Monthly Favourites and Future Wants | HarleyJade

So this is a new series I'm going to start, my previous loves of the month and things I want to complete in the future month.

March Loves

Peach. Peach scented, peach flavoured, I don't know what it is about peach but recently I have become addicted. To me peaches are a summer fruit, so maybe indulging in this scent is a way I can feel summery even when I'm sat in my onsie freezing my ass off.

Magnums- The almond kind. Well these certainly haven't been helping with my healthy eating. It's cold outside, and I'm sat eating ice-cream. Makes sense yeah? No, no it doesn't. But again with relation to my previous love, I really think I want summer to be here. Anyone for a holiday to a hot beach?

Cocktails. Has anyone seen the tipsy bartender on YouTube? Well, I've recently discovered him/them and have been trying them out at weekends. They always come out really good, so if your into cocktails- check them out!

April Wants

Organization. This is something I want to work on this month, and well I have no choice but to. This month I have assignments to do and exams to revise for, the joys of university eh? Below is my Filofax which I bought last year when I was going through my 'start of uni, lets be extra organised' phase!

To be fitter. With this, I mean I don't want to die every time I try to do anything Cardio. I lift weights but that doesn't increase my stamina. I enjoy using the stair machine but after 3 minutes I'm done! So whether it is running or swimming, this month I will be as fit as a fiddle.

So that is it! What do you want for the upcoming month? I quite like having my goals wrote down in black and white. In my next monthly post I shall report back and let you know how I got on.

Make your make-up last | HarleyJade

So your doing your make-up in the morning and realising that by the afternoon it isn't looking as good. Your foundation is rubbing off in areas, the colours aren't as vibrant and your skin is looking an oily mess? Well, I've been there and here are my top tips to prevent this.

Primer

A primer will help keep that foundation on from morning, till whenever you want to take it off. No.7 Beautifully Matte make-up base [Link] is my personal favourite and it keeps facial oils at bay and smooths over any pores creating a perfect base for the foundation. I only use this in my T-Zone as this is the only place I get oily, and using it on my cheeks makes them dry and flaky. If you have dry skin try using a more hydrating primer and using plenty of moisturiser underneath.

Foundation

 I think its safe to say that the best foundations to use to last all day are those advertised as long-wear. If I know my foundation needs to last me 12hours+ I use the Estee Lauder Double wear [Link]. This foundation will literally stay on your skin for ages, and its waterproof, so even if you get caught in the rain it will stay put. It also increases the longevity of products used on top of it, like blusher and bronzer.

Bronzer/Blusher

 I have found the best way to make your bronzer/blusher last is to layer it up. By this I mean use a cream product and apply a matching powder product over top. This may seem like a lot of product, but as long as you are using thin layers that are blended out then it won't look cakey.

Eyes

If, like me, your eye-shadow creases easily and the colours blend together an look muddy after an hour then you need to prime. I love the urban decay primer potion in eden [Link] as a neutral base. For cream eye-shadows look for a product that says long-wearing and like your bronzer, layer it with a powder to set. My favourite cream eye shadows to use and the Maybelline colour tattoos [Link] and the benefit crease-less cream shadow [Link] . I've also heard a lot about the mac paint-pots however I am yet to try them.

Lips

 Reapply lipstick isn't that much of an issue, however I hate lipsticks that bleed and rub off quickly. If i know I need my lipstick to last and that reapplying will be challenging then I always use a liquid lipstick. My pick is the Yves Saint Laurent glossy stain [Link] as it is long lasting and hydrating. Most liquid lipstick that last will dry out the lips and make them uncomfortable- Matte lipsticks are also longer lasting to creamier lipsticks but again, they are drying and not the most comfortable on the lips.

Chest Routine #1 | HarleyJade

It has been so long since I've been to the gym (a recent surgery  has put exercise on hold for a short time :( ) so I thought I'd write down my chest routine in hopes it takes away the urge I have to just go! I like chest day, it makes my boobs bigger and perkier, what better reason to pick up those weights?

Free weight bench press- 3 sets of 8- I always mix up the incline of the bench 

Free weight chest flies- 3 sets of 8- Again, I always mix up the incline of the bench. I also find this really hard and my increase of weight is slow. 

Bench press, Incline/Decline/Flat- 10 reps, breather, 5 reps, breather, 3 set of 3 reps with breather in-between all. The weight should be increasing for all of these. I also do these in different orders depending on what is available. 

Pec fly machine- 3 sets of  8- I use this as a cool down and by now my chest feels done.

Makeup Revolution Flawless Review and Swatches | HarleyJade

So you've probably seen this brand floating around social media because all of a sudden this brand has taken off. Whether it's the cheap prices enticing people in, or the fact they have dupes for nearly every best-selling palette, I don't know but people are going crazy for them. So, without wanting to be left out I had to buy one to see what the buzz was about. 

Price

The palette arrived this morning and I'm already so excited to have it in my collection. The pigmentation of this is incredible, and what's best is that it's only £8! Yes, £8 for 32 eye-shadows.

In this palette there is a mix of matte and shimmer shadows, ranging from light to dark in both warm and cool tones.

Placing

There are two places to buy this product, direct from Make-up Revolution |link|  or from Superdrug |link|. They are available in Superdrug stores, however what I have found is that the range of products in-store is limited, and quickly sells out.

Product

From looking at the site, this palette has glowing reviews and it is clear to see why. If you are on a budget or just looking to expand your eye-shadow collection I would highly recommend this palette. The quality of these shadows match those of my higher end make-up. 

The packaging itself is so sleek, the black lid gives off a very sleek feel, similar to that of bobby brown. It also has a mirror the full size of the palette which I find extremely useful, especially if I am using this to travel. Speaking of travel this is the perfect go-to travel palette for many reasons. The palette has so many eye-shadows so you can create a range of looks depending on the occasion meaning you wouldn't have to travel with 6 separate palettes. It is also cheap, and for me this is a biggie. When I travel i am always petrified of my palette breaking, I mean who can afford to keep forking out £40 every time their palette gets mashed up. Yes, I'd be upset if this palette smashed in my luggage, but not near as upset I would be if my Urban Decay pallets smashed.

Swatches

Top row:

Paper; Soft glow; Buff; Highlite; Angel; Unlimited; Brew; Simlver smoke

Second Row:

Almost there; Uncover; Barely pink; Lowlite; Golden night; Gold digger; Cheerless; Blue stars

Third Row:

Smudge; Shimmer heart; Universal; Copper shimmer; Medal; Darkest shimmer; Tarnish; Black tie

Fourth Row:

Pure chocolate; Raw; Red night; Molton chocolate; Burgandy nights; Greenstars; Cafe noir; Night

The top half of each swatch is taken without a base, and the bottom is taken with a base. Most of these swatches show that they are pigmented enough to go without,, however the black shades come across as slightly patchy and really need a sticky base to adhere too. Also the lighter matte shades seem to lack pigmentation. My favorite colour from the palette has to be Red night, the pigmentation on this is insane, and it feels like butter!

All in all, do I think this palette is worth it, and will I be trying out more from this company- hell yeah! I cannot wait to put another order in for these. 

I'll be posting a look using these shadows soon so follow me on bloglovin to get updates when that is out. 

GlamGlow YouthMud | HarleyJade

Recently I've had some unfortunate events that have led up to me taking quite abit of medication, which in turn has led to me having what feels like the biggest breakouts ever. In all honesty I very slack on my skincare routine, so every now and then I expect the odd pimple, but my skin is fortunate and rarely ever breaks out. So when I woke up to find that I had like 10 of the monsters on my chin, I freaked. After I had calmed down, I decided to treat rather than cover, so I reached for this little product. 

Price 

On the GlamGlow site this product retails for £49.99 for 50g (so almost £1 per gram). I picked this up in an airport at duty free, so it was slightly cheaper. As you can see this is pretty damn expensive compared to some on the market. My top mask before this was Lush's BB Seaweed which is around 8p per g.

Placing 

There are many different places you can purchase GlamGlow from in the UK, however unless you are in London I believe you will have to purchase online. 

Glamglow.co.uk // Selfridges // LookFantastic // FeelUnique

Product

This is one of those green masks that you defiantly don't want to be seen dead in, so when you put it on make you know the posty man isn't coming any time soon. This is a very exfoliating mask and when it dries it really does pull out any impurities in your skin. This really does leave my skin feeling baby smooth! 

Due to the price of this product, it isn't something I use constantly nor do I use it all over my face. I usually use this on my nose where I get blackheads, my chin where I get spotty and the centre of my forehead where I get larger pores.  Once you've applied this to where it needs to be you leave it put for 10 minutes and wash it off with some warm water. 

The smell of this product is heavenly- It literally smells like a spa. It is very luxurious. 

Overall

So overall this product only has one negative- the price. The original upfront cost is expensive but this product litterally lasts ages. It is the nicest face mask I have ever used and I cannot say enough good things about this. As you can see from the images below this mask really does calm down any devious spots that you have, perfect if you have that date and need a quick fix!

Beautiful Brows | HarleyJade

It's took a while but I feel like I am finally mastering the art of doing my eyebrows. I start with having my eyebrows threaded. This creates a smooth base, and really sharpens up your brows. Every now and then I will give them a tweeze to keep the shape.

I always do my brows before I do my eye make-up, my personal preference.

To start with I brush my brow through using a spooly, and then I use a waxy pencil which lays the brows flat. The pencil I have to use is actually a blonde one, but when it has been used up, I'll be buying a brunette one. I use the No.7 Beautiful Brows Pencil, and if you have blonde hair- particularly bleach blonde, this product is THE perfect colour. 

I then use an angled brush and MACs fluidline brow gelcreme in dirty blonde. Admittedly I bought this whilst I was blonde, however in my opinion it is far to dark for blondes. I have medium brown hair and it is perfect. This product applies beautifully and stays put all day. Also a little goes a heck of a long way. I've used this product for over a month and as you can see I've barely made a dent.

I then use MACs Studio Finish Concealer and fine brush and clean up under the brows to make a sharp line. I then blend it down to highlight the brows. This is a good trick to use if you have any tray hairs and it hides them ;) I bought this concealer to use on my face but found it was thick and drying however it is amazing under the brows. However, this is probably a little expensive to use under the brows. I'm sure there is a drug store alternative. 

The final step (I know, thats a lot of products) is to use Benefit's Gimmi Brow. This is a brow-volumiser gel with fibres so it really adds thickness and makes them look more natural. 

The brushes I use aren't any particular brand hence why they haven't been mentioned, but any angled brush and fine brush will do! 

University Makeup Routine | HarleyJade

It's no lie that I am not a morning person, so waking up half an hour/one hour before I need to just to do my makeup and hair just wont happen. However, when I do drag myslef out of bed I regret it as I look like a zombie, its not a pretty sight! Therefor the makeup I do is quick and simple..

No7 beautifully matte makeup base

LOreal Paris True Match Foundation- N2

Maybelline Eraser Eye Concealer

Chanel Tan de Chanel

Sleek Contour Kit- Light

MAC Mineralized Blush- Dainty

Mac Fluidline Brow Gelcreme

Benefit Gimme Brow Gel- Light/Medium

And then to top off the look, I apply any bright lipstick, My top two at the moment are MAC candy yum yum and MAC viva glam miley. I find using a bright lipstick really makes you look awake as it brightens the face. It also makes it look like you've put loads of effort into your makeup, when in reality you haven't. 

PS. I don'y always wear make-up to university, it's very common for me to go bare faced and zombie-like!

Monday Morning Review #1 - The protein works, whey protein 80 choc mint brownie | HarleyJade

So this is a new series I'm wanting to try out, if you have any better names for it please let me know. But here it is, weekly reviews to be posted on a Monday morning, I'm thinking around 7am, just in time for everyone to wake up and read with their breakfast?

But today's review will be on The Protein Works, Whey Protein 80 in Choc Mint Brownie. The price starts from £10.99 from 500g so it is pretty budget friendly. Plus, they always have an offer of some sort on (If you are wanting to make a purchase for the first time you can use the code HW125353 and you'll receive a 250g pack of whey protein 80 for free!!). 

Mixing:

Personally I take this protein in a morning, and I mix it with soya milk and ice cubes in a shaker bottle with a grid. Mixing the protein this way I find that it doesn't have any lumps. I used to use a blender to mix the protein, however I found this gave the drink a frothy head which I found difficult to drink. 

Taste: OK, so obviously if you was to take this protein with whole milk rather than soya milk it would have a more authentic milkshake texture as it would be thicker- my boyfriend has tried it this way and the taste in 10x better, however I cannot afford the extra carb/fat. The taste with soya milk is actually kind of weak, with a strong mint taste. 

There is no after taste for this product and it doesn't upset my stomach at all, unlike some other brands.

Overall: On a whole I would have to say that this is my favorite protein flavour that I have tried, the strong mint flavour overcomes any artificial chocolate taste (many chocolate proteins taste artificial in my opinion). I would recommend everyone to try this flavour, and I know when I run out of my bag I will be purchasing this in a larger.
Nutritional values: I have inserted a photo of the nutritional values below, and as you can tell that they are pretty good for a protein powder- probably one of the best I've tried for the taste.

I give this 4.6/5

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My Experience with Eyelash Extensions | HarleyJade

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Quite a while back I entered a competition on Facebook to win a set of eyelash extensions, and to my surprise, I won. On the 22nd of February I got them put on, and it is now the 2nd of March (so just over one week in) and I thought I'd share my initial thoughts. 

Application:

So the first step was to tape my bottom eyelashes down with what seemed to be masking tape. This didn't hurt, it just feels abnormal but after a while you can't tell. She then did her magic, and after an hour it was complete. The images above show what the finished product looked like. I was in love. I chose to have the longest set, so you don't have to go this dramatic if you don't want. She removed the masking tape from my lower eyelashes (which made my eyes water) and let me look at them. 

One Week Later:

OK, so its been a week and to be honest, I don't seem to have lost many at all. I was told that they would last up to a month so hopefully I will still have these for a while. My left eye is still looking perfect. I am overall very happy!

Two weeks later:
So at this point I decided to take them off, the reason being that my natural eyelashes had grown fair bit and the weight of the extensions felt as if they were pulling them down and it got uncomfortable. Most of the lashes were still on and I can definitely see them lasting another 2 weeks, I just didn't like to feeling  (my natural lashes are pretty long and do grow pretty quickly).
To take them off I was told to soak them in oil/ an oil based makeup remover. Seen as I was at my boyfriends and I didn't have my make-up remover handy, I used regular old cooking oil. The process of taking them off was long,and left my eyes really sore. It also looks as though half of my lashes are missing, and the other half have snapped. However this could be because I am used to seeing my eyes with falsies and that I haven't seen my natural lashes without mascara for sometime.
I know you can also go get them professionally removed, so in my opinion, get them professionally removed!

Overall:

So, in all honesty these are amazing if you have an event or a holiday but on a regular basis, I personally think £40 is a lot to pay once a month. I don't like that you cant rub them with oil, so removing eye make-up is kinda hard, particularly eye-liner. I also find if i rub them in the shower they shed slightly, which is annoying for me as I always get shampoo in my eyes and need to rub them. However if you have the cash to splash, then go ahead and try them. I did love them,but the removal was painful and lengthy. I think i'd rather stay with regular falsies from now on!
If there are any other beauty treatments you want me to try and review leave a comment and let me know!

Back Workout Routine | HarleyJade

Seen as I haven't blogged about my fitness, I thought I'd make my first post dedicated to the worst workout day. Ever. Its no secret that I hate back day, I have weak back muscles. But they are starting to show through!

Row machine

6 at highest weight 

6 at 5kg lower

6 at 5kg lower

20 at 5kg lower.

This is the worst workout, it absolutely kills. If your wanting to work your back, do this. I personally can't do this at a high weight, but each week I try and up the weight slowly. The last set of 20 will make you want to cry. I repeat this whole section 3 times, and by then I'm wishing back day was done. 

Lat Machine

8 closed grip, hands facing out

8 closed grip, hands facing in

8 wide grip, in front of chest

8 wide grip, behind head.

Again, I repeat this whole section 3 times with a break between each different exercise to rest my arms. If I don't break between each 8 my arms start to hurt as the blood has ran out of them, hence why I give them a little shake.

Dead lift

Bar only, 8 reps

Increase by 5 or 10, each reps each until you can't lift no more. 

This is my favourite thing to do in back day. It really does give a full body workout. I've only just started to incorporate these into my workout, but so far I can lift up to 80kg. But this was a good day and I was pumped. 

Assisted Pull-ups

I usually try and do these to cool down, however admittedly I am terrible. My new years goal is to be able to 8 pull-ups unassisted yet as it stands I cant even do one alone. Now, I can lift quite abit of weight for my size, yet even if my life depended on it, I still couldn't do it.

I hope someone out there got something out of this, and in time, I will be uploaded my workouts for all body parts. If there are any exercisers that you think will be beneficial for me which I haven't mentioned then please comment and let me know!

Bridesmaid Makeup | HaleyJade

So my best friend got married yesterday and I had the privilege to be bridesmaid. This is the make-up I wore for the big day and I did it myself. The hair was another story, we went to Revue and they did an amazing job and gave me an Updike that has lasted 30+ hours (no I'm still too lazy to take it out and wash it). So unfortunately I cannot do a hair tutorial, but I defiantly recommend going there if you're in Retford.

Base:

No.7 beautifully matte makeup base.

NSPA Instant Blur Primer 

Foundation:

The Body Shop Tea Tree Flawless BB Cream

LOreal True Match Foundatoin - C3 (one shade darker than my original skin tone)

MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation

Maybelline Eraser Eye Concealer - Light

Eyes:

Smashbox Full Exposure Palette ( All warmer shades blended into the crease, black on outter edges, central shimmer colour on lid, central matte colour as brow highlight)

Loreal Paris Volume Million Lashes- Waterproof Black (only on lower lashes as I have eyelash extensions on the upper lashes)

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencl- Zero (upper lashline only)

No.7 Beautiful Brows Pencil- Blonde

MAC Fluidline Brow Gelcreme - Dirty Blonde

Benefit Gimme Brow Gel- Light/Medium

MAC Studio Finish Concealer- NW15 (used underneath brow bone)

Face:

Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel Bronze Universel Bronzing Makeup Base

Sleek Contour Kit- Light

Dior Blush in Strawberry Sorbet (not available anymore)

Lips:

Maybelline SuperStay 14 hour- Always Plum (?)

Others:

Tom Ford Black Orchid Perfume 

Elegant Touch False Nails