Life ¦ August on Instagram

 

So last months instagram post went down so well I decided that I was going to carry it on this month I've tried to be a little more active on instagram. If you don't follow me yet (you are seriously missing out if you aren't) my username is @Coleoftheball. Any of the photos which have blog posts to go along with them will be linked!

 

 

 Barry M contour kit // Ice cream! // Abersoch beach huts //

Squad // German treats // Another beach pic //

The king and queen of the lip balms // Fave gals // Trafford centre beauty haul //

 

 

Flowers // Catrice Raspberryfields forever // Oreo brownies //

The best oreo's ever // Rimmel Neon fest // Selfie //

Everyday Makeup // American pancakes // August favourites //
 



Follow

Beauty ¦ August Favourites

This months favourites are pretty limited, if you read my everyday makeup post on Wednesday (Here if you didn't) You will be aware that I haven't been wearing a lot of makeup this recently as it's either been too hot or I just haven't needed to as I'm not at school at the moment. So without further ado lets get on with the favourites.

 

 

Eucerin Factor 50 Facial SPF for combination/oily skin

 

I have never actually used a facial SPF as I'm super lazy but when I won a load of Eucerin suncare in a giveaway I decided it was about time as I gave one a go. This one is no way near greasy which is one of the things I was terrified of. Despite the fact that my skin hasn't been as oily as it usually is throughout the summer I haven't found this has dried out my skin.

 



Catrice Illuminating blush - I am nuts about you

 

This is something that Theresa bought me over from Germany and I absolutely love it. It's the perfect mixture of bronze and peach with a slight golden shimmer running through it. It leaves a gorgeous peachy sheen on the skin which adds lots of glow to the face. I think I'm much more likely to use this in the summer as I fell it's not going to work as well when my skin is pale.

 

Maybelline Brow satin pencil - Dark brown

 

I've been looking for a brow pencil that's a little cheaper than my favourite Benefit Brow pencil. This isn't quite as wet however I do really love it. The pencil is a nice grey toned brown shade and it leaves my brows a little lighter than I usually have them which I've been really enjoying. I'm not a big fan of the weird sponge and powder end as I don't find it really does anything.

 



Maybelline Super stay better skin concealer

 

I mentioned this in my post last Sunday (Here if you fancy a read) I've been on a little bit of a concealer obsession at the moment. This one is high coverage without being cakey and it covers blemishes brilliantly. It reminds me of a more hydrating version of the Collection lasting perfection concealer. The only thing I would say is that the shade is a little too dark for me and sadly I don't think I'm going to be able to use it when I don't have a tan.

 

 



Follow

Life ¦ Foodie friday - American pancakes

I absolutely adore pancakes, they have to be one of my favourite foods of all time. Today I thought I'd share my super quick and simple recipe for these fluffy and light American style pancakes. I really hope you enjoy this and if you have a favourite pancakes recipe I'd love for you to share it bellow.

 

Ingredients -

135g Plain flour

2 tsp's  Baking powder

3-4 tbsp Caster sugar (This depends on how sweet you want your batter to be)

1 Egg

130ml Milk

2 tbsp's Melted butter (slightly cooled)

A pinch of salt

You can also add things like Raisins, chocolate chips, lemon etc.
 

 

1. Mix the sugar with the melted butter then add the dry ingredients.

2. Whisk the egg and the milk together and add to the sugar, butter and all the other dry ingredients.

3. Slowly fold everything together until all the dry ingredients are incorporated into the wet ingredients.

4. If you want to add any other ingredients add them here.

5. Use a ladle to pour the mixture into the pan., the pancakes can be any size.

6. Make sure if you are using any other ingredients that could sink to the bottom of the mixture that you stir each time you put some more batter in the pan.

 

So that's it super simple and super delicious I really hope you enjoyed this post.



Follow

Beauty ¦ The everyday face #2

 

It's be a while since I did an everyday makeup post so I thought it was about time I did one as a lot of the products have changed. This past couple if months I've been leaning towards much more minimal makeup as the weather here in the UK has either been very stuffy or very wet, neither of which are ideal conditions for heavy eye makeup and a high coverage base.

 

I've been starting off with the Gosh CC cream in 03 sand as my base as it is beautiful and light however it still adds a little coverage. I can only use this in the summer as it's a lot darker than my winter skin tone (I won it in a giveaway I didn't choose the shade myself.) I find this really helps hydrate my skin while I'm wearing it without making it feel oily or greasy. I've then been reaching for two concealers. For under my eyes I've been using Maybelline Fit me in 15 as it's lighter than my current skin tone so it highlights a little whilst covering up my dark circles. Then for blemishes I've been using Maybelline Super stay better skin concealer as it has a lovely full coverage without being cakey or drying. For the rest of my base I've only been using a tiny but of my trusted Nars laguna bronzer to add a little glow and bronze to my face.

 



For my eyes I've been avoiding shadow as I find my eyes are even oilier than usual in the summer so I've just been applying lots of Benefit They're real mascara to really make my eye pop. For brows I've just recently started using the Maybelline Brow satin pencil in Dark brown which makes filling in my brows super easy. Finally I've been finishing off the look with my Rimmel Exaggerate lip liner in east end snob to add a little bit of colour to the look.

 

Do you simple your makeup down in the summer or is it just me? I'd love for you to let me know in the comments.

 

Follow

Beauty ¦ Mani monday #4 - Rimmel Neon fest

 

The summer has pretty much gone in the UK so Mani Monday's are probably going to turn a whole lot more wintery so I thought I'd give the brighter shades one last hurrah. I love this polish so much it managed to make it's way into my July favourites (which are //Here// if you want a read)

 

This shade is an amazing holiday shade as it really enhances a tan. It's a very bright true pink with no blue undertones. I love the brushes on the Rimmel polishes as they are nice and thick meaning that you can get a much more even coat on the nails. This also dries super fast which is a massive bonus for me as I have a habit of painting my nails and then realising that I need to do something.

 

Follow

Beauty ¦ An ode the Maybelline concealers

 

 

I recently seem to have developed quite an obsession for concealers. When I though about writing a post on a few of my favourites I realised that the majority of the ones I loved where from Maybelline, so I decided to make today's post a little shrine to the wonders of their concealers.

 

Maybelline Fit me concealer - £5.99

 

This must be my 6th or 7th tube of this stuff as I just love it. It's a very light and hydrating concealer meaning it works really nicely under the eyes however it does still have a medium coverage so it does work to cover any kind of redness or blemishes. The one thing I will say about this one is that the writing on the packaging rubs of after you've used it about twice and you end up covered in black smudges and so does the rest of the makeup you've used and possibly your face ad your clothes. Not ideal but for £5.99 you can't expect miracles.

 



Maybelline Super stay better skin concealer - £5.99

 

This is the newest addition to my Maybelline concealer family. This is a complete bargain at £5.99 for 11ml. This one is a lot higher in coverage than Fit me however I find it still has that lovely light texture that I look for in a concealer. This one blends into the skin and it looks so natural. The one thing I will say is that the shade I picked up was the lightest shade in the Superdrug I bought it from however it's a little to dark for me even while I'm tanned so bare that in mind if you are super pale.

 

Maybelline The eraser eye - £7.99

 

I actually need to pick up another tube of this as this one is almost finished. I wasn't to keen on the idea of the sponge applicator at first but I actually really love it. It really helps the concealer blend nicely into the skin and it also makes sure that you don't put to much product on. Unlike the other two concealers I use this one exclusively under my eyes as I find the coverage is a little to light for on blemishes or redness. This one is again a teeny bit dark however I can work with it and make it look the right shade. 

Follow

Life ¦ Foodie friday - The German candy post Part 1

 

First off a massive shout out to my lovely German friend Theresa who bought all these treats over for me to try so I could write this post. There's about 8 million posts and videos lie this floating around at the moment but I thought I would do one as I do love a good sweet treat. I actually think I'm going to split this post up into three as I don't want it to end up being to long. I really hope you enjoy and I'd love for you to recommend me some more treats from around the world that I need to try.

 

Knoppers are one of my all time favourite snacks and it breaks my heart that I can't get them in the UK. They are a wafer based biscuit with a chocolate and hazelnut filling followed by another wafer then a cream filling finally followed by a chocolate covered wafer. They are really hazelnutty so if you aren't a fan of nuts you are not going to like this.

 



Reisen are a super simple treat. They are a hard chewy caramel covered in a rich slightly bitter dark chocolate. One thing I will say is that these are super chewy. The slightly bitter chocolate balances out the super sweet caramel so overall they are not to sickly.

 



Nimm 2 literally translates from German to English as take 2. They are hard boiled candy sweets with a sort of gooey filling like you get in the filled haribo in orange and lemon flavours. These are really lovely and the citrus flavours are super intense and yummy. I'm going to be really sad when we finish these.

 



Vitraletten Kirsche are teeny little circle of a cherry powdery sweet. They kind of remind me of tiny cherry flavoured love hearts. These are perfect for if you fancy something a little sweet but you don't want anything that's going to fill you. I imagine that kids would absolutely love these.

 

I think these are the only thing that I have to try that you can get in the UK. Toffifee are caramel cups filled with a nougat cream and a hazelnut and topped with a very smooth milk chocolate. I absolutely love these. The texture for me is perfect as they are very smooth but there is a little crunch from the hazelnut.

 

I really hope you enjoyed this post!



Follow

Beauty ¦ Bella and bear makeup brushes

 

Is it just me or can you never have enough brushes. I'm always short of a clean blending brush or a fresh foundation brush. So when the lovely people over at Bella and bear offered to send me some of their new brush range I was super happy to try them out.

 

 

First off they sent me the Lberian lynx brow brush* which is a super small angled brush which works well for both winged liner and for getting a really precise brow. The spooley on the other end is nice and firm and doesn't take out to much product when you run it through the brows. This is a really lovely quality brush which has washed really well. I think I may have finally found my perfect brow brush.

 



Next up they sent me over the Lynx foundation brush* which is a very dense stippling brush. Personally this doesn't work for me as a foundation brush however for cream blushes and bronzers it's fabulous. Due to how dense it is it picks up enough pigment so that it isn't blended away. This brush has also washed very well and the bristles are really nice and soft.

 



Finally they sent me over the Cats eyes eye brush set* I really like the variety of shapes and sizes of brushes in this set however in all honesty I found the small tapered brush and the blending brush to have very scratchy bristles. Once I'd washed them they have softened a little however I only tend to reach for them when I have no other clean brushes. This being said I love the brow brush and the crease brush. The crease brush is the perfect size for my eye and I always find it applies a really nice neat bit of colour into the crease. Finally for this set is the flat shadow brush. I don't use these often but this is nice and dense and it packs the colour on well.

 



Overall I'd recommend the Bella and bear brushes as they are affordable but good quality.

 

*These products were sent to me free of charge to review however all opinions are my own. 

Follow

Beauty ¦ Mani monday #3 - Catrice Raspberryfields forever

 

I decided that it was time to mix up the colours on Mani Monday this week as the last two have been blue. This is a polish that my friend bought me over from Germany. The formula is super lovely and the new extra wide brush works really well and makes painting super easy. The colour is a beautiful

raspberry shade and the finish is lovely and glossy.

 

I really like these polishes and I'm definitely going to be picking some more shades next time I go somewhere that sells Catrice.

 

Follow

Beauty ¦ Lush Oxford st exclusives

When I heard that the Oxford street exclusives where being rolled out into selected stores throughout the UK I was very happy that the Trafford centre store would be getting them. I must admit now that I am home I do wish that I had picked up a few more bits however now I know that a store near me stocks them I'm not as bothered.

 

 

Ever since the Oxford street hauls have been on the blogs I've wanted to try the Comforter shower gel. The comforter is one of my favourite lush products so I was really excited to find out that they did the scent in shower gel form. If you ask me this smells exactly like the sweetie pie shower jelly which I absolutely love so it's perfect for me.

 

 

The Refresher shower jelly intrigued me as I love citrus-y scents in the summer time and I absolutely love the way the shower jellies work. This is a really fruity and zesty fragrance. As with all the shower jellies it's a super fun product to use in the shower. I an definitely see myself using this when I've been out on a hot day (If we get anymore)

 



Let me know if you've tried any of the Lush Oxford St exclusives or if you are lusting after any products from the line! 

Follow

Life ¦ Foodie fridays - Triple chocolate cookies

If you know me in real life you will know I am a real chocoholic so today I thought I'd share these amazing triple chocolate cookies with you. These are seriously amazing and if left in the oven for the correct amount of time they end up deliciously gooey in the middle. I hope you enjoy this post!

 



Caster sugar - 400G

Unsalted butter - 200G 

Plain butter - 400G

Cocoa powder - 50G

Vanilla extract - 2 Teaspoons

Eggs - 2

Milk - A splash

Plain/Milk chocolate - 200G

White chocolate - 100G

 

1. Preheat the oven to 200c and line a baking tray with grease proof paper.

2.Put the butter in a microwavable bowl and heat in the microwave for around 45 seconds to melt.

3. Mix the melted butter with the sugar and add the vanilla essence and the eggs.

4. Sieve in the flour and cocoa powder into the bowl and fold in using a wooden spoon making sure there are no lumps and that the dry ingredients are well incorporated.

5. Chop up the chocolate and add to the cookie dough. I find here that the chocolate is easier to distribute through the mixture if you also add a little bit of milk.

6. Bake the cookies for around 10 minutes, once taken out the oven the surface should begin to harden and the insides should remain gooey.
 



Follow

Beauty ¦ L'oreal l'ombre pure eyeshadows

Something I think that the drugstore do really well are shadows, and these ones from L'Oreal are no exception. Super buttery and blendable they are close dupes for the urban decay I've tried. I actually find that these two particular shades work past by patting them on with my finger. Otherwise they can be very sheer due to how light the shades are.

 

 

Café saint germain is a gorgeous purple taupe shade which looks amazing with a dark purple shade in the crease but it also works beautifully with brown shades. Sable lame is a gorgeous sheer gold shade with lots of shimmer and it looks absolutely beautiful pressed over any kind of brown or gold shades to add some more shimmer.

 



Follow

Beauty ¦ Mani Monday #2 - Miss sporty Pop fiction

For the price of these polishes they are seriously insane. At £1.99 piece you don't expect much but they are seriously impressive. They are by far the fastest drying polishes in my collection and they are always the ones I reach for when I'm in a rush. The one thing I will say is that the lasting power isn't amazing but for someone who changes their nail polish almost everyday it's not a problem.

 

The shade is the most amazing Bright blue and it looks awesome for the summer as it's so bright. The finish is a cream so it isn't overly glossy however I like that as its so bright.

 

Follow

Beauty ¦ The King and Queen of the balms

I'm not sure that I have ever repurchased a lip balm in my life but this one has completely changed the game. The minute I hit the bottom of the pot I panicked ordered another tub off feel unique almost straightaway.

 



When I first tried it I just wasn't sure whether it would live up to the hype however a whole pot of the stuff later and I'm hooked. It's a very thick balm which leaves the lips with a semi matte finish rather than that usual glossy look when you've first applied lip balm. This works really nicely under any lipstick however it does tend to make the formula sheerer if you have to much left on the lips when you put your lip product on.

 



One of the things I love about this balm is how nourishing it. It leaves lips feeling smoother and just a teeny bit more plumped. Despite it's thick texture it doesn't feel heavy on the lips and is perfectly comfortable to wear all day on the lips. It doesn't leave a white cast like some heavier lip balms can so it's fab for wearing on it's own on super low key makeup days. Something I do have to mention is the smell which I personally love however some people might not be a fan as it is pretty strong. It smells like chocolate oranges which for me is an absolute dream!

 

 

Overall if you suffer from super dry and flaky lips I would highly recommend this balm. It isn't the cheapest however it is worth every penny!

 



Follow

Beauty ¦ Rimmel Exaggerate lip liner - East end snob

I am Cole and I have a lip liner problem. There I said it, lip liners have become my kryptonite over the past couple of months and now I rarely apply lipstick without using a liner first. If you are a regular in these waters you will know I love the Charlotte Tilbury Pillow talk lip liner however when people suggested this was a drugstore alternative I knew I had to give it a go.

 

For me I don't think this is that similar to Pillow talk. The formula of the Rimmel pencils is a little more matte and I find the colour is much more of a brown-y pink than a peachy pink like the Charlotte tilbury. However I do still really love it.

 



The formula is super creamy and it applies smoothly onto the lip without clinging onto any dry patches which is one of my main issues with lip liners. The colour is a lovely warm brown-y nude pin which works well under so many lipsticks. In terms of packaging I love the fact that it is a twist up rather than a sharpen pencil and I also like the fact that the outer packaging shows the colour therefore it's a little easier to find.

 

 

Overall I love this lip liner and I would recommend it to both liner junkies and newbies as it's just a really lovely all rounder.



Follow

Beauty ¦ #Flashmob cosmetics Shock treatment nail set.

Flashmob are a brand that I heard so much about a couple of the months when I was given an opportunity to try one of their products I jumped at the chance.

In the end I decided on the Shock treatment* as I thought it would be a brilliant way to incorporate a little bit of colour and glitter into a look and would be perfect for a festival without wearing lots of colourful makeup.

The set contains three nail shades, a white base coat and three glitters. The photo above shows two coats of each colour over one coat of the white. The formula of these is really nice and they paint well. The yellow isn't quite as opaque as the other two shades but with an extra coat. I found the whole application if the glitter not as messy as I thought it would be. I waited about two minutes after doing the final coat and then I dipped my fingers in the pots making sure to roll my finger so that the glitter was on the sides. 

I then decided to apply a clear topcoat to seal in the glitter. I found that the pink glitter which was the chunkiest was the first one to begin to show signs of wear after about 2 and a half days. The yellow and the orange glitters lasted much longer and only begun to show wear after about 4 and a half days.

 

Overall I thing this is an amazing set for festivals and I also imagine little girls would absolutely adore all the glitter and the neon shades!

 





Follow

Life ¦ July in instagram

 

Early July sunshine / Top 5 Lipsticks / Prom nails / Papa

Prom Night / A teeny feel unique haul / Graze box / Shop my stash

Favourite little munchkin / Pouty pouty selfie / New shoes / Barry M blueberry

 

So I've tried the whole take a picture everyday for a month and my sieve brain cannot handle it so I've decided that at the end of each month (either the last Monday or the first Monday of a new month) I'd put all my instagram photos into a collage and talk a little bit about my month!

 

The first couple of days of July were hectic they saw me running around like a headless chicken in an attempt to make sure everything was ready for prom. I had the most amazing time and I wish I could do it 10x over. As this months gone on the weather has just got progressively worse and I'm not holding out much hope for the rest of the summer. Overall bar the first week it's been a pretty quiet month of binge watching misfits on Netflix (For the second time) and making cups of tea for the roofers who were working on my house. 

Beauty ¦ July favourites

So it's the end of July which means one thing! It's monthly favourites time. I'm not going to say how fast time is going but wow! I've got quite a mixed bag this month so I'm going to get on and talk you through each product.

 

Soap and glory heel genius -

 

This isn't one of those products which I would have gone out and picked up from boots however I found it at the bottom of my big box of beauty products after receiving it in the big Soap and glory set at Christmas. However since it's meant to be summer I decided I should probably take a bit more care of my feet. This has made them super soft and it smells like peppermint.

 

Yankee Orange splash -

 

This was a gift off my lovely friend after I did her prom makeup and I absolutely love it. It's not quite as intense as some of Yankee's other fruity scents which I like as I find sometimes when burning them in my bedroom with the door shut it can get a little intense. This is really citrus-y but still lovely and sweet. I urge you all to go and smell it!

 

Maybelline colour tattoo in Permanent taupe -

 

I've actually been using this in my brows this month. I've been finding that some of my brow products seem to be a little too warm for me at the moment. I'm not sure whether this is because my skin is a little more tanned than usual. This is a super cool toned medium brown so I decided to give it a go in my brows and I really like it. They are lighter than I'm used to but the shade matches my hair colour well.

 



 

Topshop lip velvet in Blood orange -

 

This was one of those random no research purchases to make my feel unique order over £10 so I could get free shipping. This is the most amazing orange toned red which dries matte on the lips. In terms of lasting power it's not quite as long lasting as the Bourjois rouge edition velvets however it does last well over the 6 hour mark. The only thing I find is that if you apply a layer that is too thick it can look really strange and it begins to fall into the lines of the lips.

 

Rimmel Rita Ora nail polish in Neon fest -

 

I think this may be one of the brightest nail polishes I own. It's a neon medium pink shade and I absolutely love it. The formula is lovely to paint with and it dries pretty quickly or a normal nail polish. I get around 3 days wear out of it before it starts to chip but for me that's no problem as I change my polish so often.

 

Superfacialists Vitamin C cleansing oil -

 

I am really loving cleansing oils at the moment and this one is no exception. Once again it smells like oranges (I sense a theme in this favourites) It removes makeup really well even stubborn mascara like They're real. It leaves the face feeling clean but not stripped.

 

 

Schwarzkopf got2b Beach matt sat spray -

 

In the past couple of months I've been really embracing my natural wavy mane and this I brilliant on the days when it needs a little help. I find a lot of salt sprays leave the hair sticky or crispy which I'm pretty sure is something no one wants. This bottle has a really fine spray meaning that it doesn't collect in patches in the hair and it dispenses the product really evenly. If you've got crazy wild hair like mine and you want to enhance the natural wave in it I'd highly recommend this.