5 high end products worth buying

I love high end products, I mean LOVE them. The skincare doesn't tend to react to my skin meaning I don't tend to break out and the makeup in my opinion lasts longer and looks better on the face. I've narrowed it down to 5 products I would 100% recommend to anyone who is just starting to get into higher end products. A little disclaimer- these are products that work for me and my skin type, oily, so you may find a few won't work for you or your skin type.

1) Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions clarifying lotion. This stuff is amazing and works wonders with my skin! I get blemishes a lot and when I've seemed to have clear skin, I get about 10 more. This is because I have super oily skin and Poly-Cystic Ovary Syndrome (I may have mentioned it before but I can't remember) I'm more prone to spots. Since using this product my skin has changed massively. I can control the spots now due to this product, my skin just looks more clear and bright, and I've noticed a big difference in the texture of my skin. This is totally worth the money if you have oily or spot-prone skin like me. You shake the bottle to mix the medicated part with the liquid and sweep it over your face morning and night. I will warn you not to get it too close to your eyes as it does sting a little due to the medicated part.

2) Urban Decay naked palettes. I say palettes because I own all 4 and couldn't pick just one. Each palette has a good range of colours, all with different finishes which I like as I can mix and match the colours. One look I tend to wear a lot is from the original naked palette. I start by applying naked as a transition shade in my crease. I then apply sidecar all over my lid and mix buck and naked into the crease. I use buck on the outter V to really darken up the crease and add dimension. These are good palettes to have as they offer a range of eye looks. I am wanting to try the naked basics palettes as they're small enough to fit into your purse or bag so can be taken on the go and I tend to wear most of the colours in both palettes as an everyday eye look.

3) MAC lipsticks. I love MAC lipsticks. They're so pigmented, glide on the lips and smell amazing! I'm not a big lipstick wearer, but I love wearing the MAC lipsticks. They have a range of colours and they all come in different finishes. The formula is so creamy and just feels so moisturising on the lips. I am a sucker for MAC lipsticks and I'm always looking at new colours, but I always get drawn to the colours I already own. I can't wear really nude colours as it makes me look ill and washed out, but I'd love to find the perfect nude shade from MAC. Comment what your favourite nude shade is (I wear NW13 foundation).

4) Clinique dramatically different moisturising gel. I was told by a girl on the Clinique counter that for oily skin using a gel based moisturiser is better as it isn't as greasy on the skin and because it's a gel, it's quickly absorbed into the skin. It is such a mild moisturiser and it doesn't react with my skin or break me out. I use this moisturiser in the morning and it's lasted me ages! I got this just before Christmas and it looks like I hardly use it. I got the one with the pump for a more controlled way of getting the product out rather than wasting loads of product I've accidently poured out. I like using this under my makeup as it gives such a nice base to work with and absorbs into the skin really quickly so I'm not sat there waiting for it to soak in. It is so worth the money as the product lasts forever and you get a big pot of it.

5) Too Faced better than sex mascara. This mascara is the best I've ever had. It is literally better than sex! My lashes look so full and voluminous and dark. The hourglass shaped wand is so unusual but grabs every lash and coats each lashes. It gives so much volume that it looks like you've applied falsies as it really grabs the root of the lashes making them look false. I can't apply false lashes to save my life- probably because I have long, curled lashes, but with this mascara I don't have a need for false lashes. If you want to see how voluminous my lashes look, let me know and I'll post a picture on Instagram. 

Now I am going to mention one other product because I do think this is worth the money! I have a whole blog post about it so I won't add too much detail but the Clinique Sonic Brush is such a great investment into your skincare routine. Please go and check out the post all about my opinions on the Sonic Brush, but I would advise getting yourself one!

Xoxo

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Getting to know me

Today I thought I'd try a different kind of post. Now I love doing my beauty posts, but I thought to myself that you guys don't know me that well. I mean you know me through my beauty posts and can tell what kind of person I am, but I wanted to write a 'getting to know me' post. I think this will be a series of posts and they'll change each time so I won't write everything about me in one post, that way you'll get to know me a little better. I'm not sure how often I will be writing this series, but we'll just wing it.

Let's backtrack a little here, before my sister was born I was happy and quite an independent toddler- I was talking and understanding conversations by the age of 1 and walking before I was 1, so I was doing pretty well for myself. I would obviously have the moods and tantrums that a normal toddler would have, but everything changed when my sister was born. I was 3 and things started to go downhill. Not massively, but I would want to be carried down the stairs rather than walk and just little things like that. Things like that eventually stopped but I was still having tantrums. When my sister and I used to make games up, I would tell her what character to be and how the game was going to go. I know that sounds like I was being bossy, but it'll make sense later. I would have meltdowns and they were worse when plans changed. I remember my parents having to stop telling me where we were going incase the plans changed as I would go into this big meltdown.

When I started secondary school my teachers noticed there wasn't something quite right with me. I was developing just not like everyone else. When I was in year 8 the school called my mum up and asked if it was possible for them to run some tests with a specialist as I wasn't where everyone else in my class was. My mum agreed and I had a test done with a specialist. I remember being asked a load of questions with 4 pictures and one was the answer. I would sometimes pick the right answer and other times pick the literal answer. Once the tests had been completed we got a letter in the post saying that my tests had concluded that I had Asperger's syndrome. Asperger's is a form of autism, I don't fully understand it myself but I know that I have a type of autism. I'm not as autistic as some of the people on the spectrum, but I'm still on there as I have a mild form of it. As I was diagnosed much later than I should have been there wasn't enough evidence or proof to properly diagnose me- I had learnt to deal and cope with Asperger's long enough which is why they couldn't properly diagnose me. I still went to visit a specialist to help me cope and deal with it even more and to help me develop.

My mum says looking back on it now, she can see that my tantrums when plans changed and me telling my sister how a game was going to go weren't me being bossy or misbehaving, but my way of coping and understanding things. I would have a tantrum to cope with the fact our plans changed and I would tell my sister how the game was going to go to understand it in my own head.

I still don't fully understand autism and Asperger's but I'm getting there and one day maybe I will fully understand it and be able to help people who don't know what to do when they have a meltdown- something I still get to this day, or just help people with everyday tasks which they find difficult, for me it's getting on a crowded bus in the morning to get to work.

My next getting to know me post will be on my anxiety and how I deal with it.

Xoxo

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Freedom Makeup eyebrow pomade

Recently I've been loving brows, maybe it's because mine are starting to have an even shape and are growing or maybe it's because I can now fill them in reasonably well. Whatever the reason I just love brows. I use all sorts of things to fill them in with NYX eyebrow pencil, Soap and Glory eyebrow pencil, Benefit browzings, Benefit gimme brow, Freedom Makeup duo brow powder, Anastasia Beverly Hills dipbrow pomade and Freedom Makeup eyebrow pomade.

I've had the Anastasia Beverly Hills dipbrow pomade for just over a year and I love it. I go through long periods of not using it, but when I do use it I fall in love all over again. Now I know since because I have dark hair I should use a lighter shade to fill my brows in, but I have naturally dark brows anyway so I'll keep my brows dark if I want too. The ABH dipbrow was a Christmas present from my dad, who got it for me when he was in America, but I had lighter hair then so chose the shade soft brown. I like the colour, just not with my dark hair now so I wanted a new one but wasn't going to pay £16-£18 for a new one just because I didn't like the colour.

I've got the Freedom brow powder which in my opinion (going on looks wise) looks identical to the ABH duo drow powder so I thought that maybe they do a dupe for the dipbrow pomade. I went shopping a few weeks ago with a friend and we popped into Superdrug- as that's where Freedom is available, and I was looking at their brow products. I had noticed little pots before which looked the exact same as the dipbrow but never really paid too much attention. I picked one up and had a look and it was IDENTICAL to the dipbrow and was no where near as expensive! I looked through the colours and in the end I chose ash brown, as it's darker than my dipbrow but not as dark as dark brown. I do wish I had gone with medium brown but it cost £5-£6 so I can't really complain about picking the wrong colour.

Quick hairstyles

Now I don't know about anyone else but I'm always in a rush first thing in the morning. I wake up in plenty of time, do my makeup and then seem to never have time to do my hair. Since I know a lot of you won't have much time in the mornings, I thought this post was appropriate to give you all some ideas. Some of these are fancy, some are literally do and go so it's a mix.

The first hairstyle is one I used to wear all the time before it came back into fashion. I remember sitting in Sociology in year 13 and hearing someone make a comment about my hair. About 3 weeks later the same girls who made comments about my hair started wearing their hair like it. I'm talking about the typical Ariana Grande half up half down hairstyle. This is such an easy look and takes 2 minutes. I start by running my fingers from the tops of my ears to the crown and sectioning it off. I gather all the hair I just sectioned off and place it on top of my head, I then take a hair tie and tie my hair up. I pull it really tight and then loosen it so it's not sitting on the top of my head.
For added volume I apply some dry shampoo to my hair first then slightly tease it before sectioning off my hair.

The second style is a half up half down but with a top knot. I love doing this as it gives something extra to the style and isn't just the boring half up half down. For the top knot I tie it into the normal half up half down and spray some dry shampoo (extra if I've already sprayed some). I then tease it slightly and start twisting it round, making sure the ends are facing upwards. Once I have twisted it enough times, I start wrapping it round into a little bun on the top of my head. I secure it in place with bobby pins- loads of bobby pins! This is probably my favourite hairstyle of them all as it takes 5 minutes to do and is a go to when my hair needs a wash.

The third hairstyle is a messy bun. This is usually the 'my hair really needs a wash but it's so long and thick and I can't be bothered' look which I tend to go for on most days when my hair needs a wash. I normally swap between the half up half down top knot and this style. This is the one I go to when I'm really running out of time in the morning. I spray loads of dry shampoo into my hair and work it in. I then gather up all my hair, like I'm doing a high ponytail and start twisting it in the same method as the last top knot. I will tease it if I want more volume, but there is normally loads after working in the dry shampoo so I don't have to add more.

The last hairstyle is a high ponytail. This is such an easy hairstyle as it looks put together when in reality I flipped my head upside down, gathered all the hair on top of my head and tied it up. This is also a hairstyle I use when I need to wash my hair. Dry shampoo is a massive life saver! Let us take a moment for dry shampoo, the greatest invention since sliced bread! Of course I'm joking, but it is a great invention!

These are my quick hairstyle for when I'm in a rush, I also do nothing to my hair so I literally get out of bed and go as I don't tend to have messy hair in the morning.

Xoxo

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Makeup Revolution Sculpt and Contour kit

As you may know I am a massive fan of Makeup Revolution. I love love love their products and for the price, it's really good quality! Now it's no surprise that I'm review yet another product by MR, but I saw this contour kit and fell in love! I normally use the Seventeen contour kit in fair but I wanted a change. One reson I really like this contour kit is because it contains a bronzer, highlighter and blusher all in one. I will however admit that it could do with a bigger mirror, but who am I to complain when it means I don't have to carry a bronzer, highlighter and blusher separately! 

I chose the shade C01, which is obviously the lightest shade they do- #paleprobs, but I found it gives a really nice, natural contour to the face. The highlighter shade is gorgeous! It doesn't add too much shimmer to the face, but still gives this beautiful glow to the skin. I love the blusher too, it's a really subtle pink colour with some shimmer in, so if I'm feeling lazy I'll just go overboard on the blusher and not worry about a highlighter. What I think is the best part of this product is that it's only £3.50! This is one reason why I love MR, their products are so cheap yet have amazing quality!

I would 100% reccomend this product to anyone who is looking for a cheap contour kit and who has pale skin like I do!

Xoxo

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DIY Mother's Day gift and gift ideas

In the UK, Mother's Day is Sunday 6th March- I know I've left this post a little late, but this is a quick last minute DIY which anyone can do, even the night before. I don't recommend making this the night before, I'm just saying it's that easy!

This DIY is one I've seen all over Pinterest and wanted to make it for myself. It's a DIY manicure/pedicure in a jar. This is probably the easiest DIY as all you need is a small jar, clear nail polish, coloured nail polish, orange stick and cotton pads. You may also want to get some string or ribbon, labels, stickers, coloured pens and coloured tissue paper. These are all really inexpensive to buy and take no time to make.

• Start off by placing a small amount of tissue paper into the jar. Don't add too much as you want to see what is inside.

• Place in the clear and coloured nail polish, cotton pads and orange stick. You can arrange this in any way that you want.

• After you have added everything into the jar, take a label and stick it to the lid. Using a coloured pen write 'DIY manicure/pedicure' whichever it is you're choosing to create. Add some ribbon/string round the neck of the jar and tie it into a bow. Take some stickers and place them onto the jar- this is optional.

I was going to post another DIY but I wasn't able to get all bits I needed so I've decided to pick a few gifts I saw that you're able to get in stores. I went into Sainsburys- a big food store, and picked up a wine glass and a small bottle of bubbly as a set. As I'm sharing this gift with my sister, it cost each of us £7.50 which isn't that expensive. I know this is a gift my mum will like.

I went into Boots to have a look at some of the gifts they have in there. They have a Ted Baker set with lots of minature bath bits. I did think about getting this for my mum, but as I got her something similar at Christmas, I thought it would be nice to get something different.

Boots also have a Sancturary Spa set which is more body bits. I was tempted to get my mum this as she likes body butters and lotions, but I thought if I wanted to get her something like that, that I could make a little package up myself.

In Peacocks they have PJ sets for mums, which I thought was a cute idea if your mum enjoys lounge around the house in the evenings or weekend. I was tempted to buy myself a set but I chose a set which was more appropriate- it's covered in nail polish, lipsticks and perfume!


These are just some ideas I saw in the shops, you can get the obvious- candles, stuffed animals, DVDs and CDs depending on what it is your mum likes.

I hope you find something here which will help you pick for Mother's Day, and Happy Mother's Day to all the mums out there! (I know it's early)

Xoxo

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How I plan my blogs

Before I decided I needed a structured way to post my blogs, I was just coming up with them in thin air. This was good for a while, but then I started to struggle. I would struggle because I couldn't remember what I had previously posted about, and what I was writing was new. I first tried writing ideas down on a piece of paper and ticking them off once I had posted it, but I was always losing those bits of paper.

I Googled 'blog planner templates' and came across loads! They all seemed to have the same layout- post title, ideas, pictures, labels, page views, sponsorships, all the basics. This was a good idea but I needed something much more simpler, one that told me when the post was due, if I had added pictures, written it and the post title. I found this really simple yet great idea on Google images, which came from someones blog. As I wasn't able to find the template on her blog, I thought I'd make my own. It was simple enough to make, I just typed ' blog posts' at the top of the word document then inserted a table. The table was 5 across and 48 down, although I think I'm going to make it smaller as it doesn't need to have that many boxes going down. I moved the boxes going across the top to make them the sizes I needed and left space above to write in the due date, pictures, written, published and post title. I made the pictures, written and pubished smaller than the due date and post title so I could tick off when I had got each of those done. I made the due date box slightly bigger and then the post ideas box a lot bigger so I could get the title into the box.

This is probably the most simple way to plan my blogs, but so far it's been working for me and it'll continue to work for me as I can keep all of the past months in a folder together and then I can just flick through each month to see what I've posted and what I haven't rather than losing it!

Feel free to use this idea to help with your blog planning and use the #saralouisehxoDIY so I can see all of your creations!

Xoxo

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