February Beauty Favourites 2012

I do not have a lot of new favourites this month I'm afraid, as I'm still loving the products mentioned in my January Beauty Favourites.  But I thought I'd still share a couple of things that I've been particularly enjoying this month.

I've been a lot more minimalist with my makeup lately and I've been trying to achieve a more natural glow.  Blusher is one product that I feel can achieve this as it really helps to warm the skin.  Usually I go for Mac's Melba blush for a more natural cheek, however this month I've been reaching for Estee Lauder's Tender Blush in Rose Wood (No 13) which is a rosey/mauve colour.  Unfortunately this blush has been discontinued but you might still be able to find it or one similar to it.   

Rose Wood is on the left

This compact came as part of a Christmas limited edition gift set a couple of years ago.  This is a matte blusher which is fairly pigmented and gives a nice warm flush to the cheeks and is perfect for Winter.  It is always worth keeping an eye out for Estee Lauder compacts as this is perfect for travelling with as it comes with a decent sized mirror, two blushes, a bronzer and a brush (although I never use these brushes it's always good to have for touch ups).

My next favourite is an eye look which I have been wearing almost every day throughout February.  All the eye shadows can be found in the Urban Decay Naked Palette (probably my favourite palette of all time).  I start by priming my eyes with Two Faced Shadow Insurance and then add a small amount of Mac's Bare study Paint Pot over the top,  I use both of these as they help to keep my eye shadows in place all day as well as enhancing the colour.  I then apply Sin all over the lid and blend Naked just above the crease.  I then take a small amount of Buck and blend it into the outer corner, feathering inwards a long the crease. 

L-R
Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecare, Buck

Sometimes if I want a more subtle eye I will leave it and just use Virgin to highlight the brow bone and inner corner of the eye.  However if I want to add a little more depth, I take Smog (a beautiful bronze colour) and put a small amount in the outer corner and feather lightly along the outer crease.  I then line the outer half of the lower lash line to give the look more intensity.


L-R
Buck, Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted

 Below are some swatches of the main four shadows that I use.


L-R
Buck, Naked, Sin, Smog

This eye combination works beautifully with my brown eyes however I think it would be suitable for all eye colours as well.  I love this palette and at the moment I tend to be reaching for it on a daily basis and ignoring all of my other eye shadows, which I must stop doing as I have so many others.  But the Urban Decay shadows are brilliant as they are so pigmented and are really easy to blend - why would I want to use anything else?
If I've not been using Mac's Tinted Lip Conditioner in Petting Pink (as mentioned in my January Beauty Favourites) then I've tended to gravitate towards the following lip combination.  I apply Mac's Creme Cup lipstick (which is a cremesheen finish) lightly over the lips and then apply Mac's Baby Sparks Dazzleglass over the top.  I use to love Dazzleglasses and I have quite a few of them, however this is the only colour that I seem to use now as it is a wearable baby pink (with pink and blue shimmer/glitter) without having too much glitter like some of the others.  As I'm getting older, I've started to like a more natural but glossy lip.  This lip combination works brilliant for day or night and can be paired with either a natural eye or one that is slightly more dramatic, so for me this is perfect.

This swatch was taken without a flash so I'm afraid it is not great but it gives you an idea of what the colours look like.  As you can see from the picture below, the lipgloss is fairly thick and it is very sticky so if you don't like that feeling on your lips then I would avoid this, however the plus side is that it does last longer on the lips so you don't have to keep reapplying it.

My last beauty favourite for February is Sudocrem.  Recently I've had the odd blemish on my face and so I've been reaching for this product and applying it over any redness at night before I go to bed.  The next morning, the blemish has either completely gone or become significantly smaller with hardly any redness left.  A true winner and something that I will constantly repurchase and use time and time again.

Other non-beauty favourites this month have been Cath Kidston.  I've really discovered their products this month and currently I have a long list of things that I would like to get.  I also have a review of one of their changing bags coming up in a future post so look out for that. If you like floral prints with a countryside flair then you will probably love her things, I know I do.  They sell a variety of things from clothing, accessories as well as things for the home and more so it is definitely worth checking out if you haven't already. 

 

My other favourite this month has been American TV shows.  I have especially been loving Ringer at the moment as well as The Secret Circle and Hart of Dixie.  Also previous favourites such as Gossip Girl, Greys Anatomy and Vampire Diaries have just returned to our screens following a mid-season break.  Our Sky box at the moment is looking rather full from all the shows that I've been recording, but as our nights are mostly spent in looking after Olivia, it gives us something to watch.  Plus Phil doesn't mind watching them either which is a bonus for me.

 

I've been loving some more products this month, but as it was towards the end of February I thought that I would include them in next months beauty favourites.  So you will just have to wait until then to find out what they are.

 

Finally a new phone - Introducing the iPhone 4S

I've had my current phone (iPhone 3GS which I love) ever since it was released in the UK in 2009.  To be honest I didn't really need a new phone as mine still looked brand new (I always ensured that it was kept in a case when I had it in my bag), and my phone had the latest software from updating it with itunes.  Did I really need a new one?  Probably not, although there's now was two small cracks appearing at the base of the phone where you put the charger in, plus I was able to get an upgrade so why not.

On phoning O2 I was told that I would have to pay £100 for the latest iPhone 4S (a price that I was not willing to pay).  I knew I could get the phone free for the same amount I am currently paying so I said those all important words "I'd like to cancel my contract".  I quickly got transferred to a young guy (in fact I have no idea how old he was, he just sounded young and unfortunately I can't remember his name) who asked why I wanted to leave.  I said that the sales team had said that I would have to pay for the phone to upgrade and I knew I could get it free else where (or words to that effect) and he simply replied "let me see what I can do...I have more flexibility with what we can offer".  The guy certainly did, as within minutes I had agreed to a new contract staying with them for 24 months (paying the same that I am right now) and obtaining the phone I wanted for free - Woo hoo!  I probably could have paid less each month or had a shorter contract, but to be honest I was more than happy with the arrangement. 

I was told the phone would be delivered within 2-3 working days.  So imagine my surprise when less than 24 hours later the phone arrived on my door step. Huge happy face :)

Now I know everyone has probably seen this phone plenty of times and perhaps you even have it, but just in case here's mine. 

The phone was easy to install.  I just connected it to my existing itunes and synced all the data.  I haven't played around with all the new features just yet but I currently am loving the Sky Go app which allows me to watch movies and sport on my phone and the new camera allows me to take even better quality photos of Olivia which for me is really important as she seems to be growing up so quickly that I want to capture every moment.  iCloud is also a great feature as it allows you to back up all the information of your phone as well as syncing it to your computer via wifi - very handy.

I should also state that over the last three years O2 have been great and I have never experienced any problems with them.  That isn't to say that you won't, just that so far they have been very good for me.

As a treat, I bought myself a new case for my phone (plus my previous case was rather dirty).  I looked at so many different ones on line and to start with I considered buying a hard case, but to be honest I really liked my old case which was a pouch.  I saw the following one in the Cath Kidston store in Bluewater and I couldn't resist it, I thought it was so cute.  It is made of oil cloth so it can easily be wiped down if it gets dirty.  They do different prints but I chose the Victoria Rose phone case which was £15 (must cheaper than other phone cases I had seen which were about £25).  I also liked the strap (which is used to remove the phone) as it fastens over the top of your phone with velcro, so it can't come out.

What phone do you currently have?  It seems to be that you are either a Blackberry fan or an iPhone fan.  What are you?  It is quite clear that I am an iPhone fan and I can't see myself changing any time soon. 

Love is in the air - Valentines Day 2012

I love Valentines Day - especially as my husband is a true romantic at heart and always likes to do some sort of surprise for me, and this year was no different.

I woke up to my husband bringing me a dozen red roses, a cup of tea and my favourite blueberry muffin. That's certainly a great way to start the day!

We then exchanged our cards and gifts.  Since we have been together, Phil and I do not have any photo albums of us together except for our Wedding album.  In October 2010 we got burgled and one of the things that was taken was our camera along with all our photos (yes, we were that stupid that we hadn't backed all of them up).  I had uploaded our honeymoon photos and a few others, but so many were lost.  I decided that it was about time we had some photo albums to keep.  Using Snapfish I decided to create two photo books - one of our honeymoon and the other of a trip to Eurodisney.  I thought it was something that we could both enjoy.  The books were really easy to create and the end product was brilliant - I'll definitely use them again.  So now we have two hard back books to start our collection off and the plan is to create more books in the future of holidays and special occasions.  I'm already starting to collect photos for a book of Olivia's first year.  Phil had no idea about the photo books and couldn't believe how amazing they turned out and is so pleased that we finally have some photos of us.

Recently I have become rather obsessed with all things Cath Kidson (as you will see soon in future posts) and Phil knew that I liked one of their bags.  I have a gorgeous Louis Vuitton which is currently my every day bag (it was an anniversary present), however I wanted a bag that I could wear across the body especially for when Olivia starts to become more active and I need both my hands free.  I also wanted a bag for the summer months and one that wouldn't get ruined if Olivia had sticky fingers.  When I saw this bag I thought it was perfect and Phil bought it for me as a Valentines present.

I liked the fact that the strap was adjustable so it could be worn as a shoulder bag or across the body.  It also has a zip pocket inside as well as a pocket on the front and a clasp at the front so that the bag remains closed.  Like most of Cath Kidston's bags they are made of oil cloth which means that they can easily be wiped down.

That wasn't the end of my treats though, as Phil had also planned a surprise for the rest of the day.  He had arranged for Olivia to be looked after by Grandma and Grandad (Phil's parents, mine are Nanny and Grandpa).  We then took a long drive in the car whilst I tried to guess where we were going (he took a rather long route to our final destination so that I couldn't tell where we were going).  In the end we arrived at Bluewater (one of my favourite places to go and not too far away from Olivia).  We ate at Yo Sushi!, (a place that we had both wanted to try but hadn't had the opportunity to) and thoroughly enjoyed it.  We sat at the bar and watched all the dishes go past - which they did, as by the time I had worked out what something was, it was gone and I had to wait for it to come past again.  Still it was fun!

We then headed towards the cinema and on collecting the tickets I discovered that we were going to see "The Woman in Black".  This is a film that I had been wanting to see for some time as I love the stage version (which I had seen many times as I teach it for GCSE Drama).  Phil on the other hand had not been too keen as he hadn't quite recovered from seeing the stage version.  I don't think he had quite forgiven me for making him sit in the aisle seat. 



I really enjoyed the film (although the stage version is better) but I can't quite believe that it is a 12a as on several occasions I jumped and at times had to look away.  It is reported that they had to remove 60 seconds of footage in order to make it a 12a and not a 15 (it is believed that they wanted to lower the rating to appeal to more of Daniel Radcliffe's fans as a result of his success in the Harry Potter films).  The ending was also different to the stage version and I keep changing my mind over which ending I prefer. 

After watching quite an upsetting film about children dying, Phil and I were desperate to see Olivia (especially as it was the longest we had been away from her) and headed back to the Grandparents.  After we had lifted our spirits from having several cuddles, we headed out for dinner to a Mexican restaurant.  When we first arrived the restaurant was quite quiet, but as the night progressed and it got busier, it started to remind us of the film "Valentines Day" when Anne Hathaway's character is on a date with Topher Grace and the restaurant is so packed that they are sat right next to other strangers, so much so that you could hear every word that they were saying.  At this point we quickly paid and headed back to collect Olivia and go home.

I truly had a wonderful Valentines Day especially as Phil had arranged for us to see a film that he did not want to see at all but knew that I really did.  That to me is love.  But as it was the first time since Olivia was born that we were able to have a date and spend quality time together it really was an amazing day.  I love Olivia so much, but I realise now more than ever how important it is to ensure that Phil and I have time together on our own.  Valentines Day may be fun, but it is only one day after all, so we try to keep the romance throughout the rest of the year as well and so far it seems to be working.