My First Cross Stitch

I wanted to start cross stitching last year, but never got round to it. Then, my sister started earlier this month, so I decided to start, too! I found this fox pattern on Etsy for a couple of pounds, and since I couldn't find any free ones I liked, decided to buy it. It took me about 4 or 5 days to complete, and I decided to keep and frame it in the hoop because I liked the look of it. It's not perfect (and the camera flash is making some fabric show through the thread), but it's now proudly hanging in my room. I've already started another little project, and that should be done in a week or so. It's an Indian themed elephant pattern that I found amongst many images on Google. There's no actual cross stitch pattern, but you can recreate it just from looking at the image! After this, I'd like to attempt this Paris design (also found on Etsy):

Have you started a new hobby recently? Do you cross stitch?

The Makeup Brushes I Use

I have somehow ended up with three pots of makeup brushes, even though I wouldn't consider myself an obsessive. I have ones from ELF, EcoTools, Real Techniques, MUA, Models Own, and even eBay, but the ones above are the ones I use in my daily routine.

Real Techniques Powder Brush (£12.99 at Boots, £10.99 at Superdrug) - I've given the Boots and Superdrug prices because they're the most accessible, but you can get it cheaper online from various places. I paid around £8 for mine from Amazon, and I've seen the brand stocked on discounted cosmetics sites, too. Before this, I was used to paying ELF's price of £3.50-£3.75 for a powder brush, so this was a splurge. I've been using this nearly every day for 9 months now, and definitely think it's worth it. It's a lot bigger than any other powder brush I've used, and has maintained its fluffy and soft qualities for all this time.

Real Techniques Stippling Brush (£11.99 at Boots, £10.99 at Superdrug) - I bought this the same time as the other, and paid around the same price. I use my NYX Cream Blush in Natural on a daily basis, and use this to apply it. I have about 4 stippling brushes now, but always pick this one because the hairs are shorter and slightly more dense, allowing me to blend the product in better. It does mean it picks up more product if you're not careful, though, but I'm used to that. 

MUA Eyebrow Brush (£1.50) - I used to use ELF's Studio Small Angled Brushes to fill in my eyebrows, but haven't touched them since buying this. It's thinner, meaning it doesn't get clogged with product, and allows you to be more precise. It's a bargain, too!

ELF Studio Small Precision Brush (£3.75) - I don't wear eyeshadow on my lids, but like applying a little to my lower lash line to give some definition, and I opt for this brush to apply it. It's the perfect size.

ELF Eyelash and Brow Wand (£1.50) - After I've filled in my brows, I give them a brush through with this. I've had this one for years, and it's still going strong. It's cheap and it does the job!

I also love my eBay brushes, which look similar to the Real Techniques ones. You can find my post about them here. I've just had a look at the seller's listings, and they've put the prices of all the colours back down below £2. They range from £1.63-£1.99, and come in blue, purple, pink, red, and yellow/gold. The seller also has the EcoTools brushes and sets I've blogged about before for just a couple of pounds.

What are your favourite makeup brushes?

Currently Loving

This owl mug. I love how it's simple in terms of colour, but detailed in terms of shape! I've seen owl mugs in multiple shops, such as Paperchase and Wilkinson, but this particular one is from BHS (£3). I prefer this one to the others I've seen, and like that the top part goes out a little. The one from Wilkinson goes in, and would be more difficult to drink out of!

Reed diffusers. I'm not allowed to have candles or oil burners while I'm living under my dad's roof, but love home fragrance products, so I've really been liking reed diffusers as alternatives. The ones above are from Primark, and cost just £3 each. The Juicy Blueberry & Blossom scent is beautiful, and the Vanilla & Coconut Creme one isn't bad, either! They're incredibly subtle, and work better in small rooms, but I'm still happy with them. I have the blueberry one near the entrance of my room, and Primark's £1 vanilla one near my bed. I can definitely smell them when I close my door and then walk back in later in the day. 

source

Dexter! I'd been wanting a new series to watch, so decided to start Dexter on New Year's Eve. I'm now on series 3, and really enjoying it. I love crime dramas, though, so it's no surprise!

What have you been loving?

Christmas Sale Purchases

I set out Christmas sale shopping this year with the goal to buy birthday, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Christmas presents. I bought a few things, but not a lot caught my eye.

The two pairs of slipper boots were from Accessorize, and were £10 each down from £20. I bought them for my mum for Mother's Day and my sister for her birthday in August.

The tea mug set was from Boots, and cost £3.75 down from £7.50. I thought this would make a nice little gift for anyone I know. Nothing else appealed to me, though! I wanted the Aroma hand warmers, but they were out of stock straight away, both online and instore.

The Pacifica Hawaiian Ruby Guava sets were from Tesco Direct, and were just £5 down from £15 (£18 on Feel Unique). I worked out that the individual products are worth $28, which is about £17-18. However, this is directly converting. These products are more expensive to buy in the UK, and would cost £25+ (the roller ball perfume alone is £12 on Holland & Barrett). The scent is nice, but different to what I was expecting. It starts off very citrus-y, like grapefruit, and then the coconut comes through. My mum isn't a fan, which kind of killed my buzz about them, but I still like the scent. I'm just hoping the people I bought them for like it, too. My sister bought me my own for my birthday, and I tried out the products last night. The perfume is stronger than expected, which was a pleasant surprise, and doesn't smell alcohol-y. The body butter is more subtle and sinks in quickly. The lip balm feels nice on the lips, and gives them a pink-y, nude-y, can't quite describe-y tint. I'm now hoping the other scents go down in price, too. Tuscan Blood Orange, Indian Coconut Nectar, and Island Vanilla all sound amazing.

Have you bought anything in the sales?

Barry M Matte Crush

No flash, flash

After trying Barry M's Matte Vanilla Nail Paint last month (see here), I was surprised at how much I liked the effect, so wanted to get my hands on Crush, this deep, wine red. For some reason, though, I didn't, but then Christmas day rolled around, and I found a bottle in my stocking from my sister! After not painting my nails in over a month, I thought it was about time I did. I don't feel like Crush is a true matte, but rather a satin, because it still has some shine to it. I'm wearing two coats here, and it didn't brutally highlight any imperfections I have on my nails, so the formula gets a thumbs up from me. I'm not going to test, or comment, on wear time because everyone is different and does different things throughout their days. For me, personally, most polishes last around a week before any major chipping occurs. I found Vanilla to last 4-5 days, if I remember correctly, which isn't too bad. I'm still tempted to apply a topcoat to this to prolong the application, though. I think it'd look great with a high shine.

What do you think of matte nails, and this shade?

Update! Uni, Christmas, Sales, and More

You can find me on Instagram here!

Hello, everyone! I haven't written an update post for a few months, and haven't blogged for a few weeks, so thought it was about time I did so. I was going to update you guys at the beginning of this month, but then Jacksie died, and I didn't feel like it. He's the black and white cat in the photos, and they're some of the last I took of him. Then, deadlines and not buying anything really affected my blogging mojo.

So, what have I been up to? Not a lot, really! October was filled with uni work, November was filled with worrying about whether Jacks would survive and more uni work, and December has involved deadlines and obviously Christmas.

I got the results back for my first year three assignment a week or so ago and was so surprised and relieved at the grade. Another uni update is that I handed in part one of my dissertation a couple weeks ago. 3,000 words down, 7,000 to go! I now have to start collecting data, which is going to be incredibly tedious.

Like I said, I haven't been buying anything recently, and that's because nothing has taken my fancy, especially beauty/makeup wise. I haven't even been painting my nails. I think the last time I did was 6 weeks ago! I just hate the process, even though I love the results.

Christmas was okay. Our family (mum, dad, sister and I) don't do a lot of Christmas traditions, and don't really like spending time with our wider family. Or should I say, my dad, sister, and I don't like spending time with our wider family. We're antisocial beings, and prefer to just stay at home. I feel awkward and uncomfortable around my other relatives, and am relieved when we leave! For New Year's Eve, we're going to order Chinese and start watching a new TV series. We're thinking Dexter, even though my dad's already watched a few episodes. Oh! And I received my first ever stocking from my sister this Christmas. It was great opening all these little treats and surprises (I normally know what I'm getting). It made Christmas, even though we didn't even have a tree or decorations (there was nowhere to put it, and people rarely come round anyway).

I've done a spot of Christmas sale shopping, both online and in store, but everything I've bought has been for other people. I've already bought my mum and sister a pair of slippers each for Mother's Day and my sister's birthday in August. They were half price from Accessorize, and then I found a student discount code which worked on top. My sister and I then bought a few Pacifica Hawaiian Ruby Guava sets from Tesco for just £5 each, down from £15 (they're £18 on Feel Unique). I'm so pleased because I was eyeing them up a couple weeks prior, and the scent I wanted was this one! The roller ball perfume alone retails for about £10-12 over here (it's $12 in America), and then you get a small tube of body butter and a tinted lip balm. I don't know why the other scents aren't reduced, though, but I'll be keeping an eye on them. My sister and I went in town yesterday, Boxing Day, and to our surprise, it wasn't that busy! I didn't pick up much, though. The Aroma hand warmers I wanted from Boots were sold out. I bought an owl mug from BHS for £3, which wasn't in the sale, and the Quality Street Purely Purple Ones gift from Superdrug for £2.99, which was in the sale. I bought it for my dad's birthday in February because he loves them.

I hope you've been well and have had a good Christmas. Let me know what you received and if you've bought anything in the sales!

An Affordable Gift Idea for Everyone

With Christmas just around the corner, I thought I'd write a little post about a gift that's suitable for all budgets, ages, genders, and hobbies. I wouldn't normally do a Christmas gift guide so close to the holiday, but this is a present that you can easily put together while doing your food shop. I personally love mugs, and everyone I know drinks from them, so I think they're a nice, yet practical present to give. Filling them with treats of the person's interest really makes the present you're giving personal, although you can buy pre-made hot chocolate and sweet ones if you're unsure of what the person likes (if you're doing a secret santa at work, for example). There are endless possibilities of the things you can include. The wolf mug above was the one I bought my dad last year, and he was in need of a new computer mouse, so I popped one inside. The rose mug on the far right was only £1-2 from a supermarket, and the chocolate figures inside were about £1, too. Slightly more expensive is the Cath Kidston mug in the middle, which was about £6, and I've filled it with beauty treats. If someone is into crafts, you could pop in some rolls of washi tape and ribbon, or if they're into baking, you could add some cake decorations and cookie cutters. I could go on and on!

Will you be gifting someone a mug filled with treats this year?