Gerard Cosmetics Hydra Matte Liquid Lipstick Review

For the life of me I can not remember how I heard about the Gerard Cosmetics liquid lipsticks, but now I'm in love and I want more.

 My new obsession is lipsticks, so I knew £10 was a small price to pay for my first one. I scouted the colour I wanted through YouTube videos and blogs, deciding on Serenity. Then put my order through on Beautybay.com (this website had loads of really cool brands, including Anastasia Beverly Hills..so I will definitely be using it again).

Serenity

When it arrived I straight away loved the frosting on the tube and gold lipstick wand; nice packaging to display on your dressing table.

The colour is just perfect for what I wanted. Serenity is a deep pink/purple nude colour which can be worn in a day-to-day casual look. In just one layer, it really takes your lips from drab to fab. It's not scarily bright so anyone would suit and love this colour.

Serenity worn in casual day look

The formula of the lipstick applies to your lips similar to a lip gloss, so it is very easy to apply. Then it dries as a matte lipstick. I love the fact it is matte as I sometimes think shiny lips take away from any eye make-up you have on. It can feel dry throughout the day, however, it does not crack your lips. A bit of Vaseline over the top, for anyone who hates dry lips, could solve this issue.

The first time I wore the lipstick I applied it at 10am, ate lunch, went to town and it was still on my lips at 6pm. This is more than I could say for any other lipstick I have worn.

I plan on buying more colours at some point. Any colour suggestions? I'm worried the other colours may be too out there for me (basically I'm a big wuss).

But readers...go and buy Serenity, you won't regret it.

XOXO

What I Got For Christmas 2015

I know this is rather late, but I got some lovely presents which might inspire my readers to do a bit of on-line shopping during miserable January. I was so so happy with everything I received from my friends and family; I hope you all don't mind me sharing (this is not for bragging purposes).

My mum got me this cute mug after I confessed how much I loved the John Lewis- Man on the Moon advert. Now I realise it would feel a little bit odd to buy a Christmas mug in January, but its been reduced to £2.50- here! Plus 25% of the price goes to the Age UK charity who work with older people in the UK to make sure they are happy/cared for.

Shearer candles are a brand I hadn't heard of before my Mum gifted me them. However,  both products are very good quality and smell very strong of Frankincense and Myrrh (which again may be a bit Christmassy for this time of year). But I am so happy, as my University room smells gorgeous each time I enter it and the candle is super long lasting. Check out their website as they have loads of different scents- here!

I got Argan Oil hand and nail cream in my stocking from Santa and Oh My God it smells gorgeous. I'm not really sure where my Mum/Santa bought this but I have found a link- here!

Jimmy Choo- Illicit was top of the list of presents I wanted this Christmas. Its just a beautiful, sophisticated and feminine perfume. You can buy it at your local boots- here!

I'm going to be completely honest, I have no idea where my Sister bought this little beauty. Its a tealight holder and it looks so pretty when the light shines through the intricate holes in the design. It is absolutely my style.

Make-up presents are THE best. My sister got me a very pretty floral Cath Kidston free-standing make-up bag- here! I also got two amazing eye-shadow palettes, one from Soap & Glory- here , the other from Collection- here! Both have warm and glittery colours perfect for winter.

Yayyyy- I finally got real techniques make-up brushes. So happy with these- particularly the powder brush, the quality is amazing. These can also be found at Boots- here!

With money from various family members I invested in a taupe coloured leather jacket. I fell in love as soon as I saw this is River Island. Its a little bit of me because of the fur; its so feminine. I know I'll get so much wear out of this, and it'll give my black leather jacket a little break haha. Unfortunately I can't find this version on River Island's website but did find this version for the same price.

My Sister and Best Friend both had the same fabulous idea when they got me Mindfulness colouring books. I have an abundance of pens, pencils and drawings now. These books can be found easily on Amazon for a very low price. They do wonders for helping you to relax and zone out from all your worries- all you think about is what colour green should this leaf be? Haha.

My beautiful Mum got be both of these presents. The first being a Yankee Candle melt holder- which has been the best addition to my room. The melts last FOREVER and smell so good. You can buy this from Yankee Candle- here!

My favourite present from her was the picture of myself and her on my 21st Birthday in Disney, printed on slate. This was done at a local shop and is really good quality; amazing considering the picture is off an iPhone. It just makes me smile so much every time I see it.

Thanks for reading everyone- hope it has inspired you in some way (at least to do some naughty January shopping)!

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Chiang Mai was our first stop, apart from an obligatory night in Bangkok (yuk!), on our trip to Thailand! We spent 4 jam-packed days there and absolutely loved it. But boy, we definitely needed the beaches of Koh Tao afterwards.

First course- Pad Thai

On our first day we did a morning cooking course with Tomyumthai Cooking School . It cost us £15 each for 4 and a half hours and transfers from our hotel. We cooked four dishes in total, I think. A pad thai, a choice of curry, spring rolls and mango sticky rice.. and I'm now VERY hungry after typing that. My love of thai food has grown a lot since our trip. We collected the ingredients from a local market, had our own work stations to make the food and then stopped to devour each course. It was such a fun morning and they even gave us a recipe book to take away, what babes!

Here are some more pictures of us looking like complete professionals...

The next day was spent up in the hills of Chiang Mai at the home of a local man who inherited about 6 elephants. Oh my gosh, it was a beautiful day. What an experience to touch an elephant, let alone feed and bathe with them. 

The only issue I had with this day was..and I'm going to sound like a boring old woman when I say this...health and safety does not exist in Thailand! We travelled up to the house standing in the back of a pick up truck and then whilst following the elephants we were always a slip of a foot away from falling down the hill. So I did feel a bit emotionally exhausted at the end of the day when I realised I'd survived the experience hahaha. 

However, I still could not recommend doing something similar to anyone who is lucky enough to go to Chiang Mai. Plus, they gave us funky outfits to wear..bonus!

In our tribal outfits with the baby elephant.

 On our last full day we went rainforest zip-wiring...for the life of me I can't remember the name of the company despite getting a free t-shirt in our package deal. Unfortunately, we could not control the weather and, as soon as we reached the first zip-wire platform, the heavens opened. We all got covered in muddy rain water from the rainforest, but somehow I managed to get the worst of it. To the extent of all the Chinese people in our group, pointing and laughing at me continuously. It was a really fun experience, apart from crashing in to a thousand trees. The next day I also woke up to some b-e-a-utiful harness bruises on my thighs...mmm-hmmm.

Evenings in Chiang Mai were some of the best of our trip. There was a great range of western and asian restaurants at cheap prices. However, our favourite part was the night market which we went to every night to scout out everything we wanted to buy on our last night there. We did have to limit ourselves slightly due to the backpack situation...otherwise I would now have a room full of lanterns and little buddhas. What a shame eh?!

The night market also led us to discover the most wonderful jazz bar, Boy Blues Bar, where we would retire to after we'd finished shopping. It was open-mike, but the people who performed were generally  really good. They also started to recognise us on the third night, gave us 'VIP' seats and knew our order...Spy Wine. Which was scrummmmy and is basically summer fruit cider because wine doesn't appear to exist in South-East Asia.

We also stayed at a really great hostel called Luna Guesthouse for a day, who organised all our trips and gave us a great room. But we could only get it for a day and ended up at a hostel called MD House for the rest of the time, which was basically a prison cell of a room with no natural light, sad times. So go to Luna Guesthouse if you ever get the chance to go to Chiang Mai.

Hope you all enjoy hearing about my Asian adventures.

XOXO

New Years Resolutions

I never normally set myself goals at the beginning of a year. This year felt different; I feel a few goals could help me feel like myself again and get me through the rest of my time at University.

I have tried to be realistic, but these goals are still big steps for me at the moment because of my anxiety.

So here goes:

1. Build and continue my skincare routine-

I started doing this before Christmas, however going home confused my routine and I have slacked a bit recently. I want to buy some more high-end products and really look after my skin. It makes me feel more confident and my make-up looks a lot better on moisturised skin. But most of all having routine parts of my day really help with my anxiety, as its unfamiliar things that stress me out so a bit of structure comforts me. Liz earle is the dream.

2. Look after my lips-

I get SO annoyed when my lipstick looks rubbish because I have ridiculously dry lips. I know part of this is because I don't drink enough water, so I should probably add that to the list. But I also want to use lip scrubs, buy a lip primer and always have a lip balm with me. Any recommendations for anything else I could do will be much appreciated?

3. Build my social media platforms-

I have been quiet on social media recently, this is due to losing my confidence completely. I've been feeling like no-one would care about pictures I post or my opinions. This is all part of my anxiety trying to convince me to go and sit quietly in a corner and never speak again. However, I LOVE looking on social media and the people I follow give me motivation. If I can be accepted on social media, then I can in real life too.

I want an Instagram theme please

4. Practice Mindfulness-

This is something my counsellor has suggested a do a few times a day, to help my mind relax. It should then train my brain to be able to calm down when something is stressing me out. However, I am rubbish at setting out time to do it. For Christmas my sister and best friend got me mindfulness colouring books. I have loved them so far, and it is so relaxing to do before bed time. A friend also suggested I practice mindfulness whilst brushing my teeth or making cups of coffee (I am aware coffee is awful for anxiety...but its university exam time, please forgive me?)

Millie Mackintosh has this book...eek.

5. Make plans/ don't get lonely

At university I get very lonely. As I am a year behind my home friends academically, I get very envious that they are all busy in jobs and social lives like I was last year. I need to make plans to go home more regularly, walk into town for some window shopping, make an effort to attend choir more and make exciting plans to give me something to look forward to. When I sit alone, I just drown in my own thoughts. I need to give myself positive things to focus on. Soon I should have something VERY exciting to look forward to...hint below..

6. Eat more vegetables/fruit

I've had stomach problems in the past where they ended up giving me stomach ulcer tablets to sort out the pain. However, I haven't learnt from this awful time. I still have the worst diet, and occasionally bad stomach aches. I eat a lot of acidic and fatty foods. My aim is to slowly introduce more vegetables and fruit into my diet. This will include going shopping more as well, as my main excuse has always been food going out of date.

I don't eat half of these at the moment...promising.

7. Let my interest in beauty and and lifestyle develop

I've finally found something I'm really interested in, so I'm really keen to see where it takes me. I want to buy more make-up, try more brands, improve my lifestyle and redecorate my room at home. These things make me really happy, so its definitely worth making them my focus. And of course, all of this will feature on my blog.

Charlotte Tilbury lipstick is next on my list.

Happy New Year to all my readers, hope 2016 is fabulous for you all!