Beauty // MAC neutrals quad

MAC QUAD
neutral shades

1. Shroom     

2. All that glitters

3. Wedge

4. Espresso

For my 21st birthday, my incredibly generous boyfriend got me a MAC giftcard so I could add to my (at the time only 1 piece) collection. The first thing I got is this gorgeous quad of 4 eyeshadow shades in neutral colours. I'm very much a neutral person when it comes to eyeshadows so I went for subtle, earthy tones.

1. Shroom - this is a soft, shimmery white colour thats great as a highlighter for your lid, brow bone, and I even use it down the centre of my nose sometimes too. It's a touch on the frosty side but still a gorgeous colour.

2. All that glitters - this is a beautiful soft gold colour, gives life to the eye without being too bold or yellow. Perfect for subtle glamour.

3. Wedge - this is my favourite out of all the colours I got for an every day wear. I like to wear this in the crease of my eye to give subtle definition and shape. So pretty, and perfectly subtle and natural looking.

4. Espresso - Ideal for when I want a more bold contour on my crease, or to wear close to the lashline as subtle eyeliner. Also a great colour for brows.

Overall, I do adore this palette and I will definitely get great use out of it. However, I already owned the Naked 2 palette and these colours are so, so similar to some of the colours in that palette. Shroom is similar to Urban Decay's Bootycall (I actually prefered bootycall but hit pan pretty early on!), All that glitters is very similar to UD's Half Baked (Which also features in the original Naked palette) and Wedge is fairly similar to UD's Tease (Wedge is actually more natural looking, slightly warmer as Tease is quite grey or ashy). 

What do you think about MAC? Too expensive or worth the money? I'd love to hear your comments

Kitty xoxox

Beauty // HG skincare

SUPERFACIALIST BY UNA BRENNAN
Neroli Firming Face Serum

I have absolutely massive love for this product. It's changed my life. Well, it's changed my skincare routine anyway! I'd never been a serum person until one day I got a sample of the Wei Jujube Age Control Serum in one of my monthly beauty boxes (I should really start keeping track of what sample came from what box...oops!) and I fell in love with that produce. It was a miniature sample that lasted me around a week and the produce was incredible... it basically gave me new skin and completely irradiated all redness and pigmentation on my skin (holy grail product? uh yeah!!) However... as incredible as this product was, it costs £60 here in the UK and for a student, that's a lot on the pricey side for skincare. 

So I was on the hunt for a really amazing serum to replace this, and Zoe Sugg (Zoella) mentioned on her youtube channel that she'd bought this one in a haul from Boots, so the drugstore lover in me decided that I must also purchase this. And I'm so glad I did! So a massive thanks to Zoe for influencing me to purchase it! I never heard her mention it again, so maybe she didn't like it :(

I on the other hand, have adored it. I'm on my 4th (???) bottle of it now and I will continually repurchase. It isn't labelled specifically as an anti-ageing serum, but it has that oh-so-wonderful hyaluronic acid which has been linked to youthful skin. It basically helps your skin to retain its moisture and also has healing properties too and has made a noticeable (and rapid) reduction on redness, blemishes and pore sizing. An all around perfect addition to my skin care routine and is definitely a holy grail for me. 

I've get to try anything else from this brand but I believe this serum at £14.99 in Boots, is one of the more pricey products from them. Being the savvy shopper that I like to think I am, I always look out for deals on in Boots and try to grab this when skincares on three-for-two or half price! 

Do you have any recommendations for skincare or from this brand? I'd love to know.

Lots of Love, 

Kitty xxx

Beauty // Essie Sand Tropez

Essie Sand Tropez; Image from my instagram @KittWills

Ciao Bella,

I'm a huge lover of neutral nail colours for everyday very wearable nails so I have a plethora of beige/nude/peachy-pinky colours! This is one that I'm loving at the moment from Essie.

I adore the cute names that Essie give all their colours, it makes it so much more exciting when picking a new one at the counter or selecting one to use from your collection. They've called this one Sand Tropez which is quite fitting as it's a sand-stone colour neutral. It's a little bit more grey than I usually go for with neutrals but it's such a pretty colour I've been reaching for this one a lot lately! It also looks great with Essie's Matte About You matte top coat on it! 

Do you have a favourite Essie colour or name? Let me know :)

Lots of love

Kitty xoxox

Beauty // Sleek Face Form Palette

Sleek Makeup
Face Form Contouring and Blush Palette in Light 373

Ciao Bella, 

I really love this simple face contouring kit from Sleek. It's one of the few powder highlighters I can find on the highstreet (have you found any others/are they any good? I'd love to know!) It also comes with an excellent matte bronzer which is perfect for contouring, and a shimmery blush - the colour of the blush is a little to vibrant for me, but someone more brave than me might love it!

The palette I went for was 'Light' as my skin is quite fair. Another reason I chose this palette was after looking at them in the store I decided that the bronzer looked very similar to my lovely (but far pricier) Benefit Hoola bronzer, which I've always thought looks very similar to Nars Laguna - IMO this is a great dupe for both products! 

The palette retails at £9.99 - what a bargain for three makeup essentials! - and can be found online here or at Superdrug! It comes in four shades; fair, light, medium and dark - although in my opinion fair and light look virtually identical! 

I have swatched the colours on my hand above, as you can see they appear vibrant with good pigmentation! The blush is verging on frosty and the colour is a touch too orange for me (I like a cool pink toned blush) but the highlight and contour are perfect! 

Here I have blende the colours lightly using a fluffy face brush, I went a little heavy with the very pigmented contour as you can see it didn't blend out all too well! Important to remember to use a light hand when using this contour, as it is easy too apply too much and get that much dreaded muddy look. 

I have comparison swatches of Benefit Hoola next to the bronzer from the Sleek palette and I think you can agree that they're very similar in colour, however the sleek one is noticeably more pigmented! I love both of these bronzers and they're makeup essentials for me so both will be repurchased. I tend to go for the Benefit bronzer during the day or for a more subtle look, and the bolder sleek contour for a night time look!

Have you tried this palette? What do you think of it? I'd love to know!

Lots of love

Kitty xoxox

Life // Update

End of University!

Ciao Bella,

Today I have some very exciting news for you all; I have finished my undergraduate degree! 

I've been reading Film and Screen Studies at the University of Brighton for the last three years and I've absolutely loved every second of it.

I've met some incredible people whilst living in Brighton, most importantly my boyfriend - it's also our two year anniversary coming up, another exciting moment! 

I cannot believe how quickly these three years have flown by, it's been one hell of an experience and even though I've decided not to go in to the film industry I wouldn't change anything that I've done. 

So what next?

Well, if all goes well and I get the right grade to meet my conditional offer from Kingston University then I'll be going there to study a masters in Real Estate! This is a gateway into the property industry for me, and will allow me to, at a later stage, become a chartered surveyor. 

You can look forward to more blog updates from me now that the hectic assessment period is all over and done with! (yay!) 

Let me know if there are any exciting things going on in your life at the moment!

Lots of love

Kitty xxx

Fashion // Cheryl Cole

Cheryl at Cannes 2012; image from my instagram @KittWills

Ciao Bella,

Ever since Cheryl was a judge on X-Factor UK, I have been a massive fan not only of her, but of her style. She's a stunning woman and always dresses to impress, and her appearance at Cannes this year was no exception!

In a Zuhair Murad dress reminiscent of Elie Saab she looked dazzling on the red carpet. 

Her hair and make up always looks flawless, and well, she's probably my absolute modern icon in terms of beauty and style! Well done Cheryl & L'Oreal.

Don't forget to comment & subscribe!

Lots of love

xoxox

Fashion // Michael Kors Rose Gold watch

Ciao bella,

These rose gold beauties have been all the rage for a little while now, so I thought I should add a little blog post about my beloved watch...

MK Rose Gold Watch; image from my instagram @KittWills

It was a thoughtful Christmas '12 present from my delightful other half, and is literally my favourite accessory.

Before this, 99% of my jewellery was silver or white gold, and now I've ventured into more exciting accessories, with gold, rose gold and mixed metals...all sorts of outrageous stuff!!

The watch is really durable, and looks great with any outfit, the sizing is a little awkward on me... I wear it too lose because having any more links out would make it too small, but I don't really mind it being too lose, it doesn't bother me.

What do you think about rose gold? Yey or ney?

Don't forget to subscribe and comment!

Lots of love xoxoxox

Beauty // Matte About You

Essie Matte Top Coat

In a recent Boots haul I purchased the Essie 'Matte About You' matte top coat. I love the matte trend, I think it gives a really chic look to an outfit and can re-ignite your love of a colour you've gotten a little bored of. 

The Essie top coat does the job, it makes the nails matte with just one coat, however it is a little tricky and temperamental. I'm the type of nail-painter who doesn't like to hang around for colours to dry, so that is a huge downside for me with this colour - it takes ages to dry! & even after I feel like it must be dry, I still get smudges.

Matte About You; image from my instagram @KittWills 

I find if you put a thin layer on, it dries much quicker and still gives the matte effect, so definitely start with thin layers and make sure your existing nail varnish is completely dry before applying this.

The above picture features 'Matte About You' on top of Essies 'Geranium' 

At £8 a bottle I'm sure there must be cheaper drug-store alternatives, but I'm still pleased with my purchase...

Don't forget to comment and subscribe!
Lots of love xoxoxox

Fashion // Graduation outfit ideas

I'm graduating from University in July, so I'm already thinking about the perfect dress to wear under my gown. My university colours are blue, so that helps a little - but I'm not sure what shade!
Here are a few choices I spotted on the selfridges website - I LOVE the Pucci dress, (but hate the pricetag)

From my Instagram - @KittWills

These dresses are so sweet, and I'd be likely to wear them again but the Pucci and Victoria Beckham dress are far too pricey! I spotted this rather lovely dress on the Reiss website that is similar to the Pucci one. Of course, I'll have to try it on but this could be a winner!

I'll do a graduation OOTD post nearer to the time! Let me know if you see anything graduation-appopriate! 

xox

Fashion // OOTD

Here's an outfit I wore recently, for an evening out in Richmond.

I wanted to feel a little more summery even though the weather is still being so temperamental!

Jacket - H&M last year, it's a cute beige blazer that's cropped at the back and a little longer at the front.

Top - Abercrombie and Fitch - I got this top in New York about 3 years ago, love the floral pattern!

Jeans - Abercrombie and Fitch - These are the perfect super-soft and thick jeggings. So comfy

Bracelets - Pandora & Tiffany

Fashion // OOTD

Here's a cheeky IG shot of today's outfit.
Jeans - Jack Wills - had them ages, classic tight skinnies
Shoes - Marks and Spencer - got these recently, love them!
Top - Oasis - Has a beautiful crochete neckline detail
Jacket - H&M - Cute wax jacket in Barbour style from H&M - perfect for this awful weather
Bag - Louis Vuitton - Classic and handy, every girls must have designer bag


Don't forget to follow my instagram @KittWills

xox

Beauty // Tanya Burr date makeup

A while back, the wonderful Tanya Burr did a gorgeous date make up tutorial.
I recreated her look and hash-tagged it with #tanyadatemakeup on instragram, here's the photo of my look;

It was such a gorgeous look, and Tanya even 'liked' my photo, how exciting! Go and check out her tutorial on YouTube! Enjoy xox