Crochet & turquoise.

Still feel like a bit of a loon taking pictures of myself!  I think it's just that i feel a little pretentious knowing that i intend to post the photos in a blog post like "ooh, look at my face"... hence the "let's just get this over with" look in my eyes haha.  Why do i do these posts you ask?  Well, i do like seeing other girlies' faces of the day because they show the products 'in action', if you know what i mean.  Like, sure, you can talk about a product all you want, but it's always nice to see it put to use!  I also think it's nice seeing the different combos people come up with.  If i like, say, an eye look i see on someone, i steal the idea & try to incorporate it into my own makeup - i'm sure i'm not the only one who does this... that is the point of these 'face of the day' posts (in my opinion), isn't it? :)

This is basically how i do my makeup on a day-to-day basis, with different eyeshadow combos & such, but they are all essentially the same neutral kind of look!  I also tried out a lip stain that i got from CVS the other day for the first time - not sure what my thoughts are on it yet!  I toned it down a lot so it probably doesn't look like much.

I am in love with the top i wore as well, it a crochet sort of thing that is so breezy, yet still cozy.  I adore the length of the sleeves, and although it kind of hangs in all the wrong places, it's oh, so right!  It came with a tank top, but i just cut it out - much better this way, it was all polyester and cringey.  This was a little thrift store gem i found, but i know crochet is a big trend this season, so similar tops & such are out in stores atm!

I've also been loving little delicate necklaces lately & with the top, i wore this gold chain with a little turquoise stone in it - another thrift store find!

I wore this out to work & then out to a casual dinner at TGI Friday's with my girlies, so i just wore dark wash  skinny jeans on the bottom (rolled up into capris with flats for work & as full length jeans with sandals for dinner).

So here's my face/kind of-outfit.....

Crochet top & necklace - thrifted

Eyes

Barry M Dazzle Dust in Tan

GOSH Quad in Driftwood - medium brown in crease/darker brown in outer corner

Urban Decay e/s in Polyester Bride - highlight

Clinique Gel Liner in Black

L'Oreal Voluminous mascara in Carbon Black

GOSH Velvet Touch Eyeliner in Black Ink

Revlon Brow Fantasy in Dark Blonde

Face

Bare Escentuals Prime Time

MAC Studio Finisher concealer - on blemishes

Benefit Erase Paste - under eyes

Bare Minerals Original Foundation

Bare Minerals Warmth - bronzer

Sleek Contour Kit

Clinique blush in New Clover

Bare Minerals Mineral Veil

Lips

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain in Passion (faded a lot)

♥

London: Days One & Two

I'm going to first apologize for two things - 1) for this is incredibly late, i did leave for my trip on the 20th of April and it is now the 21st of June! and 2) for this post being hideously long!  Please keep in mind i took hundreds of photos each day, so narrowing them all down and deciding which ones to put in each blog post is so difficult.  So people suggested i just put it in a video format, but i just didn't want to do that tbh.

My trip last April to London & Paris was absolutely amazing.  London is my favorite city that i've been to and we were so, SO lucky to have such incredible weather - we're talking no rain (except for a tiny bit one night), temperatures in the 70s/80s Fahrenheit everyday, and the sun shining.  I took my camera out everyday, but i did leave it home when we went out most nights as it is super heavy and bulky.  It was a trip with school so there were about 15+ or so other people and chaperones, but when we had free time, we were really free to roam about the city on our own (in groups of three or more of course), armed with tube passes for the day, maps, and a list of suggested places to check out.  Most of our nights we had free time, but of course we had to be back in our rooms by midnight. ;)  The trip was really worth every penny and i'm absolutely dying to go back.  My heart is in England. ♥

So here are some of the highlights of day one and two.  Obviously i can't include everything and i didn't even take photos of every place we went to or every thing we did, so bear that in mind.

Day one we arrived at our hotel, went on an overview tour of the city and visited Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, and Piccadilly Circus (we were running a bit late so we didn't get to go to Covent Garden :( ), and went on the Jack the Ripper tour (to try and stay up late as to prevent jet lag).  We also had time to go shopping, i went to King's Mall in Hammersmith, which is when i spent loads at Primark and Superdrug (didn't have time for River Island or anything else :/).  And for dinner that night we had Turkish food, it was okay!

Day two we stopped at St. Paul's Cathedral and Hampton Court Palace, and went on a tour in a coach all around the city, and also saw Chicago the musical which i didn't like too much tbh.  For dinner we had Indian cuisine, super spicy!

Got my passport & ticket all ready to go.

*a day of waiting in the airport/flying/going through six time zones later* Baggage claim at Heathrow!

The beloved Primark, almost fell over seeing it (finally!) in person...  Taking a stroll down King Street.  We got some free time so i had a little stop at King's Mall in Hammersmith which was just one tube stop away on the tube or a five minute walk from our hotel.

A few hours of shopping later.. yep, i bought all of those nail paints in one go (+1 more a few days later :P)

Ravenscourt Park tube station, the one that was closest to our hotel. :)

Had another little stroll over the Queen's Jubilee Bridge.  I'm actually quite scared of bridges so i was quick to get off of this one!  Was quite nice though. :)

Trafalgar Square - probably one of my favorite places we went.  So lovely & full of people!

Second to last photo is a picture inside St. Martin in the Fields, located in Trafalgar Square.

I believe these were taken while we were walking through Leicester Square.  We didn't spend too much time there, but it looked like it has a lot of places to eat at and bars and such!  We were also walking through there around dinner time... haha

A little blurry view from our hotel room.  Hammersmith is so, so lovely in my opinion!

We went on a little drive around the touristy parts of London and saw a lot of things that were set up for the Royal Wedding, which took place literally three days after we left for Paris.  These are a bunch of Union Jack flags strung up if you didn't know that already. ;)

St. Paul's Cathedral - We didn't actually get to go inside as we visited it on Good Friday (you could only go in for the service), but it was such a nice day that chilling out on the steps in front of it was perfectly fine.  It was absolutely massive, the door to go in is probably taller than my house.... ha.  My friends & i also stopped at the little Marks & Spencer Simply Food and got some cookies and a berry drink.

Westminster Abbey - Of course we had to stop by here for a bit.  It was quite cool to see where Will and Kate were to be married. :)

A little shot of Big Ben (with the London Eye showing its face in the corner) from Westminster Abbey.

St. James's Park (which was full of people since the weather was amazing) & the walk to Buckingham Palace.

Buckingham Palace in all its glory!

Fish & chips for lunch!  Hands down one of the best meals i had whilst there, could eat it everyyyyyyy day.  And yes, i finished that plate off, don't worry. ;)

Hampton Court Palace on a lovely, lovely day.

Let me know if you enjoyed this ladies!  I will try my best to keep getting the photos up from the rest of the trip.  Will try to make them a bit more brief. :)

♥

Monthly Favorites: May

Have quite a few favorites this month; this is probably because i have been spending way too much on cosmetics & hair products lately... i apologize, bank account.  I also haven't done one of these monthly favorites posts in a while, and that's probably for the same sort of reason, in months past i haven't splurged on anything really as i had been saving up for my trip.  (A little sidenote as i got a question about this on my last post: yes i will be doing a post on my trip eventually, it will just take a while to put together!  Sorry if you're a bit annoyed with me...)

This month i've been using a lot of products i got whilst in London, as well as two i got back here in the States.  If you are also from the US and are wondering where you can purchase brands like Barry M and Sleek Makeup that aren't available here, i suggest Googling them and going to the brands' official websites.  The shipping costs may be a bit horrendous, but in some cases i do think it is worth it!  On to what i've been loving in the past month. :)

♥ GOSH Eyeshadow Quad in Driftwood & Barry M Dazzle Dust in Tan.

The first time i tried this GOSH palette, i was actually really disappointed as the colors all tended to look the same on my eyes and it just didn't stand out to me at all, but now i've been using this most everyday!  I've found a combination of products to use in tandem with this palette to make a really lovely makeup look.  I use Benefit's RSVP as a base, then apply the Barry M Dazzle Dust in Tan all over the lid & slightly into the crease.  I then apply the medium brown shade (top, right) into the crease, the dark brown (bottom, left) into the outer v, and the highlight shade (top, left) in the inner corner and brow bone.

The Dazzle Dust in Tan is very similar to the famous MAC eyeshadow in All That Glitters, but you definitely get more product for your money with the Dazzle Dust!  This shadow is so versatile and i think it would look so lovely on just about every skin tone.

 ♥ Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Born With It.

The Color Sensational lipsticks are hands down my favorite lipsticks i've ever tried - yes, i even prefer these over MAC! *shock horror*  The formula, the color payoff, the longevity, everything is just spot on!  Well done Maybelline.  This shade in particular is a fairly new addition to my collection.  It's a super lovely nudey-pink shade, and leaves a bit of a sheen to the lips.  It's one of those lippies that would definitely be described as a "my lips, but better" shades.  It's so perfect and wearable, i think i will repurchase this until Maybelline stops making these (and probably even after...they shouldn't stop making these anyway! ;)

 ♥ Sleek Contour Kit in Light, Too Faced Shadow Insurance in Candlelight, and GOSH Velvet Touch Eyeliner in Black Ink.

I talked about all three of these products in my "Gosh & Sleek Loving" post, so if you want to read my little review on these products, deffo have a looksie.  Thought they were worth mentioning again in this post. :)

(left to right: 264 Pink Iridescent Glitter, 309 Strawberry Ice Cream, 318 Peach Melba, 304 Mint Green)

♥ Barry M Nail Paints.

I have been absolutely loving the Barry M Nail Paints i got (yes, i did get nine... *slap on the wrist*).  I had a laugh at all the comments from some of you saying you literally giggled when you saw how many i bought, haha... i'm so pathetic, i know!  The four above are the ones i have already tried (besides the Nail Effects one) and have been looooooving.  These nail paints have made me actually enjoy painting my nails, they dry so quickly and the colors are so fun!

Swatches (top to bottom): Too Faced Shadow Insurance in Candlelight, Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Born With It (is lighter irl!), and GOSH Velvet Touch Eyeliner in Black Ink

♥ Charles Worthington Rough & Tough Front Row Salt Spray.

I've done a post on this showing how i style my hair using this product, which you can read here. :)

♥ Tangle Teezer - Original.

In my London haul post, i said i didn't really know my thoughts on this product, but after a bit more use i've grown to love it.  It's one of those products that you don't really realize how good it is until you've stopped using it.  For instance, i'd been using this for about two weeks and thought it was nothing special, but then i decided to use my regular paddle hair brush.  The regular hair brush made it incredibly painful to detangle my hair and it ended up just ripping my hair out, really!  Since then, i've been using the Tangle Teezer - on wet and dry hair.  I love this and would recommend it to anyone whose hair gets all mangled like mine.  Such a hair and pain saver!

♥

Bagology

I've seen a few posts on this already, but i thought i would share with you all my own 'bagology' reading.

I'd never heard of such a thing before Hayden from Sudocrem emailed me a couple weeks ago.  Bagology is the process of understanding someone's personality & character traits simply by the contents of his or her bag.  I've always loved watching and reading the "what's in my bag?" videos and blog posts, so reading some of the analyses of some lovely ladies' bags has been intriguing!  Obviously i was quite interested in hearing an analysis of my own bag, so i posted a photo of my bag & its contents on their Facebook page and awaited my reading. :)

Bag: H&M

Contents, top to bottom, left to right: wallet, Clinique pressed powder

Forever 21 sunglasses, hand sanitizer, pen, water bottle, Victoria's Secret "Kissing in Paris" in a travel size bottle

Lolita (current read :), iPod, phone, eyelash curlers

Kleenex, Barry M Lip Gloss Wand in Strawberry Milkshake, MAC lipstick in Creme Cup

-

"Good evening Laura - I had to read your bag tonight as I love your bag and just wish I could identify the brand!  Into your reading... For you at the moment I sense that planning is key!  You seem to be logical, organised and someone who enjoys having a level of control in life.  It feels like you are someone who loves to set goals, or life plans.  You seem to be kind and tactful as a person.  You also have a quiet power in your nature.  Maybe this lies in your pragmatic 'no nonsense' 'fix it' attitude?  Or maybe you simply enjoy being 'hands on' when you see you can be useful.  I think it is good for you to spend time hanging out with people who have similar interests, hobbies, values or outlook.  I think you are someone who is a 'self starter' and can 'pick yourself up' and refresh when you need to.  Finally, the words courage and beauty spring from your bag.  These seem to be important aspects of life for you.  I imagine you enjoy lovely landscapes, outdoor walks or furniture!  Finally, I think it is important for you to have loyal friends and supporters around you and to be able to feel that the loyalty is real, almost something to touch.  I have found your bag quite unusual and the reading is a little different from others I've done.  Thank you!  It was a pleasure for me.  Debbie@handbagtherapy.com"

Overall, i thought this was actually quite accurate!  Especially the bit about enjoying lovely landscapes, outdoor walks, and furniture and the part about the need to have loyal friends & supporters around me and that it needs to be shown.  I hate to admit, but the 'no nonsense' attitude is kind of something i have...i try not to be so snappy/bitchy about it though!  About setting goals & being organized, i love doing things like making to-do lists and such (yes, i'm a dork) and i at least attempt to be organized, so that's pretty accurate as well.

If you're interested in having your own 'bagology' reading done, i definitely recommend it!  All you have to do is 'like' SudocremTube on Facebook (link here), snap a photo of your bag & its contents and post it on their wall, then await your reading.  Simples.  They're holding this little bagology reading until the end of the month so you still have a bit of time.

Thanks so much Hayden for letting me know about this and Debbie for doing all the readings!  You're both lovely. :)

♥

Gosh & Sleek Loving.

Haven't done one of these 'face of the day' type of posts in a while, i'm sure you can see why. ;)  I feel a bit vain posting pictures of my mug up for the people of the internet to see to be honest, haha.  I figured i'd do one anyway to show some of the products i got from my trip actually put to use.

I've absolutely been loving the Gosh eyeliner and Sleek Contour Kit, they are both new staples in my collection.  The Gosh liner totally tops Urban Decay's famous 24/7 one in Zero like it's nobody's business.  If you can get your hands on it, definitely try it out!  And the contour kit was a total bargain, don't think i'll be able to live without it from now on!  Makes the skin look gaaaaaawgeous and hasn't broken me out, which many drugstore products seem to do *knocks on wood*.

The Two Faced 'Illuminating' Shadow Insurance in Candlelight is totally new to me, i hadn't heard of it until my sister gave it to me (i think she got it as a 500 point perk at Sephora).  I really do quite like it though!  It's not as opaque as the Urban Decay primers are (ie. Sin), which i actually prefer.  It's just as good as the original staying-power-wise and it does brighten up the eye area to help make it look like you actually got your 8+ hours of beauty sleep - hence the 'illuminating' bit - without making it look like you have packed a ton of product on your eyes (like i have below haha ;).  Mac's Shroom looks amazing over it btw. :)

Hope you're not too offended by this little 'mug face of the day'!

Said Sleek Contour Kit & Gosh Eyeliner

Eyes

Too Faced Shadow Insurance in Candlelight

Mac Shroom e/s all over lid and inner corner & brow bone highlight

Mac Satin Taupe e/s in crease

Barry M Dazzle Dust in Chocolate in the outer corner

L'Oreal Linear Intense in Black - winged out with a bit of Urban Decay's Oilslick e/s on top to set

Gosh Velvet Touch Eyeliner in Blank Ink

Clinique High Impact mascara

Face

Benefit Erase Paste under eyes

Mac Studio Finish concealer on blemishes

Bare Minerals Original Foundation

Sleek Contour Kit in Light

Clinique Pressed Powder blush in New Clover

Bare Minerals Mineral Veil to set

Lips

Carmex :)

Hair & outfit

Will do a little post on the hair at some point. :)

top - New Look, earrings - Primark

♥