Hello Lovelies!

Yesterday I was incredibly pleased to have been nominated for a Liebster Award! by the wonderful blog that is The Cherry Boudoir.

I think this is such a great way to introduce new bloggers such as myself to other blogs and so we can all be nosy and find out a little bit more about each other.

Thankyou very much for the nomination The Cherry Boudoir :)

Here are the rules for the Liebster Award :

You have to link back and thank the person that nominated you.

Write 11 facts about yourself.

Answer all 11 questions given to you.

Nominate 11 bloggers with fewer than 200 followers (make sure to let them know they have been selected) and give them 11 questions of your choice (do not nominate the person who nominated you)

I am so happy that I get to participate and without further or do I'll get on with the award...

11 facts about myself :

1. I have always lived in Bournemouth (UK) although my parents are actually from Manchester and essex. I like to think of them as a bit like Gavin and Stacey if anyone knows that reference :\.
2. I am 5.7" which I think is fairly tall for a girl.
3. I have appeared and performed on children in need twice.
4. I have been learning the clarinet since I was 9 (but I kind of just play it for fun so I'm not very good).
5. One of my first words was aardvark (I know clever toddler right?) 
6. I can do a mean Cheryl Cole impression.
7. Disney is a definite guilty pleasure of mine, in fact I don't even feel guilty or embarrassed at all and I will happily break into Let it go at any time I feel fit to.
8. Leading on from that, I have been taking singing lessons since around 8 and although it's not necessarily what I want to do when I am older I will often be caught belting out defying gravity when I think I'm at home alone. The neighbors love it :\
9. I am a massive fan of Beyonce. 
10. One of my favourite animals is a guinea-pig. at one point I had five because we thought we origionally bought two girl guinea-pigs.Turns out one was a boy and well we ended up keeping their babies.Side not baby guinea-pigs are the cutest things!!
11. Finally if I was to describe myself in 3 words I would say Honest, Friendly and Talkative.

The Cherry Boudoir's questions:

1. Why did you start a blog ? I started a blog because I have read other people's such as LLYMLRS, viviannadoesmakeup, pixi3 and a lot more for a very long time and thought it would be nice to start my own, as somewhere I could share my opinions and talking about beauty etc is something I can do till the cows come home. 

2. What’s the beauty product you cannot live without ? Probably my They're real mascara from benefit, I didn't used to get on with it that well but recently it's become a firm favourite and I really can't live without a mascara.

3. Who is your style/beauty icon ? Style icon is possibly Mollie King from the saturdays I think she always looks amazing and puts things together I would have never have thought of. Beauty Icon is probably Tanya Burr who is a blogger and you tuber,I think she always looks beautiful and effortlessand her tutorials are really easy to follow.

4. What’s your favourite movie and why ? I think the shawshank redemption because it wouldn't stop telling people about how good it was for about a week and because I had no spoilers and really had no idea what it was about meant I had no idea what to expect and I thought it was so cleverly done.

5. What’s your favourite blog ? it sounds like a cop out but I really do have many that I have been reading for so long but if I had to choose I would say viviannadoesmakeup. I think she's one of those bloggers that writes how she would talk and that to me makes for a much more interesting and relateable read, also she has a great layout that makes her blog easy to navigate.

6. Where do you see yourself in 10 years ? I really have no idea I just hope I'm in work doing something I love and have a happy personal life I guess...

7. A song that describes you the most ? it sounds silly but maybe Independent women? by destiny's child. I like to think I'm a pretty independent person, I always want to do things for myself and I guess to relate back to the previous question I hope that I stay that way and that I don't depend on no maan.

8. What’s the thing you always have in your bag ? Chewing gum! I know it should probably be a beauty product but in all truth I have chewing gum everywhere I go, if there was a rehab for a chewing gum addiction my family would have sent me a looong time ago!

9. What’s your favourite place in the world ? I love Barcelona, I don't know if it's my favourite place but it's probably one of the nicest and prettiest places I've been.

10. Give one word that describe you the best? Just one! haha umm I'm going to go with friendly I think. I just try to be nice to everyone I meet because you never know what's going on in there life and just something simple like asking how someone is can make someone's day that little bit better.

11. What’s your plans for next year ? I am going to go on a gap year so maybe work maybe travel, I know I'm off to New York at some point but other than that nothing is set in stone.

and now for the nominations!

The sister's from Footnotesandfinds

Rachel from Shots of Sparkle

Emma from The Diary of a Beauty-Addict

Jasmine from Jazabella

Charlotte from Charlotterees

Vintage-frills.com

Mikkel from Mikkel Weiss

Chloe from Gloss, Glitz and Glamour

My questions:

1. How did you discover the world of blogging?
2. Would you rather give up mascara or foundation?
3. Who or what do you look to for fashion advice or beauty tips?
4. How would your best friend describe you in 3 words?
5. What is your guilty pleasure?
6. What is the beauty cheat that you are most guilty of, for example skipping your morning skin care routine or leaving your makeup on over night?
7. What is your favourite album?
8. What is your party trick?
9. What was your dream job when you were a child?
10. What is one talent you wish you had?
11. Which TV or Film character is most like you?

Thank you for reading and once again Thank you The Cherry Boudoir! I'm sorry it's a little late I've been on my hols.

Love Becky xx

Barry M- Guava

                                            Hello lovelies!

If you haven't read my previous post you may not not know that I'm in fact on holiday at the moment. So whilst I'm sat here on my apartments balcony I thought I'd do a quick post on my favourite summer nail varnish that was mentioned in my June favorites post. 

This is Barry M's Hi-Shine gelly nail paint in Guava (£3.99) an oh my is it a beautiful colour! It's no secret what a fan I am of Barry M's gelly nail paints (the finish of them is so professional and gorgeous and looks as though you've had a manicure) but this one has a particularly special place in my collection. Even my auntie mentioned yesterday she loved the colour and since has been looking round Bulgaria trying to find a similar colour, no such luck as of yet. Personally I've always been a huge fan of turqoisey aquamarine colours so it really is no surprise as to why I love this one so much and by the pool the colour stands out and makes me feel all summery. 

Unfortunately, Barry M is not really known for it's staying power and even as I type this, after having the paint on for 2 or 3 days the tips are already beginning to chip :(. Having said that I couldn't really be bothered with a top coat so I believe with a good top coat that doesn't take away from the high shine this polish would last a lot longer, which if I could be bothered with doing a top coat would make for a very happy Becky!

Hope you enjoyed this mini post, I felt like this was a product a wanted to write about because I love it so much and as it's Barry M it's pretty easily accessible and cheap. I'd like to know if you've tried this nail varnish? or weather you have any recommendations or longer lasting dupes? Thank you for reading!

Love Becky xx

Chanel Coco Mademoiselle

Hello Lovelies! 

I'll start this post by saying, I'm off on holiday!! Wooo! so I've been thinking about what fragrances I'm going to take with me..After long deliberation I decided for evenings it was to be Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle. I decided this as my mum complimented me on this fragrance only just this morning. She said 'it suited me very well and to wear it more'..well mother your wish is my command. After all, mama knows best!

Coco Mademoiselle is an Oriental-fresh, floral jasmine-rose accord that is as light as a petal.A unique blend of intense freshness and lightness. A light, fresh, sophisticated fragrance I would say. I'm really not a massive fan of floral scents usually, I think they smell a bit too mature for me like a fragrance my mum or my Nan might wear. But after smelling this on my friend (that sounds a bit odd but I just noticed she was wearing a nice fragrance I didn't go up and sniff her haha) I knew that this fragrance would become a firm favourite of mine..that is once I got over its price tag :\. I think this is due to the notes of jasmine and freshness of the scent, so I feel this isn't what I would call a typical floral scent.

Although this may not be technically what I would call a 'summer fragrance' it's a really easy everyday one to put on just before I leave the house or for late summer evenings out. I always love wearing a nice fragrance as think that a fragrance just finishes off an outfit and makes me feel all fresh and nice when go out. Also I quite enjoy when people ask what I'm wearing and I'm all like 'It's Chanel darling'  in a Made in Chelsea esk voice. Another great thing is that the scent lasts a really long time, which I think for it's £40+ (depending on the size) price tag, it should! Also I think the packaging is so sleek and sophisticated as its pastel peach liquid and white top make for such pretty packaging.

Hope you enjoyed reading my little review. I would really recommend this as a scent worth trying especially if you like other Chanel fragrances like chance. I would love to know if you have tried out this fragrance and if you like it as much as I do? or If you'd like to try this fragrance out? Thank you for reading

Love Becky xx

Bourjois Base Products

Tried to get all artsy with shells didn't I..not sure it worked haha oh well :L

Hello Lovelies!

There has been a lot of hype and harping on about these two base products from Bourjois so I thought I'd give my penny's worth and give my honest opinion on them both. This is starting to sound like I don't like them, don't get me wrong I really like these products but there are just some little nigs I have about both products I thought I would share.

Annoyingly some of the packaging has peeled off :(

Bourjois healthy mix serum- This is a lot of people's favourite drug store foundation that I think is pretty good particularly for how much it's worth (around £10). It has a light to medium coverage, an apricoty fruity scent, fruit extracts such as apricot and apple and a dewy finish. Firstly the light to medium coverage is slightly buildable but not by much. I know foundation is to even out skin tone and not to cover up blemishes so I don't mind too much that it doesn't cover the spots I have, but I know there are other foundations that do hence why this is a definite down side to the product for me but if you like less coverage then this would be great for you! However, if you do have acne or quite blemished skin it's just something to take into consideration that if you want a foundation that covers them, this may not be the one to go for. I would also say this is not a great foundation if you have really oily skin as even with my combination skin and trusty stay matte powder it lasts about 4 hours before I start to see the oil around my nose and T-zone appearing. Wow that was a bit negative so I'll end this with a positive in that the finish is beautiful and glowing.

Bourjois CC Cream (£9.99)- Before I start I thought I'd mention that I really don't get this whole BB, CC and even DD cream (yes apparently there really is a DD cream :O). To me they all just seem foundation but slightly more blendable with sheerer coverage or basically a tinted moisturizer. Having said that I felt like I needed something slightly lighter than my foundation and I'd heard many good reviews about this, and let me tell you the reviews are NOT wrong! Firsty the pro's are that this CC cream does not feel heavy at all on the skin and the only time I feel it is when my skin starts to get oily. It seems to have really great coverage, doing what it says on the packet and covering dark spots, under eye circles, blemishes AND redness!! what more could you want? as you can probably tell I like this rather a lot. The squeezy tube makes application pretty easy, I just put a small amount either onto my hand or fingers, then blend using my fingers or real techniques blending brush to give a more flawless finish and voila done! But..as I mentioned earlier it doesn't deal with oil that well, it's not as bad as the healthy mix serum but still does require touch ups and definitely a matte finishing powder if you have combo/oily skin.

I hope you've enjoyed my mini reviews on Bourjois famous base offerings. Have you tried any of these products and if so I'd like to know what are your thoughts? Thankyou for reading.

Love Becky xx

Primark Haul

 Hello Lovelies!

This week has been such a busy week for me as I have been performing in the musical Ghost, which means I have been quite stressed and what's the best cure for stress? shopping therapy! This being said I didn't have a lot of time so a short trip to Primark for some holiday wear it was. In case you don't know what Primark aka Primarni (or pree-mar-shai as I like to call it) is, it's a clothes shop that targets those on a budget, meaning it's pretty darn cheap and sometimes actually has some really nice things in. However, they don't show all from their collection online so I thought some people might want to see the stock they have in at the moment.

So the First thing I bought was this Cardigan or throw over as I call it for £12.00. I bought this in a size 18/20 because I wanted it to be really oversized for me as I am around a 10 or a 12 in Primark. I though this would be so nice for summer to just throw over some denim shorts and a vest top or a play-suit. I've been looking for a kind of aztec style cardi with fringing for so long, so when I found one that suited me (in Primark of all places) for £12.00! It was a no brainer.

Next I bought this tight grey maxi-skirt with two slits down the sides for £8.00.I have been looking for one of these for so long because I have quite a few crop tops and needed something cooler (in terms of temperature) than leggings.The slits in the side make this so comfortable to wear/walk in and although the material is thin, when worn with the right underwear it looks fine and suitable for the beach or just walking around shopping.

Next was this black and white animal print bikini top for £6.00. I only bought the top half because the bottom half was a bit of a weird style and I'm quite picky about the style of the bottom halves of bikini's because some really don't suit my body shape. So I'm just going to put them with just some black bottoms. I think this is a real bargain because bikini's can be so ridiculously expensive (here's looking at you Triangle bikini!) and I think this is a nice style and pattern that will suit me and a lot of people.

Finally I bought an over the small shoulder bag for £8.00. I thought this bag was so cool because it has a different print on each side to go with the outfit you're wearing. I'm off on holiday in a week! so I have been looking for a bag I can take on holiday that's not too bulky and suitable for walking around as well as sitting by the pool, and I think this is perfect and such a bargain. 

So there were a couple of my Primark purchases, I hope this may be useful for anyone wanting to know what Primark have in stock at the minute and if not I hope this gave you some ideas of maybe what to buy in prep for a holiday. I'd love to know your thoughts on Primark's stock at the moment? if you love/loath Primark? and what you think people will be wearing this summer e.g. maxi skirts, jumpsuits etc...? Thank you for reading!

Love Becky xx

Re-creating Rihanna's Grammy Makeup

Hello Lovelies! 

today's post is a little bit different as I was feeling a bit creative yesterday and tried to see if I could re-create one of my favourite Rihanna makeup looks. I think this look is quite glamorous, sophisticated and looks almost effortless (although it did require quite a lot of effort) and could be worn on a night out or to an event. 

First I used my Bourjois healthy mix serum because I wanted to create Rihanna's Dewy skin and this foundation is pretty darn dewy. Her skin looked completely flawless so I used origins Quick Hide! concealer because It had really good coverage and the foundation I used is quite low coverage, also I had rather annoyingly a few imperfections to cover :(. I then finished with stay matte mineral powder from Rimmel around my oilier areas.

Then I tried to create the light contour/brozer she had on her cheeks using a bronzer that I included in my June favourites, Rimmel's Natural Bronzer. I think this bronzer matches what Rihanna was wearing almost exactly except it matches her skin tones a little better than mine I think. I also used Bobbi Brown's shimmer brick in bronze to create the gorgeous golden glow she had on her cheeks.

Next I did my eyebrows using a dark brown colour from the sleek palette 'Oh So Special', I used this because it matches my eyebrow hair colour so It would be easier to create her eyebrow shape. To create the actual shape I lightly outlined her eyebrow shape onto my brows and lightly filled them in, the key word here is lightly because her brows are quite light and this method can result in cartoon brows! if you're not careful. Mine did turn out slightly darker but I think that's probably because mine are naturally quite dark anyway.

Now for the eyes (my favourite part!). I firstly patted 'Pistol' from Naked palette number 2 across the lid using the brush it came with (actually a bloomin' good brush if you ask me). I think this colour was basically the perfect match for the light grey Rihanna was wearing. She also had a golden kind of colour around the crease and up towards the brow bone, so I used 'Half Baked' from the same palette which I then blended using the fluffier side of the Naked 2 brush to create a more subtle spread out of colour on the lid. I then created a small winger eye line using L'Oreal's perfect slim liquid liner in intense black because it's a very dark black that is easy to use. I Finally finished off with Benefit's their real mascara which I have recently fallen back in love with! but I only used a few coats as Rihanna's lashes were quite minimal. 

Some of the products used.

Finally the lips. I don't think I got this spot on as hers are a bit more orangey but I used Chili by MAC as it's one of my favourite reds and was as close as I could get. I have a feeling she was wearing Lady Danger from MAC but I'm yet to purchase that one so I went with Chili but as I say I think Chili was as close as I was going to get as I believe she was wearing a matte shade too and Chili is a nice matte shade.

Hope you enjoyed this look recreation post as much I enjoyed creating and writing about it. I would like to know if you have used any of the products mentioned? If you liked Rihanna's look? and if this is a look you think you would wear? Thankyou for reading!

Love Becky xx

Monthly Favorites- June

Hello Lovelies!

In honor of my blog's monthiversary (woo! *cue party poppers) I thought I would do my monthly favourites of last month. Last month I think I went through a bit of a 'its summer so I need look glowy and summery' phase, so I do apologize that there isn't a lot of variation because most of the products I have included are quite glowy, shimmery and bright.

The first is a Barry M nail varnish from their gelly collection in the colour guava. This colour is literally so pretty, I love turquoisey type colours so much so when I saw this in the collection (I believe on ETCLLYMLRS) I know it would be love. The gel nails have a really nice sheen on them that means they are a pretty big blogger favourite and they last a pretty long time on the nails without chipping which is always good because even if the colour's amazing it no use it it chips after two seconds particularly if like me you're a bit lazy with applying a top coat.

The next is a lip gloss by Chanel in big bang. I don't own many high-end lip glosses, so when my mum gave me this at a whim to say I was exited would be an understatement. Now I'm definitely not a snob when it comes to makeup because I believe you can get just as good quality from the drugstore (boots/superdrug). However, I can't help but feel a little bit exited and fancy when wearing my chanel lip gloss. This one is a very shimmery shiny tangerine lip gloss that you might think would look cheap and like a child's because of the flecks of glitter, but I think the way it looks on the lips is really nice and shimmery in a kind of sophisticated way, particularly if worn over a more nudey lipstick can add a bit of p-zaz! I think the shine on this is so beautiful and the tangerine colour id really flattering for summer so this month this has been my go to lip-gloss.

(L-R) Barry M Guava, Chanel big bang, Rimmel Natural Bronzer, Revlon Lip butter tutti-frutti, Sanctuary Spa Moisturizer. 

Next up is a natural bronzer from Rimmel. I have been loving this bronzer over the last month, mostly for nights out as I'm not quite tanned enough naturally for this to look natural on me during the day and when I'm not wearing fake tan. I just use a little of this along the hollows of my cheeks, jawline and sides of my forehead to contour as it's matte but I think its could be used across the cheeks or just as an overall bronze because I don't think its too orangey toned so won't make you look like a tangerine, although I would be careful as it does have some orange in it so I wouldn't go too overboard. However, I'll excuse this as it's so darn cheap!

Now I know I've spoken breifly about how I really enjoy using the macaroon lip butter from Revlon but now for another lip butter in tutti-fruiti. If I'm being honest I know there's been some hype in the blogger world for bright lips recently, (I think thats thanx to viviannadoesmakeup) but truthfully I'm not a bright lip kinda gal. I just can't get them to suit me *sad face. So this lip butter is my alternative to the bright orange lip I so wish I could pull off. Its a really subtle sheer peachy orange similar to ravishing by mac but not as bright or opaque. Its staying power isn't as long as a lipstick (roughly 2 hours) but for a beach day (and I've been having a lot of those recently) I think this is perfectly fine because I don't mind having to re-apply when I'm not busy at work or school.

The last two are products that probably need reviews all of their own so I'll keep this short and sweet. The first is a moisturizer from Sanctuary spa that is one of the most illuminating I've come across! it has this kind of iridescent glow to it that make it such a great base and over the past month I have grown to using a lot for subtle dewy (not greasy) skin. 

Finally has this one been raved about enough yet? nah I don't think so... it's Bourjois latest base offering, their new CC cream. It seems like a lot of bloggers have taken a real liking to this product and as much as I don't want to jump on the bandwagon, I can see why. Once again I will do a full review but basically this is a wonderful CC cream for all skin types. It has medium coverage, which is a lot more that what I was expecting! stays on all day (with a setting power or primer) and does wonders for your complexion. I have really enjoyed trying this out over the past month so much so that it has replaced a lot of my regular foundations. 

So there we have it, my (late) favourites of the month of June! I also wanted to take this opportunity just to say if you have read or followed my blog on either blogger, google +, or bloglovin' over the past month thankyou very much I really appreciate it and hope you have enjoyed reading so far. I'd love to know what are your favourties of the month? and have you tried any of the products I have mentioned?

Love Becky xx