March 2017

Cosmetic First Impressions (Mac, Bobbi Brown & Clinique) | NinkComPoop

I thought it would be fun to go through some of my newest cosmetic purchases and give you all some initial first impressions!

PRODUCTS MENTIONED
Mac’s Velvetease in Aim To Please: http://amzn.to/2no8X6Q
Mac’s Lipliner in Bittersweet: http://rstyle.me/~9OjxZ
Clinique Quickliner in Rich Red: http://ebay.to/2omxUAq
Bobbi Brown’s Gel Shadow in Bronze Sunlit Bronze: http://rstyle.me/~9OjyU

Mac

My first two pieces are from Mac. I was after a nude lip product as a girl can never have too many of those… I am constantly on the look out for long lasting nude lips that last all day. So, with both fingers crossed, I decided to give their ‘Aim To Please’ Velvetease (that rhymes) lip pencil a try. Their velvetease products are usually so creamy and soft to apply, but still dry really nicely too. (Basically everything you want in a lip product).

£12.25

As predicted, this feels lovely to apply and dries fairly instantly. It creates a lovely red toned nude colour. I am a big fan of subtle lip colours which still give you something different to your usual skin tone.

The very first Mac product I have ever owned was a lip liner, so I was intrigued to see how well the other shades do. Next, I got this pro longwear lip pencil in ‘Bittersweet’. The only problem I had with my previous Mac lip pencils was the staying power. It seemed that chunks of their lip liner comes off fairly easily for me, but I still had a go at another shade just for luck… (or perhaps lack of self control).

£11

As much as I love them, dark lips usually scare me. I love black lipstick but would feel too scared to wear it. Dark brown, purples or very deep reds are the closest I will go. This very deep brown shade is a gorgeous colour and I adore how it looks. However, I am still experiencing problems with it coming off fairly easy when I eat or drink. I will have to give this a go with some lipstick on top. Perhaps that is the reason for the problems I am having…

In comparison to the Velvetease pencil, this lipliner is very drying. I think that I will probably stick to the Velvetease products in the future…

Bobbi Brown

The first Bobbi Brown product I ever tried was probably the best Bobbi Brown product I’ve ever ended up trying. It was an eyeshadow trio that I would use almost daily. Considering I used to love it so much, I was eager to try out more of their eyeshadows.

A range of their shadow gels were sat in the 50% off section (woohoo!), so I gave them a try in the store and the sparkle that the product produces is gorgeous. I decided to try ‘Sunlit Bronze’ as I use brown on my eyes so often.

£6.50

Trying this on my eye for the first time was pretty exciting… I got really overwhelmed with how pretty it looks over your entire lid, particularly when you layer the product up. It gives your eyes such a simple but effective look, I am beyond pleased for choosing this product. I honestly don’t believe that the photos do it justice…

Clinique

I don’t ever remember using a Clinique product before, but this lip liner was also in the 50% off sale section. I have been trying to find a durable red lip product since I can remember… I picked up this ‘Rich Red’ lip liner with the hopes that maybe it could provide something with a ton of staying power…

£3(!!!)

When I first applied this, I instantly started thinking that I had made the wrong decision. It has such a strange texture that feels super hard to apply. I could feel the product dragging along my lips… However, once it is on, the staying power is incredible. I didn’t even need to blotch this stuff and it doesn’t feel as though I was wearing anything at all. This definitely acts as more of a lip stain as it was very tricky to take off (which I personally love). I have most definitely found my favourite red lip product yet! As for the shade, it provides this lovely true cherry red which is super pretty.

Summation

Though I was sure to love the Mac products more than the others, I ended up liking the Clinique and Bobbi Brown items even more! I will most definitely be using these products up. But for now, I need to find out how to stop this ‘Bittersweet’ lip pencil from rubbing off… Got any tips?

Taking a little break… | NinkComPoop

Breaks are important. Week long ones, two week long ones, day ones, even just a couple hour ones. If we don’t take them often enough, we can easily overwork ourselves and burn ourself out…

My boyfriend asked me whether I fancied a week away with his family in the middle of Huddersfield (close to Manchester if your Geography is terrible like mine). All I knew was that his lovely mummy wanted a break away for her birthday with all her children. Of course I jumped to the opportunity and felt that it was a great excuse to look forward to something while in the dreary month of February (have I ever told you how much I hate February?).

Throughout our time there in this absolutely huge cottage (cottage blog post to come!), we had a few little walks around the area. However, Huddersfield is one of the hilliest areas I have ever been to, so a “quick pop” to the shop turned into a sweaty half hour hike. This kind of holiday was almost a ‘first’ for me, as most holidays I’ve previously been on have involved lots of planning and arrangements for various sights, areas and activities. It was a nice change to just sit sipping whiskey and playing card games in a fancy looking mansion and pretending we were rich for a week!

I managed to take some snaps of just a few of my favourite sightings. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

I just had to take a photo of this cash machine. Yes, that’s a cash machine. But also a phone box… Can you even get anything more perfect?

We had to take a drive into York while we were near the area to do a spot of shopping (keep eyes peeled on my channel for a haul by the way…). The buildings in York were just beautiful, particularly down The Shambles (a famous street lined with timber-framed buildings housing a range of touristy shops).

Within the Cathedral, there was a little area where you were able to light a candle for friends or family who have passed.

To finish off, a lovely picture of Adam sat beside a fancy Prosecco cocktail…

Isn’t he dishy? 😉

Let me know in the comments your favourite places to visit when you need a small escape and why. I’d love to hear them!

Best,
Ellie x

Where is Happiness?

I visited the location of where my big sister will be getting married today. Though the area will look much greener in the summer, and the weather will paint a lovely orange glow on everything, it did still feel magical getting a glance into where my sister/best friend will be marrying the lady of her dreams.

It was not until I made it up the hill towards the lovely view when I realised that this area was one of the many places my dad would take my sister and I when we were little. When you’re younger, you never really take in your area the same way you do when you’re older. Your tiny, carefree world made you the most mindful you will ever be. Most often, it didn’t matter how you got somewhere or why you were there – the important thing was, you are there and each part of your small, innocent mind is taking that all in.

Because what I do involves being an online influence, there are a lot of people that hold on to my word (which has it’s good and bad sides). A question I get a lot is “where do I find happiness?”. Though I am most definitely not always happy, I have moments where I notice my current state of happiness being particularly good for a long while. I often use that time to analyse what I may be doing differently. That child-like mindset I was referring to earlier always seems to be the answer. The moment I keep my mind out of doubtful worry mode, is the moment I am free. Free from stress, anxiety, pain, fear, misery… and most importantly, sadness. It isn’t easy living in the moment, but when you do, it sets you free.

To focus on the present, we should always recognise what we have instead of what we do not have or what we had. It is very easy for us to be caught up in our own little world when life moves so quickly and change hits us hard. We begin to dwell on the old times and often forget that we are still living. Amazing things are always happening, the trick is noticing them when they are. Taking in key moments now, rather than later when they are gone is essential. Here I was, on high down hill, taking in the moment just as I did when I was little, and just as I will when my sister speaks her vows. The very same place that I enjoyed with her many years ago for a very different reason – playing in the leaves in our kiddie welly boots will soon turn into nervous giggling in our beautiful wedding clothes (and probably a cry or two on my part).

Of course, with the good times will come the bad. It is easier to be happy during the wonderful times, for sure. But when the tricky times come fast approaching, what do you do or where do you turn? Believe it or not, these times play just as much of a big part as the good ones. Just like with everything in life… How do you know what your favourite food is if you hadn’t tried a number of different ones? How do you know what your favourite hobby is if you hadn’t taken part in a few? How do you know what happiness feels like if you’ve never experienced sadness? The moments in your life when sadness hits you like a cold, unwanted brick sucks… But people with the biggest stories, darkest moments and greatest accomplishments can put up the best of fights.

You live life to grow as a person, and with each day you wake up, you form into the person you were born to be. Let every rough experience that knocks you give you growth, and let every marvellous one remind you that life is worth living again. Take lots of pauses, and even more deep breaths as you soak in your surroundings as they are today.

“What day is it?”
It’s today,” squeaked Piglet.
My favorite day,” said Pooh.”
― A.A. Milne

“Happiness, not in another place but this place…
not for another hour, but this hour.”
― Walt Whitman

Grunge Inspired Makeup Look | NinkComPoop

Hello, loves!

Since I was around 15 years old, I always struggled with owning a label. Was I a typical girly-girl or do I prefer alternative fashion? If I think flannel or faux leather looks awesome, then why do I occasionally wear floral? It took me years to realise that I don’t need to have one set label. I do, and I can, chuck on whatever I happen to be loving at that point in time.

One of my favourite things to do is experiment with dark, smokey, and gothic tones – so today I was requested by you guys to create a grungey look. Lets get going!

Eye Shadow

The eye shadow was my favourite part of the process. Huge props go to Blank Canvas’ Master Series palette. This palette never lets me down! I was able to use three colours from the palette for my crease, inner corner, and transition shade. The other fab thing about this palette is the brush that it comes with; it is a double ended blending/applicator brush which is incredible for blending. I managed to blend this crazy dark look just fine (which is usually such a struggle).

(Shades used: Lily, Forza and Corruption).

This look made me fall in-love with Mac’s ‘Stroke of Midnight’ palette all over again. The beauty of this palette is that it holds the blackest of black and whitest of white shades. Those are two very handy colours to own! For this look, I used the white, gold and black. I popped some more white over the inner corner, black over the brown, and the gold for under my eyes.

After applying the gold under my eyes, I then went back to the dark brown on my Blank Canvas palette and applied it on my waterline.

Eyeliner and Mascara

At the mo, I have been loving my Barry M eyeliner that I bought on a whim. It lasts all day and is easy to work with. For this look, I ensured that I applied it really thick. Then to finish the eyes, I used my trusty Maybelline Lash Sensational.

Contour

For my contour, I wanted to use something that will bring out my natural pale skin (sob). I used my Contour Kit by Beautiful Brows to both highlight and define my cheek bones. This kit is one of my favourites and it’s creamy consistency is a dream to work with *drools*.

Lips

The last and final step! In my opinion, this was one of the most important steps for this as you can’t achieve the perfect grungy look without some dark, gothic lips. I achieved these gorgeous dark lips by using Mac’s ‘Night Moth’ lip pencil and Avon’s Perfect Reds lipstick on top.

And ta-da! (With a bit of hair crimping) the look is complete…

Thank you for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know if you would like more of these or not – your opinion is appreciated so much!

Hugs, Ellie xo

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