♥ Lancôme Grandiôse ♥

Stop everything.

Get in your car,

Drive to the nearest store that stocks Lancôme.

Buy Lancôme Grandiôse mascara.

I'm never one to think wow but this mascara blew me away. The packaging is stunning so much so I actually thought it was a little perfume! But the product is so good. I have short, baby lashes, they're actually quite pathetic so that's why I wasn't going to get too excited but I needed a new mascara and wanted to try a new brand out and had read a few reviews on this especially lengthening short lashes. Did it what! I'm so in love I don't think i'll ever change. The brush on the inside is twisty so it's really east to brush against your lashes. The formula is really easy to layer too. The one thing I must say about it is that it tends to crumble towards the end of the day and it can be really sore when it gets in your eye. Other than that I really love it.
Let's hope the products lasts a while and stays amazing! 

Retails at €27 debenhams.ie

GO BUY NOW :)

♥ Best SPF moisturiser ♥

I love me some SPF. But do you ever find you hate the effort of applying SPF then a moisturiser and then your foundation? Well I cut out the middle man and bought a moisturiser with factor.. Not 10.. Not 20... But factor 30 in! I was in shock when i saw the nice high sun screen factor and the price. You never see such high SPF with UVA and UVB protection under €50 these days. I find it doesn't leave me with a white face like normal sun protector can sometimes do and it's also really quick to sink into the skin.

It's by the skincare range called Simple. If you haven't heard of them, well you've been living under a rock. I've used their normal moisturiser and didn't think much of it. I've also used their toner and a spot treatment by them and have also not been mad about them but this is different.

This moisturiser is smooth, doesn't smell too SPF-y and is in a nice pump and small enough packaging. It costs €5.29 from www.boots.ie and is sometimes on offer. If you're anything like me though you'll of   saved up loads of points and are waiting for a product to spend them on. Well, this is it gals.

This is a must try from me!
(image taken from google as I've finished product and forgot to take a picture ops!)

Beet smoothie!

Just something I made today and thought i'd share with the world.  

Sometimes I see smoothie and juice recipes that have really weird or expensive ingredients in that can be hard to find. So here is my simple beet smoothie.

What you will need

- 1 small beet

- Orange juice

- 2/3 a large banana

- Handfull of blueberries

Put in a blender and add some ice and there you have it! If you don't like the taste of beetroot then this is perfect because the smoothie is really sweet. Remember smoothies are fun and for experimenting :)

XoBecka

♥Home made iced coffee♥

If you're anything like me, you love a trip to Starbucks for an iced coffee of some sort. But did you ever think it was so easy you could just make it at home? Maybe you were put off by the price tag or if you don't have an expresso machine you thought it wouldn't tase the same. Well my friends, i'm here to put younout of your missery and tell you how I make a simple iced coffee! 

Step 1 - Heat a glass in hot water to prevent cracking when you make the coffee.

Step 2 - Brew some coffee. I either use instant or sometimes when i'm feeling fancy i'll use my coffee press or my Dolche Gusto machine but for the sake of this we'll use instant. Fill your glass about 1/4 of the way with the coffee and water.

Step 3 - When brewing your coffee, add your desired sugar, sweetener or syrup now because it needs to mix when the coffee is hot.

Step 4 - Add loads of ice. I mean loads.

Step 5 - Lastly, add your desired amount of milk and you're done!

How easy was that? 

You can do the same with chai powder or tea too (which is my all time fave).

Get fancy by adding some whipped cream to the top or seperartely froth some milk if you can, if not it's still delicious the way it is. If you want to know where to buy some syrups you can get them in local supermarkets, online or Costa Coffee sell mini ones.

Enjoy making these bad boys!

♡ Wet n Wild ♡

I've never seen a display for Wet n Wild in Ireland and I haven't really looked for it in the UK when I visited but I saw it today in Spain and had a look at the products and saw a few things i'd seen beauty bloggers and youtubers mention so I decided it was time to pick up a couple of things. A girl can never have enough lipsticks right? Well that's what I told myself.

 There weren't many testers available so I just went by eye. My personal favourite colours are a true red and violet toned colour and that's what I gravitated towards. The colours I chose are Red Velvet and Smokin' Hot Pink. The names are funny because I don't think they really resemble the colours. Smokin' Hot Pink isn't a hot pink, it's more of a purple pink and Red Velvet isn't really a true red it has an orange undertone to it. I think these products are great. They're a long lasting, moisturising lipstick and they're not too shiny and not too matte which I think is great. For €2.99 can you really refuse to buy them? Red Velvet is a nice dupe for MAC Ruby Woo but less matte (which I think is better because that retro matte is annoying).

 

The top colour is Red Velvet and the bottom is Smokin' Hot Pink.

I might be back tomorrow with a post on more Wet n Wild products! 

♥ All Good Things, Must Come To An End. ♥

If you've followed my blog for a while, you might know I've been living in Gibraltar for the last three months. It's had it's ups and downs for me but it's just not a place I can settle and work in. The working industries there are aimed at customer service or bar work/waitressing. I don't have a problem with these at all, but it's just something I don't wish to do. I could never see myself being happy sitting in an office answering calls and helping people on a customer service basis or serving people food. It's just not for me. When I initially moved here, I intended on finding a job in retail as that's what I did back home but I was looking for more fashion retail work and here, those jobs require you to speak fluent Spanish. Something I wasn't aware of. Many things have told me I need to go home and regroup. We had a problem with our apartment and we had to leave, money has been an issue (can't work on a blog if you don't have the money to get products!) and the last few days have just been an emotional train-wreck. So I have a week holiday booked in Torremolinos, Spain which is about 2 hours away on a bus and I'm going to relax, work out (who the hotel has a gym!) and catch up on some reading. I have a few posts I'm going to work on so I can put them up while I'm there and then I'm going to get back home and back working on my blog.

Although I've found things hard here, I'm really looking forward to going home and seeing my friends and family. Even though I'm going to be jobless, I see it as an opportunity to write more and focus on myself. Coming here as opened a window for me. I've found a love for travelling which I didn't think would ever happen. I now know I want to do so much more with my life. I've even started looking into animal conservation projects in Africa and Asia. I really recommend people try and do something like this. If I ever do it (which I know I will :P) I will definitely do a blog post on that. Oh imagine the photography you could take. 
Okay time to get back on topic! I've done things in the last few months I've never done in my entire life and even though this has been a bit of a fail, It still counts as a life lesson and a step in the right direction. 

I truly believe in the phrase, don't knock it until you try it. It might be my new mantra!
I hope you guys have liked the few posts I've done about my trip here, and I hope you like the pictures I've posted. It really is a beautiful place, just might be the wrong time for me. Never give up on your dreams and opportunities as you continue to grow and learn every time you do something new. 

♡ My Blogging Camera & Questions Answered! ♡

"Do I need an DSLR for my blog?"

"How much should I spend on a camera?" 

"Should I buy a million lenses, fancy tripod, crazy lighting?"

I'm going to answer these questions and tell you about the camera I own, why I bought it and what I use it for. So let's get started! 

I've been blogging now for over a year and it's only lately I've gotten quite serious about it. Only because I'm out of work, I just moved country and it's been keeping me sane. I've always loved writing and make up and shopping so it just felt like something fun to do. 

Last year I bought a Nikon D3200 with some money I had saved up from my wages. I researched a lot of cameras and was asking these questions to myself. 

Did I need it for my blog? No. Absolutely not! but I intended on travelling and I wanted to explore the world of photography so the D3200 seemed like a perfect introductory camera for this. At the time I think it cost me about €550 (now I think it's about €100 cheaper) It came with a standard 'kit' lens and some nice features. I could also use it for my blog. If I wasn't into photography would I have bought it? No. Personally, a digital camera is just as good for a beginner blogger. Why spend money on something you don't know you're going to actually do and be serious about? 

Next question! How much to spend. Well if you're like everyone else I'm sure you either have an Iphone which has quite a good 8mp camera on it. I'm often surprised about what it can do. If not sure you or your parents have a digital camera. Before my DSLR I had a Fujifilm 14mp digital and it was quite the nifty thing. If not, have a look on websites like Donedeal.ie or Adverts.ie there's always someone selling something for cheap! Or even borrow a camera. Perhaps a family member no longer uses theirs because they just use their phone. 

Lastly, you've bought yourself a DSLR because you think you needed something better and more able to get that crisp picture you desire. But it's just not enough. "Should I buy a new lens? Do I need a tripod? Lighting?" Kit lenses can only get you so far. They're not the best but they're not the worst. In my personal opinion, the next lens you could get for your blog would be a nice 50mm or 35mm lens. They're good for close ups which is also good for street photography and nice nature photography too. As for a tripod and lighting. If you're serious and want to start a youtube channel perhaps then yes maybe. A tripod would also come in handy for landscape photography if you wanted dual purpose. Lighting isn't an expense I think you should dish out on for a long time. Try taking your blog pictures in the morning and if you're serious then look into it in the future. Don't waste money for no reason!