Everyday Makeup Routine

This is my third daily make up routine I have done since starting this blog 18 months ago. My two previous looks are here and here. I have to admit I absolutely love this make up. From day to day I do sometimes mix up but this is what I will usually wear to college and work.

Make Up Favourites. 

I think the first thing I need to mention is the change in my make up brushes. I got the Zoeva Rose Gold Brushes for Christmas and I absolutely love them. While from time to time I still do use my real technique ones these are what I reach for on a daily basis. My favourite brush has got to be the 102 silk finish, this brush makes it so easy to apply foundation as the foundation soaks into the brush it makes applying an absolute dream.

For just everyday I don't usually bother using a primer as its a bit unnecessary although if I do use it I will use the Benefit Porefessional. For base I use MAC Studio Fix in the shade NW13 with my two concealers Collection Lasting Perfection in Light & Studio Finish concealer in NC15. The Collection one is great for redness while the MAC is very bright so I use it under my eyes.

For the rest of my face I use a MAC Studio Fix Powder in NC20. This is a new product that I only bought a couple of weeks ago in New York but I have to admit its my favourite powder ever as it gives your make up such a flawless finish. To contour I use my favourite ever bronzer which is Hoola by Benefit.  It such a great colour and so easy to blend. While for blush I have used the same blusher for the past 18 months which is Nars Orgasm. This product is defintely my holy grail and I've only just hit pan which shows you just how long its lasted me for. Finally I like to finish off with my MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade which is the perfect highlight. 

For eyes I have switched from my Naked 2 palette that I still love to my Lorac Pro. I have been lusting after this product like every other blogger and their mother but since it's pretty pricey and hard to get hold of I kindly asked my brother to get it for me for Christmas, If anyone is intrested in buying it Amazon sell it but make sure you buy it on the American Amazon as its a lot cheaper. I love this palette because it has the same amount of matte and shimmer shades. I have to admit I am more of a matte lover myself so eight matte shades is amazing. My two favourite shades are Mauve and Pewter.  

My favourite part of my make up to do is my brows I just need to make sure that they look perfect (or as close to perfect eyebrows can be) I recently bought Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz, I got it in shade Ebony and its a perfect match. I am so late to this Brow Wiz hype but its so good better than anything I've used before. On to eyeliner and it's something I don't wear everyday but sometimes I will just use it by itself and for these occasions I will use my L'oreal liner which is so easy to apply and looks great. For mascara I still stick to my trusty L'oreal Miss Manga although I have bought a Tarte mascara which I will start using once I finish using this one. 

Finally onto lipstick and back to MAC again. I have been wearing Sour lipliner and the Velvet Teddy lipstick most days since November. Although lipstick is one thing I will change up quite a lot especially for college. If I do change it i'll go for something a little bit more daring like MAC's Russian Red or Rebel. However for work I will always wear Velvet Teddy because its something neutral and truthfully its the only lipstick that will last the entire shift.

I would love for you to recommend some of your make up favourites that I should try. 

New York City - Day 2

On our first full day (or day 2) in New York we started it off by going for breakfast at Morning Star which is on 2nd between 50th & 51st. I had the most yummiest pancakes with strawberries and syrup. This American diner is pretty small but has a lovely family friendly atmosphere.

Pancakes at Morning Star

Once we had eaten we were eager to head off and start our day. We decided to hit the city and do a little bit of sight seeing. We started off by going to see the Chrysler Building which is a stunning Art Deco skyscraper which is located on the east side of Manhattan which is on Lexington and 42nd. The inside of this building is absolutely stunning. As you walk in you can see the America flag swaying as people walk past it & everyone having photos with it... including me. While I don't think this is something you necessarily have to visit while in New York I do believe it is a beautiful building that won't let you down. 

Blending in well with the background!

Once we had a good look around at all of the Art Deco, off we went again and we walked over to Grand Central Station. I know to New Yorkers Grand Central might not seem like much but to us it's insane the station is bigger than my local mall. I think it's the perfect place to just people watch because there is so many people! There is a vast number of restaurants and a couple of shops, including a MAC. We had a good look at Grand Central and then we walked over to Times Square.

Times Square - is without a doubt is my favourite place in New York. Times Square was pretty empty but crowded with police officers due to it being the day before New Years Eve. Once we got to Times Square we noticed that one of the big screens was obviously in collaboration with Revlon's and the hashtag #loveison. We had so much fun taking photos of ourselves and trying to get into the little heart. Whilst in Times Square I spotted a Sephora to the left of me. I quickly popped in there looking for one thing and one thing only... Nars Virtual Domination Palette and I found it! Alongside that I also picked up a Tarte mascara. (Will be in a separate blog post a little later.)  

I'm far on the right hand side, with my mouth open... no surprise. 

Our next stop was the Empire State, I must say this was one of the things I was looking forward to the most. The first time I came to New York we didn't go up the Empire State so this time it was a must. After a good hour and half of queuing we finally made our way into the lift and up to the top. Once you get to the top there really is the most incredibly view and a little bit scary. It's insane how much you can see from so high up. I could see pretty much everything in New York and you can really see how tall these skyscrapers are which I really felt like put everything into perspective because it shows how small we actually are. I think the scariest part was definitely looking down, now I'm not scared of heights however this did freak me out a little bit especially when you could only just make out the yellow cabs. 

A small part of the absolutely insane view. 

We spent just over half an hour up there and it even started snowing... incredible! Once we got down we went to get some lunch at Pret, everyones favourite! After that we took a little stroll over to Bryant Park where we actually spotted two people from True Blood (I'm not sure who they were sorry any avid True Blood fans) anyway we took a look at some of the little stalls and there was this one that really caught my eye which was a little Jewellery stall and some of it was really incredible, the lady made things such as leaf and snowflake necklaces and earrings. Her website is http://www.graceoliver.com if anyone is interested in checking it out. I think one of the most stunning things about Bryant Park is the famous ice rink and being an avid figure skater when I was younger I got rather excited when I saw it. Unfortunately it was super rammed so we didn't go on it instead we walked over to Macy's. Going to Macy's at 5pm isn't something I would recommend as it was absolutely manic inside, we only had a quick look around because we decided we would have a better look later on in the week. 

A quick change and we went out again this time it was to this lovely Irish Pub 'Pig N Whistle' which has the most friendliest owner. The food in there was absolutely delicious and just a lovely atmosphere, there was also a bloke playing guitar and singing which was nice to hear for a change instead of music just playing out of a music player. Once we ate we went for a nice little stroll around the shops before heading off to bed before our New Years Eve celebrations the following day.

Naked 2 and Nars blush

Wow so summers nearly over, well for me anyway. I have one full week left and then off to college. Anyway this has been my post holiday reflection week. However here's a review of the two make up products I brought in America.

This was the first time I had brought make up in America which wasn't Mac, I discovered my love for Mac when I went to New York 2 years ago. Back to present time and before I went to Florida I knew that there were two products I had to buy.

The first product I have here is the Naked 2 palette.

Over the past couple of years I have heard so many reviews for not only the Naked 2 palette but the first one and the basic palette. I knew I had to get this because I hadn't heard a bad review. When I went over to the women selling it to me, she said how I was lucky it was in stock because it's normally always sold out which was a relief because I didn't really want to be searching round Florida for it. Here is what the palette includes:

Foxy- Cream w/ matte finish 

Half Baked- Golden/Bronze- mainly gold w/ shimmery finish 

Bootycall- Cork w/ slight shimmer 

Chopper- Copper w/ shimmery 

Tease- Brown/Purple undertones w/ matte finish 

Snakebite- Brown-very dark w/ shimmery finish & metallic base

Suspect- Slightly darker than beige w/ golden shimmery finish 

Pistol- Grey w/ shimmery finish

Verve- tint of pink neutral w/ loads of shim to give it a great finish 

YDK- bronze shimmer w/ metallic base

Busted- Very dark brown w/ shimmery finish

Blackout- Black w/ matte finish - perfect for eyeliner 

While I don't have the first Naked palette I know it's a lot darker than the Naked 2 palette therefore that palette is better if you want to have more smoky eyes. Naked 2 has a lot more neutral shades which can be explored if you mix a couple shades up. My favourite two to mix are Tease and Suspect I love both of these colours with starting with a matte base and then building up to a shimmery finish. I think that if you're going to invest in a Naked palette then you either need to get the 1st or 2nd. At home we also have the Naked basic palette (although it isn't mine) I personally don't think it's that good because it only has the basic colours and I think it's better if you're just starting out using eyeshadow. However then I wouldn't buy a high end product if it was my first time. 

I know that this palette is a lot of money at £37.00 I do think it's worth it however MUA do a dupe that is very similar to the Naked 2 which is only £5. It has all the similar colours but they aren't as good as the Naked palette for obvious reasons but if you want to try out something that is similar to the Naked palette then MUA is the best one to get. 

The second product that I brought was Nars blush in the shade orgasm. 

I am a lover of all blushers so I thought I would try out this one, it's the one that every youtuber has raved about at one point or another. 

The colour is a bit different to what I expected it to be like, I had imagined it to be more pink but it has a nice peach tone to it, making it more subtle. The product isn't too heavy with an shimmery base to it which is nice because it gives the face a fresh look which is unusual when it comes to comparing it to something like Mac. Although it isn't as shimmery as super orgasm which is the next shade up. What I love about this blush is how pigmented it is, there is no chance of it fading throughout the day. 

Sephora has said many times that this is the starter blush and I agree although it is expensive for what it is. I also have the lack of being able to get it in the UK with it only being sold in Selfridges in the UK... which is 4 hours away from me- lets hope that this doesn't run out too soon on me. However in the UK there are a couple of blushes that I know are similar for a smudge of the price. The first dupe is Sleek, for what it is Sleek is very cheap this dupe is only £4.49 like Nars it's pigmented and has that shimmer to it. I think that Sleek is only sold in Boots but it's a popular brand for blushers & bronzers. The other product is Milani Baked Powder Blush, this is the one which is closest to Nars, although because it's an American brand you can only get it on Amazon it is however only £5.00. 

I think both of these products are very good and I would get them both, however there are others like them for a cheaper price.

What do you think of these products?

Is Nars too expensive? 

What other eyeshadows do you think are as good as Urban Decay?

Any high street blushers I should try? 

Until next time

Naomi xoxo

No posts from the 1st-18th August

Okay so I'm guessing that you have already realised that i'm going on holiday next week to... America hence the theme. I will be gone for just over 2 weeks so I won't be posting while I'm away, however when I get back I will probably do a few posts on what I wore during the day and during the evening.

Now it's my third time going to America I've been New York and Florida before. I am visiting Florida again yay the last time I went to Florida I was 12 and didn't have a clue about fashion. This year I plan on doing some major shopping I plan on buying the Naked 2 palette by Urban Decay, Nars blush and Mac lipsticks (they are so cheap). I also want to do some clothes shopping now I know American Apparel is a must and Forever 21 is usually pretty good (although it does remind me of Primark). I was wondering what are everybodies go to stores when they are in America? Just remember I'm in Florida and not NY or California so it's not massive for Shopping. Although I am going Miami for one day, has anyone been please tell me what it's like?

On another note after just a month of starting this blog I'm now over 1000 views, thank you so much it means the world to me x x