Birthday make-up review!

Hey guys!

As I mentioned before I got some new make up for my birthday! I wanted to make sure i'd used it all a few times before I reviewed any of it so I could give a good honest opinion!

The first two products I got from my mama as she had just been to Florida for business and picked me up a couple of bits on the way back! :)

It's the MAC Mineralise Skin Finish Natural powder in Light, and I just love it. It's my favourite powder but I always seem to run out when I won't have chance to go to MAC so I always end up just buying a cheaper one from Boots but I was so happy to be using this again! 

It's not too heavy and actually gives a bit of coverage on top of tinted moisturiser or foundation and gives a matte finish which I love because the shiny/dewy look does absolutely nothing for me and I look far better with a nice matte finish to my make up! :)

I'd tried this concealer before but only as a sample and I loved it. It's the MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NC20 and goes perfectly with my Chanel foundation. It's quite heavy and thick, so you only need a tiny bit or you can look quite cakey quite easily (if you get what I mean) a bit like someone just spooned it on your face, not a good look. I tend to save this for days when I have big bags under my eyes (most days actually) or if my skin isn't looking great after too much sugar and not enough water! As you only need a tiny bit they last for ages, and I would definitely recommend it. Personally for me it's a bit heavy for every day use but it's perfect when you just want a little bit more coverage!

The rest of my new make up is from my best friends Lauren and Jo :)

This is the Kiss Me It's My Birthday set from bareMinerals. I love absolutely everything in this box. Everything. 

The mascara is the Lash Domination volumizing mascara in Intense Black and it's one of the best if not the best mascara i've ever had. The brush is twisted which helps separate lashes as you put it on and it doesn't make your lashes clump or stick together at all. I've been using it every day, and I think I might have to go and get another when it runs out! 

This is the Lasting Line long-wearing eyeliner in  Absolute Black. It isn't as pigmented as the YSL pencil liner that i've reviewed before, and so you need to put a bit more on if you want the intense black colour, but true to it's name, it is long lasting. I only every really use pencil liners in my waterline so it usually wears off after an hour or two, but this stayed on a few hours and if I wear it for a meal or a day out I don't have to touch it up which I think is pretty perfect, just what you want from an eyeliner!

I love this lip gloss. It's the Marvelous Moxie in Show Off. It's a pale pink when you put it on and it's quite thick. I'm not usually one for a thick lip gloss as I always get my hair caught in it with the wind! Luckily that hasn't happened yet! It also has a plumping effect, leaving your lips all tingly and making the perfect pout! I love when lip glosses make my lips all tingly and I love pink glosses/lipsticks, so this is a perfect addition to my make-up bag!

The last new addition to my make up bag is this set of 4 eyeshadows from MAC called Devilishly Dark. My favourite eyeshadows are neutrals and goldy browns (as seen by my love of the original Naked palette) and these eyeshadows are gorgeous. They are quite heavily pigmented, but not so much that you can't easily blend them, and the colours are lovely together. From left to right, top to bottom they are Manila Paper, Goldmine, Honey Lust and Devilishly Dark. The honey lust is my favourite, and i'm not ashamed to say i've worn it every single day since I got it!

Thank you for all your birthday well wishes, it means a lot! :)

Let me know if you have any of these products and what you think of them! I love them all!

With Love, Amylou x

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Birthday Weekend With The Girls

Hey!

Before I start this, i'm just gonna say I don't have any photos of my weekend with my girls! We spent all of our time just enjoying the moment as we rarely get to be together and it's usually at least 2 months inbetween get togethers which is far too long!

It's really important to take photos and capture memories but I also think sometimes it's just nice to live in the moment and make the most of the time you have with loved ones!

We started our trip with an obligatory trip to nandos on friday night (obviously) and as ever it was delicious. I always get either a chicken burger or butterfly chicken, always medium, and yet I never get tired of eating it! We had a good gossip and a couple of hours later we headed back to mine to watch some cake boss in our pjs! It felt like we had lots of catching up to do as it's been so long but we talk every single day, and there probably isn't a person i've met or a meal i've had that the girls haven't known about. 

It's often got me some weird looks from the parents when I take a photo of my tea at the table and just text it to them (yes i'm one of those people) but sometimes it's just important to show these things!

Saturday we headed off to York for a day of shopping in the sun and it was such a beautiful day! If you ever go to York you should go to Betty's tea rooms, I don't know why, but it's a cute cafe and everyone should go for afternoon tea at some point! After a day of shopping, gossiping, laughing and sunbathing by the river we headed home and got ready for dinner.

The indian restaurant in my village does the biggest naans ever, and so obviously I had to take the girls with me! I've taken Lauren before but it was Jo's first time and I don't know why, but I just like taking people there! I've been going since I was a young girl when it was just a takeout from a small trailer and now its a huge two storey restaurant and it's beautiful. So you're ever in the Barnsley area, check out Tandoori Hut, delicious!

We were being good (for a change) and we didn't have a single drink all weekend so we drove home past the pub and got in our pjs for more cake boss on the sofa before bed.

Sunday was a more relaxing day and we had a lie in and headed to Meadowhall in Sheffield for more food and shopping! I've never been able to resist Victoria's secret, ever since I went in my first one in the USA a few years ago and now they are in the UK it's very dangerous for my bank account! I did buy the most beautiful pjs and bikinis though! 

Several hours and shopping bags later I had to say goodbye to Lauren as she headed back to Manchester and Jo as she headed back to London :( but it's not all bad as we already have our next meet-up planned (a road-trip down to london :D) and I had the best weekend with my best friends ever.

It's just nice to spend some quality time together! They've always been there for me and I don't think there is anything they don't know about me, and I love them all the more for it!

I hope you guys had a good weekend too, and sorry for the long text post! I've got to review the make-up the girls got me for my birthday so I promise you there will be lots of photos next time!

Love you all, Amylou x

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Boohoo Ideal Festival Blogger Challenge

Hey! 

I recently received an email from Boohoo.com telling me about their new idea for a blogger challenge called My Ideal Festival. I thought it sounded like an excellent idea and so i'm going to tell you all about what I think my perfect festival would be! 

The blog post challenge is also a competition and Boohoo.com will pick their favourite posts to win exclusive #experienceeverything festival goody bags! So if that sounds like something you'd like to win (who wouldn't?) then you should give the challenge a go too!

Here goes!

1. I would share a tent with my best friends in the whole world Lauren, Joanna and Rupert

2. My headliners would be Bastille or Ed Sheeran or Little Mix (It's too hard to choose!)

3. Sunglasses and flower headbands would be free for all attending!

4. The item I could not go without would be my camera! Can't have the perfect festival and not capture the memories! :)

5. Wellies or wedges? That would depend on where the festival was! Although my perfect festival would be on the beach so wedges would definitely be better!

6. Beach or field?  Beach everytime!

7. The theme would be white party? I've always thought it would be a pretty cool idea to have a festival where you can only wear white clothes but then your accessories can be any colour you want! Would be so much fun to see the different ways people could get colour into their outfits with their main clothes having to be white!

8. Celeb spot of the weekend would be a few I hope! But definitely some eye candy along the lines of Zac Efron/Dave Franco!

9. This is what I would wear ....

...

I've added captions to all of the photos with the names of each item but i'll link them here too! :)

Polly White Denim Shorts

Madison Lace Insert swing Chiffon Cami

Grace Cross Buckled Strapped Mid Wedges
Abia Rose & Leaf Floral Head Crown
Joanna Small Cross Body Satchel Bag
Anabel Half Frame Wayfarer Sunglasses
Gia Teardrop Gem Statement Necklace

And that's how i'd have my perfect festival!

What do you guys think, would you want to come to my festival? If you do this challenge make sure to link your post in the comments below! I'd love to see what your ideal festival would be like! 

With Love, Amylou x

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Birthday Meal with the Family

Hey!

So my birthday isn't until Wednesday but my mum is travelling a lot at the minute with work so this weekend was the closest chance we'd have to celebrate my birthday just the four of us! So we decided to go to our local Coast to Coast in Sheffield and have a feast!

I wore one of my holiday dresses and I love it! Its from Love (Brands at Topshop) and you can find it here :) I have it in two colours and it's gorgeous.

You'll see my awesome cake in this photo, my little sister is quite the baker and she made me this awesome pig cake

I did take some pictures at the restaurant but my tablet doesn't want to recognise my camera so I can only upload these photos that I had on my phone! :)

It was lovely to spend time with the family, they spoilt me way more than I deserve!

I spent all of today building my new lego iron man house and helicopter. Yes I asked for a superhero lego set for my 22nd birthday haha. I don't think you ever get too old for lego, no matter what you say, you get excited if a child asks to play with lego with you, so why not just play with it anyway!

I also want to say a massive happy fathers day to my dad who is amazing, and has always been there for me :) Love you dad!

I hope you have all had an amazing weekend, and spent it with your loved ones :)

Love from Amylou x

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A Mini Mason Jar Obsession

Hey!

I don't know about you, but I think mini mason jars and mini glass milk bottles are the cutest things ever. I've never had any mason jars, but the milk bottles are just like the ones the milkman brought us every day in primary school, adorable. Add a paper straw, and you've got me hooked.

This obsession has either come from Pinterest or Etsy, but either way, it's one that's sticking with me!

They look like such cute and fun glasses for drinks in the summer or at a party, and also make the most adorable vases for mini bouquets!

I've had a little browse of pinterest and thought i'd show you some of my faves! (All photos are from Pinterest and are not my own - I wish they were though!)

I mean how cute?! Unfortunately I don't have room for them as i'm staying at my parents house for a while but when I move back into my own place I can't wait to look into buying some!

What are your thoughts on recycling/upcycling old jars and bottles? Would you ever use them?

Love Amylou x

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My Summer To-Do List

Hey!

I decided to do something a bit different today and make a list of all of the things that I want to do this summer/the rest of 2014. I seem to always make a list of things that I want to do in the summer, then at the end of the summer, the ones I didn't manage just get forgotten about! So my aim is to do all of these this summer, but if it's runs into Autumn, well i'm only human!

1. Read a book. This one seems like such a simple thing, but when you're busy you find it hard to fit the time in, without feeling guilty! Since starting university I think i've only read 2 books for my own entertainment and not a work-related book, and i've been there almost 4 years!

2. Learn to like healthier food. I think this one will be more of a case of forcing myself to eat it until I like it. Apparently you only have to eat 8 teaspoons of something before you start to like it, so i'm planning on putting it to the test! I'll be 22 in a fortnight and unfortunately I can't live on pizza and fried chicken forever! :(

3. Spend a day doing absolutely nothing. When was the last time you spent a day doing nothing, and didn't feel guilty about it? If it was recent then i'm very jealous! I always feel the pressure to be doing something, and if it's not work then I feel bad about it! But it's important to have time just to do nothing, and enjoy the quiet time!

4. Do something for me. So this one i'm already planning, i've wanted to get highlights for ages now, but didn't because people told me they liked my hair dark. Well I want to dye it and so i'm going to! I think this ties in with me just generally living my life for me, and not just doing what makes other people happy or what they want me to do, but that's a whole other story! :)

5. Do something new. There are so many things that I just don't know how to do/have never experienced. Even if it's something super simple like cooking a new meal or going somewhere i've never been before. Although nothing to do with balance, i'm not expecting miracles here haha

6. Take more photos. Something I don't tell people very often is that I actually love photography. I'm just not very good at it. Photos capture memories and they are so valuable that you should take as many as you can. I love taking photos, and whether others think they are good or not, if I like the way it looks, it just makes me so happy, and we should always do more of what makes us happy!

7. Spend more time with family and friends. Something so simple as lunch with my girls, baking with my sister or a bbq with the family can make such a difference to your mood. Or to mine anyway! I'm very blessed to have a very supportive and close group of family and friends, and just spending time enjoying ourselves together is priceless! Cheesy, but those are the people who will always be around you, so why not spend as much time as possible with them! You don't want to look back and just remember all those times you were on your own unhappy, when you could have been with them enjoying life!

A short list, but an important one I think! 

What are your plans for the summer? Is there anything in particular that you want to do?

Love, Amylou x

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My Wantfeed Wishlist

Hey!

So it's my birthday in 2 weeks (well, 15 days) and I've been using the Wantfeed website to make a list of all the things I've been loving! It's great to have a site where you can list everything you like in case people are ever stuck when it comes to your birthday! I also love it because I have the worst memory and I always forget what I've seen and wanted, so now it's all there in one place! I think my favourite thing about it is that you can find people with similar likes to you, and then see the things that they want! Great for if you feel like you want to look at things you don't usually look for yourself! :)

I just thought i'd share with you a few of the things I've been adding to my list recently!

You don't just have to add girly things either, there are categories for cars, art, weddings, home décor, all sorts! Definitely a new favourite site to visit!

Have you tried out Wantfeed yet? If you have, share your page link below!

Love Amylou x

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Staying Positive/Motivational Quotes

Hey!

I'm not usually one for looking up quotes or remembering certain sayings but lately I seem to come across a lot that I want to remember, so I thought i'd share them here! Plus i've been watching a lot of revenge recently and I love the quotes they start with!

If this isn't your kind of thing then feel free to skip this post! But I've just been having a tough time lately and some of these have helped me keep my head up high, hopefully if you ever need them they could do the same for you too! :)

This first one I came across on Pinterest (I know, shocker) but I just think it's so true:

"As you grow up, you will learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once, and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every 60 seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back. Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin" - Unknown

One that's short but simple (Also Pinterest):

This one is from www.bitsotruth.blogspot.co.uk and I definitely recommend you pop over and visit if you feel like you need an inspirational quote!

Then finally one of my favourites:

It's important to remember that if you don't think you have enough to be happy, you probably never will, the only way to be truly happy, is to know you already have everything you need, anything extra is a bonus, not a necessity.

Love Amylou x

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