Blogger's Block

One of the brilliant things about blogging is the fact that it provides an outlet for people, no matter what genre you're interested in...Be it beauty, gaming, music..whatever...In minutes I can type up a post, snap a few pictures, publish it and then you can all read it. I can also head on over to my favourite blogs and be immediately entertained and immersed in my interests. 

There's just one problem with this...With the speed at which a post can be written and read, it's often very difficult to write something that is both interesting and original. You might notice that I hardly ever write about supposed "cult" products here and that's because I hate reading about them.

Sure, a recommendation is great. But when I switch from one blog to another and all of them are talking about the same product it just gets boring.

So now I have another problem...In hoping to be original I now have bloggers block. The dreaded thing that we all run from and smirk at as we check out our notebook FULL of blogging ideas. (Yes I am one of THOSE ridiculously organised people). But at some point you cross all the ideas off your list and you're back to square one. (I also stupidly left my blogging notebook at home when I moved out, well done Charlie!!)

I'm hoping that at some point (hopefully soon) I'll get my writing mojo back and can actually starting writing again.

If any of you have any requests please let me know!

September Beauty Favourites

I CAN'T BELIEVE SEPTEMBER IS ALREADY OVER!! Okay, so dramatic intro, but seriously, where is 2014 going?!? This month in the main has been a bit of a non event for me, I've just been counting down the days to going to uni (I moved yesterday). One thing I did do a lot of during the back end of August however was shopping. Of course whilst I was shopping for university necessities I became the owner of several items that definitely weren't necessities, but I really wanted to try!

So naturally I have loads of news favourites (and some old ones too) to chat to you about today...Without further a do, let's get into it!

First up is the Maybelline The Falsies mascara. I'd heard everyone raving about this and finally decided to give it a go. Honestly, I don't think there's anything particularly special about the formula, it's the wand that makes this a great mascara. It's curved in a sort of banana shape. One side is great for building volume and length on the top lashes and the smaller side is perfect for getting to your bottom lashes. It's super black and doesn't smudge, I get why people love it so much!

Next is something I've reviewed recently so I won't go on about it, but it's the Revlon Lacquer Balm in Demure. It's the perfect peachy pink nude, it moisturises the lips and lasts well too. It's been pretty much the only thing on my lips this month.

As the weather is cooling down I've pulled out the 17 Blush in Plum Puff to go with the cooler tones I'm reincorporating into my makeup. This is a matte powder blush with quite a creamy texture. It blends seamlessly and gives just the right amount of colour to the cheeks.

I've really been enjoying using the Natural Collection eyeshadow in Chocolate Brown. The name would suggest a warm tone brown but it's actually more of a cool taupey brown, actually pretty similar to Naked by Urban Decay. It's the perfect crease colour when you just want a super simple eye.

And finally...it's Autumn now that means dark shades on the nails. As ever I'm returning to my all time favourite deep purple shade, William Tell Me About OPI by OPI. I always say this about OPI polishes; the staying power on me is rubbish, but I just can't find the exact shade from any other brand and I love the colour so much I'm happy to top it up every few days.

So there we have it, the best of September! 

I'm a rubbish blogger.

No beauty post today, which is why I'm a rubbish blogger. Somehow I managed to post (pretty much) every day in August yet I totally screwed up planning an ordinary post. Just one post a week. How hard can it be?! 

I could make excuses about how busy I've been getting ready for uni and moving out, but I haven't. I've been reading, seeing friends, catching up on X Factor and shopping (I've done rather a lot of the later). Woops.

Okay so here's what's going to happen. Next week (as in this Sunday) along with my monthly favourites there will also be the post that was meant to go up today, a homeware haul.

I may also do a fashion haul too some time soon as I've bought so much STUFF. 

That's it from me for now, see you on Sunday!

3 Lip Products: The Review

This is supposed to look like a 3. Hehe.

Recently I've really been getting back in to lip products. Possibly because we're heading back into Autumn and possibly because I realised I had some gaps in my lip product stash. Anyway, the other day into Boots I wandered and out I emerged with three new lip colours that I wanted to share with you.

I'd been looking for a more affordable version of the YSL Glossy Stains and heard that the newest launch from Revlon, their Colourstay Moisture Stains, were a product very similar to the YSL offering. As we're heading into the cooler months I picked up Parisian Passion, a deep plum stain/gloss/liquid lipstick. I like to do one thin layer, allow it to settle on the lips for just a moment then go in with another layer to make the colour completely opaque. The product wears very comfortably on the lips and leaves behind a very impressive highly pigmented stain once the gloss has worn off. After swatching the entire range I'd say stay away from the Nude(London Posh) as it looks a litte streaky, but the brighter colours such as Shanghai Sizzle and Miami Fever look amazing!

My next product fell into my paws as I really felt like I was missing a great quick slick and go nude. I hovered around the L'oreal stand for a while debating whether or not to, and in the end decided that the Collection Privee by Doutzen lipstick was coming home with me. In the bullet this looks like an incredibly pale cool toned pink, on the lips it's relatively sheer so it's wearable, but still gives me the milky pink Doutzen Kroes lip I was after, without making me look ill.

Then as if one nude wasn't enough for one day back to the Revlon counter I went to check out their Colourburst Lacquer Balms. I was immediately drawn to the shade Demure, a peachy pink nude with a light shimmer running through it. I REALLY like the feel of this on my lips. Upon application your lips start to tingle as the balm has quite a minty feel to it. That subsides pretty quickly and leaves behind a seriously moisturising tint of colour. I think I may have to go and check out some of the other shades! 

What lip products have you discovered lately?

Honest to Blog:My A Level Experience

Hey there everyone.

Today I thought I'd sit down an do an "Honest to Blog" type post and just talk about important life things for today's Charlie's Chatter.

Those of you that live in the UK will know that August 14th was A Level results day. I finished my A Levels back in June so it's been a long wait for my final results and I've been anxiously waiting to hear if I'd got into my chosen university or not.

First of all I thought I'd chat to you about my actual A Level experience, then I'll move on to talk about uni.

So I took 4 A Levels and 1 AS Level over a two year course. I studied English Literature, History, Politics, Philosophy and Ethics and General Studies. I loved all of them! I went to a Sixth Form at a fantastic Grammar School instead of going on to college with all of my friends from school, so right from the start it was going to be a challenge. Not only was I leaving all my friends behind, but I was suddenly in an extremely academic environment studying very difficult subjects. Honestly, I was worried and a little bit scared. A Levels are a massive step up from GCSEs so nerves were expected, but within my first few days all of that melted away.

I've made friends for life at the Sixth Form and thoroughly enjoyed learning during my time there. I got to learn about subjects in depth that really interested me, I got to visit the Houses of Parliament, the Battlefields in France and Belgium, run a debating society and many other things. I've got so many memories of my whole A Level experience, I'm so glad I took a leap and started afresh after my GSCEs, so to anyone out there that's worried about A Levels, don't be! You'll have two of the greatest years of your life. It wasn't easy, I mean it really wasn't easy, I lived and breathed my studies for two years solid and at times I'd be in tears and want to give up; but that's when you know something is really important to you. I wouldn't change my experience for the world.

So on to the next chapter in my life.. University! Yes, I did get in! Not to my first choice, but I'm actually extremely happy with where I heading. For those of you that don't know I'm going to be studying Law. I'm so excited as I've been waiting for such a long time for this.

Despite how expensive university now is in the UK, I know that it will be totally worth it. I've already met some really great people that I'll be spending the next three years with and I can't wait to get started!

There is a little mini life update for you all. If any of you have any questions about the whole uni process in the UK or are about to apply to university yourself feel free to leave any questions down below or tweet me, I'd be happy to chat!

Blogust Day 21- Charlie's Chatter #4- August Favoruites

Okay so first things first, I'M SORRY! This post is a few days late, but unfortunately it couldn't be avoided. Secondly, I can't believe August is already over and September is here! Before I dive into my favourites of August I just wanted to say a big thank you to those that contributed to Blogust here on my blog and a big thank you to my readers that have been coming back day after day to see what I've been offering up for your reading pleasure! Soppy bits aside, let's dive into my faves!

First up in the beauty favourites is an old love; the Rimmel Match Perfection foundation. I've actually had a little bit of colour to my face this month so I've been having to mix it with a slightly darker foundation to get the colour that's right for me. This is such a fab base for the summer days when you need more coverage than a BB cream but you still want to feel like you're wearing nothing. It just gives my skin that super healthy glowy look, and I love it!

Next up is the Dior Diorshow Brow Fixing Gel in number 541, which is a sort of cool toned taupey golden tinted brow gel. I've been using this to set my brows no matter what I've been using to fill them in and it's been working really well. I know it's pricey for a brow gel, but it's a great colour, doesn't make my brows feel crispy and I really enjoy using it.

The Estee Lauder Lash Primer Plus has been gracing my lashes every day that I've worn make up this month. For some reason as soon as the weather gets a little warm pretty much every mascara I use decides to melt onto my brown bone. Not a good look! A thin coating of the primer, pre-mascara, ensures that everything stays on my lashes, rather than spreading all over my face.

Finally for the beauty products I've discovered a three product nude lip love. First off I start with The Body Shop Lip Liner in the shade Pink Brown. I then use the Estee Lauder Pure Color Lipstick in the shade Pink Parfait(for some reason this looks super bright in the photo, I assure you it isn't!). You could leave it there but I personally like to pop the Clinique Long Last Glosswear in Air Kiss over the top. It just blends the lip pencil and lipstick together nicely and adds a subtle sheen. 

I have two more favourites this month that aren't beauty related...This first one is of course Blogust! A lot of planning had to go into it as I was stepping up from 1 post a week to 5, but I thoroughly enjoyed it! I'm also really grateful to Rebecca, Bethany, Erika and Liz who contributed guest posts, I'm sure we'll be seeing them around here again in the future!

My final favourite comes in the form of a big life change for me. I got into University! After two gruelling years of the nightmare that is A Levels it's finally all over and I'm heading to Uni to study Law at the end of September. I'm totally chuffed to bits.

So, that was my August! What have you guys been enjoying over the last month? 

Blogust Day 20- #TBT Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra

Welcome back to #TBT! Today I'm coming at you with my FINAL instalment of this lovely little series so I'd thought we'd go out with a super iconic look from an uber iconic lady..I am of course talking about Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra.

Who:

Elizabeth Taylor. Actress.

When:

1932-2011

The look:

Defined brows, bold graphic liner, blue shadow.

Works best on:

The daring and bold! 

Okay, so Liz's look isn't exactly what you'd call wearable, but it is inspired by a look that it is believed would have been worn by Cleopatra.

It includes a strong, defined arched brow, blue shadow right the way up the the brow bone and very graphic liner.

As you can see from the picture above, the lips are kept a peachy nude and there is a little bronzer on the cheeks but the main focus here is definitely the eyes!

In order to recreate the look I would suggest the HD Brows palette, first use to powder to strongly define the shape and the make yours brows much darker and fuller looking. I'd finish off the brows with Benefit's Gimme Brow to further fill out those brows. Brow game needs to be strong here girls!

Moving on to the blue shadow, I'd go for a base of the Maybelline 24hr Colour Tattoo in Turquoise Forever all over the lid and right the way up to the brow bone. Then over the top go over with a light layer on translucent powder to keep everything in place.

Finally, the liner! Depending on how pro you feel with your liner you could either go for a gel or a liquid liner, however as the liner is so thick I would suggest going for liquid, as gel can become a little patchy when covering such a large area. Place a piece of tape from the bottom lash line up towards where your brow finishes to give you a guide to work by, when you remove the tape you will have perfectly crisp lines. Line the upper and lower lash line and make your "wing" more triangular than you usually would.

Add a black bob wig, some giant gold earrings and there you have it, Liz Taylor as Cleopatra!

I hope you've enjoyed my #TBT series as part of Blogust, I've really enjoyed looking through iconic looks of the past!

Blogust Day 19- The Wonder Oil

Today I had nothing scheduled so I thought I'd fill you in on a little beauty/skincare product that I've been using that last few months that has really helped my skin AND doesn't cost a bomb. Sounds good, right?

Olive oil. Yep, that's right, the stuff you'd usually cook with. I've been putting it on my face and in my hair and it's been working an absolute treat! 

Prior to getting my hair chopping I was using the Inversion Method to grow my hair, more specifically, to grow out my pesky fringe that seems to be taking FOREVER to grow out! For those of you that don't know, the Inversion Method in essentially tipping your head upside down and massaging your scalp with an oil for five minutes every day. This increases blood flow to your scalp and quickens up the rate of hair growth. During my week of the Inversion Method I was using olive oil on my scalp. Not only did it help my hair grow, it also conditioned my hair beautifully and restored shine. Fab. P.S Let me know if you'd like a more in depth post on the Inversion Method.

My second use for olive oil has been as a serum. In the evening, post cleansing I have been taking a tiny drop of olive oil and massaging it into my scream, before applying my evening moisturiser. It works just as well as any other serum and locks in moisture, leaving my skin feeling plump and hydrated. Just make sure you don't use too much!!

Finally, I discovered that olive oil is a BRILLIANT cleansing oil!! You can either use it for your whole face of make up or just focus on your eyes. I take a few drips on a cotton round and let it sit over my eyes for a few seconds. Alternatively your can massage it into closed eyes. Within a few seconds it breaks down and melts away the makeup and makes everything much easier to removes, INCLUDING waterproof mascara. 

So there you have it, the Wonder Oil of the kitchen that you need to put in your beauty stash!

Blogust Day 18- AuGuest #4

 This post has been contributed by Rebecca from www.rebeccadaviesbeauty.blogspot.co.uk/

I am simply letting you all know my plans and what has been going on, I am going self employed as you could tell from my last post, but I am planning on doing some makeup workshops around the u.k. That is definitely something I want to do, I also love teaching make up and even sfx. They are quite popular when I teach them, so I thought why not?! Lets take this around different places. Its a way to build up contacts and network with more people/companies.

I recently ran a workshop with Red Dreams on CATS THE MUSICAL SFX makeup and hair, which was amazing, it was really nice to teach people how they can create the hair and the make up for the musical. I am already planning on another workshop with Red Dreams. Just based on Natural and Event make up, which is highly requested by people I work with and people who participated in the workshop.

I also met the super The Ramona Flowers with a few of my friends on Friday just gone in Hartlepool. It was such a good experience to go through. I watched their sound check which I absolutely loved, met the tour manager and watched the gig! It was such a good experience. It made me think more about doing make up for bands etc.. Here's a very cute picture  of us all with the band..  * awww* 

I also took part in a workshop for the deaf community. Called 'Sing & Sign'. It was an amazing couple of days, I learned how to do sign language. It was such a good informative few days, I learned so much, got to meet many people from it. We then performed in a sing and sign performance which was truly brilliant. Im so proud of myself for taking part..

So this was a little round up of everything from the past few days, so it has definitely been a busy week! Its on going though as I have a lot to plan for this week! :D 

Blogust Day 17- Music Monday #4

Hello and welcome to the fourth and final (sad face) Music Monday of Blogust. I can't believe it's already coming to an end. For my final instalment of music chatter I thought I'd speak about an album that's actually been around for a little while, but I still love and listen to all the time. So here we go, today is the turn of To Lose My Life by White Lies.

First up, a little info about the band; White Lies are a "post-punk" indie rock band from London. The trio have 3 albums to their name, with To Lose My Life being the first, released back in 2008. 

The album includes 10 tracks:

Death

To Lose My Life

A Place To Hide

Fifty On Our Foreheads

Unfinished Business

E.S.T

From The Stars

Farewell To The Fairground

Nothing To Give

The Price of Love

The music on this album ranges from some really rocky almost aggressive songs such as Unfinished Business, to much quieter sombre tunes such as Nothing To Give. Like I said, I really really love the whole album and listen to it very frequently, but my favourites are probably Death, Unfinished Business, Farewell To The Fairground and Nothing To Give. This is one of those albums that I know I'll still be listening to years from now as it's just that good. 

So that brings Music Monday to an end..I hope you've enjoyed my music related ramblings this month, I may even bring Music Monday back at some point in the future...

Blogust Day 16- My Handbag Survival Kit

As unexciting as it looks, there are some things that a girl just needs to have in her bag. After years of throwing things randomly in my bag, then digging around the bottom desperately searching for an nail file, I finally decided to grab the bits that I really need and pop them into a sort of survival kit. Now this pouch is all I need to throw in what ever bag I'm using and I know I'm safe.

The pouch itself is a Liz Earle waterproof jobby that comes with the wonderful Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser.

Inside you'll find:

a hand cream- currently the L'occitane Cocoa one, sadly limited edition

any medication you might need- hayfever pills (damn you pollen!) and ibuprofen (for the pesky headaches)

hair ties

bobby pins

a hair clip

a safety pin- just in case anything rips

a pressed powder-I'm currently using the Collection Pressed Powder and a makeup brush

a nail file

q tips or baby buds as us Brits call them

a concealer - MAC Studio Finish NW20

a foundation sample- I say sample because it's small and compact therefore easy to carry around. Sometimes you want something a little more blendable than a thick concealer. I'm carrying around the Dior Capture Totale at the moment, because it's great for layering over existing makeup.

my Travelo- it's holding Euphoria by Clavin Klein as that is my signature scent. 

a lip product- either go for a lip balm or a sheer lipstick; something that's easy to throw on the lips without a mirror.

That's what's in my "Survival Kit". What are you hand bag survival essentials?

Blogust Day 14- Top 5...Eyeshadows

Hello everyone! I'm back with yet another edition of my Top 5 series! Today I'm letting you in on my absolute favourite eyeshadows...This was SO SO hard for me to narrow down as I have so many, from drugstore to high-end, matte to shimmer, sheer to highly pigmented. But, I've finally managed to whittle my collection down to 5 shadows that I think are the bomb.com. So without further ado, let's get into it...

The best highlighter comes in the form of the Urban Decay shadow in the shade Bootycall. It's a very pale, milky shade that is really rather shimmery, so use a light hand. When applied sparingly, it is the most stunning highlighter for the brow bone and inner corner and reflects light beautifully. Like all UD shadows, it has a beautifully buttery texture which makes application smooth and simple.

My go to blend all over the lid shade is the Taupe shade from the Dior  5 Couleurs palette in 440 Sunset Cafe. It's pretty much an exact dupe of MAC's Satin Taupe. It's a very pretty taupe with very fine silver shimmer running through it. It's great just on the lid, but blend it into the crease too and it looks duo-chrome esque- the effect of a contoured crease without the effort. Just what I like.

Next up is another Urban Decay shadow, in the shade Tease. I'd describe this as somewhere between a taupe and a mink shade, with a purple undertone. It's matte and works beautifully in the crease. If I'm going for a more grungy look I like to just blend it all over the lid, under the eye, and then smudge some black eyeliner into the lash line. It looks ace. Matte shadows can sometime be a little chalky and hard to blend, but this one is just perfect.

For a major pop of colour on my eyes, I adore the 2True Eyeshadow Dazzlers in No.11. This is essentially a loose pigment. Generally I find drugstore pigments just fail when it comes to actually delivering colour on the eyes, but these are just brilliant. No 11 is a very vivid rusty copper, that looks so striking on blue eyes. There is a slight shimmer in this one, but it doesn't really translate onto the eyes, so it's still very wearable. A word of caution though, less is more with this one!

And finally, basically 24 carat gold for your eyes...Urban Decay's Half Baked. The PERFECT yellow gold. I love this along with other shadows to create a bronzey smokey eye, but it also looks stunning just on its own. Again, like the other UD shadows mentioned, it has a super buttery texture, doesn't crease and is extremely pigmented. I know 3 out of my 5 shadows have been Urban Decay but they truly are my favourite, they're extremely good value for money and never cease to deliver on quality.

So there you have it, my 5 favourite eyeshadows. I'd love to hear what your favourites are...maybe I'm yet to discover something even more amazing??

Blogust Day 13- AuGuest #3

Hi everyone, I'm Bethany from thebusybee39.blogspot.co.uk. I am a teen blogger and I blog about all sorts of different things including fashion, beauty, crafting and cooking. Today I am going to be sharing with you my top 5 under £5. I am very excited to be guest posting on Charlie's blog. So lets get in to the post....

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer - £4.89

Concealer is an essential for me as it can cover a multitude of sins! You have probably already heard a lot about the collection one as it is a bit of a beauty bloggers favourite! It is a really great concealer, it has quite a thick constancy and is great for covering up those little(or maybe not so little!) pimples. 

I do find however that it creases on me under the eyes(other people have said its fine for them though!)...so if anyone has any good recommendations of a great brighting under eye concealer I am all ears!..

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder - £3.99

Being an oily skin girl means powder is another essential for stopping me looking like a grease ball all day! This rimmel one is great at keeping me matte, it is very finely milled so it won't look cakey and for £3.99(currently on offer for £2.99 in superdrug) it is a steal!

MUA Undress Me Too Palette - £4.00

Well well well...I love this palette so much! I use this every single time I put eye-shadow on! It is really well pigmented has good staying power - its just amazing. The swatches I have done on the left are all done with just one swipe and so could be built up way more if you wanted too. For £4.00 I don't know why you wouldn't have this in your make up collection. Oh and did I mention it is a dupe for the naked 2 palette?!

Natural Collection Juicy Lips Lipgloss - £1.99

You have got to love a lippie! These are an absolute steal for £1.99, they smell lush and last really well. They also don't do that really annoying thing where when they wear off you get left with a rim of colour around the edge of your lips like some other budget brands do. I have the colours Caramel Shortbread(top) and Vanilla(bottom).

Rimmel 60 Second Nail Polish - £3.69

You have got to love some nail polish! I really like nail polish it is probably the make up item I have the most of! These ones are great as they only take 60 seconds to dry so you don't have the 10 minute wait until you can do anything like you would normally have. I have the colours 50 Shades Of Pink(Left) and Green With Envy(Right).

I would also like to just put in an honourable mention of the Barry M Nail Polishes - £2.99. I have never really believed the hype around these until I tried one at my friends house...Now I am thinking they are a brand I need to investigate....my poor bank account!

So there you have it. My top 5 under £5 I hope you have found some great budget products that you will love! I would just like to say thank you again to Charlie for letting me guest post on her blog and I hope you have enjoyed reading it!

Want to see more of me??! Check out my Blog,  Google + , Pinterest, follow me on bloglovin or email me on thebusybee39@gmail.com

Blogust Day 12-Music Monday #3

Welcome back to another the third Music Monday of the month! So far I've chatted to you about the likes of Sam Smith and Haim. Today it is the turn of a relative newcomer; Lorde.

Lorde is seventeen years old and from New Zealand. She first arrived on the scene with her smash hit "Royals" in 2013.  In September of last year she released her highly anticipated debut album, Pure Heroine, which is the album I'm going to be talking to you guys about today!

The album includes fifteen tracks:

Tennis Court

400 Lux

Royals

Ribs

Buzzcut Season

Team

Glory and  Gore

Still Sane

White Teeth Teens

A World Alone

Bravado

Million Dollar Bills

The Love Club

Biting Down

Swingin Party

It's so hard to pick out favourites from the record as I genuinely love all of them and know all the words. It's a kind of grungy, moody feeling album with some seriously perceptive lyrics in there. If I had to pick out a few I'd say you should try out Tennis Court, Buzzcut Season, Team, Glory and Gore and White Teeth Teens (which actually has a really cool retro vibe which I'm LOVING!). But seriously, listen to the album as a whole; it's been put together very well!

What have you been listening to this week? I'll be back next week with the last instalment of Music Monday..I can't believe it's nearly over!

Until then...