Everything Erin

When I first read about Stila's liquid eyeshadows, I don't think I had ever gotten more excited about a product. And that is saying something.

Liquid eyeshadow has always been one of those hit and miss items for me, as has loose glitter, yet combining the two into a glitter liquid eyeshadow was something Stila somehow managed to get so right. I really couldn't decide on a shade so I was super excited to find they made a set of three mini-sized products of three of their most raved about shades; Kitten Karma, Rose Gold Retro and Smoldering Satin.

Let's start with the shades.

Rose Gold Retro, possibly my favourite of the three (are we really surprised though), is a gorgeous, warm-toned shade. I'd describe it best as a bronze with gold glitter in, and works perfectly with orange and red mattes in the crease - I used this with some of the warm shades from the Modern Renaissance and it really was a match made in heaven. When I swatched it before applying I thought it was actually darker than I expected, but the glitter reflects in it make it look lighter on the lid.


Smoldering Satin is the next of the three shades, the coolest toned of the three, maybe I just think this because its applicator is purple, but it would look really good with purple shadows or any cooler browns I think. This one's definitely more of a winter look I reckon, yet it still has gold glitter in bringing in a bit of warmth and making it such a unique shade.


The third shade is Kitten Karma, a very classic gold with silver glitter. This one is definitely the most versatile of the three, I think this one would suit any kind of look. The silver glitter helps to make it the lightest of the three shades, meaning if you were wanting an everyday yet glittery look (if that's what floats ya boat), then this one is the perfect shade for you.


Now as much as I am a fan of glitter on the lids, it can definitely be a bit of a mare to apply - yep, I definitely have walked out looking like a disco ball before because I can't get glitter off the whole of my face. These liquid eyeshadows have revolutionised the way I apply glitter - the applicator makes it so easy to apply an even layer across the whole lid, no fuss required (and absolutely no glitter-covered face). However, blending any areas out is basically a no go - I tried to pat a bit away with my finger and half my lid disappeared, so I suggest tapping a bit off the applicator then blending with that.


The only possible way to do the shades justice was to show you the swatches of them on my arm, showing the way they reflect in the light so beautifully. You can also see the difference in the shades much clearer as well, Smouldering Satin a brown, Kitten Karma a gold and Rose Gold Retro a bronze.


The products look so pretty, and even prettier once on the lids. I'm so excited about these and I think they are such a perfect go-to for festivals or events (I so wish I owned one at my prom last year), especially because they are so quick and easy to apply, while lasting an incredibly long time without shedding glitter all over your face.

EG x

We have, surprisingly, had a pretty good summer this year in England, and I'm seriously hoping it's here to stay a little while longer. One of my favourite summer items to wear has to be a playsuit, it always has been and I love finding a new one every year. They are so easy to put together and have been even more popular this year, so here are a few of my favourites.





My own two favourite playsuits from the summer come from Superdry and H&M. The Superdry one I bought last year - I was a little doubtful as I don't usually feel like I suit all in one black numbers, what with having a whole lot of dark hair, but this one is so comfortable and I absolutely love it. My H&M one I bought in New York, I got it on the last day and forgot to try it on so hoped all the way home it fits and thank goodness it does! The floral print is so summery and pretty.

EG x

We weren't going to let the rains stop us...

I got into George Ezra's music a few months ago, with the release of his (underrated) single Don't Matter Now. It was such a feel-good song that made me feel a little better about starting college and was one of those I played, and played until I was sick of hearing it.

Then, on a Sunday evening, a couple of weeks after his latest album Staying At Tamara's was released, I decided to fill an hour and have a listen to it on Spotify. I was straight away in awe by my first listen of the first track Pretty Shining People (still my favourite on the album), but the rest of the album blew me away too. It's rare that I'll find an album where each track is as incredible as the last, but it really is.


So, of course I was ecited when my friends agreed to go and see him with me live, in my hometown! It's always crazy when we have people I'm a fan of playing in my hometown (we had Olly Murs last year and McBusted three years ago), on my local green that in the summer I'll meet my friends on.

Of course, since it had been sunny the past few weeks in England and had been shaping up to be the best summer ever, the rain would decide to pour down the day I had an outdoor concert - that's just typical. But that wasn't going to stop us...


Possibly thanks to the rain, the queue was a lot shorter than I expected, so unlike Olly Murs when I got there at 2, getting to the green at half 4 was plenty of time to ensure a good spot. I speed walked in front of my friends and managed to get the front row which I was super excited about, as I had been really hoping for it.


It was a good wait before the first act came on, just over an hour, but that didn't matter as we had lots of room at this point to take photos and the like. It's always a bit of fun using the hashtag '#LythamFestival' on Twitter to get on the big screens, then getting frantically excited when you are featured and taking millions of photos of the screen to capture it before it moves onto more tweets.


The first band, The Tailormade came on at quarter to seven - they had supported Olly Murs last year so I knew what to expect, and they were similar to last year, performing the same Kayne West cover. The next support was Rae Morris, a past pupil at my own college, whose music I'd describe as having quite a haunting sound, accompanied by some interpretive dance and an outfit that couldn't get any redder if it tried.


The other main act on the bill alongside George Ezra was Emeli Sande, who I was looking forward to as I know a lot of her music, especially the older stuff. I loved her slower songs such as Clown and Read All About it, but Wonder was my favourite as the crowd got really into it. She also waved at my friend and I was super excited to get a photo of it - I didn't even realise I had managed to capture it until the day after!


Emeli performed a pretty lengthy setlist, she was on for about an hour which meant it was getting on a bit by the time George Ezra came on. The wait between the two of them seemed to last forever as everyone was impatient and rather squished. The only thing about being at the front was I seemed to get a bit squished with everyone at the sides of me, but I would rather be squished at the front to a barrier than in the middle of lots of people!


He finally came on at ten to ten, which I was really ready for by that point. He began with Cassy O' which the crowd all got really into, shouting the lyrics at the top of our voices, it was super exciting.

He continued with songs such as Get Away and All My Love off his new album. As I mentioned earlier, my favourite song off his new album is Pretty Shining People, so that was a real highlight for me, it was incredible live!


It was also great to hear some of his older, well-known songs too such as Blame It On Me and Listen To The Man, a song I really like. I have been raving about one of his latest singles, Paradise for months so of course I was excited for that one.

 I love how he explained how he came to write each song before he played it, and that was the case when introducing Paradise - he said he thought of the beginning of a song, wrote in his phone and didn't come back to it for ages, then said 'it goes my love... my love...' and we all burst into the intro of Paradise.
I got really excited as of course, I love it, and after we sang the intro he gave me a thumbs up which was a really exciting moment! You can never be sure whether it was really to you but thanks to my friend yelling behind me 'you got a thumbs up Erin!!' and the fact I probably looked like an over-excited maniac singing along, I am quite convinced about this one.


The set only lasted an hour which, made sense as he came on so late, but was not long enough as it totally flew by! He ended with a couple of greatest hits, latest single Shotgun which got to number one (the average crowd goer was most excited about this one, people had been shouting 'play Shotgun' all night), and finally Budapest, the first ever song I heard of his.


It was definitely a wonderful night, not only as it was so close to home but because the concert was really good. I would definitely recommend him live - I'm actually devastated there's no tickets left at my nearest venue for his next tour, although it could be said nothing would ever beat the front row of my hometown.

EG x

Which makeup product really screams summer more than a bronzer? Summer is perfect for creating that tanned glow a bronzer gives, so today I thought I would share a couple of my favourite bronzers that you need this summer.


The cult classic that is the Benefit Hoola bronzer, possibly Benefit's post raved about product, is a must-have for any makeup collection. This is the type of bronzer that is really buildable so suits all skin tones - I have really pale skin and it still suits me just fine, I've swatched the Hoola lite before and think it's too light even for me!


It's the perfect bronzer as on top of being buildable, it definitely is not too orange. It's so blendable and my brush perfectly fits into the little box - it does come with a brush itself, which can be handy, but I much prefer to use my own fluffy one from Real Techniques which does the job perfectly.


I own a mini size of it, which I'm super surprised I haven't hit pan on or anything yet as I've had it quite a while and use it consistently. I love that they do a mini size of it in Boots for just over a tenner so you can try it out and see if it's right for you before purchasing a full size. I don't know what I would do without mine though so I'll definitely be purchasing a full size when my mini runs out!



When Too Faced claimed their bronzer smelt like chocolate, I was more than a little dubious (baring in mind I don't own any of their chocolate bar palettes), but it really does! However, that's not the only exciting thing about this product. Firstly, the huge pan makes it so easy to swirl your brush in and get plenty of product, while the powder itself is super blendable, making contouring a dream.


I love the shade range Too Faced offer in their bronzers too - I went for the classic 'chocolate' shade, which isn't too light nor too dark for me, but they also offer 'milk chocolate', that is a bit lighter, 'dark chocolate' that is a bit darker, and a 'chocolate gold' if you like a bronzer with a shimmer.

Can we also talk about the packaging of this one? I've honestly never seen a bronzer prettier than this one, with its gorgeous lid and logo embossed in the powder itself. Too Faced have really outdone themselves with this one and it's a real favourite of mine.

EG x

EG x

MAC lipstick number 12. Yes, I definitely do have a problem...

But how could I resist picking up another while I was over in New York? Afterall, It can be useful having a collection from one brand, as then I don't end up accidentally with two identical shades (I'm looking at you, Stark Naked from Urban Decay which I love but almost twins with MAC Honey Love).


Often at the MAC counter I'm oohing and aahing over a couple of shades, but as soon as I swatched the shade Taupe, I knew it was going to be the latest addition to my collection. For starters, it's a matte. I've come to the conclusion lately, that although MAC's cremesheens and lustres are nice to have, I just don't wear them enough. Time after time, I reach for my matte shades, with an occasional satin. So there was no point in me indulging in another pretty cremesheen when I would get so much more use out of a matte.


That's where Taupe comes in. It is not only matte, but also a lovely, everyday nude which means I know I will get plenty of wear out of it. When I applied it for the first time, I was worried it looked to similar to Velvet Teddy (aka my favourite MAC lipstick), however when I swatched them both next to each other I learnt that Taupe lacks Velvet Teddy's beige-pink undertones, as it is in fact a reddish-brown nude.


 To read more about MAC's formulas, make sure to read my MAC lipstick collection where I spoke in great depth about the differences, but what I do love about MAC's matte formula is how long lasting and non-drying it is compared to any other lipstick. Of course, liquid lipsticks do last longer but I find it so much easier to just apply a bullet lipstick and also prefer the colour pay off.


Taupe's red undertones make it a really unique shade in my collection, and also really flattering. It definitely has become my go-to shade and I can't see that changing through to the autumn, as I think it will be really in then too.


Swatch of the shade above! As you can tell, it's such a perfect brown and I think it would compliment so many warm toned eye looks perfectly. I've been using my Modern Renaissance a lot and after I've completed a look I always think - this would just work so perfectly with Taupe! Hence, I've got a lot of wear out of it already! 

EG x