Niagara Falls

Hello! 

It's been yet again, another long while since I last posted on here. I've been pretty busy, and Fall Break is this weekend so I thought I'd finally sit down and actually try and post some of the photos I've taken lately. Before crossing the border into America, Mum, Chris and I visited Niagara Falls. Honestly, I never thought that I would be able to see somewhere like this. It's just one of those places that you hear about and then never really think about. It felt so surreal to be there, surrounded by thousands of other tourists, staring at this insane amount of water tumbling down a cliff face. 

Perhaps one of the weirdest parts was the sheer amount of large hotel chains that rose up on both the Canadian and American side of the river. It just looked so strange to have this massive force of nature and then loads of towering apartment blocks. If I'm honest, I think I'm still confused by the obsession of tall buildings on this continent. Even Ann Arbor has some tall buildings that would be so out of place in a smaller city equivalent in the UK. 

Besides that, it was also so busy! There were often queues for the attractions as well as mad amounts of any kind of touristy souvenirs that you could dream of. All of the transport around the site was easy to understand though, and it never really felt like there was too many people. The best experience by far was taking a little cable car across the Whirlpool, which meant being able to look down below to see the foaming waters of the river. The colours of the water were fantastic, and the view was great. 

That's all for now, I hope you like the pictures!

I'm Moving to Michigan

Well.

I guess I have a lot of explaining to do really, this being almost half a year since I even thought to write up a post on this website. Rather shocking isn't it? Who knew I could reach such levels of procrastination that I wouldn't even find the time to dedicate to something that I enjoy doing?? 

In my defence, it's been quite a hectic few months. I went through a rather stupid break up, I then jumped head long into a field trip and exam season followed by yet another (month long) field trip. During this time I did lots of actually exciting things, such as three music festivals, and also meeting someone new who is definitely someone who I hope to keep in my life a lot longer. (he's great). 

So I guess I've been busy enough to excuse myself for this long time no write, but realistically I just dropped the ball massively. As I write this I'm in a hotel in Niagara-on-the-Late. Yup, that is in Canada. In two days time we (my mum, step-dad, and I) will be heading to Ann Arbour in Michigan where I'm STAYING for a whole EIGHT MONTHS. What a ridiculous sentiment, and one that i am definitely not used to having to tell people, despite it being over two months now that I've known I've been going. 

Currently, I've just been on a holiday with my parents around Canada, visiting the CN Tower (check out generic tourist shot below for some evidence), walking around Toronto, gawking at the set locations of Scott Pilgrim etc etc. Today we went and visited Niagara Falls, which is still so jarring in my mind that I'm saying this. I can't believe that me, a 20 y/o from Cornwall, is sat in this obnoxiously nice hotel in Canada and is getting these kind of opportunities? I mean, I'm no way smart enough to be at UCL let alone scamming my way onto their year abroad programs. I still feel like this is one big set up, and Ashton Kutcher will pop out and tell me that I've been pranked or whatever that pop culture reference actually is.

It's just a bit absurd. It's very hot here, which just gives me major holiday mentality, which I've been in for about a week now. The fact that I start university again for my third year at a completely different university on another continent is also absolutely insane.

         

(UPDATE: as this posts I'm actually now in America, in a hotel room, waiting to move into my halls for this Sunday coming. I'm very excited.)

Limecrime Venus 2 Palette

Yup, here we are again with another Limecrime item, this was purchased way back in December along with the original palette but it's taken me this long to get around to reviewing it and actually having a mess around with some of the colours. I'm currently head over heels in love with the pigmentation and colour of the original Venus palette, and would honestly be happy if it was the only palette I used for the rest of my life, so many grungey opportunities in the making.

This palette definitely has more of a range of colours going through it, although Fly, Mustard, Jam and Mud definitely wouldn't look too out of place if placed next to their predecessors. Ther other four colours have gone for a more nature theme, with Pigeon and Boot being really glittery and multi-faceted, especially Pigeon, which is completely gorgeous. Marsh is also a lovely pale green, the likes of which I've not really seen around too much, and lastly Filter is a sky blue, which is perhaps the one that seems the most out of place, and also was one of the most disappointing to swatch when I was trying to take pictures.

Now after several months of use of this palette I've got some firm favourites, and I would whole heartedly recommend buying both this and the original Venus palette as they are worth the money and are oh-so-versatile to create different looks. This palette is also perfect for festivals as the mirror is decent sized and the packaging is good enough that you know your pans are not about to be destroyed during packing (a constant worry of mine). 

Marsh and Mustard are probably my two favourite high impact shades as both can be worn on their own to quite a stunning effect but all of the shadows, even the weaker glitter colours of Boot and Pigeon are beautiful, they just require a bit more of an application to really stick.

Thanks for reading,

Megan x

Sunday Catch Up #7

Gosh well it's definitely been a long time since we've met in this kind of circumstances hm? The majority of these photos haven't even been taken this week due to my horrifically mediocore social life as of recent times (damn you university), but this does kinda show you what I've been up to lately. As I've recently posted about Brighton anyway, that was omitted as I thought it might be overkill to talk about it again, as much as I'd like to.

Clockwise from top left:

1. Seeing Marine & The Diamonds at Camden Roundhouse with some really good pals a couple of weekends ago
2. Some gorgeous lil cacti friends found at a gardening store in Chelsea
3. galavanting aroudn the London Aquarium on a Late on Valentines day
4. selfie-ing it up & loving the way my brows be looking in this photo
5. as I was home for this weekend just gone, obligatory beach photo of Seaton as I made mum visit the beach with me (gotta make sure the sea is still there, right?)
6. Lastly, some little pick ups from Revlon, including this super awesome brow pencil/gel combo that is actually a good shade for me, shock horror.

I'm really upset that I haven't been keeping up with these as they're super nice to look back on after a couple months have passed, so expect more! (fingers crossed)

Thanks for reading!

Brighton for the Weekend

After having living in London for nearly a year and a half, I've definitely started to notice myself becoming a bit immune to the amazing places that I live near. When I visited the south bank recently I realised how little I actually get out and see the city I live in, and also to further that along, how little I've taken advantage of the brilliant travel links that living in London also provides. As I've recently met someone who is just as keen on travelling out of London, it wasn't long before we'd planned a little weekend away together. After several hassles with out sorting out accommodation (our Air BnB cancelled on us two days before we were due to go!), we booked into an actual B&B, took a much later train to Brighton than originally planned, and managed to survive the journey in one piece.

After arriving we had a little walk around, walked along the beach (I had to see the sea, I just miss it too much!), visited a few pubs and then found an amazing Mexican restaurant that served some seriously lovely cocktails while we were waiting for a table. Annoyingly the weather was pretty rubbish, and the only bag that I had wasn't exactly waterproof so I couldn't take my camera with me around on the Saturday, hence the disappointing lack of photos of anything.

On the Sunday it was more of the same, just some casual walking around along the pier and to see the Pavillion in daylight (after only seeing it late at night on our walk back to the hotel). It was just really quite nice to get out of London and away from university and all the stress that's currently waiting around every corner with revision and  coursework deadlines starting to sneak closer and closer. Even though I had a bit of a stress on the Sunday and we had to dash back to London so I could meet up with a friend to go and see Marina & the Diamonds, it was still such a lovely weekend. It is so underrated to just escape stuff for the weekend, and with exams coming up this was probably one of the last times we're gonna get to properly spend time with each other for quite a while.

Brighton itself is also the loveliest place, I just wish I could have spent more time just walking around enjoying it on the Sunday instead of stressing out like I did. The Lanes look like the coolest place, with lots of little cafes offering all sorts of foods, especially of the vegan and vegetarian variety. We're already talking of going back, we've just got to find somewhere in our busy schedules to fit it in!

Thanks for reading! 

PS... Velvet Matte Lipstick Crayons

So you know, during a casual walk through Plymouth Primark I wandered into the make up section and started avidly swatching things onto the back of my hand. I've heard some pretty decent things about the Primark make up range, branded PS..., and so I decided to grab some of these lipstick crayons as they were only £2 each!! I went for the colours Nude, Wine, Deep Purple and Brown, all rather inventively named.

The packaging is rather standard, nothing to really write home about it but it's still quite nice. I'm not too sure how one would go about sharpening the pencil to access more of the lipstick, but I assume it can be done. The gold lettering on the side makes it look a bit more classy than it actually is, and all things considered this doesn't really look like it costs £2, so I wouldn't be ashamed of whipping it out and using it in a public bathroom.

The colours are gorgeous on all four shades that I purchased, and they apply really easily which is a massive plus in my books. They are very very similar to Clinique chubby sticks, with maybe a slightly more opaque and matte finish to the final look. The colours look basically the same on the lips as they do in the swatch above. They do transfer quite easily (as my bf found out pretty quick) and so you do have to re-apply after a while, and they are also pretty drying, but I've only tried them in Winter when dry lips are notoriously bad anyway.

I would definitely recommend investing in a few of these, especially if you're looking to expand the amount of colours you have on a budget! Thanks for reading!

Megan

Shore Projects Watches

I love watches as much as the next person, but for many years I just didn't own one. I'd had plenty when I was younger, but they had either been broken, or I'd just plain given up on wearing them and they'd been left to have the battery run out. Now that I'm meant to be more adult, I thought it was about time that I really considered treating myself to a professional looking watch to make myself look like I'm more in control of my life then I actually am.

Therefore, when trailing through other blogs and instagrams I happened across Shore Projects, a company that not also desings gorgeous watches, but watches that can be customised, I kind of fell in love. You can choose any watch face that you want from the various 'Phases', and all the watches themselves are named after seaside towns of the UK, hence the 'shore' of their name. I really liked this touch a lot, especially coming from a seaside area myself. You can then combine your choice of watch with nearly 30 straps, and they are updating their site with more pretty constantly! (if you check out their front page there is a teaser for some new wool straps which look gorgeous!)

I absolutely adore my watch, and there hasn't been a day since I bought it that it hasn't been fixed to my wrist. I bought Poole, as it seemed the most adaptable to any way that I wished to wear it, however I've recently been drooling over Lulworth and Salcombe for the little pops of colour they could add. Everything about these watches is gorgeous, to the little details on the face, the gorgeous packaging, everything. Each strap comes in its' own little box with a small bag, which you can see in the picture above. When I had some problems with my order, I also got a reply super quickly and the team were so helpful, so I'm so thankful for that too!

I currently have 5 straps, as I bought a gift box that came with four (now seems to only come with three I'm afraid!), and also got a free one for my birthday in the lovely birthday present scheme that they do. I have three leather straps, as I thought they would be the most versatile and professional looking for when I use it at work, I then bought a silicon strap in orange for use when I'm on field work, and lastly I bought a light blue canvas one too! All the straps are so well made, and to change between them is ridiculously easy. As you can see in the photo below, the leather ones definitely show the wear a lot more, but I really like that kind of used look that leather gets, so it's a plus for me!

I would definitely recommend giving them a follow on their instagram also, as it shows the different combinations you can make using the straps and watches.

Thanks for reading

Megan x

LimeCrime Velvetines Trio

I said there was going to be more LimeCrime, and here we are. This was the second item that I ordered over the christmas period, and probably the one that I had the most hesitation with ordering. Firstly: I kinda just went for this, as I wanted two of the colours, but this was definitely the most cost efficient method of buying velvetines. Secondly: I've seen so many videos on youtube that don't exactly cast the velvetines in a good light (eg colours being off, them only being 1/2 full of liquid), so I was really worried that I would have these problems and then have a logistical nightmare trying to return them back to America.

However, as you can see, they arrived perfectly, wrapped beautifully (they also came in a gloriously floral box like the Venus Palettes), and all the colours were as vivid and wonderful as they appear on LimeCrime's website. Phew. So, the colours that were in this trio were Peacock (a blue-green), Beet It (deep wine) and Buffy (a buff nude, ironically). Let's talk formula wise first, and lemme say, I'm a really big fan about everything to do with it. It goes on really creamy, and then dries so that when it comes into contact with anything (food, hair, etc) it does not budge. The absolute dream. It also isn't drying, which is really impressive. I'm such a massive fan of liquid lipsticks, so this really didn't disappoint at all.

Colourwise, all three colours did not disapoint at all. I was so very apprehensive about Peacock as it's not something I would usually give a go but after actually wearing it around inside a few times it's really grown on me. Buffy is an absolute stunner for every day, and I wore it to uni on the first day back and felt so cool the whole time. Beet It is currently the one with the least amount of wear, but I can guarantee on nights out there won't be much else that I'll reach for first.

I'm definitely quite a lot in love with these, and I'm gonna jump at the chance to order some more when I save up some money. What do you guys think? Would you buy some or are there some other liquid lipsticks that you would choose?

Thanks for reading!

Megan x

New Hair

Hey everyone!!

I am back in London and I've just finished my first day back at university as I write this! It's been pretty stressful moving back and having to settle back into living in a shared house, especially as we've had to buy tickets for a field trip to Spain, but I digress...

Last week I went to Toni & Guy in Plymouth, and got my whole hair done, including a cut, which I haven't had done in definitely far too long... My roots were also in a dire need of some attention and basically everything just felt like it needed some real TLC. I went in and just asked for my roots to be bleached, and also to try and get it to a similar level of colour as what I already had on the rest of my hair. So, here's some before pictures....

I mean clearly in these photos I am being posey af, but the main point I want to make here is a) the roots and how kinda awful they were (this was probably about a month before I even got it done so imagine like 1 month more of it...) and b) how long it was. Remarkably, these photos actually make my hair look okay, but in reality it was very fine at the ends, with lots and lots of split ends all over the place. It looked nice occasionally, but often it was so dry and damaged. When I went to the hairdressers, I just asked them to cut enough off that it would be healthy, and in the next photo we can see that it was quite a substantial amount.

This is actually the only high-res photo I have of this (sorry!!) but as you can see it looks so so so much better shorter, it looks thicker and just has a lot more life to it. I'm so happy with the colour as it doesn't even look like I've had a touch up on the roots. There's a few bands of some coppery colours but I'm hoping after a few weeks of using silver shampoo they will all start to fade. I'm honestly just so happy with it and I feel much more content now that I know I haven't got some awful split ends going on. I love rocking a bit of a unnatural colour, and this kinda ticks all the boxes of still being reasonable, yet being different enough you don't see many other people with it.

I hope you all like my new hair too, I know it's not a massive change, but sometimes that's all that's needed to completely change your mindset about your hair, and that's really what's happened here.

Thank you so much for reading!

LimeCrime - The Venus Palette

Firstly, lemme apologise for these not so perfectly shot photos, as I definitely thought the light was better but alas, the Cornish winter light has not been kind so this was the best I could do! Secondly, I feel a bit apprehensive showing this brand as there is such controversy surrounding them, especially at the beginning of 2015. However, given the amount of time that had passed since then, and how cheap the palettes were in the bundle (also free UK shipping) I thought, why not? So yes, welcome to the first of 3 posts I thought I'd write about what I got, the next two will be up in the next couple of days when I get around to swatching the other products. Oh, to not be a lazy student.

Firstly, let's talk packaging and how I found LimeCrime to be in general. Honestly, I found them to be completely fine. I checked out with PayPal just to be safe, and that was that, the parcel then took about a week to get here, which was incredibly impressive considering it was ordered over the Christmas period and it had to get over the Atlantic ocean to get here first. It also arrived in the cutest little boxes which you can see in the background a few of the photos. This one I've actually turned inside too as when you get it it's all white, then you open it and suddenly it's this beautiful flowery inside. It then came wrapped in yellow tissue paper and bubble wrap so I was very impressed by this. Both palettes were also wrapped up separately to each other too. I definitely feel like a lot of effort when in this to ensure it arrived to me safely, which I was really impressed with.

Now onto the actual product, and everything about it. Firstly, let me just put it right out there now that the packaging is absolutely gorgeous. The case is almost like a hard back book covering, and even has LimeCrime written on the spine so you could even store it that way and it would look nice. I was also really surprised by how robust it feels too, and obviously do I need to talk about the design on the front? Clearly it is totally beautiful. The mirror inside is also of useful size for once too, which is great. I mean, I never really use the inside mirrors but I appreciate the thought of it being a useable size.

The eye shadows themselves are nicely spaced out, meaning I don't end up with tonnes of one colour mixed in with another (does this happen to anyone else??). The names are all written in gold writing too, which matches the cover which is a nice touch. The colours are all pretty decently pigmented, and there is a nice variation within the colours while still sticking to the 'grunge' theme of the palette. The darker shades like Venus and Muse are probably my favourites, as the lighter matte shades were just a little bit harder to get the colour pay off I wanted but as you can see in the picture below it's still pretty impressive! The two shimmer shades are also really interesting, as they are quite multi-faceted and photos just couldn't really do them justice.

All things considered I am really happy that I impulsed bought this the way I did, as I don't really have any other shades like this at all and I'm super excited to give some of these a go when I finally emerge from my house and start using make up again (ahahaha....).

Shades from left to right -Venus, Shell, Aura, Creation, Icon, Rebirth, Divine and Muse

Keep a look out for some more posts on what I got from LimeCrime and maybe a make up using the palettes too. Thanks for reading.

Megan