Festival Essentials

Over the summer I was lucky enough to go to two festivals, Latitude and the Wilderness. They were both amazing experiences and I loved the music and electric atmosphere! The highlights for me were Laura Marling, alt-J and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros at Latitude and Benjamin Francis Leftwich at Wilderness.

I have to say though, even though festivals are so fun the one downside is camping. I actually hate it.

I don't mind so much sleeping it's more the fact that you can't shower or get ready properly at all, you have to brush your teeth with water from your bottle and try and get dressed and do your makeup in a tiny cramped little tent with a compact mirror! Its horrible!
Because of this I have learnt from my mistakes and picked up a few tips in terms of what to bring to festivals in the future.

1) Make sure to bring a mirror with you in your makeup bag, the bigger the better believe me - it is impossible to do your foundation with one of the tiny ones!
2) Denim shorts for me are just the best. It doesn't really matter if you get them dirty and they pretty much go with anything! My favourites are ripped Levi's but any will do :)
3) Knee-high socks are great for wearing with wellies. They keep you warm, stop the wellies from rubbing and look cute peeping over the top of your boots.
4) MAKEUP REMOVER WIPES! These are amazing for convience and for just quickly wiping all over your face before you go to sleep. Personally I have quite an extensive skincare routine but it really was not worth the effort of trekking to the sinks in order to use my favourite cleanser...
5) Tinted moisturisers - I hate wearing heavy makeup at festivals when I'm gonna be outside (maybe even in the sun) all day so tinted moisturisers feel lighter on your face.
6) Ear plugs. Obviously not for bringing to see the bands but for at night when you're trying to get to sleep! Normally at festivals there will be parties going on all night where they blare music through the speakers which you can hear from the campsite. Bring a pair of ear plugs to block out all the noise!
7) Small backpack/ satchel just for carrying your essentials around the arena.

And my NUMBER ONE tip for festivals is to bring a brick phone!!! You know what I mean - a little Nokia or Alcatel or something. Smartphones have terrible battery life but one of these will last all weekend ;)

March Favourites!

Hey everyone, I've seen a few other bloggers do posts like this so I decided to give it a go! These are just some of the products I've been reaching for in the month of March. Also, I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while and I realise its getting quite late in April for a favourites post but oh well!

Paul Smith 'Rose' Eau de Parfum

This is a perfume that I've been loving this month, as the name would suggest it is a lovely rosy scent. I noticed that essiebutton recently did a post about her love for rose scents and I definitely agree with her! It is a relatively affordable perfume at about £25 for 100ml.

Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder (shade 52)

This is a much raved-about bronzer on the blogosphere, I got it for £6.99 which is next to nothing compared to the staggering £25 I paid for NARS 'Laguna'. I heard it's meant to smell like chocolate, I don't know if I would agree with this but it definitely does have a lovely sweet scent. In terms of colour it is a more golden-toned brown with shimmer.

Natural Collection Moisture Shine Lipstick in 'Apple Blossom'

This lipstick is SUCH a bargain at just £1.99 from Boots. I first heard Barbara (ThePersianbabe) talking about this on her channel, its a nudey-pink shade comparable to 'Creme d'Nude' by MAC but with a bit more pink. I generally find the Natural Collection lipsticks to not be too drying and be fairly pigmented, amazing for the price!

NARS blush in 'Sin'

I definitely prefer NARS blushes to MAC, they are just so pigmented and long-lasting with an amazing range of colours. 'Sin' is quite a popular shade, its quite a dark berry colour with gold shimmer. I think its just so pretty and its a very wearable colour, I've been wearing it a lot during March.

What were you all enjoying using in March?

Top Neutral Lipstick Picks!

Left to right: GOSH 'Darling', 17 'Beehive', Natural Collection 'Rose Petal', MAC 'Creme D'Nude', MAC 'Hue'

I've never been one for dramatic makeup looks, I prefer to stick to more natural colours on my lips. My perfect colour would be somewhere between a nude and a pale peachy-pink.
Here are a few of my personal favourite lipsticks to wear during the day. There are a couple of MAC ones but they are mainly cheaper 'drugstore' brands. I apologise - they are very similar, I tend to go for the same shades!

1. MAC lipstick in 'Hue' (glaze) - the perfect daytime peachy shade
2. MAC lipstick in Creme d'Nude (cremesheen) - a creamy nude
3. 17 Mirror Shine lipstick in 'Beehive' - most glossy lipstick ever! Peachy-pink colour, similar to 'Hue'
4. Natural Collection Moisture Shine lipstick in 'Rose Petal' - a more matte pink with coral undertones
5. GOSH lipstick in 'Darling' - a matte nude-beige

My favourite YouTube beauty gurus

Over the past year or so, I've really been getting into the whole YouTube beauty community. I've become obsessed with checking my subscription box everyday to see if my favourite girls have uploaded a new video, and there are some gurus who I watch religiously.
I thought I'd do a 'share the love' type post about the most down-to-earth and helpful beauty gurus who I have come across on YouTube. I watch mostly UK-based gurus because they are easier for me to relate to in terms of product availability, but there are a couple of American girls who I love too.

10) UglyFaceOfBeauty - Gracie is one of the most confident girls I have ever come across, and I really admire that in her. She posts great, relatable videos about products I have easy access to and she is hilarious! Love that girl!

9) missglamorazzi - Ingrid is so cuteeee and bubbly, which makes her really easy to watch. She makes regular beauty videos but she also has a vlog channel (TheGridMonster) where she makes LOADS of vlogs, lots with her boyfriend Luke. Check her out!

8) meganisobel - I think Megan is so sophisticated, her videos are quite calm so are very easy to watch. She does not have ridiculously excessive amounts of makeup and all of it gets used, so she is an example to us all!

7) FleurDeForce - Fleur is another London girl, she is so stunning... I want her hair! She has a really calming voice (lol) which is one of the reasons why I LOVE watching her videos. She is also friends with Ingrid (missglamorazzi).

6) glitterkiss11 - Chloe is a Canadian girl who makes fashion and beauty videos. She talks really fast and is so funny, which is why I love her! Her videos are also quite short and sweet, unlike some other gurus who make like 20-minute videos. Please.

5) ShonaShortcake - Shona is 18, so quite close to my age which makes her easy to relate to. I love her sense of style, the only problem is that nowadays her videos are few and far between!

4) Sprinkleofglitter - Louise has (quite) recently given birth to Baby Glitter! Well her real name's Darcy, but regardless, she is sooo cute. Louise is so funny and makes great beauty videos, but I also enjoy watching her vlogs.

3) zoella280390 - Zoe is Louise's close friend, and also makes beauty videos. I love her because her favourite place to shop is Primark! She does lovely videos without making me lust after designer labels, and she's so pretty!

2) ViviannaDoesMakeup - Vivianna is so gorgeous, and I often buy products solely based on her recommendation! She lives in the UK, which also makes her easy to relate to. I am obsessed with her hair aswell!

1) ThePersianbabe - Barbara is definitely my favourite! I love love love her videos, she is so pretty and her style is amazing. She is living in London like me, and her videos are so easy to watch, she influences me so much!