A day at Longleat

birthday
Since Jade and I have finished our A levels- and it had been my 18th birthday the previous week- we decided to have a celebratory day out at Longleat. We had such a lovely day with the drive through safari in the morning, a tasty picnic and then explored the house and its grounds in the afternoon. For me, a huge animal lover, Longleat is the perfect day out- and of course we took full advantage of Jades bad boy camera lens!

Here are some pictures that we took throughout the day.
We dared to drive through the monkey enclosure where the monkeys are free to go wherever they want... luckily Jades car came out undamaged.
What I loved about Longleat is that they provide the rare chance to see an elephant - which isn't common in most zoos/safari parks in England - Anne, Longleat's elephant, was rescued from a circus.
I would definitely recommend Longleat as a day out for everyone.

What would your ideal day out be?

~ Lucy xx

Current favourites | #5

botanics
I’ve recently started to use fake tan and have been loving it. 
The St Tropez Bronzing Mousse formula is streak free, easy to apply and long lasting.

Before I fake tan I always exfoliate and the Soap & Glory Smoothie Star Breakfast Scrub gets the job done, 
smells really good and leaves your skin feeling soft and hydrated as it contains Shea butter.

The Boots Botanics Mattifying Gel Cream is the perfect daily moisturiser for anyone with oily skin. It’s budget friendly, 
hydrating and due to the gel formula it leaves skin matte enough that theres no need for a primer.

For targeted spot treatment I’ve recently been using the Body Shop’s Tea Tree Oil. I put a small amount onto a 
cotton pad and dab onto any active acne. It’s effective, natural and cruelty free, what’s not to like?

I’ve been going back to old favourites recently and the shades ‘Naked’ & ‘Sidecar’ from the original Urban Decay Naked Palette
are my current favourite eyeshadows. I use naked in the crease and sidecar all over the lid - to avoid the chunks of glitter
 from sidecar going everywhere I suggest putting your crease colour on before your lid colour.

What are your current favourites?

~ Jade xx

L'Oreal infallible 24hr foundation | Review

foundation
L’Oreal recently re-packaged and re-formulated their longtime running Infallible foundation so, I decided to pick it up to try after the disappointment of the Maybelline foundation I was wearing at the time (review here).

“High coverage, long-wear foundation that hides the appearance of fatigue and blemishes. Now with Hydrating Hyaluron Complex the 24H non-stop formula stays on and feels fresh from day to night.”
I have oily and spot prone skin so I like my base to last all day without a large amount of shine and this foundation is pretty good at both. The formula is almost gel like which firstly means it's easy to blend into the skin - I’ve been using the Sigma F80 flat-top kabuki brush - and doesn’t sink into pores - win! - but also lasts a full day without moving around too much - even without using a primer, which never happens for me. 

It has a satin finish which I like as I normally go for matte foundations, due to my oily skin, however they then leave my face looking dull and dry, whereas because this foundation has a satin finish without being too dewy, my skin still looks healthy but not oily. This foundation also doesn’t cling to any dry patches or melt away on oily patches so it's good for most skin types too. Coverage is very nice too, it covers nearly everything but is still lightweight and doesn’t look heavy.

 I also really like the packaging of the infallible foundation as the glass bottle looks nice and doesn't feel cheap unlike some high street foundations can - although the glass bottle can be a pain if travelling - and the pump gives the right amount for a light layer, this foundation is also easily buildable if you want a fuller coverage.

It doesn’t contain any SPF which can be a good or bad thing. It’s good for use during nighttime or when there's flash photography as there won't be any flashback however, it does mean that you’d need to apply a face SPF when wearing it during the day - especially in the summer.

The colour range is a little disappointing as there is only eight shades and they’re all fairly light. However, they do have yellow undertones opposed to pink which I much prefer as yellow skin undertones are more natural on the skin and tend to match the majority of people more. Also, I’ve found that the foundation oxidises slightly, it’s not overly noticeable but the colour does darken slightly throughout the day so it would be better to go a shade lighter if you’re between shades. 

The foundation is also scented which may be a problem for those with sensitive skin - though I haven’t had a problem - and for a high street foundation the price may be seen as a little high at £9.99 (though L’Oreal is currently on offer in Boots).

Have you tried any new foundations recently?

~ Jade xx

Photography information

Canon 600D with 18-55mm lens, Canon 24mm lens or Sigma 70-300mm lens. Canon EOS M with 18-55mm lens or Canon 24mm lens. Any edited photos are edited using Photoshop CS6. Picture source is given for any photo used that is not directly ours.