A Few Old Photo's

I was just having a little clear out on my laptop, deleting things and just moving things into the right folder as you do, and I found some of my old college portfolio work. I thought I'd share a few photos with you, I love some of these photo's and they have some amazing memories for me. I know, the make up and art on them are not perfect and that I could do a lot better now but I love knowing I can look back at them and see how much I've improved. Please let me know what you think? :).

All of the above photo's were taken during my training and learning to become a make up artist. 

The last photo is a little patriotic because the Olympic closing ceremony is on right now!
Well Done Team GB! 

I Went A Little Crazy..

Everyone knows when payday comes around it's treat time! But this month I went a little overboard, and yes two of the things are presents from my boyfriend, but I still did go way overboard then I should have done. Ooopsie! But it's okay because I've justified it in my head, it's for my holiday! One of my cheapest and best purchases is my N.Y.C Colour Wheel, it was only £1 but works better then any bronzer I've ever had! :}.

What I went a little overboard on. I'm not going to lie though, I regret nothing! Some of it was from Poundland so I can't really be that mad at myself. One of my bargain buys of the day is my Benefit lipstick in Ruby Vibes which is the most perfect red-ish colour for me! And it was only £3.99, you gotta love TK Maxx sometimes! My boyfriend also got me 'Kate' by Kate Moss from TK Maxx, it's been one of my favourite perfumes for years and it was only £9.99! Bargain!

One of my favourite purchases, a mineralize blush in Ring of Saturn. It's a gorgeous peachy bronzey colour and will look amazing with a tan! I really can't wait for my holiday! Eeeep! From the Heavenly Creature Colour collection at Mac now. RRP: £19.00 

I've been using this everyday since I have bought it, and I'm actually in love with it! This is Supernova and is a beautiful glowy pink colour. You have to be really careful with this otherwise you will end up looking like a clown! From the same collection as Ring of Saturn. RRP: £19.00

You might call me crazy, but yes this is my first ever piece of Topshop make up! It's a cream blush, in the colour Flush. Another something for my holiday aha, well for everyday. It's such a lovely colour and blends like a dream! Already have others on my list to get! RRP: £6.00

I've been looking for something quirky for an above the knuckle ring. Something that I'd feel comfortable in as well. I found this nail ring in Topman and thought to myself, I do not know of any male who would ever wear this, but it fits perfectly as an above the knuckle ring and was only £4.00! I was so happy when I found it and has become one of my favourite pieces to wear everyday!

If you know anywhere to get cute above the knuckle rings from please let me know?

Prairie Charms | Review

I was recently contacted by an online jewellery company, Prairie Charms to take part in their Project Blogger Collaboration month, which means that any blogger that made a purchase from them would get 50% off the item of their choice. I was so happy when they contacted me to choose a piece because let's be honest who doesn't like a bargain right? They asked me to choose which ever one I wanted and reserved it for me to make sure that I did get what I wanted. I chose this turquoise one with crosses all the way around. I fell in love with it straight away, it was originally £16 but I got it for £8 thanks to the 50% off saving. I usually wait and get all my jewellery in sales but I thought different with this one because 10% of purchases made go to GOSH's 'Kiss It Better' campaign which I thought was a really nice touch. Not only are you getting something you like, but you're helping someone else in the process!

This is what my little package looked like when I pulled it out the envelope. I love the dragonfly paper, it's super cute!

It also came with a tiny little ribbon wrapped around it which is cute too.

This is what it looks like, and I love it so so much. I think it's worth the £8 I spent on it! The service I got was great and came with in a week of ordering it, something you really cannot complain about. The only teeny tiny downfall I thought was the price of postage. I got it sent second class and it was £2.99. Not a massive amount extra to pay but I think it could have been a little cheaper.

Poundland Haulin'

Who doesn't love a bargain right? Well I've got something here that you'll love! Poundland, is a £1 store chain, which have recently got really big since the recession started, and I'm not even complaining! You can usually pick up some amazing deals on most things, and yes you might be thinking that it's all rubbish. But if you have the time to search then you find some great gems!  

This is a small collection of everything I've picked up in the past two days. In total I have spent £11 on things that would have cost me a lot more at retail price. The non beauty items I picked up are a couple pairs of headphones. I didn't really have high hopes for these but they are actually pretty decent and they look like Lego pieces which are always cool. I also picked up three different Pantene Pro-V treatments. Which I will be doing a review on soon!

Now for the beauty related items and one hair item that snook it's way into this shot for some reason. These are my steals of the month! First of all I got a Toni&Guy Curl Conditioner because I'm going on holiday in 6 weeks and I have really curly hair so hopefully this will come in useful! Next I got a N.Y.C nail varnish in Plaza Plumberry which is a really sweet name, and is an amazing colour for your toes! I also picked up two different mascaras, one from Maybelline and one from Collection 2000. I just thought these where good deals so I picked them up and I needed a waterproof mascara for my holiday so I thought why not it's a bargain! Last but not least, I picked up two Stila products! I know Stila in the £1 shop! It's mental! One is an oil free, sheer colour tinted moisturiser in the colour tan (dark 01) which I also thought would be great for my holiday too as seen as I am at Ivory at the moment! It's 50ml and usually RRP's for £14.50 which I think is crazy! The last product is a Stila foundation refill in the shade 'E', I thought this would be great over the tinted moisturiser to give a little more coverage. And they both have SPF in them which is a plus when you're in the sun!

Treats with a Little Update.

Today my blog is one month old, and I really can't believe it. I have no idea where the time has gone. I'm so so so happy to be on here blogging because it really does mean the world to me, even when I get a comment on a post it makes my day. There are so many lovely people on here, and I just wanted to say a little thank you to everyone who's followed me. I really can't think of any more words to describe how much I love blogging, so I thought I'd show you a couple of treats I bought in the past couple of days.

The couple of bits I have treated myself too in the past week. I love Elemis as a brand in general, so when I saw these in the beauty sale on ASOS I couldn't resist. They were £3.60 which I thought was a bit of a steal! You can get them here. I also got the Figs and Rouge Balm in Coco Vanilla. I am absolutely in love with this balm, it's perfect for my lips because they get really dry a lot and also for my cuticles. I got this from Boots and it was £4.99 which for a multi purpose balm I didn't think was bad. 

Last but not least is this MAC pro longwear eye shadow in Lie Low. I've only just recently got back into MAC for some reason, and I thought this was a pretty was to ease me back in again seen as I don't own any pro longwear shadows. It was £16.50, and is bigger then the standard shadows at MAC so it's slightly  more justifiable in my eyes. Amazing colour and super pigmented a must for any collection!

NOTD #2

I've not done anything to my nails in about 2 weeks now and I thought to myself something needs to be done because I hate how they look without anything on. Who likes naked nails right? I know I said that I was steering away from the falsies for a while but it has been over a month now and the condition of my nails has improved dramatically, so I thought why not! I had a pack of plain black stick ons in my 'beauty box' as I call it, and decided to put a little twist on them, I hope you guys like them!

Simple plain black nails with one very glittery accent nail.

The accent nail up close, I absolutely love it. A little fun for these dreary days.

The products I used I thought you would like too see. Yes I did use black stick on nails but you can literally pick them up from anywhere and are nothing too exciting. My preferred nail glue to use is the Royal nail glue. You can get it here. The reason I like this glue so much is that it's cheap and cheerful and it doesn't ruin your natural nails underneath which everyone wants! As for my accent nail I used Techic's nail varnish in Carnival. I picked this up from Bodycare and was only 99p! Bargain! Over that I used my trusty Stay Perfect Top Coat by No'7 which you all know I love! You can pick this up from Boots for £7 or £2 if you have a £5 off voucher!

A Weeks Worth of Goodies?

Over the past week or so, I've somehow accumulated more things then I planned too all thanks to the internet and being poorly. I've still not been able to leave the house, obviously like anyone would have done, I went on to the internet as amusement. I bought a couple of things that I have been wanting for a while now, and I thought I'd share it with you! :).

This is all the non beauty related things that I have accumulated over the past week or so! A little run down of them all, Pokemon Monopoly which I have wanted for about 6 months now which I had won off an auction on eBay, Hello Kitty Vans which are from Schuh. They are £50.00 which isn't really that much more then normal Vans to be honest. My mum treated me to these! :'). A Keep Calm and Keep Saving money tin which I got from the poundshop which was £1 obviously ;) and a Hello Kitty make up bag from Claire's which my boyfriend had treated me too. I'm so lucky! I think this was £10.

These babies are the bits of make up I got, MUA's Heaven and Earth Palette which I'm in love with which was £4, an MUA Blush in 03 English Rose, which I'm even more in love with and was £2.50. (My sister had picked this up for me!)  Natural Collection's blush in Peach Melba which was £1.99 and Natural Collection's eye shadow in Midnight which I have still yet to try and that was also £1.99! And without further ado, Vaseline in a tube! This is my idea of heaven, I adore Vaseline but hate getting my finger mucky! Fixes all my problems!

Last of all, these are all the freebies I have gotten in Magazines over the week! The St. Tropez gradual tanner was in Elle magazine and I think that was £3.90 and the Lancome Youth Deifying Concentrate was with that too. It comes in two different shades, Light/Medium and Medium/Dark. The Balance Me Rose Otto Lip Salve was in Glamour Magazine and that was £2! Bargain! The Missguided nail varnish was in Cosmo and that was £3.50 which is amazing! And Finally, the Avon Super Extend Extreme Mascara was in Marie Claire and that was £3.70.

Do you have any of these freebies?

Top 5 Make-up Brushes

So I know I said that may next post would be a little haul of things I've collected over the past week or so, but I thought this post would be a lot more interesting then that one! I know I like knowing about which brushes other people love to use and discovering new ones, so let's get stuck into it! 

I know they all look a bit worn, but that's because these are some of my absolute favourite everyday brushes! There are 3 different brands here, Mac, Bare Minerals and Royal Enhance.

Bare Minerals Full Flawless Face Brush.
There's something about this brush that makes it perfect. I use this to apply my setting powder usually and occasionally mineral make-up. I think it's because it's designed to buff product into the skin that makes this amazing to set your make-up with, and helps to make your face last longer. Definitely a must if you like to set your make-up a lot, a little pricey but worth it!
RRP: £24.00 (available at Boots)

Mac 168 Large Angled Contour Brush.
This will forever be my favourite brush for blusher and bronzer. Because of the size it is, it's make applying anything a doddle! It also holds product very well, so even when you're in a rust you don't look like a clown or fallen in mud. Good for a long term investment and amazing quality!
RRP: £26.00 (available in Mac store and online)

Mac 224 Tapered Blending Brush.
This is amazing for blending out any eye shadow or concealer. It makes working with any product a dream. Helps apply any product evenly and with grace. If you have never used this brush I suggest you go out and buy it, you won't be sorry! I love using this brush mostly with concealer because it just make your under eye area seem more awake, then using your fingers.
RRP: £22.00 (available in Mac and online)

Mac 239 Eye Shader Brush.
 When it comes to eye shadows I believe in you get what you pay for, but if you use a good brush then you'll get decent results every time. With this brush you can't go wrong, it just make any shadow glide on without difficulty and just justify's how much you pay for the brush itself. For a make-up lover, if you don't already have this, go get it!
RRP: £19.00 (available in Mac and online)

Royal Enhance Angled Eye Shadow Brush.
This is one of the best angled brushes I have ever used, and the great part is, it's dirt cheap. I picked this up on a whim, thinking that my normal one wasn't going to be dry in time to use it so I got this as a backup. This has been one of my best finds. It's dense enough but not too dense to use for my eyebrows, I love it and I recommend everyone who's reading this to pick it up and have a go! You can get it here.
RRP: £1.79 (available on eBay)

A Little M.I.A?

So it's been a week I think now since I last blogged, and I wish I had an amazing answer to why I haven't been blogging, but I don't. I'm not going to sit here and lie to everyone and tell you a load of porkies! So here's the deal, I basically been feeling really sorry for myself and a little down, the reason being, it's been nearly a month now since I've been able to go outside. I'm going crazy stuck inside for this long. I hurt my ankle and after a trip to A&E, 4 doctors appointments and a trip to a treatment centre, I still can't walk on it! :(. If anyone knows how to make a complaint about how you're treated in A&E please let me know? But thank goodness for online shopping! My next post is going to be a little haul of what I've been treating myself too. I hope everyone is okay, and I can't wait to get back and stuck in! :).
Lots of love, Demi xxx

Top 3 Scents

I'm not one of those people who have about a million perfumes and likes to rotate them with season. I'm one of those people who like a smell to be their own, a signature scent. I don't often change my perfumes and sprays up but if I was to choose my favourite 3, then they would be these. D&G's 10 La Roue De La Fortune,  Boots Natural Collection Vanilla Body Spray, and Philosophy's Summer Grace Eau de Toilette.

From Left to right, D&G's 10 La Roue De La Fortune, Philosophy's Summer Grace Eau de Toilette and Boots Natural Collection Vanilla Body Spray.

D&G's 10 La Roue De La Fortune.
This is one of my more going out/ grown up scents. I love this perfume, but for everyday it's a bit much and a bit too expensive to use that frequently. The only way I can describe the smell of this perfume is firstly, strong and bold, and very florally. If you don't like floral types of scents, then steer well away from this one! (100ml size in the photo above).
RRP: £39.99 (Available in Boots).

Philosophy's Summer Grace Eau de Toilette.
This is one of my favourite everyday perfumes to wear. I'm in love with it at the moment and I think every single one of you reading this to go and smell it. It's a crisp, clean light smell for everyday but I'd say it has a floral undertone, which is why I love it so so so much. It's one of those you either love or hate! Amazing for the warmer months! (60ml size in the photo above).
RRP: £32.00 (Available in Boots).

Boots Natural Collection Vanilla Body Spray.
I love the smell of vanilla no matter what it is! There's something about it that I can't say no too, and everyone who know's me says that whenever they smell vanilla they think of me. This body spray is cheap and cheerful. If you like vanilla then I'd say go pick this up. It's a good size for your handbag and doesn't weigh it down. (150ml size in the photo above).
RRP: £2.00 (Available in Boots).

NOTD #1

So here it is, my first ever nail of the day post. The time had come to change the colour once again, this time I wanted something plain, and simple. Nothing to out there, seen as I still have another week of work due to my stupid ankle :(. I also wanted something dark to cover my horribly damaged nails! Let's just say I won't be going anywhere near falsies for the near future!

The gorgeous Barry M's Red Black and No'7's Stay Perfect Top Coat.

I love Barry M nail paints to death, I think they're amazing value for the price, the only con I have ever had with them are that they run out really really quickly. Has anyone else had this happen to them too? I have no idea, but it's worth every penny!
RRP: £2.99 (Available in Boots.)

I have already blogged about No'7's Stay Perfect Top Coat. It's one of my favourites and will repurchase time and time again! If you want to see more about this product it is listed as 'Tiny Haul' blog post.
RRP: £7 (£2 with a £5 No'7 voucher! (Available in Boots.)

Here's what they look like together, I think it's a nice and simple look for everyday :).

What's your favourite nail varnish?

£20 Make-up Challenge + Everyday Make-up Routine

I'm not going to lie to you guys, but this one was a little bit of a challenge for me. I wanted to use products that were good as well as cheap, so I decided to do a twist on my everyday make-up routine and challenge myself to do it. All of the products I have chosen to use are in my opinion great products and are widely available, in Boots, Superdrug or online. 

The products I've chosen to use!

Foundation: Collection 2000 Colour Match Foundation in Ivory 1. £5.99

Concealer: Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection in Fair 1. £4.19

Pressed Powder: Collection 2000 Pressed Powder in Ivory 18. £1.99

Blush: MUA Blusher in Shade 1. £1

Eyebrows: MUA Eyeshadow in Shade 19- Matt. £1

Eyeliner: Stargazer Liquid Eye Liner in Black. £3

Mascara: Natural Collection LashBuild Mascara in Black. £1.99

At the moment in Boots and Superdrug there is a 3 for 2 offer on, on all cosmetics. Taking this in mind, I didn't want to just do a challenge that would be wrong as soon as the offer ends. So I didn't count the offer, so whenever you decide to read this, the prices should be around the same price :).
Without the offer all the products used came up to the grand total of £19.16! Which I'm quite proud of. If you were to go and buy them now with the offer still on it would cost £17.17 which still isn't a bad price at all if you ask me! 

And this is how it turned out this morning. I hope you guys like this post.

What's your favourite bargain product? 

Stargazer and Dupes!

Stargazer is one of those brands that isn't that well known by people, but in my opinion on a similar par as Mac. Although it is advertised as more of an alternative brand of make-up, I think more people should know about it. From the quality of the products you buy, to the price of them you can't really go wrong. A lot of Stargazers products are good dupes for all sorts of well known higher brand products, like mac's pigments and the famous L'oreal super liner in Carbon gloss.

Just some of the Stargazer products I love!

'Stargazer Glitter Shaker'
This little pot of goodness right here is called 'ONIX'. It's basically what it says it is, glitter! Who doesn't love a bit of glitter right? All of Stargazers Glitter Shaker's are amazing dupes for Mac's pigments, which in this case would be 'Dark Soul'. When I wear this, I tend to always use a primer underneath it, just to prevent any fallout.
RRP: £3

'Liquid Eye Liner'
After using L'oreal super liner in Carbon Gloss for over a year and then suddenly finding out that it's sold out everywhere and now is apparently discontinued I went on a little mission to find the next best thing! Which up to now is this, and yes it is very different looking, but I assure you what matters is what's on the inside. Perfect for everyday use!
RRP: £3

'Blusher 10'
One of the main reasons I love Stargazer so much is because of how pigmented it is for the price you pay. This blusher I've been using for the past 3 months, everyday! and it still looks like it's hardly been touched! Plus the packaging is adorable, you get the compact, and the product lifts up with a little brush inside too!
RRP: £3.50

'Metallic Eye Shadow Pen's'
These babies are some of the softest things I've ever used, they literally just glide on without any effort whatsoever! The only con with these pens are that after a couple of hours they tend to move around a bit on the lid, but with a primer they stay all day/night long. Great for a base and overall colour! Similar to Mac's Shade & Smoke Shadow/Liner. (Swatches below).
RRP: £3.50

Stargazer's Metallic Eye Shadow Pen's. Left in Bronze, Right in Brown.

Benefit Miniatures Review.

Over the past couple months or so I've been somehow collecting more little Benefit products then needed really, but it's all good no-one really complains about cheap make-up! The miniatures that I'm going to review are 'Bad gal lash' a mascara, 'Posie tint' a poppy-pink tinted lip and cheek stain, 'High beam' basically a highlight, 'The pore fessional' a balm that minimizes pores and 'That gal' a brightening face primer. 

All are sample size and what I've collected out of magazines.

'BAD gal lash'
I'm not going to lie, it's an alright mascara, but I felt as if the wand was too big to do anything with, you couldn't really get the product on it to try properly, I doubt you'd have this problem with the full size though.
(Buildable in length). RRP: £16.50

'Posie tint'
This lip and cheek tint is a great colour for the summer and looks even better with a tan, it's an all around good product and get a lot for your money. The only downfall with this is ladies, if you have a paler skin tone then beware of how much you put on.
 RRP: £15.50

'High Beam'
A luminescent complexion enhancer, or in normal words a highlighter. I personally love this highlighter to death, I think it give enough but not too much to your face, and works great with all skin tones. It's easily blendable with your fingers. If you like your highlight more prominent, you can easily build it up without finishing the whole thing!
RRP: £18.50

'The PORE fessional'
This is a pro balm that's suppose to minimize the appearance of pores. This little bottle kind of scared me at first, it comes out a creamy nude colour and if you're pale like me it probably would scare you too, but once you smooth it out onto your skin, it ends up basically translucent. So far I have only seen the slightest difference.
RRP: £23.50

'That gal'
This little bottle of heaven here is a brightening face primer, and it does exactly what it says! It comes out a light pink colour and has a slight smell of tutti frutti! It make your face look more awake and less dull. Amazing for when you're tired and need a pick me up in your face. Every time I wear this it will always get commented on!
RRP: £21.50