TBT: What happens in Vegas...

It's been just over a year since my trip to Vegas and I was feeling nostalgic, so here's a few (ok quite a few...) snaps from our time there! It was the first time I had been and it was so so amazing, I can't wait to go back!

 

 



FAVOURITE THINGS WE DID

- Pool party at Drai's
- Seeing Lil Jon DJ at The Wynn
- Happy Hour at Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill
- Tequila slushies by the pool at Caesars
- Late night dinners at SLS
- The Bacchanal Buffet @ Caesars
- Watching 50 Cent & Trey Songz at Drai's

& so much more! There is so much to do here its ridiculous, we originally booked to go for 3 days but ended up staying 5 because when the day came to leave we were just like "nope!" (luckily we were able to do this as we were staying in California for 3 weeks, so it was quite easy to just get another cheap flight back to Oakland). Anyway, best holiday!

Holy Grail Beauty Items

Happy Wednesday! I thought I'd come at you today with some of my holy grail beauty products. These are things I have used for years and and couldn't be without...

Shu Uemura eye lash curlers

Mac 217 blending brush

Benefit Hoola bronzer

Sephora liquid liner

Maybelline Rocket Volume Express mascara

L'oreal Nude Magique Blur Cream

ABH Dipbrow Pomade

It's a 10 Miracle Leave In Product

TOOLS -
My first couldn't-live-without- item is the Shu Uemura eye lash curlers. By far the best, best curlers I have ever used (and my lashes are straight AF). They truly work wonders for my flat ass eyelashes. They are pricey but I've had them for about 7 years now and they still work as well as they did the first day I got them. I use them errrrry day and would have the worlds crappiest lashes if it wasn't for them! I don't need to ramble on for ever as they're pretty much a cult beauty product but yeah, if you want beautifully curled lashes, look no further!


























I have one absolute favourite brush that since buying I couldn't imagine not having in my collection, the Mac 217 blending brush, aka the perfect blending brush! No smokey eye is complete without using this, I seriously don't know how I ever went without it. I definitely don't think you need to have a collection full of Mac brushes to do your makeup but if you're going to get one brush from there, it has to be this!


























MAKEUP -
My fave ever bronzer has to be Hoola by Benefit. One I have repurchased many times, I just find that it is the perfect colour for giving you that "natural tan" look, it is completely matte and I've just yet to find a bronzer I adore as much as I do this one!

It took me forever to find a good eyeliner that ticked all the boxes, until I found this Sephora liquid liner. I first tried it about 8 years ago when my cousin from the US visited and was instantly like "I NEED THIS", from then on, any holiday to America or anywhere there was a Sephora, I would stock up on them to last me until the next time I could get my hands on them. I've literally been through about 15 of these things! Its super black and doesn't fade in colour throughout the day, the applicator is really easy to use and fine enough to get that really precise flick. I love it so much! I constantly have 1 or 2 back ups because its my fave ever. Of course the only downside about is its obvi only available in Sephora, which we don't have here, but they ship to the UK so its allll good.

I feel like I've not quite found the perfect mascara yet, like I said my eyelashes arn't blessed with being naturally curly therefore I'm always wearing waterproof mascara. The only thing that I can think of that has come close & that I've repurchased a few times is the Maybelline Rocket Volume Express mascara, I find this gives me lengthy lashes & I'm a fan of the plastic wand! Apart from that, I'm still on the search for that perfect mascara!

For me, I can't do my makeup without some kind of "blur cream" or using a pore perfecting primer, especially on my nose! I've been using the L'oreal Nude Magique Blur Cream for agesss and its lasted me forever, I use it every day and will continue to re purchase! Its pretty much the same as Benefits porefessional which I have tried but this is less than half the price and works just as well.

For brows, another product I've been re purchasing and loving is the ABH Dipbrow Pomade. Again, something that everyone and their mum has raved about so I won't say too much, but I find its the only product that actually stays on my brows all day and you can go as natural or as heavy as you like with it. I prefer it to brow wiz 100%, that seemed to wear off really quickly leaving me with pretty much half an eyebrow all day, not good! I use the colour soft brown which is a perfect match for me, but might go a shade darker the next time I go to buy another.

HAIRCARE -
And finally I'll end with a haircare product, the It's a 10 Miracle Leave In Product has been my staple leave in conditioner for years and years. Nothing comes close to this and if I don't use it I always notice a difference. Something you can only really order from Amazon or Ebay (unless you live in the US) and is more on the expensive-ish side for a leave in conditioner, but totally worth it. I love this stuff SO MUCH!

And there you have it! It's not masses of stuff, but it's the things I couldn't be without. I definitely have my faves in other products, but nothing that I would consider holy grail as much as these products! What are some of the beauty products you couldn't live without?!

Corina X

Corfu Photo Diary

Greek salads and sunsets galore ---->

 

Me and Sophie took a trip to Corfu in mid July to visit her sister, as she's working there during Summer for Thompson with her boyfriend and they kindly let us stay in their cute little apartment! It was the perfect little getaway in the small town of Agios Gordios, one of the cutest places I've been to! The weather was amazing and the beach was absolutely gorgeous, what more could you want?! 

 

 

My Summer Base Face

Hello there! Today I thought I'd share with you what I'm currently slapping on my face during the Summer months (although, I'm using the word Summer pretty lightly because, well, the UK hasn't exactly been blessed with much sun this year has it...). However, I went to Greece recently and got a bit of a tan, so I have transitioned my base makeup into some sort of bronzey, glowy goodness. Heres what I've been loving!...

FOUNDATION/PRIMER - In terms of foundation, when I have a natural tan I don't bother too much with it, I just stick to some concealer & bronzer and thats it really. However, when I've wanted more coverage I've been reaching for this Healthy Mix Serum foundation from Bourjois, as its light and gives a dewy finish. For nights out I've been using my trusty Estee Lauder Double Wear as it stays on all night & gives flawless coverage. Primer wise - I'll always use the L'oreal Blur Cream as I have hideous pores on my nose and this does the job in smoothing them over. I've also added the L'oreal Lumi Magique base primer to my routine as its really glowy & I'll sometimes mix it into my foundation as well. For powder, I tend to just put a little bit in the T zone and leave it at that as I don't want my skin to look too matte, I've been using the L'oreal Nude Magique BB powder.

BRONZER/CONTOUR/BLUSH - This is quickly becoming one of my favourite products! L'oreal recently came out with their cushion foundation & alongside it came the bronzer version. As you can see, its a sponge filled with cream product and I've been wearing it none stop. The colour is so beautiful, even if you haven't got a tan, this will give you such a natural colour that it looks like you have one anyway! I've heard its a dupe for the Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel Bronze Universal, which I've been dying to try but this is amazing and a third of the price! I've been using it with a buffing brush or a beauty blender, both work really well. It's packed full of product so a little goes a long way, but even if you do end up going over board, it blends out seamlessly so any mistakes can just be blended away!

I've also been using the L.A. Girl Pro Conceal in Beautiful Bronze to carve out my non existent cheekbones and for powder bronzer, my holy grail Hoola by Benefit and The Balms Bahama Mama, this is more cool toned and is good for creating that contour shadow! Oh and for blusher I've been using the Max Factor Cream Puff blusher in "Lavish Mauve", this has a tiny bit of sparkle to it and gives a nice flush of colour to the cheeks.

CONCEALER - I've been using the Maybelline Fit Me concealer, another high end dupe I sought out after hearing it compares to the Nars Radiant Creamy concealer which I love. It gives great coverage without being cakey, the consistency is so light but blends and covers amazingly! I've also been using a lighter concealer to highlight with, and this one is actually from Aldi! Not somewhere I would think of for makeup, but I remember reading about it being similar to YSL Touche Eclat (this is turning into an unintentional "dupe for high end products" post!). Its light and brings a nice radiance to your under eyes/high points of the face.

HIGHLIGHT - I've been using either The Balm Mary Lou Manizer or a highlighting stick from Topshop, or for an even more intense glow, both together! Using a cream highlight under a powder one intensifies it, as does spraying setting spray and then applying your powder highlight just before it sets into your face and is a little bit dewy on the skin still. Topshop have some amazing highlighters and I've used this one for years! It looks sooo beautiful on, with it being a cream product it makes you just look like you're glowing from within. Mary Lou is more on the I-want-you-to-see-my-highlighter-from-space side, but I'm okay with that, because its so gorgeous.

So, thats pretty much it! Obviously, I don't wear all these products at once but these are what I've been using for the past couple of months since I've not been my usual pale self. I feel like when Summer comes around I'm much more into cream products and all that glowy goodness.

 My tan is fading now *le cry* but I'm off to Greece again on Friday so I get to top it up!

Corina X