EXPLORING BIRMINGHAM CITY

I've finally started university and honestly it's about time! I currently study Fashion Branding and Communication in Birmingham City University, and it's my first time moving away from home unless you include travelling which I definitely don't as I travelled with my boyfriend. I love change and moving around so moving to a brand new city that I've never really been to was really exciting to me! When my mum came up to visit we had a wander or shall I say trek around Birmingham mainly in the centre. I thought I'd just share a few photos you never know you might be off to Birmingham soon. Any Birmingham bloggers do comment down below your favourite spots...

There's definitely some interesting spots and some great shopping to be done here, my favourite has to be Birmingham's take on the love lock bridge in Paris, Pont des Arts. It's by the Mailbox and runs over the canal, there's some cool bars and smaller restaurants here and I've already spotted The Gin Vault!

Another favourite is the Ikon Gallery, I wanted to find some art galleries and museums and Birmingham did not disappoint. There's definitely a different atmosphere and 'vibe' shall we say going on compared to back home and Cardiff. I never realised how big Birmingham is which is ridiculous to say seen as it is the second largest city in the UK.

When I first got to Birmingham it was slightly overwhelming and it was definitely not love at first sight. All I could see was endless traffic and it felt like where my accommodation is that it’s just on the side of a motorway! But now I've had a chance to settle in and actually walk further than my student halls reception and a good look round I definitely prefer Birmingham to back home. There's so much more going on here, and some amazing places to eat, I have a list of all the restaurants and cafes I need to go to...well I mean there's no rush I do have three years here!

I tend not to spend a lot of time at libraries but seeing Birmingham Library with it’s interesting wedding cake design I thought I’d better had a nosy. There’s something so cosy about it with its christmassy fairy lights which is perfect for this time of year and who knew about the “Secret Garden”. It’s great to get a skyline view of Birmingham and I mean there is of course a lot of construction going on pretty much everywhere in Birmingham like every big city but it’s great to get such an amazing view of the city I’ll be spending three years living in!

The Custard Factory and Digbeth has to be one of my favourite parts of Birmingham, everything is just so cool and grimy which is something you always need in a city. I love the little independent shops and cafes and not to mention the vintage shops that surround the custard factory. There seems to always be something going on in Birmingham and when I was thinking of what university to confirm this is the main reason I chose Birmingham. I enjoy being in big cities where you can get lost and you don’t know everyone where as back home I seemed to walk down a street and see pretty much everyone I was working with!

I hope this was actually interesting and useful rather than a continuous babble if not theres’s always the photos to look at! I’m thinking of writing a post to do with starting university and what I expected and the reality of it, as well as what other universities I applied for, so we’ll soon see!

CURRENT FAVOURITES

So I may have skipped my August favourites and my September favourites for that matter too because honestly these months have flown by. I think between coming back and getting back into work and then packing all my stuff up for uni and then finally moving up to Birmingham, these months have just disappeared without me noticing! If any of you would like to see a post on going to uni and what to pack do let me know but for now let's crack on with my current favourites. My first favourite is a blush that I completely forgot I ordered before I went travelling, it's the Benefit GALifornia pink blush. I've never really tried any of the Benefit powders but this really caught my eye mainly because of the lovely packaging but the blush itself is so beautiful. It's quite a bright pink shade with golden shimmers which is similar to the Nars Orgasm blush. I'm constantly reaching for this blush and definitely want to try some more Benefit products!

Another beauty favourite has been these Eylure lashes by Fleur de Force, I find these lashes so easy to apply especially the 3/4 lashes when usually I struggle with lashes and eventually give up on them. I prefer the slightly more natural lashes and these Fleur de Force ones are perfect! They're easy to put on and look so lovely that if I had the effort I'd wear them everyday! There aren't many new beauty favourites this month but an oldie I've started reaching for again is my Tom Ford lipstick in the shade First Time. I've recently been reaching for more pink nude shades over my darker nudes, I think these shades suit my skin tone better and darker nudes can wash me out a bit. Although it's getting colder and I do like a darker lip in winter, if any of you have any recommendations for a berry shade lipstick do comment down below.

My next favourite is an old birthday present that I didn't wear much when I got it purely because I didn't want to scratch it but it's my Cluse gold watch. This is such a lovely watch and I need to wear it more often which I have started doing but am very wary not to scratch it. Another non beauty favourite this month is another birthday present, it's a book which sorry to say I haven't received or bought a new book in a very long time if you don't count pretty fashion books. It's Get your sh*t together by Sarah Knight which I very much need to do. Any organisational books or "kick up the arse" books I am loving at the moment, I think it's about time I organised myself now I'm in university. Where I was working full time before but my hours weren't consistent I was all over the place and didn't have a routine but now I'm studying full time again it's about time I got a routine again. If any of you would like a post about starting uni, what to pack, how to get organised and so forth do let me know and also if you have any organising tips definitely comment down below I could use your help!

LINKS:
Benefit GALifornia pink blush
Fleur de Force by Eylure eyelashes
Tom Ford lipstick - First Time
Cluse Watch - Rose Gold
Get your sh*t together by Sarah Knight

URBAN DECAY - NAKED HEAT

So today's post is all about this beautiful palette, it's the Urban Decay Naked Heat palette! I was travelling at the time when it was released and knew straight away I had to have it. It's just so different to the other Naked palettes and I don't have anything like this. I'd been looking for an eyeshadow palette with a lot of red and warm tones for so long and I've definitely found it. This palette is so beautiful and I haven't even mentioned the brush yet! I love Urban Decay's brushes and definitely need to purchase some but this brush especially is great. I love the tapered end, it's great for getting into my outer corner.

I've used this palette non stop since I bought it and the shades I keep using and that are by far my favourite are Sauced, Lumber and Scorched. I also love the shades En Fuego, Ashes and Ember for my outer corner when I want a smoky look. I'm not going to ramble on for too long about how great the quality is because we all know the quality and how pigmented the Naked eyeshadow palettes are. I'm definitely not one of those people who needs all of the Naked palettes but this one I had to have, if your thinking about getting it you definitely should!

I hope you enjoyed this brief ramble and hopefully there'll be another post soon!

LINKS:
Urban Decay Naked Heat palette

SKINCARE UPDATE: THE ORDINARY

Since coming back from Thailand my skin has been all over the place, it seems that sun cream apparently makes my skin break out which wasn't exactly great when I had to wear sun cream everyday. So as soon as I got back home I went on the hunt for some new skincare products, I'd heard a lot of good things about the brand the Ordinary and bought a few products especially when I found out how affordable they are. I wanted products for my blemishes, I picked up the Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% first which is also the first step in my skincare routine after cleansing my face. I apply this to my entire face whenever I cleanse and it applies so nicely and hasn't dried my skin out at all which I was nervous about. This is such a lovely product to use and I'm already seeing great results especially when I use it with the next product.

I also picked up the Salicylic Acid 2% Solution which I use on the main areas I get blemishes so my chin and t-zone. Using these together has really helped my skin and to clear my face from scars from previous blemishes, I always have marks from previous blemishes so these are definitely my new favourites. Another product I picked up is the High-Adherence Silicone Primer mainly because the description says it blurs out imperfections including enlarged pores, I'm all for flawless primers! Although I do have dry skin because of my eczema I do also have oily skin because this is a non-greasy formula that is oil free but still applies so well and smoothes and moisturises my skin.

I highly recommend you pick up all of three of these products because I'm already in love with them and need to pick up so many more products from this brand. They're also bringing out a foundation which I'm keeping an eye out for and if you have tried any of their products please let me know what you think!

LINKS:
The Ordinary High-Adherance Silicone Primer
The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution
The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zing 1%

JULY & TRAVEL FAVOURITES

So I'm sadly back from backpacking around Asia for 3 and a half months and being back home is going to take some time getting used to. I thought it's about time I got back to blogging and update a lot more than I was so let's get started with a July favourites and these are products I was using while I was travelling as well. The first product I've been loving is the Urban Decay Beached Bronzer in the shade Bronzed. This is such a lovely bronzer and is such a great shade especially now I have a bit of a tan. I've also been enjoying using the Urban Decay Naked Skin concealer, I originally picked this up in the shade Light Neutral which was slightly too dark for me but now I have a tan its the perfect shade. This completely covers any blemishes or marks I have, and it's enough coverage to wear without foundation. If any of you have tried the Urban Decay Naked Weightless Liquid Makeup let me know how you got on with it!

Obviously backpacking isn't exactly luxury living and I wanted to take makeup with me that was light and small to carry and that I knew I'd love so there's definitely some old favourites in here, one of them being the Nars Orgasm blush that luckily enough I have in the travel size. I love the fresh glow this blush gives you, and especially love the flecks of gold in the blush. Speaking of gold and glows my highlighter favourite this month and for the whole of my travelling has bee the Lottie London Shimmer Squad palette. This is such a great palette and saves a lot of space on packing when you've got four beautiful highlights in one palette, my favourite shade has been The Queen Bee. This product and pretty much all of the products help in achieving that dewy summer look which is exactly what I wanted while I was away, these products are also quick and easy to use which made backpacking life a lot easier because of course I was still going to wear makeup, the dead zombie look isn't such a great look for me!

My one and only lipstick I took with me is definitely an old favourite, it's the MAC matte lipstick in the shade Kind of Sexy. This is definitely one of those my lips but better lipsticks, it is matte but when I wanted a dewy makeup look I applied the Nuxe lip balm over the top which worked like a treat. I wanted to keep my makeup quite natural and effortless while I was away so this lovely pink shade was perfect. My favourite scent this month is another old favourite, it's the YSL Black Opium Eau de Parfum which I also had in the travel size and which thankfully lasted the whole four months. I won't go on too much about this perfume because I'm certain it's been in a few monthly favourites before, but I love the musky notes of the scent and it lasts all day. The last item is a hair favourite it's the Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray which as the name gives away is great for creating tousled loose waves which is the closest thing I can get to curly hair so I'm all for a product that does that for me. 

That is all for now, fingers crossed it won't be long until another post. If there's any posts you'd like to see feel free to leave a comment down below!

LINKS:

Urban Decay Beached Bronzed

Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer - Light Neutral

Nars Orgasm Blush

Lottie London Shimmer Squad

MAC matte lipstick - Kind of Sexy

YSL Black Opium Eau de Parfum
Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray

THAILAND

I'm so excited to say that I'll be backpacking around Thailand starting tomorrow, and when I say backpacking I mean backpacking, jumping from hostel to hostel but what other way is there to do it?! I'm travelling for four months with my boyfriend and if any of you have been to Thailand before and have any tips feel free to comment down below. So as I will be running around with excitement over temples and thai food there won't be any blog posts anytime soon but don't fret there's always Instagram. Give me a follow to keep up with my travels - @_caitdavies

Keep an eye out for a Thailand Travel Guide when I'm back!

A FEW NEW BITS

I thought I would share a few new homeware pieces well more like random pieces that I've acquired recently because they're too cute not too. I'll also be starting university in September and I'm already thinking about my uni room and what homeware bits to take with me. Of course I will be taking the majority of random junk that clutters my room, if any of you are starting uni or in uni at the moment and have any tips or uni room inspiration please share!