New York Make Up Haul

I can finally say I have visited Sephora and holy crap that place is amazing! I am now even more envious of the fact Americans have them and we don’t. I didn’t actually buy much as the stuff I did get was pretty expensive, but I did spend a good hour drooling over everything there. I picked up the famous Nars Sheer Glow foundation which I have wanted for the longest time! I got colour matched to Fiji which is the perfect match for me, I have only used it once so far but I am loving it, i’ll be sure to do a full review when I have used it more. Whilst at the Nars counter I also naughtily bought the Virtual Domination palette, now at $70 this may seem expensive but it does come with a huge Laguna bronzer, three blushes and a highlighter which makes the palettes contents worth over $120. It’s also amazing, I’ve used it every day since I got it and the bronzer and deep throat blusher are to die for. 

Mac is sooo much cheaper in America, in the UK we pay £15 for one lipstick and in America they pay $16 due to the exchange rate that means that Mac lipsticks are only around £9! I obviously couldn’t resist and picked up a refill of my favourite pro longwear concealer and Velvet Teddy lipstick which I have been trying to find for the longest time. Whilst there the Mac worker informed me that there was a new Miley Cyrus lipstick out and all the proceeds go towards the Mac Aids foundation so I obviously had to pick it up. This isn’t actually out in the UK yet either so I feel rather special knowing I have it before anyone else. Expect reviews soon!

Last but not least I visited Walgreens, I was on the hunt for a CVS drugstore so that I could check out all the make up but I just didn’t have enough time and Walgreens was the best I could find. It wasn’t the largest store so they didn’t have that much make up, but i did get the Maybeline Instant Age Rewind Concealer that everyone talks about, it isn’t the cheapest drugstore concealer but having used it I can see why, it is really good! The last thing I got was a Wet N Wild eyeshadow palette in The Naked Truth, I hear a lot of good stuff about Wet N Wild so I thought I would get something from their range and I must say the eyeshadows are amazing quality! 

New York City In 4 Days

So it is all over. I have been and come back already. My short time in New York flew, although we did so much I would have loved an extra few days there just so I could take everything in. We arrived at around midday on Tuesday after what felt like a life time of travelling and having no sleep, but we decided to power through and go straight out to see what the city has to offer. We jumped straight into the action buy going up the Empire State Building, this was honestly one of the most surreal experiences of my life. As soon as i stepped out onto the viewing platform I teared up, the view is breathtaking and I can not put into words how amazing the city looks from up there! After coming down from that high (literally) we went straight on to another high, by visiting Times Square, my first look at the place happened to be at night and it is so so bright and beautiful. After visiting Times Square at both day and night I can definitely say that it is almost a completely different place at night, it is so much better!

On to Wednesday, we started the day by going on the Staten Island ferry to see the Statue Of Liberty which is much smaller than I imagined but still great. I decided to go outside to take pictures on the ferry and I have honestly never felt that cold in my life, my fingers started numbing up whilst taking photos, I definitely would not recommend you do that in January! We then visited the Financial district and Wall Street which is completely different to how I imagined it, a lot more relaxed and not as fast passed as I thought. The 9/11 memorial site was also in this area so we then visited the museum there and had a guided tour by a survivor, this was one of the things I most wanted to do whilst in New York. The whole area was completely chilling and the experience was very emotional. After having a spot of lunch and some time to relax, we headed to China Town which is one of the most frightening places I have ever visited, unless you like a lot of gift shops filled with junk and people hassling you to go in them, I wouldn’t recommend you go there. But still an experience none the less.

Thursday was our final full day and one of my favourite days in the city. We started the day off by doing a spot of shopping in Times Square where I went a bit mad in the  Mac shop. We then went on the hunt to track down some cheap Broadway tickets, we managed to get really good seats for the Lion King that night which I have always wanted to see. For the remainder of the day we visited the Natural History Museum and Central Park where we went on a horse and carriage ride. This was one of the best things I did in New York and if you have a chance, definitely go on one, it is the best way to see in and around Central Park. That night we went for a beautiful meal in the Hard Rock Cafe before going to see the Lion King on Broadway, both experiences I will never forget.

The Friday being our last day and us having to leave at 7pm, meant it was more of a chilled one. I tried pancakes with bacon and maple syrup for the first time that morning and I was shocked by how nice it is, sounds and look so wrong but tastes so good together! We then visited Grand Central Station, where all I could think about was that very first episode of Gossip Girl and spend the rest of the day on 5th avenue and shopping before sadly leaving the amazing city to come home. I already miss being in New York and already want to go back, the trip has made me realize I am a real city girl at heart and feel much more comfortable in a fast passed place like that rather than in the still, quiet countryside. 

I’m Going To New York!

For as long as I can remember I have always dreamt of visiting New York, but it was one of those dreams that I thought was so out of my reach. It’s the set of  favourite TV show ‘Gossip Girl’ and home to some of my favourite celebrities and tomorrow the 20th of January 2015 I will actually be going to NYC. I’ll be visiting the city for four days with my college and I am so excited! We will be obviously be visiting all the main attractions and I’ll hopefully be doing a lot of make up shopping, I can not wait to try out some american brands!

Because of this there won’t be any beauty posts this week but I will have an update post with lot’s of pictures from my trip when I come back as well as a haul. 

For those who are lucky enough to live in or have visited NYC, do you have any recommendations of places to go or things to do?

Revlon Colorstay Normal/Dry Skin Foundation

So here I am, continuing on in the quest to find the perfect foundation, yes I may have a few ones that I really like and work well, but I still want that all time favourite foundation that I just can not go without and I am yet to find it. On my quest to find the holy grail I picked up Revlon Colourstay, although this isn’t the one it is another of those ones that I really like. I got the one for dry to normal skin as I don’t like my skin to be completely matte.

The foundation claims to have ‘Long-wearing coverage with a lightweight formula that won’t cake, fade, or rub off. With Time Release Technology, the oil-free, moisture-balance formula is especially formulated for normal or dry skin to continuously provide hydration.’ Now there’s some of that I do agree with, I don’t find it cakey but it does tend to rub off rather easily which is a pain in the ass. For example say if i rest my hand on my face, when I then remove it I will 3 out of 5 times have taken half of my foundation off with it. I do agree with the foundation providing hydration as my skin never looks dry or dull when wearing it, I would recommend powdering over it though as it can sometimes make you appear shiny. This foundation comes without a pump which can be a real annoyance and you do tend to waste a lot of product. 

I got the shade 180 Sand Beige which is more pink toned than I wanted but I did find that mostly all of the shades stocked in my local boots were leaning towards the pink tone. 

Coverage

I would say the coverage of this foundation is medium with two layers, it does cover some imperfections but not all so this isn’t for you if you have bad acne scars etc. The foundation doesn’t cake at all when adding more layers which is good if you are wanting a little more coverage. 

Longevity 

This foundation claims to last 24hrs which I think is a bit extreme, it in no way lasts that long but it does have good staying power, think Mac Pro Longwear but a little less coverage. I’d say it could easily get you through an 8 hour day with no touch ups needed but after that you may see some minimal fading. 

Have you tried this foundation, what do you think?

My Current Everyday Make-Up Routine|Glowy Skin & Neutral Eyes

 So it’s been a while since I last did a post on my most worn make up look and since then a lot has changed and I have discovered new products. This make up look is what I  wear on most days, either to college, out with the girls or just shopping, I do sometimes skip the liner for college so that it’s less to do in the mornings.

 Face

So I start by using my new No7 Instant Radiance foundation on a Real Techniques Buffing brush and blend this into my skin. I have only been using the foundation for around 2 weeks so I still haven’t made a full decision on how good I think it is yet, but so far I like it. For bronzer I used my Sleek Contour Kit to enhance my cheekbones, and for blush I used the Benefit Benetint which gives a beautiful natural flush to your cheeks.

Eyes

The eyes are the main focus of this make up look, even though they are still neutral they do stand out. All the shades I used are from the Barry M Limited Edition Starry Nights Palette, I place the gold shade all along my lid and the burgandy/red shade into my crease. I find that these sort of colours really make blue eyes pop and I have been loving this eye look lately. On some days I will apply a thin line of the No7 Felt Tip Liner to my lash line to make it appear thicker. I then finish off the look with the No7 Midnight Lash mascara, this stuff is amazing and adds so much length to your lashes, I would highly recommend it. 

Lips

My lipstick changes on a daily basis depending on what I am feeling on the day, but my favouite basic lip look is to take Estee Lauder Stay Mauve lipstick and then apply a dab of Mac’s Creme Cup in the middle. This gives a natural looking Kylie Jenner feel.