The Simplest of Summer Make Up

Hello! After holidays and in the summer, I don't feel like I need to wear a lot of make up unless I'm really going out. Instead, I like to keep it as simple and quick as possible! A light base, simple cheeks and easy eyes - that's my summer mantra.

Garnier's Miracle Skin Cream is great for a light base and it has SPF 25 so you can slap it on at the beginning of the day to keep yourself protected! You can also touch it up if you wanted as it doesn't cake up. It has slight pigment after you've applied it as it changes to a skin colour but there is only one colour so if you're a pale girl watch out! It also leaves you with a glow which you could powder if you prefer a matte look but I just leave it as it is!

For my cheeks, I use the Bourjois bronzer that looks and smells like chocolate and apply a small amount of Dior's Rosy Glow. It looks super scary in the pan but it changes according to the Ph balance of your skin and I personally end up with a light coral colour that isn't too bright but just brightens up my face.

If I can be bothered to perk up my lids, it's Maybelline's Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze every time as it's just so simple to do but looks like you've put in effort. However, at the moment I'm more likely to skip even this simple step. I then use my Eyeko felt liner to do a very simple flick just along my lash line to add definition. Nothing thick or fancy. A lick of mascara which is my all time favourite Maybelline's The Rocket and finish it off with my brows. I mentioned this in my previous post and I love it - Maybelline have done it again with their Brow Drama!

How are you keeping your make up light and simple this summer?

MAYBELLINE | BROW DRAMA

Hello! Lately, I've gone off filling in my brows too much. I'm all for strong brows but I'm one for quick and easy make up at the moment - I just can't be bothered to sit there and do the whole sha-bang. I discovered something quite a while a go that when I first saw I thought I would hate, but I bit the bullet and bought it and I am in love with it. It's the best thing for super quick brows!

Maybelline's Brow Drama is currently in a relationship with my eyebrows. I just slick this over each brow to hold them all in place and neaten them up but it also fills adds a bit of colour while filling in the areas of sparseness. It has a thin base to it, much like a normal brow gel or mascara wand but at the top there is an enlarged piece of the wand. I think that definitely allows you to be able to reach all areas of your brow without getting it on your skin, which is not what you want with a tinted brow gel. It's so quick and easy that I can't not reach for it everyday. If you're not a fan of filling in your brows everyday or prefer a natural look, this is the one for you!

Have you tried this? Or do you have any favourite brow products I should try?

FIBERFIB 2014 | FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL BENICASIM

Hello! The reason I've been super M.I.A is because last Tuesday I jetted off to Spain for a week with my friends to go to Benicassim Festival. I took a couple of disposable cameras including a waterproof one so that i could take some photos at the festival and the beach so I thought I'd share my week with you all!

On Tuesday we flew to Barcelona really early and then got on a coach to the festival which took 3 hours but it was a lot less risky than missing the train and having to get a 340 euro taxi. After we had set up tents we all had a cold shower and the boys popped to Lidl for dinner and we had a night sitting in the camp site with some less-than-a-euro wine and baguettes until we all couldn't keep our eyes open.

In the morning we escaped the campsite early and headed off to the beach which was about half an hours walk, going via the super market for some of the cheapest breakfast I've ever bought. We all got our tan on and played Frisbee as well as taking some pictures in the sea. At the end of the day we were all a little red and spent the evening sitting in the beach bar drinking mojitos and even went skinny dipping at one point. Might as well if you have an empty beach...

Late that night we headed back to our camp site after a lovely day in the sun and the sea, blissfully unaware of how sick we would get of sand by the end of the week!

We headed back to the beach everyday from there and on Thursday we headed to a cheap bar and restaurant for chicken and chips and paella. This was the day the music started and we saw Ellie Goulding, who was amazing on stage, Tinie Tempah and Chase & Status. I enjoyed Chase & Status so much more than at Reading as they plated at 1am so everyone was crashing a little and the crowd was a bit calmer... It was a great way to kick off our weekend of music!

After ridding ourselves of sand as much as possible on Friday night we headed to see Tom Odell, which actually turned out to be Razorlight as they had switched their times. Both of them were so good and Razorlight played some classics! There was a big gap between Tom Odell and the next act so we headed back for some drinks and the rest of our dinner that we had bought! While we were back at the camp there was the most amazing lightening going on before finally there was thunder and a big downpour. We all were initially shocked but it was nice to have some cool rain in the sweaty weather!

We spent our Saturday lunch time napping on the beach and drinking mojitos in the beach bar. It was a bit more cloudy after the storm but we all still managed to get a bit burnt through the clouds! In the evening we saw Katy B, Lily Allen who was so funny on stage and definitely a highlight of my weekend, The Libertines, Example and Ingrosso! After some time in the dance tent we headed back to the campsite around 4. It's hard work being at a festival that ends at about the time you would normally wake up for school!

Sunday was our final day and we would be heading home from the festival in the early hours of the morning (which did mean we missed sub focus so book your flights later than 10!) We packed up our stuff at the campsite including the few tents we would be taking home before heading back to the beach, despite the fact we were very sick of sand at this point! It was nice to head back to the beach for the last time as a group and swim in the sea some more and catch the last of the sun, despite a couple of the group already beginning to peel! Kodaline was the first act and we sat around singing High Hopes followed by Hozier who made me want to download his whole album! He was so chilled and the sun was setting, turning the clouds pink around us which was beautiful. We then had a blast from the past with Travis which was unexpected as we walked past as he was singing 'Sing' which has been on an advert recently and I've rekindled my love for him since I got home. M.I.A was so awful.
We left after 5 minutes, perhaps less, but overheard Paper Planes and Bad Girls which were both awful and have been ruined for me! Reallly not impressed! I heard at Lovebox she didn't even finish her set, which in a way I would have preferred! Paolo Nutini however, was on another level. He had such a great crowd filled with all the Scottish people at the festival and he sings which such passion. A friend and I were about 3 rows back and I'm now 100% in love with him. We finished up the festival with Alesso and Sub Focus but as we didn't think about how late the music would finish when booking our transport we had to leave half way through! 

I barely remember leaving on the coach and I certainly don't remember taking off in the plane just from how exhausted I was. However, I had an amazing week with 10 of my friends and everyone who came with me made it so special. It was so surreal being in Spain with so many of my friends at a festival and I would definitely recommend going if you are pondering on it or want something fun to do next summer! For now, I'm exhausted... never wake me up!

Are you off to a festival this summer? Or do you have a favourite one?

Music in July

Hello! This month is a slightly musical one for me as I am off to a festival on Tuesday in Spain! I've had an eye on the line up for a while and have been listening to lots of music by the people there. I've also been listening to some other bits and I thought I would compile it together for you all!

Paolo Nutini, Tame Impala, Tom Odell, The 1975, Charlie XCX, Kodaline, Nina Nesbitt and Hozier are just a few of the people who will be at Benicassim next weekend in Spain! I'm so excited to see them as well as Lily Allen, Ellie Goulding, Chase and Status and so many more. I will be putting together a blog post about it as soon as possible when I get back!

Ella Eyre's new song 'If I Go' has the most amazing music video complete with a behind the scenes which is a must watch! George Ezra is a pretty new artist who was on Glastonbury's Introducing stage last year and he is now all over the radio. I can't wait to have a listen to his full album sometime soon! Real Estate's song 'April's Song' reminds me of driving around. I'm not sure why, I don't know if I ever have listened to this in a car but it's one of those feel good songs, although there are no lyrics! Finally, Iggy Azelia's 'Fancy' get's stuck in my head at the mention of the word. I kind of want to hate it, but I just can't...

Are you going to any festivals or seeing any of these people live any time soon?

Salmon en Croute from Scratch

Hello! Last night a couple of friends bought a little too much food for just the two of them so the three of us got together and cooked a Salmon en Croute for 6. It was honestly one of the best things that I've ever eaten that I helped cook myself and we made it all from scratch! Except the pastry... no one has time for making pastry...

Ingredients:

- Salmon - it depends how many you're feeding with this one. You can either do it with a large piece which we did or a single filet - it's up to you.

- 1-2 shallots

- 4-7 mushrooms

- Creme Fraiche

- 2/3 handfuls of Kale/Spinach 

- Asparagus

- Mixed Vegetables (Peppers, onions, courgettes etc.)

- Pastry

- Juice of a whole lemon

- White Wine

First things first, the oven needs to be about 200C. Do this before you start to prepare the dish!

Melt about a tablespoon of butter into your pan and simmer the shallots and the mushrooms for about 5 minutes until the shallots start to brown. Then add your kale or spinach (if you're using kale you'll want to chop it up) until it wilts in the pan. Here you can add the juice from the lemon and a tablespoon of creme fraiche. Keep stirring it until it's all mixed up and has some kind of sauce forming and then you can remove it from the heat.

Once you have removed it from the heat, seperate the mixture using a sieve - you want the sauce in one bowl and the shallots, mushrooms and kale in another, ready to use later.

You now want to roll out your pastry. Separate the pastry you have into two equal parts and roll them out to roughly the same size as your salmon. You then want to place your salmon on top of one part and this is the beginning of the parcel you will be creating.

Back to the mixture with the shallots, mushrooms and kale! You want to evenly distribute this across the top of the salmon. Once you've done this you can lay your second piece of rolled out pastry on top. If there are parts of the pastry that really don't line up, you can cut it to make it more square and make your life easier! Make sure you don't have too much air within your parcel and shape the pastry around the salmon. You can stick the two pieces of pastry together using water. Check there aren't any gaps that are too large!

You now want to take a fork and push the two parts together. I'm not sure if this has a technical name but mostly I just think it looks pretty! Do this all around the edge to fully merge the pastry together. You don't need to push too hard here!

Here comes the part where you can simply score the top, write your name, draw a heart or do what we did, which is draw a fish each on the top! Be careful to ensure you aren't cutting through the pastry here - use a knife with a delicate hand or a toothpick.

To ensure a golden finish to the pastry, beat an egg inside a cup and then apply it all over with a pastry brush. Get right to the edges and over your design!

Once you've completed your masterpiece you can put all the vegetables in a baking tray, add some olive oil and black pepper and put them in at the same time. The asparagus only needs about 10 minutes in the oven so you can add this in closer to when you'll be sitting down!

After 15-20 minutes, your Salmon en Croute should be completely cooked and golden brown. I think our design looks super cute and if you're making this for a couple of friends or your family, you could add a personal touch to each person's slice.

Make sure you've added in your asparagus with your veggies! After taking your Salmon en Croute out of the oven, it needs to sit on the side for about 5 minutes. While you do this you can complete the sauce that you started earlier. Add the sauce from the bowl and a little bit of water into a pan with another tablespoon of creme fraiche and some wine. We found that there was barely any sauce by the time we came to this so we added a bit of water to make sure it didn't all evaporate and added more mushrooms, kale, garlic, salt and pepper.

We served this all up together, cutting it into thin slices and topping with the sauce we had just made and then dishing up our vegetables on the side. Results? Empty plates and perhaps seconds...

Let me know if you have a go at making this or if you've made it before! Sounds a little complicated written down, but once you've done it it's actually pretty simple. Plus, we had three people so we all took on different jobs and got it all whipped together pretty quickly! Have a go at making it with a couple of friends or your family and you could get it done in about 20 minutes!

Replenish & Recharge

Hello! During the time when my skin was really thirsty and showed it, I appealed to the beauty bloggers of twitter to help me out. Someone suggested something that I was too desperate not to try and even now that my skin has been rehydrated, I can't help but continue to slap it on!

The Body Shop's Vitamin E Overnight Serum in Oil is what has been an absolute savior to my skin. I had been trying all of the moisturizers I owned, layering them up, using honey and olive oil but nothing worked to help sooth my skin back to it's smooth state. However, after roughly 3 consecutive nights of using this there were barely any signs that there was anything there anymore that resembled a dry patch. It wasn't completely normal and it took about 2 weeks for my skin to completely calm down and return to it's old self but this was definitely what got it to that point.

I've seen that some people find this too heavy for overnight but if my skin is feeling at all tight or I've been out in this glorious weather we are having I will drop 3-4 drops from the pipette (super handy for oils and serums!) onto the tips of my fingers and massage it into my face really well. If I have any excess I will massage it into my hands really well or apply it to the ends of my hair and it just keeps them tame! Yes, it gives you that oily appearance (not in your hair if you're only using the excess!) but it's so worth it for how my skin looks in the morning. I think my make up goes on really smooth, it doesn't break me out and it makes my skin look really healthy. It does exactly what it says on the tin: 'Replenish & recharge moisture' and for that I am so grateful.

Have you tried this or anything else from this range?

Nars Sheer Glow | Deauville

Hello! I feel like at the moment, Nars Sheer Glow is the foundation to use and I've felt that I needed it every summer that I've been blogging and watching YouTube. It seems that in the summer this is the most flattering and everyone seems to love it so I finally picked it up with my birthday money and I think I am in love?

I picked this up in Brighton at Space NK and a lovely girl whose name I can't remember helped me to pick my perfect shade. I picked up Deauville which is virtually undetectable on my skin and as my face barely tans and fades the fastest, I'm sure this will be perfect for me even after my holiday. If not I can just top up with bronzer!

I don't use this everyday as I don't invest in a more expensive foundation very often and I feel that although it makes my skin look so so good, that I should reserve it for when there are more special occasions than walking from classroom to classroom. I find this looks super good from when I first apply it and it can be built up so easily if I need a tiny bit more coverage. It also looks really good as the day goes on as it smooths out and becomes my skin rather than just sitting on top of it. I love the glowy and dewy look it gives my skin without making me look greasy at all and I often find at the end of the day I look just as glowy and dewy as before, if not better. It's also super good at not making my skin worse if there are a couple of blemishes coming up which is a bonus!

I'm all for the sheer bases in summer and this fits the description. I previously mentioned the Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector and if I really want this to last I'll dot that underneath on top of my moisturizer to ensure it stays looking good for the whole day and/or night. Like all Nars packaging, it can get a little grubby in my make up drawers but as long as it's not ruining anything else I'm fine with it. I'll definitely be buying another bottle when it runs out because have fallen for this pretty hard! Now I just need to get my hands on their Radiant Creamy Concealer...

Have you tried the Nars Sheer Glow Foundation?







Check out my friend Polly's blog here!