Music Monday #3

Today is the turn of John Smith. I recently saw him play as support to Ben Howard and I was in love from the first song. Again it's chilled listening but in my eyes you really can't beat it. I just love the way it makes you feel and how you can so easily get lost in it. John Smith is from Devon and has toured all over. What I thought was amazing was when Ben was playing, he said how much of an inspiration and how much he admired John 

Enough of that.. Here is my favourite song off his most recent album 'Great Lakes' 

ENJOY! 

Dove Hair Therapy| Nourishing Oil Care Leave-in Conditioning & Care Spray

Dove isn't really a brand that I have tried for hair care, when I think of dove I tend to think of shower gels and deodorants. I don't really know why I bought this- I hadn't done any research and I'll be honset, I just liked the look of it! All I can say is I am glad I did. It has become a staple in my hair care routine now. I tend to spray loads on when on when my hair is wet after washing and then if I feel my hair needs a bit of moisture in between I'll just spray more on. 

This leave in Conditioner is a dual formula that you have to shake up before you use. Being oil based I was a bit worried that 1) it would weigh down my hair and 2) that it would make my hair look greasy. I was pleasantly surprised when it didn't and it really helped smooth down my hair and give it that injection of moisture. 

The Dual Formula contains Nutri- Oils such as Almond, Coconut and Argan Oil allowing the spray to smooth and seal the hair. 

Dove Nourishing Oil Care is available from most Drugstores and supermarkets for £3.59 for 200ml. I have been using mine for a couple weeks and I have hardly made a dent and I use it all the time!

Brand Spotlight| Liz Earle

Liz Earle is a brand I have known about for years. I remember being younger and my nana using. It's something that every time I smell the Cleanse and Polish it takes me back. I personally didn't start using any Liz Earle products till about 2 years ago and I have never looked back. Being a blogger I tend to get excited about other products and stray away from products that I know and love. This happens a lot with my Liz Earle products but something always drags me back to them. 

The Cleanse and Polish is one of my all time favourite cleansers. I know I can turn to this when My skin is playing up- weither its having a break out or dry skin I know I can turn to my Cleanse and Polish and it will sort me right out. 

Cleanse and Polish has Cocoa Butter to help soften, smooth and moisturise and Rosemary, Chamomile, Hops and Eucalyptus to tone, soothe and purify. 

The other thing I love- It takes every scrap of make up off; even pesky They're Real Mascara and that is a battle (well I think it is anyway!)

Skin Tonic* is another staple in my routine. I have to say this is something that I don't necessarily say I have to have this/ notice a huge difference between when I do and don't use it but I still love it. I love how refreshed my skin feels after using it. Now for some people this may not be an option- using something that has no value in your routine but it's something I am willing to do, it's something I have repurchased several times. 

The last thing in my current Liz Earle collection is the Brightening Treatment Mask*. This the the newest addition to my little collection; I actually got this in the Nottingham Bloggers Meet goodie bag (Thanks Liz Earle!) along with a Cleanse and Polish and Skin Tonic. Quite Luckily this was actually the mask I wanted to try the most! I love this mask as it's just so quick and you get instant results. You leave this mask on for between 30 seconds and 2 minutes then just buff it off with a Muslin cloth, and just leaves you with clear, brighter looking skin. 

What are your favourite Liz Earle products? 

Music Monday #2

It's time for another Music Monday and I'm pretty excited about this one. This is a band that I found a couple months ago and I just haven't stopped listening to them. I like my chill out music- which I think you will come to realise but I like these guys as they are still chilled but have a bit more tempo to them. They actually remind me of Lana Del Ray; the production of  the songs is pretty similar.

I also love the fact that they do everything in black and white. It's an awesome vibe.

The video is for their most recent song Sweater Weather. 

Brand Spotlight| Illamasqua

Illamasqua was a brand I put off trying, purely because I'd never seen anything in the flesh and I was worried about paying out for something that could potentially be something completely different to my expectations. 

The First things I got from Illamasqua were the Skin Base foundation and Hollow Cream Pigment and I actually got this off a blog sale so I was a bit happier paying out for these as it wasn't as much as full price and if I didn't like them, it wasn't that much of a loss. Now The Skin Base is something that at the moment I just can't get it to work for me. It always looks to cakey on my but I love the coverage and the colour is a perfect match. So if any one has any suggestions or just how you apply this, please do let me know! 

I wasn't dissapointed with the cream pigment either. I use this in two ways: The first way is as a cream contour and the second is as a cream shadow/ base. This stuff blends so nicely and stays put!  I really want to pick up the shade Androgen, which is actually in the sale just trying to debate if I can afford it. 

The next product I bought when I was in London for the London Bloggers Meet. I have been eyeing this colour up for so long but like I said before I didn't want to buy before seeing it in the flesh. The shade I ended up buying was Hussy. Which the illamasqua site describes as a 'Bright Candy Pink', I personally think it has a more peachy shade but it is pretty bright. I love how finely milled and pigmented this blush is; it means you need the tinniest amount so this will last so long.  At £18, they aren't cheap but I really think they are worth the money. 

The last product in my little collection is the Precision Ink in Abyss*. No exaggeration  this is the most amazing eyeliner ever. Seriously. I have really hooded eyes so I always struggle with transferring but this will not budge. I wore this for 16 hours once and by the end of the day it was still there. I also love the applicator- it's really thin and makes it so much easier to create flicks.

I also bought a cream foundation in the sale but as I don't have it yet I can't say much about it, apart from its on its way. 

Is there anything from Illamasqua you think is a must have?

Naturally Gorgeous by Charlotte Vohtz| Book Review

So today I am going to be talking about what I think is a cracker- I hope you agree or that it at least gets your interested. This most certainly sparked an intrest for me. 

Naturally Gorgeous* is a book written by Charlotte Vohtz, the owner and founder or Green People- an organic skincare and make up brand. Green people is a brand that I have been interested in for a while- well and just organic beauty in general but I have kind of put it off because of the cost of changing my  whole routine and how I see it is; if I'm going to do it, Ive got to change everything. There is no point me changing just my skincare if I carry on using non organic make up, if you see what I mean?

Thats enough of that, like I said I have wanted to try Green People out for a while and I have actually tried a couple of samples of their products and have been very impressed. When a friend gave me this book, I was intrigued because for me this was the first ever bit of literature on Organic living that I would read and I am actually very glad it was. 

The information is laid out simply and in bite size pieces so its something you can flick back and fourth to and not get lost or overwhelmed by all the new information. 

The Book is split in to different sections (Inner beauty, Skin, Face, Body, Hair and Sun care), all of which go into basic information to help you achieve an organic life style. I will say this book isn't going to give you all the information you would ever need but it really is a good place to start and especially for someone, like me, who knows nothing about organic eating or beauty. All in all it's just a good book for information about how to look after yourself, obviously it's trying to promote Organic products but there are still break downs that could be used with non- organic products. 

An example of this is the fact that there are breakdowns for how to care for different skin types. It's things like this that made the book such an ease to read. I didn't feel like I was being told I HAVE to live organic to be healthy but more that it is the best option but I'm not going to be force into it- if you see what I mean? 

The above pages are to give you a rough idea of how the book is laid out. Like I said before it's pretty simple but a great way to start. 

I highly recommend this book for anyone just starting out or even just if you want a bit more information on how to look after yourself better. You are sure to take something away from this book. I know I learnt so many different tips from this book. 

Naturally Gorgeous can be bought off the Green People Website for £9.99 

Hand Luggage| What I Am Taking

If you don't already know- I am off to America in a couple of days. If you follow my twitter I apologise for my constant going on about it! I'm excited ok?

Everyone seems to do these kind of posts when they go away and I though well why the hell not, I'll do one as well! 

So basically this is what I will be taking with me! My Bag is from Topshop, from a couple months ago and I love it. As it's pretty square I can fit quite a bit in there and I also like the fact it has both a long strap and the two shorter ones. 

Firstly I've got the really important bits- My travel wallet, from Accessorize, which has my passport, money, travel documents etc, my purse which is so old and something I am hoping to replace while I am out there, my glasses and my phone. I also forgot my sunglasses but they aren't anything special, just a £1 pair from primark!

Next up we have the technology section- My iPad which has my movies, music and books on so saves me having to lug around books etc, my camera- which is actually my sisters but I didn't really feel I would need my big camera and this takes pretty decent pictures. Next up is my Powerbee, which is my portable charger that I can use on my phone, iPod and iPad. I usually get two charges out of it so hopefully it will be enough to keep me going. Then I have my iPod, you know just incase I dont have enough music on my phone and Ipad and then my Urbanears which I LOVE! They are good at noise cancelling and other people can't hear your music either and to top it off stupidly comfortable. 

Here you can see the couple of brushes I will be taking(I have more in my luggage) : RT powder brush, Sigma F80, Ecotools Angled brush, Sigma E05 and RT Deluxe Crease brush

Right so I wasn't planning on taking this much  make up on the plane but my skin seems to hate me and after months of behaving and looking lovely, it seems to have decided, 3 days before my holiday it wants to go tits up and have a breakout- so I am currently sporting two giant, horrible, angry spots on my chin and I could cry. So yes originally I was only going to take a little pot of the Dior BB cream but now I need something with a bit more coverage! I went for Double Wear as it's still quite light whilst sill giving good coverage.The other bits are pretty simple and just enough for me to look human and alive when I get off the plane. 

I will, like most people be doing the standard thing of taking all my make up off and putting a mask on (despite my hideous state- sorry to the people around me!) So I've got some Simple wipes- purely to save on space. Tooth brush and Tooth paste before I get off the plane so I don't meet Sarah with stinky breath, little perfume sample- again so I don't smell! Then for the face I have a Eve Lom Hydrating serum sample, Clinique Moisture Surge and Origins Drink Up Intensive. Now three hydrating things I hear you ask?! Well my skin HATES AC so I'm preparing for that. I've also got my Apivita Lip Balm, which I am fully addicted too, Hand Sanitiser, Origins super spot remover and a Birchbox mirror.

So there you go, that is my hand luggage! I will be doing a couple of updates here and there while I am away- if I have time too but if you want to see pictures along the way you can follow my Instagram, which is candycaneheart or follow my twitter @sophie_swinney