Slam Dunk Festival: Beauty

Yesterday I mentioned about attending my seventh Slam Dunk festival up in Leeds on Saturday. I spoke all about what I find most comfortable to wear and what I think works well in terms of 'fashion'. You can read all about this post here.

Today I'm going to run through what I'm planning on taking in terms of Make Up and Haircare. I've had some massive make up mistakes that i've learnt from over the years at Slam Dunk - nothing humilating but just not using make up that fits in with a long, hot day when you need your face to stay in place for a good 12 hours or more. I'll be bringing up my tips throughout this - these are by no means tips that would apply to you but they're things that I know to steer clear of.

FACE - Prep

 

The POREfessional Primer Mini - Benefit - I actually own so many of these sample pots that travelling is so so easy when it comes to choosing a primer. I'd of personally taken my MAC Prep and Prime but its just too big to cart about with me.

Revlon Colorstay Foundation in 150 Buff - I was told how amazing this was from Carly on Carlys  Beauty World and was sold as soon as she said it really did last 24 hours for her. Although my aim isnt to keep it on that long - its going to be a loooong day and I need some ultimate staying power on my face!  Sadly the bottle is glass so I don't intend on taking this with me so I found this teeny Dior sample pot which I've now poured some in to take with me on the day/for the next day.

Face 2

- I totally forgot to include my Hoola Bronzer by Benefit in this photo so just pretend thats in there ;)

Fake Up - Benefit -This is a dream to use, it covers up undereye bags perfectly and really soothes your face as well giving great coverage - this is what I tend to use as my top up rather than reapplying shed loads of foundation.

Cupcake Blusher - MUA - Superdrug - Not normally my blush of choice but with this being so slim and small, I think its a must for Slam Dunk as it'll hardly take up any space in my bag! 

Gimmer Brow - Benefit - Now my aim for this is to use solely as a top up - my eyebrows are usually very good to me on public outings and stay in place so I'm hoping if I use my Browzings by Benefit in the morning before I leave, I can just use this to define in the day. 

Stay Matte Powder - Rimmel - This has yet to be used out of the house and if I'm honest I'm dreading taking this out as powder has a tendancy to smash everywhere but I cannot find a powder that isnt break able (and loose powder is a no no with drunk Stevie okay?) If you do know of one thas affordable please tell me cos I don't want to take this at all but I kinda have no choice if I want my face to stay where it should! 

EYES

 

High Impact Mascara Sample - Clinque 

Collecion 2000 - Fast Stroke Eyeliner

I decided to go super simple with my eyes this year - mainly because I just can't be bothered battling with panda eyes or worrying if my make up has ran. If you comfortable with shadows and usea good eye primer, then I'm sure you'll be fine but I recently used a Maybelline Colour Tattoo when the weather was hot and it was all over my eyes by the end of the day so I'm choosing to stay well away this year!

LIPS 

Collection 2000 - Berry Crush Lip Stain - Lipstick is just a big no no for me at a festival. Its messy and I constantly feel like its falling off my face or on my teeth. This stain is really easy to apply and its fairly faint on me. I have since realised I could take a lipstick for the afterparty so no doubt I'll opt for my trusted MAC one. 

BRUSHES

Real Techniques Mini Trio - Easily the best invention for any outing. I will be taking larger brushes in my bag for the next day but for during Slam Dunk these are a complete dream!

Blusher Brush taken from a Benefit Blush - These fit the size of the MUA blushers perfectly so I'm going to use these to apply it! 

HAIRCARE

 

Loreal Matt&Messy Salt Spray 

VO5 Ultimate hold Hairspray

Tangle Teezer

Perfect just to keep my hair looking presentable and tame throughout the day. I usually take abobble and throw it up by the end anyway!

BAGS

 Disney Villians Make up Bag - Purely so I dont have any make up spillages in my bag

Studded hangbag - USC - This is a bit bigger than it looks in the photo - but I'm one of those girls that actually likes to carry her stuff and I usually buy merch etc so this is perfect for it throughout the day.

I'd just like to point out I am taking the obvious things like face wipes (terrible but perfect for travel), moisturiser (dry skin will most likely occur), deo, perfume etc etc. I just don't put these up - I would recommend taking a small travel deodrant as it can get pretty hot but I'm sure you don't need me to tell you to use deodrant!

Thats my Slam Dunk Face - it looks like quite a lot but by the time I've taken my brushes and 3 top up items that'll be it for the day then! 

Whats your festival face? Do you have a holy grail item you swear by for eventslike this?? 

xXx

Let Loose in TK Maxx

TK Maxx is a very 'marmite' kinda shop - I think you either love it or you hate the piles of endless clothes, shoes, bags and make up!!

For me, I grew up hating it - probably because my mum did, shopping was boring when I was younger and I didnt know designers etc etc.

However, as I've got older I've realised that occasionally you can find a complete steal in there. I'm quite unfortunate that in Derby, my local TK Maxx isn't at easy reach so good news for my bank account, but not for my lust for bargains!

I get that most items are there as they're no longer in season/slightly damaged or just no longer needed by said brands - this being said I'm not really one for designer clothing when its released as I'm not made of money and my size is so up and down happy high street finds are just my fave!

So after a few weeks of mentioning I want to go, I made Jamie drive me to Kingsway Retail Park to have a good old browse.

Since blogging I've become so much more aware of brands and who to look out for and even if I couldn't tell you a single product, if I see a name I'll probably recognise it from somewhere so I was hugely on the look out for brands, there was some lovely stuff but I'm still quite picky for example: Bayliss and Harding are amazing but you can get them on offers/deals in a lot of high street chains so it wasnt something I felt was worth the TK Maxx purchase.

--- Beauty reviews will be fully reviewed in the near future once I've had time to try and test them.

The website for TK Maxx is very hit and miss so the products don't often reflect whats in each individual store so I havent been able to do links at these prices I'm afraid, but I'd still say check out the website here to see what you can find but the stores are often better!

Nip + Fab - Detox Blend Bath Soak - RRP: £8.99 Bought for: £2.99
Nip + Fab Detox Blend Body Scrub - RRP: £9.99 Bought for: £2.99

This is a brand I've heard so so much about and I love the packaging, I love their claims and I've heard amazing things so for £3 each I thought this was very much worth it! They both smell wonderful, I have a huge thing for tea tree as it smells so fresh and is such a natural wonder that I can't help but love it!

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream - RRP: £22.50 Bought for: £14.99 

I've heard the best things about this Elizabeth Arden Product that it does wonders for your skin so now we've got hotter weather and my T Zone likes to dry out I'm hoping to give this a shot to make it into my re-buy list! I've had a smell of this already and its gross so I'll be intrigued as to my final thoughts!

Argan Magic - Restoration Hair Mask - RRP: £12.99 Bought for:£5 (sale)

I've been after a hair mask for too long now as I'm growing out my colour and its such a pain and my hair is looking awful but it needs to be done! I'm hoping this mask will just give a burst of life back into my hair but I shall soon see!!

Vans - RRP: £52 Bought for: £29.99

If my blog title doesnt give it away, I adore my Vans and after the realisation (and pain) recently that two of my pairs just arent what they used to be anymore and pretty much break away at any given point, I have decided to make it my mission to buy some new ones. For £30, I can't go wrong with these - They're also my other two pairs colours combined into one - which was more coincidence than planned.

Whats been your best bargain from TK Maxx? Let me know below what other brands you've seen there so I know who else to hunt for next time I go in!!

xXx

Holiday Make-Up & Skincare Must Haves

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm going on holiday on Monday. Its only a British Lake District holiday but although my love for beauty/fashion means cities are a must, I adore getting back up North and walking around the Lakes, discovering new finds and the charity shops are 10x better due to everyone that lives been there being filthy rich.

Choosing which make-up/skincare/haircare is never an easy task for me as owning alot of it, I never know what I want to use.
Annoyingly at the moment I'm in that 'running out' phase on a lot of my products so I know, my luck means I will run out half way through our holiday.

I thought I'd split these up into 3 sections and make them short and sweet!!

MAKE UP

I was originally going to take a lot of sample/smaller products on holiday but then I realised I save my 'best' make up for special occasions and this is technically one of them so I thought I'd take good make up with me.

Includes:

Mac Prep and Prime - Primer
Rimmel Take the Day Off - Foundation
Benefit Hello Flawless - Foundation (this is running low hence the other one coming along too)
Benefit Coralista - Blusher
Benefit Browzings - Eyebrows 
Benefit Hell Flawless - Powder
Mac in Cockney - Lipstick
Urban Decay Basics - Eyeshadow Palette
Chapstick Cherry - Lipbalm
Berts Bees - Lipbalm
Benefit Fake Up - Concealer
Topshop Lip Bullet - Lipstick
Collection 2000 - Eyeliner
Benefit They're Real - Mascara
Maybelline Colour Balm - Lipstick
Benefit High Beam - Highlighter
Benefit Gimme Brow - Eyebrow Gel
Mua Bronzed Perfection - Bronzer
Liquid Lock for Lipstick

 Brushes

Regardless of where I am, my brushes are a must and I find it hard to not use them. I'm taking 2 Real Techniques brushes, a blending brush, 2 ELF brushes, a Barry M eyeliner brush, No 7 Eyebrow brush and a Cosmopolitan Powder brush.

I'm taking them in this beautiful What Katie Made brush roll (£10) , I'm going to do a post on her products in the coming weeks as she makes the nicest things!!!

HAIRCARE

A small haircare range. I'll technically only be washing my hair twice whilst I'm there so I've not gone over board so I have my trusty Tresemme Colour protection shampoo and conditioner. These were on 3 for 2 in Boots so I picked up a heat defence spray which smells beautiful.
I've also found these Lee Stafford dry shampoos and hair spray in my room which are small enough for the week.

SKINCARE

This was hard to choose what to take but I've narrowed it down to the following:

Perfumes:
Jimmy Choo - Flash (I found lots of sample bottles of this in my room so I've since swapped this to the 2ml versions)
Benefit - Laugh with me Lee Lee

Shower:
Lush Its Raining Men Shower Gel
Soap and Glory Clean on Me Shower Gel
Soap and Glory Body Butter

Face:
I decided to make this as simple as possible so I choose to go for the Clinque 3 step programme.
Clinque Make Up Remover - I wanted to take my Micellar water but theres no chance I'm trusting the flimsy lid.

and there you go... all packed in my Pug and Disney Villians bag.
I think I've done pretty well there!!

- also just to clarify I've not forgot cotton pads/sponge etc I just didnt want to bore anyone with those boring bits.

What do you think of my holiday supplies?? Am I forgetting anything??

xXx

New Look // Shopping Haul

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE!

I've decided to not mention Valentines related stuff today mainly because I'm not actually spending the day with him today as he's at work and its my day off. We actually 'celebrated' on Wednesday with a cheeky Nandos. I'm going to post the outfit I wore this weekend at some point but I've been quite behind so instead you're going to have a Valentines infused weekend I'm afraid from me.

I've picked up a few bits this week which mainly consist of New Look items, I've become obsessed with that shop!! Its so affordable and I find it really easy to browse without feeling like theres just too much to look at which is often how I feel in the larger Topshop stores.

I think this is a weeks worth of bits I've picked up on my lunches and on Weds when we spend a few pennies on our valentines trip.

Black Dress - £19.99 - New Look - BUY

The link isn't to the exact same dress as mine is a simple button back design but its pretty much identical in style.  The photo makes this look very frumpy but once on it looks so cute, i wore it straight down without anything pulling me in (mainly to hide my curvy bits) but it feels really lightweight so its great for a casual outing or even for a night out.

Tribal Statement Necklace - £7.99 - New Look - BUY

I mentioned this necklace in my post the other day (here) to brighten up the black dress. I adore gold on black, I usually do this in the way of studs/spikes/skulls so I love the tribal pattern in this necklace.  It's over stated but not OTT so I don't feel like I'm making too much of an effort.

Leather Look Waterfall Jacket - New Look - £34.99 - BUY

This isn't the sort of jacket I normally opt for, infact, I never opt for jackets. I've always been quite an American Apparel hoodie girl so to venture out of my comfort zone is unlike me. I spent a good few trips in New Look debating weather or not I like this and with the help from the boyfriend, he said it looked good and tah dah, I own it now!

Seude Look Coat - New Look - Was £49.99 Now £25

I know I posted about this the other day (here) but I thought it was worth another haul mention. I've still not sewn it up btw but I need to asap as I plan on taking this on holiday with me in a few weeks time. Its so cosy and warm which is a big plus point with the horrendous weather we're suffering from currently.

Loreal Ever Riche Masque Spray - Boots - £6.99 - BUY 

 I bought this from a recommendation from a fellow blogger as I'm suffering from terrible hair at the moment. This masque is designed to be used as part of a standard hair wash so I'm hoping I'll start to put it in my routine. I'm excited to give this a go and will give it a review soon!

Winnie the Pooh Cushion - The Disney Store - £16 - BUY

Anyone who knows me, knows my obsession with all things Disney. As part of our valentines trip my boyfriend bought me this. Our house is full of this big face cushions we also own Nemo, Mike, Sulley, Simba and Tigger! I reallly want Marie from The Arisocats but they don't have it on sale at the moment! :(

Smooth and Shine Hairbrush - Boots - £7.99

If theres anything I hate most its buying lifes boring essentials. Spending £8 on a hairbrush to me is so painful when I could buy something pretty instead. I've shamefully spent far too long without a new brush so it was much needed

Ultimate Shine Shampoo Bar - Lush - £5.50  -BUY

Okay, I won't lie, this is actually my boyfriend product as I've never tried shampoo bars before and I'm always so picky over shampoos etc due to so many haircare problems in the past. However,I'm gonna give this a cheeky try this week as I smelt one I adored in the store so I'm hoping if all goes well I have a good excuse to go buy the one I want.

Have you had any shopping splurges lately? Or if you can give me any recommendations on Lushs' shampoo bars I'd love it!!?

xXx