Clarisonic Mia 2 vs. Clarisonic Fit

So for a long time I was borrowing the Clarisonic Mia 2 from my sister in law and simply changing the brush to my own one, as it was much cheaper that buying it, especially considering that I had never tried it and did not want to spend the money if it was not going to work. My sister in law then kindly gifted me the Mia Fit for Christmas so that I would not need to keep borrowing hers. I was excited to see what the difference would be.

12 BEST THINGS TO DO AND PLACES TO VISING IN CAPE TOWN

So over summer I worked in Cape Town for two months and whilst I was there I made sure that I got to experience as much of the City as possible, after work or over the weekends and here are my recommendations! 

1. Surfing at Muizenberg beach
To this day I still dream of this beach. It is amazing. The coloured huts are so unique especially as you can see the beach go on for miles with nothing but them on the sand. It is a bit further outside of Cape Town and takes about 20 minutes on the train but it is so worth visiting. Not far from the shore there are restaurants and cafes and also a surf shop where you can rent a wetsuit and surfboard and go surfing. The view from the water is amazing as all you can hear are the waves and you look up to see the most vivid view of a mountain right at the side of the beach. Although the water is supposed to have sharks, which I was not aware of when I surfed but it does not seem to bother the locals! 

WINTER FASHION

MARIO BADESCU DRYING LOTION SPOT TREATMENT

Today I thought I would write a quick review of the Mario Badescu Skin Care Drying Lotion. This product has literally saved my skin this winter and I wish I had bought it years ago. 

OOLOOM SLEEPING KIT

I am so excited to receive this unicorn sleeping mask and dream journal made by Ooloom. I love how creative and funky the brand are and the care and effort that they put into designing and making their products.

LUSH FACIAL SKINCARE

My skin is prone to dryness and breakouts during the colder seasons and as I live in Scotland that means pretty much three quarters of the year... I find that it is mostly indoor heating that dries out my skin, however it is pretty unavoidable in winter, especially at university. This month I have absolutely fallen in love with these two little products from Lush.

LUSH CHRISTMAS RANGE BATH BOMB

I was so excited to try the new 'Never Mind The Ballistics' bath bomb in the new Lush Christmas range. This bath bomb is a perfect gift for anyone with sensitive or dry skin as it is made with coco butter, fresh banana, lime and orange oils. It has a fresh light scent and it turns the bath water orange. However, although it does fizz it is not as extreme as some other bath bombs but nevertheless it is still really lovely.

3 STEPS TO FLAWLESS SKIN

Today I thought I would share my latest, super quick, everyday foundation routine. This is perfect for when you want minimal makeup and great looking skin. Of course you can go on and add everything else like concealer and bronzer etc but this is pretty much what I wear on days where I am just going to one or two lectures or the library, with mascara of course. 

NEW GLASSES!

Thank you so much to GlasseShop.com for sending me this gorgeous new pair of prescription glasses. 

I am so happy with the service and the many choices that there were to choose from on their website. There are so many different glasses frames and you can also select frames to suit the size of your face. They can also ship your glasses to you ready made with prescription lenses in them as long as you type in your prescription before completing your order. 

I am always so reluctant to buy glasses from high street stores because they are just so expensive! GlasseShop also have an amazing range of prescription sunglasses and all of the their glasses are super affordable!

I also have a huge discount code for my readers which is, GSHOT50, which gives you 50% off full priced eyeglasses and sunglasses with free lenses! 

LIVING IN CAPE TOWN (4)

LIVING IN CAPE TOWN (3)

So if homesickness is going to hit I've heard that it will most likely be around the 3rd week but I haven't felt any yet and I am so glad. One of my worries was that I would end up feeling homesick and therefore be unable to fully enjoy my time in Cape Town. Surprisingly however, the opposite has happened. The longer I am here the less I want to go back to Scotland. I have fallen in love with the laid back and social culture, it really makes me realise how industrial the UK is and how much of it is dominated by massive corporations. I love how there are so many small family businesses here and each one is unique and welcoming, you can really tell that people enjoy their jobs and care genuinely about the services they provide. 

LIVING IN CAPE TOWN (2)

So this week I realised that, from working at the shelter, when I leave I will be an emotionally stronger person than I am at the moment. Some of the women at the shelter have endured horrific experiences beyond imagination and I often find myself being part lawyer part counsellor and struggling to detach my work from my personal life. I know that I am gaining a wider range of skills here, especially as I am gaining both life and legal experience so for that I am grateful.

Despite often feeling drained after work I appreciate the amount I have already learned and experienced whilst being here. Living in Scotland most of my life had began to cloud my judgement of what life is like in other countries, so being here I am reminded that there is still much work to be done in the world. 

The weather was so much nicer this week and on Saturday my group of friends, who are all interns too, and I took a train to Simon's Town to see the penguins and later went surfing at Muizenberg beach and wow it was amazing. We rented surf boards and wet suits for 100 rand which is around £5 for over and hour and a half. It was my first time surfing but luckily our friend Evan from Hawaii was a pro and showed us how its done. 

On Sunday we all woke up at 5am to hike to the top of Lions Head mountain to watch the sunrise. I found the hike VERY difficult, especially after having pulled almost every muscle in my body whilst surfing the previous day. However I did eventually, with many breaks, make it to the top just in time. The view was breathtaking as we were all just above a sea of clouds. 

MOVING TO CAPE TOWN

So this week after three flights I finally arrived in Cape Town, EEK!! 

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have an internship here to do legal aid work in order to help women who are victims of domestic violence. 

NARS INDIAN SUMMER EYESHADOW DUO

Today I am sharing my absolute favourite and go to summer eyeshadow, the Indian Summer eyeshadow duo by Nars. The shades are described as a frosted champagne and mustard seed. These alone create such a simple and gorgeous summery eyes look for everyday wear. I like to pack the darker shade all over my lid and then place the shimmery colour in the very centre of my lid. The champagine colour can also double up as a really natural looking highlight as it is not extremelly intense or glittery. 

Thanks for reading, let me know what your favourite summer eyeshadows are too!

UPCOMING SOUTH AFRICA TRIP

I thought I'd make another post today about something a bit different. I wanted to write about my upcoming trip to Cape Town. I am going to be volunteering for a legal aid clinic. I am so grateful for this opportunity as I know there are so many people who need legal help but cannot afford it and also because it will help me to gain valuable experience for work in the future. As the trip edges closer however, I have begun to feel quite anxious. 

I know that my anxiety is mainly centered around the journey itself as although I have travelled quite a few times before, I have never travelled out of the UK completely on my own. I will be taking three flights and will need to be extra alert in order find my way around places that I have never been. I know that it will be an amazing learning experience and will definitely be worth it but it is still something that I am apprehensive about and I am sure many others would and have felt the same way.

Another thing that worries me is the uncertainty of what to expect when I arrive and also settling into my new home and finding my way around a new city. Although I know that with time everything will become second nature, the thought of the first few days is slightly uncomforting although my worries are mixed with excitement so I am definitely focusing on remaining optimistic. I believe that keeping an open mind about what to expect is important as then you do not have any expectations to compare the reality too, meaning that there won't be any disappointments.

I know that I am heading to a beautiful part of the world and there are so many things I look forward to doing on the weekends. Hopefully I'll make a lot of good friends too. I am really excited to visit the markets and Table Mountain. There are so many other crazy things to do as well such as, shark cage diving, scuba diving and sky diving but I think I'll decide on those once I have settled in. 

These images are from https://pixabay.com 

I would love to hear from anyone else who has travelled abroad and I cannot wait to follow up on this post and share my own photos and experiences and write about what actually happened. If you have any suggestions of places to visit in SA or things that you think I would need to bring with me then please leave me a comment!

PHYSICIANS FORMULA HIGHLIGHTER

Today I felt like quickly sharing my absolute favourite highlighter as I cannot get over how gorgeous it looks! The Physicians Formula Warm Nude Simmer Strips. I love this as gives a bold highlight whilst still looking extremely natural. It is glitter free so it is perfect for creating a dewy skin look and applying to areas of the face other than just the cheekbones without appearing all glittery. I actually broke this one a few weeks ago and felt quite lost without it, I cannot wait for my new one to arrive. Another great thing that I have to mention is the price, it can be found on Amazon for around £15 which I think is amazing considering that it cannot be found in drugstores in the UK.

TOO FACED LIPSTICKS

How beautiful is makeup by Too Faced though?! As my summer has finally started and it has been a while since I have made a post I felt like sharing some of these gorgeous lipsticks. Too Faced has got to be my favourite brand in terms of packaging, I just want to display all of the pieces I own like decorations. 

Below in order are:

Razzle Dazzle Rose
I Want Candy 
90210hhh 
Sugar Daddy 

The first two are colour drenched lip creams and the second two are colour drenched lipsticks. These retail for around £18 and I love love love the gold packaging. Both the lip creams and the lipsticks are really moisturising, there is almost no difference between them. These are so pigmented but also really sheen due the moisture so they may not be the best option for matte lipstick lovers. I also think that these do look bolder and a bit more precise when worn on top of a lipliner. 

Here are the swatches in the same order with flash and then without.

Let me know what your favourite Too Faced lipstick is and I hope you've enjoyed reading! 

Lots of love xx