Beauty Wish List

These are some of my favourite blog posts to read - I guess I'm just so nosy. I also love sharing what I'm lusting after with all of you. So here they are, the beauty products I've been drooling over recently.

Topshop // Lips in All About Me
Oh, I'd never thought I'd be lusting over a bright pink lipstick but would ya look at me now! This just looks like the most perfect summer 'going out' lipstick as an alternative to my trusty red Rimmel lipstick in 170 Alarm. I love the formula of the Topshop lipsticks and I definitely think I'll be picking this up on my next trip to Topshop.

The Body Shop // All-In-One BB Cream
Throughout the summer, I like to veer away from foundations in favour for the lighter BB creams. I've heard a lot of good things about this and The Body Shop products are some of my favourites all round, where can it go wrong?!

Sleek Makeup // Blush in Rose Gold
I'm yet to dip my toe into the Sleek Makeup pond but I think this would be a good starting place for me. I've seen a lot of people compare this to Nars Orgasm blush and Sleek is much more purse friendly!

Charlotte Tilbury // Filmstar Bronze and Glow
I am not going to be able to justify buying this for a long time, but look at how pretty it is and what's a wishlist for anyway! I've seen this on a few blogs and Youtube videos and before they had even opened it, the packaging had already won me over. It just looks like it's come straight out of The Great Gatsby.

What beauty products are you lusting after at the moment?

- Millie xx

What's On My Face #2

Throughout the summer I usually don't wear a lot of make up because I find it too much of a faff to have half of it sweated off later in the day. And even when I do want to fancy my face up a little bit I tend to stick to a simple look with minimal effort. It's just so much easier to throw this on my face and go.

Primer // Benefit Porefessional
I'm sure you've heard so much about this primer so I'll keep it short and sweet. This primer is so good at helping towards sweat-proofing my make up and keeps it solidly in place all day. This is just a little sample size but I will definitely be purchasing the full size.

Foundation // Rimmel Wake Me Up (Ivory)
I only bought this fairly recently but I love this foundation! It's great for summer as it gives a lovely healthy looking finish and the SPF 18 is also amazing.

Concealer // Seventeen Phwoaar Paint (Fair)
I won't bore you with the details for this one because I've already done a blog post about it here. But long story short, it does the job quite well.

Bronzer // Soap & Glory Solar Powder
This bronzer is amazing for paler skin, it doesn't look muddy on me at all. Because of this I can sweep this all over my face to give it a nice summer bronzed goddess glow (or so I like to think). Annoyingly though, I got this as part of a set for Christmas so it doesn't have it's own portable packaging making it not very handbag friendly. But other than that, it's my favourite bronzer at the moment.

Mascara // Maybelline Big Eyes Volum' Express Waterproof (Black)
I love a good waterproof mascara throughout the summer. Because I live so close to the sea, I usually go for a quick dip after work and with waterproof mascara I'm covered for any possible panda eye situations. I've actually had this mascara for a while now and didn't really like it when I first got it. I think it's one of those mascaras that are a lot better when they've dried out a bit.

Eyeshadow // Maybelline Colour Tattoo (Eternal Gold)
I like to think that this cream eyeshadow adds to my 'bronzed goddess' look. I love using these eyeshadows, they're so easy to apply - you literally just need a quick sweep over the eyelid - and they last all day. The colours are amazing and pigmented enough to be worn on their own, or you can use them as a base to create another look. I honestly can't rave enough about these!

Eyeliner // Soap & Glory Smoulder Kohl (Cocoa Bean)
The black version of this eyeliner was featured in my last What's On My Face post and what can I say? I just love them. They're easily smudge-able but can also keep a nice clean line.

Lips // Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick (Nudist)
This is just one of those lip products that looks so much nicer when you have a tan. Throughout the winter this colour just didn't look right but now I am loving it! It's pretty much been my go-to lip product recently. Wow, I've only just realised that is quite a few Soap & Glory products.

That's everything I've been putting on my face recently. What have you been loving?

- Millie xx

REVIEW // Seventeen Phwoarr Paint

I recently bought Seventeen's Phwoarr Paint under eye concealer as my trusty Collection Lasting Perfection concealer sneakily ran out. A quick dash to the local Boots (which doesn't stock Collection, bloody Cornwall) and I soon left with this. The price was reasonable at £5.49 making it only a little bit more expensive that the Collection concealer. So far it's amazing on my under eye circles, which are growing darker and darker by the day as a result of tourists descending on Cornwall making my working days longer. It does cover them up but I've found that my concealer routine is taking a little bit longer now as I have to spend more time blending and building up. However, this concealer isn't great for just a quick pop to the shop or a trip to the beach because it's so heavy. Also, there isn't a massive colour range - the Boots I went to only stocked Fair and Medium shades - so I think that this would be hard to use if you had darker skin or if you were in between shades. But if you're lucky enough to find a shade that matches your skin tone and can spend the time making sure it's blended in properly, then this is quite a good under eye concealer. But I think I'll still be on the lookout for one that lives up to the Collection concealer. 

Do you have any good concealer recommendations?

- Millie xx

Life Update

Since my 'What on earth am I going to do with my life?' blog post got such an amazing response (thank you so much for all your lovely comments by the way), I figured that I'd give you a little update on what's been going on with me regarding future prospects. 

I've so far been for two separate interviews for Marketing apprenticeships since I put up that blog post. The first interview was actually my first ever interview and I felt incredibly nervous. But thankfully, my interviewer was lovely and really positive about my chances of getting an apprenticeship in what I wanted to do. I was offered the place but I turned it down after a lot of thought as I decided the environment just wasn't right for me. I know that many people will think that's a pathetic excuse but the atmosphere of the workplace and the people I will be working with is a massive factor for me as I know that if I'm not comfortable working somewhere, I won't be putting my all in. 

I then carried on finding and applying for more apprenticeships and for what felt like a long while, I didn't get any feedback or offers for interviews. At this point I had found an apprenticeship I really liked the look of. It was in a lovely little beach town in Cornwall with decent pay and an amazing course. Eventually, I was offered an interview with this position and excited isn't even the word to describe how I was feeling. Not hearing any responses was really disheartening especially as so many people were discussing university offers and student finance at this point. I was so happy that after all this time of no feedback I was finally getting a chance to go for the exact placement I wanted. I understand that this may seem like an over reaction to a lot of you, but Marketing apprenticeships are few and far between in Cornwall. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I went to the interview (which I felt went amazingly) and a few days later I heard back from the college that I had been offered the job! Obviously I straight away said yes! There are a few formalities to sort out but all going well, I start in September. It is honestly such a relief knowing that I have everything sorted and don't have anything to worry about throughout the summer and I can just thoroughly enjoy myself before I have to knuckle down and work. 

What are your plans regarding university/apprenticeships? How are you going to spend your summer?

- Millie xx

Summer Beach Essentials

Living in Cornwall means that 90% of your summer is spent at the beach, rain or shine. Because of this, I have built up a hefty experience regarding what essentials to take to the beach. And with the recent hot weather in England, I thought it was about time I shared these with you.

Obviously the first essential is a decent beach bag and the one that I tend to use is a tote bag from Jack Wills. It's got a lovely floral print and is just the right size to fit everything in. You can get a slightly similar one here. A towel is very essential to me as you can guarantee that I'm always the first one in the sea. The one I have here is just an old beach towel that lives in the cupboard upstairs and you can pick these up anywhere. Something that goes everywhere with me throughout the summer is some form of sunblock. Right now I'm really liking the Nivea Sun Protect & Refresh Sun Spray in factor 20. As I'm so pale and burn very easily I never use below factor 20 and this sun spray applies and dries so easily and doesn't feel greasy on the skin. Also the spray is so refreshing on a hot day.

Something that I never go to the beach without wearing is a bikini. As I do have bigger boobies I like to get a bikini with an under-wired top. The one I have here is from Next and I bought this last summer so unfortunately it's not in stock any more but I've found a similar one for you here. Sandals or flip flops are also essential for me on the beach and the ones I'm loving this summer are these cute little sandals from Primark. They were only about £4 so I don't mind if they get ruined and I've found some similar ones for you here. My sunglasses are from River Island and you can get them here. I love the wayfarer style and the tortoise shell print because they go with everything.

When I'm not in the sea, I like to just relax and read a book whilst catching some rays. At the moment I'm slowly (it's a hefty book) working my way through the first book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series which I'm enjoying so much. I loved the tv series so I figured I'd read the books too. By the end of summer my book is usually a mess with sand wedged in between the pages and sea water thumbprints. I also like to listen to music as well so I usually take my old iPod Nano as I don't mind if it gets a bit grubby. At the moment I'm really enjoying Passenger's new album, Whispers.

So that's everything! What are your summer beach essentials?

- Millie xx

Rainbow Run

On Sunday me and my little sister, Alice, took part in the Rainbow Run in aid of Children's Hospice South West. We've both done charity work for them before through the little cafe we both work in so we knew it was an excellent charity and that they do amazing work. Also, the fact is was a Rainbow Run was also very appealing as we both spend way too long than is acceptable lusting over the Tumblr photos of events like these so when we heard about this, we entered straight away. If you don't know what a Rainbow Run is, basically you run/jog/walk however far whilst having powder paint thrown at you whilst weaing white clothing. The aim of the game is to be as messy and as colourful as possible and it's just oodles of fun. Prepare your intake of breath, this post will be very photo heavy. Ok, I didn't actually take the photos (my lovely boyfriend did) but it's a step in the right direction.

 Alice being Alice gave it her all and probably ended up being the most covered in paint. But we've discovered that she suits pink hair.

 "This actually looks kind of cool despite that fact my hair looks and feels disgusting."

Sneaky picture.

"We've actually bloody finished it!"

 The 'after' photo. Yes, I am aware that my legs look like cheese puffs.

The Children's Hospice South West website is here if you wish to take a browse through the gallery (they have some seriously cool photos) and find out more about the charity as a whole.

All in all, I am so glad me and Alice decided to spontaneously enter this amazing event. It was such a good day and was for such a good cause, sign us up again for next year!

- Millie xx