Rest In Peace

Bartle (Bartholomew) Grimes 1931-2013

My grandfather died earlier today. We had just arrived home when it happened and were lucky enough to get to say goodbye to him. If only we could all be so lucky to die in a warm bed, after a long life, pain free surrounded by the people who love us. It was a surreal day and it made me think about how short life really is and that we should tell the people we love that we love them as often as we can because we don't know when our time here will be over. 

I hope you are all safe and happy and healthy.

Emma x

BECCA Ultimate Colour Glosses

I have been reading about Australian brand BECCA for the past two years and I've been so curious to try out some of their products, so when I found out that I had won seven of the BECCA Ultimate Colour Glosses  from Zuneta, I was so happy to finally get to try out some of their products. 

Hotel California

Malibu Punch

Flamingo Crush

Pink Lotus

Miami Vice

Palm Breeze

Hummingbird

There are ten shades of the Ultimate Colour Glosses in total, three are newer shades just recently released and you can see them on the BECCA website. I received the shades Hotel California (Raspberry Red), Malibu Punch (Bright Tangerine), Flamingo Crush (Deep Fuchsia), Pink Lotus (Bright Coral), Miami Vice (Peachy Pink), Palm Breeze (Mauve Rose) and Hummingbird (Deep Berry).

These are high quality glosses, they are pigmented and so shiny, they look beautiful alone or worn over matte lipsticks for an opaque, glossy colour. I love wearing Hotel California over my Kate Moss for Rimmel lipstick in 107, but really you could wear them over any lipstick for a really eye catching look. 

The packaging is so sleek and classic and they come with a doe foot applicator so they are very easy to apply. They have a scent that to me smells like vanilla essence and the texture is perfect for me, not too sticky and not too slippery. They also have SPF 15 which always draws me to lip products as I always forget about SPF on my lips during the Summer.

All seven shades are very wearable, although I'll probably save Malibu Punch, Flamingo Crush and Pink Lotus for the Summer months. My favourites and the shades I would probably have gone for if I was buying these myself would be Hotel California and Palm Breeze.  Also, how great are the names? I love them! 

I'm totally taken with these glosses and I'm already contemplating buying the other three shades to complete the collection, although really the shade that most appeals to me is Berry Twist which is used in their current campaign and looks stunning on the model. 

The glosses retail for €25 on the BECCA site and €21 on Zuneta, although they are currently on sale for €12.60 which is such a bargain. I can't wait to try out more BECCA products!

Emma x

Le Chateau de Versailles

This is the last post of my photos from Paris. On the last day of our trip we took the train out to Versailles before flying home that evening. 

Kate and I were lucky enough to visit Versailles when we were kids while on a family holiday. I have wanted to go back since I was old enough to appreciate the history behind the palace. The only thing that disappointed me about our return visit was that we didn't have enough time to properly explore the palace and it's grounds. We had to get our bags from the left luggage at 5 and be on the train back to Paris at 6 so we really only had a few hours there. A proper visit would require the full day. Having said that it was such an amazing experience to walk around the grounds as an adult and almost have flashbacks to when I was a kid looking at a real life palace in amazement. 

We started with a walk around the grounds and took a boat ride on the pond. Then we briefly walked around the Petit Trianon, the house given to Marie Antoinette and where she spent most of her time. This was the main place I wanted to see since we didn't visit it the first time we were there. It's such a beautiful building and interior and I can totally see why Marie Antoinette spent most of her time here because it's like a mini palace so it's a lot less scary than the main palace. I can imagine during the Summer the grounds and gardens would be a dream to spend the day in. 

We finished our tour of Versailles with a very brisk walk around the palace. The really great thing was that we got to leave our luggage there so that we didn't have to leave it in Paris, we could go straight from Versailles by train to catch our RER train to Charles de Gaulle airport. 

I am currently compiling a list of my advice and tips for a (budget) trip to Paris so watch out for that one if you're planning on visiting the city in the future!

I hope you're all having a lovely week!

Emma x

PS. The photo of me sitting on a pillar outside the palace was to re-create one my parents took of me when I   was first there aged 9. Also, how amazing is that cat? I couldn't get over him!