My Beauty Addictions TAG

While sat here at the computer, browsing the online shops of Boots and Superdrug, I realised how many beauty addictions I have, and thought it would be fun to start up a Beauty Addictions TAG :) If you're reading this, consider yourself tagged! If you're a blogger, post your link below for others to read, and if you're not a blogger, leave your answers in the comments - that way, we can all take part! (also feel free to use the image above for the TAG, just be sure to credit it back to me).

To take part in the TAG, simply write about 5 beauty addictions you have - here's mine:

1.  I'm addicted to blusher - it's possibly the biggest part of my collection... no seriously... I've filled 2 Birchbox boxes with blushers and could happily fill another 2 if I let myself.  I don't know what it is, I just love blusher and I'm a bit addicted to buying them!  My favourites are berry-toned blushers, blushers with a gold shimmer, and peachy blushers.

2.  Winged liquid eyeliner - I've worn my eyeliner like this every time I've done my eye makeup for about the last... 10ish years.  I can't quite remember not wearing it like that, but I also can't remember an occasion when I realised it was a good look, and started.  As a result, I'm a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to liquid eye liners ;)

3.  Neutral eye shadow palettes - I don't know why I need 17 million eye shadow palettes, especially when they go off after 2 years, but I can't help myself - I love discovering new neutral palettes, swatching away to see just how creamy they are, how pigmented they might be, and just show shimmery they are.  For me, there's something very special about a neutral palette that captures your heart, especially ones with Autumnal shades in there, like MAC sketch or cranberry (I'm looking at you Makeup Revolution and your breathtaking 32 shade palette, and your Iconic 1 palette!).

4.  Lipsticks - I collect lipsticks like there's no tomorrow, but you know what's ridiculous? I almost never wear them... they're too much hassle & too much maintenance, resulting in me wearing the same lip balm almost all the time - yep, I'm that exciting!  I don't even wear lip gloss any more because of how much I hate my hair getting in it.  

5.  Makeup brushes - this is a strange one, I definitely have an addition to makeup brushes, and feel like I'm always on a quest to find the best, however, I'm completely and utterly stuck in my ways when it comes to the brushes I use.  For example, I always use my RT crease brush to blend with, I always use my Eco Tools highlight brush to highlight my brow bone, always my MAC 239 to apply shadow, and ALWAYS my Sigma F80 to apply foundation followed up by my Elf flat powder brush to set it with.  So I guess I'm addicted to the brushes I have :)

So there's my 5 addictions, what are yours?

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The Autumn TAG 2014

Feel free to use the image, just remember to reference me as the source of the image for copyright reasons :)

As you know, I like starting my seasonal tags and with Autumn being my favourite season of the year, I thought I'd write a new one for 2014.  If you're reading this, you're tagged!  If you tag me in the tweet when you share it, I'll RT it too :D

1.  Ok we're talking coffee's - what's your favourite seasonal drink from Starbucks/Costa/Cafe Nero etc?

For me that has to be an all-year-round drink - a vanilla chai latte - mmmmmmmmmm, and after extensively sampling them from all 3 coffee houses, I can confirm that the Cafe Nero one is the best - it's not overpowering in flavour and the mix in the chai powder really well so you don't get a cinnamon challenge at the end up of the cup (I totally had this with my Costa chai latte)

2.  Accessories - what do you opt for, scarf, boots, gloves?

I'm a big fan of wearing my Joe Browns' denim jacket (with a fish-tail back) teamed up with a big scarf - sometimes just a scarf for a bit of added warmth (depends how cold it is)

3.  Music - what's your favourite music to listen to during Autumn?

Typically here I'd say Led Zepplin, but I'm also in a very singer-songwriter mood, like Bic Runga (beautiful voice)

4.  Perfume - what's your favourite scent for this time of year?

I have to say, I don't change it up - my go-to perfume is Lacoste Touch of Pink - but I can also be known to wear more spicy scents, one of my favourites being Sun Moon Stars by Karl Lagerfeld

5.  Candles - what scents will you be burning this season?

I'm more of a wax tart fan - I still have some 'sparkling apple' yankee tarts left over from Christmas, I'll be burning them, and spiced apple scents and cinnamon, mmmmmm :)

6.  What do you love most about Autumn?

For me it's everything, the earth winding down and preparing for winter, the beautiful colours the trees and leaves go, wrapping up warm and cozy, the scents and smells, the hot food (homemade soups with crusty bread) and especially this year, the impending birth of our first baby, our son :)

7.  Favourite makeup look?

As much as I don't wear it enough - I do love berry lips, strong brows, liquid eyeliner and mascara, however, what I tend to wear most is strong eyes and extra blusher for that 'been outside in the cold' look

8.  What are you looking forward to most in Autumn?

Apart from chai lattes, scarves and generally being cozy?  My hubby and I started a new life together with our baby :)  Sorry, it's cheesy but it's true :)

Don't forget to tweet me your posts and mention me as the creator of the tag :)

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The Crazy Cat Lady tag

Yep you read it, it's a tag and not one I created for a change :)  Given it's title, I thought it'd be purr-fect for me to do, and be a bit of fun for a Sunday :)  So without further ado, here's the questions and my answers :)

1.  Breed or stray?

Given that I've never owned a breed, I'd have to stay stray (or moggie).  Although, given how beautiful Matilda is, I asked the vet if they thought she had a breed in her, and they said it's not 'if' it's 'what' :) We all agreed that she's most likely to be half British Short Hair - so we really lucked out with her.

2.  Regardless of your previous answer, what would your favourite breed be?

If we had the money to buy a breed, it'd either be a British Short Hair (such a cute little face with chubby cheeks) or a Ragdoll :)  So cute massive and fluffy, although saying that, one of the things I love most about Matilda is how tiny she is :)

3.  Who's your favourite internet kitty?

I love so many of them, but it has to be Maru.  I love watching him power slide into cardboard tubes (like the cardboard wrap around a 4/6 pack of beer) and watching him jump in and out of boxes :)

Here's Maru's YouTube channel <3

4.  Favourite cat YouTube video?

It HAS to be this one, the kitty's meow SO much, they're SO hungry!!!

5.  Favourite cartoon cat?

This has to be Simon's Cat - anyone who has a cat will totally relate to this

As well as the awesome Simon's cat, I have much love for Party Cat - this is EXACTLY what my cat is like - it's a short web-comic and 100% worth having a look at :)  Here's the comic.

6.  Favourite cat in a movie, or movie scene with cats?

This probably has to be the cat in the film Amelie (one of my favourite films).  In particular, this scene where the narrator talks about the cats likes and dislikes (how they introduce Amelie's family) - his 'like' is listening to children's stories - how cute!!!

7.  Do you own any cat themed clothing or accessories?

Yes, but sadly not as much as I'd like - I only have these cute slippers I bought from Next at Christmas, as soon as I saw them, I knew I had to have them!

8.  What's your kitty's name?

Matilda :) Not sure how we came up with the name, but it must have taken nearly a week to find a name for her, but once we found it we knew it was perfect :)

9.  What's your cat's favourite toy?

I'm not sure she has a favourite.  There's a little plastic ball with a bell in it she likes, but most of all she likes our feet!  If we have just socks on or bare feet, that's it, deathgrip central!!!  She really loves cable ties too, she goes freakin' mental playing with them.  I'd actually forgotten about them, but she just leapt up and started playing with one :D They're dotted ALL over the house! 

10.  What's your kitty's favourite food?

She has 2 favourites, tuna in springwater (she goes MENTAL for it!) but she can't really have it anymore as she gobbles it down so fast she throws it straight back up (silly cat), and she loves her normal food, Royal Canin Siamese food - yep, she's not Siamese, but she suffers from the same problem Siamese cats have - they're all gannets and swallow the kibble without chewing it, and then throw it back up.  This kibble is bigger than normal and has a hole in it so they can start chewing it :)

11.  Is she/he a lazy one for a fierce hunter?

Well, she's coming up to 9 now, and up until about 2 years ago she was most definitely a fierce hunter! In the Summer we'd often have a mouse a day, she wouldn't kill them though and never ate them, she just liked playing with them.  What this meant was we had 3 mice living in our house for a while, 1 in the kitchen living on a box of miso soup in the cupboard, and snacking on Oxo cubes during the day and flaked almonds (I know...) and the other 2 were living inside the sofa, and stealing her food! Well, after we plugged in a mice repeller (emitted a high pitched sound that humans couldn't hear, to drive mice out) she had her sweet vengeance.  She killed the sofa mice that were living on her food, and left them by her food bowl :P  9 times out of 10 I'd manage to capture the mice and release them, but I wasn't always that lucky.

Strangest things she used to catch, frogs.  She loved them! She'd caught a couple of voles and shrews too, and the odd bird (including a massive bird that she somehow got through the cat flap!).

12.  What's her/his favourite activity?

Sleeping is probably the number one choice, then staring and chattering at birds out of the window. Ultimately she's happy as long as she's near us, she's a very homely cat and loves being near us, that's when she's most happy :)

13.  Name the last thing they broke or knocked over?

I think this is probably my makeup! When I'm at my desk doing my makeup in the morning, she loves being like a ninja coming into the room (silent) and then jumping up onto my desk to get to the window, usually resulting in her landing on loads of my makeup!

Thanks to Maria for creating this fun tag, if you want to see her answers, they're over here.

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The Summer tag

As far as the weatherman is concerned it's now Summer, so regardless of whether we're having thunderstorms, flooding or just general rain, I thought it might help to get into the Summer mood by creating a new tag.  Ladies and gents, this is my Summer tag :)

Feel free to consider yourself tagged as well, IF you do it, please remember to credit me as the source of the tag, and feel free to use the image above too.  Either tweet me or (ideally) leave a comment with your post URL of the tag, and I'll add it to the bottom of this post so others can find all the summer tag posts :)  Lets get on with the questions!

1.  What's your favourite thing about Summer?

Well, I'm not a big fan of the heat, so I won't be saying that :)  For me I think it's the lack of rain (maybe if we were in another country), and waking up to a sunny day, you can't help but be in a good mood then :)

2.  Do you have a favourite Summer drink?

Well, I'm not sure if this is a Summer thing or a pregnant thing, but at the moment I'm drinking loads of milk with strawberry crusha in it, pretty much can't get enough of it!  NOM NOM NOM!  Who had forgotten that crusha existed until you just read that?

3.  Is there a location you like to go to each Summer?

Yes and no - my friends and I used to go to the beach each summer but in the last couple of years life has overtaken us and we haven't.  But those said friends, do usually have a Summer BBQ that's lots of fun and goes into the early hours :)

4.  Favourite makeup look for Summer?

Simple with soft eye shadow, liquid liner, mascara and blusher - keep it simple and pretty :) 

5.  Dresses or skirts?

Neither!  Dresses and skirts really don't suit my shape, I mean, I really really don't look good in them!  I stick to jeans all year around I'm afraid, it's the most flattering thing I can wear.  However, as my pregnant bump grows, I will end up having to wear maternity maxi dresses this Summer, I just need some sun to come out so I can!

6.  Sandals or ballet pumps?

Ballet pumps definitely - however, I do tend to wear leather shoes all year around too, they help stop my feet getting puffy as they're putting pressure on my foot all over, if I wear ballet pumps, my feet tend to get a little swollen.

7.  Do you prefer to wear your hair up or down for Summer?

Well, ideally I'd wear it up every day to help keep myself cool, but I don't look good with my hair up, I look like a pin-head!  So I wear it down 99 days out of 100 :)

8.  Deep smokey eyes or bold lips?

Smokey eyes :)  I'd love to think I'd go for bold lips, when I wear lipstick it tends to be bold, however it's quite high maintenance whereas a smokey eye is easy, you do it and it's done for the day :)

9.  Favourite perfume for Summer?

Probably my all-year-round favourite, Lacoste Touch of Pink - such a pretty scent and really perfect for the hotter months of the year :)

10.  Last but not least, favourite music for Summer?

This is where I start leaning away from metal, and more towards reggae and ska, the really chilled happy bouncy music, can't help but listen to it when the sun is out shining, makes me really happy :)

I hope you've enjoyed reading my Summer TAG and like I said at the top, consider yourself tagged! For my guidelines on doing the tag, it's all mentioned above at the top :)

Happy Summer my lovelies!!!

Also taking part in the Summer TAG so far is: L&L | Makeup Savvy | Girl Uninterpreted | The Bird Song | Lashes, Lace and Lipstick | Camis and Cushions | According to Line | The London Girl 788 | Ramblings of a beauty bird | m R u b i i e e | Mademoiselle Lala | Leesha Starr | A Scottish Lass | 

 

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The Spring TAG!

It's been a while since I started a TAG, the last one was The Christmas TAG so I thought it was about time, now that it's officially Spring that I start a new seasonal TAG.

If you do this TAG, please leave a comment below with a link to your post, and I'll add it to the bottom of this post, if you could remember to link back to me as the original creator of the post I'd really appreciate that too, although, you don't have to of course :)

1.  What's your favourite nail colours for Spring?

For me it's bright pastels, if that's even a thing!  So, Essie's mint candy apple, and soft but bright pinks, they're just so happy and full of the promise of summer.

2.  Best drink for Spring?

Hmm, at the moment I'm really loving the Waitrose mango & apple squash, it's fresh and super yummy, plus it means I'm drinking more water.  I'm pretty much off hot drinks at the moment, so squash is all I'm living on.

3.  What goes on your lips in Spring?

If I'm wearing colour, it'll be bright pink, like Illamasqua Eurydice, but 9 times out of 10 I'll be wearing a nice hydrating lip balm and it'll be all about the eyes, that's more my style, but even saying that, I have a stupid sized lipstick collection!

4.  What's your favourite thing about Spring?

There's a few things, like the beautiful blossom on the trees, all the daffodils sprouting up everywhere and the earth awakening from the Winter, but for me, the thing I look forward too the most, is seeing all the beautiful little lambs everywhere :)  They're so so so cute, I adore them, and I'm determined that one day I'll be able to bottle feed a baby lamb :)

5.  Best perfume for Spring?

I'm pretty much a stick in the mud when it comes to perfume, I stick to my No 1. fav and my backup, my No 1. fav is Lacoste touch of pink, and my backup fav is Lacoste for women - both gorgeous scents that I wear every day all year around, although, in Winter I do often wear more spicy scents :)

6.  What TV series are you watching the most at the moment?

Well the ones I'm watching are all coming to an end, i.e. Mr Selfridge, The Walking Dead etc, so I'm in the market for a new series.  I'm thinking about getting Netflix so I can finally watch Breaking Bad, but that's about it :)  Oh, also watching Girls and Breaking Amish :)

7.  Do you wear a different colour eye shadow in Spring?

Me? No, not really.  I tend to wear all different colours all year around anyway - typically neutrals, greens and purples.  I did buy an amazing single eye shadow from Georgio Armani the other day (shade 3), it's purple with gold flakes in it, that's pretty much all I'm wearing at the moment, it's super pretty!

8.  Do you change your hair for the changing season?

Not generally, but my hair is in desperate need of being re-dyed.  It's stilly really, I've had the dye for aaaaaages but I just can't be bothered to re-dye it, silly!  It has been about 3 months since I had my hair trimmed so I'll probably book in to get that done (after I've dyed it).

9.  What kind of music do you listen do in Spring?

I tend to listen to more summery music, like Bob Marley, other reggae, and things like the Juno soundtrack, Less than Jake, Reel Big Fish so lighter happier music.

10.  What kind of fashion items/accessories do you opt for in Spring?

My outfits stay quite similar, except I switch out jumpers for cardigans and wear lighter scarves (not wool).  If it's sunny out when I'm at work, I'll opt for wearing my scarf out at lunch instead of my coat, it always feels so lovely and fresh then :)  Speaking of accessories, I do need to update my jewellery collection, so if you know of any places that sell cheap, pretty spring-time jewellery leave a comment below :D

Don't forget to leave links to your blog posts of the Spring TAG below, and link to me as the creator of the TAG if you do it :)

People who've taken part: A Topsy Turvy blog | Seek my Scribbles | The Italian bunny report | Beauty in my mind | Tammy the dreamer |

This months Biggest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Casey from A Topsy Turvy blog

 

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The 2013 Christmas TAG

Now that it's November, it's time to start thinking about Christmas, as it's only next month!  What better way to get in the holiday mood than doing a Christmas tag :)  I don't know about you, but I've already started buying Christmas presents.  Here in Cardiff the city centre gets so busy in December (to be fair, it gets busy in November too) so I try to get presents early, although this year I'm trying to make lots of the presents :)  So anyway, enough about that, on with the TAG!

Psst, if you're reading this, you're tagged too! If you're not a blogger leave your answers in the comments below, and if you are a blogger, tweet me the link and I'll RT it for you - and if you link to me in the TAG, I'll add your blog link to the bottom of this post too :) - oh and feel free to use my image above.

1.  Do you prefer a real Christmas tree or synthetic?

Personally I love a real tree.  When I was a kid we never had synthetic, part of the build up for Christmas was going out, picking the perfect shaped tree, getting it home and decorating it.  I love(d) the smell too, I can't wait for Dec 1st so we can go out and buy our tree :)

2.  You're in a coffee shop, it's December, what do you pick?

There (for me) is only one option, Starbucks Eggnog latte.  It's seriously the shizz!

3.  Whats your favourite colour scheme for decorating the tree?

Mine is multi-coloured - bright pinks, lime greens, snazzy blues and zingy purples, I love it! It just looks so happy, bright and pretty :)

4.  Giving or receiving?

Don't get me wrong, it's always lovely to open presents, but for me, my favourite part is giving them, especially seeing the look on peoples faces when they open their presents, you can't put a price on that.

5.  To mince pie or not to?

Yes!  My favourite mince pies are the ones with an orange zest and slightly warmed, it adds just the loveliest flavour :)

6.  What's your traditional sunday lunch?

Before I became a vegetarian tradition was turkey, but my hubby and I favoured chicken, so I'd cook us a roast chicken, with pigs in blankets (small sausages wrapped in bacon), brussel sprouts, bread sauce, cranberry sauce, sage & onion stuffing :)  But now... now I favour roast vegetables  :)  If I'm in Ireland, it's basically the same dinner, but turkey and ham :)

7.  Christmas day fashion

In my family it's always been tradition to dress up smart on Christmas day, so it's a day when I've always made an effort, even if it's just me and Chris all day.  

8.  What's your favourite Christmas song?

Mine has to be Let it snow by Dean Martin - I could listen to this time after time :)  I really love the Michael Buble Christmas album too, although I must confess, I listen to that all year round :P

9.  What's your favourite Christmas film?

This is a toughie, it's either Elf (who doesn't love this!) which I'll happily watch all year round (I watched it last month), or It's a wonderful life.

10.  Open presents before or after lunch?

This all depends where I am, if I'm in Ireland then we all open the presents after lunch.  If I'm at home in Cardiff then we open them first thing in the morning :D

Everyone is tagged to do this, please remember to tweet me all of your links :D

Here's everyone else who's taken part :)
Makeup Savvy | Ash Horton |  Those stars that shine | Miss Nyss Beauty Magpie | Madeline in Wonderland | The lady and the blog | Lemonade budget | Curls & Socks | Bella Coco | It's maddie hbu | Jen Farny | Rain with a cup of tea | Knickers & Nail polish | Little Miss Busy | Lipstick & Chocolates | Helena loves | Sam I Am | Cary Blog | Rain with a cup of tea |

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Jess from Coffee Cosmetics

 

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The Autumn TAG

So I'm sitting here on my laptop, looking out of the window at Caerphilly mountain and feeling very autumnal, it's my favourite season of the year, a time when I can wrap up in scarves constantly and warm clothes, but not necessarily need a coat as long as I have a jumper/cardi.  I can start adorning deep berry lipsticks, melting cinnamon wax tarts and drinking chai lattes, and best of all, start getting excited for Christmas :)  So while I'm sitting here feeling so festive, I thought I'd put together an Autumn TAG, if you're reading this right now & have a blog, consider yourself tagged to do this.  If you're not a blogger, feel free to answer the questions as a comment on the blog :)  I will also be tagging a few specific people to do this below, so have a look to see if you're mentioned there.

For Autumn, what is your...

1.  Favourite thing about it?  It has to be the cooler weather, teamed with the most beautiful colours the leaves turn and seeing them fall off the trees.  Jumping into a big pile of leaves, who doesn't love that :)

2.  Favourite drink?  Anything cinnamon themed, so at the moment, Chai Latte (vanilla one). But you also can't beat a good cup of tea, or even a pomegranate green tea with a teaspoon of honey, mmmm.

3.  Favourite scent/candle?  Same as the drink, cinnamon themed wax tarts, anything spicy, deep and dark.  For perfume, I tend to lean towards my Karl Lagerfeld Sun Moon Stars perfume, not only is the bottle beautiful, but it's such a warm spicy wintery scent, I love it.

4.  Best lipstick?  Probably MAC Rebel, it's very on trend, great quality and looks amazing with an aubergine chunky scarf.  You'll also catch me with Revlon Black Cherry, Lime Crime Velvetine in Red Velvet amongst others, look out for Wednesday's blog post for more on that :)

5.  Go to moisturiser?  Nivea pure and natural day moisturiser and the La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo. I've recently bought the Elizabeth Arden 8 hr cream too, so I'll be testing that out this autumn to see if that helps stop my skin being so dry.

6.  Go to colours for the eyes?  My favourite eye shadow combination for Autumn has to be either deep purple/berry, so neutral over the lid, warmed up with deep berry colours through the crease and outer V.  Or, a simple smokey neutral eye.  I don't like to overdo it too much as I'll be wearing darker lipsticks.

7.  Favourite music or band/singer to listen to?  This is simple, Led Zepplin.  I've had so many zen like / serene moments in the Autumn when listening to Zepplin, often when Chris is driving down the motorway and the sun is setting.  I also really like Vietnam war era inspired music, like Rolling Stones Paint it Black, Cream, Deep Purple, Hendrix - really old school music but with such passion and quality.

8.  Favourite outfit to wear (i.e. boots & a scarf combo)?  If I had the figure (trust me, I don't), skinny jeans, knee high brown boots, black jacket and a scarf, but in reality, it's jeans, jumper, scarf.  One day that first outfit will be mine!

9.  Autumn treat?  (i.e. a new scarf or bag you have your eye on)  I'm thinking about getting the Zara blogger bag (I know that's not it's real name) and I'm on the lookout for a chunky wool purple/aubergine scarf.

10.  Favourite place to be?  At home, in my lounge, with my feet up, cup of tea next to me, cat on the lap, listening to the gentle rain on the conservatory roof, hubby next to me, watching grand designs (yes, I know how old that sounds and I don't care!).

So there's my answers, either leave yours in a comment below if you're not a blogger, or if you are feel free to do this tag too, I'd love you see your answers so make sure to tweet me (@twinklinpixi3) and link back to this post so everyone can see the source.  For now, here's the people I'm tagging to do this.

Oh Hello Ella

Tattooed Tea Lady

A Scottish Lass

Beauty Bird

Midnight Violets

A Slice of my life Wales

The Black Pearl Blog

All that slap

Natalie Roseanne nail & beauty blog
Charli...

EDI 15/09/13: Since this post went live a lot of people have joined in with the Autumn tag, here are their responses below:

Srslylou | Blinkered Barbie | One Little Vice | Freshbeautyxox | Fizzy Peaches | Famous in Japan | Make Up Your Mind | Charli... | Beauty Bird | Oh Hello Ella | A Slice of my life Wales | Makeup Savvy | Raspberphobia | Describe the sky | Lets Talk Beauty | Your Almost Alice | Charlie Eterna | Aleelily | Bethany Marie | Chloeabelle | Fleur Danielle | Bella Momento | Beauty in my mind | The Emerald Dove | Life and times of a student | Tightrope to the sun | Makeup by Hilary | Knickers and Nail polish | Daisy Chain Princess | Water Painted Dreams | Cut Throat Beauty | Yazzy's Corner | Beauty by Holliana | Rosie Louise Love | Joanna Victoria | Adalia's Closet | Stolen Glosses | Beth Tinkerbell | A Scottish lass | Futures | The Bird Song | Hidden Beauty | Beauty Queen UK | A bit of this and that | Welsh Girl Problems | Hello Miss Niki | Luchessa | Beauty Waterfall |

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Hayley from Water Painted Dreams

 

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TAG: The One and Only

** image credit - One Little Vice **

Hey lovelies, I've been tagged by the lovely Angelica from One Little Vice to do this TAG, and to be honest, I don't often do TAGs unless it's one I really like, and well, this one I really like :)  So without further ado, here we go :)

The Question: If you could only have one ______ what would it be? And, in a few words, why?

Primer 
This would have to be the Nivea Express Hydration primer (review incoming), it's like a moisturiser and primer in one, but the consistency of a Nivea moisturiser.  It absorbs really quickly and doesn't leave an oily residue.

Base Product
Easy, Dior BB cream - it's oh-so-good!  It does all the things I expect out of a foundation/BB cream - it gives decent coverage, very good looking skin and without looking like you're wearing anything (on your face that is, haha!), and what's more, after about 10 mins, I can't even feel it on my skin if I touch my face.

Concealer
Collection Lasting Perfection concealer - it's so good! It covers pretty much anything and lasts.  It's a heavy concealer that sets beautifully, it's such a cult product among beauty bloggers, a must in anyone's collection, and it's only £5.

Powder
I'd have to say the Maybelline Fit Me powder, it's not cakey at all, it really helps keep me matte and it sets my foundation really well.

Blush (cream or powder)
This is a toughie!  I really do have a soft spot for Blushers... hmm... if I could only have one... it'd probably be the Bourjois cream blush in 03, it's so pretty and looks absolutely beautiful on cheeks.

Bronzer
The Body Shop Honey bronzer - it's beautifully light and not orangey at all, it works really well with pale skin too.  When I contour with this, people actually comment thinking I've caught the sun.

Highlighter
Probably MeMeMe's Moon beam - it's so pretty and has a slight pinky colour to it, perfect to sit on the top of your cheek bones right above your blusher.

Make-Up Brush (single)
This would have to be my Bdellium bambu large eye shadow brush - I could do without all other brushes at a push and just have that one.  It makes applying eye shadow really easy :)

Eyebrow Product
My HD Brows kit in Foxy.  Historically I'd have said my Chanel brow palette, but not any more, the HD brows one is just a bit easier to work with.

Eye shadow (single)
This is an easy one, MAC's Satin Taupe, especially as I've been wearing it for the last few days!  It feels like every time I wear it, I get a compliment on my eyeshadow (seriously!), it's such a pretty colour, it lasts well and has next to no fallout.

Eyeliner
Chanel Ecriture liquid eyeliner - it's the best, it rocks, next question.

Mascara
Probably Maybelline Rocket Volum.  It's good for volume and length, but more to the point it stays put and doesn't budge until you take it off, and even then it doesn't want to go!

Lipstick, Lip Gloss or Lip Stain
Lime Crime Velvetines in Red Velvet - every girl needs a signature red, and for me, this is it.  It's a new addition to my collection, but what an awesome one!

Lip Liner
The Neve pastello liner in Crimson - it goes beautifully with the Red Velvet Velvetine.

Lip Balm
Korres lip butter in Guava - it's so lovely and tastes slightly sweet, perfect for everyday wear without adding any real colour (which is what I typically opt for).

Nail Polish
OPI's Suzi and the 7 Dussledorfs - for me, it's the absolute perfect purple, super pretty and goes with anything.

So there you have it, my answers.  I hope you enjoyed reading them, and if you're reading these words, you're also TAGGED!  If you do this TAG I'd love for you to leave your URL to the answers below so I can read them too :)

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Stacie from Life is worth the fight

 

Written by Georgina Kent

TAG: Would you rather: beauty edition

I've seen this doing the rounds around the beautysphere so thought I'd join in for a bit of fun :)  Oh and if you're reading this, consider yourself tagged :)

Would you rather lose all of your mascaras, eyeliners, lipsticks, and lip glosses or lose all of your palettes and eyeshadows?
I'd have to be palettes and eye shadows, I can't be without my liquid liner and foundation!.

Would you rather chop off all your hair or never be able to cut it again?
Easy, never be able to cut it again :) I used to be able to sit on my hair until a few years ago so that wouldn't bother me at all ;)

Would you rather have a coral cheek or a pink cheek?
This is quite tough, I'd automatically say pink, but I've been loving coral recently - so probably coral!

If you had £1000 to spend, Would you rather buy clothes or makeup?
MAKEUP. end of.

Would you rather apply lipstick as eyeliner, or eyeliner as lipstick?
Eyeliner as lipstick, there are so many great eyeliner colours available, it would be really easy to repurpose one as lipstick :)

Would you rather only shop at MAC or Sephora?
A bit hard to answer as we don't have Sephora here in the UK, so by default I'm saying MAC.

Would you rather only use one eyeshadow color or one lip color for the rest of your life?
One lip colour, and it'd be neutral ;) Despite having a big lipstick collection, I hardly wear it :P  But I change the colour of eyeshadow I wear every day.

Would you rather wear winter clothes in summer or summer clothes in winter?
Winter clothes in the summer :)  Here in Wales it's pretty much rained the last year, so there'd be no love lost!

Would you rather dark nails or bright nails all year round?
Dark - you can't beat a nice deep berry purple shade, especially with the Max Factor Fantasy Fire topcoat :)  So pretty! (tip - add that topcoat on top of a navy blue, it'll look like the night sky) :)

Would you rather give up your favorite lip product or your favorite eye product?
Favourite lip product, because of all the reasons I've mentioned in previous answers :P

Would you rather only be able to wear your hair in a pony tail or a messy bun?
Messy bun - pony tails are often quite harsh (I usually wear one around the house), but a messy bun can look really pretty if you're dressing up, or perfect for a casual look ;)

Would your rather never being able to paint your nails again or never use lipgloss?
Never use lipgloss, I don't wear lip products that often but I paint my nails every other day ;)

Would you rather shave your eyebrows and have none at all? or sharpie them in everyday?
Duh, sharpie them in!  Silly question....

Would you rather live without makeup or nail polish?
Nail polish, easy ;)

This months Bigest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Laura from A Scottish Lass,
and my Big-Pixi3 advertisers Rachel from Emerald Skies, Tom from Daydream in Blue Sammy from Rambles & Jangles, Katrina from Carousel Diary, Hannah from Bailey Cakes, Lyndsay from Fizzy Peaches and Sophie from Sophie Jane

 

Written by Georgina Kent

The Music TAG

Hi guys, I thought I’d put together a bit of a music TAG for you today, something a bit different and a bit more personal :)  I thought I’d talk about some of my most favourite music and experiences :)  I'd love to see what all your answers are, so if you'd like to do this TAG, make sure you tweet me (@twinklinpixi3) so I can have a read :)

What’s your favourite type of music?

My true love of music will always be heavy metal (mostly nu-metal, thrash & death).  But, I’d also say I have quite a diverse music taste, taking me from Frank Sinatra, to Belle & Sebastian, to The Shins, to Taylor Swift.  I also like classical music (Chopin being my favourite), Swing, Mowtown, Reggae, Ska, Punk.

What’s your least favourite type of music?

For me, that’s probably chart music, all the dross you hear on the radio (like Capital radio etc), can’t stand it.  I hate country & western, garage, house, drum & bass, dub step  get out of my head!

What’s the best gig you’ve been to?

I’ve been to a lot of gigs over the years, and surprisingly the best one wasn’t a metal one (which is what I mostly go to), but a reggae one.  I can’t remember if it was the end of 2011 or the beginning of 2012, but we went to see Toots & the Maytals.  A good friend of ours (Captain Accident & the Disasters) were supporting them so we went along.  It was hands down, the best gig I’ve ever been to.  There wasn’t any fighting or negativity, there were people there from 14-60 and every single person was dancing and singing and having a great time, the atmosphere was phenomenal.

What albums are you listening to at the moment?

I’m loving Stone sour’s album the House of Gold & Bones Part 1 – favourite songs on there would be Gone sovereign, Absolute Zero and Ru486  stonking songs!  Yes, I said stonking!

Also, been listening to the Lumineers’ self-titled album, a nice acoustic happy twangy album.  And, on my iPod I’ve been rocking a decent metal play list, consisting of Coal Chamber, Soulfly, Machine Head, Slipknot, Deftones, system of a Down, Disturbed, Fear Factory, Bloodhound Gang and Pantera

What's your favourite bands/artists & favourite albums?

For me, Slipknot is probably my favourite band, there's so many I could pick from, but they're the ones I keep going back to.  As for favourite album, I can honestly say I don't have one, there's just too many great albums out there to choose from :)

If you could instantly know how to play any instrument, what would it be?

I was going to say guitar, but it would probably be piano.  I used to have piano lessons when I was young.  For me, piano classical music is really relaxing and beautiful, I think it would be a great way to wind down a stressful week.

So that's it, I'm tagging a couple of specific people to do this, but please feel free to do this TAG too :)

I tag:
TattooedTeaLady
The Black Pearl Blog
A Scottish Lass

This months bigest pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Laura from A Scottish Lass,
And be sure to check out my lovely middle-pixi3 advertisers who this month are Sarah from Life in a Breakdown and the lovely Luchessa from Beauty Expression by Luchessa - be sure to head over to check out their beautiful blogs <3

 

TAG: Confessions of a blogger

Hi guys, thought it would be nice to do a cheeky little TAG today - you all know how I enjoy a good tag!  I was tagged by the beautiful one and only Laurie from A Scottish Lass to do this and thought, why not!? :)

Have you had any past online presence before? (Other blog, YouTube, etc)
Yep - before I started blogging, I had my YouTube channel, which I still upload to regularly (about once to twice a week) - be sure to check it out :) No other blog though.  My only 'online presence' was in the gaming world, having an Xbox live account, and playing World of Warcraft etc.

Why did you start a blog?
I'm not sure... I think, I've always enjoyed writing, I even started to write a book a few years ago, and as my love of makeup and beauty products has blossomed I wanted another outlet to share my thoughts with other enthusiasts.  From watching lots of videos on YouTube of people like Fleur de Force and Sprinkle of Glitter, I discovered and fell in love with their blogs and just had the urge to do the same.

When did you become so serious about starting a blog?
Not sure on the phrasing of this question! I basically started my blog after reading others, there was no long period of time thinking about it, I just did it (I'm very impulsive like that!).  I didn't start really taking it seriously though until about July last year (2012), that's when I started posting every day.  I just felt I had so much to say, it was really easy to do.  At that point I'd been blogging for about 6 months and had just reached my first 50 subscribers - yep, it was slow progress!  It still is to a degree :)

What was your first post?
My first post was just a rubbishy 'Hey, I have a blog... ' type post, my second post however was a review of the Fat Cat mascara - I'm not even going to link it, it was terrible!  It's in my archive on the right if you're desperate to read it and see the terrible photo's :p  Oh how things have evolved!

What has been your biggest challenge while blogging?
Easy - to try and not compare myself with other bloggers.  It's still a challenge now.  Hopefully you'll appreciate my honesty :)  But it's genuinely hard when I can put so much time and effort into my blog and YouTube, and see very little interest in either.  Then to see other bloggers/youtubers start up and overtake me in views/subscribers etc in a matter of weeks/months (more YouTube than my blog).  I'm definitely overly critical too, always feeling like what I've written or filmed isn't good enough, then I get into a silly cycle of 'that's why it doesn't do as well' etc... silly I know, but it's how I feel all the same ;)

Where do you see your blog in one year?
Honestly?  Maybe today isn't a good day to answer this question... I'd like to think I'd have doubled my following (reaching 2k), but more than that I'd like a lot more page views :)  Same on my YouTube :)

What is the most rewarding thing about blogging?
That has to be two parts, reading all the lovely comments you lovely people leave me, which helps keep me motivated, and days when I get lots of page views, I feel like I've done something right if that happens, it actually gives me a burst of adrenaline, especially if I'm watching the real time stats on Google Analytics and can see 10+ people on the blog at the same time :)

What is the most discouraging thing about blogging?
Probably me being overly critical of myself... that combined with seeing negativity on twitter and the net towards bloggers.  The way I see it, we're all in it together so we really should support each other and share ideas :)  Shame that isn't often the reality though, although the circle of lovely bloggers I'm lucky enough to surround myself with are pretty sweet :)

What's your lasting inspiration or motivation?
To constantly improve and beat last month.  If I had 15k views last month, I want 16k this month :)  I want to improve me and my blog all the time, making it a lovely warm place to come, put your feet up with a cuppa and have a chat -  that's my big ideal for the blog, a sort of community, like what Sprinkle of Glitter has achieved :)

If you'd like to do this TAG, I invite you all to do it, leave the link to your post in the comments below :)

This months big pixi3 advertisers are the lovely Laura from A Scottish Lass, Tasha from Belleza Kisses, Gem from Miss Makeup Magpie, Luchessa from Luchessa, Sally from The Human Mannequin - be sure to head over to check out their beautiful blogs <3

 

TAG You're it!

Hello lovelies!  The lovely Beauty Bird has tagged me to do this post, so I thought, why the hell not!  Right now, it's Tuesday evening about... 7pm (exactly actually!) and the snow is coming down really heavily outside... I'm pretty fed up with it and wish it would go away!  So, before I jump in the bath and have a bit of a pamper I thought I'd answer these TAG questions for you :)

Here's the rules

1. Answer the 11 questions set.
2. Set 11 questions for the people you tag.
3. Mention the blog who tagged you.

Here's my questions to answer!

1. What beauty resolutions have you set yourself for 2013?

I've set a couple, ones that I hope will be positive ones!  The first is to make the effort not just to read other people's blogs, but to comment, just be more... social and supportive to other bloggers.  Also to try and discover some new blogs for me to support over the next year :)

2. If you could click your fingers and make one beauty product appear to be yours, what would it be?

Ooh... that is a tough one!  *after much deliberation* probably the Urban Decay Naked2 palette... but because of the timing it would probably be my Chanel Ecriture liquid liner - mine has nearly run out and because of the spending ban I can't repurchase it (yet), as if I'm honest to myself, I do have other (rubbish) ones to use up first...

3. Tell me one of your favourite makeup tips.

Ooh this is a toughie!  Probably my discovery of eye shadow primer.  Finding that (UD primer potion) started my love affair with makeup (mostly eye shadow).  Before that, eye shadow would crease on me in about 1-2 hours and look horrendous... after discovering that - I can go 6-8 hours before it starts looking dodgy and the colours are so much more vibrant!

4. If you could raid anyone's makeup bag, famous or not, whose would it be?

Probably MissGlamorazzi - she has a lovely (and not too crazily big) makeup collection, with products we can't get here.  I've tried searching for the Revlon blush in Pink Sorbet too that she raves about but I think it's discontinued... so yeah, her :)

5. What's your current favourite skincare brand?

Not sure I could pick just one :/ It's a close call between Soap & Glory, Lush and Liz Earle... with Superdrug coming in very closely!  I know, that's rubbish!  Umm... I would say Liz Earle, but I've only ever tried their C&P, whereas I've tried lots of Soap & Glory and Lush... I'm leaning towards Soap & Glory because they're new to me, and there's a couple of their products I'm in love with (brown sugar scrub that smells of lime, divine!).

6. Why did you decide to start blogging?

It was an evolution of YouTube - there was more I wanted to share and talk about, and after reading blogs like Sprinkle of Glitter and Beauty Broadcast I just felt an affinity for it and had to start!

7. Who is your celebrity style crush?

I don't know that I base my style on her, but I adore Zooey Deschanel's style and look - she's kooky, cute and her makeup always looks flawless :)

8. If you could eat just one food forever, what would it be?

Simple, potatoes!  I love them!  I think it's the Irish in me (I'm half Irish and most of my family still live in Ireland, including my Dad), I pretty much have potatoes with every dinner and I just love them... NOM!

9. What is your dream job?

That's easy again, full time YouTuber and Blogger - that's the dream.  Oh and if you want to help me achieve that, I'd love for you to subscribe to me on YouTube :) (link).

10.  What is your favourite film?

Impossible to answer!  I could give you a top 5 for each category?  I'm really into films and couldn't possibly come up with 1 favourite... so I'm not going to... well... I'll list all the ones I love that I can think of instead :D  Anchorman, Oceans 13, Fight Club, Inglorious Basterds, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill - basically every Tarantino film, Devil Wears Prada, 13 going on 30, Juno, Extract, Whip it, Spirited Away, My neighbour Totoro, The Cat Returns, Kiki's delivery service, Howl's Moving Castle, Thank you for smoking, Office Space, Gran Torino, Amelie, 7 Psychopaths, Yes Man, The Avengers, Thor, Iron Man, The King and I (original version), The red shoes, Rear Window... the list could go on for another 100% movies :p

11. Tell me one random fact about you - it can be anything!

I'm a published Illustrator :)  If you want to check out my online portfolio, you can find it here http://www.georgina-kent.co.uk/

The questions I'm setting are:

1.  If you could change 1 thing about yourself, what would it be?
2.  If you could be anyone else for the day, who would it be?
3.  What's your favourite thing about blogging?
4.  What's your favourite hobby to do besides blogging?
5.  Do you have any pets? If not, what would you have if you could?
6.  What's been your favourite age to be and why?
7.  What mobile phone do you have and do you like it?
8.  What's your favourite brand of beauty product?
9.  What's your favourite makeup brush make?
10.  What's your idea of the perfect day?
11.  Sum yourself up in 3 words.

And here's who I'm tagging!

Laurie from A Scottish Lass

Grace from AllThatSlap

The delectable Cariadity

Leanne from A Slice of my life

Hannah from Midnight-Violets

Laura from CSI Beauty blog

I look forward to reading all yours! And, if of course you're not on the TAG list please do feel free to do this TAG too :)

This months big pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Angelica from One Little Vice - be sure to head over to check out her beautiful blog <3

 

TAG: Where I live

Hey lovelies!  Several months ago I discovered A Scottish lass' blog, the first post I read is one thats really stood out in my mind, it was a sort of TAG post about her house and where she lives.  The voyer in me really enjoyed seeing into someone's life, I guess that's why I love vloggers on YouTube too :)  I'd always intended on doing this post, but I've never been that happy with my house, and I'm still not, but realistically it'll be years before I am so here's some snippits from around my home to give you a bit of a 'look and feel' tour :)

Little corner in the lounge next to the TV (you might recognise it from my latest YouTube vids)

Our very new kettle (water still smells like plastic when we boil it!) and my cherished Tassimo machine!

Kitchen windowsill, I use the clementine Method washing up liquid - smells amazing!

The windowsill with all the plants on it :)

Close up of my Orchid which I've had for about 3 years, one of the few plants that like me :)

Our broken oven (hasn't worked in months) and hand towels :)

Our TV unit, xbox and clutter!  And, obligatory Simon's cat card :)

The wall behind the sofa with accent praline colour, hanging my paintings/drawings

Door to the kitchen, also hanging my paintings (when I bought that plant, its total height was about where the leaves now start, it's grown loads over the... 6ish years I've had it)

Bannisters with my bags (some of them) on it... I really need to have a clear out of my bags!

Under this table is Matilda's cat flap.  The big plant my step-dad gave me when my mum passed away, it was one she'd been growing cuttings of and was really small :)  And the pebbles in the bottom of the pic were taken from Newgale beach in Pembrokeshire about 2 days before her funeral.

Tall mirror at the top of the stairs :)

I found this little one asleep on the bed all dozy and cute, so I took this pic and gave her a snuggle :)

The shelf above the bed, the right half is mine, left half is Chris'

My dusty old Jewellery box that my friend bought for me, yes it needs a dusting and tobe organised!

The light in the bedroom (yes we also have glow stars all over the ceiling - I love them)  :)

The light in the spare room (I love it!) - this room is where we spend a lot of time, all my makeup is in there, and the computers :)

My desk - as you can see, there's an absence of my laptop (it's downstairs at the mo) and on the right, nearly all of my makeup!

Makeup collection closeup! Well, brush collection closeup!

Another makeup collection close up :)

I've had this mirror since I was about 15, back when I loved all Sun, Moon, Star stuff - mum bought it for me and I've had it ever since, now it hangs there in the bathroom :)

Our bathroom windowsill with my shower/shampoo/conditioner products on it :)

I hope you liked the little tour and all the notes below the pics to explain them :)  Maybe I'll do another one in a years' time and we'll see if much has changed :)

This months big pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Angelica from One Little Vice - be sure to head over to check out her beautiful blog <3