Review: Topshop Glow

The whole highlighting trend that's going on is enough to make a person buy a billion highlighters so that they can achieve that glowing from within look. I'm still new to the highlighting trend and so I wanted to go with something quick and effortless...

I gravitated towards the Topshop Glow Highlighter in the shade Gleam (£9.00/4g) because it's just so pretty and small and honestly when you swatch it looks exactly how a highlighter ought to. As much as I want to love this product, I really should have considered my skin type, since I have really oily skin and this is a cream product, I find that this product enhances my pores and I find it hard to sheer it out without rubbing off my foundation. I think this would work better with a lighter base, as it would be more forgiving to blend out. 

At the moment I use this product for highlighing my tear duct area and it is phenomenal for that! Honestly, it really does highlight the eye and finish an eye look perfectly. It sounds weird but I'm still happy that I got it! I've added a photo below which shows how the product looks in actual light, and you can see the gold tone that runs through, and so this shade would suit a lot of different skin tones. This product has very good longevity as it is a cream formula and so once it's applied you really don't have to worry about it too much! If you wanted to go all out, you could add this to the center of the eyelid to add dimension to your eyes.

A little does go a very long way, so you do get your moneys worth. If you have oily skin, I wouldn't say this is the best product to have for conventional highlighting, I think powder highlighters would be better in terms of application and result. Overall, if you are needing an inner corner highlight, look no further, but for use as a regular highlight, it depends on your skin type and formula preference. I would recommend this to people who enjoy wearing cream products, and actually do like having a strong highlight - this seriously is beautiful! I think I need something a bit more subtle, but I think you can see how I got swayed! 

What's your favourite highlighter? Do you have any recommendations for me? I would love to know! So be sure to leave me a comment. 

I would also love to see you follow me on Bloglovin'! 

My In-Flight Essentials!

I feel like it's a bit late to do a post like this since summer is almost over but on Thursday I will be on my way to India, which is scary and exciting at the same time! I love to travel and planes are my absolute favourite form of transport. Since I travel abroad often I thought I would share my inflight essentials which  help the journey go a bit smoother!

1) Entertainment

Whether it be a books, music or a magazine, I love to take the time I have and turn it into a sort of relaxing pamper session. Although in longer flights you can utilise the inflight entertainment I still like to take something of my own incase I don't feel like watching what's on offer.

On this trip I am taking Angels and Demons by Dan Brown (£7.99) with me, it's something I have read before and so I can settle into the fast paced story-line knowing that I  love the book and won't get bored half way through.  If you haven't read this book and love learning about religion and history with some scandalous theories thrown in then this book is definitely one to read!

My iPod is another thing I can't live without, so I'll be taking that whilst trying out my new Phillips SHE3900 In-Ear Headphones (£30.00), which look so cute! (my go-to earphone brand is Sennheiser, but I thought I would try something different for a change!).

2) Clothing 

If you are on a longer flight, like mine, the plane usually gets pretty cold so I'm taking a pair of fuzzy socks in my carry on item so that I can change into them once I'm on the plane. It's usually best to wear layered items, and some sort of jacket is always needed so I'm taking my Abercombie and Fitch jacket which I have had for years and it's still warm and comfortable (Similar one here).

3) Beauty

No surprise here that beauty manages to get it's foot in the door into all of my posts! I'm going to depot my La Roche Posay Cleanser (£11.00/200ml) and Moisturiser (£15.50/40ml) so that I can refresh myself at my layover in Delhi, and as for makeup, I'll be taking bareMinerals Matte SPF Foundation (£26.00/6g) since its an easy loose powder and my Revlon Colourstay Concealer (£6.99/6.2g) just for a bit more coverage. Another item I would definitely recommend taking is a hair tie - I get really fussy with my hair and although I usually like it out, in the plane I will definately tie it up so that it's not in the way. I usually forget to take one in my bag so I like to make sure that I have one already prepared!

I feel like I am fully prepared for my flight! I would love to know what things you take while you are travelling! I leave on Thursday so if I'm missing something let me know!

Highstreet Haul!

I'm not usually one to pick up a lot of new things in one go but since I am going on holiday in less than two weeks it was definitely time to restock on some items I needed for the trip, annnnd since that entails hitting the highstreet I couldn't resist in purchasing a few other pieces I *cough* needed *cough*.

I actually did need to pick up a new mascara - scouts honour!-  and since I like to play it safe, I went with my good old pal the Revlon Lash Potion by Grow Luscious (£9.99/10ml), I spoke about this mascara around a year ago and it just ticks all the boxes for me, it holds a curl, it thickens the lash and is also jet black. Since I'm heading to India another selling point is the fact that it's waterproof, so this will really stand the test of crazily humid weather. Naturally, since I've brought this mascara I need something to take it off and so I grabbed the Nivea Double Effect Eye Makeup Remover  (£3.59/150ml) while it was half price in Superdrug. I love this eye make-up remover, it does the job for me and it's very inexpensive which is a huge selling point for me 'cause I go through the bottle like no tomorrow.

I headed towards Primark next and found myself in the jewellery section where I spotted this Simple Layered Necklace (£2.00) which I think is nice and dainty, adding something a bit more put together in an outfit. Since the gold bar is twisted, it catches the light and so doesn't look too flat, if you catch my drift. 

I've been interested in the Tresemme Perfectly Undone collection because of their adverts and so I decided to pick up their sea salt spray (£5.49/200ml) because perfectly undone is exactly the look I want to achieve. For the past few months, I have been keeping my hair away from most hair tools and attempting to go au naturel with my locks, so sea salt spray is a god send for making my hair look suave and cool rather than just a wavy mess.

Somehow I can't resist buying things from Makeup Revolution since it's so inexpensive and so when my eyeshadow broke the other day I went and bought the Mono Eyeshadow (£1.00) in the shade Mmmm and use it both as an eyeshadow and also my eyebrow powder for my holiday. I swatched this immediately when I came home and it's a creamy formula that is similar to Urban Decay's and also very pigmented, so hopefully this product will perform as well as it swatches!

The last thing I bought was a Casual Shirt from H &M (£7.99), as soon as I saw this colour I was drawn to it, it's a lovely green turquoise. The versatility of the shirt is another selling point, I could wear it to work tucked into a pencil skirt, or wear it casually with jeans or a skirt. It's a light soft material and so I know I will reach for it often and for the price I thought it was a absolute bargain.

I'm actually really chuffed with what I got, and can't wait to wear most of it! Have any of you been haulin' recently? If so, what did you get? I would love to know!

For more posts like this then be sure to follow me on Bloglovin'! Especially if you want to see photo's of my trip to India and other travel tips! 

YouTube Channels I Love To Watch

YouTube had my heart around four years ago and it has never left me since. I love YouTube because it's like a video version of Google nowadays: you can find good tips, learn how to fix things or even how to build them. I really wanted to share some YouTube Channels, that I really think are worth that subscribe button!

Beauty

1) Fleur De Force

This girl is seriously at the top of all my beauty related lists, she is just the best when she reviews items because she's quite thorough and is always honest. She is actually the first beauty 'guru' that I subscribed to and I feel like it is because of her that I started to love beauty so much. My favourite series is the 'Top Ten under Ten' which tells you about ten top items that are under £10, so if you are struggling with finding something, she has probably got you covered!

2) Jaclyn Hill

Jaclyn is a pro at applying makeup, but is also really entertaining to watch - It's the perfect mix that I am looking for as watching makeup application videos can be a bit tedious. Just seeing the result that Jaclyn achieves just makes me want to learn all the techniques that she uses. If you want to watch a professional who is great but also fun, then she is the gal for you!

3) Vivianna Does Makeup and Lily Pebbles

As these two are really good friends, I thought it would be best to add them in together, they are quite similar but also great individually. I like them because they are really genuine and friendly and just give beauty advice on things they have had experience of, instead of acting like they know it all. They are really easy and fun to watch if you love watching anything beauty related. 

Comedy/Social Satire

1) A Dose of Buckley 

If you like listening to angry rants about a variety of different subjects such as music, news or even celebrities then this guy has you covered. I've been watching to his videos for a few years now and I'm still hooked, he just really puts into perspective how easy it is to get sucked into headlines and media and really makes you think twice about believing what you hear. His tag line is angry humour from an angry man and honesty, that really does sum up his videos. 

2) Bart Baker

Again, I love watching mocking videos and Bart Baker is the best guy for making music parodies, he just taps into gold with some of his videos and makes really catchy songs, some I prefer to the real version. Really light hearted and hilarious, it's worth checking if he's done a parody of your favourite songs!

I think you guys have gained an insight into my life and honestly comedy and beauty do play a huge role in it. I would love to know what channels you would recommend, so leave it in the comments below!

If you liked reading posts like this then be sure to follow me on Bloglovin'!

The 7 Minute Workplace Makeup

I feel like there is a distinction between work makeup and normal makeup which is coming more and more apparent to me since I started my internship last week. Work makeup, in my opinion, is trying to look like the most alive version of you that is quick to achieve and also true to yourself. I have condensed my makeup routine so that it is done in under 7 minutes which means I can get out the door faster and I think I can make the same happen for you guys.

The first thing you need to do is figure out what is important to you - is it the base, eyes, lips or cheeks? Honestly, I think you can skip at least two of these if you are really in a rush. For me, my base and eyes are the most important things that make me feel like I am ready for the day so after cleansing I apply my NARS All Day Luminious Weightless Foundation (£32.00/30ml) and what I love about this foundation is that it's high coverage and so it acts as foundation and also concealer. I then move on to my brows (you can read my routine here), which takes me less than a minute to run some powder through it to fill in all the sparse areas.

Once that is done I like to skip the eyeshadow but still do my eyeliner with the Rimmel London Scandaleyes Waterproof Khol Liner (£3.99/1.2g) and an angled brush to smooth out the line. After that I like to curl my eyelashes and apply mascara, and the Maybelline The Falsies Volum' Express Waterproof  (£7.99/9ml) is the one I reach for since it's fool proof for me. Finally the last thing I do is add some lip balm before I bolt out the door and I usually reach for The Body Shop Lip Butter (£4.00/10ml).

I'm becoming a pro at my new speedy routine! I usually skip blush and lipstick because I don't think it makes that much of a difference to my overall appearance and so it's just not that important to me. I hope this might help some of you to also condense your look so that you can be out the door with time to spare!
Do you have a different look for work? I would love to know!

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