Review - MAC Eye Pencil 'Coffee'

I am back with a little review on another recent make-up purchase from MAC Cosmetics. 

I love MAC items, in particular their lipsticks but have gradually been buying products for my eyes as I'm trying out different looks on myself. One thing I recently discovered is brown is a colour which is very flattering for my skin tone as it's not too harsh and thus is great for everyday wear. I have other MAC eye pencils and so opted for their one 'Coffee' to see if it would be as good as I imagined. 

Below is a swatch of the eye pencil itself, I love black eyeliners and so love this as it's still a dark shade but not as harsh as jet black. 

These pencils cost £14 which may sound expensive but they apply extremely smoothly. I have found with some eye kohls on the cheaper side than once sharpened you need to wear it down on your hand as it hurts to use which just wastes a lot of product over time. However these just glide on your skin/waterline which makes the whole applying it more comfortable. In addition, I have been using this a lot since I bought it (possibly equivalent to about 30 days) and I reapply once a day if I'm doing an all day 9am until 5pm sort of thing, and I've still not had to sharpen it. So that gives you a good idea of just how long this is going to last and it's pretty impressive to say the least.

Below is a couple of photos of me wearing the product about to head out and you can see how it totally transforms my look but not too dramatically. The colour is very flattering and great for a simple smokey eye for those who aren't wanting to go all out with black. I personally love it and highly recommend it to all, especially redheads!

Thanks for reading,
xox

Visits to Arbroath!

Hello guys, today I'm going to chat to you all about my grandparents beautiful new home in Arbroath which I've visited a couple of times this year.

They moved in August as the flat they stayed in at the time was getting to much and I very much encouraged them because although it means I can't see them as much, they deserve to live somewhere they love that has little maintenance. They live in a one story home that is home to other retired individuals and accommodates caravans in the Summer. It's large and the homes are all new so it looks really nice. Everyone takes great care of the area and the residents are so lovely and talk to you.  

The home is very spacious and everything in it is brand new. My papa is very much into cleaning as well so the place is spotless but very warm and homely also. 

Below are a few photographs of the home when I visited for the first time and as you can see it's just gorgeous.

The bus journey there is only an hour and a half and considering at rush hour it can take me an hour to get home, its not too bad if you have music or films or a book to occupy yourself. Regardless it's so worth it to see my Papa and Doreen as we always go for a meal and spend a night or two in the pub. I talk to them about everything and they are so hilarious, we have a right laugh. 

I took my little brother down for the first time recently which made the trip even better as he was absolutely dying to go. We had a great meal out and a couple in the pub where Harry enjoyed watching the football with our Papa.

I very much plan on spending a lot of time up in Arbroath in the Summer with my grandparents as its very quiet and the beach will be amazing in the warmer weather. 

Thanks for reading though, I know it's a bit different but I like people to know what I get up to as I don't just sit doing make-up or going out (as much as I'd love to) so hopefully you enjoyed this post.

I'll be back soon

xox

Christmas!!

Due to it only being a few days after Christmas, I figured I would post about what I did and what there is in Edinburgh over the festive period.

Edinburgh is particularly beautiful during the Christmas period as Princes Street and St Andrews Square are lit up with stalls, a German market, shows and ice rinks. The lights at night completely change the atmosphere and everyone just gets into the Christmas mood.
Whilst uptown shopping during the day though I wondered down Castle Street and saw, to my delight, reindeer and their calves. I was unaware that this was happening so it was a nice surprise as I think reindeer are super cute so I was very excited. Santa also made an appearance which was great for the children.

Unfortunately I don't have many photos of the lights (I have yet to properly visit Winter Wonderland) although whilst waiting in the queue for a club, I managed to snap this lovely photo of The Dome. It always makes the effort at this time of year and there's a snow machine which is turned on intermittently and just adds to the Christmas feel. The Dome itself is quite large with at least another 5 pillars, so with them all decorated it's definitely something you stop to take proper notice of. 

On Christmas day this year I was at my Gran's house with my two aunties. I stayed over the night before after finishing work a 10pm and in the morning we waited on my little brother and Dad to come round. We all watched each other open gifts which was amazing as I really put a lot of effort and thought into them this year and so I really enjoyed seeing their reactions. I got a lot more than I was expecting and cannot thank my family enough for that. My brother spend the day at his mums and so me, my gran and two aunties had a lovely chilled dinner with lots of sweeties afterwards before watching 'White Christmas'. It was a very nice, chilled day which suited me perfectly.

Below I am pictured with my two aunties on Christmas Eve after we dished out all the gifts, ready to be opened the next morning.

I do have an awful lot of presents that I will be featuring and reviewing over the next couple of weeks so hope your looking forward to those!
Thanks for reading, I'll be back soon
xox

I AM BACK!

Hello lovelies! HUGE apology for being inactive for over a month however with exams and family issues I just haven't had the time or energy to post. I am now back and with Christmas over, have a ton of new things to blog about.

On that note, I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas with Santa spoiling you, I know I was very much spoilt which I was not expecting. I am so grateful for everything I received and cannot wait to share it with you all, along with reviews on my opinion of the items.

This post involves an outfit I wore to my works night out a couple of Saturdays ago. It was at a bowling club and I was super excited as my work colleagues are a brilliant laugh. I also couldn't wait to wear a new outfit I had purchased specially for the occasion!

In the above photo is myself and a work friend who pulled out all the stops in his Christmas suit, I had to get a photo!
In terms of my outfit, I felt I looked pretty damn good! The high neck top was a purchase from Topshop (£10 before student discount) and the skirt was also from there which was £38 but is now £20 in the sale. The top I have already in green and for £10 you cannot go wrong. It's comfortable, not itchy, fits well and keeps you warm on these cold nights (chest wise).
The skirt I was originally unsure of as I've never worn gold, silver, metallic clothing before but family assured me it would suit my hair. I am super happy I followed their advice as I felt it looked great. Really made my outfit pop and is perfect for this time of year as sparkles and metals are everywhere.
I teamed the outfit with over the knee platform suede boots from River Island (£70). These beauties were purchased for my birthday off my better half and so weren't available at a cheaper price. The amount was well invested though as they not only look fantastic, they are unbelievably comfy (I wore them 5:30pm - 3am) and keep you warm. They are also just a nice alternative to the normal platform, court shoes that are commonly worn when out!

In terms of make-up I used all my normal products (I will do an update on what exactly those are very soon) but also used some new pieces which I want to talk about.

I received some new MAC Cosmetic items from the other half which included MAC glitter in shade 'gold'. I applied this by using eyelash glue on my lid and pressing the glitter on with a flat brush. It's loose so very messy but worth it as it stayed on all night and with glitter you can never go wrong!

On the inner corners, I used another new product from MAC which is the pigment in Vanilla. Again this is loose but easier to control and there's no need for glue. It's super shiny and totally brightens your eyes which looks lovely. The combination of the glitter and pigment just meant my eyes super stood out and popped. 

I used MAC myth on my lips which is a beautiful matte nude lipstick and I wear it all the time. I either have bright eyes or bright lips so obviously here, nude lipstick was the way to go. It can be drying but as long as you look after your lips and use Vasaline or similar then you should be alright.

I also wore a daisy chocker, the only piece of jewellery (apart from my piercings) I had on that night. It was just to break up my top half a little and I think added a little cute-ness to my outfit. I purchased it from Forever 21 about 2 years ago for around £6.
Below are a couple more photographs from the night, along with links to all the items I have discussed.

Links -

Topshop gold skirt - http://www.topshop.com/en/tsuk/product/shiny-pu-mini-skirt-3544584?geoip=noredirect&cmpid=ppc_pla_UK_ip&utm_medium=cpc&istCompanyId=38aa0d7f-6514-4cb3-bbdcdf0d32d48b7f&istItemId=imiwwqtrr&istBid=tztx&ds_e_ad_type=pla&gclid=Cj0KEQiA8f6kBRCGhMPFtev8p58BEiQAaMLmqRJ6EXPF6ViU1_c1DXhJ4_8pI7-37P9Q_mHM7E5zwSsaAtG88P8HAQ

Topshop rib funnel top - http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?searchTerm=rib+funnel+top&storeId=12556&productId=16162467&urlRequestType=Base&categoryId=&langId=-1&productIdentifier=product&catalogId=33057

River Island thigh high boots - http://www.riverisland.com/women/shoes--boots/calf--knee-high-boots/Black-cleated-platform-over-the-knee-boots-658871

MAC glitter (need to select 'Gold') - http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/product/shaded/793/505/Products/Multi-Use/Glitter/index.tmpl

MAC pigment (need to select 'Vanilla') -http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/product/shaded/154/372/Products/Eyes/Shadow/Pigment/index.tmpl

MAC myth lipstick - http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/product/shaded/9065/310/New-Collections/Fashion-Sets-Europe-Africa/Myth/Lipstick/index.tmpl