July Favourites

Hiya Peeps!

So I've never done anything like this before but I know they're really popular with bloggers / vloggers. I thought I'd give it a go and if enough people like it, I'll do one every month. I have included some photos that I've taken myself. I know they're not the best, but I need to get into the habit of using images in my posts and I think it's always better to use your own where you can :).

Here we go! 

ASOS Curve

I've really been loving ASOS Curve this month. Because I'm quite a bit larger than the average human, I often struggle to find gorgeous clothes on the high street that fit my body shape. I was introduced to ASOS Curve by beauty blogger, Sprinkle of Glitter, and found that I actually really like a lot of their clothes. I bought a dress for my Nan's 70th and also went on to get two dresses for Graduation on there, one of which I ended up wearing and loving! If you're a little bit bigger than average, but still want to dress beautifully, it's definitely worth checking it out here. 

 

(I'm in the red dress!)

Fudge Urban Strong Hold Hairspray - Iced Raspberry & Vanilla

Now, I'm not a massive user of hairspray, just because I can never be bothered to do my hair, but when I came across this I just had to buy it. Working in a high street Health and Beauty store, I'm always introduced to the latest products in store and this really caught my eye. It's a really fabulous hairspray, isn't too sticky and holds really well, but it also smells ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. I usually completely hate the smell of hairspray so this was an absolute blessing!

Sleek Blusher Palette - Lace

There's not an awful lot I can say about this apart from that it's positively brilliant! Blusher is only something I've recently started using and I'm really glad I got my hands on this one. Sleek products are all really impressive and I use a lot of their make-up and they didn't disappoint with this one. The three colours are all super pigmented so you don't have to use a lot, meaning hopefully they'll last a really long time, woooo! My favourite is 'guipure' (the middle shade) but I'm really loving the orange-y shade this summer.  

Revlon Colourburst Lip butter

Aaaah, another thing that I've only recently started using. I've always hated lipstick so was delighted to find a product that wasn't too heavy but gave me a really great colour on my lips. It's a little shiny and sticky but it's no where near as claggy as a proper lipstick, which is why I think I've loved it so much! I have the shade 'Strawberry Shortcake'; it's a really subtle pink and perfect for the daytime!

Wake Me Up Foundation

I'm aware that this foundation has been around a while but it's taken me a while to get used to it. At first I thought it was awful and really claggy and just far too heavy for an everyday foundation, but I've actually grown to love it. It is quite heavy as a liquid foundation for every day but it does give great coverage and it's very glowy. You don't need to use a lot of it on the face as it spreads quite well and less is more, especially in this warmer weather! Definitely worth a go!

Candy Crush

Now, I don't know anyone that hasn't at least had a go at this game! It's seriously addictive and I find myself playing it at any spare minute I get. It's sad and slightly pathetic but I can't stay away! 

Geordie Shore

I'm aware that a lot of people will turn their noses up at this, but I love this show! I can't really give reasons as to why, because quite frankly it's an awful programme, but it's another seriously addictive thing in my life. I think Charlotte is ABSOLUTELY hilarious and I'm always laughing at the stupid things they're doing and saying. I also happen to think it's brilliantly edited which makes it a lot easier to watch. I also love that they're in Australia this series.

So that's it, those are a few things that I've been loving this month. I'm sorry my posts have been very few and far between recently. I've been super busy with work and just got back from a few days in Manchester visiting family (which was lovely, by the way!). I'm really going to try and be more regular with my posts. I've got some really good ideas for upcoming posts and can't wait to share them with you all, so keep your eyes peeled. If there's something you'd like to see me post about or discuss, please let me know and I'll be sure to give it a go. 

Thanks so much for stopping by, and sticking around.

Take care, stay beautiful and DREAM BIG!

All the love in the world,

@amyjcollins

Things I'm Loving At The Moment...

Hiya Peeps!

So I've moved over to 'Blogger' and it's really hard to get used to, but I am really liking it. I love that it's linked with Google+ which means I can try and get a bit more savvy at that as well. I know a lot of bloggers are using this platform to post so I thought I'd give it a whirl!

I just wanted to do a little post about 'Things I'm loving at the moment'. It's not necessarily just going to be products or items of clothing that I'm enjoying; I'm going to include things that I'm doing and maybe some people (because I'm massively cheeky!).

Something I'm really loving at the moment is working. Now, I know this sounds completely insane coming from me as I moaned the whole way through my degree about the heavy work load and how much I hated it. I'm currently doing an internship with a Social and Mobile media company (more in Big Life Updates post!) and it's honestly so much fun. I really feel like all the work I did in Uni is starting to pay off and I'm absolutely loving learning more about an industry I think I'd really like to work in. I like the routine of going to work and it keeps me in a much healthier mindset meaning I'm much more motivated to do other things and to actually get up in the morning. I feel important on this internship and feel like my ideas and opinions are being heard. It's a great feeling having a team of people that believe in me and who I really enjoying going to work with! I will be writing a blog / series of blogs about my time with Coup so stay tuned for those if you want to find out what I've been getting up to and any tips I have for those of you looking for internships or who are about to embark on your first internship!

Moving very swiftly on to the rest of the things I've been loving recently. Like I said before, it's a bunch of different types of things and I'm just going to list them and talk about them a bit. Ok, here they are.

I recently came across this really UH-MAZING singer on YouTube called Lewis Mokler. When I first heard him singing it was in the back of another video and I thought it was a new Ed Sheeran track. I went a bit crazy and started Googling lyrics and Shazam-ing the video so I could find out what it was. I can't actually remember how / when I found out who he was, but he's my 'favvy musician of the moment' (that could be a thing?!). If you've got a few spare £££'s, jump onto iTunes NOW and buy some of his music. My favvy's are Pieces, Nutella and The Traveller. He's got a bunch of stuff on YouTube as well so make sure you check him out! https://www.youtube.com/user/LewisMokler?feature=watch

At the moment, I'm really ill and there's literally nothing that makes me happier when I've got a cold than a mug of hot squash. I know what you're thinking... 'Amy, that's so weird', 'OMG, that's so gross, what's wrong with you?!', 'Can't you just have a coffee or something?!'. My response is that yes, it is weird and it's not the norm but it's literally so comforting. I don't like tea, coffee, hot chocolate or any other warm drink that may exist, but sometimes you just need something to soothe your throat when it's all gross and gravelly and a mug of hot blackcurrant sorts me right out. Plus, it reminds me of Brownie Camp when I was younger, and I like that.

I also feel that I need to quickly mention Grilled Cheese sandwiches. Yesterday I was 'stumbling' at work, and I came across this amazing image of a gooey, cheesy toasted sandwich thingy that I literally wanted the eat through the screen. It was so delightful looking that I immediately texted my friend to tell her about the delicacy and we decided to make them that evening. They were delish and you should Google how to make them because they're like heaven.

Moving very quickly into the make-up section of life which I know will shock anyone who knows me because I haven't always been a massive lover of the stuff and only recently started wearing it on a regular basis, but yes. I have been lovinggg the Real Techniques make-up brushes. I recently had the 'Core Collection' kit bought for me after I went on about it for weeks on Twitter and I'm so impressed. They're so soft, are great sizes and even come in a cheeky travel case which is extremely handy. My favvy is definitely the 'Buffing Brush' which I've been using for my liquid foundation. (I think it's very similar to their 'Expert Face Brush' which is also supposed to be good for foundation).

I also recently purchased my first eye primer and I went with the Rimmel Exaggerate Undercover Shadow Primer. I'm really impressed with this product because it does exactly what it's supposed to and it doesn't feel weird. It's a really light primer, blends really easily on the eyelid and lasts for blooming ages! It keeps my eye shadow on all day, and I absolutely swear by it!

My final make-up product that I'm loving is the Sleek Contouring and Blush palette. I'd seen a lot of reviews of this one going around and thought I'd give it a go. At £9.99, I was a little skeptical as make-up isn't something I'm used to spending a lot of money on, but when I thought about it I was in effect getting three products for the price of one and bought the thing anyway! I'm really glad I did because it's now part of my 'everyday' make-up and I just love it. It doesn't have a weird smell to it and the bronzer and blusher are super pigmented meaning I'm getting exactly what I paid for and what I can see in the palette, YAY! (Bet you're glad that's over!).

HOLY MOLY, this is a long post. I'm sorry guys!

The final thing I'm really loving at the moment though is really just having time. I know that sounds completely odd and everyone's probably reading this like 'Amy, what you on about man? Everyone's got time. Time isn't a thing that you have, whaaat?!' but it's really true. Now that I've finished Uni, it's meant that I've got so much more time to do things that I want to do and not worry about when my next deadline is or when I've next got to go out filming. Having this extra time has meant that I've been able to take an internship (which is great and I can't stop talking about) and it means that my friends and I can just enjoy spending time with each other without work climbing on top of us. Because most of us are going to be leaving Cardiff soon and going back to our home towns, it's nice to have this time together to just relax before we do all go our separate ways. Having this extra time has also meant that I get to have 'Hollyoaks sessions' with my housemate Verity which are usually extremely vocal and end with us screaming at the TV and eating copious amounts of bad food (banana custard and jam doughnuts). I've also started reading for leisure which I'm really pleased about. When you're studying it's really hard to enjoy a good novel because you're worrying about worm so much. I really like getting lost in a good book so I'm glad I've got the time to do it now! Happy days!

AND BREATHE. So that's finally it, guys. I know it's a long one and I'm sorry (but I'm not sorry if you've enjoyed it!). I'm going to try and blog a lot more regularly so I hope that's something you'd want to see. For me, it's kind of like a little diary that I get to keep online and people read if they fancy it (not me).

Take care, stay beautiful and dream BIG!

Thanks for stopping by <3.

@amyjcollins

xox