Well I should probably start by apologising. This time I have really left it a long time, like absolutely ages. But in my defence I have been very busy lately, with my AS exams taking up a large proportion of my time, and then just a very busy summer doing lots and lots of exciting things, to name a few, I went to see coldplay, went up to Wimbledon to see the Tennis and have only just arrived back from a gorgeous 16 day holiday in New York and Connecticut that I went on with my family and boyfriend.

It's safe to say that I saved up a lot of money before going on holiday, making sure I was very harsh on myself for the majority of the summer, meaning I could have as much money as possible for New York because... SEPHORA!?!? I managed to do alright, and had about $400 for my trip, which of course is all gone now, but in its place I have some amazing products and bits and bobs which I am dying to share with you!

SEPHORA
This makeup heaven has to be up there with my favourite shops, even though I have only ever been in 3. As you know, lots of makeup that you can buy in Sephora in America, is not easily available to purchase in England, so I obviously grabbed this opportunity with both hands and went a bit mad. I am also aware that some of the things I bought in Sephora, can be bought in the UK, but the majority of it is cheaper, so I went with it anyway.

I have never really been that happy with my skin, not because of acne or spots, but because my skin is very uneven, with red/blue patches across my face. Also I have quite an uneven texture, which when it comes to foundations, has always been an issue. To top it off, I have quite oily skin, which means that it takes me bloody ages to find a foundation that I can put on in the morning and will still be there when I go to take my makeup off at night. After finding my perfect foundation a couple months ago (Estēe Lauder double wear) I came to the conclusion that I also wanted something with less coverage, that I could easily use on a daily basis, and something sheer enough that you could still see my natural skin underneath. After researching into it, I found the Urban Decay one and done foundation, which is a mix between a sheer foundation/BB cream/tinted moisturiser. After buying it, I was slightly weary about whether or not it would last all day, but to my absolute amazement, it does. It's pretty mad, but it really does, and I absolutely love it. It works well with my beauty blender and evens out my skin without looking cakey af.

Onto the beauty blender, well not really much to say. I had the real techniques miracle complexion sponge, which worked, but it just wasn't perfect. With the beauty blender, however, my makeup goes on EXTRA flawlessly and just looks amazing everytime. Couldn't recommend more, even if its not the cheapest thing in the world.

Liquid lipsticks ar something which i am rather obsessed with. Around easter time, I got two Kat Von D liquid lipsticks, and since then I have built up my collection. They last so much longer and look so much better than normal lipsticks; you will probably never catch me buying a Mac lipstick again. In NYC I picked up two of the tarteist lip paints which are just wow. The pigmentation is ridiculous and even though they don't dry completely matte to the touch, they seem to last through anything. I got two from the new naughty nudes collection and am obsessed. I also picked up another Kat Von D one in a bright red as it was something a bit more daring and exciting. This does dry completely matt and does not transfer AT ALL. love love love.





For christmas, I got what I thought was the Laura Mercier Translucent setting powder. After looking into it, it turns out that I actually got the universal setting powder, which is a smaller pot, and doesn't work as well. So I decided to get the right stuff this time, and I love it and completely understand why it is raved about as much as it is. I use this to bake and just set my face lightly and it keeps me shine free all day, even in the 100 degrees New York heat (Which was absolute torture by the way).

I have never been very good at mascara. In the sense that I will use a mascara for years, and never be bothered to spend money on getting a good one. After reading countless reviews on the tasteist mascara by tarte, I just had to get it. For one, the packaging is beaut, but the mascara itself is just even better. It lasts amazingly and volumes AND lengthens your lashes, so in reality, what more could you want?

Concealer, I find, is so bloody expensive. Like you don't get that much but you pay ridiculous amounts for the stuff. Saying this, however, I will buy it because having oily skin, means I need a good concealer, and after 4 tubes of the Urban Decay naked skin concealer finished, I decided to branch out and try something a bit different. I am very glad I did because the born this way concealer is everything I had heard it to be, creamy, full coverage and long lasting. I got the lightest shade to highlight my face with and it works a treat. I will 100% be repurchasing this when I sadly come to the end of the bottle. Oh and also, the applicator is very good, which is always a plus.

BRANDY MELVILLE
This is a brand I have spoken about multiple times on here, and obviously it originates in America so there were plenty around. I started off in one in the centre of New York and bought these two tops. They are pretty basic but very effective. I love them a lot. With jeans, shorts, skirts, whatever, they look lovely, so I just had to get them! They are also reasonably cheap, at $15, about £12, it really isn't that extortionate for the quality of the clothes. When we moved onto Connecticut to stay with my Grandpa, I found out that there was another store in their actual town which was just AMAZING. So obviously I couldn't resist going back. I ended up buying something a bit different, a jacket (more for autumn/winter) but I just thought it was gorgeous, and decided to go for it. For the price again ($55) its pretty good, considering the quality and the thickness of the material and just how nice the product fits. I will definitely be getting a lot of wear out of this jacket and cannot wait to start wearing it!






URBAN OUTFITTERS
UO is a shop I adore, but simply can't afford. The clothes and accessories they have are completely on trend and look amazing, yet I just don't have the money to buy lots from there. I did however spot a flannel shirt I loved, and thought again, it was something I wasn't really used to wearing. I decided I wanted to mix up my style a bit and wear things a bit different, so I went for it and bought it. I also love the colours on the shirt and think there are multiple ways I can wear it, making it a very versatile product.



NIKE
One thing I lack a lot of, are shoes. I just have very few pairs, and the pairs I have a pretty basic. I really wanted some nike shoes a couple years ago, and when I saw a huge Nike shop in the town I had to go in. Jamie and I looked around and finally I tried on a lot of pairs. I knew I didn't want anything too extreme, just something nice that I could wear on a daily basis. My other excuse for spending $106 on shoes, was that my plan this year is to start going to the gym. Anyone that knows me, knows I am extremely lazy and don't do much, if any physical exercise which is seriously bad, so to motivate me to start going to the gym, I decided to buy the shoes... (that is some serious girl logic right there). Either way, I adore these shoes. They're like walking on pillows and seem to go pretty nice with all my clothes, so I do not regret buying these at all, even though I did more or less spend my entire life savings on them :)


There you go, here are the things I bought on my trip away, Im sorry for the long wait, but it just has been so busy! I hope you enjoyed it, and will be back again soon.

with love,

Becks x

After a couple of months of lots of work and stress, I am back today with possibly one of my most exciting posts to date. For Christmas, I was lucky enough to receive the "Lorac Mega Pro 2' palette. Oh my goodness.

When I first set my eyes on this beauty of a palette back in September, on Ulta's Instagram account, I immediately fell in love with it, and started thinking about how it would ever be possible for my to get it. Obviously Lorac is purely an American brand and shipping from America is bloody expensive. In the end, my amazing Grandparents brought me one over from America as my Christmas present, and I was just speechless when I opened it. It was everything I was thinking it was going to be, but far, far more.

The palette is 2X the size of the original Lorac 1 and 2 palettes, with 32 gorgeous eyeshadows. The formulation of these shadows are something I have never experienced before. They honestly melt like butter when you touch them, and the pigmentation is out of this world. You need so little of the product to build up a colour, and they blend like an absolute dream. Blend-ability of eyeshadows is key for me, as it means you get a much more flawless, diffused eyeshadow look, as opposed to a blocky, uneven one. Also it means it's much softer on the delicate skin of your lids, because you don't have to blend for as long.

In the palette you get 16 matte shadows, and then 16 shimmer shadows. The velvety-smooth shadows, have been infused with soothing botanicals, which allows the shadows to be used wet or dry, meaning you can shade, shadow, line and define your eyes all with these eyeshadows.




Lets talk about the packaging, as even though it doesn't affect the brilliance of the product or not, the packaging, in my mind, will either make me love or hate a product. And for this product, I absolutely 100% LOVE it. It is super slim and can easily fit into many makeup bags, without taking up too much room, making it super easy for travel. You also get a huge mirror, which is every makeup lovers dream in a palette, as it means you can literally use it to do your makeup when on the go. When I was reading reviews on the product before I actually received it, many people said that the packaging was annoying because all the shadows make the interior and exterior dirty, but for me, this really isn't an issue. Yes, the inside and the front isn't completely shiny clean, but it doesn't affect the quality of the products, and in my opinion, I prefer it, as it makes the product look loved and used.

I thought I should quickly talk about using the colours wet and dry, as it was something I'd never really tried before getting this palette. For Christmas, I also received Mac Fix+ spray, which I started spraying on my brushes to apply the shimmer shades. And oh my lord was that a good idea. The shadows are perfectly pigmented on their own, but with the Fix+ they go from one level of amazing to another. The pigmentation becomes absolutely solid and ridiculously shimmery, which when used with one colour over the entire lid, is extremely flattering. This isn't saying that you have to  buy Fix+ wen you get this palette, as it works as well with a small amount of water on the brush, but definitely wearing them wet, makes a world of a difference.

This palette is absolutely jam packed full of colours that can be used from subtle everyday makeup looks, to full-on night out ones. I more or less use a shadow from this palette in every single makeup look I do, as they are all so versatile and with the right combination of shadows, can create some glamorous and elegant eye makeup looks. I have many favourite shadows from this incredible selection, so I'm going to tell you a couple of my favourites, and how I incorporate them into my makeup.


So there you have it, my thoughts on the Lorac Mega Pro 2 palette! If you couldn't already tell, I absolutely adore it, and I wouldn't say it was far off being my favourite ever makeup product in my collection. I will be back soon my lovelies, but for now...

lots of love
Becky xX