Very Inspiring Blogger Award!

I'd like to start off this post by saying a MASSIVE thank you to Beckyisobel for the nomination! After just over a week of having my own little corner of the blogging world, it meant a lot to be nominated for this award and really gives me motivation to continue to blog. Although it may not mean much to some people, it means a lot to know that people are actually reading and enjoying my blog so thank you so much to those who have already followed V's Beauty Blog! (Big hugs and smooches for you all)

Award Rules:

1) Thank and link the awesome person who nominated you (Done! Thanks again Becky)

2) List the rules and display the award (Check!)

3) Share 7 things/facts about yourself

4) Nominate 15 amazing blogs and comment on their blogs to let them know you have nominated them and provide a link to your post.

5) Optional. Proudly display the award logo anywhere on your blog. e.g. side bare and follow the person who nominated you (I already follow Becky's blog :))

So here are the 7 facts about me:

1. I am currently in University studying for a BSc in Psychology

2. I reaaalllly want to go to Peru and visit Cusco and the Inca Trail and spend most nights googling it and planning my travels for after I graduate!

3. I am overly organised... seriously OVERLY organised.

4. I have a loveable but extremely naughty dog who is a Beagle named Maxwell - he may be the worst behaved dog in the world but I love him

5. I am Welsh (However please don't ask me to speak it as I know very little... Unless you want me to sing happy birthday to you in Welsh)

6. If I only was allowed one make up item it would be mascara

7. I love volunteering and encourage everyone to do some even if it's something really small as it's so rewarding!

Here are my nominations (I haven't done all 15 as I really only wanted to nominate people who's blogs I read and love or who have supported me...so it  keeps this award special. I also know some people have already done this award but I am going to nominate them again as I think they deserve to know that I think their blogs are great):

1. Anya May Beauty
2. Beautiful You
3. Summer Fling
4. Beauty and Other Stories
5. Dazed and Distracted
6. Emma Griffy
7. Kirsty's Corner
8. Abigail Bunny
9. Imogen Fleur
10. Holly Dolly
11. Jessicalaar
12. Circle of Chaos
13. Yet another makeup blog

Thank you again if you are already a follower, and hopefully you'll keep reading! :)

Vicky xo

LUSH Lip Care

 The harsh winter months left my lips a bit worse for wear. They were dry and chapped and not a pretty sight. For my birthday my lovely housemates treated me to some Lush goodies which were saviour products for my poor lips.

The first step of my lip restoration was to use the Lush lip scrub. These scrubs come in lots of flavours/scents and my friends got me the popcorn one and what a great choice that was. It tastes like creamy caramelly salted popcorn, it's delicious. The scrubs are edible however I choose to wash off the scrub rather than eat them as I find the thought of eating a lip product rather strange... You only need a small amount and rub on dry lips, then using a wet finger in circular motions I rub the dry skin away and after a good rinse I am left with soft and moisturised lips. At £5.50, this little pot is great value as it's going to last a good while...

The second step is the "Lip Service" lip balm, this is a strange texture, I imagined it would be a smooth creamy but it's a bit drier than I expected. However once you apply the product to your lips the balm melts into the lips are they become soft and moisturised. The balm contains tangerine and mandarin oil so it tastes and smells great as an added bonus! The balm comes in at £5.75 so it isn't the cheapest on the market but it is great.

I love Lush products as they're vegetarian and animal friendly. They always smell amazing and perform amazingly. I have linked where to get the products below, and if you have any recommendations for me don't hesitate to add them to the comments!

Thanks for reading,

Vicky
xo

Popcorn: https://www.lush.co.uk/product/6080/Popcorn---25g
Lip Service: https://www.lush.co.uk/product/6311/Lip-Service---8g

My MAC eyeshadow palette - so far...

 As you can see, my MAC eyeshadow palette is still a work in process, but at £10 per eyeshadow, I'm easing my bank card in slowly.
I thought I'd show you which colours I've carefully collected so far and what I think of them. Can you see the colour theme so far? Yep, it's a typical neutral palette. All the shadows have a build-able, smooth pigmentation and are long lasting.

Starting from the bottom row, left to right...

Mulch: Officially described as "Red- Brown w/ bronze pearl"on the MAC website this shade is a beautiful colour. Admittedly it's my least used colour in my palette but it looks great when swiped over the lid.

Sable: Described as "Gold- plum w/ bronze pearl", as suggested it's a pearl finish which leaves a beautiful sheen on the lid.

Satin Taupe: This is probably my favourite shade in the pan. It is described as "Taupe with a silver shimmer" and I love it. It blends beautiful and I love to use it as part of my smokey eye. I'd describe it as a purpley grey shade.

Green Smoke: Described as "Tarnished olive" this shade has rather a lot of silver shimmery glitter in it. The colour is very sheer. Although it's called green smoke, the green tone is very subtle and beautiful.

Print: Described as "muted grey with shimmer", the shimmer is very subtle and adds a dimension to the colour. It's a bit softer than a solid black and I like to use it to line my upper lid.

Top-Bottom, Left - Right: Wedge, Naked Lunch, Omega, Mulch, Sable, Satin Taupe, Green Smoke, Print

Now the middle three...

Wedge: "Soft muted beige taupe" - this beautiful neutral shade is a great base and I often use it alone just swept over my lid for a quick make up look. It's warm toned and a matte finish.

Naked lunch: "Minimal pink with shimmer" can we just stare at this beautiful shade for a while? My most used shade, the shimmer is subtle and I like to use it for my inner corners as it wakens them up - whether this is a good idea or not I don't know but it works for me! I would describe it as a nude rather than a pink but it does have a very soft pink undertone I suppose. After Fleur deForce recommended this shadow so much on her Youtube videos etc I'm so glad I picked this one up.

Omega - my newest addition, "soft- muted beige taupe", well this has the same official definition as Wedge... but it is a cooler toned shadow and is slightly more grey. Again it is matte and is perfect for a quick swipe or as a base.

I hope you've enjoyed reading this, if you have any recommended shadows for me to add to my palette please let me know in the comments below! Next on my list are Patina and Brule I think!

Thanks for reading!

Vicky 

xo

What's in my bag?

Hello and welcome to my first post!

I thought it'd be nice to introduce myself by starting with a "What's in my bag" post. I don't know about you, but I love reading these types of post so I can have a good ol' nose and see if there's anything I should be including in my day - to -day bag!
It's also a good way to see what type of person someone is... super organised? me? Yep! So I always like to ensure I have these essentials on me.  Let's begin...

So here is the bag in question. It's from Accessorize and is very large and roomy. I had a look on the website and I can't seem to find the link anymore, however Accessorize always have some lush bags so I'd definitely recommend having a look. My bag has three sections, a front pocket that opens with a clasp, a front zip pocket, and the large centre section. In the main section there is one zip pocket and two smaller open pockets. It's not real leather but is really good quality, I've had it quite a while now and there are no marks on it! There's a long shoulder strap and two small straps, I like to mix it up a bit and use both depending on how I feel.

Now onto the content... 

The purse: This was a lovely gift from my boyfriend for my birthday last month. It is from Cath Kidston and is a zip purse with your typical section for cards, cash, coins etc. I like to stuff as many loyalty cards (boots, nandos etc..) as I can in there along with an abundance of old receipts. 

The phone: I have a lovely iPhone 5 which I would be lost without and its cover is a Cath Kidston case which I found on Amazon which is nudey/minty cream with a pretty floral pattern (can you tell I like Cath Kidston yet). I keep my headphones in my bag as I'm often walking around and it's useful to have them with me so to cure some boredom.

The Diary: This is just a boring black diary from Tesco. I left it last minute to get a diary and I couldn't find an affordable yet pretty one. Oh well, this thing is my life line and I'm lost without it. As I said earlier, I'm super organised and I lead quite a busy life so I always remember to write down my plans! Also I keep a simple biro with it as you never know when you need a pen.

The sunglasses: The sun has finally decided to show itself in the UK so my sunglasses can finally get some use. These ones are from Topshop last year and I think they're great.

The beauty items: I have a compact mirror that I received as a stocking filler a few Christmas' ago.. it's handy for a quick check to ensure I'm presentable. 

My hairbrush is a Denman, and it's the only hairbrush (apart from a tangle teaser) that I will use as it's so soft my knotty locks don't mind it. 

I received this escentuals nail file free in my recent bioderma order so I keep it with me incase of any emergency nail breakages (urgent I know). 

I get very dry hands so the Garnier Intensive 7 days sos-repair hand cream is a life saver to me, it's quite a large tube which is its only downside. 

Rimmel Apocalips lip lacquer in "Big Bang" incase I need to add a red lip to my daily make up, this one is amazing and definitely lives up to the massive hype that was around it when they first came out. 

Lush Lip Service lip balm is great as my lips have been very dry in this cold weather.

The rest: You never know when you need some tissues... and keys are an obvious essential!

I hope you enjoyed this post, I previously thought I didn't carry very much in my bag but after writing this it seems an awful lot. Just to add, on a usual day I would probably also carry an A4 notebook to my lecture or my Macbook, but this is what I would usually carry on a weekend.

I have linked things that I have mentioned below in case you were interested in finding them!

Thanks for reading!

Vicky 

xo

Purse: http://www.cathkidston.com/field-rose-zip-wallet/purses--and--wallets/cath-kidston/fcp-product/1012008

iPhone case: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vintage-style-designer-inspired-Floral-Iphone/dp/B00BB0VZQ6/ref=sr_1_51?ie=UTF8&qid=1395573026&sr=8-51&keywords=cath+kidston+iphone+5+cover

Diary: http://www.tesco.com/direct/201415-mid-year-casebound-diary-a5-week-to-view/677-0699.prd?pageLevel=&skuId=677-0699

Sunglasses: http://www.topshop.com/en/tsuk/product/bags-accessories-1702216/sunglasses-468/aviators-flat-top-sunglasses-668/metal-aviator-sunglasses-64636?refinements=category~%5b210003%7c208555%5d&bi=41&ps=20

The hairbrush: http://www.boots.com/en/Denman-Small-Grooming-Brush-D81S-_1019112/

Handcream: http://www.boots.com/en/Garnier-Body-7-Days-Shea-Hand-Milk-100ml_1250031/

Lip Lacquer: http://www.boots.com/en/Rimmel-London-Apocalips-Lip-Lacquer_1296026/

Lip Balm: https://www.lush.co.uk/product/6311/Lip-Service---8g

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