Monday, 27 October 2014

My Make Up Wishlist

Hello all, welcome back!

In today's blog I'm going to share with you all my makeup wishlist, these are things that have really caught my eye, either because that type of item is missing from my collection or just because it's a product which has really shone out to me. Please comment with your own wishlists or let me know if you have tried anything on mine.

Starting with the face:
Boots, £5.99 / image from boots.com

Seventeen is a brand which is pretty new to me, however everything I've had from there so far has been of really great quality and price, the packaging is cute too! One product especially really jumped out to me last time I was in Boots and that's their Define & Conquer kit, this is made up of a highlight powder and a contour powder and comes in a choice of two shades to best suit your skin. I have really pale skin and therefore finding an affordable contour kit which isn't too dark is difficult, however this one really hits the spot.

Next up, eyes:
£7.99, sleekmakeup.com / image also sleekmakeup.com

I have two main eye shadow palettes in my collection, both neutral with a range of mattes and shimmer, this is great for an everyday look but now that autumn is in and my wardrobe is a bit more boring than usual I really want to experiment more with colour in my makeup. This is why I've included the Sleek i-Divine eye shadow palette in Ultra Matte V2. As you can see this palette includes many neutral beige and browns but also has the great pop of colour in the form of a few purples, blues and green. My eyes are a murky green colour which means that the colours in this palette would really help the nicer green tones pop, the slightly duller shades are also a great way to incorporate colour into a simple makeup look.

Lips:

£7.99 Superdrug / image from superdrug.com

I don't often wear a solid lipstick, even though I love the look, because usually when I go out I'll be eating or drinking and having to reapply is too much hassle for me! Therefore I prefer either a tinted lip balm or a stain and that's where my next product comes in. The Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Wild Watermelon, this is a sheer lip product which gives great colour payoff and is also incredibly moisturising. 

Tool:

Boots £5.99 / image from boots.com

I'm probably the only beauty blogger out there not to own a single Real Techniques brush, I know, it's pretty tragic. However up until now I've not really experimented enough to need many kinds of the same brush, finally now I'm working on building up my collection and Real Techniques is where I would like to start. Their Miracle Complexion sponge looks really great, the pointed edge to help apply your make up in awkward areas and the flat and domed edge for a perfect finish. I just can't say enough good things about it, I've watched many a Youtuber apply their makeup with a damp beauty sponge and now it's at the top of my make up brush list!   

That is a rundown of my current make-up wishlist, hopefully I'll be ticking some things off my list soon! Once again, thank-you for reading, follow me on Twitter (@iprefergracie) and Instagram (forevergracie).

Stay golden! Gracie xo

Friday, 24 October 2014

We Were Liars book review

Hello all, welcome back!

Firstly, I'm sorry for missing Wednesday, I had a very busy day of uni work and blogging completely slipped my mind. Because of this I've decided to update only on Sunday's. So every Sunday from now on I'll upload but no more Wednesday's, this means I can juggle uni work, blog stuff as well as having a day off and time to do stuff. 
Anyway, now onto the actual blog!


This week for my final weekday blog I thought I would give you all a small book review of We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
I read this book just over a month ago and have been meaning to do a review ever since! I'm a huge bookworm - as nerdy as that may be - and since moving to uni I've had way too little time dedicated to reading. 
I hadn't heard of this book, nor its author, when I bought it (from ASDA for £3.85) but the blurb sounded good and for £4 I thought it would make a decent read for the 2 hour train journey to Edinburgh, if nothing else. But now I've read it I am so glad I got it, this book is about a girl called Cadence Sinclar Eastman and her family who all live on a private island off the coast of Massachusetts in America. The book takes you through the adventures she has with her cousins over the course of summer holidays over a few years, it goes through good times and bad times both personally and with issues surrounding her family. The great thing about this book is that it's so relatable in many ways which means you can really put yourself in the story and get into it. It makes you laugh as well as cry and is such a heartfelt honest book. It's only 250/300 words which means that it's not going to take you weeks on end to finish, and you can quickly get into the story and follow the characters individually. 

I would highly reccomend this book to people who like reading books such as The Fault In Our Stars and Perks of Being a Wallflower. If you have read it please let me know what you thought and also let me know any books which you've recently read and think I would enjoy!
Thanks for reading, stay golden! 
Gracie xo

Sunday, 19 October 2014

Edinburgh shopping Haul!



Hello all, welcome back!

Yesterday I had a very busy day shopping in Edinburgh and thought I would share with you what I picked up! This haul will be very mixed and span across a couple of different shops, so here we go!

Minnie Mouse slipper socks, various designs, Primark, £4

One of the shops I went into while on Princes Street was Primark. Usually on a Saturday I would avoid Primark as best as possible as it gets really super busy, however I was in desperate need of new slippers and I'm so glad I went in. I used to have these 'slipper socks' in plain red with Minnie Mouse on the toe and these tartan ones are such an adorable purchase to highlight my recent move to Musselburgh. 

Plastic cup with straw, Primark, £2,50
 This next buy has been on my wishlist for ages. These cups recently became a new must have item and are a plastic version of the oh-so-famous fast food cups.

Burgundy finger-less gloves, Tiger, £1
The next shop I went into was Tiger, before moving to uni I'd never been into one as there aren't any near me and I'm so excited I've now found it. For those of you who also haven't got a nearby Tiger it sells a whole range of items - toys, food, stationery - for really great prices. I couldn't resist these gloves as they're such a great autumn colour and mean that I can still operate my phone etc. without having to take off my gloves.


Large black basket,Tiger £3; cotton wool pads,Primark, £1
The final item I got from Tiger is this large black woven basket. This basket is something I've been after for ages as I hate the look of bottles and tubes just stood on shelves or counters, my room looks so much more neat and tidy now with everything tucked away. Using baskets and boxes is also a great way to create more space.

(From Tiger I also bought 20 kitchen sponges in various colours for £1 and 5 orange wire coat hangers for £1)

Seventeen Doll'd Up mascara, £6.29; Seventeen concealer £4.49; Vaseline rosy lips £2.07. All from Boots
The final shop I went into was Boots (surprise, surprise), firstly I headed to the Seventeen booth as they are currently running a 3 for 2 offer on all of their products. Here I bought the Seventeen Doll'd Up mascara in black along with the Seventeen up to 18 hour stay time concealer in Extra Fair (as well as a gel nail polish for my flatmate). In return for letting her have my 3rd item in the 3 for 2, my flatmate bought me the Vaseline lip therapy + SPF 15 in rosy lips. This provides great protection against SPF as well as making them soft and providing a rosy tint. This lip balm isn't as tinted as the Nivea rosy lips however it's great for a healthy everyday hint of pink. 

That is all for my Edinburgh haul! I love going shopping in Edinburgh as there are so many places to go and everywhere is smothered in history and beautiful buildings. I'll be back on Wednesday with a review of the book We Were Liars by E Lockhart. 
Hope you enjoyed seeing my recent purchases, as always you can find me at twitter (@iprefergracie) & Instagram (forevergracie).

See you next time, stay golden!
Gracie xo

Friday, 17 October 2014

Busy, busy, bumble bee!

Hello all, welcome back!

Firstly I would like to apologise for my complete lack of blogging!
The trouble first began when my laptop had to go into repair, what first was supposed to take 1 week eventually spanned into two meaning that I barely had it back in time when I was supposed to be writing an essay. Now that that's all out of the way and I have my life a *little* bit more on track, I'll be back to regularly updating my blog.

My university schedule is starting to fill up a bit now (I recently became my class' class rep) so I may end up winding the blogs down to only posting on Sunday's, however I'm going to see how it goes. Obviously this Friday blog is out of the blue and therefore I'll end it here and be back on Sunday with a haul from my day of shopping in Edinburgh!

Thank you all for reading, stay golden! 

Gracie xo