"These Are A Few Of My Favourite Things."

10 points for you if you identified the Sound Of Music title reference there, good job!

I felt that after my opening, Lionel Richie lyric-titled blogpost, the horrifically unfunny blogpost title's needed to make a reappearance. So TA DAH!

Anyway! Over the past few months, I have discovered a few new favourites! Hooray! Whether it be music, make-up, food or movies, I thought it would be nice to impart these new found gems onto you guys!?

Lets talk about the best one first shall we?

Favourite Food: DARK CHOCOLATE MCVITIES DIGESTIVES. 

Now if I'm being completely honest, dark chocolate is not my fav. It is a bit too bitter for my lil' tastebuds and I just generally prefer to gorge on the milk kind. HOWEVER. OH MY LORDY. If you like normal, milk chocolate digestives then I can virtually guarantee that you will thoroughly enjoy these. Because the digestive part of the biscuit is a little bit sweet, this contrasts the bitterness of dark chocolate, which results in a rather delicious sweet treat. (That was not meant to come out sounding like a review in a food magazine... Apologies.) Furthermore, I would like to put a disclaimer out there that I cannot be held responsible for those, who (like me) finish a whole packet of these in approximately 20 minutes..

(I wish I was lying.)

Favourite New Album: Disclosure- Caracal 

I know, I know, that this album has been out for a little while now and I'm a bit late on the bandwagon. But personally when a new album comes out, I like to listen to it on repeat for a week so that I can identify my favourites, then play those ones in particular on repeat for another couple of weeks until I get sick of them.. Obviously, everyone is familiar with Omen featuring the fabulous Sam Smith, Holding On featuring the powerhouse that is Gregory Porter and possibly, a long time favourite of mine, Bang That. However, I have identified a few new, current favourites! These are:

Superego (ft Nao)
Magnets (ft Lorde)
Jaded 
Nocturnal (ft The Weeknd)

And my absolute favourite

Moving Mountains (ft Brendan Reilly) 

I binge watched all of the videos that Disclosure posted on their Youtube channel of their 'AmexUnstaged' concert. So when I came across this live performance and this guy's voice, I had it on repeat for a solid hour. Alas, a new favourite was born!

Oh I nearly forgot to mention! As I'm sure many of my close friends will tell you, I have been DYING to see Disclosure live for SO long, not just because I may or may not have a crush on Howard (google him, if you're not sure which one he is.) But because after watching videos of their show at Alexandra Palace last year, I just knew I had to somehow get tickets for their next tour.
So when the gorgeous duo announced their latest tour to promote this new album, I scanned the dates in approximately 5 seconds, saw that they were doing 2 (now 3) dates at Ally Pally and I GOT ME SOME TICKETS! (dancing lady in red dress emoji)
So on the 2nd of December I will be seeing these boys live! EEEEK! Of course I will try and get as many pictures and videos as possible so that I can write a blogpost about it!

My New Favourite Lipstick (that I really did not need, but purchased anyway..):

Mac- Fast Play

Here are some shameful selfies just so you can see what the colour looks like on. (Yes I forgot to save the first picture without the snapchat banner on.. We've all been there lets be honest.)

As I mentioned in my Everyday Make-Up post, Mac's Soar lipliner with Mehr lipstick over the top, is one of my favourite lip combinations and probably the one that I have had the most compliments and questions on! I always get told that the shade that this combination ends up as on my lips, is one that compliments my skin tone! So with that in mind, I wanted to get a similar colour but with more of a berry undertone to it and a bit deeper in colour so that it was a bit more autumnal. With much deliberation, I decided to go with Youtuber, Lily Pebbles' recommendation of Fast Play! I definitely did not need this lipstick, as I have many similar colours and dupes in my make-up stash. However, that being said, I am so glad I bought it! Because it is an amplified finish, it is a lot creamier and therefore easier to apply (which is great news for a lipstick noob like myself..) I find that with Soar and Mehr, they leave my lips feeling very dry and looking a bit too matte for my liking, so this is a perfect alternative for when i can't be bothered to faff with both lipliner and lipstick! I would thoroughly recommend!

My New Favourite Film (and consequently) New Crush:

Film: The Longest Ride

Crush/ Future Husband (in my dreams): SCOTT EASTWOOD. (insert unlimited love heart eyes emoji.)

2 words, Google him. 

No descriptive paragraph needed..

Lets just say, I've already pre-ordered the film in preparation for it's DVD release on November 2nd.

New Favourite Youtuber: 

sunbeamsjess/ extrasunbeamsjess

I discovered her whilst I was in my gap year planning/excitement bubble.. She had uploaded this v.helpful gap year planning video and I've been hooked ever since!
I just love how natural she is! Her videos are so easy to watch, especially her vlogs, she just seems so genuine and natural on camera, not like she is putting on a front if you get what I mean? And she is  so so gorgeous and her sense of style is so refreshing, like I would DIE for her wardrobe! She has a very eclectic style which I love and I am so obsessed with her ear piercings and her rings/sunglasses collections, however I would never be able to pull most of these off, so I think I'll just admire through my screen..
As I say her vlogs have me hooked! Her current vlogtober series are the first videos I watch every morning whilst I'm getting ready for work and her travelling vlogs, seriously, just wow. Trust me once you've watched them you'll wanna hop on a plane and jet off around the globe! (Like I will hopefully be doing next year!)

I hope you have all enjoyed this post and are currently eating McVities Dark Chocolate Digestives, whilst googling Scott Eastwood and listening to Dsiclosure's new album!

Kez xxx

Oh Hi Stranger!

I'M SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY.

When I started my blog, I said to myself, "I will never become one of those people who starts a blog, and then a few posts in, just neglects it completely."

Yet here I am..

To cut a long story very short, in order for me to be able to fund my travelling ventures, (which I will update you on in a bit. VERY EXCITING.) I have had to go full time at my current job. This means that when I'm not working I am either catching up on sleep or eating... (What a life I lead eh.)

However, as I have obviously just passed my test I have been on the lookout for a car. (WHICH HAS BEEN VERY UNSUCCESSFUL AND FRUSTRATING) This meant that my days off were spent galavanting around our area, looking at cars in the hope of securing one of my own!

However, much to my disappointment and frustration, this didn't happen. Every car we looked at just wasn't right in some way or another, so here I am, over 3 weeks post-test, STILL without a car (*cries*).

So as I had spent my days off getting frustrated and upset about not securing a car, consequently this meant that;
1. I wasn't in the right frame of mind to write blogposts.
2. I hadn't spent my days off doing/buying anything interesting worth writing about..

Nevertheless, I thought that instead of forcing out a new make-up or clothing post, I would just give you a little update on what's going on in Kez's life!

So first and foremost. LAUREN AND I HAVE (pretty much) PLANNED OUT OUR TRAVELLING ROUTE!! We have yet to properly book anything yet, but after spending 5 hours in STA planning flights, accommodation, routes etc etc..
We have decided to do a two week tour in Australia, going from Cairns all the way to Sydney. I will go into a lot more detail about this tour when we have definitely booked it, but lets just say this is probably the part of the trip that I am most excited about! Because as you know from my Top 10 Places That I Want To Visit post, Aus is top of the list! We then decided that after a whirlwind 14 day tour in Aus, a week in Fiji would be rather delicious don't ya think!? We are looking to stay at the Blue Lagoon Resort which is on a secluded island in the middle of nowhere. Bliss. Now obviously we haven't booked it yet so I can't get too excited, but if you're a jealous person, don't type the resort name into Google images..

Lastly, we decided that if we were going to do Aus, it would only be right to do Thailand too, right? We are HOPEFULLY going to be visit an elephant sanctuary which looks after old and sick elephants (*heart melts*) for 4 days, before venturing onto do a 9 day tour of Thailand. This is the area that is a bit up in the air at the moment so I can't confirm anything for sure, as we don't know what tour we want to do yet. But nevertheless I am so bloody excited!!!!!

Obviously this sort of once in a lifetime trip comes at a cost.. And as I will be paying for it all myself this means that I will be work work workingggggggg. Unfortunately this means that I probably won't be able to update you guys on here as often as I would like :((( However! I will try my absolute hardest to write at least 1 blogpost a week!?
I apologise now, as I can see myself having to refrain from writing about travelling in every single blogpost, seeing as we are having to pay for the 6 week trip in bits. But I have a few outings planned that I may be able to blog about in the near future, so keep your eyes peeled!

Thank you for your patience, you lovely people! I promise I won't leave it so long until the next blog post!

Kez xxx

Say Hello To The MAC 'Warm Neutrals Palette'

Just going to start off by saying that I am well aware of my complete contradiction to my last blogpost... If you cast your eyes over the opening paragraph, you'll see me talking about how 99% of the time I'm too lazy to put eyeshadow on as an everyday occurrence. Yet somehow, when payday CRAWLED rolled around last week, alongside repurchasing my beloved Strobe Cream and Fix+, (they've both reached holy grail status for sure), the MAC 'Warm Neutrals Palette' somehow (??!???) found it's way into my basket?!! (How that happened I have no idea!?) (No seriously, when it's supposed to be £65, but with price match and discount it becomes £44, you just cannot pass that sort of deal up.) So anyway, off I skipped down to Customer Collection the next day to pick up my parcel of MAC goodies, and after the longest day at work, I finally arrived home, grabbed a pair of scissors and ripped open the box (*cue angels*)

Now at first I'm not gonna lie, the palette itself was a lot smaller than I remembered from when I had been lusting over it in the store, but once I saw the eyeshadows themselves, that was soon forgotten about. As the name suggests the palette is filled with neutral colours with warm undertones, I chose this one over the 'Cool Neutrals Palette'. Firstly, because I preferred the colours in this one, so therefore would get a lot more use out of them, And secondly, with autumn coming up, the deeper browns and berry shades are going to be bang on trend (especially with my green peepers) which will hopefully inspire me to brave a bolder eye more regularly!

So I'm sure, the vast majority of you, (like me) have seen and/or are lusting over this palette, but for those of you who haven't seen the palette, (have been living under a rock) Here's a look at the palette that's prettier than most people I know..

Top Row (from left to right): Hey, Warm Breeze, Gingersnap, Dark Brew and Dance In The Dark.

Middle Row (L to R): Brule, Vanilla Extract, Honey Lust, Amber Lights and Saddle.

Bottom Row (L to R): Lemon Tart, Creative Copper, Butterfudge, Devine Decadence and Unwind.

Now I know alot of you will be thinking, Kez what makes this palette better than the millions of other neutral, smoky, brown palettes on the market?? And how the jeff did you justify spending £44???
To answer the first question, if I compare this to my Urban Decay Naked 3 palette for example, I know the Naked 3 palette is a lot more on the rose gold side of the spectrum rather than deep brown's. But in term of the eyeshadows' formulation, it is identical to its older sisters the Naked and Naked2 palettes which consist of deeper brown shades. The reasons why I prefer the MAC palette over the Urban Decay palette; are the pigmentation of the shadows, the lack of fallout and the blend ability of the shadows. In terms of pigmentation, you get a lot of bang for your buck! These shadows sure do pack a punch! Now obviously some of the more neutral colours such as the four in the picture below, are a lot less pigmented than most of the other colours. However, these shades are vital in creating a beautiful eye! These colours can be used as transition shades, to highlight under the brow or to dab, (or smother in my case) onto the inner corner of the eye for a more wide awake look. These are also perfect if you're doing a super simple daytime look where you want to make it look as if you're not wearing any makeup at all. Buy just dusting one of these colours over the lid, you can conceal any unwanted redness or even veins on the eyelids with the help of some eye primer or even concealer!

Now these colours (above) on the other hand are P I G M E N T E D. Normally with my Naked3 palette, I have to spray some Fix+ onto my eyeshadow brush to make it damp, so that when I dip my brush into the colour and then dab it onto my lid, it is a lot deeper and more opaque. With these, this is NOT the case.

In my opinion, the biggest downside to the Naked palettes are the amount of fallout!?  Even though they are filled with some of the most gorgeous shades, that look like they would be absolutely stunning on the lid, as soon as you go to apply them, half of it ends up under your eye or on your cheekbones! As a result of this, the colour pay off isn't as good as the MAC shadows. Furthermore, I don't find the Urban Decay shadows to be very build able or easy to blend? I use (mainly) my MAC 217 blending brush to blend out my eyeshadows and I've found that the MAC eyeshadows are SO much easier to blend than the Urban Decay ones? They don't move around or transfer elsewhere when you're trying to blend them and they blend out nicely so that you can build on top of them or leave them be!

Obviously, I cracked open this palette, the morning after I got it.. (I mean it would be rude not to right?!) And this was the look I created!

As you may be able to tell by my attire? I did actually wear this look to work! So in my opinion, this is a perfectly wearable everyday look! (If you're brave enough to wear it of course!) First of all I took 'Brule', and patted it under my brow bone as a highlight. Then I took the matte brown shade 'Saddle' and blended this through my crease with my 217 blending brush, I repeated this step twice to get the desired colour payoff I wanted! I then took the GORGEOUS dark, shimmery brown shade 'Divine Decadence' that I believe is exclusive to the palette and packed it onto my lid. Now this is one of the shades that is VERY opaque and one that you literally only need one application of onto the lid (v.pigmented!). I then took another one of my favourites 'Dark Brew' (another palette exclusive I believe), the dark, berry-toned shade, and blended it into the outer corner of my eyelid and slightly into the crease. I then took 'Saddle' again and blended it just above that 'Dark Brew' shade that I had put in the crease, just to add a slightly lighter transition shade between the berry shade and the 'Brule' highlight. Oh and I also added a bit of 'Warm Breeze' into the inner corner of my eyes as an inner corner highlight! (Can't forget that bit!)

Another new thing for me was taking the eyeshadow under my eye slightly! Now I have tried to do this step in the past and it has turned out to be disastrous.. I mean this in the sense that it legitimately looked like I had either been punched in the eye or hadn't slept for a month. However! I've found that if you literally use the tiniest amount and just run it along the underneath of your lower lashes, then just blend it so that it is a lot softer, it can look quite nice! So just in case you were wondering, I took 'Dark Brew' and 'Divine Decadence' under my eye and blended them out.

Obviously you can decide whether you like this look or not, and/or whether this palette is top of your lust list now, thanks to me, (aka Kez the enabler.) Sorry...
However, I'm sure a lot of you will still be wondering whether it is worth the money? Now I know most of you don't have the luxury of the discount I obtained and so £65 is very steep for some jeffin' eyeshadows! However, if you simply can't wait till Christmas when you can whack it onto your Christmas list and you fancy treating yourself, I would say go for it! If you are, (like me) a make-up lover or just enjoy experimenting with makeup and are on the hunt for a new eyeshadow palette, I would recommend this one over the Naked palettes! Although this one is double the price of one Naked palette, there is a good reason for that! If you're still not convinced by my persuasive ways, get yourself down to a MAC store and get one of the makeup artists to try a look out on you! They'll also be able to tell you which palette out of the Warm or Cool Neutrals, they think would suit your eye colour and skin tone best! It may be that you are more of a Cool toned gal?

Hope you have enjoyed this post?
Who knew I could ramble on so long about bloomin' eyeshadows??
Congratulations if you have made it this far, your letter for your knighthood is on its way to you as we speak!

Kez xxx

I DID IT!! (Part 2- The Driving Test)

I know that most people will have seen the title of this blogpost and thought, "Seriously Kez??" "You've really written a blogpost on your driving test??" And yes I know to some this may seem a bit sad, because in reality it is just driving for 30-40 minutes to find out whether you've passed or failed. So surely my (cliché) Instagram 'certificate photo' was enough no? Clearly not!

So incase you hadn't gathered by the title or by cleverly read between the lines of that cryptic opening paragraph. I KERRY MARTIN, PASSED MY DRIVING TEST ON THE 23RD OF SEPTEMBER 2015. (First time can I just add!)

So as a bit of a narrator, I think it's best if I take you through my driving 'journey' if you will! (No pun intended..)
If you've been reading my blog from the beginning then you'll (hopefully) have read THIS blogpost. If you scroll through this post, you'll come across a paragraph where I briefly talk about my experience of driving and driving lessons. As you can see, it wasn't exactly smooth sailing! In this same blogpost I talk about my lack of self confidence and how it just makes everything a bit of a chore, and that's putting it lightly! I don't know when/where this all started, but it makes trying new things/visiting new places a bit more difficult for little Kez!

Anyway, after having my test moved from the August to September (due to my examiner not being available), I had a bit more time to practice and really start fine tuning my driving. In hindsight, I am so glad that my test was moved because I definitely would have failed if I had taken the test in August! The difference between my driving in July compared to where it was two weeks before my test is astonishing!
Moving the story along to the week before test and oh my lordy lord the nerves. Even just people asking me about my test and how my lessons were going would make my stomach turn into knots. (I realise that this sounds so silly, but imagine something that you were really nervous for; like a show, a game, an exam, whatever it is, then just imagine that x2, that's how nervous I was everyday leading up to my test.
And the worst part is, I had been so excited at the prospect of taking my first ever driving test, that I had told EVERY MAN AND HIS DOG when my test was and at what time..
Just one bit of advice there for any of you that are having lessons or are just about to book your test, DO NOT TELL EVERYONE WHEN YOUR TEST IS. YOU WILL REGRET IT. So having notified the Earth's population, this meant that as someone who worries about pretty much everything, I was constantly worried about the embarrassment of having to tell everyone that I'd failed.

I had a mock test of the Sunday before my test (on the Wednesday just gone) and even though I had been told by  numerous people that pretty much everyone fails their mock tests, I ended up making such stupid mistakes that I would never normally have done, which resulted in me getting very angry and disappointed with myself. Coming home to an empty house 'post-mock test' meant that I ended up bawling my eyes out, and crying down the phone to my mum about how I couldn't do my test and how I had never felt so nervous or sick for anything etc etc.. (You get the gist that I wasn't a happy bunny..) Obviously being a mum, she knew exactly what to say to calm me down and reassure me that I was going to be fine, that my mock test was the worst it could possibly go and that I was going to be fabulous. (Is there a handbook or a school that mum's attend when their children are born, where they learn all of this stuff? Because SIGN ME UP!)

(So I can reassure myself, not my child.. Don't worry Mum I'm not preggers.)

So the Monday and Tuesday before test day, consisted of having a driving lesson in the morning, finishing in town and then going to work. Both of those lessons went relatively well, so thankfully confidence had been restored from the crappy mock test, and I was starting to believe that I could actually pass my test! (Hoorah!) Now I realise that I am making myself sound like the WORST driver, but even with my lack of self-confidence, I can safetly say that I am actually a good driver, I just didn't believe that I was!

Tuesday night= THE WORST NIGHT'S SLEEP EVER & FEELING LIKE I WAS GONNA VOM EVERY 5 MINUTES.

So after that fabulous night's 'sleep' that I'd had, my alarm went off at 6:45 (I say 'went off'.. I was already awake so it just made me jump..) Dragged myself into the shower hoping it would make me feel more awake and less nauseous, (it didn't). Pulled on some comfy clothes (v.important, the last thing you want when you're trying to concentrate as hard as possible, is the worry that your top is too low or that your skirt is riding up. So opt for something really comfy both clothes and shoes wise (no heeled boots lads, sorry). So I go downstairs in an attempt to fuel myself with some food, but all I managed was a quarter of a slice of dry toast (delicious) before I felt queasy again. My mum wished me good luck and gave me a hug (bad move there, because everyone knows as soon as your mum hugs you when you're feeling said, tears are going to fall..)

Anyway Sian, (my fab driving instructor) arrived, and off we went! She could quite clearly sense that I was absolutely sh***ng myself, so constantly reassured me that I was going to be okay and that the only thing that would cause me to fail would be my nerves. That was the killer, the fact that something virtually out of my control could be the reason that I failed, really annoyed me.

So after driving through stop, start traffic pretty much all the way to the test centre, we eventually arrived and went inside to meet my examiner and sign the forms.

My examiner was so so lovely, he instantly put me at ease which was exactly what I needed. I successfully completed the sight test  and the two show me, tell me questions and off we went! Now I'm not going to waffle about what happened in my actual test too much because to be completely honest it would be very tedious and boring! But basically, my manoeuvre was a turn in the road (which I know a lot of you will be hoping for, because it is probably the easiest one!) But to be completely honest, I kind of wanted him to ask me to do a left hand reverse! I had practiced them so much and was kind of hoping I was gonna get to whip one out, but a turn in the road was what I was asked for, so that's (obviously) what I did! (Probably for the best to be honest.. Knowing my luck, that would've been the time I mounted the curb..)

Anyway, I pulled back into the test centre and I felt like one of those bloomin' X-Factor contestants with their sob stories, waiting to find out whether I'd passed or not! My heart was pounding so fast and so loudly that I thought he was going to ask me to turn it down! He then proceeded to ask me; "How do you think you did?" and I was sat there thinking, "I don't jeffin' know do I?! You're the examiner!!" I just replied with a slightly shaky, "Yeah I think I did okay?" And then he said those two BEAUTIFUL words "You've passed" and I honestly went into a state of shock. It was like everything was in slow motion, I looked at him, then at my instructor and then back at him and was like OH MY GOD I DID IT!! I BLOODY DID IT!! I thanked my examiner about a million times and then jumped out of the car and gave Sian a mahoosive hug!)

Sian dropped me off in town for work (not before getting a GORGEOUS (sarcasm) photo of me posing with my certificate like a lemon with a grin not too dissimilar to a Chesire cat's! I then thanked her a million times and said my goodbyes :( (this bit was a bit emosh, because Sian and I had the best lessons! She made them so fun and we constantly giggled and gossiped and it was like saying goodbye to a friend!) After the goodbyes were done, I cartwheeled walked to work and then let everyone at work (part of the every man and his dog crew) that I had passed!

All in all, probably one of the best days ever!

Someone very close to me sent me a message yesterday and it has really stuck with me: "Another obstacle overcome.. For someone who can lack self-confidence, you're doing an amazing job of conquering everything!"

Now I wouldn't normally share personal messages, but this one really encapsulates my whole driving experience. I wanted to write this post, because even though I know that everyone gets nervous before their driving test, I don't think some people realise just how much, seemingly small things, such as exams, shows and tests can affect some people mentally and physically! (GETTING VERY DEEP NOW, DON'T WORRY I'LL GET US OUT OF THIS.)

Basically all I wanted to do with this post, is prove that even though I have been through what seems like a bit of an emotional ordeal, I wouldn't do anything differently! The nerves and the sickness and the constant worrying, although horriffic at the time, made hearing the words, "you've passed" so much more amazing! Knowing that I've done this, proves to myself that I am a lot more capable and resilient that I give myself credit for and hopefully now I will begin to have more confidence in myself and my abilities!

If you're ever doubting yourself, just remember you really can do it, all the doubting and worrying is all in your head! *fist pump*

Kez xxx

My Everyday Make-Up

When I wake up in the morning, I roll out of bed, traipse to the bathroom and eventually, after sitting for 20 minutes on the toilet trying to pick the best shower playlist, hop, (who am I kidding, flop,) into the shower. I return to my room, and usually have about 20-30 minutes to do my make-up before I have to be downstairs in the kitchen making breakfast and the essential morning cuppa. (PRIORITIES.)

Now I don't know about the rest of you, but 99% of the time, I am NAAAT feeling eyeshadow as part of my everyday makeup. I barely have enough time to put the basics on, let alone faffing around with packing the colour onto my lid, blending (repeat x10), adding a darker colour to give depth in the crease, adding an even darker colour on the outer third of the lid, and then defining the outer edge of the eye with a cotton bud so that my eyeliner goes into a sharp point. (I'm worn out even thinking about and typing those steps..)
Occasionally I will give myself a bit more time to get ready, only then does an eyeshadow situation occur, aside from those times, fancy eye make-up is strictly reserved for nights out. (To all you gals who wear beautifully blended eyeshadow on a regular basis, I JEFFIN' SLAUTE YOU. THAT IS A WORK OF ART AND ENDURANCE.

So lets start shall we?

Skincare/Base:

As I mentioned in my Highlighter 101 post, I am very much a dewy make-up follower. So to create my deliciously dewy base, I start off moisturising and adding some glow to remove the dullness from my skin with Mac Strobe Cream. I then spray 4-5 spritz's of Mac's Prep & Prime Fix+ all over my face, and then sit like a lemon for about 20 seconds, fanning my face and waiting for that all to sink in to my skin.

In terms of foundation, I switch it up a little bit! I know some people say that foundation is their saviour and they have that one holy grail foundation. But to be completely honest, without sounding like I'm bragging, I don't really need to wear foundation! I am very lucky in the way that my family all have/had pretty good skin so I have never suffered with acne or sensitive skin. Now don't go thinking that I have some sort of Victoria Secret Angel's skin because that is certainly NOT the case! I always have at least one little spot somewhere, little buggers... So what I'm trying to say with that stupidly long-winded explanation, is that some days if i just C B A to deal with the hassle of foundation, I just whack on some concealer and powder and I'm away!

But if I do wear foundation, it is usually between my No7, Stay Perfect Foundation (the shade has rubbed off, so I'm not sure what one I am but they have an amazing colour match machine so go get colour matched!) Or my Nars Sheer Glow in the shade Mont Blanc. I usually opt, surprisingly, for my No7 one purely for the ease of application! Both are fairly similarly in formulation, however the Nars one doesn't have a pump and that really gets on my nerves! Now I know that you can buy pumps for them, but I'm sorry if I'm paying £31 I expect a jeffin' pump! So yeah that's why I usually gravitate towards my No7 one. However I would say that the Nars Sheer Glow one does give a slightly dewier complexion, a slightly fuller coverage and has slightly longer staying power. I usually apply my foundation, first with the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush and then with a damp, Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge. I use the brush to distribute the foundation as evenly as possible across my face, then I use the sponge to really push the product into my skin so that it's not just laying on the surface and can be easily wiped away. Also, I sometimes find that the brush leaves streaks across my face from the brush fibres, so I dab the sponge all over my face just to make sure I don't look streaky!

Concealer/Powder

I'm sure most people are aware that there are mainly, two different types of concealers. One type of concealers are those formulated for covering dark circles under the eyes, and others for covering up those pesky pimples! I use the Maybelline Eye Eraser Concealer to cover up my horrific under eye bags.. (As you can see by the picture, mine is pretty gross atm.. Sorry..) It is one of those concealers where you have to turn the middle of it and the concealer comes up from the bottom and into the applicator, which in this case, is a sponge one. Now, I do really recommend this concealer as it is really easy to apply and blend. Mine is in the shade Light (that's a shock, not..) And I just apply this in 2 triangles under my eyes, dragging it out towards my cheekbones to help highlight and brighten my under eyes. However the one problem I have with this concealer, is that surely the sponge must be really unhygienic after a few applications?? All of the excess concealer from the previous application is left in and on the surface of the sponge, so that surely can't be working wonders for my skin? However still a fab concealer, but I recommend getting a new one every 1-2 months for hygiene reasons!

The concealer I use to cover my spots (ew) is a renowned favourite of mine and I'm sure many of you lot! And that's the Collection, Lasting Perfection Concealer (and yes I did just have to google the name and double check it was right because the bloody label/name has rubbed off!? I know this happens all the time to most people, so I'm assuming that you reading this, similarly feel my pain? I get mine in the shade Fair 1, and to be fair (lol) I probably could do with getting the next shade darker because it is a bit light for my skin tone (a miracle I know.) With spot-covering concealers, you want to use one that is as close to your foundation/natural skin shade as possible because you want it to cover up the spot, not highlight it like the under eye concealer (obviously..) I have made the mistake of using a concealer that was too light for me before, and it ended up looking like I had halo's around my spots, which unfortunately drew more (unwanted) attention to them.. NOT CUTE. Again, I would thoroughly recommend this concealer, it is probably one of my holy grail products in my makeup bag. I must have gotten through at least 10 on these in my life, and at only £4.19 a tube it doesn't exactly break the bank.

Powder wise, another holy grail product, I currently am and always have used, the Rimmel London, Stay Matte Pressed Powder in the shade 006, Warm Beige. As someone who has Normal to Combination skin, I don't exactly look for products to remove shine/excess oil from my face, because there is none!  Having said that, I know girls who have oilier skins and they tend to opt for powders such as the Mac Pro Longwear Pressed Powder, because it is has a higher coverage and helps to absorb some of the excess oil and consequently reduce the shine! However, I think that if you have a similar skin type or are on the hunt for a cheap powder that is still very effective, give this one a go for sure!

Bronzer/Highlighter

When I had my makeup done at MAC a few months ago for my Summer Ball...

The gorgeous Nichola, (savethosekisses on Instagram, check her out!) who I absolutely adore (Hiya Nichola if you're reading this!) used Mac's Matte Bronzing Powder on me and I LOVED IT. I believe I have the shade Refined Golden but I may well be mistaken, because like my Collection concealer, the label has faded.. I digress! This bronzer does admittedly look slightly, dauntingly orange in the pan, but I assure you, comes out a gorgeous golden colour. I must point out that this does need to be used with a very light hand though because it quickly becomes very dark! I love that this bronzer is, as it says, completely matte. Because I have used other bronzers in the past that have had shimmer in them and with all of the highlighter and glow already on my face, more shimmer is NOT what I need. I use the Real Techniques Blush Brush to apply it, I swirl the brush into the pan, tap off any excess, dust some of it off onto the back of my hand so that it isn't too harsh. Then I suck in my cheekbones like a fish to find the hollows of my cheeks and gently buff the bronzer into the hollows in circular motions to make sure there are no harsh lines. I also apply some to my temples, making sure I blend it into my hairline as well! And then finally along my jaw bone and MOST IMPORTANTLY down my neck! ORANGE FACE + WHITE NECK = MAKEUP SIN.

I'm sure that you guys have had enough of my highlighter rambles, so I won't natter on any more! Take a look at my Highlighter 101 and my The Game Changer posts, to read a bit more in depth into my favourite 'glow-getters' (get it? Go-getters?) (Yep I'll stop..) But I basically switch between all of these highlighters depending on my mood, my skin tone (Casper the ghost or fake-tanned) or normally whichever one is closest!

Now a step that I'm sure 99.9% of you don't do, or even know about for that matter is inner corner highlighting! Normally you would only use an inner corner highlight in combination with the eyeshadow that you had applied onto your lids. However, as I have explained, I tend to skip the eyeshadow on a day to day basis but I do still apply an inner corner highlight! To most this will seem strange and silly-looking, but personally I love it. I dip my ring finger into my MUA-Undress Your Skin Highlighter and apply it (generously) to the inner corners of my eyes. Because this highlighter is more pearlescent based, applying it onto the inner corners of my eyes really brings out the whites of my eyes and makes me look more awake (which I desperately need..)

Brows:

Another, summer ball makeover enabled purchase from Nichola was Mac's Eyebrow Pencil in Lingering. This has changed my brow game. Now I'm not saying that my brows are "on fleek" because they are far from it, but they have DEFINITELY improved. I used to use a Rimmel eyebrow pencil, but because it kept going blunt from where I kept using it, I wasn't able to get the sharp defined strokes that I get with the Mac pencil. It is a retractable pencil, so as the product gets used and consequently worn down, you twist it to bring more of the product up.
However, one major downfall with this product is how quickly it gets used up. I reckon I go through one of these a month? (crazyyyy) and also, I've found that when it gets towards the end, the product snaps off frequently :((( But nevertheless, I still really like this product and would recommend it!

Lashes:

I am one of girls who uses two mascaras... This is NOT necessary by any means, but I do prefer the way my eyelashes look with both mascara's on as opposed to just one of them.

Before I apply any mascara, I curl my eyelashes. I know that to some, eyelash curlers look like a terrifying contraption resembling something from one of the Saw movies, but I assure you they are perfectly safe. Just make sure you don't accidentally catch your eyelid when you clamp your lashes down, because I can tell you from numerous experiences, that this BLOODY HURTS.
First up, I use the Maybelline, The Falsies Volum' Express Mascara in Black Drama. I use this mascara primarily to give my lashes some volume (as the name suggests..) and I must say it is amazing! Eventhough it is a wetter formula compared to the other mascara, once you've let it dry it doesn't budge! Next up, to give my lashes some much needed length, I use the Loreal False Lash Telescopic Mascara in Magnetic Black. THIS IS FAB. If I could only wear one of these mascara's, it would be this one for sure. It really does give my stumpy lashes some well needed length, so that they can actually be seen!

Lips:

I'm kind of ashamed to admit this.. But on most days I generally just whack on some Vaseline and I'm out the door! Because I work in retail and I only normally get one break, there's not many opportunities to keep touching up my lipstick/lipliner to make sure it doesn't bleed down my face.. However, with that being said I have become a lot more adventurous recently! My favourite combo's at the moment are all from Mac. First up is my favourite 'pinkier' combo; Soar Lipliner with Mehr Lipstick over the top. Then for a more brown-toned lip, I tend to opt for Spice Lipliner with Velvet Teddy Lipstick over the top! If you're just looking to wear one lip product on it's own, and are looking for a shade in between pink and brown, I would point you in the direction of the infamous Whirl Lipliner (an apparent favourite of Kylie Jenner's.)

So this post turned out to be A LOT longer than I had planned, and that now makes me look like I cake the make up on my face, but I can assure you that this look is VERY natural. As a complete eyeliner noob, I steer clear of the "feline flick" as it usually turns out to be more of a "feline face" after I attempt to make them even.. So with no eyeliner or eyeshadow involved, this means that it is a very natural looking face!

Hope you've enjoyed this post (*essay*)

Kez xxx

My Favourite Blogs - The Top 5

Now I don't want y'all to think, that I'm trying to get rid of you already...

But I constantly get asked about my blog and if/how I knew I wanted to be a journalist/start this blog. And the truth is, because of these blogs below!

As a youngster, I always loved English, I loved writing, be it poems, short stories or even creating my own magazine. (I even modelled for the photos that accompanied the articles.. I'll let you imagine how horrific those photos were..)
As I've grown up, with the growth of Youtube and blogging, I have become more and more influenced by media and the freedom of putting your own opinions and ideas on the web! So with that being said, after the whirlwind of UCAS and university visiting, it would be an understatement to say that I was encapsulated in the world of journalism and media after all the course researching that I had been doing.
Lots of the university lecturers had said to me, that if I was planning on taking a gap year, then the best things to do to fill my time usefully, would be to either try and get work experience or internships anywhere that you can, or to start a blog or a magazine to keep my writing ticking over.
So my blog was born!

So without further ado, in fifth place:

The Trend Pear:

Now if any of you, were crazy 'directioners', (I'm so not ashamed to admit that) like myself back in the day, then you will have heard of Louis Tomlinson's ex-girlfriend Eleanor Calder.

Now not waiting to label her by her past relationships, I must stress that Eleanor has been one of my fashion icons for a long, long time. I used to follow countless tumblr blogs, based solely on the outfits that she was papped wearing and desperately tried to find similar items in my wardrobe so that I could dress as similarly as possible! (I was a bit of a weird child tbh..) So when I was scrolling through my twitter feed and saw that her best friend Max Hurd and herself, had started a fashion- based blog, I couldn't click on the link fast enough!! With some stunning photography, and a beautifully minimalistic layout, this blog is fast becoming one of my favourite blogs to peruse on pay day (BAD MOVE) when I'm on the hunt for new clothes. Everything is so clearly linked and easy to find, and they even provide cheaper and similar alternatives to cater for all readers and bank balances! LOVE LOVE LOVE.

In fourth position:

Mariannan:

Now I'm virtually certain that no-one will have heard of this blog, and that makes me sad! Because boy oh boy are you guys missing out!

The first thing that drew me to this blog was the photography. Just simply stunning! She obviously must get asked about what camera she uses to capture these beauties, because she has written in her bio at the top of the page, that she uses a Nikon D610. *opens new tab and types into google.*

 Now I know this is a fashion based blog, but, personally I prefer the above blog in terms of my sense of style! But her interior/home blogposts and pictures are a D R E A M. Lets just say, I imminently want to move into my own apartment and get her to be my interior designer. Also, as if her blog isn't enough, I even have her on snapchat (mariannan), and there are regular house/lifestyle updates on there that have me lusting over everything she snaps!

If I have any Finnish readers (hello there!) then you are in luck! As a multi-linguist, she is able to write her blogposts in English and then translate them into Finnish underneath (wowza).

(Don't be getting any ideas..)

In at number 3:

Lily Pebbles

As I'm sure you are all well aware now, Lily Pebbles is one of my absolute favourite beauty/fashion/lifestyle Youtubers and bloggers. She first started writing her blog at university and as she has grown, so has the success of her blog and rightfully so! ViviannaDoesMakeup and herself are renowned as some of the ULTIMATE beauty product trial and testers. They are my go to gals for new makeup/skincare recommendations, because chances are if I'm looking to buy a new skincare product, they've done a blogpost on it! Her blog is a lot more chaotic compared to the other blogs that I have mentioned, but it is definitely organised chaos (she is an organisational queen, like myself!) On the front page you will find her latest blog posts, links to her social media accounts, her favourites list and even a 'request a post' page! (I have even added one of these to the top of my page, to give me some inspiration, so thanks Lily!)

Runner up:

ViviannaDoesMakeup

Kinda gave this one away above.. I love this blog for very similar reasons as above. But the reason that Anna has clinched the second place spot, is simply due to her writing style! In my opinion, Anna and myself have very similar writing styles. She is very witty and unique and when I read her blog, I can imagine her right there in front of me having a little natter! Similarly, I have been told on numerous occasions, that when people read my blog, they do the same! And that is just so fabulous, so thank you! So to put it simply, I find that Lily's posts are a lot more "editorial"?? (Is that the right word?!) Whereas Anna's are a bit more relaxed and laid-back! But I must stress that both are just as amazing as each other's and I love both of them equally!!
Lastly, generally I am a lover of the more minimalistic things in life, and Anna's blog is slightly less chaotic and easier to navigate my way around, because lets be honest, I am a bit ditsy sometimes...

And in first place:


The Londoner

THIS BLOG GIVES ME LIFE.

Like seriously Rosie, if you're reading this please let me be your best friend and come on adventures with you!?

I remember when I first discovered this blog, I was sat in the computer area at college on a two hour free literally scrolling down, lingering on every last word and staring in absolute awe at her gorgeous photos.
This blog was a HUGE contributor to me starting my own blog! Honestly, whack this blog URL into your bookmarks and you'll thank me later.
I'll distribute a warning now though, you will experience extreme jealousy and wanderlust. Every time (or should I say everyday) that I click on her blog, she has updated it with a new post, particularly travel posts, where she has gallivanted off to another gorgeous corner of the world, or has attended some fancy shindig with her BEAUTIFUL group of friends. (Like seriously, how did all these beautiful people find each other?! Is there a website that you join or something?!) Oh thats another thing, she is G O R G E O U S. She has legs longer than my life prospects and she has the cutest dog, named Custard, that I stroke the screen at every time he features in a post.
Similarly to Anna, she has her own unique, witty writing style that I just adore. It really makes her posts so easy and seamless to read. (GO ROSIE!) She is so sophisticated and her fashion sense and wardrobe are just to DIE for. Every time she links a little net-a-porter number, I cry inside and then add it to my Christmas wish list. This blog has also nabbed the top spot because of it's versatility. Most of you will probably be thinking, "oh look, here's Kez recommending another beauty/fashion blog" but this is where you are wrong! As a long-term London citizen, she is my go-to person, when I am on the hunt for a cute new restaurant/bar/shop in London, that isn't a typical tourist spot. She has filled me in on some absolutely fabulous spots in Notting Hill that I am dying to visit!
I digress! I will let you do some discovering of your own! Enjoy!

Kez xxx

Wanderlust: The Top 10 Places That I Want To Visit

1. Australia

I realise that I have mentioned wanting to visit Aus more times than most have had hot dinners but I'm just so so desperate to visit and I WILL NEXT YEAR. Just thinking of the gorgeous beaches, the Gold Coast, Surfers Paradise, snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef and of course the gorgeous Whitsundays and Fraser Islands. 

2. L.A

To be completely honest, this duo should be first. But seeing as I have already visited both of them briefly when I went to America before, I felt like Australia, as an unknown land, should take pole position. However, if there is one place in the world that I can see myself when I'm older besides England, it is in LA. Whilst I am writing this, I am envisaging myself as a golden goddess (I'd like to reinforce the 'envisaging' part of that sentence, as we all know that pigs will fly before I am able to get myself a natural golden tan..) Walking, cycling or even penny boarding (always wanted to learn how to do that), along the beach. (I think I've been watching too much Made In Chelsea, LA and have been crushing on Jess too much, that now I am mind- morphing myself into her..) But anyway, after watching two of my favourite Youtubers, LilyPebbles and ViviannaDoesMakeup's recent LA vlogs, I am DESPERATE to visit the Grove, and all the delicious little restaurants, especially The Commissary in the Line Hotel, and the abundance of healthy food/juice places! (Maybe I'll inherit the LA healthy way of eating, maybe...)

 3. Paris

Pretty cliché this one, but as a bit of a hopeless romantic, I would be lying if I said I hadn't watched countless rom-com's, the episode of Gossip Girl where Blair and Serena go to Paris, Miley Cyrus and Douglas Booth in LOL and the episode of KUWTK when Kim gets married, (all with the common theme of, funnily enough Paris..) And dreamt of visiting the Eiffel Tower by day, but especially by night when it is lit up in all its glory. I would love to spend a day getting lost in the little Parisian streets, devouring the whole front window of a little French bakery, and most importantly whipping out my horrific purple, felt beret that I bought on a school trip to France in Year 7. So so tragic..  

4. Venice

I recently saw pictures pop up on my Facebook feed, of my friends relaxing in a gondola, as they glided along the Venetian canal. Although some may say, "Kez you live in Cambridge, this is practically just a glorified version of punting?!" But that is where they are wrong, there are no gorgeous Venetian views, sunny days or male gondoliers (getting my priorities straight of course...) Obviously I know there is more to Venice than their canal's, with a huge influence from art and architecture, although not a huge love of mine, some sights that I would love to see and snap!

5. Bora Bora

Now like Paris, this place was first brought to my attention whilst I was watching KUWTK and their "family vacay" to this beautiful island. I realise that this is stereotypically more of a honeymoon spot, but I would love to visit this place regardless of my marital status! So if any of y'all are planning on jetting off to this beautiful island, save me a space in your hand luggage?

Who am I kidding, I'll pay the excess baggage fees that come with taking another suitcase.. What's the weight limit again?!??

6. St. Lucia

Very much on the same wavelength as Bora Bora, this is one of those islands that is so beautiful in the travel brochures, with their crystal clear waters, bright white sands and beach huts that look like they come straight off of Pinterest, that you feel obliged to visit them, just to check you're not being catfished and it's actually like the hotel out of the Inbetweeners movie.. 

7. County Kerry, Ireland

I feel like this one is pretty self-explanatory.. I would love to tell you that I was named after this beautiful place, but unfortunately that is not the case.. However, I feel that as we share a common name, it is virtually compulsory that I pay a visit. Now ever since I first watched P.S. I Love You, where the GORGEOUS Gerard Butler and Hilary Swank have their first meeting in Ireland, I have always wanted to visit. I've been told that there are parts of Ireland that are partially similar to the Lake District/Cumbria, with their vast landscapes and mountains of greenery. Now as a gal that loves walking this sounds FAB, so I'm gonna grab my delicious hiking boots and get going! (Shed load of sarcasm there, hiking boots never are and never will be remotely "delicious." FACT.) 

Look how happy the cows are!!

 8. Dubai

Who doesn't want to visit Dubai?! Hotels wise, I would wanna go hard or go home! Everyone knows of this infamous hotel, Atlantis The Palm:

So ya know, if I become a millionaire or win the lottery, I might just take a trip here. 

Second on the agenda would be the GORGEOUS, Burj Al Arab:

Again, just another low key, probably 2 star, trip advisor rated hotel, no biggie. 

As a gal who dabbles, (who am i kidding CONSTANTLY) shops, I am well aware that the Dubai Mall is the biggest mall in the world. So I mean, it would be rude not to take a day, (week) trip right?! 

9. Santorini

Similarly to Bora Bora, my desire to go to the beautiful Greek island of Santorini was sparked after watching another Kardashian/Jenner 'family vacay'. Now I have in fact had the delight of visiting Greece in July when Loz and I went to Crete for a 'gals getaway.' Whilst we were there we did look into going on an excursion to Santorini but they were unfortunately just a bit too expensive for our liking! However, that has in no way dashed my desires to visit. With its narrow lanes, cobbled streets and steep inclines, this place is a bit of a trek but I've heard that the sunset views and the restaurants at the top, are well worth the hike. 

10. Brighton

In all honesty, I had written a vague top 10 list and left this post in the draft stage, a few months ago just so I wouldn't forget the idea, which is why this destination is still on here! But if you are an avid reader, then you will know from my recent post, that I have infact visited Brighton! As I mentioned in the post, it was love at first sight, and I am desperate to venture back for a long weekend!

Kez xxx

The Game Changer

So I know I said in my Highlighter 101 post that the next highlighter I was going to try and get my hands on was the Charlotte Tilbury-Bronze and Glow Duo, but seeing as it is an extortionate £49.. I decided to go for something a little cheaper and it has changed the game COMPLETELY.

Say hello to theBalm's Mary-Lou Manizer highlighting powder: *cue angels singing*

THAT BOTTOM PHOTO THOUGH (insert heart eyes emoji)

Although I definitely did not need anymore highlighters, after hearing every man and his dog rave about it on Youtube, I gave into the hype and jumped onto ASOS and whacked it into my basket. I'd also like to point out the price tag, at just £17.50 this highlighter is an absolute STEAL.

Now to give you some description and comparison points, I would say this highlighter is the perfect in between colour in reference to Benefit's Highbeam and my old favourite highlighter duo, Benefit's Watts Up and Mac's Soft and Gentle.

I mentioned in my previous post, that Highbeam is very much a pinky, pearlescent highlighter, whereas Watts Up and Soft & Gentle are a lot more golden toned. There's the only issue with that duo, on my milky complexion, these can look like two orange stripes on my cheekbones if I don't blend them properly. Whereas on the other end of the spectrum, Highbeam can dry to a funky grey/ashy colour on my cheekbones, which is pretty unflattering to say the least! Maybe I just managed to get a dodgy pot? (typical Kez)

However theBalm have managed to conjure up the perfect in-between shade, a beautiful champagne-toned highlight with a slight bit of shimmer without transferring full flecks of glitter on your face.

It is definitely a highlighter that would suit all skin tones, but in my opinion, it is particularly flattering on us paler gals! There is also the Betty-Lou Manizer, a slightly darker highlighter, that I'm sure will do wonders for you darker skinned gals.

You can pick this gorgeous highlighter up on:

ASOS

FeelUnique

Superdrug

Debenhams

Kez xxx