Naked Face

This is a bit of a different post... this post is to show everyone who follows or looks at my blog that - I'm not perfect - no one's perfect.

Everyone is different and everyone has their own insecurities and things that they may not like about themselves - but there is no harm in embracing them and saying "yes I have these but do you know what? I'm me and I'm beautiful" because at the end of the day, are who you are and you look the way you look. There is no shame in not being the typical size 8 the majority of girls dream of being, there's nothing wrong with having freckles - 70 odd % of men like freckles! There's nothing wrong being pale - most people relate pale skin to purity -so embrace it!

So many girls and boys go to extreme measures because they aren't happy with how they look and the amount of pressure that is put on them is shocking! Magazines, TV shows - even through their own friends and family and lets not forget social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. 

With that being said - I'm in no way perfect, there are some things I like about myself and some things I don't - so what I have decided to do - which is kind of similar to the tag that was going around Youtube for a while - my perfect imperfections - but for bloggers -here's what you do

1. I'm going to list 3 things I like and don't like about myself and explain why

2. I'll then post a picture of my "naked face" 

3. I'm then going to tag some people to do it themselves to help spread the word! 

..

..

3 Things I like about myself

1. I like my eyes - i like them because they're green and green eyes are the rarest eye colour besides red, only 4% of the world's population has green eyes.

2. I like my hair - my hair is pretty long and is black which means it's super fun to experiment with different hairstyles 

3. I like my body shape - I'm a UK size 10-12 so I wouldn't say I'm skinny but I'm not overweight - I'm somewhere in the middle - I like my body shape because I have decent amount of boobs and bum and I'm quite curvy.

3 Things I dislike about Myself

1. I don't like my skin colour - I am super pale. I don't like this because most of the time I literally can;t find a foundation to match my skin tone and because I have black hair I end up looking like death lol

2. I don't like my freckles - this is because they're everywhere on my face and hardly any on my body. I wouldn't mind if they were the cute dark ones

3. I don't like my teeth - this is because I didn't wear my retainer! I had braces in high school and didn't wear my retainer when I got the braces off so now some of my teeth have moved - granted they aren't as bad as they were before I got the braces but still - I'm very self conscious about them

Now for the scary part... my naked face (excuse the weird face I pulled)

I would like to tag...

herstyletto - Sarah D

lifebyemmy - Emma/Emmy

Lollikelly

plovesfashion

And anyone else who'd like to take part! Don't feel pressured to do so though :)

Pass it on and share the word! :)

Blackheads?

If you're like me and suffer from blackheads - you know how frustrating it can be looking for products to actually get rid of the problem but all you find are products that claim to be the cure but yet... don't work. 

Well, after searching for I don't even know how long, I have finally found a product that actually works! *jumps up and down*

And this miracle product is..

..

..

..

Garnier Pure Active Anti-Blackhead Deep Pore Wash

I bought this product about four days ago and I've been using it everyday since. It. Actually. Works. I couldn't believe it. After the first wash I noticed there were far less blackheads and even the pores looked smaller. This product is different to others I have tried because it has exfoliating micro-beads which cleanse and effectively unclogs pores which helps to clear blackheads and remove any impurities. It is also enriched with Zinc and Salicylic Acid because of it's purifying power - it helps to control shine and protect against the appearance of blemishes, blackheads and impurities. 

I bought this from superdrug for only £3.99 which I though was an absolute bargain as I've heard so many good things about Garnier. If you do suffer from blackheads and have oily to combination skin - I would highly recommend this product! I will definitely be trying a few more of their products :)

The Liebster Award

Hey Everyone!

I was nominated for the Liebester Award which is an award designed to help those bloggers with under 200 followers become bigger and also have a bigger part in the blogging community. I would like to thank plovesfashion for the nomination! :)

Here's what you do:

1. Come up with 10 facts about yourself

2. Answer the 10 questions your nominator gave you

3. Nominate bloggers who have under 200 followers and link them in the post

4. Come up with 10 questions for the nominees to answer 

5. Inform the nominees so they can do their responses 

..

..

10 Facts About Me

1. I have never been abroad, in any shape or form which totally sucks because I'd love the chance to see other countries 

2. I am in love with Liam Neeson - he is beautiful in my eyes (I even have his calender :D)

3. My favourite animals are big cats - I'd love to visit Africa and study them

4. My dream job would be either a make-up artist or a zoologist 

5. I'm jobless - which is why I blog so much :)

6. I hate bacon and ham - they gross me out so bad 

7. I like to have the same item of clothing but in all different colours 

8. My favourite fruit is grapes

9. 

10. I have green eyes :) which I think is awesome because they are rare 

Plovesfashion's Questions

1. What is your favourite colour?

My favourite colour is black - even though it is more of a tone.. but it just goes with everything and looks very flattering

2. What is one essential bath/beauty product you must have?

My beauty essential would have to be mascara! As long as my eyes look good I dont care about the rest :)

3. What is your favourite hobby?

My favourite hobby is reading - I'm a total book worm 

4. Who inspires you most in your life?

In all honesty I don't really know - If I had to pick I'd say my Dad - mostly because he does what he loves and has made a living out of it

5. Where is your favourite place to visit?

Unfortunately I haven't visited any where foreign but if I had to pick a place - I'd love to visit Africa or Alaska

6. Lipgloss of Lipstick?

Lipstick definitely

7. What is your favourite season?

My favourite season is Winter - I love the snow :)

8. Do you have a secret talent?

Unfortunately no :( I'd love to be able to sing or something but I guess it's just not for me

9. Why did you start to blog?

I started to blog because I thought, why not? I love beauty products and books and I'd love it if people actually began to appreciate my input into those.. I'd love to be able to have an opinion and actually have it matter :)

10. What is your favourite store?

Either easons or superdrug :) 

I nominate...

lifebyemmy

blooms of beauty

(Sorry I didnt nominate very many - I'm still not sure how to navigate around this)

My questions for you 

1. Who is your favourite celebrity?

2. What is your favourite season?

3. If you could only have 1 item in your make-up bag, what would it be?

4. Beauty or fashion?

5. Why did you start to blog?

6. What is your dream job?

7. Who is your inspiration?

8. Would you rather live in a world without TV or Internet?

9. What is your favourite colour?

10. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Be sure to check out the ladies I have nominated and thanks again to plovesfashion! :)

Got Spots?

The past week or so my skin has went nuts! I'm constantly breaking out in spots due to a change in my contraceptive pill. 

I have never been one to break out or have bad (spotty) skin - if I do break out it would've been once in a blue moon and I'd never have more than two spots at a time so when I started to break out, and I'm not exaggerating, I have them on my face, neck and back, I decided to try and look for a product that would help. Initially I was going to go for the Witch blemish stick but I changed my mind when I seen this product - It is one of Superdrug's own products and is the Tea Tree Spot Stick

The main reason this caught my attention was because it was Tea Tree. Tea Tree oil is made from the leaves of the Melaleuca Alternifolia which is a native plant in Australia. 

Tea Tree oil has strong antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties. When it's applied to the skin it has the ability to kill the bacteria which develops in spots/acne.  

Benzoyl Peroxide is the main ingredient found in the majority of acne treatments because it helps to reduce inflammation and get rid of the dead skin cells. It does however leave behind nasty side effects such as peeling, itching and burning - so Tea Tree oil is a great alternative!

The spot stick has a sponge applicator tip and comes in a decently sized bottle - the colour is green but and I know that when I first seen it I was little wary but when it's applied to the skin it doesn't come off green

 Another bonus is that it's wallet friendly! I bought this from Superdrug for £2.99 which I thought was a bargain! 

I have been using this for a few days now and I can already notice the difference! My spots have already decreased in size and the redness has also reduced. I would highly recommend this product :)

Book Review - Underworld by Meg Cabot

So as I mentioned in my previous book review, Abandon, the first book in Meg Cabot's trilogy - I was going to go into reading this book with an open mind - I was going to forget about the negative points within the first book and be completely focused on this one. 

Pierce ends up being held in the Underworld - which John claims - is for her own safety and this is because not all of the departed are dear. Some are so unhappy with where they ended up after the underworld, they've ended up coming back as furies. The furies are intent one hurting the one who sent them there - and whom he loves. 

I had my fingers crossed for this book and I couldn't help but wonder if it would be better than Abandon even though I scolded myself for it - it couldn't help but sneak into my head but once I started reading it I noticed there were a few changes compared to Abandon and most of these were that all of the bad points which I mentioned in Abandon - weren't carried on into Underworld.

There was a direct plot which kept the flow of the story moving at a good pace and there was also a lot of twists and turns, excitement and drama which kept me interested and left me wanting to read more. 

You also find out a lot more about the side characters which I loved! It's not very often where the side characters would get their story told as in depth as this one provides - Pierce's cousin Alex for example - who in Abandon was a bit of a dark horse, he was very secretive and not really as involved - but in Underworld, you learn his story and he becomes a much more prominent character and I can;t wait to see what Awaken will bring out in him. But, one of the main things I loved about this book, was finding out Johns background! He was always so secretive and never talked about himself and if he did, it would be a few worded answers and that's all - but Mr. Smith - the wee devil provided Pierce with a book which contains enough information for her to figure out his background... cheeky. 

There was a lot more humour as well in this book which I liked - Abandon was very serious most of the time but in Underworld the characters aren't so strung - even though there is an impending danger the characters have the chance to show a bit of sarcasm and humour.

There was one aspect of the book I was a bit iffy on - and that was the romance in this book. I did like it in Abandon but it has evolved a bit in this book and it's mostly Pierce's part in it I didn't really like. She's too forgiving and I don't like it. I can understand that she may just not want to hurt John's feelings but your meant to be honest with each other in a relationship - she just butters him up and bubble wraps every negative thing she has to say. John, yes, is pretty violent and lies quite a lot but considering he is Lord of an Underworld you can understand why he might be violent and he lies because he clearly want's to protect Pierce from the dark sides of him and his world - but that doesn't mean she should just brush in under the carpet. 

Overall, this book was a vast improvement to Abandon - the plot was better, there was more excitement,  the side characters were really involved and it was better written. I will be purchasing Awaken when it comes out as I'm really intrigued as to how it will end :)

Product Rave

I am a huge believer in drugstore make-up - literally everything I buy is either from the drugstore or from online so I love to try new products which are at a reasonable price. 

The brand MUA are probably one of the cheapest brands in the drugstore and I love their products! Not only are they extremely affordable (although I will say they have upped their price on their new products) and the quality is phenomenal - ranging from their lipsticks to their eyeshadows. So when I seen that they had a new range out Undress your Skin I had to try some of it.

The first product I got was an eyeshadow palette - Undress Me Too and this was £4.00. As soon as I seen this product I had to get it. The colours looked amazing and I was immediately drawn to them because they were very neutral shades which are suitable for day or night. 

 The majority of the shadows are quite shimmery and there are a few mattes in there as well. The pigmentation of these are amazing as I've said before and they are also very easy to blend and I love the fact that they have a matte black especially. 

The next product I got was a highlighter. This is because it is more of a sheen highlighter that doesn't add any extra colour onto the skin it only highlights it which I really like. I believe this was around £3 but you can check the superdrug website and check. The sheen this highlighter gives is really nice - it gives a very natural and dewy finish to skin 

 I know in the photo is looks kind of pink but I can assure you that it doesn't leave a pink sheen on the skin. I love this product - I would use it daily and also for nights out - it's very versatile

I will definately be purchasing more from this new range - the quality is great and you can't beat the price, what's not to love?

:)

Book Review - Abandon by Meg Cabot

Pierce died. Well she was pronounced as NDE'd - near death experience and when she came back, she wasn't quite the same. But she hopes that moving to a new home and a new school things will get better... but he keeps showing up - John - Lord of the Underworld - even though he shows up exactly when she needs him, but he wants to take her back to the Underworld. 

Okay so for once I am going to be a bit harsh... here it goes...

This book wasn't the best. The plot of the story moved incredibly slow - I guess you could say it dragged. The first maybe half to three quarters of the book was it explaining about Pierce's accident and her trip to the underworld - which got a bit boring after a while, I was waiting for the excitement and romance!

The writing of the book I didn't like either - it was pretty confusing. One minute you would be reading something that was happening in the present and the next you would read about a time when Pierce was seven - I wouldn't have minded this if there had of been a break in the paragraph or maybe if it was written in italics so you would know it was from the past - but that didn't happen.

What I did like about this book however was the story line. I thought it was very interesting the way Hades and Persephone was in a way linked to John and Pierce but the were a few differences between the two and the meaning of why Persephone had to stay with Hades in the Underworld was different also which I really liked - it added a fresh twist on the Greek Myth. I know a lot of people mightn't like the comparisons between the two but I find that a new take on the Greek myth is nice and that just because they're somewhat similar in a way doesn't mean they have to do the same things by script.

Pierce I also liked - she was smart and strong and was pretty easy to relate to - especially in the romance department which I'm sure most teens go through. John I also liked - he was strong, caring and loyal, not to mention extremely bad ass as he is Lord of the Underworld. He knows what he wants and he will do what it takes to get it, but, even when all hope is lost and he doesn't think Pierce wants in - he still protects her. 

The other characters were well written and well developed - they each had their own part in relation to Pierce and her accident. 

Overall I don't really know what to make of this book - it has it good points and its bad points and I'm sure depending on what type of books you like, the good and bad parts might be different for you. I wouldn't say this book isn't read-worthy - but I do have the second book waiting on hand and I'm willing to give it a shot - I just hope the plot moves along at a better pace.