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MEETING LAURA MERCIER & SPEAKING AT GOOGLE HQ

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My weekly vlog is back and I got up to A LOT last week. Come along with me to meet Laura Mercier, speak at Google HQ with Anna and Louise, begrudgingly do a workout with Rich and spend some time with friends.  

As per usual, I also eat a lot in this vlog. 

Enjoy! 

Zoella Beauty

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Last night I had the pleasure of celebrating the launch of Zoe Sugg's new pamper line, Zoella Beauty, and I couldn't wait any longer to share it with you. 

I've known Zoe since the beginning of my blogging days, we met maybe 3 or 4 years ago. Since then she has worked incredibly hard and turned her little blog and YouTube channel into something so huge and inspirational, there probably isn't one teenage girl out there who hasn't heard of her. The best part of it all is that she hasn't changed since that first time we met, she's still the same old lovely, chirpy Zoe. 

So when I was introduced to her first range of beauty products last night I was met with a fresh, sweet smelling abundance of pastel hues... and I wouldn't have expected it any other way. The whole line is based around a relaxing pamper routine, something that Zoe finds really helps her with her anxiety. 

There are six products in the range; 2 makeup bags/pencil cases, a bath soak, a fizz bar, a body lotion, a candle and a body mist. The product that really grabbed amy attention was the Fizz Bar, a clever spin on the well-known bath bomb. You can break off the little squared Z's and add them to your bath to create a fresh and fragrant soak - I do love a good bath. The Blissful Mistful body mist is also lovely, a light scent that isn't overly sweet but has that freshness to it that's perfect for younger girls. 

The whole range is incredibly affordable with the most expensive products (the body mist and makeup bags) at £8 and everything else at £5. Bargain! The whole range is stocked online at Superdrug (although most have already sold out!) as well as Feel Unique. It will also be making it's way into Superdrug stores over the next few weeks. 

I'm incredibly proud of Zoe, and the support she's getting from the bloggging/vlogging community just shows how much she's loved! 

So do you have your eye on any of the products from the range? 

WEAR LIFE EATS

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WEAR //
When I suddenly realised that the #ZoellaBeauty launch was a 'dress up' affair and I had nothing nice to wear, I thought I'd head to River Island for a quick browse. I'm trying to move out of my comfort zone a little bit, so I tried on this pleather skirt.... and I never do skirts. It's really high waisted but also doesn't come up too short (just above the knee). I wore it with a slightly cropped Topshop top and I really liked the look! It's a bit different for me, but still black and still quite casual when worn with flat boots. 

LIFE //
Seriously, can Lisa Eldridge ever do wrong?! The answer is no. This week she uploaded a 20 minute (!!!) video on how she does her own facial massage. It's no secret that nightly facial massages give you great skin in the long run, but we're all guilty of the "I just want to go to bed" attitude. Lisa talks through her routine and I really recommend watching it in the evening and following along yourself. It's incredibly relaxing and worth taking 20 minutes out of your hectic routine for. 

EATS // 
For the first time is forever I have no new restaurant recommendation and have eaten nothing new that I can rave about.... sad face. So I'm turning the tables and asking you guys for your recommendations or favourite eats of the week! Well? 

EVE SNOW: STRENGTHENING NAIL POLISH

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I'm always interested in trying new nail polish brands (as I'm sure you'll now by now) and Eve Snow is a particularly exciting one. Yvette Snowden started the brand with the aim to include 3 added benefits to her polishes. The polish includes 3 active ingredients; Gingko Biloba Leaf to strengthen the nails, Argan Oil to soften and smooth and Vitamin E to anti-age and protect from chipping and drying out. 

You can really feel these added benefits when applying the polish. It applies thick and glossy and only one coat is needed. 'Fiji' is one of their new A/W shades and I think it's a really nice in between shade if you like Navy but you also like brighter blues and greens. 

I found that if you don't take the polish right over the tip of the nail it can start to chip away quite easily but if you seal the tips with top coat it lasts much better. 

Eve Snow is available from Cult Beauty here

SEPTEMBER FAVOURITES REMIXED

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It's time for my monthly favourites video and seeing as the 'remixed' style went down so well last month I thought I'd do it again this time round! 

So as well as beauty I'm talking through my favourites from a range of categories; food, style, music, home, books and more. 

Enjoy & happy Sunday! 

TRAVEL FRIENDLY MAKEUP BRUSHES

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I haven't yet found a makeup bag that makes it easy to travel with makeup brushes, so I usually try to stick to just taking the ones that are travel friendly. I have a small collection that are all under 15cm in length. My collection is still growing, but here's what I've got so far... 

Bobbi Brown //
Bobbi does some amazing brushes and some of them are really travel friendly without even meaning to be! The Full Coverage Face brush is tiny and compact. It's great for buffing in foundation whether it's liquid, cream or powder but can also be used for concealer. Alongside their new Long-Wear Gel Sparkle's Bobbi Brown also released a new dual-ended cream smudge/ultra fine eyeliner brush. It's double ended, one end to apply, the other to blend. It's great to use with cream products and is smaller than a pen so fits perfectly in a makeup bag. 

RMK // 
RMK brushes are not only super soft and high quality but most of them are pretty small too! They're the perfect size for makeup bags and you don't have to compromise on quality, which is something I often find with travel brushes. 

Smashbox //
This amazing double-ended, three-way brush came in my Smashbox Full Exposure palette. On one end is a blending brush a bit like the MAC 217 and on the other is a flat shadow brush that has natural hairs on one side and synthetic on the other. It's absolutely perfect for packing on shadow and blending it out and it's the only eyeshadow brush I'd need on a short trip! 

Kiko //
Kiko have a great little lip brush that looks absolutely tiny until you pull it out to reveal the lip brush inside. It's great if you like to wear matte lipstick as you can really define the edge before applying. This is a nice handbag staple too. 

Blink // 
Blink Brow Bar is my regular hang out for eyebrow threading but they also do some great tools and products! This handy little eyebrow spoolie is light in weight and very small. The spoolie itself is great because it's very firm and brushes through brows well, but it's the size that really wins me over. 

There seem to be more and more travel-friendly brushes popping up in stores, I know that Real Techniques have some too. Some what are some of your favourites? 

THE LUXE LIST

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When I'm getting ready for night out (the Zoella Beauty launch in this case) I usually get out the big players and give my face a bit of extra special treatment. On this particular day I realised that I used a collection of really rather wonderful products, so let me give you a run through...

I've recently been testing out the new Burberry Fresh glow Fluid Foundation and I really like it. It's nothing new and exciting in terms of texture, but it applies just how I like it and sits on the skin without looking at all heavy. It's lightweight, slightly dewy and just gives an easy, everyday fresh look to the skin. 

To add to the dewiness of the foundation I put on a light dusting of Charlotte Tilbury's Film Star Bronze & Glow. The contour shade is dark enough to show up on the skin, but light enough that you can play around and blend it easily to achieve a natural shadow. The highlighter reminds me of the Kevyn Aucoin Celestial Powder, soft and buttery and catches the light in all the right places. The packaging for this product is to die for, it feels like a collectable! 

For my eyes I went for a Tom Ford double whammy! The Tom Ford Cognac Sable eyeshadow quad is beautiful and filled with warm toned, rusty browns. It's very similar to Charlotte Tilbury's Dolce Vita (as she created this with Tom Ford) but I prefer the warmer tones in this one. Three rich, slightly shimmery shadows and one highly pigmented glitter that I like to lightly apply with my ring finger. To intensify the eye I also used my favourite eyeliner from Tom Ford, the Eye Defining Pen. I applied a slightly thicker line than I usually do and both the shadow and liner stayed intact all night. 

I love finding a beauty bargain, don't get me wrong... but really there's nothing better than a bit of luxury makeup to cheer you up. 

EMPTY PRODUCTS REVIEWED

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I seemed to have accumulated a lot of empty products since I started collecting them again. So I thought it was about time I sat down and filmed a good old fashioned empties video. If you're not familiar with an empties video, I basically show you all the products I've finished and review them along the way. 

There are some good and some bad, so watch away and enjoy! 

HOW TO MAKE LIPSTICK LAST

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Once you've plucked up the courage to sport a bold lip, the challenge doesn’t stop there. Keeping it in place all day or evening is step two. Yes wearing matte formulas can help but if you take your time and follow some simple steps you can really make your pout stay in place. 

Line //
Using a lip liner as a base is a great way to prime the lips ready for your lipstick. I don’t just use it to create a nice lip shape I also take the liner all over the lips so that when/if the lipstick fades, there’s still a solid colour underneath.

Fill //
So the next step is the obvious one, layer that lippie. Put on a nice thick layer of lipstick right to the edge of your lips. 

Blot //
This step will really help your lipsticks last. Take a piece of tissue, fold it in half, put it between the top and bottom lip and kiss your lips together. This will blot your lips and take off any excess lipstick.

Layer //
After you’ve blotted the lips you can apply yet another layer of lipstick. This time without blotting. 

Powder //
So you should have perfectly applied lipstick by now and it seems as though you’re done. If you really want to keep things in place you can apply a very small amount of loose translucent powder just like you would on top of your foundation, just to lock things in place. 

It’s coming up to party season soon, so keep these tips at hand and you and your pretty pink pout can party the night away! 

AUTUMN MAKEUP & ZOELLA BEAUTY VLOG

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My weekly vlog went up last night so here it is if you missed it. I went to the Zoella Beauty launch, showed you my hilarious morning hair and hung out with Rich on the weekend. 

It's a long one but I hope you like it! 

WEAR LIFE EATS

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WEAR //
I've worn MAC Plumful lipstick almost every day this week. It's the perfect, plummy Autumn lipstick and I'll be uploading a makeup tutorial using it very soon! 

LIFE //
This week LUSH launched their Autumn/Winter collection online and in store. There are some really cute Halloween themed bits and all the Christmas faves are back for another year! It's the Christmas range that really makes me fall in love with LUSH year after year and it's great for this time of year when you really need a comforting bath. 

EATS //
You may have seen me post this photo on Instagram this week and if it made you drool, my apologies. Livia's Crumble officially launched last week and they're now taking orders.  There are four delicious flavours and they're super healthy too as they're free from dairy, wheat and refined sugars. I love supporting new, local businesses and this one is great. As she says, it's "deliciously nutritious".

WHAT'S ON YOUR NAILS?

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For this week's nail post I asked you guys on Twitter what you're currently wearing on your nails. I found a lot of nailspiration from these photos, so I hope you do too! 

@FlipFlopsInNovEssie "Spin the bottle"

@ZoeLondonDJBarry M "Vintage Violet"

@LivDandsPrimark Press-Ons

@MSHLeaDior "Diorific Minuit"

@LisaAndSamiNails In "Motcomb Street"

@llymlrsMaybelline Acid Wash "Lilac Dream"

@LucijaCetinEssie "Chinchilly"

@CarlottaValtaRevlon 'Bordeaux"

@SabrinaLovesYouThe Lacquer Lab "The Wonderous"

@JKPriorBarry M "Prickly Pear"

@AlexRobyn13Kate Spade for Nails inc "New York Noir"

@SarahhhPEssie "Merino Cool"

@CherryPi3Barry M Autumn Silk Paints

@LaurenShipleeeyRimmel Lycra Pro "Camouflage Chic"

@EmmmairvingNYC "Lavender Cupcake"& Barry M "Diamond Glitter"

UPDATED SKINCARE ROUTINE

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I thought it was about time to update you all on my current morning and evening skincare routine. A lot of the products used are high end as I like to invest in my skincare, but I wanted to show you what I really do use on a daily basis. 

I hope you can take away some tips or product recommendations from this video. Enjoy! 

A CREAM BLUSH FOR AUTUMN?

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I hear the words "cream to powder" and I usually scrunch up my nose and say it's not for me. My theory is if I want it cream I'll use cream and if I want it powder I'll use powder. Simple. 

But when this new Benefit cream to powder blusher appeared on my desk I wanted to give it a fair trial, without any pre-judgment. I quickly oo'd and aa'd at the cute, magnetic packaging then I mmm'd at the delicious pomegranate and peach scent. Seriously, it smells incredible. 

Applied with my fingers I found this to be a bit hard to work with, but when I used my Real Techniques Contour Brush it blended out beautifully. So I treated it almost like I would a powder blush but instead of that powdery finish this one looks moisturising on the skin. Majorette is quite a bright peachy orange and it really perks up the skin. It's not a shade I would have gravitated towards during the colder months but it actually really compliments slightly paler skin tones. 

Benefit also recommend wearing this under your foundation which I'm yet to try. Have you ever worn a cream blush under your foundation? Have you tried Majorette? 

THE BACKPACK THAT STOLE MY HEART

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I haven't owned a backpack since my navy blue, incredibly boring JanSport school bag. They've been 'back in style' for a while now and although I was happy to see them return, I couldn't find one that was right for me. Living in London means I always have to think about the safety of my handbags and backpacks never really passed the safety test. 

Last week I stumbled across this one in Urban Outfitters and fell in love. It's different to most that I've seen and the way it does up with a clip and a zip makes it that little bit safer when on your back. It's not leather, but the quality is great and really durable. You can do it up two ways, clipped up or clipped down to reveal the zip. 

I also like how you can wear it with both straps on or for something more casual you can wear it on one shoulder. 

This is going to be my Autumn accessory love for sure! What do you think? 

GIRLY BRUNCH, MANCHESTER & LUSH CHRISTMAS

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I had such a fun time a the beginning of last week! It started with a lovely girly brunch, then I was off to Manchester for the day and then I was lucky enough to stay in a gorgeous hotel after the LUSH Christmas event. 

I hope you enjoy coming along with me in this week's vlog! 

HOME DECOR OBSESSED

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You know when you're desperate for a pet, all you look at is photos of dogs and cats. Or when you're thinking of planning a holiday you spend hours googling paradise resorts. Well home decor is my thing of the moment. Random fact, I've had to ban myself from Pinterest as I was spending hours and hours looking at home decor photos and it actually ended up making me upset that I didn't have the the perfect lounge or kitchen... ridiculous. But with a prospect of getting my own place next year I really do enjoy looking at home decor photos and figuring out what I love and what's not for me. 

So here are some of the sites, Instagram accounts and stores that give me the home decor butterflies... 

Nouvelle Daily//Gh0stparties
My lovely friend Kate is the brains and beauty behind her personal blog Gh0stparties and her daily editorial website, Nouvelle Daily. I frequently visit both websites for home decor inspiration and I've already tried to bribe her to be my own personal interior designer. The girl just has a great eye for it! Nouvelle Daily has a range of great tips including DIYS and Gh0stparties is a more personal approach to her home, which looks beautiful! Both are worth checking out. 

Oliver Bonas //
I'm obsessed with Oliver Bonas and probably visit every weekend. It's actually more of a gift shop but their homeware and furniture is to die for! At the moment they have a copper and glass range that is so gorgeous. I often buy my cushions from there, but when I have my own place I just know I'm going to go wild and buy everything!

Here's another one of my favourite blogs that I've read for years. The girls from ABM create a huge range of content but their home decor and DIYs are my favourite. They bought an entire house, just so they could do it up and show it on the blog - now that's amazing. I also love when they feature other people's before and after home photos. So much inspiration! 

Homesick //
Homesick blog is run by three Danish girls and despite it not being in English (there are sometimes translations but they're not exact) it's one of my absolute favourites. These girls collect the perfect images for posts and their taste is spot on. I just love browsing through the photos and picking out the details.

Houseinspiration_//
I missed this Instagram account off my recent 'who to follow' blog post as it's more of a recent find. Houseinspiration_  has some beautiful home decor photos and I always double click when they appear on my feed. It's that minimalistic, monochrome look that I love so much. Definitely one to follow when you're next updated your follow list. 


So if you have your own place, hopefully this gave you some fresh home decor inspiration and if, like me, you're not quite there yet then you can join me on staring longingly at your computer screen daydreaming of that perfect lounge or kitchen. 

VISEART NEUTRAL MATTE EYESHADOW PALETTE 01

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I first spotted this palette during one of Karima's videos where she used it during a 'Get Ready With Me'. I'd never heard of the brand before and I soon realised that it wasn't a UK thing and after keeping my eye out for months I sort of forgot about it. That was until I found myself in Guru Makeup Emporium a couple of weeks ago and spotted the brand as soon as I walked in! 

It's a health conscious French makeup brand created for makeup artists and all the products are made without petroleum, parabens, silicons, butylene glycol or propylene glycol, phthalates, or artificial dyes. I don't usually buy my makeup with this in mind, but it's good to know what's out there for those who do! 

What really appealed to me about this palette is that it's entirely made up of matte shadows. I love to wear matte on my eyes, especially during the Autumn/Winter. The packaging is nothing fancy, in fact it's really simple and definitely reflects something you'd find in a make up artist's kit rather than a personal makeup bag. There are 12 matte shadows, with a few very warm shades and a few cooler  shades too. I found the top row pretty useless as I don't tend to wear skin tone shadows but I love very shade in the middle and bottoms rows. 

The quality of the shadows is really great, they're extremely pigmented and you only need to lightly tap your brush to get a good amount. One thing I would say though is that I found it easier to use the shadows on a well primed and dry eyelid as they can tend to bunch up in areas if there's moisture. 

It's not cheap either, this palette cost me £59.95 which is actually quite crazy. I'm pretty sure the reason for the high price tag is the ingredients and the quality of the pigment. It's great to have an entire palette of mattes but is this something a non-makeup artist needs? It's definitely not the right palette for you if you are new to shadows and want to save for one big palette. But if you already own some gorgeous shimmery palettes and you need some nice mattes, this one is great to have on hand and mix in. 

So I'm glad I bought this and I've finally been able to try it, but what do you think? Does this palette appeal to you? 

WEAR LIFE EATS

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WEAR //
Now that it's officially Autumn I automatically reached for my favourite Autumn fragrance, Escentric Molecules Molecule 01. I've used what little bit I had left from last year and so I've already ordered a brand new refill from Cult Beauty. It's such a unique, quite masculine scent and I get gushing compliments every time I wear it. It's definitely my most special fragrance, I love it. 

LIFE //
I'm off on another short trip soon and despite having a giant box full of makeup bags I still feel like I haven't found the perfect travel vanity case. This one from Anya Hindmarsh is beautiful and completely perfect, but obviously it's far out of my price range. If any of you know of a more affordable vanity case that has a big middle section and also a section like this one for makeup and brushes, please do let me know! 

EATS //
I've never really been a fan of coconut water because I'd only ever tried Vitacoco and personally I find it has a strange after taste. But I like the idea of coconut water and it's extreme hydrating benefits, so I've been trying loads of different brands. My favourite one is by Unoco, they use the water from young green coconuts. It's naturally pink and has a natural sweet taste to it that I love. It's extremely refreshing and has no nasties in it - definitely one to try!

So that's all for this week's WLE. Have a good weekend!  

THE QUICK FIX FOR FLAKING NAILS

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For the past month now I've had a real problem with flaking nails. No matter what polish I was using, after just one day the tips would flake off and look terrible! I switched up my polish, base and top coat multiple times trying to find a solution but after a bit of googling I realised it was such an obvious problem that was so easy to fix. Oil!

My nails were clearly struggling with the weather change and the cold air had really dried them out. All they needed was a bit of TLC and some daily cuticle oil and they're already back to tip top shape. The OPI cuticle oil to go is my fave as it's so small and easy to throw in your handbag. Whenever I found myself with a few spare minutes during the day I'd whip it out and slather on the oil. 

My nails feel great now, so if you're also suffering from dry, flakey nails, definitely try some cuticle oil! 
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