2. Make Up Essentials

This is my first ever beauty blog post. And I don't just mean on this blog - on any blog or website I've ever created! I used to feel that beauty blog posts were for the incredibly beautiful who could don immaculate make up of expensive brands and not for a cash strapped, spectacle wearing, amateur applier of make up.

However, I've since found that when I want to know how to achieve a look or want to find a new product to try, I turn to blog posts and YouTube video tutorials. The wide variety of authors and tutorial makers has persuaded me that make up and beauty are open to all. So, here is my first tentative beauty post!

These are my make up essentials - they are the products I tend to use most days. 

// Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation //

 Hides dark circles and imperfections but still shows my freckles. Being pale skinned, I appreciate the light porcelain shade available and I find that it keeps my face matte all day - even traipsing across a country park on a humid July afternoon!

// Rimmel Stay Matte Long Lasting Pressed Powder //

I find the pressed powder helps boost the matte effect of the liquid foundation base and adds to the final finish.

// Rimmel Hide the Blemish Concealer //

 For emergency cover up situations when Rimmel foundations alone won't conceal dark circles under the eyes, I turn to this.

// Boots Seventeen Brow Sculpting Pencil //

I use this to extend and thicken the look of my natural eyebrows. The effect is subtle and the pencil is easy to use.

// Rimmel Scandaleyes Lycra Flex Mascara //

 I'm pretty easy going with mascara - I'll use the nearest one I find in the make up bag! But I have to say that this is my favourite. It provides the longest lashes and definitely has the boldest effect of all my mascaras.

// Clarins Joli Rouge Brilliant Perfect Shine Sheer Lipstick //

I bought this to replace a discontinued lipstick in a particular shade and Clarins was the only counter who could offer a similar alternative. It is long lasting, has a good shine but without being sticky and I love the colour (No. 13 - cherry).

// ModelsOwn Colour Lip-Stix Twist Up Lipstick //

I picked this lipstick at random as part of a 3 for 2 offer but it has become a favourite. It is a bright colour without being garish and I love the unusual matte effect of it as all my other lipsticks and balms are shiny.

Michelle -x-

1. The Next Chapter

The first sentence is always the hardest. How to begin a brand new blog?

Let's start with introductions. I'm Michelle. I'm a twenty-something country girl who now lives in the city. This isn't my first blog and I very much doubt it will be the last, but for now this is where I will begin my new chapter.

The last couple of years have been a chaotic mix of triumph and failure, the best times and the worst. In amongst it all, it can be the little things that suffer. I've been working and studying but I haven't been making time for the little things and it's time to get back to making sure that I do.

Blogging is one of those things and I thought as a way of introduction, I would write this this first blog post about the other little things that I aim to make more time for.

1. Cooking from scratch. (I can't take credit for the pink risotto, it was served in a countryside pub in my home county of Devon.)

2. Seek out new experiences and adventures.

3. Improve my Spanish language skills.

(Map courtesy of Map-of-Spain.co.uk)

4. Return to being an avid reader.

5. Learn just for fun again (as opposed to studying only my degree modules).

6. Take an evening class.

7. Get crafting again.

8. Do some more creative writing and participate in NaNoWriMo.

Michelle -x-