The budget eyeshadow which actually works!

You may have recently read my review of the Too Faced Sweet Peach eyeshadow palette (available here if you want to check that out). I must say that since that post, Too Faced has made their products available on ASOS who offer free delivery over £20 and a 10% student discount so that makes it slightly more affordable. I said in that post that I struggle to find good eyeshadows for a low price, and my friend Lucy messaged me after to recommend a palette she uses that is available for only £12 from Boots. I decided to try it and I absolutely loved it so I thought I'd write about it on the blog and spread the word! As always, I must mention that this is not an ad, and I have not been paid in goods or services to write this post.

This palette is by a brand called Obsession Makeup London, and as well as this incredibly good value palette, they do a huge range of individual eyeshadow colours for £2 if you want to try them before you buy the whole palette. It comes in this pretty marbled packaging as well which I like. Lucy said she found it was a good dupe for the Urban Decay Heat palette, and I agree. This palette comes with 24 shades whereas the Urban Decay ones only have 12 which makes this even more brilliant. The top half is matte colours, and the bottom half is metallics in a range of pinks, purples, golds and nudes. I am planning on posting a makeup look using this palette on YouTube soon so stay posted!

The case has a huge mirror in, big enough to do your whole face of makeup in if you needed to which made me happy, and every single colour on this palette is something I would use. It is well pigmented, not quite as good as the more expensive urban decay and too faced palettes but considering the price difference this is completely acceptable. It also blends nicely which is good. I would definitely recommend this palette, especially if you need to watch how much you're spending. It is much better than the other dupes I have heard recommended to me (such as the Primary Amber palette which I found terribly chalky). It also lasts a really long time without the need for a setting spray! All in all a fantastic product.

I hope this post has been useful to some of you, and I have posted a close up view of the palette below so you can see the colour range better. Enjoy!

10 Tips for Studying

Exam season for me is just beginning, but for many of you it is probably well underway. Either way, if you're anything like me you'll take any advice you can get on how to get all the information you need on board! Again, I have uploaded these to YouTube too and you can view that here.

1. Snacking. Snacks are important for motivation and keeping your energy up, but they can also aid your memory as your brain associates different tastes with certain memories. My friend Midge also asked me how to eat crisps quietly in the library, and my advice was to empty them into a tub first because the packet is very loud so if this is a question you'd ask too then there's your answer!
2. Different herbs can be helpful for revision, and if this is something that interests you it may be worth researching it to more depth. However, two that I'm aware of are rosemary and lavender. Ellie-Mae tells me that rosemary helps you turn short term memories into long term memories much quicker and lavender relaxes you and helps you sleep!
3. Set yourself realistic targets. There was an article in the news earlier this year that said A Level students should be doing 7 hours revision a day, but make sure you only do what you can manage. Take plenty of breaks as well. My tutor recently told me I should be doing two sessions of 20-50 minutes of revision a day. That is easy to do.
4. Don't force yourself into a revision task that doesn't work for you. Colourful notes, songs and answering questions worked for me but those things won't necessarily work for everyone! Find out what helps you and do it.
5. Make sure there's a separation between where you work and where you sleep. Do not revise in bed!! You will carry that stress with you and will struggle to get those zzzzzzs.
6. Make sure you are comfortable. If you are in pain, or have something poking you, or are too hot, or too cold, or it's too bright or too loud then you will never be able to focus fully on the task at hand.
7. DO. NOT. CRAM. You won't absorb the information at all effectively and it will just make you unnecessarily stressed. The night/morning before should be spent relaxing as much as you possibly can to get you in the right mind set.
8. Think about WHY what you're learning is important - don't try and memorise all of the facts in the text book, think about which ones will help you answer the questions you may be asked.
9. Teach others. By explaining it to someone else, you will begin to understand it better and also you'll find it easier to put into words when you get those dreaded 'explain your answer' questions. It also helps you with point number 8.
10. Stay Calm. This is easier said than done but it is THE most important thing to remember. Do anything you can, take deep breaths, smell lavender, listen to calming music, drink moulted milk, whatever works for you.

I hope some of these tips will be useful to you, and feel free to comment some of your own as I will take any advice I can get!

A Summer Makeup Look

This is a post I love doing, and one of my close friends requested this the other day (hi Ellie-Mae!) so I thought I would do a summer makeup look using my new eyeshadow palette. You can read about how to do it here, or go and watch a tutorial on my brand new youtube channel!! Link here.

I began with concealer. As I don't like a heavy all over coverage in the summer, I don't use foundation or anything like that so this is the only method I have for covering blemishes. Luckily I have quite good skin so this tends to be enough for me but by all means use foundation or whatever you're most comfortable with! I am really pale so cool ivory is the shade for me, but in Boots they will help you find the best shade for you. I blended some under my eyes and covered my spots before moving on to my eyebrows. I find eyebrows such a personal thing, but the pencil pictured on the left is the one I use if you're interested!



After I had done my concealer and brows I moved on to my eyeshadow. I began with the shade 'Nectar' and brushed it over my eyelid up to my brow. This gave a goos base for my eyeshadow and also highlights the underside of the brow. If you don't have this palette, any pale nude will do for this stage of the look.

Next I used 'Just Peachy' to define the crease of my eye, blending it upwards with a very soft eye shadow brush. Any light pink shade will do for this, if you are attempting this look with a different eyeshadow. Please ignore my eyebrow in this photo it really needs plucking haha.



Next I brushed 'Candied Peach' over the inner half of my eye. This is a very peachy colour (salmon pink maybe?) for those of you attempting to find replacements. Then I added 'Summer Yum' to the outer half, a darker but similar colour. I then blended them together in the middle of the lid.

Finally, I blended 'Delectable' into the outer crease and lower lash line. This is a deep purple colour if you are trying to find it somewhere else! Then I added the L'Oreal False Lash Superstar X Fiber mascara, using only side one on my bottom lashes and both sides on my top lashes. I decided against eyeliner though.

I then used a powder brush to lightly bronze over my cheek bones and contour areas. (No.7 match perfect if you want this one! I like it because it's not too dark). As it is a summer look I just wanted to look a little more tanned! I then added highlight, choosing to use elf shimmer in shade gold. I just brushed that over my cheekbones to add to the bronzer.

 I finished the look with a lipstick from smashbox. In case you can't see the image of it, the shade I used is called 'Be Legendary' and it's a lovely quite dark nudey pink. It's a matte lipstick but it's not liquid which I like because it dries my lips out way less! I still recommend putting lip balm on before hand though!




So here is the finished look! This is a close up of the eye makeup (left) and below is a selfie of the full look! I hope that this has been useful to at least some of you, and Ellie-Mae I hope you enjoyed it! Go have a look at the video of this on YouTube too if you want to see more of how I did it :)

10 Date Ideas

I love going on dates, but since I have been at uni both James and I don't really have the money to go on as many as we'd like to. This has meant that we have come up with cheaper ways to spend time together, and save money for the occasional fancier outing. Here are some ideas for dates based on some of our favourites.

• Short road trips. Just take a day out to drive somewhere you haven't been before, or somewhere that means a lot to you and go there. You can spend no money at all, or lots of money depending on what you do or where you go. My favourite was when James took me to Bourton-on-the-water and we had a picnic and spent some time wandering around the beautiful little town before heading to the bird zoo. I just love spending time with him, and even the car journey is a great opportunity to listen to music and just enjoy each other's company.

• Long road trips. If you have more time, this is a great thing to do. Spend a couple of nights in a hotel, either in one place or travelling around. Maybe on a city break, or maybe to the beach? I can't wait to do this with James this summer!

• Go for tapas! Or if you can't afford to, make your own! We fell in love with tapas when we were in Barcelona, as they are delicious and the process of sharing the dishes means we actually chat rather than just wolfing down our food in silence. Tomato bread and nachos were particular favourites of mine, and I know my parents enjoyed a wide range of fish dishes when they first tried them.

• Go for a picnic. I know this is a classic but it's just so romantic and lovely in summer. You can choose from any beautiful location, and if the sun is out it is just wonderful. You can spend as much or as little as you like on food as well, from champagne and strawberries to sandwiches made from scraps you had at home it'll be great fun all the same.

• Ice skating! Another classic. But so so fun, and not too expensive. James and I have been twice and he's much better at it than I am (but don't tell him he'll get a big head!). I really love going and when he's not busy speeding away from me, he'll sometimes hold my hand which is lovely and romantic too.

• Go on a cultural visit. I'm currently doing a degree in history so this is probably more fun for me than it is for a normal person but I don't care! That being said, James loves going to museums and sight seeing when we're on holiday together, and he doesn't complain when I make him go to castles and ruins close to home either. It's just something interesting to do and twice as fun when you're with a person you love.

• Do a sport together. This can be anything from going on a run together, to rock climbing, to swimming, to trampolining. Just make sure you only do it to a level you're BOTH comfortable with otherwise it'll be no fun.

• Do something you would have enjoyed as a child, and still enjoy now. For me this is things like going to the zoo or safari park or an aquarium, but for you it may be going to a theme park or something like that. You could even do something like Go Ape which is essentially a grown up's playground! I love it so much, and it makes me feel like a little kid again.

• Do a craft together. James and I love to bake together, especially around Christmas time when we can make gingerbread and Christmas cookies and cakes. We also like to do jigsaws together, even if it does get a little competitive sometimes.... I know my uncle and his wife have done lots of things like this, including pottery, cheese making, basket weaving and bee keeping! It's really up to you how much you want to spend, and what you think you'll enjoy doing. It may be a good opportunity to try something new.

• Go for cocktails! This gives you an opportunity to dress up all fancy without having to spend loads and loads of money. If you only go for one, you can spend less than £10 (or in some places less than £5 even). They're delicious and great fun and just a perfect quick and cheap, yet classy date.

My (latest) trip to Berlin

I am half German, and my mum's family still lives over there so as you can imagine I have been to Berlin several times. Over Easter my boyfriend's family very kindly invited me to go with them on their first visit and we had a lovely time! We obviously saw the important sights, like the Brandenburg Gate and the Museum Island, but we also did lots of fun things I'd never done before. I particularly enjoyed the almost brand new Mall of Berlin which is in Potsdamer Platz where the no man's land between wall boarders of east and west once stood. Great shops and a lovely cheerful replacement for a previously pretty morbid site. KaDeWe and Bikini were also highlights for me as far as shopping was concerned! 

But the shopping was really a minor part of the holiday. As I mentioned, we did some sightseeing, and one of the things we saw that was new to me was Checkpoint Charlie. I'm not really sure why I've never been before but it was fascinating to see and there was a pop up museum next to it which was free to go to and really good at giving context for the importance of the site. My mum lived in Berlin while it was still divided so it's a big part of my family history as well as the history of the city so it was fascinating to see from that point of view as well. It's so different seeing it in real life than just hearing about it from my grandparents.

Since we were there over Easter weekend, we were a bit limited for things to do on the last day and we ended up going to both the sea life centre and the aquarium but I didn't mind as I love fish. Although overall I preferred the aquarium because it had lizards, frogs, alligators, turtles and insects as well as just fish the main highlight was at the sea life centre. They have a lift that goes all the way up the middle of a fish tank (as you can see in this picture). There was an array of beautiful fish including Royal Blue Tang (otherwise known as Paracanthurus or Dory fish) which have been my favourite since I saw Finding Nemo! We were lucky enough that we got to see them being fed on our way up because we timed it just before lunch time. At the bottom of the lift there was a fantastic American diner too so after we saw the fish have lunch we got to have ours too. It's something that I've always wanted to do as a kid so finally being able to was like 5 year old me's absolute heaven!

Another new thing to me was the TV Tower. I've seen it from a distance many times, and my uncle used to work there so my family would always point it out when we visited but I never went up. The viewing platform which we visited is 203 metres up, and it's pretty cool to get a 360 degree view of the city. Above that, there is a rotating restaurant which I would love to eat in some day. I'm sure my family would be happy to go, and if not I'll just have to drag my boyfriend along with me! He definitely wouldn't complain. It's a really cool thing to experience, I'd recommend it to anyone planning on going to Berlin.

Just down the road from my family's flat is this beautiful palace called the Charlottenburg Schloss. It's beautiful, and I love to walk around the gardens there if I visit in summer or go to the museum inside if it's cold or rainy (as we did this time). It's beautiful and has a great display inside, complete with free audioguide which tells you all about the palace as you walk around. I especially love this palace at Christmas, as the Christmas market outside is one of the best I have ever been to. It's huge and has both indoor and outdoor market stalls or food, jewellery, trinkets etc. for a variety of prices!


Overall, a really lovely holiday! I love this city so much and I'm already looking forward to my next visit.

5 Books I Recommend

I love to read, but I tend to read a lot of the same stuff. Occasionally however, I like to dip into other genres and if you're like that too here are some recommendations for you! (Disclaimer: This is not an ad, and none of the photos of book covers are mine).

1. Black Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin. 

I love a good crime novel every now and then, and this was truly thrilling. The protagonist is buried alive and can't remember who did it. The story is told from her point of view immediately following the attack as she goes through therapy, and many years later when the suspect is coming up for the death penalty and doubts arise as to whether or not he is really guilty. I had to sleep with the light on for a week after reading this because the suspense left me thoroughly creeped out. That being said, it was a genuinely well thought out story, realistic and full of twists you will not expect, not just a horror meant to scare you. I would never have guessed the ending and it was satisfying as all of the loose ends got tied up. My mum and grandad both read it too, and they also highly recommended it. I look forward to reading Julia's new book 'Paper Ghosts' soon!

    2. I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson.



This book may be my all time favourite. I wrote a full review of it on The Depreciation Society a few years ago because I want every single person to read this. It is YA but my mum also read it and thought it was fab, as it deals with very adult themes. The story is told from the points of view of twins, one at the age of 13 struggling to come to terms with his sexuality, and the other 3 years later dealing with the death of her mother and the guilt she feels over it. Family, homosexuality and death. Very difficult themes, and in many ways very depressing but overall this book is uplifting. It made me cry but it also made me laugh, and the quotes that stood out from this book inspired me and littered my instagram for months after reading it.


 
     3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

I admit, classics aren't usually my favourite. I tend to get bored halfway through and abandon them.  However, for my English module this year this was on the reading list and I found that I actually enjoyed it very much. The story follows the life of Jane, from childhood up until marriage with many obstacles along the way. Although feminism hadn't been invented at this time, Jane displays some very feminist ideas and it made me happy. For a woman to question how she was treated at this time was unheard of and I love that she does this! It's the only book I have ever studied where I still enjoyed it after it had been dissected and explained to me. If you want to read a classic, this is definitely a good place too start as it isn't too heavy or difficult to understand.


     
    4. Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo.



This non-fiction haven of feminists is a fantastic read for girls and women of all ages. A double page spread is given to each inspirational woman, one to tell their story and the other for a beautiful cartoon of her with a quote at the bottom. The women range from artists to authors to politicians to scientists to activists to children who just want to go to school and each and every one of them is extraordinary. I liked to read at least one every day and think I will purchase the sequel soon. The drawings are colourful and gorgeous and the stories are easy to understand so they would be appropriate for children as well as adults.



    5. The Host by Stephenie Meyer.



My copy of this Sci-Fi/fantasy/romance novel is extremely battered by now because I have read it so often. It is set in the future, when a species of aliens which take over a human body have taken over the earth. It is told from the point of view of one of these aliens, who's 'host' girl is fighting back against her control. They will form a special and unusual bond, and the struggle they both experience is amazingly well told. I really enjoyed twilight too, but Bella's complete obsession with Edward meant that at times it was a little too soppy for my taste. This book has the element of romance to it but it's far less obsessive, a contribution to the story rather than the focus.

My Trip to Venice

Recently, my best friend Midge and I decided to go on holiday to Venice. It was beautiful, and we had a really great time! We chose Venice because as history students we wanted to visit somewhere with a rich culture, rather than a typical girl's holiday of drinking and beaches (though there's nothing wrong with that either). It was really good fun and not too expensive as we could just walk around admiring it's beauty without feeling the need to go into museums or attractions, and the shops and restaurants were all very reasonably priced too. This was very good for our small budgets!

My favourite part of Venice was the little bridges over tiny canals like this one. I have 100,000 photos like this but I picked my favourite for this post so it wouldn't just be millions of identical photos. The houses were so colourful and contrasted beautifully against the dark water. The tourist attraction areas like St. Mark's Square were pretty busy but most of the side streets like this one were empty which was lovely. Occasionally a gondola would go by but other than that it was completely quiet and peaceful! We would stop as we walked across to admire the view or sometimes just sit there for a while (often with a gelato in hand). I think it's the only city I have ever been to that hasn't got a single ugly area in it. The tiny streets and millions of steps make it impossible for traffic to get through too, so there's no vehicles other than boats to get in the way or be noisy or smelly either which was very unusual but so nice to experience.

Obviously, we had to go to St. Mark's Square while we were in Venice. The queues for the Basilica and Doge's Palace were horrifically long so we chose to admire from the outside rather than going in but they were still works of art. The paintings on the outside of the Basilica in particular were truly stunning, I honestly don't know how anyone could produce such works of beauty. My grandad said he once attended a concert here and it was just as beautiful inside as it is out, so perhaps if I go again I will brave the huge queues!

This tower was part of the Doge's Palace, and this also had hour long queues. As I am not a fan of heights, I feel this would probably not have been for me anyway but I still admired it from the bottom. Although, I did enjoy the TV Tower in Berlin so maybe I should have given this a chance to hahaha. We didn't realise what this was at first, and Midge spent all day frantically searching for the Doge Palace until she realised we'd already been there, which just about sums us up to be honest. I have no idea how much these attractions cost, so if you're planning a visit I'm afraid I am a bit useless. My grandad tells me that when he visited 40 odd years ago it was free but I highly doubt that's still the case. Upkeep on beautiful old buildings like these, staff to look after the place and control visitor numbers etc. don't come cheap so I am sure there must be an entrance fee these days.

On our final day, we went to Ca' d'Oro which was just fantastic. It's this beautiful old Venetian house with elaborately tiled floors, gorgeous stone pillars, and a gorgeous art gallery housed inside. There were statues and paintings and a couple of drawings too. Entrance was very reasonably priced (€7.50 if I remember correctly, plus a student discount was offered). To top that all off, there were balconies with these beautiful stone arches as you can see in this picture, and the view from the third floor especially was breath taking!

Overall, if you are planning a trip to Venice, my advice would be to just wander in random directions. Ninety percent of the time, Midge and I had no idea where we were or what we were doing and we loved it. Every single corner of Venice is so beautiful that wherever you end up, you can't go wrong. Visit the Ca' d'Oro if you have time, as it was one of my favourite places I've ever been. Take your time, admire the views, and go at Easter as it is the best weather for it! Don't forget your suncream. Elastic waistbands are best, as the pizza, pasta and gelato options are delicious and many. If you come across white chocolate and passionfruit gelato, try it! It was my absolute favourite. And most of all, take plenty of photos! Although I'm sure you won't be able to resist.

Pancake Recipe

One of my most popular posts on depreciation society and amongst my friends is my mum's pancake recipe. It may also be the main reason why I managed to pull my boyfriend haha. It's simple and great for breakfast, pancake day or just to snack on.

Ingredients:

• 300g flour
• 1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
• 1 pinch of salt
• 3 eggs separated
• 300ml milk

Directions:

1. Mix all dry ingredients together.
2. Mix egg yolk into milk.
3. Make a well in the middle of the flour mix. Pour in the eggy milk and mix.
4. Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks, then fold into the batter.

This recipe usually makes enough pancakes for 4 people so I often make half measures if there's only 2 of us home. My favourite topping is golden syrup and cream with fresh berries but my boyfriend prefers maple syrup or lemon and sugar. Both are delicious! Enjoy :)

Product Review: Too Faced Sweet Peach Eye Shadow Palette Review

My student loan dropped on Monday and I used the opportunity to treat myself to this product that I have wanted for a while. Zoella has raved about it in many of her videos, and I tested it in Sephora in Venice and I could not resist. As this is an expensive item, I thought a review might be helpful for anyone who is on the fence about trying it (and I also wanted an excuse to show off my purchase!), so here is my post to do that.

Availability and Price

I live in the UK, so it was difficult to get my hands on this! I eventually found it in Debenhams (who offer free next day click and collect) and bought it there. I also couldn't find it in my local store so I would recommend ordering it if you do want it. As I said, this is a pretty expensive palette. I paid £39 for it, and I couldn't get student discount which was annoying. However, I don't feel you can get this good quality in a cheap eyeshadow so it is worth the money. You also get a lot of shades for this money, which means that there is a colour for every occasion and you'll get your money's worth of use out of it.

Blendability and Pigmentation

The pigmentation of these eyeshadows is honestly beautiful. So much colour which makes it really easy to apply and blend. Even I managed which is saying something because I struggle immensely with makeup! It made me so happy and that alone was worth the money. It also came with an adorable booklet which gave three looks to try with very simple instructions on how to achieve them. I have already attempted two which both went surprisingly well and I look forward to trying a third one. I have honestly never used such a good quality eyeshadow before.

Other Things to Mention

I love the fact that this palette is peach scented! It smells gorgeous, and is a real novelty feature. I also love the packaging, it's so pretty and peach themed too. The peachy names of the shades are fab too! I also liked the booklet that I mentioned as it helps you make the most of the palette. The lighter colours are great for summer, and the darker ones are good for winter so it's not season specific either. All in all I am very happy with this! I give it 10/10, despite the slight price and availability issues.






Disclaimer: This is not an ad. Too Faced and Debenhams have not paid me in goods or services to write this post, I just really love it!

Branching Out

Hello lovely readers! I hope there are some of you out there. I will try and keep this post as short and sweet as I can, as I explain a little about who I am and what my aims are with this blog. I hope you like the sound of it, and feel free to comment any additional post ideas you would like me to do!

A Little About Me

I am 19 years old, and had only ever lived in Worcestershire until I started university in September. I now divide my time between going home to my family, visiting my boyfriend in Oxford and attending lectures in Bath. My hobbies include jogging, blogging, reading, baking, various forms of art and travel. I have also previously enjoyed ballet, swimming, horse riding and netball (although I was never very good). I have two younger brothers who are a big part of my life, and they will feature a lot in my blog posts along with my best friends and boyfriend. My brothers Finn (16) and Linus (12) both have youtube channels, one for music and the other for drawing. Check them out if you are interested! They're called kingfinn music and linoose drawing.

My Blogging Past

For about two years I have been a writer on a blog called The Depreciation Society (check out our posts here and our instagram here). I have enjoyed doing this very much, and will continue to write posts for both blogs (some may be double posted on each) but I would like to do something where I can post a little more regularly without stepping on the toes of my fellow writers, repeating what they have said or drowning them out by posting more than they do. Or on the other hand getting lost when they post more than I do! So I guess what I'm saying is, this new blog is an addition to rather than a replacement for Depsoc.



My Blogging Future

I am planning on doing a variety of posts on this blog, so that there is something for everyone. I am also considering starting a YouTube Channel where I will post similar types of things to what will go on here. Some ideas I have had so far include:

• Makeup Tutorials
• Book Reviews
• Recipes
• Product Reviews
• Travel Accounts/Recommendations
• Shopping Hauls
• Playlists
• Tips For Students (e.g. budgeting, studying)

Like I said, I am open to any recommendations! So please comment any requests. Thank you for joining me :)