May Q&A- Dream Home, Makeup and More!

Hello Everyone. Huge apologies for not posting, I had a geography exam so was revising for that all week. But now it is half term I can hopefully get some posts ready for the upcoming weeks. I thought I would do a Q&A as the last one went down really well. I asked all my questions on Instagram so make sure you are following me on there for next time! Onto the questions...

obseesedmakeup_ | Who is your favourite youtuber?  I have a few favourites, including Becca Rose, Ksi, The Saccone Jolys, Shaaanxo and many more! 

rad.leah | Favourite thing about having/writing a blog? I love the fact I can write about my passion and people enjoy reading it. I also love to connect with fellow bloggers and in general just love how happy it makes me. 

emilypinnell_ | High End or Drugstore? I prefer High End due to the fact the ingredients are of a higher quality but hey we all know the drugstore has amazing products! 

ideklauren | Favourite film and TV show? My favourite film varies all the time, all time favourites include Inception, The Theory of Everything, Harry Potter (Tom Felton though), Prom and The Book Theif. TV wise, at the moment I am loving The Next Step and anything with Greg Wallace! 

issi.mxyhew | Favourite and least favourite Lush product? I love candy mountain and the tea tree toner. Sadly, I am allergic to bath bombs and always have been so they would have to be my least favourite due to being unable to use them despite how pretty they are! 

pinkandmintxo | Favourite high end product? Mac Soft and Gentle Highlighter, Mac's Velvet Teddy or Benefit They're Real. 

m_l.c | If you could have a different name, what would you change it to? Lily, I adore that name!

n.i.a.m.h.x | Holy grail makeup item? A lengthening mascara, brow powder and highlighter. 

life0ftabby | What is a pet peeve of yours? People who have no manners, when they don't hold a door open for you or say thank you. People who sneeze or cough without putting their hand over their mouth in public, if I wanted a cold I would live at school! Also when people on Instagram take your pictures, it upsets me so much as I do ask nicely for people not to use them!

Favourite products for summer? Definitely a bronzer, subtle pink blusher and a highlighter! 

um.aloha | Favourite makeup brand, high end and drugstore? Mac and Maybelline. 

vintage__cherries | What do you want to be when you grow up? A forensic psychologist as my main job, psychology is a fascinating subject. I would also like a qualification in makeup artistry so I can do that on the weekends. As well as a part time beauty blogger (that's a dream!) 

lifeofbethx | If you could own one makeup product for the rest of your life what would it be? Benefit Browzings.

a_cup_of_e | Favourite season? Summer!

asprinkleofcharl | Describe yourself in one word. Hmm, it's hard because there isn't one word that can sum up who you are. I would say unique because I guess we all are! 

lil.becca | What is your dream home like? Hmm,  white and floral, a fairly big garden. An indoor swimming pool and gym. Also an indoor play area because that would be fun. 

So that concludes my Q&A, sorry if I didn't answer your questions. Make sure to follow me so you can leave some more next time. Thank you all so much for reading, I found out yesterday I hit 30 followers on Bloglovin! I am so grateful for each and everyone of you who reads my posts, leaves a comment and follows me. Love, Liv xox

Mental Health Awareness Week- Anxiety & Me

Hello everyone, sorry for no posts! Again very busy with revision and schoolwork but I am working on some posts and hopefully can upload every week. This is a much more serious post to normal. As it is mental health awareness week I thought it would be appropriate to do a blog post. I headed over to my Instagram a few weeks ago and asked my followers for some questions related to anxiety. I have finally plucked up the courage to answer them in a post. I am not yet ready to share every detail to do with my anxiety and I hope you understand this is just a glimpse of what I am comfortable with sharing. People can get anxiety mistaken with general worries that are normal such as exam stress, schoolwork and friendship issues. However, if  you think you have anxiety I would definitely recommend you visit your GP. It's better to have it out in the open and be able to address the issue and deal with it effectively. I was diagnosed with anxiety and have found strategies to help me overcome each struggle bit by bit and I have the wonderful support of my family and those around me. Let's get onto the questions!

- What do you do if you have a panic attack at school?

When I first had panic attacks at school, I found them very hard to deal with and was scared as I didn't know what was happening. I simply remove myself from the situation and make sure a teacher is aware that I need to leave the classroom. 

- How do you explain anxiety to someone?

This is a tough one, anxiety is different for everyone and can affect you in different ways. I would just be honest with someone about how you are feeling and explain that way. 

- How often do you get panic attacks?

I used to get panic attacks every week and it was awful. It is hard to say how often as it changes all the time but I have definitely improved. I would say 2-3 times a month depending on the situation I am in. It changes all the time! I had one yesterday, which is the first one I've had in May! 

- What do you think makes people anxious at school?

If it's general anxiety I would say exams and school work. Everyone gets nervous before an exam as it is only natural and people can find going to certain less
ons tough. 

- How do you calm yourself after a panic attack?

I take deep breaths, count to ten and then count another ten and repeat this cycle, it means I am only focusing on ten second intervals. I also take as much time as I need to recover, panic attacks make you fell sick and lack in energy. I also find they give you a headache so relaxing for a few minutes tends to help. 

- Have you had any embarrassing anxiety moments? 

Yes, it's inevitable really. I started to cry when I got told we had to speak in front of a class, my chair got caught in my friends and I tripped over, luckily hardly anyone saw! In my early stages, I walked out of a classroom and everyone stopped and stared at me, it was quite embarrassing but now I don't care. If I need to leave, I'm going to!

- What do you answer when people ask you what's wrong?

I either don't answer because I don't feel the need to respond to someone who I feel doesn't really want to know and if I do, I say I have anxiety and that's that, if they want to ask more questions then I tend to answer if they are genuinely interested. 

- When did you first realise you had anxiety?

I noticed something was wrong and that this anxiety was worse than anything I had felt before when I was constantly leaving classrooms and sitting out of lessons. 

- How do you cope with your anxiety?

I talk to my Mum about it and make sure she is aware of how I'm feeling. I find talking helps, this may be in the form of counselling but for me I've given it up and prefer confiding with my Mumma! Just finding ways to overcome it and taking small steps helps too. Take each day as it comes. 

Thank you for reading this post, I will hopefully get some beauty up next week or earlier if I can but I have two tests to revise for. I hope this helped any of you who were intrigued about anxiety or for those suffering with it too. Remember you are not alone, lots of people experience what you are feeling too. I think it's very important to talk about mental illnesses and put a rest to society's distorted image on mental health. If you want to read more about anxiety or other mental health issues check out this link: 

http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk love Liv xox

How I Clean My Makeup Brushes

Hello Everyone! Sorry I haven't posted for a while, I have been really busy with school work and have been revising. But today, I bring you a post on how I clean my brushes effectively and inexpensively. This method leaves your brushes squeaky clean and looking as good as new! I also wanted to say a big thank you for 24 followers, I am so happy people enjoy reading my blog :) 

There is nothing worse then coming to the realisation that your brushes need cleaning, I personally hate this task and tend to put it off for as long as I can. However, you should aim to wash your brushes as often as once a week (depending on how much you use them.) You can wash them every two weeks and some people have said once a month is fine! But when you know what is clogging up the performance of your brush, often as possible seems the best option. Your brushes contain bacteria, dead skin cells, dust, old makeup and lots of nasties! Of course, this accumulates over time but remember each time you use your brush, it will clog up. It is important to wash your brushes because they can give you spots if unclean and I had a small breakout on my face once because I hadn't washed my foundation brush for a very long time. Thank goodness those days are over now.

The items you need are baby shampoo, a towel and a tupperware 
pot.

It's no beauty secret that baby shampoo is a great brush cleaner. I use the Johnson's Baby Shampoo and picked mine up from Wilkos for 95p! Of course, any brand will do as they all do the same job. In my opinion, there is no need to spend several pounds on a brush cleaner when this works just as good! The shampoo is gentle enough to cleanse the brushes and remove dirt without drying them out and also is a hygienic option. 

Start by selecting each brush that needs cleaning, some brushes you may not have used so they don't need to be washed. If you don't have a lot of time to wash them I recommend selecting all face and eye brushes as these need to be clean as often as possible, this is to prevent spots and eye infections.

Then take a brush and wet it slightly in warm water, you shouldn't use water too hot as it will dry it out. Make sure you only wash the bristles and don't let water run up the brush handle as this will loosen the glue and over time will wear away. I find holding the brush at an angle makes the situation preventable. 

 Squeeze a small amount of shampoo into the tupperware pot and start to swirl your brush continuously. Keep doing this until you can see the makeup start to run out the brush and the bristles have captured all the product. The pot allows you to remove the makeup from the brush easily but you can use the palm of your hand or a flannel if more convenient. Then, run the brush under warm water, it is important you don't use cold as this will not kill off the bacteria. Once the water runs clear, run it under the cold tap. This ensures the bristles are concealed and do not flair. Place your brushes on a towel to air dry, make sure the water is drained off them though, again if not the glue will wear away. They take around 1-2 hours to dry, if you want them to be extremely dry then leave them overnight. Then just repeat the process! I washed about 14 brushes and it took me 15 minutes, it may not be as instant as a spray cleanser but as I mentioned earlier, it leaves your brushes looking new.

Thank you for reading, I hope this was useful, let me know if you have any tips or tricks for cleaning brushes! Don't forget to follow me on Instagram where I post regularly and on Bloglovin to keep updated on when I post. I have a Bohoo haul and Pologram post coming up soon. Love, Liv xox

Spring Makeup Routine

 Hello Everyone! So I thought I would finally post a bit of beauty. This is going to be my Everyday Spring Makeup Routine. When a season hits, my makeup changes. For Spring, I prefer a dewy and light look. This is just what I would wear on an everyday basis however I have included some alternatives that I mix up my look with and left some items out, for example bronzer, sometimes I use it and sometimes I don't feel it is necessary. Hope you enjoy this post!

Moisturiser

I personally don't think primer is a necessary step, as long as you have a decent moisturiser your makeup will apply easily and last just as long. I use the Johnsons's Daily 24hr Moisturiser and simply dot this all over my face and blend in with my fingers.

Foundation:

For me, foundation is an optional step. It depends what look I am going for or if I want some extra coverage. I normally skip this step, unless it is a weekend. My go-to drugstore foundation is the Loreal True Match. It has a nice light to medium coverage and is buildable. It gives a dewy finish and isn't drying at all so I would recommend this for any skin type.

Concealer:

Most days, I just use a concealer under my eyes in a triangle shape and blend away with a brush, however if a blemish has appeared I may dab a little bit around the surrounding area but only if it is red. I use the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer and think this has excellent coverage but can be a bit drying and crease a little under the eyes, if it's not blended properly.  

Powder:

I set my face makeup with the Maybelline Fit Me Powder but sometimes I skip this step, it is only if I have a long day ahead.


Blush:

Depending on my look I either use my Maybelline Jelly Glow or Mac Blush in the shade Peachy Keen. Both give me a dewy look but I find the Maybelline is slightly more natural.

Highlighter:

I always use highlighter because it gives my skin such a lovely glow and the pick me up it needs! My Mac Mineralize Skin Finish in Soft and Gentle is my all time favourite, I have had it for over a year now and it still hasn't gone down that much, a small bit goes a long way.

Eyebrows:


I will be doing an eyebrow routine as a separate post on here showing how I achieve different looks. For everyday I use the Benefit Browzings in light, I just use the powder and then apply my Maybelline Brow Satin for some extra definition.

Mascara:

Firstly, I curl my eyelashes then apply one coat of my Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara for a natural look.

Lip Balm:

Normally, I use lip balm as it is suitable for everyday wear. The Blistex Daily Lip Conditioner is an amazing product for soft and shiny lips!

Lipstick:

On weekends and some weekdays I have been wearing my Burberry Lipstick in Sepia for a sheer wash of colour.

 Products Mentioned:

- Moisturiser, £3.99
- Concealer,£4.19
- Foundation, £9.99
- Powder, £5.99
- Blush, £2.82 and £18
- Highlighter, £23
- Eyebrow Powder, £24.50
- Eyebrow Pencil, £5.99
- Eyelash Curler, £1.99
- Mascara, £7.99
- Lip Balm, £2.59
- Lipstick (sample) Full price, £22.50

Thank you all for reading! Let me know if you enjoyed this post, don't forget to follow me on Instagram and Bloglovin! Love, Liv xox

Mascara Madness- Maybelline Lash Sensational

 Hello Everyone! This is a new series for my blog, it is called Mascara Madness, I used to do this on a very old theme on my Instagram but I didn't pursue it for more than two posts...oops! I will be reviewing a mascara every week and rating it out of 5! First up is Maybelline Lash Sensational which is a new addition to Maybelline's vast range of mascaras. I hope you enjoy.

I am a massive fan of mascaras, owning over 25- which is too many! Whenever I see a new release or a promotional offer I am all over it. I am yet to find the ultimate holy grail mascara that ticks all the boxes but with Lash Sensational we are getting very close!

The packaging is sleek and very Maybelline! It is a gorgeous vintage pink colour and for me is simple and elegant. I absolutely love how it looks and it caught my eye every time I went through Superdrug. It was on an introductory offer for £5.99 and I was urging to buy it but told myself I didn't need another mascara to add to my collection. When I finally gave in, the intro offer was off and I felt a bit bummed however paid £7.99 and would happily pay it again! 

The formula isn't thick or runny. It is the perfect consistency and doesn't make lashes feel wet or clumpy. It does not flake either so you don't have to worry about little flecks of black appearing under your eyes. This is not waterproof and as far as I am aware there isn't one yet available but I certainly hope there is in the future!

As for the wand, it is plastic but not the flimsy type you can get. The brush's curved shape makes it easier to lift and curl your lashes which creates effortless curl and length. My lashes are spread out and immediately after one coat, lengthened. The maximum I would apply is two coats, anymore after that and it gets too clumpy for my liking. If you are looking for volume as well as length and curl this isn't for you as I feel there isn't a lot of volume present. This is also a great dupe for Benefit Roller Lash and in all honesty, I prefer it. 

You can purchase it from Superdrug or Boots for £7.99, there are usually buy one get one free offers or 3 for 2, so take advantage of these deals if you have been wanting to try out some other products from them. I got a powder and a brow product along with this and used some of my Superdrug Beauty Card points which reduced the price down either further! 

Overall, this mascara gets 5/5 from me, yes it isn't my dream one, that I am yet to find, it is the closest I have got to it. At the moment it is an everyday favourite and I love it. When I need a new mascara, I will definitely repurchase this one. I hope this post was helpful and comment below if you have tried it or are going to! Don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin. Thank you. Love, Liv xox

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Makeup Wishlist

Hello everyone! This is a collab with Lou and her blog is amazing so go check it out. It's going to be a Wishlist of 10 products I would like to purchase in the future. There are many things I would like to buy but don't necessarily want to purchase just yet, I have a mixture of drugstore and high end products which have caught my eye. I hope you all enjoy.

1. Nars Laguna bronzer, I think it is such a gorgeous warm toned bronzer. 

2. Mac Velvet Teddy, I have been longing for this product for ages now. 

3. Clinique Moisture Surge, I tried a sample of this and it is the best!

4. Dior Star, again I tried a sample and it has such a flawless finish. 

5. Chanel Creme de Soleil, my friend tried hers out on me and I loved how it made my base look. 

6. Anastasia Contour Kit, there have been many great reviews on this kit and its caught my eye. 

7. Anastasia Brow Wiz, I like the look of it however there are mixed reviews. 

8. Maybelline Fit Me Foundation, I have the powder which I adore so the foundation should be just as good!

9. Sleek Pomegranate Blush, it's such a pretty colour!

10. Nars Sheer Glow, I love the dewy finish it gives off, however it is so expensive :(

I hope you enjoyed this post, hopefully in the future you will see some of these products feature on my blog (most likely the drugstore ones!) Love, Liv xox
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Top 5 Favourite Apps

Hello Everyone! Today I am bringing you a collab, this is with the lovely Tabby so go check out her blog. We are doing our Top 5 Favourite Apps. I am not a massive app lover however there are a few apps that I can call my favourites. Hope you enjoy.

1. Instagram

Although this app can get boring, I love to post to my makeup themed account and follow lots of different accounts, ranging from fan accounts to celebrities. 

2. Youtube

Probably a typical app to love, I just adore watching endless beauty videos or gaming videos. There are a vast selection of genres to watch on Youtube and it never gets boring!

3. Crossy Road

I got this when it first came out and didn't really think much of it but as time went on and I played it more and more, I realised it was a great passer of time. I have collected 76/89 characters and once collected 10,000 coins just so I could get more characters. I don't play a lot of it now because I don't really have the time.

4. Netflix

This app is great, you sign up for a monthly subscription and get unlimited streaming of the latest films and TV series. I can always find a film or programme to watch when I am bored so I love this app a lot! 

5. Sworkit Pro

This app is filled with a range of exercises for you to do, you can do a workout as short as 5 minutes up to 60! Or you can customise how long you do it for and what exercises you do. It has everything from a bikini body workout to a army bootcamp workout. Whats more is it is absolutely free!

Thank you for reading my Top Five Apps, I hope you enjoyed. Love, Liv xox
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