Autumn Tag

As tagged by the lovely Nicole from Life of A Trainee Journalist todays post is an autumn tag!

Tag posts are a great way to get to know other bloggers so it's always a bit of fun to do.

Favourite thing about Autumn? 

With it getting dark earlier and earlier I find I spend a lot of time in the house! To make the most of this I love doing things like home baking with my family. I love a good home baked treat! It sounds sad but I also love all the autumn/winter TV that's on, there are so many good series and programmes on to keep me entertained. In particular, The Great British Bake Off, 90210, Homeland, and of course X factor (sorry to strictly fans) for me this programme is just the countdown to christmas!

Favourite drink? 

I struggle to go a day without tea, however you cant beat the seasonal coffees and hot chocolates and lattes that are available at Starbucks throughout the season.

Favourite scent?

Autumn is the time when I tend to get out all my scented candles, at the moment I have a Harding & Baylis Lavender scented candle on the go, but I also love the Vanilla Cupcake one from Yankee Candle, they are lovely to accompany a nice hot bath.

In terms of perfume my trademark scent is Deep Night by GHOST, the desciprtion on the website describes it as being a 'seductive, mysterious and sensual, this powerful scent introduces Belle de Nuit – a flower that blooms in the darkness and closes early dawn to draw on its magnetic power. Indian Rose is blended with base notes of Wood and Vanilla to add an embracing warmth to the fragrance giving a heady, intoxicating aura' They sell it well dont they! Haha, but to me it feels like a really autumnal scent as its not too sweet. 

Best lipstick? 

I recently bought shade 103 from Kate Moss' range for Rimmel London. I prefer more natural makeup so this lip is a lovely natural shade perfect for everyday. However I do feel like branching out and experimenting with a burgundy sort of colour soon, any suggestions anyone?

Go to moisturiser?

I have most recently used the Nivea in shower moisturiser, see my review below! Which I have not yet used on face but it has been the best one I have tried for my body, I had noticeably softer skin after the first use. Its important to keep your skin moisturised in these colder months! Go to colour for eyes? Body Shops shade 205 Caramel Flirt is a gorgeous shimmery natural colour. I only really wear eye shadow when dressing up but if I were to wear one on an everyday basis it would also be appropriate.

Favourite band/singer to listen to?

I tend to stop listening to dance music as much as it just makes me miss summer! So I just stick with the charts really, I always trust there to be good music on radio one as I'm easily pleased really and like to listen to a variety of genres, at the moment Drake and Arctic Monkeys are on repeat on my ipod. 

Favourite outfit to wear?

As it gets stupidly cold when I'm at uni up in Newcastle I rarely take my coat off! So I like to wear a statement coat that will be the main aspect of an outfit. From leather jackets, to parkas, tweed, and furry body warmers my wardrobe is full of outwear items!

Autumn treat?By the sound of it I don't have enough coats so perhaps a new outerwear item! Haha and some home made cakes and bakes of course!

Favourite place to be? I do love being in the comfort of my own home weather it be with friends, family or my boyfriend, I always enjoy being at home. However I do also love it when its bonfire night, if there's something that I'm willing to bare the cold for its a really good firework display.

I would like to tag the following people. But if you're reading this and you haven't been tagged please feel free to do it anyway!

Bryanyellen
HOLLISA
Masha's Mumbles
Ro's Tinted
Right Up My Street

Enjoy!

                                                                                

Seventeen haul

I am a sucker for an offer however this was one I just could not miss! Seventeen are currently doing a fab 3 for £10 deal on any products so it really is a great saving!

I read about a couple of these products on Life of a Trainee Journalist, a great blog which if you haven't visited yet I suggest you do, I really trust Nicole's reviews so was instantly tempted to go and check out the products for myself.

To start with I picked up this CC cream, I have been wanting one for quite a while as a substitute for foundation. I currently wear a Clarins foundation that which I love but since becoming a student, at £25 a go I find I'm slightly reluctant in using it for everyday. This texture of this cream is almost mousse like but is really light and blends really well with both your hands and a foundation brush. To say its not actually a foundation, the coverage it gives is very good and I find it lasts really well. The only downside about this product is it only comes in two shades, luckily for me the medium tone matches my skin well however for people with different skin types it might be more difficult to find a match. But overall, a really nice everyday product.

My Witch concealer has just ran so I decided to go for something a little different this time with this under eye concealer. With the description 'Heavy duty' I though it would provide maximum covergae however you can still vaguely see a darker tone under the eyes but when foundation or the CC cream is applied on top it does make a difference. I applied the concealer using my fingers and it went on nice and smoothly to say it was quite thick which was an advantage! It also gives a nice matte finish which is what I look for in face makeup so I was happy with this. Not the best I've used but it certainly does the job.

Finally, the product I initially went for and was most excited about using is the 3 way highlighter. With this product a little goes a long way as its quite thin so spreads really well over the skin. It just adds a really nice shimmery effect acting as a primer that when applied under your foundation to your cheek bones, brow bones and the dip above your upper lip makes your face makeup look a lot more glowing, particularly under the light. And although I have never used a highlighter before so have nothing to compare it to I was very pleased with the results, I love it!

Altogether I saved a whopping £8.67 so it really is an offer you cannot miss!

Have you used any of these products before?

What would you buy using the offer?

Ellie

                                                                                

Autumn Comforts

With more leaves at our feet than on the trees it's safe to say that autumn has arrived. Although I was very reluctant in admitting that the summer months were over I do quite enjoy the autumnal season and I believe that this of all seasons, is home comforts season.

I love nothing more at this time of year than getting all wapped up in an oversized piece of cosy knitwear that is 10 sizes to big for me, accompanied with a nice new pair of warm wooly socks.

For me, autumn wouldn't be autumn without the smell of oaky, vanilla and cinnamon scented candles, I like to stock up on a range of different scents to spread around the house and to last me for the following months.

With being in the house more on evenings and weekends, me and my mum like to spend more of our time home baking, it's a good time for mother and daughter bonding and you get lots of tasty treats at the end of it, it's a win win really! And like the scents of my candles I love adding cinnamon and vanilla flavours to my favoruite recipes (visit the muffins and cookies section).

One slight thing I dislike about the season is that with it growing colder my lips are constantly chapping, however I have found a lovely moisturising lip balm in a lush berry colour that is perfect for this time of year.

1. Fluffy Knit Cardigan £24.99 NewLook

2. 101 Cakes & Bakes (range of prices) Amazon

3. Lip Balm Stick in Mightiest Marachino £17.00 Clinique 
4. Vanilla Cupcake Scented Large Jar Candle £19.99 Yankee Candle
5. Calf High Socks Colour Damson £10.50 Jack Wills

What are your favourite things about Autumn?

                                                                                    Ellie

Product of the week: Clarins Cleansing Gel

Since last Christmas I have been using this product and thought it was about time that I shared it with the blogosphere! This product came as part of the daily energizer range from Clarins along with a moisturiser and a 'wake up booster' liquid solution, however the cleansing gel is what I favoured out of the three and will definitely be purchasing it again individually.

Containing morgina extract it seems like quite a natural product, which is what you want when applying anything to your face. On the bottle it advises you to rinse with cool water in the morning and warm water in the evening, however I use it morning and evening when I shower with warm water, as it goes all lovely and soapy it's easier to rinse off. The fab thing about this products is that it's really good value for money, you only need to squeeze a small amount onto the finger tip which is sufficient to cleanse the whole face. Not only this but it removes any excess makeup really well and also leaves the skin feeling so soft and smooth after every use. As a result of this I felt no need to use to moisturiser every day after cleansing and simply used it on odd days when my face felt a little dry. Overall I think it is a really worthwhile every day product that leaves you thoroughly cleansed and completely fresh faced. I love it, well done Clarins!

The cleansing gel retails at an affordable £12 or if you would like to try the whole range you can purchase a set of minis for £15.

Have you tried the products from this range before, if so what did you think?

Are there any other cleansers you would recommend?

                                                                                 Ellie

My 50th post!

Today I noticed that I have approached my 50th post! It may seem a little sad but I was so chuffed when I saw this as my blog had a bit of a slow start so I am so glad that it's finally up and running and posts have been flowing through.

I would also just like to say a big thank you to the few of you that do follow my blog and regularly keep up with my posts, I really do appreciate every reader!

And in keeping with the 50 theme I have set myself a target to try and reach 50 bloglovin' followers by the end of the year, secretly the main reason for this is that I really want to do a Christmas related giveaway!

This may seem like a bit of a pointless post but I was excited to see how much my blog has progressed since I first started it :)

So please keep reading and here's to the next 50!

Much Love,
Ellie

My Perfect Nude: What's Yours?

I've forever been a fan of the Kate Moss lipstick range for Rimmel London however not purchased a nude shade until recently. I have been on the search for the right nude for quite a while but have found it difficult to get one with the right amount of shine, moisture and I've also wanted one with pink pigments; as I most often wear natural face makeup I thought this would liven it up a tad. Some might say I'm just a little bit picky! But thanks to Rimmel and Kate I was able to find all this in one of there lippies. Shade 03 is a lush nude colour with a hint of pink that matches perfectly with my skin tone. When applying lipstick I always brush on some excess foundation which provides a nice base for the lipstick and brings out to full colour as you test it on your hand. This lipstick is part of the 'Lasting Finish' range but I do find that I have to re apply it quite a lot during the day, even though this acts against what it's labelled to do, it feels so nice and moisturising that this doesn't bother me at all!

For only £5.49 it's an affordable everyday lipstick.

I would love to hear what your favourites and recommendations are,so please leave a comment below, I will always reply within a few days!

Ellie