e.l.f Studio Body Shimmer

I've really jumped on board of creamy formula blushes and highlighters at the moment. I just think they look so much more natural on the skin and give a more glowing complexion.

E.l.f says "Create sexy, soft shimmer for a healthy looking glow that is lightweight and comfortable. Great for using on cheeks, lips, eyes, and deécolleté. The convenient twist-up design is easy to use for quick application. Simply glide on this chic shimmer for a sunless, gorgeous glow"

Packaging

The packaging is kind of like a deodorant stick, you twist the little rotator and the product comes up. It's easy to use but I would have preferred it if the shape of the product was round rather than long and oval. I like that the product is little so I can carry more than one around ;)

Cosmic Coral

Mystic Moonlight

Formula

The product is quite stiff and doesn't apply as easily as I would like. I warm up the product by rubbing it on the back of my hand and then to my face, which really helps me apply it to the apple of cheeks or above my cheek bones. It's definitely best to apply with your fingers as the heat helps to blend the product into the skin.

Cosmic Coral - Mystic Moonlight

Colour

I picked up two out of the four colours available; Cosmic Coral which is my favourite. It's of course a pinky coral but has a lovely golden shimmer which I find really goes with tanned skin. I also picked up Mystic Moonlight which is a cool subtle highlighter in a muted pinky white colour but it's perhaps a little too light for my skin and isn't the best colour for darker tones.

There are two other colours available, Blazing Bronze, a typical cream bronzer and a Golden Glow, a yellow golden colour which I definitely do not like the look of.

At £3.75 a pop they aren't expensive and are nice products. They definitely aren't the best shimmer products out there and I think I prefer the much more expensive MAC MSF's to these but I really do recommend the the coral one! If you fancy trying one pick up your body shimmers here!

e.l.f HD Blush

I made a cheeky purchase on e.l.f (eyes, lips, face) the other day. For anyone that doesn't know. e.l.f is an american make up brand that is definitely on the cheaper end of your budget. It is sold in stores like Target and most products are under $5. Luckily for us here in the UK we can get our mitts on their products online. We don't have access to the full range but there are so many good products which don't break the bank. If you check out their Facebook page or sign up to an email subscription they have amazing offers; I got 48%s off and free shipping on my order!

There are a few different types of products; mineral based, the e.l.f basic collection and the studio line. Although a tad more expensive (yet still no more than £6 a product at full price) the studio line is the one to go for. It's clear that more effort has gone into this line and you won't be disappointed.

I may have gone a bit overboard with my order but I got lots of beautiful new make up goodies to share with you. Today's product: e.l.f's HD Blush

Packaging

 The packaging is lovely as it has a pump dispenser along with clear packaging so you can see how much you have left. Make sure you are super gentle with the pump; one whole pump and you will dispense enough blush to last you a week. At first I thought it was such a small bottle but now I realise why.

Formula

Research has told me this is a dupe of the Make Up For Ever HD Blushes (which I have never actually tried due to the price tag) this product is a liquid blush. It is a slightly watery formula but not really runny, I think the formula helps with application otherwise it would be too stiff to apply. After swatching this on my wrist I discovered it is best to apply a tiny amount on the back of the hand and then use a stippling brush to add it to the apples of the cheeks. I also tried applying it directly to my face but it is hard to get even coverage on both cheeks uses fingers. 

Colour

I opted for the colour Headliner which is a warm rose pink with a slight shimmer which disappears once on the cheek. There are two other colours available; Superstar, a coral pink which would look beautiful in the summer and Diva, a bright blued toned pink which I think would be amazing on really dark skin but perhaps a bit too bold for my taste. Headliner provides a lovely flush of colour which last for hours as they are so pigmented. The colour does stay on a lot longer with a primer (which I will review also as e.l.f do a fabulous one!) 

I really like this blusher as it is different from anything else I own. I find it a lot easier to apply than a cream blusher and has much more pigmentation than a powder based blusher. A winner in my book.

I'm going on holiday!

Images taken from Google.com

I'm so excited! I've booked a trip to Barcelona for in less than 4 weeks time! Me and my sister decided we needed to spend some time together just the two of us as even though we live in the same house our schedules clash like mad and we probably only have time for a conversation once a week! So it's time for a little adventure together....

I've never been to Barcelona before and I've always wanted to visit. We opted for this place over others as we didn't want to go on a beach holiday in March & be disappointed by the weather. We have the best of both worlds, lots of sights, great food and the beach if we desire.

I can't wait to get fresh juices and fruit from La Boquiera, look at the stained glass window in the Sagrada Familia and climb to the top of Mount Tibidabo. I think we will have such a ball. 

Basically I wrote this post because I need your help! If you have any restaurants, bars (we love us some cocktails) or sights which you recommend for us please can you comment below. I'm a big fan of finding things off the beaten track so the more unusual the better!

23 days to go (I promise I won't do a daily countdown)!

Quote 002

Today's quote is a simple one. People say love, laughter etc are the things to make a happy life and they are, but I do think life is too short not to do the above things.

Eat Well

I may not be the skinniest of my friends but I probably eat the cleanest. 80% of the time I really watch what I am putting in to my body, I try to cook meals from scratch and I probably only have chips once a month (which is hard as I love them). Healthy food doesn't need to be bland though and I am big on flavour. I thought I would give up my clean eating a week into the new year but it's now February and I'm still going strong and thoroughly enjoying it. 

This isn't to say I'm not bad. I love nothing more than going to a restaurant for a 3 course meal, maybe a cocktail or two and spending hours chatting away with friends. The other week me and 2 friends went to Café Rouge the other week, had some amazing food (Creme Brulée be mine), spent about 3 hours there gossiping and best of all I found an O2 Priority Moment so it only came to £20 each! I probably eat out about once a week but I go out clubbing a lot less now and would much rather get food in ma belly! 

Travel Often

I've been very lucky to have been on some amazing holidays throughout my life time (Carribean, Miami, Egypt to name a few) but the best thing about them are the memories. Now I'm older I don't really get to go away with my family as much as our schedules clash like crazy, although we are going to Rome in July! I've done the whole Magaluf and clubby holidays and wouldn't have changed that for the world. But now I have bigger fish to fry. I don't have a lot of money right now but am determined once I've got my finances in order to visit some amazing places and get some adventure! My list includes:

- Driving the Almafi Coast

- Road trip from Sydney to Melbourne

- Go to a Full Moon Party in Thailand

- See the Northern Lights in Iceland

- Rollerskate along Venice Beach

- Go to the carnival in Rio

- Interrail around Eastern Europe

There's about 100 other places and adventures I want and I know it's a long shot but it's something to aspire to. I'm not a backpacking kinda gal but I want to see the beautiful places of the world. The world isn't actually that big and I intend to explore it. I believe travel can help open your eyes to how beautiful life can be. You develop a better understanding of different cultures and become more well rounded. Most importantly I want to travel  more so one day I can share some amazing stories with my kids and grandkids one day!

25 things about me

 So to jump onboard with everyone else here's a few bits about me...

1. I have a phobia of cotton wool. I can use the pads and buds but I can't touch pure cotton wool. It makes me shiver, feel sick and I actually want to cry when I touch it.

2. I'm 5'10 and I wear high heels on nights out. So many lads with short man syndrome comment on my height as if it's a bad thing. I'm like I didn't ask you to chat to me and I didn't ask you to insult me because you are 5"8. Go away. If I was Taylor Swift or Adriana Lima (who are both 5"10) there wouldn't be a problem. Rant over. 

3. I am terrible at looking after my iPhone. I think I've gone through 3 in a 2 year contract and the one I have now is cracked.

4. I eat so many bananas I could qualify for a monkey.

5. I've lived in 3 countries, UK, Germany and Cyprus. I plan on living abroad at some point in my life again.

6. I went to an all girls school. I was a complete tomboy before I went there at 13 so was really a blessing in disguise or I doubt I would be writing this blog!

7. I have a bet with a friend. If she wins, I have to get hakuna matata tattooed on me. And I never back out of a bet.

8. My parents discussed what they were going to call me for ages with Tia, Kirsty & Miki being the favourites. Dad then signed my birth certificate Tanice without telling my Mum. Kirsty is my middle name!

9. Which is funny because I don't remember the last time my Dad called me Tanice. He always calls me Neicey.

10. My room is beach themed as I wish it was summer all year long and I being on a tropical beach!

11. I love cooking meals from scratch and if I have a day free love spending it in the kitchen with music blasting. It's my therapy.

12. I get overly emotional at animal programmes and am a massive animal fan. Penguins are my favourite.

13. In relation to 12. my two main travel goals in life are to go on safari and tour around Africa. I also want to road trip from Sydney to Melbourne and on the way visit Phillip Island to see the penguins and take in the beautiful coastline.

14. I love quiz shows especially The Chase & Eggheads. Everyone says I should apply as my general knowledge is quite vast but I think I'd get get too greedy!

15. My biggest pet peeve is lateness.

16. I'm a huge movie buff and have an Unlimited cinema card as it's one of my favourite things to do!

17. I'm a complete and utter party animal.

18. I was born with a Polydactyly, an extra digit on both my hands. It was soft tissue so they were removed (in the same way they take off your umbilical cord). I now have little stumps sticking out the side. I inherited them from my Dad so my kids will probably have them too!

19. I would rather drink sugar free apple and blackcurrant squash over fizzy drinks any day.

20. I love the magic of airports. I like to think of all the people going to beautiful places or returning home to loved ones. I think it's one rare place always filled with excitement, love and opportunity! I know, I'm so poetic.

21. I am a hopeless romantic.

22. I believe in the power of positivity and being paranoid and negative will only reflect badly on your life.

23.  I worked at Morrisons on during my time at Uni and still do a couple of hours a week alongside my main job now. I've made some amazing friends and we have such a laugh. If you are wondering, I work on the Kiosk/Customer Service Desk!

24.  My dream was to be a doctor (surgeon or heart specialist in particular) and I did my A Levels based on this. A Level Chemistry screwed me over though.

25. I thrive under pressure. 

Rimmel Apocalips

Colours (Left to right) - Nova, Stellar and Luna

As much as I love blogging, I like most other bloggers with an interest in make up, allow myself to be sucked into crazes and hypes. The thing is I trust other bloggers opinions more than I do a magazines (which is why the beauty blogging world is has such a great reach); if I find many a great review on one product I must possess it. Enter Rimmel Apocalips.

Liquid lipstick is a new concept for me, big colour mixed with high shine. I wouldn't fork out over £20 for a YSL Glossy Stain as I just wasn't sure if they were "me". I rarely go for bold lips as I'm scared the colour bleeding and I don't like the clown look. The choice of colours in the Apocalips range really called to me and I went to pick up one as they were £5.99 in Boots. I came out with three. Quelle surprise.

Packaging

I love the packaging, I feel it keeps with outer space kind of theme and I really love the names of the colours. I'm a huge space geek. The bottle of the tubes are clear so you can see how much product you have left. There's nothing worse than running out in the middle of the night out.

I like the applicator, it's kind of like a doe foot one but has a micro-reservoir in it which collects a lot of product so it's quick to apply. Application is easy as you can line the lips and fill them in easily. 

Colours

What drew me to these was the swatches I saw online. I've seen so many people moan that there isn't a lot of colour variety; I disagree. Eight colours is more than enough and apparently Rimmel have launched over colours abroad so maybe we will get them soon? Anyways I opted for Nova, a gorgeous blue toned pink, Stellar, a bright orangey red and finally Luna, a coral peach. I don't have a favourite as they are all great for different situations (Stellar is definitely a night lip where as Luna is a everyday colour). Celestial is next on my hit list. 

The Product

When you apply the product it does feel like you are actually painting your lip. Less than a minute later it feels lightweight and shiny without leaving a sticky residue like some lip gloss types. What I love is that they do stain your lips, so when the gloss goes away (after an hour or two) you are left with a subtle colour on your lips for around 5 hours!

I really love these liquid lipsticks and I think Rimmel have done well. Revlon was clearly leading in the lip stakes in the drug store world but now they have a run for their money. The thing is I can't pick a favourite; Rimmel Apocalips or Revlon Lip Butters. May have to get a few more before my vote is cast...

My Cold Saviours.

I've spent the last week sneezing uncontrollably, eyes watering like a tap and feeling really rubbish. Colds are one of those things we just have to get on with and ride through. Here's what I've been relying on the last week...

Steam Cream - I've been applying this nightly as it's enriched with vitamins and is really thick so sinks in throughout the night. 

Vichy Idealia Cream - I got this sample with a Glossybox and use it to put on dry spots on my face. It's quite a light moisturiser so best for day use. My skin is a complete mess at the moment and I'm avoiding make up so loading up on lots of moisturiser!

Bepanthen - My nose has been really sore from the constant tissue use and I keep rubbing my eyes when they water. This soothes my skin a little and gives a little bit relief!

Otrivine Nasal Spray - This is my hero product. I can't stand having a blocked nose it makes me so irate, a bit of this works wonders for a good couple of hours. I really recommend this if you are having trouble sleeping.

Halls Soothers - These are the only sore throat sweets I like although this has definitely been a sneezing cold!

Vita Coco Natural Coconut Water - This drink contains lots of natural electrolytes so helps to re-hydrate the body. I've totally lost my appetite so need 

Kleenex Balsam Tissues - The best tissues ever. They are so kind to your nose. I lurvvve them.

Origins Super Spot Remover - For some reason I have broken out like a bitch with this cold on my forehead which is really rare for me. Hoping continue use of this will help calm my skin down. If not, well it's not like I'm leaving the house anytime soon. 

Other things I think help make colds a bit more bearable:

Hot water bottles

Oranges (for Vitamin C)

Tea (with an unhealthy amount of biscuits)

Fluffy dressing gowns

Hot showers (I take one in the morning & one before bed & it really helps)

A dash of baileys in hot chocolate before bed helps me to sleep quicker

Good TV programmes

I'm off to make a mug of tea and settle down to Mr. Selfridge. If someone could send a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts to me I would be eternally grateful...