NAKED BASICS 2: FIRST IMPRESSIONS

After giving it a lot of thought, I decided to buy a new palette from Urban Decay. My first thought was to get the Naked 3 but after seeing it properly I decided against it and went for the Naked basics 2 instead. The main reason I chose this one is because it is all matte shadows and that's definitely what my make-up collection needs.

The palette comes in a slim bronze coloured box with the same labelling as the palette. On the back of the box it shows the shades and how the colours are best used. One of my favourite things about this palette is how sleek and compact it is. It's the perfect size for a make-up bag so is great to travel with. I hate it when products have excess packaging, it becomes bulky and is a waste. 

There is a mirror in the top half of the palette, this makes it even more convenient to travel with as the mirror is big enough to do a full face of make-up in whilst you're on the go. The colours start with lightest on the left, and darkest on the right. 

The colours in this are perfect, they're all very natural and easy to create looks with each other or with colours from other Naked palettes. I would describe the colours as the staple eye shadows and perfect for a beginner just starting to use make-up. There is an even mix of light, medium and dark shades so I think I'll get good  use out of all of them. 

REASONS WHY I LOVE AUTUMN

(Pictures taken from Pinterest)

It feels like we didn't even have a summer, the beginning of September has brought very cold weather and a lot of rain. So cold we have already had the fire and heating on in my house! My thoughts are now turning to the next season, my favourite season. I've always loved Autumn for a number of reasons and it's definitely my favourite time of year (apart from Christmas of course).

 

01. Crisp misty mornings

I love those mornings when outside is misty and the air feels crisp and cool. 

02. Autumn walks

I enjoy walks in Autumn so much more than Summer. As the trees begin to change colour and leaves begin to fall, the countryside becomes a beautiful array of burnt orange and red tones. And I'm still a child at heart and love kicking my way through fallen leaves!

03. Style

I find it so much easier to decide what to wear during Autumn. I love layering clothes, wearing big scarves and coats! There seems to be a lot of mustard yellow and burgundy around this year so I'm even more exited for A/W15 style!

04. Food

Finally, I also find it much easier to think of meals when the weather is colder. I pretty much live off home made soup or cottage pie but you just can't beat either!

What's your favourite part of Autumn?

SUMMER FAVOURITES

With Summer now coming to an end I thought I'd do a round up of my favourite Summer products. I haven't done anything mega exiting this summer but I have tried out lots of new products, some great and some not so great! I've narrowed it down to just 4 firm favourites. 

01. Bare Minerals Bare Skin foundation

I have used this right through the Summer and absolutely love it!! It's lightweight and keeps skin feeling fresh throughout the day. The coverage can be built up so it's perfect to wear for a daytime or night time look. It gives a radiant glow to the skin so is perfect for a fresh summers day. Read a full review on this product here.

02. Vanilla Dee-Lite body lotion

As some of you may know I suffer from eczema and I have a few allergies meaning I have to be careful with what I use on my skin. Lately I've talked a lot about Lush as their products seem to be what suits my skin best. This is my go to body lotion, it effortlessly glides over the skin & any dry patches. It sinks in instantly leaving no horrible sticky residue and leaves skin feeling soft and supple. One of my favourite things about this product is the scent, it's simply divine and lasts all day long! 

 

03. Nivea deodorant

This is a random one but it has been a favourite of mine this summer. It's not a wet kind of roll on or a spray, it's like a bar. You simply roll it onto your skin just like you would with a normal roll on but there is no wet residue left. It's kept me feeling fresh throughout the warmest summer days and doesn't cause any irritation. It has a nice fresh scent that isn't too over powering. As far as deodorants go, this is definitely the best I've used.

04. Elemis fruit active mask

This is my final firm favourite for this Summer. The first thing I loved about this was the scent, it contains lots of fruity ingredients which give it a fresh, sweet scent. The fruit ingredients actively work to brighten and boost the skin leaving it feeling soft and looking radiant. It's great if you suffer from dull, tired and sometimes stressed looking skin.

05. Jessica nail polish in Soho in Love 

This is my new favourite nail polish. The Jessica polish applies so well and gives a flawless finish. The colour is the perfect nude and has a gorgeous shine. Although nail polish never lasts more than 5 days on me this does last well and is one I use over and over again! 

THINGS THAT HAVE MADE ME HAPPY

*Pictures taken from my Instagram recently* 

I haven't done a post like this for a while so as Summer comes to an end and dark, cold nights are drawing closer I thought I'd start them again. I tend to find myself reflecting on things a lot, whether it be a positive experience or a negative I always like to take whatever lessons I can from different times in life. September has got off to a good start so I'm feeling positive about this month! 

01. Red nails

I went for a mid week manicure with geleration polish. It's been so long since my nails have had some TLC so having them done has really made me feel good. I went for the colour 'royal red', it's a gorgeous classic red colour that has a beautiful shine. 

02. Catching up with friends

Over the Summer I've seen quite a lot of my friends which has been lovely as a lot of them live away most of the year at university. As they will be going back soon we have crammed in as much time as we can together, we always have such a laugh so seeing them so much has brought a huge smile to my face. 

03. Better skin

Recently my skin has really improved, it's not as dry or stressed. The redness has reduced and the dry patches are slowly smoothing away. I can't put my finger on exactly what has made this change but I hope it stays this way! 

04. A week off work!!

Finally the thing that has made me so happy this week is the fact that I'm now off work for 10 days. Me and my boyfriend are off to mid Wales for the week to stay in a cosy little cottage. It's been too long since we've had a proper break together so I can't wait to completely relax and spend some quality time with him.

I hope your September has got off to a good start!

NAIL POLISH PICKS

I hate having naked nails so always have some sort of polish on them. It'll usually be a relatively natural colour as I'm not allowed anything too bright at work. I have a pretty big collection of polishes but lately I've been loving Jessica, so today I'm sharing my top 3. 

01. Soho in love

This is my favourite out of the 3. It's a very natural pinky toned colour. It looks great on nails of any length and goes with any outfit! The Jessica polishes give a gorgeous shine but as this is a natural colour the shine doesn't show as much. It's easy to apply and a good, solid colour can be built up with 2 coats.

02. Intrigue 

This is the second favourite of mine. It's still quite natural but has a purple taupe like tone to it. I like to wear this colour when my nails are longer as it draws more attention to them. As it's slightly darker it gives a nice shine. This is quite a difficult colour to paint with as the consistency of the polish is quite thin, so the colour takes a few coats to build up. 

03. Tea Rose

Finally this is my go to toe nail polish. I don't like to have anything too bright on my toe nails so I will usually wear this. It's a nice pale pink shade with glitter, it's not bright sparkly glitter but it does add a bit of sparkle. It paints on easily and just adds a natural overlay to the nail. 

The midi polishes from Jessica are the perfect size. Although they may be small to some they're handy for colours that may go out of fashion soon. They're also great if you're like me and get bored of colours easily, you can use it up and then don't have to worry about wasting the rest of the bottle.