Liebster award

This is such a great idea, the lovely

alyseap  nominated me go and check her blog out!  





Rules

• List 11 facts about yourself

• Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you

• Ask 11 new questions for the bloggers you nominate

• Choose 11 new bloggers with less than 200 followers to nominate

• Let everyone know they've been picked

11 facts about me.

1. I lived in the U.S from 8 until 18.
2. I have an addiction to make up i will find any opportunity to buy it or use it.
3. Taco bell is my favourite food EVER i would actually class it as a food group.
4. My biggest accomplishment is my son he is so beautiful.
5. I'm a vegetarian
6. I love piano music
7. I cooked dinner for Hugh Grant once (and like 10 other people) my mothers a chef and she let me work with her a few times
8. I'm addicted to the polyvore app on my iphone, i could stay on it for hours.
9. I get my eyebrows threaded every 2 weeks if i leave it any longer i have a constant bad day.
10. Im currently trying to lose 30lbs and have completed 10lbs of my goal! 
11. I love Lush bath bombs and skin care.

                                                11 questions.

1. What are your favourite types of posts to do? I love doing reviews and offering ideas about how a product can be used.
2. Do you prefer BB Creams or foundation or nothing at all? I'm a full coverage foundation kinda girl! i don't know if its from working in a beauty hall for 2 years but i love a flawless finish!
3. Favourite drugstore makeup brand Barry M i think is amazing value for money especially the nail paints and eye shadows!
4. What is your biggest challenge when it comes to blogging? Finding the time is difficult for me, my son just hit the 4 month mark and he takes up all my attention, how ever he does nap every now and then and i would much rather blog than do dishes!
5.  Are you more prone to read blogs that are visually appealing or content appealing? Content is the most important thing to me what's the point in making it pretty if you cant find anything?.
6. Who inspired you to start blogging? I started my blog a few years ago after reading Dulce candy's I'm absolutely in love with makeup and i thought wow that is such a great outlet.  
7. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be? I  would go back to evia in greece my great auntie and uncle live there, my uncle taught me how to swim and open my eyes in the sea, i have a lot of amazing memories of that island! 
8. Which Spring beauty trend are you looking forward to most? I bought a pair of yellow jeans recently i love pastel colors and i love any excuse for a good tan!
9. 9.Do you watch YouTube videos and if so, which are some of your favorite channels to watch? Nicole guerriero, glopinkstah, and dulce candy.  
10. .Have you ever been to an IMATS? If so, which one? No but i'm going this year hopefully for my birthday. (hint)
11. How long have you been blogging? I've had my blog for a few years but didn't post regularly until this year, so really just a few months      

                              My questions for nominees     

1. If you could only use 3 make up items what would they be?
2. name one positive impact blogging has had on your life.
3. what celebrity is the most aspirational to you?
4. what social media site do you promote your blog on the most?
5. what is your skin care routine?
6. Do you follow trends or prefer timeless pieces?
7. what are your favourite make up brushes?
8. what is the best advice you have ever gotten? 
9. what would you like to learn the most, such as language or a make up technique etc and why?
10. colors or neutrals?
11. Where would you like to be in 5 years time?

                                   I nominate these fabulous ladies.

beautyalchemy

the-lipglossary

prettylitlefashionista

l-c-g-xo.

glitterbomb-makeup

gingergirlsays

emilylikessmakeup

perfectionis-ugly

laylasmakeup

dollfacedisasterbeauty


blushoverdone

Maybelline fit me foundation

£6.99

 When it comes to foundation i will admit i'm a little bit of a brand snob. Cover fx is my favourite but at £37.00 per foundation i just cant afford for that to be my everyday one any more, although in my defense i did go through a phase when everything else would break me out in massive cystic lesions all over my forehead (especially Esteelauders double wear) and i was just to terrified to use anything else then i moved on to mac and naked skin. 

Maybelline's Fit me 

I never really used drugstore foundations after i started working, the whole waxes and fillers thing really put me off but the fit me foundation is free from these things. I own so many matte or demi matte finishes i felt like a change and also when my skin gets dry its nice to have.

Fit me is gel based and supposed to be light coverage although i would describe it as medium and build-able i got the 2nd lightest shade but its nowhere near as light as macs nc20 its quite actually quite dark to be considered a light shade at all but a light layer of fake tan and its my perfect shade.

I really like the finish and feel this is my new everyday foundation for sure!

My usual mac studio sculpt

Eyes today

Xen tan ultra dark lotion

Nice premium packaging

Color of the tan

Color difference after developing

I've never really been one to use a tanning lotion I was always put off by the thought of not applying it properly and then ending up with more streaks and stripes than a tiger.
How ever I'm always up for trying new things and when it comes to fake tan I don't think there is much I haven't tried, wipes, mousse, gel, spray, and now lotion! I don't know what drew me in to try this I think it was probably the words ultra dark that did it.

                                                 Pros

• Applies easily.
• Has a guide color.
• Develops quickly.
• Doesn't wash completely off in the shower. 
• Nice olive tone.
• Fades evenly no patches.
• Lasts at least 5 days.

                                    

                                                   Cons

• The scent guard does not work at all so still has a fake tan smell.
• If you get it wrong its quite hard to remove.
• slightly pricey at 27.00. (depends on your budget.) 

I have used this 3 or 4 times now, its definitely a good product i might try out a few different tanning lotions before i declare this my "go to" tan but it is my preferred one at the moment.

Desire lashes and my make up today.

My makeup today.

The naked palette is the amazing! but everybody who knows anything about make up knows that, but not everybody might know about this website www.desirelashes.co.uk the prices of there lashes are simply unbeatable and the quality of them are very impressive, i am especially a big fan of there invisible band lashes. This company's lashes are easily as good as Ardell or any other brand and perfect for wearing in the daytime. I just couldn't believe how cheap they were they deliver very quickly also check them out!




On my lips i'm wearing vegas volt by mac with my creme sheen glass in private screening over the top,
i put a slight curl/wave in my hair with my straighteners.

My nails have barry m's black polish on them with essie's matte about you on top, then just the same black polish on the tips with no matte top coat.

mattefacation! essies's matte about you.

 £8.99 from boots

This super trendy top coat will take the shine out of any polish leaving it matte almost instantly, there's not really much to review as it does exactly as its supposed to.

Just a short post to say this stuff is pretty cool, i did it on top of a black polish but i think i'm going to try it on top of a more peachy polish next time.

Barry M

Matte about you 

Fixing a broken nail

Possibly one of the most annoying things is when you grow all you nails out, they are perfect and one breaks 😤.
If there was ever a time in life where I needed my acrylic nails now would be it. Having a child involves a lot of hands on action, I broke 3 of my nails on the car seat and pushchair the first week we started going out! But unfortunately the £25 I used to get my nails done now goes on nappies although I would much rather have my son than a perfect manicure any day ! I still want both so here is a very cheap way to fix a broken nail!

•Select the nail tip that fits your nail the closest, if it is a little big just file down the sides.

•apply the glue to the tip and stick on to nail in a downward rocking motion to avoid air bubbles.

•Cut the tip down to desired length.

•File all over the tip to blend in with your natural nail.

• Apply a top coat or nail polish.

1st Mothers Day

Best breakfast ever!

This year was my first mothers day as a mother! Jason cooked a big breakfast and me & Rico had a lay in until 12:00 and cuddled, he is probably the only baby i know who sleeps all through the night and then has a lye in....but then again he is my son after all. 

Cuddling with wriggles

Excuse the morning faces.

Being a lazy bones.

We stayed in our pyjamas most of the day and watched this series called "The wire" we've been through Homeland, Sons of Anarchy, Game of Thrones, and Breaking Bad but i have to say that Homeland was amazing i cant wait for the next season.

After a relaxing day we went to Jason's parents house to drop off his mothers card and plant, they very kindly got me some roses, chocolates, and a few things from new look! so spoiled Rico got to have a lovely time with his Lola and of course Jason watched football *Que eye roll*

Thank you everyone for making it so special x

Im so happy that i have my little boy, he really does bring joy to our whole family! even if i never achieved anything else ever again having him around is more than enough for me.

MOMMY LOVES YOU RICO. XXXX

Ojon dry recovery shampoo and conditioner

Ojon dry recovery

I've been eyeing up these ojon products ever since a good friend of mine Frieda, gave me the ojon damage reverse restorative treatment for my secret Santa present. This was so amazing it literally made my hair feel the softest and smoothest it has ever felt EVER and smell like a cocoa bean. It's really good to use when your ends get a bit rough in between hair cuts.

ANYWAY.....

This shampoo is supposed to work by cleansing the hair without stripping the natural oils. It contains Macadamia Oil,  Blue Agave Nectar, Babassu Oil complex, and Jojoba Oil. This helps the hair by hydrating and smoothing the cuticles back down also helps with damage done by back combing, straightening, and styling etc.

I have quite long hair so i had to use a fair amount to get a good lather going on my head. The smell when i was using it was VERY herbal/earthy but when i blow dried my hair it was subtle and quite pleasant. This shampoo costs £18.00 for a 250ml bottle so definitely on the pricey side but it does do what its supposed to.

This conditioner is a buttery/lotion consistency containing, Shea Butter, Babassu oil, Jojoba Oil, and Blue Agave it fills dry hair with moisture and also protects it from drying out.
Much like the shampoo this is supposed to smooth the hair cuticles and breathes life back into thirsty straw like hair/ends.

This was very light not at all greasy, I'm assuming that because the shampoo doesn't strip your natural oils the conditioner doesn't need to be so heavy because i was slightly worried when i applied it that my hair would just eat it up and there would be nothing to wash out but it worked just fine no tangles, no heavy greasy feeling, and no fly always after i blow dried. 

This costs £19.50 for 250ml i got both of these from john lewis.

I'm thinking of getting the revitalising moisture mist to complete my little Ojon collection, this stuff is great!

My dads day with Rico

My dad came down to see us on Tuesday and we went to the shopping centre here where i live, we packed Rico into the back of my dads Audi TT (yes it was a mission but we achieved it!).

 Rico was such a good boy all day i propped him up in his push chair and he was enjoying the ride! we went into Zaras baby section and my dad spoiled him rotten! they have so many adorable things for boys, usually the baby boy clothes everywhere are pretty samey. 

we went to Starbucks after and browsed around John Lewis my son is such a patient child, he even lets me do my makeup at home as long as he gets to watch what I'm doing and i talk him through it. he loves being a part of things!.

cuddles with grandpa

playing spaceman

Rico's little purchases

Sugarpill sweet heart palette

The sweetheart palette is made up of four matte 4g eyeshadows
Dollipop is a neon pink
Afterparty comes across as a royal blue
Midori is a Forrest green
Tako is a bright white

The quality of the eyeshadows are ok not as silky as urban decays (sorry I just love me some urban decay) but when used with a wet eyeshadow brush they apply very easily and are extremely pigmented .

I bought this from www.lovemakeup.com for about £22.00 I'm sure I will be using this alot

worried little face

He's watching tv lol

      

Look using sugarpills burning heart and naked basics

In addition to my sweet heart palette i also have the burning heart palette this was the one i really wanted, i have a thing for the colors in this palette they are truly vibrant. I mainly wanted it for the red and the yellow though. The texture and quality is the same as described in the sweetheart palette. 

Flame point is a bright orange

Buttercupcake  is bright yellow

Love+ is deep red  

Poison plum is a dark purple with a very slight shimmer 

To create this look i used Love+, Tako from the sweetheart palette, and Crave from my naked basics.

El, xxx

Ricos first night at his bubbes and visit to the beauty hall

On monday we went to stay at his bubbes house. Barney (my moms dog) couldn't believe there was a person that small in the world and was so concerned when wriggles cried, it was very sweet.

He had such a blast on his day out, he's definitely a ladies man! He let me get my eyebrows done and do the groceries no crying.

It was so nice to get out and see some familiar faces! He wore his baby gap cords, next button down, and a very cute cardigan his great grandma got him handmade from Peru! Refused to wear shoes lol Hopefully when my dad is back from Shanghai we can visit her ...baby's first road trip!!!!

Chocolate dipped strawberries

I made these for valentines day, the perfect dessert after a heavy meal...although I wouldn't exactly say they were low calorie by any means! There is a lot of ways you can decorate these but i just did the stripes. I wanted to put them in little cupcake cases but the strawberries I bought were like beasts so they didn't fit. These were really easy to make and they look really pretty.

Recipe ingredients

* 1 pack of strawberries (room temperature)
* 200g of milk chocolate
* 100g of white chocolate

Instructions
*Wash the strawberries and dry them. (Be sure you dry them properly or the chocolate won't stick.)

* melt the milk chocolate in the microwave for 1 minute checking and stirring half way through

*Roll the strawberries in the chocolate and put on a plate or foil covered baking tray.

* Melt the white chocolate the same way as the milk chocolate and stir.

* dip fork in the white chocolate and run across each strawberry

*Leave to set for an hour then transfer to whatever you would like to present them on.

I didn't put them in the fridge at any point they are much more tasty at room temperature.

Enjoy xxx

Getting naked with Urban decays Basic and Flushed palettes

I was so excited at the last meeting i attended to see the naked foundations and naked basics and even more excited when i received them from work, so now I'm on maternity leave i like to go and visit my counter every now and again. On my last visit i saw the flushed palette and fell in love, i did also see the oz palettes but i have so many eyeshadows it would almost be hoarding if i purchased another eyeshadow palette (even though i really had to talk myself out of getting both) the gold and silver shadows are truly breath taking...but soon my son will be in 6-9month clothes, he is getting big so quickly next time i go out shopping it will be all for him, he looks so cute in his jeans :)

Naked flushed is a blusher bronzer and highlighter all in one palette it has such a beautiful tone and effect mixed together so i bought it, plus i love that its all 3 in a palette which is a perfect size for my makeup bag, i have a similar color blusher is a victoria's secret case but with all three mixed together this is something different and very pretty.

The basics has a few similar colors that i have in other palettes but its convenient to have all the mattes and a highlighter all in one. Perfect to mix with other colors but also amazing to own if your work in an office or do freelance makeup i get a lot of older ladies asking for matte shadows at work and this is that exactly! it is the new formula of shadows so extremely soft and highly pigmented this costs 20.00.

Naked skin foundation, this is amazing! adjustable coverage and a range of colors that suit the palest to darkest skin tones whether yellow or neutral ( .0 is yellow .5 is neutral) i wear a 4 when i'm tanned but mix with my mac studio sculpt foundation in nc 20 when i'm not.  Naked skin has a demi matte finish which is lovely if you don't apply heavy coverage but since i do, i always use a setting powder. The price is 27.00 but compared to lancombe or esteelauder the colors are more realistic, this could defiantly come up against more pricey foundations and win any day! If you would like to try this on just go the any urban decay counter and they will match you up.

Just foundation