GRWM: Afternoon Tea

Hi everyone,

For today's post I am going to be doing something a little different. I have done a few GRWM in the past but instead of using the same old products every time, I am going to try and mix them up a little more. A few weeks ago it was my Auntie's 75th so to celebrate, my mum and I were invited to afternoon tea with my auntie and her closest family members. I went for quite a natural makeup look with a brown eye, matte nude lips and a dewy face, for hair I curled it (which I don't do very often) and quite a sophisticated outfit. Enjoy!

Makeup:

- MUA Hydro Primer

- L'Oreal True match foundation (mixed with a bit of moisturizer)

- Rimmel Wake me up concealer

- Collection Lasting perfection concealer

- Seventeen Stay time concealer

- Seventeen Define and conquer contour kit (in Fair)

- Famousx Blush (in Penelope)

- Naked Flushed palette (in Native)

- Mac Paint pot (in Painterly)

- Sleek Au Natural palette

- Seventeen Soft smudge eye pencil

- Benefit They're real mascara

- Maybelline Big eyes mascara

- Maybelline Brow drama

- Mua Intense lip liner (in Caramel Nougat)

- Mac Lipstick in Kinda sexy

Hair:

- GHD Heat protect spray

- Babyliss secret curler

- Wella Hair oil

- Colab Dry shampoo

Outift:

Top - Holister

Skirt - New Look

Jacket - Miss Selfridge

Tights - Primark

Shoes - River Island

I hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know whether for my next GRWM you want it chatty or like this. Have a great day!
Grace xx

My Spring Nail Picks

Hi everyone,

It's springggggggg! In case you cam't already notice I am super excited for the warmer months. I love winter and autumn but I am just so ready for a change, so be expecting lots of spring themed posts coming up. Anyway today I am going to be sharing my favorite nail polishes for spring and summer. For me, spring and summer colours are nudes, pastels and neons, so all of these polishes fit into one of theme categories. Enjoy!

(Clockwise : Staring with top, left corner)

Barry M nail paint in Sour Apple

Leighton Denny high performance nail polish in I Love Juicy

Barry M Quick dry nail paint in Pit Stop

Rimmel Rita Ora nail polish in Roll in The Grass

Barry M Gelly Hi-shine nail paint in Papaya

Barry M Gelly Hi-shine nail paint in Grapefruit

I hope you enjoyed this post. Each nail polish is a little different and I hope I found something to suit everyone this spring and summer. Have a great day!

Grace xx

#AdviceWithGrace - The Key to Healthy Hair...

Hi Everyone,

In case you didn't notice, I didn't upload an #AdviceWithGrace last week because I am very lost for ideas at the moment. Saying that, I am looking forward to today's post which is a hair post. Hair is something I usually don't mention on my blog, but I want to start branching out of my regular beauty posts. I hope you enjoy this post!

1. Lots of conditioner

Conditioner is something that I feel like is a crucial part of healthy hair. There are endless types of conditioner so there is one for everyone. When you shampoo your hair you should focus the product in the roots of your hair. Whereas with conditioner you should apply it to the ends of your hair. By using lots of conditioner, its going to soften your hair, strengthen it and give a lot of moisture to the ends of your hair, as that is what tends to get the most dry.

2. Always brush you hair before you wash it

Honestly this will help you in so many ways. By brushing out your hair before you wash it you will not have to tug at your hair trying to un-knot it all after washing it. This is going to make sure all hairs are still in your head by the time you hair is dry, it will also help the conditioner to distribute more evenly across your hair.

3. Oils, Serums and sprays

I swear by all of these products. Serums and oils are so good for making your hair super healthy and repairing the ends. Whether you want to admit it, we have all had split ends or damaged ends. To stop this, apply serum or an oil to the ends of your hair while it is still damp, once it has dried or whenever the ends of your hair look a little dry. This will give some moisture to the ends and prevent them from spiting.

4. Avoid heat

The amount of times I have heard this is actually a bit ridiculous but it couldn't be more true. By applying heat to your hair you are drying it out. Like when you forget to put on moisturizer and your face feels super tight, that's what your hair feels like with heat on. If you use tip 3 it could give it a bit of moisture but it is still not healthy. By making sure you don't over straighten, curl or dry your hair, it could really help not to damage it anymore. I might also be doing a heatless hairstyle post in the next few weeks also, so keep your eyes peeled for that

5. Wash your hair in a routine

I was my hair 3-4 times a week and I always stick to that. Don't wash your hair everyday because if one day you are not able to wash your hair, your hair is going to be so greasy because it will be expecting to be washed. I wash my hair on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, this routine works well for me because my hair never gets too greasy because it's a routine I know I will stick to, and it is reasonable. Sounds gross, I know, but if you have quite dry roots you could get away with washing your hair once a week but it you are like me and do a lot of physical activity were your hair will get sweaty, every other or few days is just as good too.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know whether this has helped you in anyway. Comment below a celebrity that has the best hair, I would be interested to know. Have a great day!

Grace xx

Lip Picks For Spring/Summer

Hi Everyone,

It's finally spring and I cannot be more excited. As the seasons change, so do the colours, as do the trends so today I am going to be sharing with you my lip picks for the warmer seasons. I will be showing you a massive range from glosses to sticks, from matte to glossy so there is something for everyone. Enjoy!

Lip Crayons:

New Look Velvet Matte Lip Crayon - This product does not have a shade name but it is a beautiful pinky nude. The product is super creamy but has a matte finish. Definitely one of the best matte lip sticks out there for on a budget.

Revlon Matte Balm in Elusive - This a lovely muted bright pink shade with a purple undertone. Again this is matte but creamy. There is a massive colour range and they are super easy to apply.

Revlon Lacquer Balm in Demure - This is much like the other Revlon balm except these are a glossy finish and they are also a lot more sheer in pigmentation. This is great for on the go and there are some really bright shades for the spring and summer.

L'Oreal Infallible Matte Max Lipstick in Silencio - This is not really a crayon but it is similar enough. This is another matte colour but this is a lot more lightweight to the other to. There are lots of bright shades in the range and if you have more then one of this product then you can actually create an ombre lip with these too.

 Lipstick:

Freedom Pro Lipstick in Juicy Lips - This is a super fun orange/coral shade perfect for the sunny seasons. This is a sheer but build-able creamy formula and comes with endless colours to choose from.

Mac Matte Lipstick in Kinda Sexy - This is the perfect lipstick for all year round but this is a good alternative for spring and summer if you love velvet teddy. We all love a brown nude lipstick but when it's spring you want something with more of a pink tone to it. Kinda Sexy is sightly more pink from velvet teddy so it's a great spring alternative and still with the matte finish.

Mac Creamsheen Lipstick in Creme Cup - This is a lovely nude pink shade. The formula is super moisturizing and leaves a nice glossy finish.

Benefit Posie Balm - This is a super sheer coral balm.  The Benefit balms come in four shades but I think this one is most appropriate from spring/summer. It's a super quick product and it can transform a look completely.

Lip Gloss:

Artdeco Hydro Lip Booster in 38 - I love these glosses, I have a few shades but this is the most spring appropriate. The formula is very sheer but even though it is a gloss it feel like a balm in a weird way. It is also not a stick texture so great if you don't like that.

Tanya Burr Lip Gloss in Sparkling Dewdrops - This is a beautiful shimmery pink lip gloss. Tanya Burr glosses are probably one of the most pigmented ones I own but they look super natural at the same time. This shade in particular looks great over anything underneath it.

NYX Butter Gloss in Creme Brulee - I love this formula so so so much. This might me a gloss but it is no way sticky, it is thick and nourishing with great colour pay off.

I hope this gives you some good inspiration for spring and summer lip products. Let me know what is your go-to lip product in the spring is. Have a great day!

Grace xx

Mini Beauty Haul

Hi everyone,

Guess what? I went shopping again (oops) but I wanted to share with you what I bought so I hope you enjoy. There will probably be a lot of hauls going up this month as I am going on holiday in two weeks *EKKKKKK* so look forward to them.

First place I went was a little beauty outlet by where I live, and they sell all kinds of beauty products for really cheap prices. When I went in I was smell the I Love... range a a women that worked there actually told me to smell the lemon sorbet one, and it was amazing!! Thank you to the women who shown me that but because I had far too many shower gels I actually bought the scrub version. I haven't used it yet but to be honest I bought it for the smell. It was only £2.99.

In the same place, I bought a dry shampoo as I was running out of my Colab on so I bought the Tresemme one to try. This was only £1.99 and I will report back once I have tried it out

The last thing I bought from the beauty outlet was a makeup product. I have never heard anything about this brand before but I looked at the shade and loved it. As soon as I walked past the stand, I looked at this blush and I thought it looked like a super natural contour shade, which is what I like. It's but Famousx and it's in the shade Penelope. I have been using this daily as a blush and a contour and both look beautiful on the skin. It was only £1.99 and you get so much product and a massive mirror. The only down side is that the outside packaging looks super cheap.

Next I went into New Look, as I had a voucher left with a couple pounds on, I thought I would buy a few beauty bits. First thing I bought was a mini perfume for my holiday in pure devotion. It smells super fresh and it is the perfect size. It was only £2.99!

Final thing was a makeup product as I have always wanted to try New Look makeup, so I bought a Velvet matte lipstick. It doesn't have a shade but it is a lovely nude/pink shade. It was only £3.99 and I have really been loving it lately.

Last thing was a bit of a treat to myself as it was a bit expensive. I got given a Debenhams voucher for Christmas, so I bought the Urban Decay Naked Flushed palette in Native. I have been crushing on this forever and now I have it, I am in love! It was £23.50 but with the voucher I only paid £3.50. I am loving this and I am so happy I bought it!

I hope you enjoyed this post. Comment what you have bought recently and whether you have any off these products, Have a great day!
Grace xx

Florida Makeup Wishlist

Hi everyone,

For today's post I am going to be sharing with you the american beauty products I have been crushing on since forever! In case you didn't know I am actually going to Orlando, Florida in less than 20 day *EKKKK*. While I am there I am sure I will go shopping at some point and so I might buy a few of these products. I am not planning on buying all of these products as that would come to a lot of money, but this is just a self reminder in case I do want to treat myself.

This is also a colab with the lovely Blossom and Daisy. She has an amazing blog (link here) and a gorgeous Instagram (linked here). You should go check them out after you have read this, she will be posting a March Wishlist.

Products left to right, starting with top row:

ABH Dip Brow Pomade

ABH Brow Wiz

Beauty Blender set

Elf Brushes

Elf Blush and Bronzer Duo

Covergirl Clump Crusher Mascara

EOS
Cat Von D everlasting lipstick 

Laroc Pro Palette

Milani Luminos Blush

Mac Ellie Goulding Lipsticks

Mac Margin Blush

Mac Harmony Blush

Wet n Wild Walking on eggshells trio

NYX Lip Products

NYX Taupe Blush

NYX Contour Palette 

NYX Beige Lipgloss

Urban Decay Ex Girlfriend Lipstick

Physicians Formula Mascara

Physicians Formula Happy Booster Blush

Becca X Jaclyn Hill Highlighter

Too Faced Blush Palette

Too Faced Peach Palette

I hope you enjoyed this post. If you have anything you think I have missed off then don't hesitate to comment it down below. Don't forget to check out Blossom and Daisy post out! Have a great day!
Grace xx

Spring Skincare Routine!

Hi everyone,

Can you believe it? I have been blogging for over a year now and I have never done a skincare routine! I cannot believe it either! This is probably because I have not settled down to a skincare routine until recently. I have been using these products until the end of January and I will continue to use them in the same routine until I find something better. I hope you enjoy this post and let me know whether you have tried out any of these products.

In the morning...

As soon as I wake up in the morning I head straight into the bathroom and do my skincare routine. To refresh and wake up my skin, I splash my face with warm water then lather the  Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Facial Wash over my face. This is super gentle and makes my face squeaky clean. I will then rinse all the wash off with some warm water and pat my face dry with a towel.

I will then put a bit of my Simple Soothing Facial Toner onto a cotton round and wipe that all across my face in up and down motions. I never use to use toner, but since using this, my skin has been a lot smoother and calmer in terms of redness.

Once the toner has sunken into my skin, I will moisturize with the Simple Hydrating Light Moisturizer. This just makes my skin feel super soft and nourished. It is also not greasy looking which is good because I can get quite oily.

In the evening...

Whether I am wearing makeup or not, I will always cleanse. Cleanser is one of them products that I probably switch out the most but at the moment I am loving the Soap and Glory Cleansing Milk. I use about two pumps of this and rub it over my face dry. This smells like bananas and mint (weird combo, I know!) but it removes all my makeup without irritating my skin. It is calming on the faces, refreshing and makes my skin fell so soft afterwards. If I am wearing a lot of makeup that day I might double cleanse to double check, but on a daily basis a single cleanse is enough.

This is when I go back to the products I used in the morning. To make my skin extra clean and refreshed I will use the face wash again in the same way I did in the morning.

Again, I will tone to make my skin super soft and clean.

Instead of using a light moisturizer though I will use the Simple Vital Night Cream, This is just a lot thicker in consistency and so it is a lot better at quenching my skin overnight. This has made a massive difference in my skin as it makes it so super soft in the morning and it pairs well with all the products I use with it.

Occasionally I use...

Usually once (maybe even twice) a week I will give my skin a proper scrub down. I will remove all the gunk and junk out of my pores so it's all super healthy and I don't break out. To achieve this I use the ST Ives Face Scrub, there are loads of different types of this but I like the Apricot one. This makes my skin feel amazing! It removes all of the dead skin and really helps to remove the junk out of my pores (lovely right?). 

Especially in the winter, my skin can get dry, mainly around my nose. Since my regular moisturizer is light it doesn't stop it from flaking. Of a nigh time when around my nose is super dry, I will use my Elizabeth Arden 8-Hour cream. This is amazing! It has so many different uses and it honestly workes amazingly on dry skin!

I hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know whether you would like to see more skincare routines or even a body care routine, as I really enjoyed making this one. Have a great day!
Grace xx

2016 Empties #2

Hi everyone,

For today's post I am here again writings another empties. I think this is soon going to turn into a monthly thing so let me know whether you would like that. I hope you enjoyed this post and let me know whether you have tried out any of these products.

Lynx Deodorant Body Spray

Opinion: I love the smell of this and it works well. I mostly like to use this during PE in school because it's super refreshing.

Rate out of ten: 6/10 because there are better ones out there but this is just a nice one to use.

Would I repurchase it? Yes because I usually get one in a gift set every year for Christmas.

Zoella Reed Diffuser

Opinion: This smell is just so amazing! I absolutely love it but I thought for £10 the bottle would be bigger. The packaging is super nice but quantity is a but steep. It also didn't last very long. It lasted around 1 month which is very disappointing because others last a lot longer.

Rate out of ten: 5/10 I love the smell but it is not worth the money.

Would I repurchase it? No because it was nice to use except there are better ones for cheaper out there.

The Boy Shop Frosted Cranberry Shower Gel

Opinion: This only come out around Christmas time but it smells amazing, even for all year round. The formulations of the shower gels are some of my favorite because they lather up super nicely and you only need the smallest bit.

Rate out of ten: 10/10 I love this product very much and I am super happy I have a back up.

Would I repurchase it? Yes because it is just a wonderful product.

Garnier Micellar Water

Opinion: You can't go wrong with this product, I don't really like to use this to remove my makeup just because I feel like it doesn't properly clean my face but I like this when I remove swatches, makeup smudges or even spot cleaning brushes.

Rate out of ten: 9/10 It's great but I'm sure there is something better out there

Would I repurchase it? Yes but probably the full size instead of the mini.

Zoella Body Scrub

Opinion: This is probably my favorite product that Zoe has brought out. It is super thick and it makes my skin feel amazing afterwards. The smell is amazing and the quantity is pretty generous.

Rate out of ten: 7/10 I feel like other brands do better but I still like to use this one.

Would I repurchase it? No just because I prefer Soap and Glory scrubs.

I hope you enjoyed this post, let me know what posts you would like me to do this spring! Have a great day!
Grace xx

#AdviceWithGrace - Creating a Backbone for Yourself

Hi everyone,

I want to say a huge huge thank you for the amazing feedback you gave me on my last #AdviceWithGrace, I was not expecting it to go down to well but it did, so thank you for that. Moving onto this week I am going to be talking about giving yourself a backbone.

You probably have no idea what I am talking about right now but if you are anything like me you can't stand up for yourself. This is something I am super guilty of and it comes to the point were I am ashamed of it. Giving yourself a backbone is being able to stand up for yourself and being strong for what you want. I am not encouraging anyone to only think about themselves or to be selfish, just to care about you think. 

1. You are your own #1

I am very guilty of this, I always put others before myself and it is bad! Always put yourself first because your the only one that really matters in your life. Have the intention yourself, don't do something for someone if you don't want to.

2. Keep it simple

Stop Overthinking!!! Life is too short to think think and think. If you want something, if you want to do something or you want to say something. Just do it! By over thinking you are just trying to convince yourself not to do it.

3. Speak

If you don't actually say what you feel or stand up to someone then you are going no where. Speak, say a couple words and it could change the whole situation.

Sorry for the short post today but I just felt super inspired to write about this today! Have a great day!
Grace xx