cleansing butter' Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter and some other goodies from the same range that total the price of £33.50. A deal you want to miss out on? I think not!

Finding a good cleanser for dry skin, it's a nightmare. I'm sure many of you agree. A new discovery of mine is The Body Shop Camomile range. I must admit, after reading blog post after blog post, I couldn't wait any longer to have them all to my self. I went in the shop mainly just after the Camomile Cleansing Butter but as I said before was sucked into a deal where I ended up with 4 things. I know I only pictured three but there's a muslin cloth that also came within the deal. It really is the ultimate cleansing kit.




Camomile Gentle Eye make-up remover: Removing water-proof make-up was never easy until this little beauty was in my routine! It lifts my eye makeup like a dream. If any of you have read my post about my new mascara love, you will know that I have been loving the Code Beauty VLM which is a water proof mascara. It even removes water-proof mascara, say what? This product isn't really scented strongly. It has a subtle sweet hint which I like a lot! The RRP for this product is £8.00 and readily available online at www.thebodyshop.co.uk.

Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter: My favourite of all three! This cleanser, when you first look at it looks similar to Vaseline or something along the same lines. A little really does go a long way. I scoop a little out and massage it into my face. I must admit, I expected it to be a little greasy but its really not. As soon as it meets the heat of your skin it melts into a smooth, luxurious oil that melts all your makeup off like a dream and leaves my skin feeling so silky. Less pricey than other cleansing balms, this one only retails at £12.00! For more details, check them out here.

Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil: I must say, I was the most skeptical of the cleansing 'oil'. How could an oil fully remove your full face of makeup? However this product didn't half prove me wrong! I use one pump and massage it into my face. I then go onto use a wet muslin cloth (which also comes with the set, worth £2.50) to wipe away all the dirt from my face. I have only ever used this on my evening cleanse. I'm not too sure if I would use an oil cleanser on a morning. If you do, let me know in the comments! 

I'm loving this range! If you have tried any of the products above, let me know what you think!

What is your favourite Body Shop product/range?
Thanks for reading dolls,
Antonia x



Saturday 23 August 2014

The British Tag

Aloha chicks, I've seen this tag floating around the internet world for a little while now. It was created by the lovely Sammi from Beautycrush on YouTube. Ya'll can check out her video here, she's super lovely. I thought that I would do it for my blog too. Here goes...

1. How many cups of tea do you have a day and how many sugars?
I am a lover of tea. I seriously take it too the extreme. I take a flask to bed, does that say enough? Seriously though I drink anything between 4-10 depending on my mood. Thinking about that now,it's probably bad for me, woops. I don't take any sugars in my tea,ew. 
 2. Favourite part of your roast?
The yorkshire puddings, crispy with gravy *dribbles* If any of you aren't from the UK, Yorkshires are like the same mixture as pancakes but baked in the oven and usually eaten with savory accompaniments. I'm so hungry now, damn it.
 3. Favourite dunking biscuit?
Bourbons but I aren't really a fan of dunking biscuits because I always manage to end up with big chunks swimming around in my tea which is a little gross.
4. Favourite quintessentially British pass time?
This is turning into a whole blog post about my love affair with tea but my favourite quintessentially British pass would have to be drinking tea. Tea on a morning, Tea before bed, Tea before work, Tea at work... Tea right now.

 5. Favourite word?
My actually favourite word is flannel. I don't think that's very British though? My favourite British word(s) is 'Fairy Cake' I think they're just cupcakes in america, Fairy Cake is cuter.
 6. Cockney rhyming slang?
Cockney rhyming slang is so confusing. It's really clever though. I only know a few: Dog and bone- Phone, Apples and Pears- Stairs.
 7. Favourite sweet?
Haribo Strawbs! Not the little ones, the big ones. 
 8. What would your pub be called?
It would have to be something sassy or Disney themed, Such a hard choice.
 9. No.1 British person?
He's only been on this earth just over a year but my favourite British person is Prince George. He is the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life and his little cheeky face just makes me happy. 
 10. Favourite shop/restaurant?
I guess it's got to be Topshop. There's lots of amazing shops on the British high streets at the moment but Topshop is just one of those shops where you can always find something lovely.
 11. What British song pops into your head?
''CAUSE TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT, TWO BECOME ONE'' The Spice girls where my childhood.
 12. Marmite?
No, no, no. Well i'm saying no but actually I've never tried it. I just assume I don't like it, that's something I need to make into a resolution. I must try new foods, I'm a big girl now.
Thanks for reading,
I tag you all to do this!
Antonia x

Wednesday 20 August 2014

Duty Free haulin'

Over the past week I have being enjoying my new duty free goodies which I treated my self too before jetting off for a sunny week away in Gran Canaria. I spend my week relaxing in the sun and mentally preparing my self to get my GCSE results which I collect tomorrow morning. As most girls are, in duty free I'm like a child in a candy shop. There's always so many things which I would buy if I had the money. Drifting through, I picked up a few bits which i'm going to share with you now. 



Mac Lip sticks (from left to right): 
-Rebel, Satin finish
- Saigon Summer, Cremesheen finish
-Ruby Woo, Matte finish 
Clinique: Moisture surge extended relief, 75ml 
Clinique: Moisture surge face spray, 30ml
Clinique:all about eyes serum, de-puffing eye massage 15ml
Clarins: bronzing compact (travel exclusive)

Rebel, Saigon summer, Ruby woo.

These lipsticks have being such long lasting lipsticks over my holiday. I generally love mac lipsticks and I think i'm going to be blogging about my whole collection. One of these lipsticks have gone with every outfit I took with me. With the heat, I was suprised that they lasted, however they did. Ruby woo, the only matte one I bought wasn't too drying on my lips either which was a bonus!
Finally, on the way home from my holiday I found this little beauty. It says on the box that it's travel exclusive. It has the most beautiful Egyptian design on it. It excites me that much it makes my tummy knot.  

It makes me a little sad now that summers coming to and end but I actually really adore autumn. I think it's the most beautiful season of all and I love buying big coats and cute little socks and boots. I'm thinking that I need to change my hair care routine now. I'm thinking of buying some things off Hairtrade. If there's anything anyone can recommend me that would be much appreciated. They sell some amazing hair goodies and you all should check them out! 

Thanks for reading lovelies,
Antonia x  


Sunday 10 August 2014

CODE VLM | My new love

Recently the lovely girls over at CODE Beautiful sent me out their 'Volumising Lenthening' Mascara. After having read reviews on it previously, I was longing for it and all the magic it claims to do for your eyelashes. My mascara past is long, confusing and complicated. I'll find a mascara, love it for a week and then as the mascara gets a little older I find that they just flake off my lashes throughout the day and leave me with little dots of black scattered across my nose and under eyes. This mascara was created by two Ladies that also had experienced mascaras that just didn't do the job. They spend a year, testing a tweaking this mascara until it was exactly how they wanted it, clump free, without smudging or flaking. 


They suggest that you use a a technique that they call the 'Roots, wriggle, Roll' Which really does help to make the most of your lashes, you feel as though they are all fully coated with their luxurious, fiber based formula.This really helps your lashes to hold the curl all day long. The formula reminds me a little of the L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara which I  loved for a long time. It retails for £19.95 and available at many stores, here is a few:

-http://www.feelunique.com/p/CODE-Beautiful-VLM-Volumising-Lengthening-Mascara-12ml

-http://www.beautybay.com/cosmetics/codebeautiful/volumisinglengtheningmascara/

This mascara has lots of features that make it the little beauty that it is:
- A build-able formula, length and volume can be adjusted to suit day and night
-Tear proof for emotion moments
- Designed to encourage lash growth with waxes and vitamins.
-Paraben-free, not tested on animals 





As you can tell by the photo the brush is pretty simple. No huge curve, no plastic brush, it's stripped right back to the basic form. However it works amazingly. Maybe other companys should look at this, nothing too fancy yet it manages to make my lashes look fluttery, long, full and defined. I am converted. I am now a CODE Beautiful girl. I do believe this mascaras going to be hanging around with me for a very long time. I cannot recommend this anymore if you are sick of the search for that perfect mascara. I love finding a new Holy Grail product! I going to be doing a Mascara comparison post soon, so look out for that!

If you're interesting in this mascara or the company all their links are below:

Has anyone else found a new holy grail product recently?
Thanks for reading,
all my love x

Liebster Award | Finding your feet as a blogger






Yay, I've wanted to do this for a while now. I was nominated to do this by the lovely Sophia over at MAKEUPOWER. Check out her blog while you're here, it's lush.



The rules:
1. Link back to the person that nominated you
2. Answer all the questions that you are given
3. Choose 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers to nominate
4. Pick 11 questions for them to answer and let them know

My questions:
1. What is your favorite babble bath or shower gel fragrance?
I have two that I utterly could not choose between. I love Rose Jam by lush as a shower gel however it's limited edition and only around at Christmas time *sigh* however through the summer months I've being loving Soap and Glory's Sugar Crush body wash. It doubles as a bubble bath too so it's amazing. It has a super sweet scent of limes.

2. Tea or coffee?
I'm a tea girl. I've tried coffee, I don't really enjoy it at all. Tea makes me feel happy (probably sad, I know) There's just nothing better than getting home from a long day and having a cup of tea. 

3. What is the last film you watched in cinema? 
I haven't being to the cinema in that long that I cant even remember what it was that I watched *slaps wrist*. I actually really love the cinema even if the films rubbish. Probably just the atmosphere, or the food. The food.

4. What type of blog post do you enjoy reading the most? 
I really love reading peoples Tags, I feel as though then I get to know my fellow bloggers. I also love reading first impressions of products too. 


5. All time favourite makeup trend?
Bright orange lips, by far. Probably not everyone's cup of tea but I've really being enjoying them. Not the most wearable day-to-day colour but super fun.

6. What do you love about yourself?
The fact I started a blog. (Sneaky answer there, I know) I'm really enjoying writing on my blog at the moment and I feel like it's picked up a lot from where I left off a little. I didnt really blog much from March to July because it was my exam season but now I've fallen back in love.

7. What is your favourite TV show at the moment?
My favourite TV show of has got to be 'Randys Wedding Rescue' it really excites me. I just guess I love watching people pick out their wedding dresses. Randy is such a lovely man too, I want him to be there to help me choose mine.


8. What is you favourite way to travel? (car, plane ...)
I actually really like traveling by plane. I love the in flight service and the excitement of where you are going. Off subject a little, but I also really love airports because of things like DUTY FREE *inserts sounds of angels singing* I know now it isn't really much cheaper but there is a MAC store and where I live, it's a long drive away from any form of MAC store/counter.

9. Your favourite lipstick/lipgloss colour? (brand, name)
This is quite apt to my blog at the moment because in one of my last posts I stated all five. Click here to view all of them. However My number one must  be the YSL volupte shine in the shade '12' its a buttery coral lipstick with a gorgeous glossy finish.

10. Favourite Disney princess?
Hands down, it has to be Ariel. She's just so sassy and determined. ''Bright young women, sick of swimmin', ready to stand''. I really love Elsa though, I love that she's the only Disney princess not to be rescued by a man.

11. Do you have a pet? who is it? Or, what animal do you like?
I do have a pet. I have two Beddlington terriers. Named Archie and Ralph. One's like a old man and the other is like a baby. 

I nominate: 
Asbenna- Belle Histoires
Jennifer- Oh Dreaming
Kirsten- Kirsten Gillies
Lisa- Blog 18
Nadia - NSQUARED
Caroline- CC Hearts

Check out all their blogs while you're there!

My Questions:

1. If you could only have one beauty product, what would you pick and why?
2. What is your dream job?
3.What is your favourite season?
4. If money was no object, where would you holiday?
5. What's your best beauty secret?
6. If you had to pick an actress to play your life story, who would you choose?
7. What is your current evening moisturizer, would you recommend it? 
8. What's the first thing you notice about people?
9. Brights or pastels when painting your nails?
10. Are you a hot drinks person, or a cold drinks person?
11. Who is your fashion/beauty inspiration?





Saturday 9 August 2014

And.. 'Oh Dear Antonia' was born

About a month ago now, I had my own idea to paint a phone case, purely because I wanted one for my self. So it began. I ordered my self a few phone cases to practice on incase they didn't go right. It too me a few goes until I felt happy with how it went. Cases where scraped, designs altered, paints spilled and the first 'successful' case was born. All white, with mint green details and I was so pleased with my self. 



I ordered some more cases because I quite enjoyed making them. This obviously sparked an idea, maybe if i liked them, some others may too. I set up my own BigCartel store named http://ohdearantonia.bigcartel.com and I started to get orders. This brings to me today. My website features all my current designs and cases. I'm really enjoying my little business venture and 100% recommend anyone to give it a go if they have a unique idea! I'm not at all a professional but I try my hardest to make them to the best standard. 

'Oh Dear Antonia'- contact details:
Instagram: OhDearAntonia
Twitter: OhDearAntonia
Email: ohdearantonia@hotmail.com

Friday 8 August 2014

My Summer face | Five lip favourites

Hey! I'm back again, this time letting you know my top 5 summer lip products that I personally have being enjoying to wear in the summer months. I've being going for nudes, corals and oranges and really being happy with them. I haven't really being reaching for anything with a matte finish, it's been gloss and shine all the way through these summer months.



Soap & Glorys: Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in 'Nudist'-
I have being absolutely loving this product now I have a little bit of a tan. I had it bought as a Christmas present and I tried it in Winter when I was pale and it didn't really suit me. Now my skin is a little darker, it warms up my complexion and looks lovely. The finish of this 'gloss stick' is super glossy considering it game in stick form. They're only £8.00 in boots etc. I loves mine and I 100% recommend this to anyone looking for the perfect nude gloss! Click here to check them out on their own website for more details.
MAC: Lip stick in 'Costa Chic'-
I've had this lipstick quite a while, I've really fell in love with it even more recently. It's a frost lipstick, which usually isn't my favorite however this one I really like. It's super creamy and glides on easily. It's described as a 'light coral' which I cannot agree with. It's a borderline neon coral with a really good pigment. It;s £14.00 from Mac and I truly believe that most Mac lipsticks are worth their money.

Tanya Burr: Lip gloss in 'chic'-

Chic is one of the lovely Tanya Burrs lip glosses from her 2014 range which I LOVE. Most of all I love their smell, mm strawberry's. These lip glosses have really good staying power on my lips which usually doesn't happen. I'm always on the search for a lip gloss that is going to last for longer than one hour. Chic has a really good pigment and wearable with or without lipstick underneath. It's the perfect pinky, nude. Really cheap at only £6.99.

Revlon: Lip butter in 'Juicy papaya'-

I've loved these for over a year now. They have a creamy texture and not drying on the lips at all. They are perfect through the summer months and I have being wearing all of mine, yet out of them, Juicy Papaya the most. It's a glossy coral and really flattering on lots of skin tones. These lipsticks are considerably more sheer than anything from Mac. Perfect for a laid back afternoon or lunch with the family.

YSL: Volupte Shine in '12'-

The most luxurious of all at £25.00. These Lipsticks are buttery, silky goodness. I absolutely love them. They are so soft on the lips and have the ability to make me feel like a princess. I love, I love, I love. This coral shade is really elegant, not too in your face. It's one of those lip sticks that you can wear all day, or night. 

Tuesday 5 August 2014

Seven Deadly Sins of beauty | TAG

I quite enjoyed doing my last tag, so I thought I would search the internet for another. I came across this one and got quite excited. I know it's being around a while, I've seen it on Youtube and on beauty blogs for years now. I guess it's a classic.



1. GREED: What is your most inexpensive beauty item? What is your most expensive? My most inexpensive beauty item are by Baby Lips by Maybelline which last year I absolutely fell in love with last year. They're really cheap at £2.99 and usually always on 3 for 2 at boots which makes them work out super cheap each. Previous to finding them I always used to find really cheap beauty items on http://eyeslipsface.co.uk/ when they used to have sales. It's always fun to try out new things and something's they have are amazing and I really enjoy! My most expensive beauty item is probably my Naked 3 pallet. It's amazing yet i'm super lazy when it comes to eye shadow and its something I still need to perfect. The naked pallet is £37.00 yet it's super pigmented. It has some fall out yet that can just be dusted away, it's not too drastic.


2. WRATH: What beauty products do you have a love/hate relationship with? What product has been the hardest to get?

One product I definitely have a love/hate relationship with is definitely lip glosses. It's really hard to find one that actually lasts on my lips, isn't sticky, one that wont have all my hair stuck in it after five minutes. Despite this, I still love the way gloss looks on lips at the moment. Some lip glosses I have found to really last on my lips and suit me and my skin tone are:
-Tanya Burr's lipglosses
Soap and Glorys- Gloss sticks


3. GLUTTONY: What are your most delicious beauty products?
The most delicious product I own is definitely 'Lush's Lip scrub' in the bubblegum flavour. It leaves a yummy taste. I would definitely recommend this for anyone that struggles with dry lips. It's so super easy to use and if used before lipstick, It makes your lips look flawless.


4. SLOTH: What beauty product do you neglect, due to laziness?
As I mentioned before the product I neglect due to laziness is definitely any form of eye shadow. I absolutely love the pallets I own I just don't think i'm particularly good at using them. It's 100% the one thing I want to get better at for the future and I aim to use my pallets lots more soon.

5. PRIDE: What beauty product gives you the most self confidence?
In general, the product that gives me the most confidence is my foundation of choice for the moment. It changes a lot throughout the year depending on what look I want to go for. I just love having a flawless looking skin, it boosts my confidence so much.


6. LUST: What attributes do you find most attractive in the opposite sex?
Not too sure how this relates to beauty but hey ho. The thing that I find most attractive is having a sense of humour, being able to laugh with someone is key. But ya gotta smell good too.

7. ENVY: What items would you most like to receive as a gift?
I'm grateful for all the gifts that I get however I at the moment I am really longing for is Cliniques Moisture Surge foundation. I've read so many amazing views about that but also how amazing would it be to receive the Lush Legends gift set.



Thanks for reading,

Antonia x

Monday 4 August 2014

What's in my holiday makeup bag?

Today I set my self the challenge to sort out the make-up and beauty things that I am going to be taking on my holidays. I'm heading off to Gran Canaria for a week in the sun and I am honestly so excited. I just cannot wait to get away for a little while. So, I thought I would share with you all what I am planning on taking and a few of my holiday tips.

Firstly, You've got to have a perfume. I am choosing to take with me this perfume by Jimmy Choo. It's quite a fruity perfume yet its not a sickly scent. I usually find when I go on the search for a fruity perfume they're quite over the top and heavy however this one is not despite its unique scent it still remains quite fresh and light which I love. It has amazing staying power and I would definitely recommend to anyone! It's perfect for summer '14.



The next things I decided on was what I was going to take out of my makeup collection. This was the hardest part for me however I started making a few choices anyway.


Foundation: The foundation I went for was the Naked Skin foundation because I absolutely trust it. It contains no SPF which on holiday is not a great choice of mine however I wont be wearing it throughout the day when the sun rays are at their strongest. On a night I will be teaming it with a moisturiser containing a high SPF incase the sun is still out.  Read a more in-depth review about my favourite summer foundations here!

Setting Spray: I went for the matching setting spray to my foundation called 'all nighter' by Urban Decay. I haven't really used this much but i'm excited to put it too the test on holiday when it will be under more intense conditions with the heat being higher. I'll get back to you on my thoughts on that one as it claims to have 'temperature control technology'. I chose to take the setting spray as well because at the moment i'm really enjoying my skin looking dewy and fresh and a setting spray is great to achieve that look. 

Lip products: The two lip products I have opted for at the moment are Nivea's pearly shine which is a lip balm that leaves a metallic shine on the lips and they're only £1.99. I also think im going to pick up this one which contains SPF 15 which will be great for throughout the day when i'm in the sun. The lipstick I went for was 'Costa chic' by Mac which I absolutely love. It's amazing for summer and super bright. It's a frost lipstick and leaves a beautiful finish on the lips. Such a pigmented lipstick with a corally, orange colour.

highlight: Of course, I went for Soft and Gentle by Mac. This is one of those products that makes me feel better about my self. It leaves the most amazing glow on the tops of my cheek bones and also if I ever want a really quick eye look. I quickly sweep some over the eyelid. After that I contour my eye with a medium brown eye shadow and it looks effortless and amazing.
Pallet: The pallet I went for was the naked basics pallet which is a perfect little pallet and doesn't take up much room at all yet it can still create lots of different looks. Swatches will be featured below.



 My holiday tips:

The higher the SPF the better for you! You can still get an amazing tan through SPF 30 +. The lower the SPF the more skin damage you will get.

Check your sun glasses! You can go unaware that your sun glasses do not have any UV protection in them! They should say on them that they do! If they don't pop to Primark, currently they have some really nice ones starting at £1.00 that have complete UV protection.

Drink lots of water, as the weather is hotter you will be loosing a lot more fluids through sweating and things (ew). Water will improve the look of your skin and how you feel.

if anyone has any more  tips please leave they below! I hope you all are having a great summer.
Lots of love,
Antonia x

Friday 1 August 2014

My Summer face | Brush & Foundation favourites

Throughout summer I've being enjoying quite a few different foundations. Having quite dry skin, I enjoy to look glow and bright and don't always want the typical matte finish. If you're living in Brittan right now you'll probably be experiencing 'summer', well a kind of hot, clammy yet still miserable weather and its hard to find a foundation that's going to stay put all day and not budge no matter what the day brings whether it's rain or shine. So I'm going to go ahead and share with you all what I've been enjoying recently:


Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow- Benefit: I have had this foundation in my collection for a little while now as I got it in a set by benefit but through the winter, when I first tried it I didn't like it in the slightest. Mostly because it was far too dark for my skin tone. I have it in the colour 'Cheers to me: champagne' I recently tried it again and I absolutely fell in love. It had a flawless finish and somehow, perfectly matched my skin now I have a little bit of a tan. The coverage is quite light however as the packaging claims 'brightening makeup' it definitely lives up to the name. It's oil free and factor 25 which we all know is great for summer! In my opinion, I think it's quite a pricey foundation at £26.50 and can be picked up anywhere like House of Frazer and Debenhams and also on the benefit website here!

Healthy Mix serum- BOJOIS Paris: This foundation has been one of my faves since about march this year when I first discovered it. I say foundation it actually is called a 'serum'. Honestly, i'm not too sure on the difference apart from the fact the foundation is a lot lighter than many others which personally, in the summer I prefer. It blends in perfectly with my skin and leaves a gorgeous finish. This foundation is quite hard to describe however I would say its kind of like a tinted moisturiser however not a moisturiser, a gel. I currently have it in the shade '52 vanilla' which is too light for my skin now and I need to repurchase it a little darker to match my new found tan. This foundation is super cheap for the quality and radiance it gives to your skin. It can be picked up in any store in the UK like boots etc for only £10.99 which I think is amazing. Plus, it contains loads of amazing vitamins which are great for the skin and stop you looking so tired.

Moisture surge tinted moisturiser- Clinique: Again, not a 'full' foundation however this still gives the face a gorgeous glow and coverage. It is light however it's still leaves the face looking flawless. This tinted moisturiser is really hydration for the skin and feels amazing to apply. Despite it being a moisturiser, I still like to apply it with a brush and buff it well into the skin. For this I used the Real Techniques 'Buffing brush' which does the job perfectly. I haven't really ever enjoyed tinted moisturisers before because I feel as though they always look streaky on the skin however this one does not! I have it in the shade '02 ivory' which matches lovely. It can be purchased in boots for £22.50.

NAKED Skin- Urban Decay: This foundation is one of those foundations that gradually looks better throughout the day. I've been raving about this foundation for ages now and I think its absolutely perfect for summer evenings and nights out. It has no spf, so not great for the sun rays but amazing under the light as it doesn't reflect like so no white, washed out faces all round, woo. Naked skin looks flawless on the skin and is probably around a medium coverage but is definitely buildable if you'd like a higher coverage. It feels weightless on the skin and it's the one I go for when I definitely want my foundation to last all day and night. I bought that from Debenhams and it was £27.00.

The face blender- Bobbi Brown: This brush is £33.00 from Bobbi Brown and I believe that its supposed to be used for things like bronzers and highlighters. I've being using mine for foundation and its unbelievable. It blends my foundation to a flawless finish and gives me an even coverage. It lives up to its name, it blends and perfectly at that. It is a very versatile brush. I put the foundation on the back of my hand and dip in the brush and use circular motions until it is blended right into my skin and there are no harsh lines or shadows.

Real Techniques- buffing brush: This brush is a lot harder than the Bobbi Brown one yet it also leaves my face with a flawless finish. This foundation is great for a quick application and is really soft on the skin. It's a lot cheaper than the Bobbi Brown brush however it has to be bought in the core collection which is still under £20.00.