the daily face

Who here has time to spare on a morning? Nobody? Me neither. That's why I've found myself a good - yet quick - make up routine to ensure I don't look like pure garbage, but still give myself time to catch my train to work.

The early morning is no time to play around with foundations, so I always make sure I stick to something that I know works well. After priming, I have been reaching for the Bourjois Healthy Mix Radiance Reveal Foundation (review here) in the shade Vanilla. Even though this is one of the lightest colours in the range, it's still a touch too dark for me so I always make sure to blend well (praise the Lord for the Real Techniques Buffing Brush!) and take it down the neck slightly. I love the light and dewy finish of this foundation, and I find that it really does inject a shot of radiance to the skin. I'll then cover those pesky under eye circles and any blemishes that may be rearing their ugly heads with my favourite Origins Plantscriptions Concealer (review here.) Seriously, don't be put off by the 'Anti-Ageing' title - this stuff is pure gold so go try it out if you're in the market for a new concealer.

For eyes, I keep things fairly simple during the week. A touch of the bottom right shade from my Rimmel Eyeshadow Palette in Brixton Brown is the perfect "barely there" taupe-y grey that adds a subtle touch of definition to the eyes. I've been really impressed by this little palette actually, the shadows are velvety soft and blend super well. A quick curl and a few coats of the Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless Mascara (review here) on top and the Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara on the bottom, duh, and my peepers are good to go!

Sometimes, if I feel like it, I'll add a little colour to my brows in the form of the Maybelline Master Shape Brow Pencil (review here) in the shade Soft Brown. Then most days I will add a clear brow gel just to shape, frame the face and set them in place all day. I'm not very picky when it comes to brow gels, in fact my favourite thing to use is the Natural Collection Lash Care Mascara (review here.) It's perfectly clear and I find it holds the hairs really well. Plus it costs less than two pound, and I'm a sucker for a bargain!

Finally, to add a little bit of colour to my face I have been loving the Look Make Me Blush Blusher in the shade Rosy. This is a really pretty pink shade with shimmer running through it, so it kinda doubles up as a highlighter to add some glow to the cheeks. It's actually half price at the minute, so it'll only set you back £4 (told you I loved a bargain!)

Aaaaand that is pretty much it for my daily face! It seems like I wrote a lot there, but trust me I can get this routine nailed in less than 15 minutes - which is pretty good for somebody who takes half an hour to roll out of bed on a morning!

Do you have a morning make up routine?

Liv xox

absent

I apologise for the lack of content a lately, things seem to have been a little crazy recently.

I was hospitalised for a few days around two weeks ago, but thankfully i'm a lot better now - even if I did have to cancel most of my birthday plans and spend the day sulking out of frustration. However, a little trip to the quaint village of Nettlebed in Oxfordshire helped relax me a little and it was just really nice to get away from everything for a few days after all that chaos. But anyway, hopefully I can get my blog posts up and running again very soon.

On a side note, this photo is the beautifully colourful flowers that my friends bought for me when they came to visit. How pretty are they?! They're just starting to open up now and really brighten up my bedroom.

Have a happy and healthy Tuesday, everyone!

Liv xox

sweet nineteen

*Happy birthday to meeeee!*

Okay so I turned the big 1-9 today which is pretty darn scary. I remember starting high school (aged 12) like it was yesterday! Time seems to be flying past me as I get older.

I had lots of plans to spend time with my friends and family this weekend, however I've had to cancel pretty much all of them as I currently lie in hospital. Not exactly what I had in mind, but health must come first.. I guess.

Anyway, have a wonderful day and hopefully I can get this blog running again very soon! You can also follow me on Instagram @teapluscake and Twitter @oliviatoddd, (if you want!)

Liv xox

date night with russell howard

For Christmas, Jack bought us both a pair of tickets to go see the comedian Russell Howard and his show Wonderbox at the Sheffield Motorpoint Arena on Saturday evening. It was a lovely surprise, and we decided to go a little early to make a day of it!

We went shopping first of all, but didn't end up buying anything. There are so many nice things I want from Office, Topshop and Zara at the moment but I bit my tongue and stopped myself from throwing my debit card at the cashiers.

After that, we were hungry for some lunch. Instead of going to the usual places we eat at, we decided to visit a little restaurant called Giraffe. First of all, the decor in there is stunning! The lights were so cool and the bar area had an awesome chilled out vibe which I noticed instantly.

For food, I ordered Chilli Beef Enchiladas which were oven baked corn tortillas that were stuffed with tasty chilli beef and a herby rice. The combination of this was just insane, so good. It was also topped with a tomato salsa and toasted seeds and then served with a seasonal salad which was nice. Jack had a BBQ Ribs & Chicken Combo. Oh my lord, this was so nice. It was half a rack of glazed ribs accompanied by a piri-piri grilled 1/4 chicken (warning: super hot), some corn on the cob, creamy slaw and skin on fries.

Seriously, the best meal I've eaten in a long long time. And the cocktails they made were served in rustic little glass jars! Too cute!

After that, we rolled ourselves over to the Arena and spent 45 minutes trying to park. *sigh*

But the show itself was amazing, that guy is so funny! I'd highly recommend going to see him if you manage to get tickets. We were the second block on the floor so we had an awesome view!

Overall, great day and evening! I had such a fun time!

What did you do this weekend?

Liv xox

v05 dry texturising spray

Everyone wants big hair. Maybe not so much Sandy from Grease but a big of texture and grip is always appreciated. I wrote about the Instant Oomph Powder here last month and said just how much I really liked it, so when my friend recommended I try the Dry Texturising Spray I hurriedly went out and purchased a can!

This claims to work on all hair types and instantly add "amazing texture and finish" to your hair. It also says that it enhances waves to give you a sexy, un-done look. My hair is quite fine after being washed, but there is a lot of it so it kind of just sits flat against my head if I don't use any products on it. I like to let my hair dry naturally for a bit of texture is the ends, and then spray some of this through the roots for a bit of a boost.

V05 say this is formulated with sea salt to add a bit of grip to your hair as well as making styles last longer. I do notice some grittiness after I use this, but not as much as when I use the Oomph Powder. However, the can delivers a really fine spritz of white mist which doesn't leave any dreaded dusty marks in the hair and once applied, just give your roots a good ruffle with your fingertips for a bit of added body.

This makes those flat-haired mornings a little bit more bearable and I do find that this is really nice to use on a evening after work if my hair is down to sort of refresh my locks!

Overall, I do like this product but I wasn't too overwhelmed. It's only £3.79 from Boots so it is worth a go if you want to try it out. Maybe my hair is just too fine for it to do anything amazing to it, perhaps ladies with thicker tresses may like this a lot more!

Have you tried this Dry Texturising Spray before?

Liv xox

pancake day

*HAPPY PANCAKE DAY*

I hope you had a lovely Pancake Day yesterday and made some yummy treats for yourselves. Personally, this holiday is up their with Christmas for me as I just love the whole tradition we have in my house! Does anyone else have little traditions for this day?

My mum and dad made us all some really light but slightly fluffy pancakes and flipped them around the kitchen like total professionals. We set out our toppings in little bowls which included orange segments, sliced strawberries, sweet caster sugar, golden syrup, chocolate spread, lemon juice and of course, we all had a large glass of cold milk to wash it all down! 

On mine, I filled two cooked pancakes with strawberries and a light dusting of sugar. I then folded them over (like a sort of Calzone) and added fresh strawberries and a large helping of sticky golden syrup. Oooohh myyyy laaawwd. So good!

I hope you had a great day and enjoyed your pancakes! What do you serve yours with?

Liv xox

thrift shopping tips

I love a good Saturday morning spent browsing the spaces in the thrift shops in my local town. I love the idea of finding little gems amongst the things that other people have considered "useless" in their lives. There are so many different types of charity shops and vintage stalls that sell second hand goods, but instead of turning your nose up at them.. why not have a rummage around and see what you can give a second life to? It's the best feeling!

I think the most important tip I can give you for finding good pieces in charity shops, is that you must first accept that not every trip to a thrift shop will be successful. Sometimes, stores will be full of junk that doesn't catch your eye. A leftover piece of lego, a right shoe with no leftie, a melted down candle. Sure, these things may never get the chance to be loved again, but that's the deal with thrift shops. You've gotta keep checking back to see what new bits they have been donated.

Make sure you give yourself enough time to take a good look around your charity shop of choice. This rule probably applies for any shopping trip. There's nothing worse than getting stressed out trying to fly through the rails because you need to rush off somewhere. Shopping should be a happy thing! Schedule your thrift shopping for a free afternoon or weekend and you'll give yourself a much better chance at finding something great and having fun at the same time. 

Look at broken pieces as a little project. That bag with the broken strap for 50p? Buy it and fix it back up to working order! I once found a black leather NEXT satchel for £1.50, but the zip was broken. I took it to my Nannan and she fixed it good as new! Some things may just need a little bit of TLC to get back into shape.

Have an open mind. Sure, that glass bowl looks super cute but probably wouldn't be very good at eating your Weetabix out of. However, it would look amazing as a jewellery dish! Perhaps that scarf is a little worn out to be teamed with your biggest Winter coat, but if you cut it into a little head scarf you'll look all 50's chic! Be open to the possibilities of an item and you might just end up snapping up some awesome pieces for your home and wardrobe!

One man's trash is another man's treasure. This is a great saying and a lot of people bear this is mind when shopping in charity stores. However, this phrase doesn't necessarily mean that this particular man's trash is your treasure. Everybody has different tastes, but if you stick at it and keep searching you will find a gem!

Hopefully I've given you some extra tips for the next time you go into a charity shop, or maybe I've inspired you to walk into the dusty vintage store you walk past every day! Shopping in places like that is so much fun and you really can pick up some amazing bargain!

Happy thrifting!

Liv xox

maybelline master shape brow pencil in soft brown

Although I'm not one for drawing on full eyebrows in the morning, I do find that filling them in slightly does frame the face and enhance your features. I could easily go without brow pencils / pens but having a good one on hand is always... handy!

I picked up the Maybelline Master Shape Brow Pencil the other day when I was in town for a few errands. There was only two shades (Dark Blonde and Soft Brown) and I obviously went for the darker one. You can see that it applies fairly sheer, but you can build it up or use a softer hand to suit your own preference. This shade is a pretty good match to my natural brows, maybe just slightly more chocolate brown and my hairs are more dark brown, but it still works well!

This may sound strange, but what drew me to this product the most was the fact that it had a little spoolie on the end. The only "brush" that I have ever used on my brows is a washed old mascara wand which I find works amazing! The bristles really grab the hairs and shape them perfectly and I would then use my pencil to fill in, but I wanted a product that was double-ended so that it would be easier and less messy than taking two separate brow products when travelling.

The spoolie on this is good too, it shapes really well and smoothes the hair over so they look super neat and tidy which is always good! I wanted to include a photograph so you can see how well it holds onto the hairs, as sometimes spoolies can just brush over and not really do anything to the eyebrows.

As for the actual pencil, Maybelline claim that this is a "unique natural wax formula" that is "safe for sensitive eyes" is "ophthalmologist tested" and also "contact lens safe." I can't vouch for the last two claims but I can say that the waxy pencil is a joy to use! Sometimes they can be way too soft and you can end up with mega dark brows that looks like your two year old cousin has drawn them on. This isn't like that at all, it's slightly harder but not too solid that makes it difficult to use. A light hand delivers a nice wash of colour to the brows and I just gently fill them in to darken them up and then follow with a clear brow gel. Done!

It's also super easy to sharpen and the slightly hard pencil means you don't end up with it all over your sharpener!

Overall, this pencil is really good for a price that is less than your lunch or morning coffee! You can buy it for £2.99 from Boots or Superdrug but always check for offers first!

Have you tried the Maybelline Master Shape Brow Pencil?

Liv xox 

welcoming march

Already, it feels like 2014 is wizzing past me. It seems like it was only yesterday that we were putting up the Christmas tree and singing jolly carols, yet today marks the 1st of March! Wut.

However, there are some exciting times lined up for me this month that I am very much looking forward to such as going to go see the comedian Russell Howard in Sheffield tonight, turning 19 on the 10th and having a lovely long weekend in Oxford with Jack in a few weeks. Aw, having plans is lovely!

The weather is lovely as I type this, the sun is shining but there's still a little chill in the air which makes it a little fresh and uplifting and I just feel very content and calm (which, fyi, is unusual for me.)

I sort of feel like I know where I am in life and I know what I'm doing, if that makes sense. I work for an amazing company with amazing people doing something that I really like. I don't know if that's what I want to do forever, but who cares if I enjoy it right now. My family are forever supporting me in everything, my friends are amazing and my boyfriend is equally as incredible.

I feel so lucky to have the life that I have and feeling happy, as odd as it is for me, is a nice feeling.

I hope you are all having a good day and are looking forward to the next month ahead of us!

Liv xox