Holiday Haul

I published my 'Capturing the Good Times' post a few days ago in which I uploaded lots of photos from my holiday. This time, I am showing what I bought when I was away. 

Although this may seem like I went shopping a lot, I bought this only over two days. I'll start with the two perfumes: Fleur d'oranger and Armani Si. Fleur d'oranger is from a shop called Fragnord mainly based in Grasse. I went to the factory and took a tour with my friend that I met up with. The tour ended in the shop; I repurchased my favourite perfume. I having been wearing this for years and have probably gone through about four bottles so I knew I would love this! As with the Armani Si, I have been eyeing this up for ages since meeting someone who was wearing it and smelt lovely. I bought this in Sephora because I think it works out cheaper than buying it back home. 

The mason jar is from Maison du Monde - a french store which I like to visit every time I go. I have been wanting a cup like this for ages because it is so cute and it looks nice in a room! Also, I have found that I have been drinking a lot more since buying it, as I am drinking out of a pretty cup - I'm not sure if there is any logic in that, just me being strange! 

I finally got my hands on a Mac lipstick! It was a special treat and I bought it in London St Pancras whilst waiting for the Eurostar. I know that I don't need another lipstick but I have been lusting over one for ages - mine is 'Velvet Teddy'. 

The next purchase is from Monoprix. Although you can buy 'Baby Skin' almost anywhere, I found that it was cheaper to buy it there and I had been wanting to try it anyway. I have never actually tried a primer before so I am looking forward to using it!

I love this next thing! It is a tote bag from a shop called 'Bathroom graffiti' in Cannes. This shop is really cool and I love going in every time I visit Cannes - I would definitely recommend checking it out if you are there. It is a gadget  come accessory shop. I always like to think that the things in there are quite unique. The bag I thought would come in handy a lot so I decided to pick it up; I also think the design is really cool. 

Finally, three home accessories from Maison du Monde: a Candle votive holder, a mint green pot and a pretty dish. If you have been following my blog for a long time, you will know that I uploaded a 'French inspired room decor' post showing parts of my room that I have tried to make French looking - if that makes sense?! So I thought these pieces would help the look I am going for. As you can tell from the photo, I have used the dish to display my earrings. In the mint green pot, I keep a back up candle votive which I keep next to my candle votive holder. 

xox

CTGT: My Summer Holiday to France!

As you may have noticed, I have shortened 'Catpuring the good times' to 'CTGT'.

Last week, I went on my summer holiday to France. We stayed there for nearly two weeks but travelled to two different places. As I am a massive kid and I love Disneyland, we stayed in Paris for a few days before venturing down south to our usual holiday destination. We had one day exploring Paris and one day at Disney. These photos below are from this section of our trip...

From Paris, we took the train to Nice where we hired a car and spent the rest of our holiday in the Cote d'azur. Our family owns a caravan 5 minutes away from the beach, by car, so we love going and spending our holidays down there. As I was on the beach most days, I didn't take as many photos as I would normally but these are just a few - mostly of views! 

Whilst I was there, I met up with my friend who was visiting a similar area and it was so strange seeing her in another country. We went to a lovely place called Grasse for lunch and then arranged to meet again at the beach which was really good fun. I had such an amazing holiday and I'm so grateful to my family and friends for making it special. 

xox

Falsies mascara review

I picked this up a few weeks ago from Superdrug as I had just finished my 'They're Real' mascara. Truth be told, I hadn't used any Maybelline mascaras before but I was recommended this, on many occasions, so I decided to replace my Benefit one with it. 

The wand has 'dent' in it (this is where I fail to explain things technically) which allows the applicator to be more flexible. I found that this feature gave me fuller lashes as I could apply the mascara at any angle. The brush itself is labelled as 'Patented Spoon Curler Brush' by Maybelline. It claims to separate lashes without clumping but in my experience, it makes my lashes stick together more. This could be due to how I apply it but I have read some other reviews which agree with my point. 

I bought this in the non-waterproof formula which I regret now, after taking it on holiday and it smudging all over my face in the humidity. However, I have noticed that when I apply this, the mascara ends up smudging onto my eye lids - the reason for this being that the brush is quite large. 

Overall, with everything being considered, I like this mascara as it gives me lots of volume but I probably would't repurchase it. Since trying this, I have bought that 'Lash Sensational' one from Maybelline which I prefer as it doesn't smudge as much and doesn't clump together my lashes. 

What is your favourite drugstore mascara?

xox

What's in my travel makeup bag?

• Naked 3 palette
• Eos lipbalm
• Arthur Chanel lipstick sample 
• Sephora eyeshadow in Girl Talk
• Bobbi Brown Long Wear Even Finish foundation 
• Eyelash curlers 
• Sleek Face Form
• Revlon Lipbutter in Sorbet
• Rimmer Stay Matte powder 
• Tanya Burr lipgloss in Afternoon Tea
• Collection Lasting Perfection concealer 
• Benefit's Posietint
• Falses Mascara 
• Chanel eyeliner

I'm going on holiday on Saturday for a week and a half. During this time, there won't be any blog posts but I have one prepared for when I get back. Also, I'm sure that there will be many holiday posts when I'm back home. 

These are all the makeup products I will bringing with me; I have tried to limit the amount I take because I don't want to overpack. Some of these also act as multipurpose products so they save space. Especially the Sleek Face Form palette because it has a blusher, highlighter and bronzer which all are of a high quality. 

I probably won't be wearing makeup everyday as I will be at the beach or pool. The collection shown is more for evening looks. As I burn really badly, I will have to wear a heavy duty suncream underneath my makeup. In addition, I decided to bring three brightly coloured lip products because it's summer and they will give a pop to my makeup. 

Goals for the summer

I watched Pointless Blog's video last year on '25 things to do this summer' and made my own list. Some things I stuck to and others I didn't. As I love making a good list, it was something fun for me to do. This post isn't a 25 long list of things but just a couple of goals I want to complete or give my best shot at. 

Eat well - I wrote a post a long time ago kind of promising that I would eat healthier. Generally, I have kept this up which I'm proud of so I don't want to let it slip in the summer months. 

Learn how to do the splits - This is one of those goals that I may not be able to complete but I will try to do throughout summer. I go to a dance class and for the warm up we have to get into the splits and although many of us can't, I want to be able to do it. I know that this will take time but I'm determined to learn how to - I'll just have to stretch a bit further each day.

Read 'Girl on the Train' - So many people have been raving about this book and I have never read it! From what I've heard, it sounds like it is just up my street so hopefully I will enjoy it. Already, I have downloaded the book onto my kindle to read over the holidays. 

Have a major tidy up - I seem to acquire so much stuff, most of which I don't need. During the summer, I want to have a decluttering session and give all of my unwanted things to charity. 

Take more photos - In my room, I have lots of scrapbooks which I haven't filled so this summer, I want to make a scrapbook of everything I have done; I can then look back on it in a few years. This is also a fun project for the summer which I can do whenever I'm bored. 

Blog, blog, blog - As I took a blogging break, for roughly two months, I would like to make up for the posts I missed. I have lots planned and I'm excited because this will be my first summer of blogging. 

Do you have any summer goals?

xox

June favourites

As you may be able to tell, I don't have as many favourites as usual. This is because I have been using the things I have shown previously and not trying out as many new things. Nevertheless, these items have definitely been a staple for me throughout the month of June and I wanted to share them with you. 

Sunglasses from Urban Outfitters - I am obsessed with these! When I saw them in the shop, I fell in love because of the shape and the gold strip running along the top frame. I'm not sure that you would class them as fully 'cat-eyed' but they do have that sorta feel to them. They are also matte which I think is cool as I have never owned a pair of sunglasses like them before. It has been getting sunnier recently so I have kept them in my handbag.

Lipstick sample from Chanel - My mum purchased a few items from Chanel the other week and she was given a sample set of lipsticks which she kindly gave to me. At first, I thought that I probably wouldn't like them as you have to apply the lipstick with a brush and I'm usually terrible at that. However, after trying this shade, I have totally fallen in love with the samples - my favourite being 'Arthur' which is a pinky red. When I run out of the samples, I might treat myself to the full sized lipstick! 

Sephora eyeshadow in Girl talk - I bought this last year when I was in the south of France. It is such a versatile shade because I find that it suits both day and evening looks. I usually just sweep this across the eyelid and then put a slightly darker shade in my crease. The shade of it is quite difficult to explain as it is has rose gold elements but it also looks like a neutral brown. This product is in my favourites because I have been wearing it a lot recently and I'm sure I will continue to do so throughout the summer!

Posie tint from Benefit - This is a multipurpose product as I use it on my cheek bones and on my lips. I mostly like it because it is in a lovely coral shade which is perfect for summer! The packaging is also really pretty - I probably shouldn't judge a product on that but it does look good in a makeup bag! As it is multipurpose, I will be bringing it on holiday to save space. The only slightly negative thing about it is that you have to rub it in straight away or it stains your cheeks but that is expected of a tint!

Random favourites:

Music I have been loving in June...

• Runaway - Galantis
• Lean on - Major Lazer
• Photograph - Ed Sheeran

I discovered Orphan Black in June on Netflix and I have really been enjoying it. That kind of programme is usually right up my street because I love sci-fi and the story line in this is really good. 

What have you been loving recently?

xox