Weekly Wishlist | 004

This week has just flown by! I actually have some pretty exciting news to share with you all... I've just got my first job! Well, six month internship actually but, it's a start, it's paid, it's in London and it's in an industry I love. I can't believe how lucky I am! Another post will be up soon explaining some more details, but for now here's a little peek at some of the products I'm lusting after this month.

Haul | My First MAC Pieces

I've never considered myself much of a MAC girl. I mean sure I browsed counters with friends and marvelled at the huge selection of lip colours but the prices always left me scuttling away back to the comfort of my drugstore beauty products (Boots 3 for 2 deals anyone?). But after my friend Sophie bought me a MAC makeover for my 21st birthday, and I spent an hour having a gorgeous statement eye look being created, all that has changed.

Beauty | Soap & Glory 'Feel Good Factor' Translucent BB Cream

Now I may have missed the mega-hype surrounding the initial launch of BB creams (and then CC creams), but admittedly I'm only starting to come round to the idea of them. This Soap and Glory BB cream has been languishing in the back of my make up box for a while now because 1) it's translucent so what's the point of wearing it and 2) IT'S TRANSLUCENT, I might as well go bare faced and nobody wants to see that! But I'm happy to hold my hands up and say 'I was wrong, this IS something you want to swap into your summer makeup routine'.

Weekly Wishlist | 003

Thank God it's Friday (and payday)! Am I right?! Over the last couple of weeks the summer sales have started in earnest, and loads of gorgeous beauty products and fashion lines have been launched in stores - or so it feels like. Somehow I've managed to narrow this weeks list down to just five items, otherwise the post would have gone forever. This week I've lusting products that will give me healthy, glowing skin and summer nail polishes

My Top Three | Beauty Sins

Image by Rozzhew

Just because I'm a beauty junkie, obsessively read blogs and beauty articles and am constantly on the lookout for new products to try does not mean my routine is always top notch. Infact some parts of my beauty regimen leave a lot to be desired, and I've shared my Top Three Beauty Sins here with you.

1) Using my fingers to apply my foundation
I know using a brush or sponge leaves you with a more flawless foundation application but I still often find myself skipping this important step. Sometimes I can't help but grab my foundation and quickly use my fingers to apply a layer instead of a brush. I think investing in the right tools for each of my different bases will help solve this problem.

2) Forgetting to take my make up off
This is part laziness by also partly due to self-esteem issues. I've suffered with acne since I was about 15 years old, and while I'm lucky that it's calmed down and not left any scars I still feel self-conscious going completely bare faced. In the beginning of our relationship, I would never let my boyfriend see me without make up. I would go to sleep with a full face, before jumping up in the morning to wipe it off and reapply it before he could see. Of course, this was terrible for my skin, so soon I started taking it off bit by bit and now I can go make up free in front of him without any issues.

3) Keeping my brushes clean
I think this one is something that a lot of make up lovers can associate with. When I do use brushes to apply my make up - namely powder, blushers and eye shadows - I leave them languishing in their stand for weeks on end. I often look at my brushes and I know I should wash them, but I always forget to set aside ten minutes a week to give a deep cleanse.

So there's my Top Three Beauty Sins! Do you find yourself doing the same, or do you have different ones? 

Beth xx

Life Lately #3

At my cousin Nicola's wedding, me (second from right) with all my cousins

With my best friend celebrating my 21st birthday

More birthday celebrations

Birthday celebrations with the family! Me and my baby sister - can you believe she's five years younger than me?!

Celebrating the end of university! *sob*

I cannot believe how fast 2014 is flying by, and we're already halfway through June! I've been absent for the last three months because I've been focusing all my attention on my dissertation, but I can't tell you how happy I was went I logged on yesterday to find out my views had gone up from 5,000 to 13,000. It means the world to me that you guys are still coming to the site and reading through my posts! So here's a quick little life update on what I've been up to, before I jump back to blogging everyday (and perhaps even more).

1) Dissertation - of course this had to come first. This is the biggest piece of work I have ever done, and probably ever will. It was a pretty stressful and tiring process but not as bad as I imagined. I was lucky that I tried to get organised so I didn't have any long nights or 72 hour stints in the library - well hopefully it was because I'm organised and not because I did it wrong!

2) Wedding bells - my cousin Nicola got married back in April so I travelled up to Hereford for the wedding and got to catch up with all my family who I hadn't seen in months. The wedding was in this wonderful old country house, and luckily it was a nice sunny day (mostly).

3) Time away - my boyfriend and I went for our second weekend away in beautiful Bath for his birthday at the start of May. We stayed in the most beautiful hotel ever, the Queensberry, and spent the days doing all the touristy things like sightseeing and shopping. It was great to get out of Bournemouth for a couple of days, spend some time together and enjoy a new place.

4) BIRTHDAY!! - yes that's right, I turned 21 back at the end of May! I was incredibly spoilt by my wonderful family, friends and boyfriend and it was one of the best birthdays ever. I celebrated by going for dinner and cocktails with my closest friends at my favourite beach-side restaurant. 

5) Finishing university - dissertation done, two weeks of newsdays checked off and now I am officially finished! Three years have gone so fast, but it really has been the best time of my life. Although I wish I could have relaxed and enjoyed my first year more, I definitely learnt some valuable life lessons and made the best friends I could have wished for.

6) Job hunting - now I've said goodbye to university it's time for the real world to start, and yes I am absolutely terrified! Although it's wonderful to see so many paid opportunities out there it is scary to think about all the other people with the same degree, or better, who will be applying for them as well. At the moment all I am hoping for is to get a full time paid job, which will allow be save and enable me to move to London to pursue my dream of working in magazines. 

It really has been a busy three months, but now it's all over and I have lots of free time to work on my blog and give it a big redesign. I'd love to hear your feedback if there's anything you'd like to see on the blog, or if you've got any recommendations for me then drop a comment below!

Beth xxx

Garnier Moisture Match - Wake Me Up

Garnier Moisture Match - Wake Me Up (50ml)

The one designed for dull skin (5.99)

A couple of days ago I shared with you the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water, my new favourite cleanser - guys seriously if you're looking for a new one, want to try out micellar waters or just fancy spending some pennies go out and buy it now! - but now I have another lovely Garnier product to share with you, one that has been part of my daily routine for a couple of months now.
Recently I've been trying to take better care of my skin, sometimes I think no wonder it's so bad after all the things I put it through but that's a post for another day. I realised my skin was starting to feel tight and uncomfortable everytime I used a face wash - I guess that's the problem when you are used to buying products designed for oily teenage skin and you've grown out of the oily (and teenage) phase into the "normal skin" one - so I decided it was time to actually go and get a moisturiser. I know *shock*, *horror*, I wasn't already using one on a daily basis but I was already worried about my skin looking too shiny, and I'm probably a bit lazy too.
I wanted to try out something that wasn't too expensive and would meet all of my hydration needs, and this one from Garnier has been doing the job perfectly for the last couple of months. Part of their Moisture Match Range, Wake Me Up is designed specifically for dull skin. It contains citrus extracts which are known for their revitalizing properties to help wake up your skin. The moisturiser has a very delicate scent, you can faintly smell the citrus, but it's still a very fresh fragrance. It's different to other daily moisturisers because of it's gel consistency, it's incredibly light and absorbs into the skin in a flash yet I've found it's still enough to keep my skin feeling soft and hydrated throughout the day. Best of all the range has moisturisers to meet all skin needs: there's one for normal skin, oily/combination skin, normal/dry skin and very dry skin.Each one has different textures and properties, designed to target the specific skin problems associated with your skin type. Of course I can't speak for them all, but if they're as good as Wake Me Up then this is definitely a moisturiser to add to your routine.
You can buy the Moisture Match collection at Boots or Superdrug stores, or online here for £5.99 each.

What do you think of the Moisture Match collection? Which is your favourite?

Beth xx