5 New Make-up Favourites

As always I've been buying too much make-up this month. I decided to pick out 5 of my favourites and tell you guys why I've been loving them!

I love everything about this blush from Too Faced. Firsly, the scent is amazing! It's such a novelty having a blush that smells of peaches, it makes using it that bit more special. Another thing I love is how cute and unique the packaging is! I don't have any like this! And lastly, I love the colour and consistency. I love the deep peach shade and how perfect it is for summer! It's got a slight shimmer in it which I really like for a glowy look!

Another new favourite is the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer. This is my favourite concealer EVER. It's such a good product. The concealer has a really creamy consistency and it blends in so nicely. It's quite a high coverage concealer, so great for hiding blemishes. What I really like about this is that when I use it to hide my dark under eye circles it doesn't crease! I find it nearly impossible to find a concealer that doesn't do this! So so impressed with this product!

I'm really trying to add something new into my eye makeup routine. All I ever seem to do is a smokey eye, which I love, but I want to experiment a bit more! I picked up a purple eyeliner from Nyx to test out. I've been winging out my eyeliner firstly with black, and then tracing over the top line with the purple, and I really like it! The purple goes really well with my dark brown eyes. The only thing I'm not too keen on is the brush applicator, I usually prefer my eyeliners to have a precise pen tip!  

I heard great things about The Ordinary's High-Adherence Silicone Primer so I decided to give it a go. Primers are something I seem to be lacking in my collection, I always stick to my L'Oreal Lumi Magique base or my Smashbox Photo Finish primers! For £5 this primer is pretty good! It blurrs out and covers pores, and provides a lovely base for make-up. It's also super hydrating for the skin!

Lastly, I've been loving the Zoeva Rose Golden Eyeshadow palette. The colours are absolutely gorgeous! Each one apart from the the three matte shades have a rose gold hint to them. The shadows are all super creamy and blend like a dream. I like how there are just the right amount of light, medium, and dark shades to create a perfect smokey eye! My favourite shade has to be Reflective Elegance, It's the perfect rose gold shade with gold iridescence!

Stationary Haulin'

I love love love buying new stationary. Kikki K and Paperchase are my favourite shops to buy cute stationary from. I recently started a bullet journal and wanted some new pens to create it with. I found a pack of multi-coloured fine liners with animal print on from Paperchase. While I was in there I also found a little stamp set that I thought I could use in my journal. 

On a recent trip to Sainsburys I found a cute section of rose gold stationary, which of course I had to buy something from. I picked the little pot of Paperclips- which looks so cute on my desk! 

I also found a cute little Stationary Set in Wilko's for about £2 with a cute woodland animal design. Admittedly I only bought it for the bunny stamp (bunnies are my favourite). The set will come in super handy though!

When I visited London a few weeks ago I visited the Kikki K store in Covent Garden. I absolutely love their stationary, it's so original. I picked up a gold Sticker Pack for my journal, it has lots of words and symbols that can be used for a diary, but I thought they would look cute dotted around in the appropriate section of my journal.
From Kikki K I also purchased an Inspiration Kit from Kikki K. It's essentially a pack of motivational quotes on different sized and coloured cut outs. I love having this little quotes around my room, they make me happy, feel motivated, and reflective. 

Love, Amber xo

A Recent Drugstore Beauty Haul

Yes I know, another drugstore make up haul. Guilty. I just love buying new make up and trying new things out! Plus it was 3 for 2 on Barry M, haha.

I picked up a few beauty related things from Primark. There's such a huge hype around Primark make up at the moment that I thought I would test some out. I picked up a Ps Pro Blending brush for a couple of pounds for eyeshadow, highlighter, or a sharp contour. Surprisingly, I've actually really been liking this brush, it blends powder product really well.

I also picked up a Ps Insta Edit Perfecting Stick. This is essentially a primer. I don't really have a lot to say about this. It makes my make up last but it did make me a little shiny throughout the day!

Lastly from Primark, I picked up a face mask and some nose pore strips. The face mask was pretty rubbish, however, the nose pore strips worked really well! They actually drew some of the blackheads out, that could be visibly seen on the strips. The face mask was a watery black mask with sugar particles, but hey, you lose some you win some.

From Barry M I picked up the Chisel Cheeks Contour Kit. I never use the 3rd shade as it's way too dark for my skin, but the other two work really well for me. They blend really well. The contour shade is more on the brown side than the orange side, which I much prefer. The 1st shade subtly highlights the high points of your face.

I also purchased a Molten Metal Nail Varnish in the shade Copper Mine. This does need a good few coats, but it looks so glossy and shimmery when it's dried! The colour is a beautiful rose gold colour, my fave!

Finally from Barry M I picked up one of their Matte Me Up Lip Kits in the shade Go To. I thought this would be a good dupe for the Kylie K Lip Kits. The lip pencil is really nice, it goes on well and doesn't feel too drying. The lip paint I'm not too sure on. It feels so dry on my lips and the colour does not suit my skin tone at all. 

I picked up the Freedom Pro Studio Brush Bath's after seeing so many good reviews of it. It has a bit of a weird concept. You wet your brush and swirl it in the solid oil then wash it off. However, it works really well and removes every bit of make up from the brush. It's even better than my Mac brush cleanser!

Another thing I picked up was a Real Techniques Miracle Sculpting Sponge. I already have one of these, but theres nothing like using a new sponge to apply your foundation! I bought this especially for a night out so my base looked flawless! I love how you can use the sponge for anything with all the edges and sides it has.

Lastly, I picked up some Ardell Demi Wispies. These are my favourite false eyelashes ever. They look so dramatic and much more natural than most false eyelashes. They apply really well, and it doesn't feel like I'm wearing any when I wear these!

How I battled my anxiety with mindfulness and meditation

I've always been a nervous person who worries about everything. But last year something happened that spiraled my anxiety out of control. I had permanent chest pain, a bad stomach, and regular anxiety attacks. Along with some medication my doctor advised going to some counselling sessions. I found these really helpful and learnt some useful things. The main things it taught me was how important mindfulness and meditation can be in helping to reduce anxiety.

Being mindful means taking some time out and focusing on the present, how you feel, and your surroundings. It can become a way of life. Mindfulness has been scientifically proven to lower blood pressure, improve sleep, boost your immune system, and reduce anxiety. 

Mindfulness pulls the mind and body out of autopilot and help you to be in the current situation. 

It can help change how a person thinks and responds to negative situations, and it alters perspective on things. 

I've found certain things really help me to be mindful. The book 'Calm' by Michael Acton Smith is a lovely book to introduce someone to mindfulness. It has eight sections including, nature, work, sleep, travel, relationships, children, creativity, and food. Each section has exercises to help you be mindful in all areas of life. There are certain habits suggested and ways to adopt these habits. The exercises help you to appreciate the little things and really think about them.

Another thing that helps me to be mindful is having a stress spray or a pillow spray. I like to spray my Neom 'De-stress' spray on the go, to inhale and focus on when I'm feeling overwhelmed at work to help me focus on the now and relax me a little. Before bed I always use the This Works 'Deep Sleep Pillow Spray'. This also helps me to relax and focus on sleeping.

Meditation is similar to mindfulness. It focuses on your breathing and being in the present moment. While meditating, the mind is completely clear and relaxed. Body sensations are observed. I find the app Insight Timer really helpful for meditation. There are so many different meditations for different situations. I especially like using the sleep meditations after a night shift to help me relax and sleep.

I also have a three minute sand timer on my desk that I like to use when I've been sat at my desk working for long periods of time to bring me back to the present and just focus on my breathing for three minutes. It helps me feel a lot less stressed and focused afterwards.

A book that has quite a few useful meditations in is a book by Lonely Planet called '101 Ways to Live Well'. Along with meditation practices this book has little tips of ways to reduce stress in certain situations. There are even ways to cure hangovers and ways to take better lunch breaks.

Since being regularly mindful and meditating I haven't had a single panic attack, and I don't get any symptoms of high anxiety levels anymore. I've also been a much happier person and have noticed how much more I appreciate things now. I would highly recommend both :-)