Mini Beauty Haul

Yes. I've been spending again. But it's only a little haul so I can just about justify it. The reason I wanted a few new beauty bits is that my Sixth Form Leavers Prom is coming up very soon and I like to get a few new products for every big event. Also there was a deal on for Rimmel products, so how could I resist?

So the first items I picked up were the three Rimmel products. The deal I mentioned earlier was that if you spent £9 or more you got a free bronzer. Therefore I decided to go for the Wake Me Up Foundation in Ivory. I've wanted to try this foundation for ages and the look I wanted for prom was a natural glowy look and the reviews I've read of this foundation seem to fit that look perfectly. I haven't used this foundation enough to give you my opinion on it but I'm sure I'll do a review once I've used it a bit more.

I also picked up the Exaggerate Undercover Shadow Primer. I didn't actually own an eyeshadow primer - shock horror - and I thought this might be a good place to start as it's cheap and cheerful. I quickly tried this out as soon as I got home and my first thought on this was that it took a while to dry. When it eventually did dry, I applied some eyeshadow and it honestly made the colour much more opaque. I can't comment on the staying power yet but I will let you know.

And the purchase of these two items left me with a free Natural Bronzer in Sun Bronze. Although I love my Bourjois bronzer I have a feeling that this might overtake that as my favourite bronzer for the summer as it's far less orangey and gives a really nice glow with the smallest amount of product. And because it's matte, it's great for contouring. 

The final beauty product I picked up was the Maybelline Forever Strong Super Stay 7 Days nail varnish in Hot Salsa - blimey, that's a mouthful. This is such a pretty summer colour and is just the right mixture of red and pink. This is also one of thoses colours that just makes your hands looked so tanned, even if you're a pale as me.

Hope you enjoyed this post! What makeup products have you been buying recently?

- Millie xx

BOOK REVIEW // Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn

As I'm a very keen book reader I've been wanting to do  book reviews for a little while now. I read so many amazing books and rarely have the chance to share them so I came to the conclusion that I'd use my little corner of the internet to do so.

I've just finished reading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I'm a little late to the party with this one I know, but I got there eventually when I finally purchased this thriller on Amazon after hearing so many amazing things about it. Although I read this quite sporadically, whenever I got the chance to read it I couldn't put it down and that to me is a sign of a good book. I've never really got on with thriller novels before as I've read some very disappointing ones in the past, but Gone Girl has completely changed my opinion on them. I'll try my very hardest not to reveal any spoilers but this book has so many twists and turns that you're pretty much always left guessing what's going to happen in the next chapter, and you're usually wrong. As my mum has read this book before a common conversazione between us two was "tell me what happens next" and "please tell me this happens", but I so glad that she kept quiet because you wouldn't want to have the events of this book spoiled for you. To give you a brief plot Gone Girl is about a woman, Amy, who disappears on her fifth wedding anniversary and her husband, Nick, finds himself as the main suspect. Because this book has two narrators your allegiance with either Nick or Amy can change very quickly. I really can't tell you any more than that without giving anything away! The only thing I didn't like about this book was that after all the exciting plot twists throughout the book I was a little bit disappointed with the anticlimactic ending, if you've read Gone Girl you'll probably understand. However it's a great book for summer that will leave you wanting to carry on reading until you've finished because you'll want to know the outcome of the characters and plot!

On the whole I would definitely recommend this book and would rate it 4.5/5 (-0.5 for the ending).

Did you enjoy this review and please let me know whether you'd like to see more? What books have you read recently?

- Millie xx

Mini Haul

Again I am so sorry that I haven't been consistently posting but things have been pretty chaotic at home at the moment. But my exams are all finished and now I've finally got some time to myself so I figured I'd show you all what I've been buying recently. So here's the goodies..

The largest, and probably my favourite, purchase here is this bag from Tesco which you can see online here. This was such an impulse purchase as I was racing around my local Tesco picking up snacks for a day trip to London recently when I realised that I didn't have a bag to take. Luckily this beauty was in the very small collection of bags in the clothing section and it was only £15! I love the light tan with the gold hardware and it just goes with everything really well. It's a lot bigger than it looks and fits so much in there which suited my habit of packing too much stuff which I probably won't need (I'm a massive believer of 'just in case'). I can just tell that this is going to be my go-to summer bag.

My second purchase was John Green's An Abundance of Katherines which you can buy from Amazon here. I love John Green books and with a trip to London coming up I wanted an easy read for the coach journey and I knew John Green wouldn't disappoint. I am yet to finish this but so far it's amazing. I'm considering doing a book review once I've finished it if it's something people would like to see? 

I actually bought these last bits whilst I was in London at the Paperchase shop at King's Cross Station. I was in need for a new diary as I've always used July - July diaries (don't ask me why, it's just habit). I'm the kind of person that likes to write everything down and see it in front of me. This A5 sized diary caught my eye instantly because it's just the perfect handbag size and I like to cart it around with me everywhere. I also bought this orange A5 notebook. I never used to like the colour orange but since I've had my little orange Punto the colour has really grown on me. I needed a new notebook to organise all my blog posts and this is just what I was looking for. And it's also handbag size!

So that's everything I've been spending my pennies on recently. What have you been buying?

- Millie xx

What's On My Face? #1

I'm back after my short hiatus! I've done most of my exams now and honestly I have been itching to get back it blogging. As I'm sure you can tell by the title I've made a return with my everyday make up. I'm not very adventurous with my day to day make up so I don't tend to stray too far from the same products. At the moment I'm just enjoying a very simple look so I don't have to faff around too much before sixth form. For a lot of people this might be quite a bit of make up for just an everyday look but it's what I feel comfortable wearing and just the routine I'm used to. I'll try and keep this brief or you'll be falling asleep towards the end of the post!

FACE

Foundation // Bourjois Healthy Mix (No 51 Light Vanilla)

I love this foundation. It's great for my dry skin and really does last throughout the day and because I'm too lazy for touch ups it suits me perfectly! I love that I was able to find a light enough shade for my skin as well as I can find that difficult with most drugstore make up brands. Also, it smells amazing.

Concealer // Clinique Airbrush Concealer (04 Neutral Fair) - Collection Lasting Perfection (Fair 1)

Yes, I use two concealers. I tend to use the Clinique concealer under my eyes as it claims to illuminate dark circles and it seems to do the job just fine. The only downside I have with this is that it has that typical plastic-y smell that most Clinique products tend to have. Does anyone else notice this or is it just me? My grubby well loved Collection concealer has been a make up staple with me for ages. Need I say any more?

Powder // Rimmel Stay Matte (001 Transparent)

Everyone and their grans bang on about this and I'm sure you all know enough about it without me putting my two cents in. 

Blusher // MUA Mosaic Blush (English Rose)

I got this after I heard Becca Rose saying she loved it. And as she's of fairer complexion like me I decided I would trust her and buy it for myself and I have to say that she's right! It gives just the right amount of colour to the cheeks for a simple everyday look without being too overpowering. And the product itself just looks beautiful.

Bronzer // Bourjois Bronzing Powder (51)

Another beauty blogger favourite. A lot of people say that this is too orangey for them and I can see where there coming from. I just need the smallest amount of this otherwise I end up looking like I'm off to work for Willy Wonka. I use this bronzer to slightly contour my cheekbones and bring some up onto the temples. Plus, this is another gorgeous smelling product. Bravo Bourjois.

EYES

Mascara // Maybelline The Rocket Volum' Express (Black)
I have the shortest, straightest eyelashes ever and this mascara actually makes me look human. So I'd say this was a pretty good product. The big, chunky brush is also amazing and really grabs every lash.

Brows // Maybelline BROWdrama (Medium Brown)
I like this product but the only issue I have with it is that the brush is slightly too large for the thinner ends of my eyebrows so I like to go through with a spoolie after. Otherwise this product works really well and the colour is a great match for my eyebrows.

Eyeliner // L'oreal Super Liner (Black) - Soap & Glory Smoulder Kohl (Black)
Again, one product is just not enough for me. I know everyone says they're rubbish at liquid liner but I truly am. This L'oreal liner actually enables me to create a cat flick even if it might be a little uneven sometimes (shh). It's super black and lasts quite well throughout the day. The Soap & Glory eyeliner is equally amazing and I use this just lightly along my bottom lash line. It's a really soft pencil and is so easy to smudge out. You've probably got a picture in your head of me with panda eyes now but I promise it's not like that, at least not until about 9 at night.

What products do you use on a day to day basis?

- Millie xx