Amazing Parcel from Riya

Hi everyone. Recently, I did my very first blog swap with the gorgeous blogger Riya from pinkstrawberrielove. We sent each other items that we thought the other would like. The parcel from Riya was massive, about 7x the size of the parcel I sent her. She was much too generous and I feel unbelievably spoiled.

The gifts were beautifully padded with pastel coloured tulle.

Love her stationary!

I must apologise for the slightly blurry pics. The weather's been really dull lately and I'm not getting enough light for sharp pictures. She got me quite a few eyeliners!

L-R: Anastasia Matte Highlighter, Ultra Glitter Pencil, Loreal HIP Eyeliner in Blue Spark, Palty eyeliner in a gold shade (the shade was written in Japanese).

Here are swatches of the eyeliners. They are all so pretty. The highlighter is great for opening up the eyes for a bright-eyed look. The blue and gold shades are unlike anything I've owned before and can't wait to use them in a future FOTD.

I also received a couple of really great Stila items. Stila One Step in Capri Coral which can be used on the eyes, cheeks and lips! The Illuminating Finishing Powder in Rose Gold gives a beautiful wash of subtle shimmer to the skin. It's such a pretty warm shade too, perfect for Summer!

Here's a swatch of the Stila One Step. Another great warm Summer shade.

Riya also gave me Missha Shimmering Ball Blusher in Pastel Glow. Asian products are so hard to come buy here, so was extremely excited to receive this. It gives a light dusting of radiance to the skin. Really pretty.

I also received this lash booster from Sephora which I'm excited to try.

This Too Faced Shadow Insurance Primer is really good. Makes eyeshadow glide easily on.

Speaking of eyeshadows, these natural and super gorgeous shades are some of my favourites in the parcel. Smashbox Eyeshadows in ASAP (left) and Pronto. I especially love ASAP. It's a really beautiful shade of brown with a hint of rose gold. I especially love how well it suits my skintone. Amazing choice Riya!

She was also generous in giving me a Smashbox eyeshadow brush.

Swatches of ASAP (left) and Pronto

My first ever cream shadow paint. Loreal HIP Cream Shadow Paint in Lofty. A beautiful radiant blushed beige. Sorry for the lack of swatch, it was too difficult to capture the true shade on camera.

I also received several beautiful lip colours.

L-R: Benefit Friends in Paradise, Majolica Majorca Honey Plump Gloss and Lavanila The Healthy Lip Shine in Vanilla Blossom.

The Lavanila Lip Shine is amazing! I absolutely love this product. It makes my lips look shiny and super healthy. Have been using this everyday!

Here is a lip swatch of the Benefit lip gloss (the darker shade). I love the little gold sparkles in the gloss.

These two cuties are from a brand called Beauty Credit. Riya sent me their Lovely Eye Color in YL26 and Lovely Lip Balm in Strawberry.

I haven't had a chance to use the eyeshadow yet, but it's a lovely 'wide awake' shade of pale yellow cream. The strawberry balm gives a pretty red flush to my lips.

The list of products seem endless and Riya was more generous than I could have possibly imagined. The Nail polish from Cosline in 209 is a beautiful peach. The Nivea lip blam gives a really pretty strawberry tint to the lips. Natural looking 'my lips but better' colour while moisturising my lips. A really great product!

Swatch of the Nivea lip balm.

Riya also sent me Bare Minerals Face Color in Clear Radiance which gives a beautiful dewy look to my skin. The Hello Kitty Eyeliner in Grape Soda is so adorable!

Swatch of the Hello Kitty Eyeliner - a vibrant purple with glitter.

I also got a whole bunch of Laniege products and samples. Laniege is a popular Korean brand and i'm looking forward to trying the samples. Items included:

- P Makeup Set of Shimmering Multi Cream, Curling Mascara, UV Total Base and Snow Crystal Shimmer Lipgloss

- Perfect Renew Dual Touch Eyes Cream

-Strawberry Yoghurt Pack Mask

-Basic 4 Step Skincare

- Makeup Remover Multi Cleanser

The nail colours are gorgeous!! Really love both shades. L-R: OR201, BR 802. From The Face Shop.

This luscious zesty scented hand cream is from .. oh no, actually I don't know where it's from as I've peeled off the label. So sorry.

As If i'm not spoiled enough, Riya has also sent me some sponges for the face and body. Love how cute the middle sponge looks! My husband saw it in the shower and asked 'what is this?'

I was also sent a couple of skincare items from the brand IOPE. I've not heard of this brand before, but it looks really intriguing. The Aquain Complete Sample Kit and Plant Stem Cell Skin Renewel Sample Kit sounds and looks good!

Last but not least, a pair of adorable flower earrings from Forever21.

Thanks so much Riya for these amazing gifts. You've really made my day/ month! I love all the products you sent me and it's been so much fun going through them all.

For those of you interested in what I sent Riya, you can find them here.

*Warning, the stuff I gave her is going to look SO pitiful and small compared to what she sent me. And her picture quality is far superior than mine, so embarrassing *

Products I Take With Me On My Travels

I'd like to say thanks for your sweet comments on my previous post on my trip to Peru, and I thought I'd do a post on the products I bring with me on my travels. On my trip to Peru, I was backpackinging so had to pack light. I still brought makeup with me, which was a good thing as we ended up going Salsa dancing and clubbing in Cusco.

Here is the makeup case I took with me. It's a cute little case I bought in an island resort in Pangkor Laut, Malaysia. I love that it's pink with little elephant drawings on it.

In my makeup bag:

Bobbi Brown Concealer

Bobbi Brown Gel Liner in Black

Bobbi Brown EyeLiner Brush

Estee Lauder Double Wear Mascara, travel sized

Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler

Topshop Cream Blush in Flush

Smashbox Cream Cheek Duo

Here is my beauty case that I bring with my on all my travels for carrying my skincare products. The case is from Paul and Joe, and I love the cute cat motif.

It's a compact case, but has nice little storage compartments under the lid and on the sides.

Here are the skincare products I brought with my on my trip.

In my beauty case:

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic

La Roche Posay Anthelios XL SPF 50+

Creme de la Mer Eye Cream, sample sized

Avene Thermal Water

Alcohol Sterilizing Gel in Pen Form

Lucas Paw Paw Ointment

Eye Makeup Remover (RMK's decanted into smaller bottle)

Decanted Moisturiser and Vaseline Cream

I'm currently using the Liz Earle Cleanser and Toner in my skincare routine. They really make my face feel well cleansed, while soothing me skin.

The Lucas Paw Paw Ointment came in so useful as it's an all-in-one cream. I used it as a lip balm, as well as dabbed it on my face to protect it from harsh weather conditions. Usually travelling brings out severe skin sensitivity in me, but the Lucas Paw Paw ointment saved me from that. I also used it to sooth sunburn and insect bites (got a lot of those in the Amazon!).

The alcohol gel was essential during my camping trip where water wasn't available.

I had to reapply the SPF lotion quite a few times during the day as the sun was so potent in Peru

(you can tell by the beautiful deep colouring of the locals).

I thought I'd end this post with a pretty pic of a Red-Blue Macaw we spied during our trip to the Amazon. The Macaws like to lick the clay as a source for sodium.

My trip to Peru - Machu Picchu and The Amazon

Hi everyone. Sorry for the last of posts, I've been backpacking in Peru for the last 2 weeks. It's been a tiring trip of 3am starts, camping, cold showers/no showers and high altitudes but I enjoyed every minute of it.

Here are some pictures Id like to share with you. Bear in mind, I was backpacking. For more of the trip I was wearing minimal to no makeup. By the end of the trip I was severely sleep deprived, so I'm going to look pretty rough in some of these pics!

*All the pics can be enlarged by clicking on them*

Boat trip on Lake Titicaca, located high in the Andes.

Me with our guide, and a new friend from the group

Tequila Island

The most amazing lunch ever. Was in love with the view.

My husband and I and the rest of the group. Was such a great mix of people from all over the world, and we all grew close during the trip.

Our 3 walled accommodation in The Amazon. The 4th wall is the jungle. No electricity, no hot water. Creatures found in our room included:

- a bug the size of my palm with super long antennae

- a mouse watching my husband shower

It got dark by 6pm, so we used our head torches for light or else shower in complete darkness.

The food was amazing. Always 3 courses, lunch and dinner.

The night walk was pretty creepy. You never know what's lurking at you feet. Above is a wild Rainbow Boa. I mustered enough courage (stupidity?) to touch it. Below is a Wandering Spider. The most venomous spider in the world.

As creeped out as I was about the night walk, I still enjoyed it. We also got to see Bullet Ants which have the most painful bite known to man. Our guide also switched off his torch to render us in complete darkness for a minute to fully experience the amazon at night. It was wonderful! My eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness and I felt like I was seeing the world in a new light. Like I was in the movie Avatar or something...

Children living in the Andes. So cute. They have to grow up fast though. The older girl is about 3 years old and already has to look after her little sister while their parents are out farming.

More adorable children.

Day 1 of our 3 day trek up the Andes. (Though we trekked so fast we finished a day early-yay!)

The view was spectacular, and made the hard trek really enjoyable.

Me at the second pass of the trek. 4600m above sea level. A few of us were horsing around until the rest of the group arrived.

Me in glasses in our tent. All vanity went out the window during this trip to Peru. I found myself bespectacled and makeupless a lot.

Finally we arrived at Machu Picchu. Such a beautiful sight, the whole place felt 'otherworldly'.

As if we hadn't had enough of hiking, we climbed up Wayna Picchu. In the above pic (with my husband in red) you can see what a steep climb it is. In the Incan days, Wayna Picchu was the spot of a guard tower for Machu Picchu.

Our group resting at the peak of Wayna Picchu, surrounded by clouds.

More pics to illustrate how steep it is. Sorry if we all look a bit rough, we've been camping for the last few days and have been up since 3am.

Husband on the edge of the abyss.

Machu Picchu is behind me covered by cloud. Have better pictures of the aerial view of Machu Picchu that I forgot to put up!

More pics of us exploring the great city.

We sat here for ages just enjoying the view (and recovering from our hike up Wayna Picchu). You can see Wayna Picchu in this pic, it's the tall peak behind.

For me this trip was a great experience. It was amazing to see places like Machu Picchu and the Amazon. We also got the stay with a local family in a small native island community (complete with frogs in the bedroom and toads in the bathroom). We learned the basics of the indigenous language of Aymara so we could speak to them. I learned alot from this trip and now no longer take the little things for granted like; running water, having a bathroom, and having a bedroom without frogs.

I also spent my birthday in The Sacred Valley (or Urubamba Valley of the Andes), which was a truly memorable experience.

Coral Pink Cheeks - Topshop Flush Blush FOTD

FOTD using Topshop's Cream Blush in Flush.

5 Products Used:

Smashbox In Bloom Eyeshadow Palette

Kiss Me Heroine Make Liquid Eyeliner

Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara

Topshop Blush in Flush

Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Ultra

Lipstick in Petal

I first saw this blush on Lifeandlensofbeauty. The blush looked so pretty that I couldn't resist purchasing one on my next visit to Topshop.

The blush is a gorgeous coral-pink shade.

On my eyelids, I used my new Smashbox In Bloom Eyeshadow Palette. I was so enamored by my Smashbox In Bloom cream cheek duo, and the 'In Bloom' range in general that I recently purchased their eyeshadow palette (will do a separate post on this!). I used the matte pale pink shade as a wash of colour all over the upper eyelid, and the plum shade from the lash line to the crease.

The eyeshadow on my lids:

As with my previous FOTDs, I skipped foundation. My face looks pretty chubby in this photo - time for a diet, I think!

And a cheesy smile pic to finish off the post:

13 Questions Tag

Thanks so much to Aint That Pretty for tagging me in this 13 questions tag. I love her answers, and had fun learning more about her. Here are my answers:

1. What do you order at Starbucks?
I always order the same thing - Caramel Light Frappuccino, and sometimes a Skinny Ginger Muffin.

2. What's one thing in your closet you can't live without?

This summer, I can't live without my Dune sandals.

3. What's one thing that most people don't know about you?
I'm randomly really into British Monarch History. Have quite a lot of books on it, and love to watch David Starkey documentaries.

4. Whats one thing you want to do before you die?
It used to be sky-diving until I found out that may you suffer from retinal detachment while doing it! Also, the older I get the more fearful I am. Then it was going to Africa, which I was lucky enough to go on my honeymoon. I guess, my new wish would be to hike to Machu Piccu in Peru and trekking in the Amazon (which I'm going to do in 1.5 weeks - really looking forward to it!)

5. Whats one food you can't live without?
I have a sweet tooth, so it would have to be fruit scones with jam and clotted cream. They only take about 15mins to make too!

6. 'What's one quote that you live your life by?'

Let no one every come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile -Mother Teresa.

7. 'What do you like and dislike about the youtube community?'
I really like watching random videos like cats playing keyboards and people teaching Kung Fu. I dislike it when people write hurtful/hateful comments and hide under anonymity.

8. 'Whats your number 1 song on itunes?'
Muse - Undisclosed desires (really love that song, and Muse in general)

9. 'What kind of style would you describe yourself as having?'
Honestly, I sometimes fear that I have no style. Makeup wise I really like pretty, romantics looks with lots of pinks. Fashion wise I like the soft romantic look in summer. I'm inspired by pics such as this one from Elle Denmark that i found on Silkybow.


For winter, I like a slight gothic and leather with lace look.

10. 'Favourite Number? '
Number 7, and always has been since I was 6. Don't know why!!

11. 'Two hobbies?'
1. Hiking. My husband and I love the British Countryside and Scottish Highlands, and like to get out of the city for some fresh, clean air -whilst exercising. These are a couple of pics I took on our hikes.

2. Blogging. I really enjoy working on my blog, reading all your lovely comments, as well as reading the blogs of others.

12. 'Two pet peeves?'
1. People who have so much in their lives, yet remain discontent and complain that they have nothing.

2. People who think too much of themselves and treat others like they are beneath them. I see quite a few of these girls in Selfridges and Harvey Nichols. They walk around with their noses in the air and look disdainfully at others when they pass as if there's a foul odour around them :)

13. 'Your guilty pleasure?'
I love watching DVD box sets of shows like 'Desperate Housewives', 'The Tudors' and 'Gossip Girl'. I also like watching 'The Only Way Is Essex', a guilty pleasure for sure!

I tag the following:

WillWorkForMakeup

Lifeandlensofbeauty

Coffretgorge

Bangbangsheshoots

Shazreeyana Shukri