The New Naked 'Basic' Pallet | Urban Decay

Hello All

I don't think I know one beauty geek that doesn't own at least one 'Naked' Pallet from Urban decay... they are staples in my beauty collection and do me from everyday make-up to a glam night out on the town. And Urban Decay, in true from with the name sake, have recently brought out a stripped back 'basic' Pallet for Christmas with six stunning shades

(source)

The pallet is made up of all matte shades, perfect for everyday wear. The pallet currently is retailing for $32 Canadian ( $5.33 per shadow) I think thats pretty decent value, especially when all the shadows are so wearable and Urban Decay shadows are of great quality!!

I think this would make a perfect Christmas gift to for friends and family who may not want to invest in one of the larger pallets and I think I may have to pick it up as a little Christmas gift for myself!! 

Have any of you seen this product in stores yet or given it a try??

Thats All for Now

Sxx

P.s. is is currently retailing for £18 in Debenhams in the UK thats only £3 per shadow!!!!!!

Get it online HERE

Christmas in the City

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!

That's just a fact

I am however swamped with Finals so haven't had the time to blog much on the topic

 I have taken a few snaps of Montreal at Christmas time 

enjoy

The Montreal Christmas shop window display

My own little Christmas touch to my bed!!

Happy St. Andrews Day

Hey guys

I have a bit of alternative post for you this Friday!

As some (i'm guessing not a lot) of you know today is Saint Andrews Day 

(the patron Saint of Scotland for those of you who don't)

With that in mind, I thought I would have a wee post of all the things that are great and wonderful about bonnie Scotland!!

#1 James Mcavoy

Ok... as shallow as it may be I have to admit that the pale skin and ginger hair of most Scots doesn't really fit with my ideal 'Tall Dark Hansom' male, however this Scot got it right!!! ooft! 

#2 The Castles

From the Harry Potter inspiring Edinburgh Castle to the breathtaking Eilean Donan Castle, its hard to go into a village or town that doesn't have one beautiful Castle to be enchanted by!

#3 Ceilidh Dancing

A Ceilidh  (pronounced K-lee) is a gathering of people where we drink and socialise and most importantly dance the the night away to a ceilidh band. Can I have an eee uugh!

#4 Free Education and National Health Service

One thing that moving to North America had really made me appreciate about Scotland is the fact that currently Scottish Student don't have to pay for University if they Study in Scotland! With fees at my uni now up to £9000 a year, there is no way I could of afforded to study and support myself without incurring thousands of pounds of student loans!

Also for the first time this year I have had to deal with paying for Health Insurance

 ($700 worth at a student rate!)

This year I got bumped by a car and I was so concerned about paying for a ambulance to come and check me over, and would my insurance cover it if there was nothing wrong with me!
 Since Health in the Americas is also 'for profit' industry, over the counter medicine is also very expensive! This slightly disgusts me to know that if people here get ill, they can't afford to pay for the drugs to get better!!

This makes me very proud to be British and to have the NHS!

#4 Scottish Comedy

- Kevin Bridges

- Frankie Boyle

- Billy Conley 

- Gary: Tank Commander

- The Edinburgh Fringe Festival

- Enough Said!

# 6 Scottish Pride

I don't think you will meet a nation of people who are so proud and why the hell not! Scotland is the home of Golf, Whisky, The TV, Telephone, penicillin to name but a few! We have a culture that may seem aggressive to some nations but I prefer to use the word 'Passionate'! We love our Country and the people in it! and we don't hate the English.... that much... just don't refer to us as one of them! :p

Getting in the St. Andrews Day spirit two years ago

And celebrating this year!!

 So what are you proud of from your Country??

Thats all for now
Sxx

Haul | e.l.f

Hey guys!!! I have another e.l.f. Haul for you guys today!!!! 

Stalked up on some brushes, that are great for beauty lovers on a budget as most of them are $1 or $3!! 

L-R: Small Tapered Brush, Flawless Concealer Brush, Blending Eye Brush, Pointed Foundation Brush

Not Impressed with the primer, left a horrid stain on my lipstick to!

From top: liner and shadow in plum and purple, Kohl eyeliner (smudged and normal), lip primer, lipstick in 'fearless', Jumbo lig gloss stick in 'Movie Star'

The winner of this Haul was the lipstick in 'fearless' only $1 and it went on creamy and had great colour pay off (I'm wearing it in the picture)

The worst product I got was the 'lip primer and plumper' I think the pictures explain all! 

Check out my video to see everything I got! 

Thats all for now 

Sxx

Haul | Black Friday Body Shop Bargains

Why hello there....

I got to experience another North American first last Friday! For us Brits, especially those who work in retail,  Black Friday means the last Friday before Christmas where shoppers get a little bit crazy!!! As most north Americans will know, 'Black Friaday' is the Friday before thanksgiving that the shops have crazy massive sales and the stores are a little bit mental!! 

Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream | 50ml | $16

THE BEST PRODUCT EVER | Cranberry Joy Body Butter :) | $19 

Japanese Cherry Blossom Perfume | 50ml | $25

Unfortunately for me I spent most of Black Friday tucked away underground in the library starting to study for Finals! On my way home I managed to get in a quick trip into The Body Shop where they were doing a deal ' Any 3 for $30'!!!! 

WHAT!!!! Thats only $10 per item... no matter what you buy!!!

 I had 15 mins to shop as the store was always closing but managed to get myself a wee cheeky bargain and saved myself $30 in total!!!!

My most happy purchase was the christmas limited edition cranberry body butter, I always stock up on this product at this time of year and a blog post will be coming to express my love for this product!

Did anybody managed to pick up and Black Friday Bargains??

Thats all for now

Sxx

Travel | Weekend in Boston

Hello There

Last weekend I traveled 6 hours Northeast of the border of Canada into Boston! It was my first time in the sates for almost 10 years (if you don't count my 2hour transfer in NY airport) and I loved it!! Thought I would share some of my favourite snaps and hopefully a Small Haul Video to come!!

*warning, picture heavy post*

At the Canadian US border

Boston city sky line

Harvard Yard

Quincy Market... inside all the food you could want

Boston's little Italy

On the Freedom Trail

Boston skyline at night

Winter Skin Routine

Why hello there... I have a Skin care post for you all this Sunday

In Scotland the weather is pretty much always the same; Grey and Wet, so i have never really needed to change my skin care routine. Canada however is a whole other kettle of fish!! When I arrived in August my skin was painfully greasy and I had to change lots of my products. Now That we are a few weeks into November my skin has taken a bit of a hit with this freeeeeeeeeeezing cold weather ... and I know the worse is still to come so getting a winter skin routine down now is really important to look after my skin over the coming winter months!

Liz Earle | Cleanse and Polish 100ml | £14/ $22

Bioderma 250ml | $16/ £10

The First part to a good make up routines is a good cleanser, or in this case, two! First I use Bioderma to remove all my make up as soon as I get in from School. Just before bed I then Cleanse with the Liz Earle Cream cleanser that really gets all the dirt off your face while leaving your skin soft and smooth and it does not strip away all your natural skin oils.

Lush | Tea Tree Toning Water 100ml | £3.95 / $9.95

Next I lightly tone my face with this Lush Toning water, I spray a few spritzes on my face and wipe off any residue  with a cotton pad! This is a light toner that tone not over tighten your pours so perfect for the winter when you want to keep as much moisture in your skin as possible.

Nivea | Aqua Sensations day cream 50ml | £10/ $22 

The Body Shop | Nutriganics eye cream 15ml | £14 / $20

Jouviance | rejuvenating anti-againg cream (sample 5ml) 50ml $93.50

The Final, and most important stage in my winter skin care routine is moisturising!! A good Moisturiser will depend a lot on your skin type, for me anything too like will dry out my skin and anything too heavy will break me out (even during the winter months) A product that I have been loving is the Nivea  Visage Aqua Sensations day cream. It has a light fragrance and quickly seeps into the skin and when I wake up the next morning my skin feels soft and smooth!

Also this time of year is to take EXTRA care or your eye area! I am currently using two eye creams. This first is one of my all time favourites for getting rid of under eye bags : The body shops Nutriganics range smoothing eye cream. Also from this Months Glossy box I am using a richer formula to really hydrate the eyes; Jouviance 3 in 1 day, night and eye cream. Its an anti-aging formula so it is really rich and perfect for this time of year!

An Extra tip to great winter skin (or great skin in general) is water!! It is more important that ever to keep you skin hydrated! If you are not a fan of water, add some squash or fresh fruit to give it some more flavour but by always having a bottle at hand it will help to keep your skin looking fresh!!

Whats your go-to winter skin saver??

Thats All for Now
Sxx

Lush Goodies | You Snap the Whip & BB Seaweed

Hello there!!!

This weekend I popped into Lush to pick up a few goodies to help me beat the dry, tired winter skin to give my skin a little boots and heres what I picked up!

You Snap the Whip Body Butter | $11.49

Lush describes this body butter as a hard core scrub that cap 'whip your skin into soft submission' and boy do I agree! I like a scrub that you can really see and feel working! This body butter is filled with pumice and charcoal to get rid of every last bit of dead skin! It is also filled with macadamia nut oil that helps smooth and sooth your skin after the hard exfoliation. The sent is a rather strong black current so if your a fan then you love it (like I am)! I wouldn't recommend using this body butter everyday as it is powerful enough to use one or twice a week to still see good results!

Fresh Face Mask: BB Seaweed | $6.95

Now that my body is covered I though it would be nice to try another of Lush's fresh face masks. This face mask is full of skin loving seaweed, Rose absolute oil to help moisturise the skin. This mask is targeted towards light exfoliation and moisturising for more sensitive skin! On application the mask felt great (as all these chilled masks do) and after about 5-10 mins it had started to dry as my skin drank in all its goodness! This mask was a little hard to rinse off but as you removed the mask you got a good exfoliation too!!! My skin felt great afterwards, a lot better than the 'cupcake' face mask that did nothing for my skin! I felt this mask is good for combination skin as it neutralised oil and dry patches on my skin! I think I would defiantly re-purchase this mask again, although 'love leccice' is still my No. 1 mask from the lush fresh face mask range!

Have any of you guys beed treating your self to some winter goodies??

Thats all for now

Sxx

Nails | Teal Sparkle Tips!!

Well hello there everyone!!

Being the Beauty mad Brit that I am, I have lusted after my first Sephora shopping trip! Every makeup brand you could possible want (sans mac!) under one roof! Its the grown up girls version of Hamelys Toy Shop!!

Since arriving in Canada a few months ago (how time flies) I was very happy to find that their was a sephora 2mins away from my apartment and i've been addicted ever since! My first purchase instore was two 'Sephora by O.P.I' Nail polishes and I created this rather fetching nail look:

Sephora by OPI 'Ocean Love Potion'

Sephora by OPI ' Not Your Average Turquoise'

Got to love those big chunks of glitter!!!

Step 1: First apply two coats of Sephora by OPI ' Ocean Love Potion'

Step 2: take the second glitter polish 'Not Your Average Turquoise' and apply a light coat to each nail two thirds of the way up. Then apply the second coat one third away from the tip and then the final glitter coat just on the tip of the nail to get the ombre glitter effect!

Hope you guys enjoy this... I also can't wait to try out the same look with a red matte base and a gold glitter for christmas!!!

Thats all for now

Sxx

Review | Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush

Hey Everyone

With the temperature droping into the minuses, Fall is quickly slipping into Winter and with a new season comes a whole new make-up collection!

 Its the time of year to embrace that porcelain skin and rock some dark plums and reds...

but who says those colours are exclusively for the lip...

one of my fall favourites is the tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Flush

'tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Flush'

This deliciously warm plum colour is perfect for warming up the face in the cold winter months to come and complements a dark lip far better than you classic peachy pinks. 

A little of this product goes a long way and the clay formula give a gorgeous natural flush that is also very build able for a more dramatic night time look!

Priced at $33 and is available at sephora This blush isn't the cheapest but it will last you such a long time and will fall back into season next fall/winter! 

Whats your go-to fall/winter blush?? Any Daring colours??

Thats all for now

Sxx

Review | Got2b 'Blasting Freeze Spray'

Hey Guys!!!

As you may already know I am a MASSIVE fan of Fudge Urban Texture Blaster (Check out my blog post here) but being in Canada I am currently without my go-to 'big hair' product so have decided to shop around to see the other alternatives and I found this.....

The Got2b Glued 'Blasting Freeze Spray'

.The spray should be applied to the roots or anywhere you with to get volume! and here is how I got on with this product

Before '2nd day hair'

Apply 'Blasting Freezing Splay' to roots of hair

mess hair up a little with hand until desired look is achieved

The End look


As you might be able to tell with the sceptical look on my face, I was not a fan of this product!!  Firstly the bottle was too big and awkward to hold and spray! It was a very sticky product that I felt matted my hair rather than gave it volume! The Product did last long....but since it didn't really mould well the style that I was left with wasn't really what I wanted!
Unlike the Fudge Urban Texture blaster this product does not have a pleasant smell, it more resembled a cheap hairspray that you can buy from a dollar store!
This product is not really cheap, retailing at the $6 - $7 mark!

Apart from using this spray to lock in a crazy 'doo' at Halloween I doubt I will ever use it again!
I give this Product 1/5!

Have any of you tried any good texturising sprays??

Thats All for now

Sxx