My Holy Grail Beauty Products

Hello all you lovely readers of A is for Ayla, 

As you may have noticed, ‘tis not Rachael here today, so let’s get acquainted shall we? I’m Chloe and I blog over at realityleaveslotstoimagination.blogspot.co.uk. My blog is primarily a beauty blog, with hints of lifestyle and fashion here and there, so if that’s the sort of thing that takes your fancy, pop over and say hello! As you may know, a few weeks back Rachael tweeted asking if any bloggers would be interested in writing a guest post for her lovely blog, and that’s where I stepped in! After a couple of emails back and forth, here I am. Today I’m going to be sharing with you my ‘Holy Grail’ beauty products (a.k.a the beauty products I just couldn't possibly live without). It’s a bit of a mix match of different products, a few makeup, a few skincare and so on. 

Lush Ultrabland Cleanser 

Is it possible to fall in love with a cleanser? This little beauty has been in my procession for a good few months and I just love it. The lovely people at Lush have popped lots of natural goodness into this product, such as almond oil, rose oil, beeswax and honey, to name a few. I just pop it all over my face at the end of the day and use some of the amazing Lush Tea Tree Toner Water (the Simple Kind to Skin Soothing Facial Toner is a cheaper alternative if you’re short on pennies) on a cotton pad to remove it, taking all traces of makeup and dirt with it. One of the most attractive things about this product is it’s super super gentle on the skin, in particular around the eye area, which is fab if (like me) you’re prone to accidentally getting little bits of your products in your eyes. It leaves your skin feeling super soft and overall just lovely and clean. I really recommend giving this product a try if you have blemish-prone skin as it’s worked wonders on clearing up my skin.

Benefit “They’re Real” Mascara 

This has to be one of the most talked about mascaras in the blogging world. It produces such a stunning false-lash look and it defines my eyes so much more than any other mascara I've tried in the past. I have found, however, that this product can go a little bit clumpy if you apply a couple of layers but to solve this little issue, I simply gently wipe the wand over a cotton wool pad before I apply it, to wipe of any excess product, so I can achieve a lovely clump-less look. 

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Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation 

I was a little late to the party with this product but now I’m here, I absolutely love it. Initially, the idea of a mousse foundation sort of terrified me as I was more of a liquid foundation kind of girl, but this product has converted me. As the "mousse" element of this product suggests, it's very soft and lightweight on the skin, and I find this foundation to be very buildable, which is so good if you're looking for something that provides a good coverage. I apply it using my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush and my Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge and it lasts good 6 or so hours before you even need to consider a little touch up. 

I did a full review of this product back on my blog a few weeks ago, which you can find here if you’re interested in having a read. 

Lush “Grease Lightning” Spot Treatment 

The final of my Holy Grail products is this magical spot treatment. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a necessity for any makeup bag and it’s my all-time favourite spot treatment.  It’s lovely and gentle on the skin yet extremely powerful and it feels very calming and cool when applied. If you pop a tiny bit on any appearing spots at night, by morning they are no more and it does a fab job of reducing redness and size of spots that have already made an appearance. I could blabble on about how much I love this product for forever and a day but, to be quite honest, the sentence that sums it up best is: magic in a bottle. 

So those are my Holy Grail items. If you've done any posts similar to this one recently, let me know so I can have a bit of a nosey, I always love reading posts like this. 

I want to finish by saying a huge huge thank you to the lovely Rachael for giving me the opportunity to post on her lovely blog, I've had a whale of a time. 

 

Life Update: A Levels, University and Work

Lets pretend I haven't been missing for several months and cut straight to it. The last time I did one of these life updates, I was studying for my AS Levels in French, Spanish, Politics and Economics (and a few added extras we don't need to discuss). Fast forward to the present, I've got a few so-so grades under by belt. Don't get me wrong they weren't tragic, but they weren't half as good as they could have been. This year I've been extra motivated to study more (she says writing a blog post midday on a Thursday sat at home watching Narnia) especially for my current mocks. I know a lot of my followers are going through the same UCAS applications as me at the moment, so I'll talk a little bit about what I'm up to in terms of University applications, I know I get really curious about what everyone else is doing! If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know I went through the whole Oxford and Cambridge open days hassle experience. Although I loved Oxford, I didn't apply, partially because my grades were sightly doubtful (although still enough to get an interview) and because I've found what I would consider to be the perfect course for me elsewhere. I've mentioned it before, but I'm hoping to study something along the lines of Mandarin Chinese with International Relations, with a year abroad in China. I sent my application off in November, and at the moment I've got an offer from Nottingham (my first/only realistic choice), Leeds and Newcastle, as well as an interview at Manchester which I'm considering rejecting. I'm also still waiting for a response from Edinburgh. I'd love to here everybody elses UCAS success stories, or alternatively anybodies advice on university life! Work wise, although a quit my job at NEXT last September, I've managed to find myself working at another store closer to home. I have to say I do quite enjoy it, I can think of a thousand jobs more torturous! I hope this post will at least justify my recent absence. Hows everyone else doing?

Lifestyle: The 13 Best Moments Of 2013!

1. My 16th Birthday I finally turned 16 on the 22nd January! I planned on having a party and everything but in the end I opted for a quieter birthday. So quiet that I don't have a detailed picture of what I did! I just did some shopping, spent time with family and friends and had a bit of a party!

2. A Friends Party This is a really random one but this party in particular really stands out for me. I'd had one of the worst days ever and yet one of the best nights ever. I was really at my happiest despite not all of my friends being there. Weird, but I'll remember it forever! 3. My Blogs 2nd Birthday! Back on the 2nd June my blog turned 2! I was really happy to have made it this far and really thankful for everyone who was still sticking with me.

4. Last Exam - Finishing School! On the 17th June I had my last exam - geography, a subject I actually like! Only 3 of my friends were actually in on the day so I didn't necessarily spend the day celebrating. It was weird wearing my uniform for the last time and walking over 'the bridge' for the final time as a student! 5. Prom! I did have a whine and complain about my Prom back on the 28th June but it is a date I'll always remember. It was good to see all of my teachers and my friends I was leaving behind on a more formal goodbye! The after prom was an amazing night too, you don't feel the need to hold back on anything when you know you wont see 90% of the people again!

6. Starting My New Job! Most people probably dread this but I was really happy to start work at a fashion retail chain. I work as a sales assistant and love every minute of it! 7. Results Day! Results day was the last time I saw a lot of people. It was great to finally let all the work I did at high school go! In the end I came out with 2A* 8A and 2B.

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Lifestyle: Revisited - Did I Stick To My 2013 Resolutions?

So if you're one of my older followers you may remember me making a ton of goals and resolutions at the beginning of this year. That included my 100 Goals, but also 13 Resolutions for 2013. I decided now that were coming to the end of 2013, I would revisit them and see if I managed to achieve, or at least stick to any of my 13 resolutions! 

It's always a pretty hard one to judge, but I think on a general scale I probably have been a lot happier in 2013. Once I'd finished school and all the exams that went with it, I think I was relieved to get away from a lot of the people that ever put me in a bad mood, and so naturally making me a lot happier. Lets hope it continues!

When I read back my New Years Resolutions this year, I realised I had contradicted myself. Although I want to be independent in having my own money, getting myself from A to B and doing certain things alone, I also wanted to stop being the one to look after everyone else, and let myself be the one that needs looking after sometimes. I think in 2013 I've moved closer to that than I ever have. 

This is probably one of my biggest successes in these resolutions as in 2013 I became (probably) as financially independent as any 16 year old can. I finally got myself a job doing something I really enjoy and I'm in control of my own spending and saving, just what I wanted!

Again this is a hard one to judge, I guess the true verdict would come from you guys! Personally I think I've tried to improve all aspects of my blog this year, which included putting a lot more thought in to the types of posts I produce.

I've had mixed success with this one. Although I got a job and therefore an income, I don't save as much as I'd like to. Every so often a few products creep on to the wishlist meaning a trip to Boots or Selfridges, and everyone knows once you're there its hard not to go a little crazy sometimes!  I'm off to the US next year and so I'd like to grow a bit of funding, but so far I'm only a fraction of the way there!

More mixed success! I definitely go out more than I did last year, but even so there's room for improvement!

100% achieved! Once I finished school back in June my life pretty much turned upside down. I feel like you cant ever really have the greatest life when you're locked up in a classroom 7 hours a day! Thankfully I managed to  get a good balance by the time I went to college!

What a big fat fail! I value sleep even less these days. I'll admit that some nights I don't even go to sleep, oops! My sleep disorder can cover the blame on this one!;)

I really didn't think I'd do this one as I was never really 'in to' books. However, I've definitely read a lot more this year. I think I read The Hunger Games series about 4 times over.

I've had great success upping my water intake. I wanted to see if drinking more water would improve my skin at all, and for the most part I think it did! I'll definitely continue!

I appreciate that to the majority of you this probably sounds ridiculous, but I've never really been 'pushed' to use public transport which somewhere along the line helped me to develop a bit a 'fear'. Public buses are still my idea of hell on Earth but I've started using trains a lot more this year, It makes my life so much easier, I like it!

This is probably the biggest fail of them all. As long-term followers will know, I've had weight issues for close to a decade now so I was a little naive to think this might be possible. Having said that I have gained and maintained around 3 or 4lbs leaving me feeling a lot healthier than before! My main aim was to be in the 'normal' BMI category but as yet, I'm not there. Perhaps It could be a 2014 resolution?

Over the course of 2013 I've come to realise you don't necessarily need to have a set-in-stone plan of where you're going. I'm not saying I'm a fan of 'winging-it' but I'm definitely more relaxed now, and I like it!

Did you stick to or achieve any of your 2013 resolutions?

Remember you can follow AIFA on Bloglovin' and Twitter!

Lorde Style Steal | Outfit Inspiration

Hey guys! My name is Amira and I blog over at Holy Chic and I was invited over here by the lovely Ayla to do a guest post for her. So I am going to start by telling you guys a little bit about myself. I would consider myself to be mostly a fashion blogger however I do sometimes do beauty posts, DIY’s and reviews or anything random.

I have only been blogging for a little while now, but I have honestly spoken to some amazing people and I just love the overall experience of blogging at the moment. Thank you for giving me the chance to do this guest post on her blog because words can’t even describe how amazing it really is. So all of that aside, today I am going to be doing a Lorde inspiration Style Steal. I am absolutely obsessed with Lorde; her music, fashion and just her overall look on life and seeing things from her perspective. Her style and overall fashion sense is really interesting and i feel like there is something in it for everyone. And hey, it won’t hurt to get some more fashion ideas for the up and coming temperature change. Of course you can add more layers or less depending on where you live but this is just the basics of her outfits. So I hope you guys enjoy.

This first look is really interesting because it takes one of the big summer trends of pinafores and makes it more autumn/winter appropriate. Pair it with a crisp white collared shirt and some chunky platform boots to get Lordes’ edge.

Look 1
Skirt / Shirt / Socks / Shoes

For look two, this is a very simple, clean cut dress. And midi/maxi dress will do with tights and some chunky ankle boots which seem to be a staple piece in her wardrobe.

Look 2 
Dress / Shoes / Tights

In the third look, we can see a clash of colours, print and textures and different textures are really in this autumn/winter. So to make it more seasons appropriate, switch it up. Go for some monochrome patterned trousers and a brightly coloured fluffy jumper. Add a touch of mess class with these patent brogues and some socks

Look 3
Jumper / Trousers / Socks  / Shoes

In the fourth look, we see black on black but again, playing with the textures. This is a great way to get away with wearing all black this time of year. Pair a mesh cropped top with a black strap top, pleather skirt and the same boots as look 1. Wearing all black can work and look good in this case.

Look 4 
Socks / Skirt / Top / Shoes / Fishnet Top

Looking at outfit 5, we can see that Lorde only adds a splash of colour to this outfit, so take a bright coloured patterned top/shirt to achieve the same look. This would look great with Topshop highwaisted jeans and again those patent brogues.

Look 5
Jeans / Top / Shoes

Looking at outfit 6, a matching set was really in for spring/summer time and this look can still be wearable in the autumn/winter too. I couldn’t find one like Lorde’s but you can keep in with another big autumn trend and go for a check print two piece. The colours are muted in keeping with the weather. Add some tights and more layers if necessary and and some buckle ankle boots to complete the look.

Look 6
Top / Skirt / Boots 

So I think that what we can take away from Lorde’s look is that you don’t need to get a complete new wardrobe but just a few staple pieces to achieve some of the hottest trends this AW13.

I hope you guys enjoyed this post and thank you Rachael once again for allowing me to do this on her amazing blog here. If you want to see more from me, you can check out my blog here as well as Follow me viaBloglovin if you really loved it. I have a wide variety of posts over there for you guys to read. 

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Youtube account / Twitter! / Contact me: holychiccontact@gmail.com / My Polyvore Account  / Follow me via Bloglovin / Holy Chic Tumblr

Thank you guys for reading! 

Byee

A x