Monday 9 March 2015

Versatile Blogger Award

Hello everyone! Firstly I’d like to say thank you to Bethany for nominating me! Make sure you check out her blog, she does amazing fashion posts and looks at upcoming trends which are great for outfit inspiration. I hope you enjoy the ‘facts about me’, I’ve tried to choose interesting and original facts so you guys can get to know me a bit better :)


About the Award:


In case you don't know, the Versatile Blogger Award is to 'honor those bloggers who bring something special to your life, whether every day or now and then', when nominating you should 'consider the quality of writing, the uniqueness of the subjects covered, the level of love displayed in the words on the virtual page and the quality of photographs, as well as the passion displayed in taking them.' 

The Rules:


-Show the Award on your Blog
-Thank the person who nominated you
-Share 7 facts about yourself
-Nominate 15 blogs
-Link your nominee's blogs to let them know 

Facts about me:


1. I am half Norwegian on my Mum’s side, but I can only say a few phrases in Norwegian and I’ve only visited the country once, when I was younger, but I’d love to go back there at some point. I also celebrate Christmas and open my presents with my Norwegian family on Christmas eve because that is when Christmas is celebrated in Norway.

2. I’m in my final year studying English Literature at University and once I graduate I want to work in Retail Buying.

3. I’m moving to London later this year which is sooo exciting, I’ve wanted to live in London for so long now so I just hope it lives up to my expectations, (i.e. drinking cosmos every day and basically living the life of Carrie Bradshaw from SATC).

4. I moved around a lot growing up and I’ve probably lived in around 15 different houses so far, and been to a few different schools in different areas of the country, which means that I’m a pro at moving now and I find it quite easy to talk to new people.

5. If I could only buy my clothes from one place for the rest of my life it would have to be ASOS, I am literally addicted to their website, and I constantly have about 100 items saved in my wishlist that I will never be able to afford *sigh*.

6. I love listening to R&B, my favourite albums at the moment are X by Chris Brown and Aquarius by Tinashe – if you like old school, chilled R&B, you should defiantly check out these albums! (If you're interested, click on either of the album titles and you can check out the songs on SoundCloud).

7. I’m a huge film buff and I love watching horror movies and playing horror games; myself and my big sister have a tradition of drinking white wine spritzers and watching horror movies whenever we see each other (I know this sounds like a strange mix but it's so much fun, you guys should try it!). 


I hope that these facts have helped you to get to know me a little better. 
Here are my nominees:



Sorry if you’ve already been nominated guys.

I’m looking forward to your responses ladies, make sure to let me know when you have posted your response and leave comments below :)

Tam x


Thursday 5 March 2015

My Top 5 Makeup Brushes and Brush Storage

Hello everyone! So I finally got around to cleaning my makeup brushes the other day, (I seriously need to get into the habit of doing this more often than once every six months)…and this inspired me to show you my top 5 makeup brushes and how I store and clean them. Hope you enjoy :)




I cannot rave about this brush enough, if I could only have one eye makeup brush, this would be it! I use this every day, whether I’m doing a subtle day look or a dramatic smokey eye. I know there are plenty of other blending brushes on the market, a lot of which are cheaper, but this is by far the best one I have tried. It may seem pricy for such a small brush but in terms of price per use, this is one of my most economical makeup brush purchases. Once you have applied your crease shadow simply run this brush over the top to get rid of any harsh lines and blend the shadow up towards your brow bone.



This brush comes in the Real Techniques Core Collection, which also includes a flat foundation brush, a contour brush and a flat eyeshadow brush. This is the only brush I use when I apply my foundation (I use NARS Sheer Glow), it distributes just the right amount of product and gives a really natural finish because it buffs the product into the skin rather than caking it on top of the skin, which I find a lot of flat foundation brushes do. This makes applying foundation so easy, I could probably do it without a mirror! It’s just the right density and the synthetic bristles are beautifully soft and don’t leave any brush marks in the foundation.



This brush is a recent discovery for me but I’ve already fallen in love with it, it’s the perfect domed shape to fit in your eye crease and distributes just the right amount of product. I always use this when I want to darken up the crease as it’s tapered and very precise. And like all the Real Techniques brushes the bristles are so soft and easy to wash. The Bold Metals brushes are weighted so feel lovely to hold, they look and feel very luxurious and high end.



This is another recent discovery for me, I’ve recently been wearing a lot of BB creams and much lighter foundations and this brush is designed for use with these lighter products. It’s much denser than the Real Techniques buffing brush and gives a more natural finish. I don’t use this brush when I’m wearing medium to heavy coverage foundation, but it’s perfect for when you’re having a good skin day and just want to even out your skin tone slightly. I already know I’ll be using this a lot over the summer months!



I have real trouble with my under eye circles and this brush makes applying under eye concealer much easier, and allows me to achieve a heavier coverage than simply blending with my fingers. This is also useful for covering any blemishes, I find that if you apply foundation first with a brush, then products sit better if they are applied with a brush too.

Storage



I keep my brushes in a cute little pot which I bought from IKEA, I think it’s actually supposed to be a plant pot but it’s perfect for keeping brushes in. If you are looking for makeup storage, IKEA is a great place to go, I know a lot of people buy their makeup storage from Muji but I don’t have a Muji store near me and I didn’t want to order online. I managed to find an alternative in IKEA which is much the same as the Muji makeup storage (the containers are have a frosted finish rather than a clear finish) and it’s very affordable. They come in various sizes and all stack neatly on top of each other so your storage can grow as your makeup collection grows. If you’re interested, I’ll link them here

Brush Maintenance

I clean my brushes with whatever shampoo I’m using at the time, most of my brushes are duo fibre and clean really easily. I then just place them on some kitchen towel near an open window because I prefer them to dry naturally rather than through artificial heat. 

Let me know what your favourite makeup brushes are and if you think I've missed any.

Tam x