MUA - An Overlooked Brand?💕

There's no denying that I love bargain makeup. Highend brands don't really appeal to me because I know that I can buy products that work the exact same way as drugstore makeup. One brand I have loved for years, and one which really got me into makeup, is MUA. It's a brand that I always fall back on every so often. For my base, I'm not too fussy - a concealer and powder, and I'm good to go.

MUA Hide and Concealer Stick in Ivory || £1 - For some reason, I never used to use stick concealers, I always opted for cream concealers instead. Then, I bought a stick concealer because I was going on holidays and had to limit my liquids (I carry hand luggage), and since then, I've never looked back. I find that stick concealers do get a lot of negative reviews, but I quite like this one. I have the shade fair (which is the palest colour) and it works adequately - it's creamy, blends well and has quite good coverage. For the price, I cannot really complain about the concealer, because it serves its purpose. The only downfall is that it melts quite easily in the packaging. When I took it on holidays, I had to keep it in the fridge because the heat was melting it. Otherwise, it's a concealer that I have repurchased many times.

MUA Pressed Powder in Translucent || £1 - Powder is crucial for me, because I have such oily skin, I want to not only keep the oils at bay, but also my makeup in tact. I've tried numerous powders over the years, and some have made me look oily, some haven't done what they claim they will do. I knew that I loved the concealer, so therefore, the powder couldn't be too bad for £1. Some powders which are on the lower price scale can be quite chalky, however, I haven't actually experienced that with this one. It sets my makeup in place, doesn't settle into any line beneath my eyes (which aren't even visible without makeup, and only appear when some makeup set terribly) and for the price, is quite decent.

Once again, MUA haven't let me down. It's a brand that I know I could pick up anything from and it won't be a disappointment. People often overlook such a brand because of their minuscule price tags, but for me, I adore them.

xx

Amsterdam Fashion💕

Typically, I'm not into fashion. Sure, I own quite a lot of clothes, but I'm quite plain when it comes to style. I'm a comfort over fashion sort of gal. After seeing the outfits that the girls were going wearing whilst in Amsterdam, I decided it was time to up my game, and actually pure together some "cute" outfits - in other words, outfits with some thought and consideration.

Outfit One

I was wanting something casual yet comfortable (as usual) for flying out. I definitely don't give my tartan trousers the credit that they deserve, so I opted for them (pic below gives a better idea of them!) Because they are so striking, I had to pair it with a plain top. I found this black, knotted front tee in Primark for a bargain of £4, and it's great because it just goes with everything - let me know if they have a white one because I'd love one! It is a bit out my comfort zone as it is cropped and I don't tend to like wearing cropped clothing items. Although it was a city break as opposed to a girls summer holiday in a beach resort, I still brought my sunglasses because the weather was meant to be scorching (and it was!), so I wore my New Look sunglasses on my head, purely so I wouldn't forget them!

Aren't these trousers just lush? I adore them, and they were only £13 from Primark. They're incredibly soft, and not to mention comfortable too. I paired my outfit with my new favourite shoes - Primark's replica of vans. They're pretty similar to the authentic ones, but cost a fraction of the price tag - I got them for a steal at £6! They literally go with everything, and I didn't have any trouble breaking into them whatsoever; they genuinely fit my feet like a pair of gloves.

Outfit Two

Us Scots really take advantage of a bit of sun - if it's above 14 degrees and the suns out, then it's what we call "taps aff" weather, which basically translates to "it's bloody roasting let's find the summer clothes, and the guys walk about topless". So, I totally made the most of the warm weather whilst in Dam. I had previously ordered some new skirts off of Forever 21 as I'm always wearing trousers and wanted to switch it up a little bit. I am in love with this adorable blue denim skirt. It's such a soft denim material, which reminds me of cotton in a way. The buttons up the front really complete the skirt in my opinion. As for the top, it's one which my mum stumbled upon in the New Look sale for me. The sleeves are super pretty and the material is so light which meant I wasn't melting half as badly as it's quite flowy. 

Again, I wore my Primark shoes, and sunglasses, but this time I had an extra two accessories - I had borrowed a small bag from my sister to carry my essentials in, and of course, my camera - is it really me if I don't have my camera?

In the evenings, I wore my navy harrington jacket, which I got from eBay. I did bring my khaki denim jacket, but the harrington one just went better with my outfits, and it had a pocket in the inside for my phone too! 

xx

Travel Diaries || Amsterdam💕

My list of places I want to visit is forever growing. And the only way to be able to start ticking everywhere off is by actually travelling. Amsterdam is a place I have wanted to visit for absolutely ages now. It always just seemed like a beautiful place full of excitement. A few months back, my friends and I went ahead and booked our flights and accommodation. It was official - I was going to Amsterdam!

We flew out on 5th June, and the flight was just over an hour. We were staying in a hostel in Sloterdijk, so got a train out to what we thought was Amsterdam Centraal - we accidentally got onto Rotterdam Centraal instead, but thankfully it wasn't an express train and we got off at Amsterdaam Central. Once we finally found our accomodation, we hopped on a train back to Amsterdaam Central.

NIGHT ONE

I was mesmerised and star-struck by the architecture surrounding me - to the point I was probably annoying the girls because I was stopping every two minutes to take a picture. I knew from pictures online that Amsterdam was a beautiful city, but boy, it's more beautiful than it looks.

The canals were just unreal. Both evenings I was in Amsterdam, we ended up sitting alongside the canals for a short time period, chilling, chatting and people watching - it was so relaxing. They were heavily-populated with people sitting at the sides, walking past and the amount of boats that went by was unreal. I was desperate to go on a boat tour down the canals but we simply didn't have enough time - but I know that when I return (it's a must!), I'll be paying for a canal tour. Mark my words.

This building isn't your stereotypical building in Amsterdam, but I liked it's quirkiness. I found it whilst waiting on the girls, who had popped in to buy churros, so I made the most of it whilst on this specific street - by the way, the churros were good, I ended up eating Becca's leftovers whilst chilling at the canals!

We spent the whole of the first evening exploring the place. At 10pm, we opted to visit the sex museum - of course, it was a total laugh. I'll spare you of the photos of the museum, but honestly, if you go to Amsterdam, visit it - it's only 5 euros entry and it's some laugh!

DAY ONE

We set an alarm for 7 with the intention of getting up to get ready, but we all lay in bed, contemplating getting up but none of us had the energy. Miraculously, we were up, ready and out of the hostel by 9am - five of us somehow managed to get ready in this one tiny hostel room! For breakfast, we nipped to the local Spar, where I bought two croissants - way to my heart.

After we got the train to Amsterdaam Central, we jumped onto a tram - first things first on the agenda is find the bench from The Fault in Our Stars. Unfortunately, it wasn't the original bench, because someone had previously stolen it, but it was still a lovely place.

Next, we ran along to the I AM STERDAM sign. This location was mobbed - I underestimated how busy it would be! We spent quite a while here taking cute candids and group photos - what else would you expect from a group of gals?!

I had to take a panorama on my phone to fit the whole of the sign in because I struggled using my phone on normal camera!

The beautiful views at the sign.

Next stop - FOOD! Nicole had seen a cafe called Ree7 on Instagram, and to say the least, their milkshakes looked insane. Naturally, we just had to visit. Oh, and can we take a minute to appreciate how photogenic the milkshakes look? (iPhone 7 camera quality lol)

I had the strawberry milkshake, as did Nicole. Becca and Amy had a chocolate milkshake which looked equally as scrumptious, and Emma had a hot chocolate, which presentation wise, looked pretty delicious for a hot chocolate! We were 5 happy girls.

Amy had seen a place online which was recommended and it had glow in the dark mini golf. Whilst some of us hadn't ever played mini golf, we knew it'd be a laugh nonetheless. It was so much fun, and no, I didn't win!!

Earlier in the day, we had booked to go to the Ice Bar - we couldn't go to Amsterdam and not to go to the Ice Bar!! I didn't know what to quite expect, but it was uber cool (pun intended). We had 2 coins to use inside the ice bar for 2 drinks, and then another coin to use for a third drink in the bar itself. The experience itself was great and I highly recommend visiting if you're in Amsterdam.

Pit stop before shopping - food. Every corner you look, there's a food stall of some sort. Earlier in the day, Becca and Emma had a hot dog, and from that moment onwards, I craved a hot dog. So, to satisfy ones needs, I bought myself a large hot dog. And it was bloody amazing.

NIGHT TWO

After some shopping, we went back to the hostel to get ready before going out. We went to kfc, before going and sitting at the canals again, reminiscing about our day and general girly chat. We were waiting until the sun had set to start wandering around the Red Light District. I won't give too much away but wow, it was such a different way of life compared to here in Scotland! It was so interesting.

But of course, all good things come to an end. The following morning, we made our way to the airport via train (I obviously nipped into Spar to buy more croissants because honestly, I haven't tried any quite as amazing!) before waiting in the airport to come home. We flew home, not half as excited as we were flying out, but at the same time, we were glad to land back in Glasgow!

Amsterdam is a place which I cannot rave about enough. I feel as though since I've returned home, I've spoke about nothing else - but it was just amazing. It was an experience which I adored every minute of, and the girls made it all the more memorable. I cannot wait for my next adventure!

xx

Being Love Struck💕

Firstly, hello! I am here and I have finally returned. I haven't posted since the start of May, and it feels weird - it feels weird to be blogging again, but a good sort of weird! I intend on spending a lot of time working on BAB over the Summer to make it the best it can be! And secondly, thankyou to those who supported me throughout my blogging break.

Not only was it my blog's birthday in April, but it was also my own birthday. And it isn't a birthday (or Christmas) if you don't get a bottle of perfume/aftershave, am I right? This year, my parents got me the Vera Wang Lovestruck Floral Rush perfume - I already have the original Lovestruck perfume, as well as previously owning the Princess and Rock Princess perfumes in the past, so I knew that this wouldn't be a let down. With the aesthetically pleasing packaging and bright colours, I knew it was going to be loved very dearly.

The notes in this perfume are rather interesting and exotic, and are as follow: top notes of sparkling champagne accord, pink pepper and apricot blossom. Heart notes of pink passion flower, marigold and white freesia. Dry notes of cashmere woods, sheer musk and white amber. Together, they combine to create a beautiful, Summer-infused scent. It is described as being a "flower bouquet in a bottle", which is sure is accurate and representative of the perfume. It's a light, fresh and fruity perfume which I have been loving lately, especially throughout the month of May, also known as Scotland's Summer of 2018 when the sun was shining. 

It's a perfume which I personally like wearing. I love the original lovestruck, so I knew that this couldn't be a disappointment - Vera Wang perfumes are created with a whole lot of care and love. I received this as a gift, and I know that it is worthwhile buying it for someone.

Have you tried this Lovestruck perfume? 

xx