Makeup Tutorial - sophisticated red lip

hello! It's been ages since I've blogged so from now on I'm just gonna blog when I feel like it, planned and scheduled things never work out for me! Today is a makeup tutorial for this look:

 1. I washed my face with the Neutrogena blackhead eliminating facial scrub and moisturised with the Neutrogena oil free moisturiser
2. I concealed my undereyes and any blemishes with the Rimmel London "hide the blemish" concealer in the shade 103 Soft Honey and blended it with a dense blending brush.
3. I used my Loreal True Match foundation in the colour Vanilla Rose and applied it using my Real Techniques angled foundation brush
4. I bronzed my face all over using the Bourjois Paris "delice de poudre" in the colour 51 medium with a Real Techniques blusher brush
5. I applied my natural collection blush in the colour "peach melba" on the apples of my cheeks and swooped up across my cheekbone using the same real techniques blush brush
6. My eyebrows are already quite dark but I filled them in slightly using a matte eyeshadow from my Sleek au naturel palette in the colour Bark
7. I applied the colour "nougat" from the same eyeshadow platte which is just an off white/cream colour using my finger to pat it on, you can use the sponge applicator it comes with if you wish.
8. I then opened my eyes, looked straight ahead and applied the colour moss from the same palette using the applicator it came with, very gently and precisely, a short swipe from the outer corner inwards, and just in and slightly above the crease of my eye (I have slightly hooded lids) I then took a revlon soft fluffy blending brush and softly blended it out.
9. I then used my Loreal Super liner and did a thin line across my upper lash line, opened my eyes and traced a wing upwards, then went over the same line on the way down and joined it to the lash line like you see in the picture (triangular appearance)
10. I then applied my benefit "they're real!" mascara to the top and bottom lashes. Do not add a pencil eyeliner on the bottom waterline or do anything to the bottom waterline to make it too dark. I would recommend using a white pencil if you want to make your eyes appear wider and brighter and to give a very sixties feel to the look, however I just left it natural.
11. LIPS - a key part to the look. I strongly recommend outlining and filling in your lips with a lip liner to ensure your lipstick lasts all day. I used the MUA lip liner in the colour brooding plum (dunno why it says plum - its a gorgeous darkish cherry red) You can put a lipstick over the top if you like but it looks nice matte too. I used no7 red lipgloss and MUA lipstick.

FINISHED. Enjoy looking like a sexy senorita!!

Sunkissed Summer Tag!

hi guys, I am SO sorry I didn't post on Sunday...again. Life has been so hectic! Need to get on top of my blogging game. I am going on holiday for 2 weeks this Sunday to the beautiful Greek island of Kefalonia, it is my favourite place in the world and I'll do a blog post on it when I get back. But just a heads up why I wont be posting. Today I'm doing the sunkissed summer tag and will be answering some questions about my summer! I got this tag from Ingrid or missglamorazzi on youtube. You can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7cDceWVP74

I mixed up the questions and added some of my own, lets goooo

1. What is your song of the summer?
My song of the summer is Afterglow by Wilkinson. This is such a feel good song and it makes me think of summer. The link is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9QGpHScGug check it out! The music video is pretty cool too

2. Do you tan or burn?
Fortunately I tan!! (yaaay) I very rarely burn thanks to my mums side of the family who have very olive skin naturally, however if I do burn it is always on my cheekbones. They are the part of my body that is exposed to the sun the most (again; thanks to my mums high cheekbone gene being passed to me)

3. What is your summer makeup look?
I never wear makeup when I'm abroad as I'm always in and out of the water and beach life would make me look like a clown, however in the evenings when we go out to dinner I wear very light makeup. Just concealer in problem areas and some mascarra and lip balm.

4. Beach or the pool?
BEACH all day everyday baby

5. Favourite summer drink?
My dad's ice coffee frappuccino's. Whenever we're abroad my dad will always make ice coffee frappuccino's using coffee, sugar, water, ice and evaporated milk. I have no idea in what order or how, but it tastes better than starbucks!

6. Favourite summer food? 
Greek Salad!! I love Greek salad as it only contains the basics. Cucumber, tomato and onions with the Greek extras; olives, feta cheese, and olive oil. I never eat the leafy, lettuce parts of ordinary salads so this is perfect for me. It is also very fresh and light - perfect for a hot summer day.

7. How do you wear your hair in summer?
Almost always up. Ponytail, messy bun, fishtail plait. Anything where my hair is out of my way. Swimming in swimming pools with long hair feels disgusting as the chlorine sticks to it, and its annoying trying to swim when it's in your face. Plus, sweat and long hair don't mix well.

8. Favourite summer bronzing/tanning product?
I LOVE Johnson's Holiday skin lotion. You can buy it in day or night but I love the night version. Put it on like a normal body lotion in the evening, it comes out white with a slight cocoa/popcorn smell. Rub it all over your body and wake up the next morning with an ever so slight gradual tan. The more frequently you apply it, the tanner you are. Natural bronzed effect, not orange at all and no streaks (because it's technically not a fake tan) Marvellous stuff.

9. Shade or sun? 
I love the sun, but I don't know how people can sit under a blazing hot sun and stay there, bathing in their own sweat for a whole day. I prefer to stay in the shade, with quick 10 minute bursts of sun. Also, if you want a good tan quickly, spend a lot of time in the pool. The water reflects the sun onto your body, giving you a nice, even tan without sweating your weight in water. But don't forget the sun cream!

10. Favourite ice cream? 
My favourite ice cream combo is a scoop of chocolate and a scoop of banana, yum!

Well that's it for today, hope you enjoyed this post. Be sure to do your own summer tag and link me so I can see it and I'll follow your blog!

See you in two weeks time (maybe)

Peace Out Losers!

A x

Nail Art

hello, sorry I didn't post this Sunday, it was a busy weekend as I had my prom. Posts will continue as normal now :)

I'm not really one to go all arty farty fancy on my nails because it takes time, skill, tools and patience that I don't have. However, now I've left school and have more time on my hands I am starting to venture out and experiment. 

This is the easiest and most effective nail art I have ever come across, I love it and I'm gonna teach you how to do it.

1. I painted my nails with collection's mardis gras line in the colour "white out" I used this as a base coat 

2. I used an RCH nail polish in an indigo blue colour and brushed random strokes over my nail. Approx 3/4 dots each nail 

3. next I used a second purple/pink colour from RCH and did the same thing again, overlapping the blue dots slightly and filling a few gaps 

4. finally I used a pastel blue polish by sinful colours in the colour "sugar rush" only about 2/3 dots of this colour over the top 

TIPS: 

you can fill the whole nail with dots or leave it so you can still see some white coming through. I preferred the look when you could still see the white but it's purely personal preference.

you can use heavy blobs to get a more dotted look like this: 

(different colours I know) 

or you can use dashes like I did, like this:

(these are the colours mentioned in written steps)

or you can blend it all together using some cling film wrapped over your finger and smudge it like this: 

I used many different colour schemes as you can see and you can mix and match different colours and use whatever you like it will still have a great effect. 

you can use the design on one nail, every other nail or all of them. I decided to paint them all. 

I hope you enjoyed this post! see ya Sunday

Peace Out Losers!

A x

HOW TO SURVIVE HIGHSCHOOL 101

hello, I just "graduated" from highschool or secondary school as we say in the UK, this summer, and I thought now would be the perfect time to do a little how-to video on surviving highschool or college or uni or wherever you're off to next.

Highschool can be a very stressful and difficult time for many people. I am very lucky in that my highschool experience wasn't too bad, but nonetheless there was some very low lows and some very high highs and I'm going to give you the low down on how to survive.. lets gooo

tip #1 Make new friends all the time - make new friends whenever and however you can. In highschool you can never have too many friends, and your entire high school experience will be a lot more enjoyable if you have a good group of friends to share your experiences with. Smile at people in the corridor, talk to that girl who looks lonely and make a new friend. Join a sports club, arts club; whatever sparks your interest and meet people who share the same interests as you. I was stupid because I didn't join any clubs as I had no interest in sports, and although creative, artsy stuff interests me, I didn't think I was 'into it' enough to join a club. But if this is you, don't worry about it and go for it!

tip #2  If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. With highschool, especially if you're a girl, comes a lot of bitchiness and drama. DO NOT get sucked into it. If you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all as my mum taught me. Always be nice to people and try to keep the peace. I hate getting into arguments and not talking to people, so I am very quick to forgive and apologise even if it's not my fault. I do not recommend doing this as people can take advantage of you but always be nice to people whenever you can and think before you speak. Please keep in mind that no matter how nice you are to people, there will always be others who aren't nice back to you.

tip #3 LISTEN IN CLASS EVEN IF ITS A SUPPLY AND DONT BE THAT ANNOYING KID WHO WON'T SHUTUP IN CLASS. We've all had those days where we walk into class, its a rainy or hot Friday afternoon and you just cannot be arsed with maths or science or geography and you just switch off. As hard as it is, don't do that. Try your hardest to stay alert and listen to whats being said, even if its a supply/cover teacher and don't be that annoying kid that won't shut up and that keeps distracting others. Believe me, it will help you out in the long run.

tip #4 this kinda ties in with the previous tip but REVISE AND DO YOUR HOMEWORK ON TIME GODDAMMIT. Nobody likes revising or doing extra work when you've just got home from a week of school but hey thats the education system and we just gotta do it or we won't pass the class so; do your homework. Every little helps, do what you plan to do tomorrow, today and you'll get a lot more done that way I promise. It all adds up in the end and you'll thank your past self that you stopped watching reruns of America's Next Top Model and got up off your ass and did some work.

tip #5 Enjoy yourself! As much as we have to do work, take some time off every now and then and go out to parties, dance and have fun with your friends! This time in your life is so important and is the prime opportunity to have fun. I know from when I was at highschool so many of my friends declined invitations to go out because they stayed in working for like 10 hours a day. It's unhealthy and actually decreases your productivity if you don't take some time off. 2 hours per night of good revision is more than enough. You don't need to spend so much time revising, and you'll regret not going to that party when you see all the pictures the next morning.

tip #6  Take care of yourself dude! High school is a time when everyone matures and things start to happen. Just remember to embrace these changes. Take good care of yourself, wash, moisturise, brush your hair, eat well, keep your skin healthy and make an effort with how you look. Dress how you want to dress, wear makeup if you want to (but dear god please learn how to put it on properly, less is more, don't use it as a mask!) Be confident in your own skin, love yourself, take as many damn selfies as you want and don't care about what people think, don't give your body away to just anybody, accept your flaws and know that you are beautiful regardless and mean it. Don't compare yourself to others as you are your own person. "the reason people have low self esteem is because they compare their behind the scenes clips to everyone else's highlight reel"

tip #7  Do not worry about love and boyfriends pls pls pls if you're just starting off highschool then just no stop right there. You do not need to be worrying about finding your future husband at 11 years old, go play videogames and eat haribos at your friends house believe me you'll have so much more fun. And if you're in your last years of high school at 15/16 or even if you're single at college or uni it can be hard seeing your mates get together with long term partners when you're by yourself. You may feel worthless or not pretty enough because you still haven't found someone, or you may be in the middle of a break up or recovering from one. I'm still struggling with this one myself and I should probably take my own advice but pls don't worry about it. Don't waste your time crying over assholes or longingly wanting someone you can't have or feeling miserable that you're alone. Your time will come and you will find someone worth waiting for. Just concentrate on living your life for now. I love this quote... "someday, someone is going to look at you with a light in their eyes you've never seen. They'll look at you like you're everything they've been searching for their entire lives. Wait for it."

This was very very long I do apologise but I hope this helped some of you out, and I hope you liked this post as it's something a little different. Hope you enjoyed it, see you on Sunday!

Peace Out Losers!

A x

Favourites

hello! today I'm going to be sharing my favourite things. I've included just about everything so hopefully there's something for everyone, enjoy!

first off I have my favourite trio:

1. miss sporty metal fluid nail polish - £1.99 

I love this nail polish, from when I first saw it I was drawn in by the unusual colours and it reminded me of a kind of grunge alien or an oil spill. When I put it on I wasn't disappointed as it stayed true to the colour it looked in the bottle. Not everyone's cup of tea but definitely mine. 

2. benefit "they're real!" mascara - £19.50

a bit on the pricey side, this is actually my mums but I love it! it really adds length and volume and makes your eyelashes look like you have natural looking false lashes on! It stays on FOREVER. This stuff is like cement but doesn't feel heavy at all. However it is a killer to get off, take that as a pro or a con!

3. loreal paris true match foundation in the shade vanilla rose - £9.99

I love this foundation. I got it a while back as the lady at boots told me it's very good for what I wanted. I had no idea about the hype about this foundation from makeup artists and beauty bloggers, I don't think she knew either. I've seen this featured in a lot of tutorials especially Lauren Curtis on YouTube. It has good coverage but feels very light and soft, like you have nothing on at all!

 4. Gilly Hicks hand and body cream - I have no idea how much this is but I remember I was surprised at the price as it was quite reasonable. I was expecting a lot for such a well known 'designer' brand. I'd say somewhere around the £10 mark but don't quote me. This smells gorgeous, very sweet, berry kind of smell. I love it because it's very moisturising and the smell lasts all day

5. Victoria's Secret body mist in pure seduction, red plum and freesia. - £11

this smells so fresh, sweet, berry smelling with some floral notes. I love the scent, it does last a long time but the the scent isn't as strong at the end of the day, and you can only smell it if your nose is literally on your skin and you think hard about trying to smell it haha. But I just love the scent so much and that's why it's here :)

6. paisley fabric shorts from primark - £4

recently I've been really loving fabric shorts and trousers and wearing dresses. I feel more free and comfortable than when I wear restricting denim jeans and shorts. With my "petite pear" shape body (I know, very exotic) my rather larger backside and thighs are very uncomfortable in stiff fabrics so I bought this. I love the colours and paisley pattern and it was only £4! good old primark.

7. chunky heeled, strappy leather shoes with buckle, new look - £25

I love these shoes. I don't really spend much money on shoes, even though I do love them, I tend to wear converse, wedges at parties and the odd flat now and then so I thought I'd venture out into the world of classy every day heels (I feel like a grown up oooh) and they're very cute and just the right amount of both edgy and girly, perfect.

 8. lace tassle kimono from Primark -£7

I'm loving kimonos right now along with everyone else and I just think they're the perfect accessory to any outfit, just gives it that extra oomph. This one in particular has quite a Kylie Jenner-esque to it which I love.

something a bit more random now at number 9. Nesquik chocolate milkshake powder. Recently I've been loving chocolate milkshake, I always have but I'm just rediscovering it. Especially tasty with a dash of cream. Yum

10. Checkmate by Malorie Blackman. 

This particular book is not my favourite, I love the whole Noughts and Crosses series but this is the only one I own. A very emotional, deep book about a world where blacks are crosses and whites are noughts. Noughts being the poorer, discriminated race and Crosses being the rich superior race. The racism tables turned upside down, a love story of a young cross; Persephone/Sephy, and a young nought Callum,the dangers of going against society, racism  and the difference of the classes. This is so gripping I just could not put them down. So emotional though I just can't bear to read it again! This series of books was mentioned in my first intro post. Seriously recommend. Please note it says at the back that this is not suitable for younger readers, and I agree. Contains strong violence and strong sexual references. 14+

11. AM - Arctic Monkeys

I've been loving this album. A grungy feel to it, very mellow at times and strong baselines throughout. My favourite songs are R U Mine, Why'd you only call me when you're high? and Do I Wanna Know. As my dad said "it makes me feel like I'm a sassy solider about to go to battle,  makes me want to kick the cat or something"  There you go! 

12. The 1975 - The 1975

Their debut album and I love it. Unusual sound, some very mellow, some make me want to dance. Very edgy/hipstery. My favourite songs are: Chocolate, Sex, Heart Out, She Way Out, Settle Down, Girls. 

Hope you enjoyed all of that! See you on Wednesday!

Peace Out Losers,

A x

Honey I Washed The Kids - REVIEW

This post is early, as I'm a bit busy this week and won't have time to post on Wednesday, and I actually might start posting twice a week now. Anyway, hello again and welcome to my second blog post.

I have heard many good things about the LUSH products from various other bloggers and youtubers. Slightly put off by the prices, I have never actually taken the plunge and bought anything from there. It usually takes multiple trips to LUSH, browsing, comparing products for the better value for money etc and so I decided to stop being such a stingy so and so and actually buy something. I have bought one other product from LUSH before, the creamy candy bubble bar, and actually quite enjoyed it. It was a shame that I only got 2 baths out of it but it was good for the price. This time I scoured the interweb searching for the best product out there that I could reuse and would last me a long time whilst still being good quality, I found the Honey I Washed The Kids soap.

This soap cost me £4.69 for a hundred and thirty something grams which is a tad on the pricey side but I hoped it would be worth it as it smells delicious and I had the impression it would be very creamy and moisturising. I wouldn't say it smelled of honey but definitely a strong caramel/toffee scent. The first thing I discovered when researching was that this lil fucker melts FAST. So I was one step ahead before I used it and cut a slice off to use instead of taking the whole soap in and watching my £4.69 melt down the plughole. This is the size I used in the shower. (it probably wasn't enough)

Before I review it here's what LUSH have to say about the product:

A caramel scented soap that lifts your mood and soothes and softens skin. Gentle enough to wash young skins, its like washing with crème brûlée in solid form. This soap contains mood-brightening sweet wild orange and bergamot oils as well as the soothing properties of honey and aloe vera gel.

I got in the shower and the first thing I found out was that soap is difficult to use in the shower. It was very hard to hold and rub on my body without it dropping on the floor and me nearly falling over trying to pick it up again before it melted into nothingness. The second thing I found was that it was very difficult to lather and not many bubbles came from it which made it difficult to determine whether I was using it correctly or not. This may be because where I live I have fairly hard water, maybe it would lather better in areas with soft water I don't know. The third thing I found was that it created this very unpleasant squeaky clean feeling, my skin felt very tight, rubbery and squeaky and I didn't feel very moisturised at all. However when I got out of the shower and dried off, my skin did feel quite soft but I didn't feel overly luxurious and clean. Finally, the thing I was most disappointed at was that I did not smell of the soap AT ALL. After smelling my arms, legs, everywhere, the only place I could detect a faint caramel smell was my hands, where I had been holding it. Very very disappointed.

It was such a shame as I had heard so many great things about this soap but it just didn't work for me. Maybe I didn't use enough and I should cut more off/ take the whole soap in with me next time? I was a bit of a LUSH virgin and was a tad scared to do anything too rash with little experience. So if anyone has any suggestions about how I should use this soap in the future or if I am doing anything wrong it would be much appreciated. My next purchase from LUSH will probably be the Brightside bubble bar as it is huge like the Comforter and I would get so many baths out of it, plus it smells and looks divine. I didn't like the smell of the Comforter or Blue skies and fluffy white clouds so I'm so glad that they've added another bubble bar to this similar range. I can't wait to try it! If you have any recommendations from LUSH I would love to know.

Thanks for reading this post and see you next Wednesday, I will also be posting on Sundays now too. 

Peace Out Losers

A x 

Introduction & About Me

Hello, so I have decided to start a blog! After reading a lot of peoples blogs myself without actually having an account I really enjoyed reading their posts and wanted to officially follow them so I could keep updated automatically. Then I thought "blogging looks fun, I might start my own" so here we are! My very first blog post.

First of all I should start by saying what my blog is about, and I think I'll just do a bit of everything. Fashion, beauty, reviews, favourites, regrets, hauls, tutorials (maybe) and every so often a post on a big topic that's going on at the moment, or a positivity/confidence/empowerment post. Just for something a little different. 

For my first post I thought it would be appropriate to do an "about me" Q&A type post just to get to know me and whether you actually like me enough to read my blog (oh dear) so here goes!

Full Name? Amy Rose Picknell

Age? 16

D.O.B? 10/06/98

Where do you live? Essex, England

Favourite Subject? English and Biology

Favourite Drink? chocolate milkshake

Favourite Song at the moment? R U Mine or Why'd you only call me when you're high by Arctic Monkeys

What would you name your kids? Boys: Ben or Sam, Girls: Mia, Emily, Alice the list goes on

Play any sports? lol no

Favourite Book/s? Noughts and Crosses Trilogy by Malorie Blackman they're so gripping and amazing I couldn't put them down, but so sad I just can't read them again!!

Favourite Colour? Pastel Pink, Dark Red or Dark Purple/Blue (you can probably guess by my blog)

Favourite Animal? CATS

Favourite Season? Autumn and Summer

What countries have you been to?  America, Australia, (I think I went to New Zealand for like a weekend when I went to Australia but I can't remember) Malaysia and Singapore (too young to remember what it was like) Egypt, Greece and Germany. 

Can you speak any languages? German kinda, I can have a conversation in French and say the odd word in Spanish. And English...of course

Favourite Movies? Jumanji, Aladdin, Father of the bride 1&2, My Fair Lady and probably The Fault In Our Stars as I'm seeing it tonight

Favourite Youtubers? Zoella, Sprinkleofglitter, TanyaBurr, JimChapman, ItsKingsley, ilikeweylie, TylerOakley, PsychoSoprano, JoshuaDTV

Favourite TV Shows? BBC Sherlock (of course my first love) and I'm on season 2 of 9 of supernatural BUT I AM ALREADY IN LOVE ESPECIALLY WITH DEAN WINCHESTER/ JENSEN ACKLES OHMYGOD ITS NOT HEALTHY

Celeb Crushes: AS I JUST MENTIONED JENSEN ACKLES, James Mcavoy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Audrey Hepburn, Jenna Mcdougall, Hayley Williams, Sienna Miller, Kylie Jenner

So I hope that you now know me a little better and I hope you'll enjoy my posts and I'll be posting every Wednesday :) 

Peace Out Losers 

A   x