My Perfect Imperfections Tag!

Hello everyone,
                        Today I wanted to do a blog post but I was unsure of what I wanted to write for you all! I finally did a bit of research and found a tag that I could do for you! I'm going to do the perfect imperfections tag! In this tag you explain three things that you dislike about yourself and three things you like about yourself and why. I do want to say that before we get started that I do not absolutely hate anything about myself and I do not absolutely love anything about myself, I like and dislike things, but not hate and love, (those are very strong words). If we were all perfect there would be no room for improvement. Also the things we dislike about ourselves are something that someone out there might be unfortunate enough to have lost or not have, eg. limbs or even things like nice skin or they might have some kind of injury or disability caused by something unthinkable. So, what I am trying to say is, be thankful if you have full mobility or if you have nice skin or even just all of your body parts intact and unharmed because someone out there won't do and also be thankful that you can live each day in the way you do! So, after that pretty deep introduction, lets get into it!

Things I dislike about myself:

1. The tops of my arms. I really dislike showing them because they are extremely dry and bumpy and red and they just don't look very nice or feel nice to me and I just don't really like them, including my elbows.
2. I do not tan. this may be considered a good thing because too much tanning and sun can lead to wrinkles, ageing and sometimes even skin cancer. But once or twice, when I come back from abroad I would like a tan. Not a burn. Not pasty white skin. A TAN! I guess the real reason why I am mad is because I burn easily too so I'm either as white as snow or as red as a telephone box.
3. I am a huge worrier. If I worry about something, I will think about non stop and I obsess over it until I'm sick with worry. This holds me back from doing new things that I'm nervous about. It really does annoy me.

Things I like about myself:

1. My hair. I love my hair length, colour and thickness. It's just right for me and I honestly don't think I will ever dye my hair! 
2. My eyes. I get a lot of compliments on my eyes and I think that is because of their colour and my eyelashes are quite long. the colour of my eyes is a light blue with orange in the middle.
3. My behaviour in situations. I love being busy and I love how I can chat to anyone and figure out situations and sort things out. I am really good when everyone is panicking and can come up with plans to help people or situations by helping everyone to do their jobs. I'm pretty good at helping out and I can take charge of situations and figure out real life problems.

Thanks for reading,

Olivia xx

Review and Comparison ||| Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream!

Hello everyone,
                        As promised in my Sick Day Essentials blog post, I am going to review a product that I have been trying for the last few weeks and I wanted to give my thoughts on it! So today I am reviewing the, *Takes deep breath*, Maybelline New York Dream Pure BB 8-in-1 BB Cream For Oily Skin. (I had to link both of the products on the Maybelline website. You cannot buy it on there but you can buy it on Boots or Superdrug because those links were not working for some reason! And all links open in new tabs!) The 'Oily Skin' part is the most important on this product. As you can tell from the packaging of the original to this one, they are different. The first BB cream they made had nude and pink packaging. Whereas this one has nude and blue. So now that we have gotten over the basics, lets get into the full review!

As I said before the packaging is different for which one you get, so make sure to pick the right one. Story-time... *Opens book and starts to read and thinks back to summer 2012* Last year I heard the beauty community going wild about BB creams and how the Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream was the best one on the market. As a beginner in makeup I wanted something light for school and summer and decided to invest £7.99 in this product. At the time my skin was so oily and I wanted to see if it would work on my skin. It didn't. It didn't show up at all, the colours were very orange, it was very oily, it covered nothing and it didn't last long either (during the day I mean)! Not impressed! But this year I decided to try the new one they came out with, which was targeted to people who still wanted something light, but with coverage and acne treatment built in! That's me! I definitely think that Maybelline received  some bad feedback from customers with oily skin, but at least they decided to fix the problem by making a BB cream for oily skinned people! I think that this product is more yellow toned, so if you are pink, like me, you might be able to get away with it because it's not so strong looking and it blends in fine. So unless you are very pink toned I wouldn't recommend it!

*Click images to enlarge*

Lets get into the details and specifics that this product has to offer. this BB cream is the same price as the original at £7.99. Firstly, this BB cream contains 2% salicylic acid to help get rid of and prevent acne and spots. Also, this one is made for oily skin do it helps with pore reducing and with grease. This is a miracle in a tube! As well as this, it has SPF 15 with is great for the summer time and for any day in general! This 8-in-1 product claims to:

• Conceal imperfections
• Help protect against the appearance of blemishes
• Be oil-free and non-greasy
• Minimise the appearance of your pores
• Clarify the skins look
• Conceal redness
• Hydrate and smooth
• Complement your skin tone

Why do I love it so much I hear you say? Well:

• It has some great coverage! I still have to use concealer just because I have so much to cover up but if you have a small amount of acne or redness this would be perfect! 
• My pores don't look as big, (I don't think!)
• It stays on for a long time.
• I don't notice nearly as much shine or oil, which is great! 
• It shows up on my skin but doesn't look fake! 
• And it's the perfect shade for my skin tone!

I really like the packaging too! It's quite small and compact but you get tonnes of product! It's pretty bright and also it is a squeezable tube so I feel like I can control how much I use, so I don't waste product! I love this one and it is amazing, the ONLY downside, for me, is that there are only two colours. I'm not sure why there are not more but I guess if you really enjoy this product you could mix them together or mix with another foundation. I just wish there was a wider shade selection so that everyone can try it! Luckily the lightest colour fits me but for some people they may be in between. Now, I do want to say, just because I hated the original product, does not mean it won't work for you, your skin type or your skin colour and skin tone. If you have dry skin the original is probably better but you might want to read several reviews before purchasing to make sure you get the right one. I'm really sorry I do not have a picture of me wearing the BB cream because I am not going out now and I do not want to waste product! And I'm sorry this post was so long I just had a lot to say, (as usual!). Hope you enjoyed! 

Thanks for reading,

Olivia xx

Teatime with Liv ||| Chicken Chow Mein

Hello everyone,
                        Today I'm going to do a different sort of post which will be food related! Last night I let my Mum have a night off from cooking tea and I decided to make it instead. I found a recipe that I made last year for cooking class and I loved it! I made a Chicken Chow Mein and it was amazing! I do however have a problem with this recipe, it doesn't tell me how many people it serves. I would say it serves two people because when I served it for three, we each had a small amount and weren't full. I would double everything to serve four people! I decided that I might do more of these posts in the future so I'm naming this series, Teatime with Liv! Lets get in to the post!

Ingredients:

• 150g Dried Noodles
• Chicken Breast, cut into small pieces, (If you want to use it. You can also use beef, ham, tofu etc...)
• 1 Clove Garlic
• 1 Small Piece of Fresh Ginger
• 2 Spring Onions (Any onions will do really?!)
• 4 Mushrooms
• 4 x Broccoli Florets
• 1 x 10ml spoon oil (I used vegetable oil for mine because I added chicken!)
• 50g Bean Sprouts ( I didn't put these in, they didn't make a huge difference!)
• 1 x 15ml Spoon Soy Sauce (I usually use a lot more to make it look a brown-ish colour)

Also, as I said before, I added chicken breast. These were already chopped up and I just fried them in a pan with vegetable oil until brown. I just added as much as I thought I would need in comparison to the noodles!

Method (Along with pictures):

1) Cook the noodles as instructed on the packaging and then drain.

2) Cook the chicken using vegetable oil in a pan.

3) Whilst the noodles and chicken are cooking, prepare the vegetables:

• Peel and crush the garlic 

• Peel and shred the fresh ginger

• Chop the spring onions

• Slice the mushrooms 

• Cut each broccoli floret into four

4) In the pan with the chicken, fry the garlic, ginger and onions for one minute.

5) Add the mushrooms and broccoli and cook for another three minutes.

6) Stir in bean sprouts, (if you are using them), and cook for another two minutes.

7) Add the noodles to the pan of vegetables and chicken and then add soy sauce to the mixture.

8) Stir fry everything together for three minutes 

9) Serve and enjoy!

Hope you enjoyed this recipe!! 

Thanks for reading,

Olivia xx

25 Beauty Questions Tag!

Hello everyone, 

                        Today I am going to do a tag post and I thought that this would be a nice post to do because I'm still not over my sickness and I can do the review of a BB Cream I own from Maybelline that I promised in my sick day essentials another day! So let's get into it!

1. Do you apply your foundation with a brush, sponge, or fingers? 

I start off with my fingers and then any bits that I have missed, I go over with a brush from Sigma called the Duo Fibre F50, which I love to blend concealer too.

2. Do you apply your eyeshadow from light to dark? Or dark to light?

If I am going to do eyeshadow looks then I go from light to dark on my eyes, although the other day I used a quad from L'Oréal where I did it the opposite way and it looked really cool. Most days I just use one shadow or a cream eyeshadow all over the lid.

3. Do you prime your eyelids?
Yes I do when I wear shadow but not cream shadows.

4. Concealer first, or after foundation?
I use my under eye concealer before my foundation, because if I don't it can look cakey, but I use my blemish concealer on top off my foundation.

5. Go for manicures, or manicure yourself?
I manicure myself. I don't see the need to pay for it when you can do it yourself at home for much less money! 

6. Exfoliate lips, face or both? 

I exfoliate both. I exfoliate my face about once a week or more if I really need it and I exfoliate my lips every day before I apply my lip product.

7. On average, how long does it take you to do your makeup?
About 10 to 15 minutes on an everyday basis.

8. Do you wear makeup everyday and everywhere?
No I don't wear it if I'm in the house all day because I don't see a point of wasting product and I don't always wear so much when I go out so I don't wear it everyday and everywhere!

9. What release are you most excited about?
Just new releases at Boots and Superdrug (the main drugstores in the UK)! 

10. What’s your weakness in beauty? 

Either concealer or mascara, I also love blush but I'm quite picky! 

11. Do you whiten your teeth?
No I do not i just use a 'naturally' whitening toothpaste.

12. Wax eyebrows, or pluck?
I pluck them because it just doesn't hurt and I can do it anytime I want.

13. What do you use to contour?
I have recently been using the Bourjois Paris Delice de Soleil Bronzing Powder all over my face but I also like Benefit Hoola to contour my cheekbones properly.

14. False lashes, or natural?
I like natural lashes the best and I like to use lots of mascara when I want thick lashes.

15. Favourite makeup brands?
Rimmel, Revlon and Maybelline, (in that order).

16. Liquid eyeliner, pencil or gel?
I love gel the most but I do use pencil on my waterline sometimes.

17. Lipstick, lipgloss or chapstick?

I love lipstick the most but I use chapstick when I need it! 

18. Pigments, pressed or cream eyeshadow?
Pressed is the one I have the most of but I love cream eyeshadow!

19. If you had to wear only one thing, excluding foundation; what would it be?
Concealer or mascara.

20. Favourite color?
Mint green! 

21. Favourite color combination?
Mint green and pink, (my room theme!), or baby blue and white/off white, creamy colours

22. Natural or dramatic eye makeup?
Natural for everyday, but for special events I do more dramatic makeup.

23. Do you care more for quality or name brand?
Quality, definitely because you can find some cheap things from, say, ELF or MUA, that might be better than MAC or NARS so I definitely think that quality is more important than brand name!

24. Do you enjoy using face masks?
As long as my sensetive skin doesn't react to them in a bad way, but I like the one that I got from Primark a couple months back, it was in a packet and it was filled with Aloe Juices to help with acne. If you want a review on it then tell me in the comments! 

Thanks for reading, 

Olivia xx

Pop Tarts!

Hello everyone,
                        Despite being quite ill, yesterday I went shopping with my Mum and whilst in B&M Bargains I spotted a package of Pop Tarts! I know you can now get them in some Asda shops but these were quite cheap compared to what they are in Asda! I think they were about £1-£1.50, which is about a pound or so less than in Asda. I decided to pick some up and do a chit chatty blog post about them!

Ever since I saw Zoella talk about them on Youtube I wanted to try them and when I found them I nearly squealed in the aisle! I got the flavour Frosted Bustin' Berry and they just taste kind of like raspberry, but also just a mix of berries! They are so yummy and at first I didn't really enjoy them but as I finished eating my first one, I realised I love them so much! They taste amazing and I can best describe them as a biscuit type thing with a jam like substance in the middle, (the flavour depends on your choice), and a frosting type layer on the top which just gives it extra flavour when it's out of the toaster! They taste so good and I would really like to try the strawberry ones, because I think it would taste just like strawberry jam on toast! I would definitely suggest picking them up! They also come in individual packs of two so you know how many to eat in one serving and you can take them on the go and heat them up when you get to your destination! Although there are two in each individual package, I feel as though just one fills you up a lot! But it's up to you how many you have! To find them I would suggest looking in the cereal aisle near the cereal bars, that's where I found them!

Have you tried Pop Tarts?

If so, what do you think?

Which flavour is your favourite?
And which should I try next?

Thanks for reading,
Olivia xx

Sick Days and My Essentials!

Hello everyone,

                        Recently, including today, I have not been feeling myself. On Saturday I had extremely sore legs and knees which wouldn't go away until I went to bed, and then yesterday I just felt under the weather and tired. Now finally, this morning, I woke up with a super sore throat and I was freezing! I still am. (Pretty sure I have tonsillitis because I get it a lot!) So today I thought it would be nice to go through my sick day essentials! Now all of these pictures are, most likely, from Google Images because I'm focusing on getting better and not taking blog pictures so I do apologise in advance! Lets get into it. (Any links will open in new tabs!)

First of all lets talk about beauty products. Now, when I'm ill, I don't worry too much about the way I look, but there are some things I do to help my skin out when I'm sick. Skincare is very important to me, especially when I'm ill, because, when you are sick, your immune system is getting rid of your illness or virus, so it is not concentrating on keeping your skin at it's best. So there are a few products that I use to help with that.

The first product I use is a face moisturiser, My skin feels dry when I'm ill and normally it is very oily. I enjoy using a thick and natural moisturiser. The one I use is the Neal's Yard Remedies Power Berry Daily Moisture. This is pretty expensive but I have a smaller version from a magazine that is awesome! I love it. A little bit goes a long way. It's pretty thick and it's all natural so it's great for sick days. I think I will do a separate blog post on it so that I can talk more in detail about  it. It's great for days like today!

The next thing for my face is the Lush Ocean Salt Facial Scrub as an exfoliant. This gets rid of all of the dead skin cells that most likely have bacteria in them because, again, your immune system is busy getting rid of your illness and won't help your skin. This gets rid of all of the nasty bacteria that is sat on your skin and I love it for sick days and any other day in fact. This is also good for the skin on your body too if you feel like your sickness has had an effect on that.

Next I have a spot treatment to help with zits. This is the Simple Spotless Skin Rapid Action Spot Zapper. I did say in my July Favourites that I would do a separate post on this product so I won't say too much!

Next is a body moisturiser which I said I liked to use earlier in this post. I use the, long name alert, Garnier Intensive 7 Days Daily Body Lotion With Nourishing Shea Butter For Dry to Extra Dry Skin. I love this and will do another post on it. 

Next is some makeup that I need in case I'm going out for a small amount of time when I am ill. This is the Maybelline Foundation Dream Pure BB Cream. The next post I do will be about this so be excited for it! 

I also love to wear any mascara such as The Maybelline Falsies Flared Mascara to go out in. It's just simple and doesn't make my eyes look horrible and thin! 

The only drink I have, other than water, is tea. Preferably PG Tips.

And finally I really enjoy the Heinz Cream of Chicken Soup. It's so soothing for my throat and it tastes so good!

Thanks for reading,
Olivia xx

Review ||| Garnier Skin Naturals Moisture Match Shine Be Gone Mattifying Fresh Cream!

Hello everyone,
                        So today I have a review for you on the Garnier Skin Naturals Moisture Match Shine Be Gone Mattifying Fresh Cream, (that's a mouthful!). I thought I would do this because in my July Favourites post, I said I would talk about it in more detail! So here it is for you!

First of all these moisturisers come in a variety of types for different skin types. I really like this line of moisturisers because they are all tailored to one type of skin or another. For example each type of moisturiser has different coloured packaging and a different formula to match your skin type, if that makes sense!? The five types they have in the collection are: (Links open in new tabs!)

• Goodbye Dry - For dry/very dry skin. Pink packaging and has a nourishing cream formula.

• Start Afresh - For normal/dry skin. Blue packaging and has a fast absorbing, light softening cream. 

• Shine Be Gone - (The one I have) For combination/oily skin. Green packaging and is a sorbet textured, light cream with green tea extracts and a mattifying effect.

• Wake Me Up - For dull skin. Orange packaging and is a revitalising, hydrating gel, with citrus and hibiscus flower extract for a refreshing feel.

• Protect and Glow - For normal skin. Yellow Packaging and has illuminating light lotion with SPF 20. It has lemon extracts and helps protect your skin from the sun and gives a radiant and healthy looking glow.

Those are the best descriptions I could give so I hope they are okay! Lets just get into what I think of the Shine Be Gone version.

I have had this product for about a month or just over that and I have to say I have grown very fond of it. You get 50ml worth of product in this moisturiser for £3.99. And, because it lasts quite long, I don't think that it is such a bad price. I wanted to try this since day one and I found that it was on sale for £3 everywhere, including Boots, Superdrug and Asda so check in stores before purchasing online.

The product itself is quite a lightweight, sorbet textured moisturiser. I love it! It is amazing! It is not greasy, although you do have to let it dry before you put on your makeup or you can sometimes look a little streaky, but not much. It smells so good and I think that is because of the green tea but it is so fresh and reminds me of the smell of cucumber. It really does absorb fast and gives a beautiful matte finish. What really wows me about this product is that I can save so much money because I don't have to buy a primer again. This acts as a primer and keeps my makeup on for so long! I love it! The bottle is small and perfect for travel and to throw in your bag if you get oily during the day and don't even wear makeup! 

The only thing that I would say they could improve on is making a bigger bottle, possibly 100ml, but honestly the packaging size is not the most important thing in the world to me. 

Out of five stars, I would give this moisturiser a:

Four out of five! 

Thanks for reading,

Olivia xx