Visiting the Lake District

A few weeks ago my boss told me that she was giving me all of my christmas paid holiday hours at once, so my boyfriend booked off the same week and we decided to take a trip to the Lake District.

We chose a nice little guest house called the Woodlands Guest House, just outside of Windermere. I'd never been to the Lake District so I wasn't sure what to expect, nor did I know the area, but I'd managed to book somewhere smack bang in the middle between Bowness and Windermere, which are two of the main areas. The guest house itself is a five star luxury guest house but I did find it through booking.com which made it far cheaper than it would have been had I booked directly with the hotel.

The drive from where we live was about three and a half hours overall, so we stopped at one of the services about half way through to stretch our legs (and we may or may not have gotten a cheeky McDonalds wrap but if I'm honest that was the first and definitely not the last of the 'treats' we got ourselves but hey, we were on holiday).

By the time we arrived at the hotel it was gone 5pm and we were both understandably shattered - he drove the whole way but being a passenger was just as tiring I swear! We were given a snappy tour of the guest house and then made ourselves at home. The hastiness was no fault of the lady who ran the guest house however, it was because Adam had, in what he thought was him being helpful, informed her that I desperately needed a wee. A great start to the holiday and I was so pleased we'd made such a charming impression.

The room itself was a lovely, cosy little room. I actually forgot to take photos (that'll be a running theme here) but I have managed to find some of the exact room. It had a nice sized double bed, a desk type area. a wall length mirror, a wardrobe/cupboard thing. and a bathroom with a shower (no bath unfortunately, a room with a bath would have set us back a lot more). I'm aware that it was one of the smaller of the double rooms they had to offer but honestly at the deal we had gotten I really didn't mind - besides at 4"11 I don't take up much space as it is. The room also came with complimentary tea and coffee supplies (which were replenished daily), a travel kettle and some incredible smelling toiletries from The White Company.

Photo of our room taken from Booking.com

After we'd settled in, unpacked and rested up, we took the 5 minute walk up to Windermere to a restaurant called The Pig. After breakfast. the wrap from McDonalds and the plentiful snacks I'd consumed during the car ride I wasn't that hungry, so I went for something small and simple - a chip butty and a glass of rose, while Adam went for the sausage pattie sandwich with sweet onion and fried egg and some sort of lager that I can't remember the name of. What arrived in front of me was the fanciest, biggest wine glass I've ever seen, a large sourdough baguettte and a mug of 'chips'. The chips weren't chips. They were basically giant potatoes quartered. One of them was the size of a melon slice you'd have for breakfast. I was in awe, and of course the giant chip cob defeated me, but I tried my best.

Wine glass bigger than my head

Loved the presentation of the food, it was so cute

Melon slices or chips? You decide

The next day was our first full day, so we decided to walk down to Bowness and take a boat cruise around the lake itself. Before this however we took advantage of the complimentary breakfast in the guest house. The wait staff were absolutely fab and so friendly, and the food was amazing. I had a full english breakfast and Adam went for American pancakes with bacon, both of which were delicious,

The walk to Bowness took no more than 10 minutes, and we entertained ourselves by laughing at the geese standing around the lake while we waited for the cruise. The views from the boat were breathtaking, and I tried to get some nice photos but spent most of the time enjoying the serentity of the surroundings, unlike some other passengers who tried to make as much noise as possible, which dampened the experience a little.

New best pal, Lucy the Goose

I got fancy with the panoramic photos which is why it looks like the same bird has appeared many times

Another of my fancy panoramic photos - gorgeous view

We then ventured off to find a cafe to get some lunch, but stopped along the way at a little sweet shop as Adam insisted we had to buy some kendal mint cake, which I'd never tried, alongside some various flavours of fudge. In one of the other little stores we encountered they were selling various interesting flavours of vodka, so at 2pm on a wednesday we had a mini vodka tasting session, settling eventually on a bottle of kendal mint cake vodka, which tastes a lot better than it sounds. Again, I forgot to take photos but the burgers we had in the cafe were incredible, and I think Adam thoroughly enjoyed his flamboyant hot chocolate. The rest of the evening was spent exploring and then relaxing in the hotel with a bottle of cava drank from the disposable plastic cups that were provided in the room, the epitome of class.

He didn't expect the marshmallows and the waitress falsely assumed it was for me.

Tasty treats

Again, the morning started with a delightful breakfast, but this time I went for american pancakes with fruit, and I will forever be wishing I could snap my fingers and have that delivered to me every morning as it was absolutely delightful. We walked up to Windermere to do some more exploring, and discovered that the local library had a Holocaust exhibition, so we went in to have a look. Again, no photos (I would've felt a bit weird taking photos in there), but we went in and learned about the group of 300 children refugees from Eastern Europe that were housed in the Lake District in 1945. It's a really interesting exhibition and I'd definitely recommend going in if you're there.

L O O K. So good.

After the exhibition we perked ourselves up a little with a gingerbread latte from one of the cafes. The weather up until now had been lovely but it had chosen this day to absolutely pour with rain, so we sat outside the cafe in a sheltered area with heating lamps as it rained and they were playing reggae music from the speakers so it didn't feel half as miserable as the weather looked.

Everywhere was covered in orange/brown leaves and it felt so wonderfully autumnal.

First christmas coffee of the year!

We recuperated in the hotel room while watching back to back episodes of Jeremy Kyle until we were ready for dinner. This time we decided to go to a nice Italian restaurant, called Riva so I dressed up, donned some heels and we left the hotel, before quickly realising that if we walked in the heavy rain we wouldn't make it, so we drove. When we got there it was 5 minutes before their happy hour was over so I quickly ordered us a cocktail each and an extra glass of prosecco for myself (it was the last night after all!). Adam treated himself to a (huge) boar burger, which I tried and was really tasty, while I had Merluzzo Alla Siciliana, which is basically cod in tomato sauce with garlic, herbs and roasted rosemary new potatoes, and yet again I was not disappointed.

Sadly that was where the holiday ended, as we packed up and left the next morning, but not before indulging on the delicious breakfast one more time.

Reading this back, it sounds like all we did was eat but I promise we did see the sights and explore too!

We had a lovely time and I hope you enjoyed reading about our few days away!

I'll be back again with my usual makeup posts soon, but I wanted to have something to look back at to remember how much fun we had.

See you again soon!

Paige

Holy Grail Foundation - Too Faced Born This Way

For so long I said 'you know what? I don't need a high end foundation, drugstore foundation works for me and I'd rather spend my money on other things'. I'm here to tell you that I was so very, very wrong and that Too Faced have shown me the error of my ways.

Since starting my job I've spent entire shifts looking longingly at all of the beauty counters and their offerings, whilst promising myself that I don't need a new base, that I'm good with my trusty Rimmel. Then one day I bit the bullet and asked the lovely lady who worked for Too Faced to match me up. I was originally torn by that and the Bareminerals Serum foundation, but the promise of long-lasting medium to full coverage for a similar price won me over.

As she applied a primer (the Laura Geller alternative to the Hangover Primer which she didn't have to hand) she promised me that dry skin patches would be a thing of the past with this foundation, and I didn't believe her for a minute. There was no way that an oil free full coverage foundation wouldn't make my already dry skin look dry.

I was proven wrong, even after applying it with over my Seventeen Skin Wow 3 Way Highlighting Primer (which I may come back to in another post, hint hint) which can by the teeniest bit drying.

On the website, Too Faced claims:

• ''Medium-to-full undetectable coverage
• Oil-free
• Coconut Water helps delicately replenish skin’s moisture levels without overhydrating—for the look of radiant skin
• Infused with the resilient Alpine Rose to brighten the skin’s appearance and promote elasticity
• Hyaluronic Acid helps balance skin for a smoother, more youthful appearance'

My skin looks F L A W L E S S after application, and you really don't need a lot to achieve that look. It doesn't crease under eyes, and it sets to a pretty much matte finish. I am so in love with this foundation, I feel like a changed woman. Yes, £29 is a lot for a foundation, but if like me you like to have a bit more coverage sometimes, for example on nights out, and you want it to last, then this is for you. When I say it lasts, I really mean it lasts. There's a nightclub where I live which stays open til 5am, and it is literally a sauna in there. My foundation remained flawless until after I left the club and physically took it off with a cleanser. For those of you who know which place I mean, that's a victory and a half.

Even the packaging is lovely. It feels luxurious (which it should, for the price!). The shade range in the store I bought it from was lacking somewhat. The shades were all on the yellow toned side, and the lady told me the shade I got (porcelain, the lightest shade they stocked) was more on the pink side, but it is still a little bit yellow on my to be honest. It's not too bad though, and I can forgive it as it looks so lovely when applied despite the undertone. The Debenhams website has a lot more shades - 18 I think-  ranging from pale to dark skin tones though, so they are trying to cater for all.

I've thrown in a classic half-face photo so you can clearly see the level of coverage from just a light layer. I used under half a pump for this but it's definitely buildable to full coverage. Unfortunately I decided to take the photos at night as I'm going away for the week but wanted to get this post up anyway so the photos aren't great thanks to the abysmal lighting in my house but hopefully you can see the effects anyway.

Before and after using half a pump of the foundation. While the photos aren't great you can see it as evened out my skin tone and covered any redness and blemishes, although not my pesky moles.

A very awkward and bad photo taken outside my bedroom where the lighting is slightly better. You can definitely see the difference though.

For effect I'm adding in a few photos that I took on Saturday night for a Halloween look I did. The foundation photographs beautifully and lasted throughout the night.

This is the first Two Faced product I've ever purchased but I've definitely got my eye on a few (or maybe more) other products, including the Christmas sets (no, Paige, you don't need more

eyeshadow palettes!)

Any Two Faced products you recommend? Have you tried this foundation?

See you again soon!

Paige

October Glossybox - Esteé Lalonde edition!

Hello lovelies,

I know I've been silent for a little while but I'm back now. this time with another Glossybox review.

This one I was very excited about, because it was in collaboration with one of my absolute faves - Esteé Lalonde, who is a beauty/lifestyle youtuber and an overall babe, and I knew I wouldn't be disappointed.

The first product in the box is a 'Lip Parfait' by Trifle Cosmetics. It's a pretty, everyday nude lip cream. It's super comfortable on the lips as it's full of vitamin E for hydration, and apparently the pigments are coated in silicone to stop it becoming dull or feathery. It's a creamy matte finish, and it's a really nice lipstick to bang in your bag and keep for those 'no makeup' makeup days. It retails for £12.95, which is the price of the box itself! 

The second product is a deluxe sample of The Body Shop's 'Drops of Youth Concentrate', which is a potent anti-aging serum which softens, brightens and smooths the skin. I applied it this morning after an exfoliator (which we'll get to in a minute) and my skin felt so smooth and lovely. You apply it morning and night under moisturiser, and it retails for £25 full size. 

Next is the 'Secret Flush, Soothing Cream Blusher and Lip Stain Duo' from Universal Cosmetics. You can use this as a cream blush to add a pretty natural flush to the skin (which admittedly I'm still yet to try) and you can use it as a lip colour, which I have done and it's a really pretty pink when applied to the lips. Plus, who doesn't love a convenient 2 in 1 product that you can throw in your bag? It retails for £15.

Top - Lip Parfait
Bottom - Blush and Lip Stain

Then we have the exfoliator I mentioned before, the 'Honey and Camelina Facial Exfoliator' from Bee Good. It's recommended that you use it once or twice a week, and it's suitable for all skin types but specifically good for dull or congested skin. It's exfoliating, hydrating and calming for the skin, as it contains lavender to exfoliate, wheatgerm oil to soothe and moisturise and propolis to balance the complexion. I actually completely forgot to photograph this with the others because it was in my bathroom from this morning, sorry!

Next is the PS... Pro 'HD Mascara' in black, which claims to define, volumise and lift the lashes, with a flexible rubber brush to help you get from root to tip. I didn't try this when I tried some of the other products from this range so I was interested to see if this was any good. I used this mascara, and while it wasn't my favourite mascara ever. it does define and lengthen the lashes and it's clump free, so if you're looking for a nice natural eye look then maybe this is one for you. It retails at £3.  

The last product in the box is an interesting one. On the front of the bottle it says 'New Beauty Shampoo', and that's as much as we're allowed to know. According to Esteé, a well established brand is revamping their products, so she managed to get us a cheeky sample before this happens. I'm yet to use it but if anyone knows haircare it's Esteé, so I'm expecting good things! Also, on the back it does say the name of the parent company which narrows it down as working in Debenhams has helped me know which brands are owned by which company but I don't want to speculate, so I'll leave it up to you. 

Overall I was pretty happy with this box and I'm excited for the next!

Hope you enjoyed and I promise I'll be back again soon, I'm really excited about some of the products I have to write about so look forward to it.

Paige x

3rd Year Uni House - Room Tour

Hey everyone, I've returned! I've been so quiet in terms of blogging and social media because I was away at Reading Festival, then moving back to Nottingham for University, and starting my new job at Debenhams, but I'm finally back, unpacked and ready to return to blogging.

It took me a full day to unpack and organise my room, but I was so glad when it was done. In first year I was in halls, so there wasn't a lot I had to do in terms of choosing. Last year my housemates and I were determined to find somewhere nice, and as a group of 8 there weren't too many options, and to be fair the house was ok... by the time we moved out! All of the things that needed doing to the house were solved by the time we were leaving, so this time we were more careful. We looked at plenty of options, picked our favourite, and then went through and made a list of the things that might need doing before we moved, which sounds downright fussy but if you're paying for a house you may as well enjoy living there! Plus, as a group your rent is WAY higher than what a family would pay for the same sized house per month, so with the collective rent I'm sure the agency/landlord you're renting from can afford to add a lick of paint or changed a stained mattress (we'll get to that last one!),

When I moved in a few days ago there was already someone here, but she has since gone home so I'm alone for a few weeks, which means now the responsibility of getting the problems sorted lies with me. The first thing I had to deal with was the wifi, which is usually straight forward but apparently Virgin's automated line activation system decided I wasn't worthy of wifi, so I ended up spending hours getting it fixed (big thanks to big Steve at Virgin Media for sorting it for me).

Now to tell you about my room. In the last house we rented, I was delegated the tiny box room which we later discovered was COVERED in black mould. Wonderful, right? It was 'fixed' by the letting agency (they sent someone to repaint the walls and window frame which would apparently get rid of the mould, which we all know is a lie but what can you do). Then one of our housemates dropped out of uni (for the second time in 2 years, bants) and I took his room. Which had the boiler in it. Which sounded like a steam train every time someone flushed the toilet. Including at 3AM. So my housemates said I could pick my room first this year. Naturally I took the huge room with a bay window. There was another room the same size but with a corner sofa but another housemate of mine fell in love with that room, so I took the bay window and smaller sofa instead (generous of me, right?).

The room itself is lovely. A big space, with high ceilings with some of the old features (with it being an old house), such as the decoration around the ceiling light, and the old windows (look nice, not so practical).

Fancy ceiling, odd lampshade.

My favourite part of the room might be my bay window desk area. The windows give so much natural light to the room (but look onto a main road, so may remain mostly closed when I'm hanging out in my room). 

To the right you can see my reading fest stuff that needs to be returned to my mum

I have a few little knick knacks on the desk at the minute, like my Mickey Mouse mug which is useless for tea but great as a pen holder. Under the desk is a little section where I've put all of my textbooks. I also really diligently organised the drawers per section for different types of stationary. I didn't have anything else to do, ok!

Pretending to be an organised person

The bed is nice, it's actually a double bed this time as opposed to the three quarter bed I had last year. It sits in front of a fireplace, which would be a really nice touch if you could actually centre the bed to the fireplace, but due to the bedside table (which wont fit on the other side) I can't move the bed. I actually forgot to bring pillows, because I'm a genius, so I'm currently using cushions, so ignore that too. 

The wardrobe is a decent size too, but the drawers are broken.

I did have a photo for the other side of the fireplace but the frame broke in the move. I mentioned gross mattresses earlier, because the mattress I have as a little stain on the top. It's not a huge deal but I know the agency I'm renting from charges £150 to replace any mattresses with stains on, so if they charged the previous tenant I should have a new mattress. I also couldn't flip it, because the bottom is covered in rust stains! (Yes, that is a plastic chopping board underneath my bed that I unpacked and forgot to move).

To the left of the bed is a little table, which I'm going to use as a makeup table. It doesn't look like much now, but I'm going to get a mirror for it so I can make it into a cute little dressing table. 

Next to that are my drawers, which I'm using as my makeup drawers. 

I've put  my brush pots, perfumes and lipstick holders on the top. Then there are the 3 drawers. 

The first holds all of my shower and skincare stuff as well as things such as medicine and plasters etc. 

In the second drawer is my makeup, which I;ve divided using boxes from subscription boxes and gift set boxes. 

Cheeky sellotape on the side.

In the bottom drawer is nail polish, bozes with jewelry, my hair dryer, straighteners, curlers and last but not least, toilet roll. Glam, 

To the other side of the room is my sofa. A bloody sofa in my room! It sits next to a window so it gets plenty of light and it'll be nice for when I have friends over. Between the sofa and my bed is a big rug with a leaf print design, and on that is a coffee table. 

On my coffee table is a candle, my photo cube I got for my birthday and Corey the cactus.

In terms of decoration I've literally just used what I had, but as soon as I get paid I'm gonna go and get a bunch of stuff to try and tie the room together. When I moved in I was struggling to decide how I was going to make the rug fit in with the rest of the room, but then Velvetgh0st from youtube moved flats and has actually gone with a gold/green leaf print theme, and has given me loads of inspiration, so I'm so excited to get started! The other thing  I need to do is put up some more photos, because I always feel more at home in a new place when my photos are up.

I haven't included the communal areas of the house as I haven't really done anything to those and there isn't much to see. I'm so lucky to have gotten this room and grateful that my housemates let me take it! 

See you again soon! 

Paige x

Reading Fest 2016 Packing and Makeup!

I've never been to a festival before, so of course I've done so much research concerning what to pack and what makeup is best, and I thought I'd pass on the info I've collected onto any of you who might be interested!

Clothes

While the festival might only be for 3 days but my friends and I got early entry passes so we'll be there from the wednesday til monday, which means I'm gonna need way more stuff, so I've had to plan my outfits carefully to reduce the amount of stuff I'm gonna have to carry.

A staple piece that I'm bringing is a pair of Levi's recycled black high waisted (not sure if they're meant to be high waisted but I'm 4'10 so I have no torso) shorts that I bought from Urban Outfitters in the sale. They no longer have them on the website but they still have the blue denim version here - Urban Renewal Vintage Originals Blue Raw Edge Levi's Shorts - £36. They were meant to be £36 but were reduced to £10 in the sale, and then I got 10% student discount to make them £9! They're so comfy, and because they're black I can wear them with pretty much any top, and with tights underneath if it's too cold for bare legs.

Photo from www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk
Black Levi Shorts

I then have a bunch of different crop tops that I can pair with the shorts to make simple outfits.

Blue crop top from Zara

Stripey black and white top from Primark

As stand alone items I have a floral dress (super old from H&M), and a floral playsuit from Boohoo that can be found here.

Boohoo Bell Sleeve Playsuit - photo from www.boohoo.co.uk

I'm also going to take an old pair of jeans. I know everyone says not to take jeans but I have some really comfy old ones that I'll happily burn afterwards, it could get cold and I'll be the one laughing when I have toasty denim covered legs. I'll wear them on the train there as they'll be the heaviest clothing item so I don't have to carry them. Going with the theme of old bottoms - leggings. Comfy, versatile, comfy, cheap and comfy. Wear them outside, wear them in the tent when it's too cold for one layer. I'm going to steal one of my boyfriend's hoodies that I can wear to keep warm or to use as a makeshift pillow (thanks Adam). Also many pairs of socks, I hate cold feet, and in wellies you need some nice thick socks so you don't get blisters. One thing I don't have yet but need to get is a waterproof coat/rain mac.

Speaking of wellies, lets get onto shoes. When I first looked at the weather, it said that during Reading it would be pure sunshine and rainbows. Now the weather is apparently leaning towards showers and thunder, which is ideal if you hate life. So, I'll be opting for a classing pair of wellies, which I'm borrowing from my mum (lol) because she has a snazzy pair of green Joules wellies, something like these.

photo of the snazzy wellies from https://www.shoetique.co.uk/

 In case the rain subsides for a while and the grass is dry, then I'll be opting for a pair of these converse-style low tops from New Look that I've had for ages and are wrecked already, so I won't mind binning them afterwards. Yes, they're on the teens section from New Look, and yes, I'm a 20 year old with feet smaller than my 10 year old sister. (I'm a size 2 for those of you who are interested - it's cute but try getting nice heels).

Mine are exactly the same as these but covered in grey/black smudges.
Photo from www.newlook.co.uk

And last but not least, it wouldn't be a festival without a bumbag! Found this beauty on the Skegness market for a fiver, what a treat.

#BringBackBumBags

Toiletries

While some people might be able to embrace the filth and enjoy being muddy for 5 days, I just dont think I can do it. So, I'm bringing a little travel bag with the essentials. I got a little set of travel bottles from Primark to decant things into. I have:

- Shower Gel (Superdrug)
- Shampoo (Wilkinsons Passionfruit and Green tea)
- Conditioner (same as shampoo)
- Facial Cleaner (Simple Kind To Skin Moisturising Facial Wash)
- Toner (Simple Kind To Skin Soothing Facial Toner)

Mini travel set in the bag from Primark (£1)
Extra spray bottle for toner from Wilko (50p)

- Toothpaste (Whitening toothpaste from Primark)
- Toothbrush (obvs)
- Disposable razor
- Moisturiser (Talika Photo Hydra Day)
- Serum (Superdrug Simply Pure Hydrating Serum)
- Hairox Hair Brush
- SPF 15 from Ladival
This looks like a lot but I'm guessing my skin is gonna need all the help it can get.
I'm also taking paracetamol (hangovers suck), my contraceptive pill, some tampons (be prepared for anything), and spare toilet roll, as well as hair bobbles and sun glasses.

Make-up
The best part. I know that by day 2 I'm gonna be too tired to care what my face looks like, but that doesn't mean I won't do it. I know I won't want to spend forever on something that I also have to maintain throughout the day however, so I'm going for simple with minimal products but still bright and festival themed. I'm also taking stuff that I'm not scared to lose or break because it can and will happen, so the naked palette is staying at home!

Base products
Primer - Freedom Pro Mattifying: it could get very hot and I don't want to sweat my makeup off so this will ensure that doesn't happen.
Eye Primer - Freedom Pro Eye Primer (you need this for glitter eyeliner)
Foundation - I've used a mix of the Caudalie Vinoperfect Broad Spectrum SPF15 Day Perfecting Fluid (which minimises pores and corrects skin tone to create a flawless and radiant but natural looking finish) with the GOSH Foundation Plus+ to add a little coverage and darken the Caudalie product which is a little too light for my skin.
Concealer - Collection Lasting Perfection: those eyebags are gonna be huge
Powder - Makeup Revolution Radiant Light Powder in Breathe - mattifying but still pretty and glowy

Brows
My brows are a hairy mess right now so I went with Benefit's Goof Proof brow pencil to attempt to define and fill, and then Primark's £1 brow gel to set them.

Contour/Blush/Highlight
All done with the MUR Ultra Sculpt and Contour kit in Ultra Fair. Sprayed my RT Fan brush with toner to intensify the pigment of the highlighter.

Eyes 
- Set the primer with a light base powder, then used a mid-toned brown to deepen the crease slightly. Can use the contour palette and face powder for this if you're planning to bring less makeup.
- GOLD GLITTER EYELINER (yes I'm excited about this part). I bought a cheap one from poundland so it's a bit more work but layer up until you're happy with your wing. Do it thicker than you would your regular black liner. I found that it was easier to use a shimmery gold eyeshadow as a base to get a more opaque line with the glitter.
- Black liquid liner - applied over the top but a thinner line than the gold
- Black WATERPROOF mascara - pls do use waterproof unless you like being a panda, in which case use whatever you like. I used the Icona Milano Emotion Allowed mascara.
- smoke the lower lash line out a little using a brown shadow
- highlight the browbone and inner corner

Lips
Basically use whatever works for you! I'm going bright lips here because I rarely use bright lipsticks, so what better time to experiment. In the photos I've used Freedom Pro Melts in No Heroes (a deep pink colour) and then an I Heart Makeup Lip Lava in Tremor which is a lighter pink. I'll also probably go with a nude lipstick too just for easy upkeep.

It was really hard to get a close up of the glitter eyeliner as I don't have a fancy camera but you can kind of see it! 

After taking the photos with the Freedom Pro Melts and changing the lip colour I also threw caution to the wind and used the glitter as a highlight too, and I think it looks pretty cool! I threw my wild hair in some space buns which looked pretty cute and that was the finished look!

Glitter on your whole face is the best and only way.

I'm obviously going to take food, drinks, a tent, a sleeping bag, money, my ticket and my ID. I'm also taking powerbanks for some sneaky on the go phone charging.

Gosh this post was long! It's probably too much but I had a lot to say! Hope you enjoyed it anyway.

See you again soon!

Paige x

GOSH AW16 Launches!

Back when I wrote my last post on the GOSH cosmetics products that I love, I ended up being in contact with the lovely Sophie from their PR team, who told me that there were some exciting new launches coming for AW. I love AW fashion and beauty, and I can tell it's going to be a good season this year! Being a very new and small blog I wasn't expecting to be too involved in the campaign. but she actually sent me 3 of the launches to try out and review, for which I am so so grateful! 

The Velvet Touch Matt Lipstick in Grape, Foundation PLUS + in 004 Natural
 and the Giant Pro Liner

The Foundation PLUS + in the shade 004 Natural is the first thing I tried out. It claims to be a foundation and concealer in one, which means it's medium to buildable coverage, while being light and natural. It's formulated to be pigmented with active ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, liquid sea minerals and seaweed which makes the foundation nourishing and light on the skin whilst still providing good coverage, and has a satin finish.

GOSH Foundation Plus + in 004 Natural (photo from Superdrug website)

I was so looking forward to trying this foundation, but when I received it the shade is far too dark for my skin. From swatching it on my hand I was able to get a good impression of the coverage of the foundation, which is definitely medium buildable, as it's so lightweight! I had to mix it with my GOSH X-ceptional Foundation to lighten it, which did make the coverage slightly lighter but I am building up my tan with the Garnier Summer Body and Utan Gradual Facial tan so hopefully soon I'll be able to use the foundation on its own (or at least mostly). I absolutely loved the finish of the foundation, it blended beautifully into the skin and looked so natural but with great coverage, and it didn't settle into any dry patches. The foundation is £9.99 for 30ml, which is an absolute steal for this foundation!

The next new release I tried is the Giant Pro Liner, which I have to admit was a little scary because the nib is quite thick, but I have to say it gave me such a quick and accurate application! You can use the fine point to draw out your line and use the thicker edge to fill it in. It's a nice, strong black and I was surprisingly impressed! It retails at £6.99. A little tip GOSH suggest is if you're new to applying eyeliner, you can use their kohl white liner to sketch where you want the liner and trace over the top with the Giant Pro liner. You can also use tape to get sharp and symmetric wings!

GOSH Giant Pro Liner

If you read my previous GOSH post (link) then you'll know that the formula for the GOSH lipsticks are possibly my favourite of any I've tried, especially with the matte lips, so of course I was so happy to find one in the little PR package. The one I received is the Velvet Touch Matte liptick in the shade 'Grape', which is a beautiful deep wine red with a hint of berry, it's bloody gorgeous and I feel like it's all I'll be wearing on my lips in autumn and winter. They're made with natural waxes and hyaluronic acid to moisturise and smooth the lips. They're creamy, long lasting, and beautifully pigmented, as usual. There are 4 new shades in total and they're all beautiful.

The GOSH Velvet Touch Matt Lipstick in Grape swatched - such a beautiful deep colour!

Velvet Touch Matt Lipstick in Grape

The range also includes a few things I haven't yet tried. 

One of the products I don't yet own but will definitely be purchasing soon is the Overnight Primer Oil Essence (£14.49), which is ideal for prepping your skin the night before applying makeup. It's slightly more pricey than other items in the range but it's definitely worth it if you're looking to really pamper your skin. Your skin regenerates at night, and we usually use serum to give this process a boost, but for a little extra nudge this is perfect. It's full of anti-oxidants, fatty acids and oils which help to provide moisture, vitamins and minerals so you wake up with glowing and primed skin! It can be applied before night cream or alone, but I'd probably apply it before night cream in place of my serum. 

Overnight Primer Oil Essence (photo from Superdrug website)

The Lash Sculpting Fibre Mascara (£9.99), contains fibres up to 2mm long which add an amazing amount of volume, and the wand is formulated to scuplt and define the lashes with the fibres.

Lash Sculpting Fibre Mascara (photo from Superdrug website)

They also released a Brow Sculpting Brow Gel (£6.49) which helps create full, groomed brows using the fibres to make thicker brows. There are currently 2 shades (Nutmeg and Chestnut) in the range, but again I'm yet to try this. I like that the wand isn't super short, and that the bristles are super tiny which will really help to get into the hairs. 

Brow Sculpting Fibre Gel (photo from Superdrug website)

The last release that I haven't tried is the Contour & Strobe kit (£12.99), which contains 2 bronzers (which is a really nice touch, as you can mix them to make your perfect customised bronzer), a semi-matte blusher and of course a highlighter. There's a Light option and a Medium one. I really like the blush choices in these. In the light one it's a pretty peachy-coral colour, which is so flattering on pale skin, and then the pink in the medium kit is equally flattering on medium and darker skin tones. They claim to be ultra-light, soft and creamy to make them easy to apply and blend, and I can't wait to try this. 

Contour & Strobe kit (photo from Superdrug website)
L - Light
R - Medium

Finished look using the Foundation, Liner and Lipstick! 

All of the products mentioned can be found here: Superdrug Website and GOSH is currently on a 3 for 2 offer so snap them up quickly while you can get an item free!

I'm sure it won't be long before I've bought the rest of the range, so look out for my review of those, but for now I hope you enjoyed this and thank you to GOSH for letting me try a few things from the launch! 

See you again soon! 

Paige x

This post contains PR samples.