Times are a'changin'.

Hey there lovelies! 

So, rumour has it that Google Friend Connect will be no more come Monday 1st July. You can still follow me on Bloglovin by clicking on the icon to the left of the screen to keep up to date with my rambles. 

I'm in the process of moving out of my student digs and back home so blog posts are few and far between at the moment, however from the beginning of July they should pop up more regularly again as I will have oodles more free time to play with!! July....wow this year is moving way too fast for my liking!! Anyhoo this is a just a courtesy update to let you know to follow me on bloglovin or via twitter (@thegemmine) if you want to keep up to date with blogposts and twitterings! 

Toodles for now!! 

And because no post should be without an image, this made me chuckle... 

What's On My Face | The Everyday Edit.

Since breaking my finger, it's been made clear to me just how much I rely on my left hand for simple things like putting on my make up. Because of this, I haven't been switching my make-up around as much as usual, and have been using the same look, as it's easier. 

Bases

- Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in 'Soft Beige': This is my go-to foundation for this time of year, as it gives a nice medium finish, with an SPF factor; always important!

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer: This concealer has a peachy tint, which is great for counteracting the dark circles, although I wish it had a little more coverage. 

Soap & Glory Trick and Treatment Concealer: I'm suffering from some pretty impressive dark circles at the minute, hence the two concealers. I like to use this one on top of my Rimmel one for extra coverage. This one has a slight shimmer which illuminates the area, making dark circles appear reduced. 

Contour & Blush

Bourjois Chocolate Bronzing Powder: At the minute, i'm favouring a more matte finish, which means a bronzer with shimmer is a no-go. This one from Bourjois only has a very slight shimmer, which isn't really noticeable, and can be used as a sheer layer of warmth, or built up to create a more contoured look. 

Revlon Matte Blush in 'Rose Rapture': I bought this about 3/4 months ago, and have made a serious dent in it already. I absolutely love this blush - it's perfect for everyday wear, and as it has a matte finish, it's not too showy for the daytime, which is what I prefer. 

Eyes

It's About Prime Eye Primer: I bought this on a whim from Soap & Glory when they had an offer on. I think it retails at around £9, and I bought it as a cheaper alternative to the Urban Decay Primer Potion. It does create a base which helps the shadows to stay a few hours longer, however once this has run out, I think i'll be going back to the Urban Decay counter. 

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette: I'm not going to bore you with yet another rave about how amazing these shadows are, I think it speaks for itself as to why these are a staple in my routine. 

Benefit They're Real Mascara: Again, there's no point telling you how amazing this mascara is, all I'll say is you need this in your life. 

Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara: The only reason I've included this mascara is because I'm trying to use it up. It's one of the worst mascaras I've used in a long time. Not only is the formula dry and flakey, it just does nothing for my eye lashes other than make them clump together. 

Lips

ELF Studio Lip Exfoliator: This lip scrub is so convenient. It comes in lipstick form, which is so easy to use, and doesn't involve scooping product out of a tub, making priming my lips for lipstick so easy. It also leaves behind a balm-like finish, which moisturises. 

Calvin Klein Delicious Truth Lipstick in 'Illusion': I've been doing the minimal make up look thing lately, and this lipstick is the perfect colour for that effortless look. It's sheer, yet has a gorgeous light pink tone which just brightens up the face. The formula is very moisturising and doesn't feel too heavy on the lips. 

So there we have it, my everyday face of the moment. 

What have you been wearing lately? 

NOTD: Sinful Colours 'Be Happy'.

Hello lovelies! 

So this last week has been....eventful. My Degree Show preparations had been underway all week, ready for Friday evenings preview night, which I was quite excited for. Thursday afternoon, however, silly old me decided to trap my finger in a door and ended up in A&E for 3 hours. It turns out I've broken my left index finger and had to have my entire nail taken off. =( If you follow my twitter (@thegemmine), you'll know this, and know how difficult it's making everyday life. Luckily for me, my lovely boyfriend has been waiting on me hand and foot, even to the point of helping me to wash my hair! What a sweetie. 

Anyhoo, today my finger hasn't been hurting AS much as the last few days, and I've felt a little more perky, so treated my nine remaining nails to a change of polish. Let me introduce you to 'Be Happy'.

The Sinful Colors range have recently been added to the Boots ever expanding aisles, and for the bargain price of £1.99 a bottle, I can totally see why bloggers are going crazy for these little polishes. 

Firstly, the range of colours is incredible; there must be over 40 different shades to choose from! It took me a good 15 minutes to actually narrow down my selection. I came out with three shades in the end, A gorgeous coral pink 'Island Coral', and creamy coral 'Orange Cream' and the most amazing minty, turquoise 'Be Happy', which I've decided to debut on my nails this evening. 

As you can see from the above swatch, the colour in the bottle is exactly what you get on the nails. Being so cheap, I was expecting a good 3 coats to get an opaque finish, however I only needed 2 coats for the finish you can see in the image. I wont say that these are the best nail polishes in the world; the formula can be quite thick and gloopy, however 2 coats applied thinly and allowed to dry properly before going about your day (not easy for somebody impatient like me), gives good coverage that lasts at least 2 days before chipping and tip wear occurs. For £1.99, I'd say that's value for money, and I imagine more shades will be making their way into my collection very soon! 

As my Degree Show is in full swing now, my sculptures are installed, and I've received multiple compliments on them, I thought I'd give you a sneak peak....

I'd love to hear what you think of my sculptures, so feel free to drop me a comment or tweet. I always reply so do check back! 

Which Sinful Colors have taken your fancy? 

Toodles! 

MAC Lipstick in 'Coral Bliss'. | The Review

Hello! 

So today's post is on none other than the lipstick I have been lusting over for the past month or so: MAC's Coral Bliss. 

As always, MAC's packaging is sleek and sophisticated; a black bullet with slight shimmer and silver 'MAC' detail. I have always been a fan of this packaging; it's unmistakable as being MAC. 

For those of you who don't own any MAC lipsticks, the smell is out of this world. It smells like vanilla. It's actually so refreshing to find a lipstick that doesn't smell plastic-y!! 

Coral Bliss is a gorgeous bright coral with orange and peach tones, however translates onto the lips as a much more sheer wash of colour, as you can see below in the swatch. The cremesheen formula is moisturising and glides onto the lips easily. I would suggest wearing a balm underneath just to make sure that it doesn't cling to any dry bits. With one sweep across the lips, a light wash of colour is transferred to the lips, however this can be built up to create a slightly bolder lip. 

This is such a gorgeous colour, perfect for summer, and I have a feeling this will be a staple in my make up routine through the summer months with a peach or coral cheek. 

Toodles! 

They See Me Haulin' | Collective Beauty Haul

Hey there girlies! 

Today's post actually scared me a little. It's amazing how much you buy in the space of a few weeks without realising! This doesn't even include the clothes I've splurged on! Oh well, at least I'll look preened and polished when I have no money aye!? 

These are my beauty purchases from the past month... 

Batiste Dry Shampoo 'Tropical': Every girl needs a good dry shampoo at hand for those days where your hair just needs a little pick me up. I have been using Superdrugs own brand as they had a 3 for 1 offer a while back, but if I'm honest, it wasn't very good. I picked this one up, having used and loved Batiste before. I've only ever used the original scent, however this tropical version is amazing; it smells like coconuts and the smell lingers on your hair for most of the day! 

Garnier Body Hydrating Firming Lotion: If you read my blog regularly you'll know how much I LOVE Garniers body lotion offerings; especially the gradual tanner. I'm almost out of that one, and picked this up as it was on offer. It claims to make your skin look smoother in 7 days....We shall see.

No7 Beautiful Skin Hot Cloth Cleanser: I actually also picked up the Superdrug Brightening Hot Cloth Cleanser on offer for a mere £2.95 (bargain!) aswell but forgot to photograph it. The No7 hot cloth cleanser was picked up a while ago with a trusty £5 off voucher - Thankyou Boots! I've been using this for about a week so far, and haven't had to reach for my eye make up remover once. This does the job all on it's own - even with stubborn waterproof mascara! 

Superdrug Vitamin E SPF 15 Moisturising Day Cream: As the days are finally getting warmer (yay!) I've been looking for a cream with SPF in it to use in conjuction with my Good Things mattifying moisturiser. Although I tend to lean towards combination/oily skin in the summer, I do still have the odd dry patch, so the vitamin e cream provides enough moisture to combat dryness, whilst my Mattifying cream takes away any unwanted shine. 

Vitamin E SPF 15 Illuminating Eye Cream: My eye cream has gone walkabouts. I have no idea where it could have wandered off to, but either way this is my replacement. It has a slight shimmer to it, which illuminates the eye and brightens up any dark circles, and the SPF is always welcome some summertime. 

Revlon Cushion Brush: I was due to replace my trusty old Remington hair brush, and was looking for a paddle brush, however came across this Revlon one on Fragrance Direct for a mere £1.99 so thought why not. So far, so good! 

Orlando Professional Teasing Brush: As my hair is long, sometimes the weight of it can drag the hair down, making it look flat, so I occasionally backcomb my hair to add more volume at the roots. Also purchased at Fragrance Direct for £1.99, this teasing brush is just what I needed. 

Illamasqua Blusher 'Lover': You can find my full review of this blush here. It's a peachy matte finish blush which looks gorgeous when applied. 

Dainty Doll 'You Are My Sunshine' Blusher: Again from Fragrance Direct (Had a bit of a haul there alone!) is this gorgeous blusher from Nicola Roberts make up range; Dainty Doll. I'm planning a full review on this, but it's a gorgeous coral with flecks of gold running through, very similar to Nars Orgasm.

Sinful Colours Nail Polish: On a recent trip to town I found myself browsing in Boots and came across Sinful Colours. I'd heard a few bloggers rave about these so thought I'd use my advantage card points to treat myself to a few. I picked up from left to right: Be Happy, Island Coral and Orange Cream. I've only used Island Coral so far, and I love it. The colours are amazing, and I'm planning a review with swatches of them shortly! 

W7 Eye Shadow Brush: This was a rush purchase really as my eyeshadow brush from ELF had broken, so I needed a quick replacement. I'm not sure how I feel about this one yet, having only been using it for a few days, however so far, i'm not OVERLY impressed. 

MAC 187 Duo Fibre Brush: I actually found this on eBay, as I was NOT about to fork out over £30 on one brush. I bought it shortly after my 217 purchase, and was so impressed I decided I wanted more, however I have yet to find the perfect job for this. I thought it would be good for stippling in foundation, however my Real Techniques buffing brush does a better job. I did try it with cream blush yesterday and found it did a good job so maybe it will be destined for that... 

MAC 217 Blending Brush: How have I lived 23 years without owning this?! For £17, this is definitely a pricey purchase, however I do feel it's worth it as I can't see myself needing another blending brush. Ever. 

Butter London Nail Polish 'Jaffa': I found this by chance on the Debenhams website on sale for a bargainous £3.40! That's almost a £9 saving. It went into my basket faster than you can say 'Jaffa'. 'Jaffa' is a gorgeous bright orange verging on coral. I have found that the formula is quite thin, however I want to do a full post on this soon so i'll expand later. 

Essie Nail Polish 'Mojito Madness': I was looking for a minty green colour to replace my Rimmel Lycra Pro 'Peppermint', as I've lent it to my sister, which means I may never get it back, and online, Mojito Madness looked like a contender. Upon opening the package however, it's a lot darker than I had thought, so I'm not sure whether it will be a regular on my nails or not. I haven't actually tried it yet so I will hold judgement until I do. 

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick 'Notting Hill Nude': I have this lipstick in the shade 'Soft Coral' and loved it, so picked it up in a lovely soft nude, only to get home and realise it's almost identical to Rimmel Lasting Finish Kate '03'. Bad times. Notting Hill Nude is very slightly lighter in tone, and I do like nude, so I imagine I'll get enough wear from them both. 

MAC Creamsheen Lipstick 'Coral Bliss': If you follow me on twitter you'll have probably seen my many tweets moaning that this was out of stock and I couldn't get hold of it but really wanted it. Well it FINALLY came back in stock on the Debenhams website so I snapped it up at the same time as my Butter nail polish. I was right to have lusted over it for so long. It is gorgeous, and it's been my most used lip product ever since I received it a week ago. The most perfect peachy coral with the right amount of moisture and shine, which doesn't cling to your dry bits too much, giving a lovely and even finish to the lips. This one will be a definite summer favourite of mine. 

Calvin Klein Delicious Truth Lipstick 'Illusion': I forgot to photograph this one, but i'm wearing it now and it's no nice I have to add it in. A very sheer peachy pink, this lipstick is almost like wearing a gloss, and it's absolutely perfect for days where you just want a slight wash of colour on your lips without having to crack out a full coverage lipstick. 

So that's all my beauty buy's over the past few weeks. 

Have you been splurging lately? 

May Empties.

Hey there lovelies! 

It's Friday!! I have a lovely weekend of chilling in the sun in store for me, and hope you all have something equally as relaxing to keep you occupied on these few days of freedom before the dreaded Monday comes around once again! 

Today's post is my May Empties! So without further ado, here are the products I've used up during the month of May.. 

Garnier Mineral Anti White Marks 48 Hour Deodorant: OK, so nothing too special here, just deodorant. Garnier is a brand I have recently fallen in love with for their amazing body lotions and I have to say this deodorant did not disappoint either! I'm usually one for picking up whatever's on offer, but I definitely will be repurchasing this in the future - offer or not. It smells really nice and fresh, and does a good job of deodorising too! 

Soft & Gentle Extra Fresh Lotus and Watermelon Deodorant: I have repurchased this a few times, however usually because this brand are on offer a lot! I don't find anything particularly amazing about this, it does the job, but that's about it. 

Lush Herbalism Fresh Cleanser: This has been my morning cleanser since January, so to only run out of it in May is really amazing and value for money - I think it cost around £6. It's a solid cleanser - basically you take a pea-sized amount and mix it with water to create a paste, which you then use to cleanse your face. I have really enjoyed using this, and the fresh, herby ingredients have really helped to keep my skin clear. I'm currently using The Body Shop's Tea Tree Facial Wash and hate it, so I imagine a repurchase of this, or another from Lush's range may be on the cards for me very soon. 

Champneys Conditioning Cleansing Milk: This has been my nighttime cleanser for the past 2 or so months. It's a thick, milky cream, and although not so great for removing mascara, especially that stubborn Benefit They're Real, it's a nice gentle cleanser which left my skin feeling lovely and soft. It's a good little cleanser, and I'd be happy to use it again, however it doesn't beat my current No7 Hot Cloth Cleanser! 

Avon Skin So Soft Hand Cream: I suffer from quite dry hands so hand cream is a necessity in my life. I've been using this tube, and it's lasted me a long time, however I haven't been too impressed with this. It's a little thin for my liking, so sinks in too quickly leaving my hands feeling dry still. I need something thicker in texture so unfortunately, I won't be repurchasing. 

The Body Shop Mango Body Butter: As with all TBS body butters, the formula is amazing, and really provides deep moisturising. The mango version is no exception. Not only does it have a gorgeously fruity scent, it really does a great job of giving my skin the moisture it needs. 

Kate Moss 'Kate' Perfume: Finishing perfumes are like waiting for buses, they all finish at once. I have 2 or 3 other perfumes also almost empty! I'm rubbish at describing scents but here goes: it's almost a deep floral scent, however somehow has fresh, fruity notes. It's one of my go-to fragrances when I don't feel like a heavy perfume. 

Herbal Essences Ignite My Colour Shampoo: Herbal essences will always be one of my go-to brands for everyday haircare. I have my hair highlighted every so often to perk up my natural blonde, which, although I try to stay away from bleach nowadays, still puts my locks through quite the ordeal. It's important to look after your hair, whether it be dyed or natural, and I find that Herbal Essences is a brand I trust, and also a brand which does what it says on the tin! 

What did you use up this month? 

Toodles! 

Illamasqua Blusher in 'Lover': The Review

Hi! 

Illamasqua is a brand I have been lusting after for a while now. I think Beth from Birds Words blogged about one of these blushers and ever since reading that an Illamasqua blush has been on my radar, however the £18 price tag did put me off a little; being a drugstore kinda gal, I'm just not used to forking out that amount for any kind of make up! In fact, I've only recently taken the plunge and forked out MAC prices... 

Anyway, going off topic as usual, a week or two ago, as i'm sure anyone who follow Illamasqua on Twitter knows that they had a flash 50% sale for one hour one Friday night. Every blogger and their nan must have been on that site trying to get their beauty mitts on something as the server was mental and crashed so many times! I managed, after about 40 minutes of refreshing the page, to get my hands on a blusher at the bargain price of £9! May I introduce to you my new love in life - 'Lover'. 

The packaging of Illamsaqua products are sleek, black plastic casing with a clear lid which is handy for when you have a couple of the same product as you can see which colour the blush is. I really like the shape of the blush, it's quirky, yet looks very sophisticated, and the shiny black casing gives it an air of classiness. 

The colour of this particular shade, 'Lover', is a gorgeous matte peach with a hint of coral. I have quite a few shimmery coral shades but sometimes I feel they can be a bit too much for every day wear, and matte shades seem to be much more wearable. 

The shade is quite a bit lighter than I am used to for a blush, but I love that. It means I can create a very subtle look, however I would suggest using a very light hand with this as it's very highly pigmented, and you could easily end up looking like a doll. The only downside to this product is that there is a lot of product fallout. I have found however, that if you simply dab the blush with your brush rather than sweep, there seems to be less fallout, but that's my only downfall. 

Overall, I'm really impressed with this blush, and for £9, I think I really did pick up a bargain blush. So far, Lover is definitely earning it's place in my make up bag! 

Do you own any Illamasqua blushes? Which are your favourite? 

The Weekend Post: A Day Late.

Hey there! 

I hope you've all had a lovely weekend in the sun! I know I have! Friday night was my end of Uni Fantanimal party. As i'm an art student, I did a foundation course and at the end, we had a party named 'Fantanimal'. Fantasy/Animal....gedddit? Anyway, a group of us from foudation are still good friends so we decided to mark the end of an era with Fantanimal part II. It was a really nice night and a good chance to all get together and do one last crazy fancy dress night! 

Saturday we went to the Riverside festival to have a walk around, watch the canal boats and listen to some live bands, which was right near my flat, and then in the evening went to a friends house for some drinks, nibbles and a good ol' sing song on Singstar. 

Finally, on Sunday Arron took me to a farm! I am such a child when it comes to anything involving animals so this was right up my street and I enjoyed every second of it, especially getting to see all of the spring babies! 

I've never done a weekend post before, but had such a lovely time this weekend I thought I'd share a few of my favourite snaps from Sunday with you all! 

| A Wolf and a Lion | Me and Arron | Stroking the Runaway Sheep | Greedy Goat | Arron and the Fluffy Sheep | The Horse That Just Didn't Care | Crazy-Eyed Sheep | Row of Piglets | The Cutest Little Piglet I Ever Did See! | Poser Piggy |

Hope you enjoyed this post, a little different, but I thought I'd give you a little snippet of my life outside of The Gem Mine! 

What have you guys been up to this weekend?