Top 5 Tips For A Healthy Mind

Morning everyone, 

Recently I’ve been going through quite a down patch in life, letting quite a lot of things get on top of me but after a few peaceful days away from everything in the middle of nowhere, I’ve cleared my mind and feel a lot more positive about things.

I believe that just making some small changes can have a big impact on your outlook and mindset, and so I thought today I would share a few of the steps I take to refresh my thinking and work towards a healthy and peaceful mind.

• Fresh Air: Run, walk, sit, cycle, it sounds so simple but for me going outside, especially on a cold, crisp early morning, literally cleanses my head and I can physically feel the wind carrying negative thoughts away with it as it blows past. Sometimes my head can feel quite clouded and heavy, and the fresh air really helps to relieve this pressure and I go back home feeling much lighter and able to think straight. See how you feel, sometimes I will sprint for miles as fast as I can to feel the strong rush of wind and to stop me from concentrating on anything except the rhythm of my feet on the pavement. Other times I won’t feel like running, and I have the desire to get away from all the noise and distractions, so I’ll go on a long walk in deep countryside. I am a complete city-girl at heart and thrive off the buzz and hustle, but occasionally it is so clarifying to escape it all and just wander somewhere alone with the natural surroundings.

• Read a Book: Ever since I can remember I have been an avid reader, fascinated by the way certain combinations of letters on a page can transport you to a different world, connect you with these characters that don’t even exist like they are your friends. When there are things in life that are getting too stressful or I can’t stop thinking about something, I pick up a novel. Sometimes it can take me a while to get in the mood for reading but after I persevere through the first few pages, I am soon immersed into this new story, my own troubles left behind as I explore these new people and concepts in the book. When I finally put the book down (which is usually a difficult thing to test myself away from it) I feel both relaxed and distracted, and after experiencing the story I often feel like I have a fresh perspective on my own life.

• A Green Smoothie: A few weeks ago I took part in a three day juice cleanse with my friend, and although it was a bit of a struggle to stay away from chocolate, at the end of the three days I felt like a new person. I was shocked to feel that the so-called ‘cleansing’ and ‘revitalising’ genuinely did make my whole body feel cleansed and revitalised and I had so much more energy and felt a lot happier even though i’d only done it for such a short amount of time. My favourite recipe is a cup of spinach (don’t worry you can’t taste it at all), a cucumber and a green apple. Simple, tasty, and very filling.

• Clean, White Bedding: Another very simple action, something that often people do without even thinking about it. Yet I find not much compares to the feeling of bright clean sheets; climbing into the fresh bedding literally makes me feel fresh and clean and white and like I'm starting a new chapter. Sometimes when you're having dark thoughts in your head its good to fill your day with light objects to try and raise your mood.  

• Making Plans: My final tip, and perhaps the most important, is to make exciting plans for the future. Whether its something big like a summer holiday, or something as small as having your favourite food for dinner the next day, having something to look forward to is the best way to take your mind off things and acts like a goal or reward that you can work towards.

I hope reading this post can help someone to feel a bit happier by reading it because I'm definitely feeling in a much better place right now, especially since relaunching my blog. 

Becca x

REVIEW - Rosie for Autograph Rosebud Highlighter

As a self-confessed copper/rose gold addict, I was immediately drawn to the beautiful packaging of the new make up range brought out by Marks and Spencer’s cosmetic line Autograph in collaboration with one of my favourite models Rosie Huntington-Whitely and so naturally I couldn’t wait to try out some of the products.

I was not at all disappointed when I saw the collection!! Rather than your standard make up range brought out by someone famous that usually isn’t that great, this collection actually works with some of the newer trends such as cream contour sticks (similar to Tarte The Sculptor) and cream eye shadow sticks (like the By Terry Ombre Black Stars). 

The packaging is a very similar colour and style to Charlotte Tilbury, providing a luxury feel to the range. The price range is not bad at all, although out of drugstore pricing, cheaper than say Mac, with lipsticks retailing at £14 and eye shadow quads at £18.

Although I swatched many of the products, all which felt creamy, pigmented and high quality, a student budget doesn’t allow for a huge splurge so I decided to pick up the Rosebud Highlighter because a girl can never have too many highlighters!

This highlighter is so different to any I have; rather than a pressed powder in a pan its loose in a pot with a netting over the top to stop too much coming out into the top section which is extremely helpful. Its a very fine powder which I love and in addition to the consistency I also don’t own any highlighters that have a very slight pale pink tone like this does. Its an absolutely beautiful colour!

I use a Zoeva Luxe Sheer Cheek brush to apply this product to the tops of my cheekbones and the fact its such a fine powder means it glides on to my face so evenly and provides an all over sheen, not looking the slightest bit powdery. 

The pigment of this highlighter is quite sheer, definitely more of a day-to-day look rather than for special occasions. I reach for this product nearly every morning when I’m doing my make up as I love the subtle sheen it provides and the colour is perfect for my pale skin tone. 

The highlighter was £18, which admittedly is a lot of money, but I think its worth every penny as it does look and feel like a high quality product and, (as I tell myself at every make up counter), a highlighter is a long-term investment as I genuinely have never even been close to hitting pan on a highlight and I don’t see myself running out of this one any time soon. 

(with -top- and without -bottom- camera flash on)

So to give a quick summary, I 100% recommend this highlighter as its a beautiful product in beautiful packaging and its an absolute staple in my collection. 

Let me know if you’ve tried it and what your thoughts are!

Becca x

New York Haul and First Impressions

Last week I was lucky enough to go on the trip of my dreams to New York with my friends for a long weekend. Along with the usual sites I couldn't wait to see, I was so excited to finally have the chance to visit Sephora for the first time and it's safe to say it definitely exceeded expectations. The huge selection of all my favourite brands along with the cleverly placed travel sized products at the till left me with a much heavier suitcase and a much lower bank balance! 

Since I've arrived back in the UK I've trialled all the products that I bought so I could give a mini review for all of them instead of just showing what I bought.

I firstly headed for the NARS counter as I had already planned to buy this foundation after hearing it talked about for so long and never having tried it myself. I think NARS offer a really good selection of colours and I find this shade a great match for my skin. The website describes this as having "sheer and build able coverage" and I would agree with this as I often find one layer is quite thin and I build it up with a few more layers however it does blend in very nicely. It leaves a dewy and glowing finish without looking oily so overall I am very pleased with this purchase and it has become my new every day foundation.

Although I could stare at the stunning NARS packaging all day, I couldn't justify spending more money on it when prices were similar to the UK so I next went to the Becca counter, a highly anticipated experience as I was dying to own make up products with my name on. Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, the Jaclyn Hill Champagne pop highlighter was out of stock in every Sephora we visited, however I did get my hands on the Moonstone Shimmering Skin Perfecter. This highlighter has the most beautiful, creamy consistency and the pale gold/pearl type colour is perfect for my skin tone and I adore the simple and almost industrial style packaging, I find it so elegant and could gaze at it for hours. 

However, since I have got home and been using it, I have to say I am slightly disappointed in the pigmentation of this highlighter. I do use it most days when I'm creating a natural look in a hurry however I wouldn't reach for it if I was doing an evening look as the shimmer pay off just isn't anything like others such as Mary-Loumanizer, which is such a shame considering the price. 

The counter I was most excited to visit was Anastasia Beverly Hills as her much talked about products are difficult to get hold of here in England. And of course, no-one can visit ABH without picking up some brow products. Before I went I already knew I wanted dip-brow, I just had to choose a colour. Medium brown was my favourite as it is very ashy toned and I have a severe phobia of anything remotely warm toned on my brows that could make them look ginger. I already own the Mac 208 but I decided I would pick up a new brow brush to use specially with the dip-brow, so I chose the ABH 12 brush as it was the only one left in stock. It has a sharper angle than the Mac 208 and I find it a great brush, especially as it has a spooley on the end - something that should be a legal requirement with every brush!

I have tried to use the Dip-brow quite a few times but I am just not getting on well with it at all. It's such a hyped up product so I was beyond excited to finally own it however I find it very hard to work with, once I draw a line its difficult to blend it and overall it makes my brows look too dark and thick so I only really use it now on nights out. I also purchased the Brow Whiz in the same colour which I absolutely adore as it is the perfect shade and so easy to blend. Its earned a place in my every day make up bag!

While at the ABH counter I thought why not go all out and get a contour kit as well. I was back and forth with cream vs. powder and ended up getting a cream contour kit in the shade light. I do really like this product as it blends easily and the colours suit my skin tone however I don't use it so often, only on special occasions due to the time it takes and the quite strong contour it creates, so in hindsight I do wish I had got the powder kit, yet I do still really like this.

Next I headed for the Urban Decay section, as a keen lover of the Naked palettes I really wanted to get my hands on the eye primer, which I chose in the shade original. I'm so happy I bought this as it's so creamy and my eye shadow does not budge the whole day. I came home from Parklike Festival after a 12 hour day of dancing in torrential rain and honestly my eyeshadow looked like it had just been put on -  I cannot rave about this primer enough.

Of course, what Sephora trip would be complete without a few impulse buys of travel minis at the till. I picked up the Urban Decay Setting Spray and I do see why this has such great reviews; when I spray this on my make up literally does not budge. I also picked up the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water and although I am not sure if this product does work or is just a bit of a gimmick, it does leave my skin feeling hydrated so I do like to spritz a bit on just before I apply my foundation.

After Sephora we did also head to a few other make-up shops (as well as visiting many more Sephoras) and one of the things I picked up was Mac Velvet Teddy. I was so hesitant to buy this as it was actually my second one as I lost my first on a night out a few weeks ago *cries*. I was debating it but then realised I cannot live without this staple nude brown so I parted with my $15 as it is a much cheaper price than at home in the UK and I knew I'd end up buying it at some point.

The world and his wife owns Velvet Teddy but I would say it is very much worth the hype. It dries completely matte which I love and lasts on your lips for hours but at the same time is very moisturising. The colour suits so many skin types; for me it looks like a darker nude and so perfect for autumn and evenings but on darker tones its a perfect every day nude.

I hope you enjoyed reading what I bought in New York. I had such a good trip and was so excited to share with you what I bought. Much love.

Becca x

Zoeva Spectrum Palettes Review

Hi everyone, a very exciting parcel arrived in the post from me this morning so I thought I'd share with you my first impressions.The Spectrum collection has recently been launched by Zoeva and I was very excited to get my hands on some of the new products as I am a dedicated user of the high quality brushes that they sell but was yet to try any of their make up products.

Despite being posted from Germany where the brand is based, my package arrived in just three days and was beautifully presented in a branded box with tissue paper inside. The palettes themselves have gorgeous black packaging with rose gold writing on them and the size of the pans are relatively big. 

I opened the nude spectrum first and was pleasantly surprised at the variety of colours in it. There are four shades of brown; three shimmers and one matte and they're all fairly warm toned. I think the colours are the perfect combination for a bronzer palette that can be used all year round and for the creamy, pigmented quality, the price of just £14.80 is very reasonable.

I chose to order the coral blush palette rather than the 'Pink Spectrum' as I prefer more neutral colours for a blush and the picture on the website showed the coral colours to look quite subtle, but when I opened the palette I was shocked to see quite vibrant pinks. Just like the nude palette, it contains abroad range of shades and offers both shimmer and matte, however the blushes are quite highly pigmented so I am unsure if I will using the brighter pinks.

I used the Zoeva 127 Luxe Sheer Cheek brush with these palettes as it is a very soft brush that blends products like a dream! Overall I am very impressed with the quality of the palettes, although slightly different in real life to the pictures on the website, so hopefully I will be putting in another Zoeva order very soon :)

Becca x