A change of scenery

Well, over the last few weeks everything about my daily routine has changed. On the 19th September, my parents and I packed up the car with all of my things, and plugged Nottingham into the sat-nav. Slightly teary after saying goodbye to my sister, we headed off, bound for the place I was going to be calling my home for the next three years studying a subject I love: Photography.  I had finally started university.

The thought that I am sat here writing this in a completely different area, house and bedroom shows just how much things can change so quickly, and how even though I thought I could never do it, finally leaving that home - wrapped comfort zone is some what refreshing.

This last few weeks have been an emotional roller coaster (excuse the cliche); there have been some really great times (the notorious freshers week really lived up to expectations, as it was GREAT) but also some very difficult times getting to grips with living with complete strangers and learning to adapt to this new environment. I am a fully fledged 'I love my home and family and typical comfort zone of life' type of girl, so that first night and for a couple of weeks after arriving the transition was HARD. However don't take that as me saying I want to leave university, as living independantly is pretty refreshing once you get into it, and let me just say that I have taken a liking to cooking which my mum thought would never ever happen.  So maybe you will get some food snaps on the odd occasion, who knows!

If any of you reading this have just begun university, keep up the good work and I hope you are enjoying yourself! I hope to continue this blog as it is a reminder of home to me but also as I develop through my university adventure.

Rea x

Eye-Eye

As Autumn and soon to be Winter are now in full swing, so is the makeup to go with it. Seeing all of the Christmas gift sets in NARS and the new seasonal collections in MAC make me very excited for Christmas shopping. On top of this they encourage me to try out new colours and get into the spirit (makeup wise)

I thought I would share my eye makeup staples/everyday go to's as I adore the tones and think there must be one here for every skin tone and preference. 

Firstly there is the Sleek Au Naturel eye shadow palette which is so perfect for all year round, but in particular the colder months. There are lots of scrummy colours that can be worn all the time whether it be for college or a soon-to-arrive Christmas party it is perfect and a decent size to throw in your bag if you have the room (which I never do...)

Secondly, there are a few products from MAC which I have been loving recently. There are two eyeshadows which I'm sure everyone has heard of; WoodWinked and Cranberry. They are incredible colours, Woodwinked I use more on a daily basis for a quick eye shadow fix, and Cranberry if I feel slightly more daring and have a little longer to play around with it as it comes on quick strong. Then there is the pro longwear paint pot in Painterly which is use everyday before my eyeshadow to add some extra cover for my eyelids as they are very red and helps to emphasise the eye shadow further. My pot was the first thing I every bought from MAC around a year ago I would say and I have barely made a dent! Perfect...

Thirdly there is an eye shadow duo from NARS in the colour Kuala Lumpur which is just so beautiful and easy to wear whenever I fancy some colour. Good pigmentation and blends really well. We all know the drill, NARS doesn't really let you down to be honest...

And finally there are two eye liners which I have used a couple of times so far but feel they would be great for anyone who maybe prefers eye liners to eye shadows. There is 17 Photo Flawless eye pencil in Carbon Black/ Blue. Yes that is the name, and thats what it looks like on. A dark, maybe grungy blue is what you get from it, which is a nice pop of colour with a black mascara. Then there is the Bourjois Khol & Contour in the colour Bleu Espiegle which is a lovely brightening greeny/blue. Great if you feel a bit bolder in your colour choices and fancy a change!

Hope you enjoyed! Would love some recommendations for other Autumn/Winter eye shadows or liners! Bye bye 

Perfect Plaid

Romper - Topshop

Parka - New Look (last year)

Slipper pumps - Miss Selfridge (again last year)

So this Autumn I have taken a HUGE liking to tartan/plaid as it is so easy to style and looks great on many different items of clothing. So far I have bought two new tartan shirts which I absolutely love as they are easy to throw on in the morning for college with leggings or jeans, and then converse or even heeled boots if I fancy pushing the boat out a bit. But my recent purchase of this romper has tripled my love for the pattern! If I remember correctly it was £38 (around that) and when It arrived I was so happy with it. Its quite thin but not that your underwear can be seen through, but thick enough that you won't freeze, if that makes any sense at all! The way I've styled it above is the most comfortable and best way for me, but you may have some other ways of styling, as this is perfect for layering in the Autumn season :)

Hope you like the outfit!

Some Autumn essentials

I definitely love the Autumn for the makeup trends because I think I suit these colour trends better, such as browns, burgundy and much more warmer toned colours. So as the season has now donned us, I thought it would be good to maybe pick up a couple of things to add to my makeup stash.

 Firstly I got a new mascara, simple because I needed a new one but this time I did stray away from my reliable Rimmel ScandelEyes mascara and decided to try something different. Now I think everyone has watched Tanya Burr's videos and she constantly raves about the Maybeline Falsies mascara, and thought hey lets give it a whirl. I also changed the routine slightly by buying waterproof because my makeup lasts a lot less time in the colder weather so waterproof will help to keep it there for longer instead of sliding around. 

Secondly I got one of the Maybeline Colour 24hr Tattoo eye pots in the colour Metallic Pomegranate, which the name by itself sounds cool enough. Now I have the silver one of these and use it for nights out and I love it as even when I have gotten back its still going strong, hence why I decided it was high time to buy another one for daily use. This colour definitely has not disappointed me and is great for my everyday makeup.

Finally I decided to give one of the Kate Moss lipsticks a go because they have been so highly raved about I felt it was time to try one. I decided to go for a nude for the Autumn and I love the lipstick for the colour, its consistency and the price is great too. All in all a winner, I will have to buy others soon and try new colours.

So that's just some little recent purchases, let me know if there are any of the kate moss lipsticks you would recommend as I would love to know! :)

My Autumnal To-Do List

Lately my love and excitement for the Autumn season has been growing day by day as more and more signs begin to appear and the fullness of the season draws closer. There is just something about this time of the year that puts a bit smile on my face! So firstly some things that I love about Autumn are:

- The vast amount of new seasonally orientated food and drinks

- When you leave the house in the morning and the air is so cold you can see your breath

- The change in colour of the scenery

- Wrapping up warm (got to love whacking the Ugg boots and parkas back out again)  

- Hello Halloween!

- ... and the food Halloween brings (sweets and toffee apples - I'm in heaven)

- The frost that appears on the grass in the morning and on spiders webs *enters heavenly trance*...

So now that you know some of the things I love about Autumn, I wanted to share some of the things on my list of things to do this season, and hopefully I get around to doing them all..

My To-Do List:

1 . Buy an autumn candle. I've seen a couple from Yankee which I may need to invest in soon..

2 . Carve maybe some more advanced shapes into a pumpkin besides the generic scary face

3 . Make toffee apples

4 . Find a red lipstick that will work for the Autumn season as I am still to find a red that I love and will wear..

5 . Pluck up the courage and watch a scary movie on Halloween (I am a huge wuss with scary films!)

6 . Go to a Halloween party! 

7 . Take my camera out with me everywhere I go for capturing those amazing autumn landscapes and scenery changes.

8 . Definately try any new hot drinks Costa or Starbucks bring out for the season. Yum..

9 . Make my room more autumnal - maybe some different throw cushions?

10 . Stock up on warm socks and jumpers as I seem to live in those when the weather gets colder. Also get my hands on some new gloves and a knitted bobble hat; there's nothing worse than freezing cold ears!

Well I hope you enjoyed my list and maybe it has given you a little bit of inspiration into your fall to-do list! As you can probably tell I love this season and would love to know whats on your list as it may give me some ideas too!