Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette

When we were in Orlando in November we were lucky to be able to get our hands on the new (and possibly limited edition for the holidays?) Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette. To be honest, this palette has not had the best reviews. The main cause of contention has been that the amount of product in the palette is not the best value for money but lets be honest, how often do you use the entire contents of a palette anyway? Therefore the gripes did not put us off and we were excited to pick it up on one of our visits

to Sephora. 

 

It comes in beautiful gold shiny packaging and has a great size mirror that is ideal to use on the go. The palette holds three of their famous Ambient Lighting Powders, two Ambient Lighting Blushes and one Ambient Lighting Bronzer. Hourglass have included the powder shades; Dim Light, Iridescent Light and Diffused Light and the blush shades; Mood Exposure (a pinkish plum) and Luminous Flush (a coral pink). The palette is compelted with the bronzer in Luminous Bronze Light (a medium bronze powder with luminous light) 

L-R top row; Dim Light, Iridescent Light, Diffused Light
L-R bottom row; Mood Exposure, Luminous Flush, Luminous Bronze Light

After using this palette for a month now one negative is that the pans are quite small in size so it can be a little tricky for your brush to pick up just one colour. However with the Ambient Lighting Powers they also work really beautifully if swirled together so thats not so much of a problem with the powders. The blush and bronzer can be more difficult but using a slanted blush/bronzer brush means that you can target the shade you want and pick up the right amount! 

The palette has been used almost every day since we bought it making it a staple in our make up collection and one of our favourite recent purchases. Despite our initial reservations we are really pleased that we picked this up and if you are looking to treat yourself this Christmas then we would definitely recommend it and it's not too late to pick it up as a last minute Christmas present for a beauty loving friend! They will love you for it!

 

The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette is sold in Space NK for £65 and in Sephora (currently sold out) for $80  

Charlotte Tilbury - The Sophisticate Look

The Beautiful Gift Presentation Box



Mimi will be getting married just after Christmas and we have literally scoured the make up counters together for days searching for the perfect wedding make up. This week she finally made a decision.



You'd think it would be easy, however, there is so much to choose from that things get a little overwhelming! I offered to purchase some special products for her wedding day and after presenting her with The Gift of Red Carpet Skin set earlier this month (see HERE for our review) she fell in love with the Charlotte Tilbury products. We made a trip to our local stockist, Fenwicks in Newcastle, and started to swatch!

 

We were assisted by the loveliest and most helpful sales assistant who was completely knowlegeable about the product range and was able to offer advice and clarity when things got too much! Mimi was drawn to the beautiful sets that used together create a 'look'. After some consideration she decided to go for The Sophisticate Look which is a more natural, daytime look which can be built up, if required, for an evening look.

 

The entire set is beautiful and includes the following:

 

• LUXURY PALETTE - The Sophisticate (Eyeshadow)

• THE CLASSIC - Audrey (Eye Liner)

• FULL FAT LASHES – Glossy Black (Mascara)

• CHEEK TO CHIC – Sex On Fire (Blusher)

• LIP CHEAT – Pillowtalk (Lip Liner)

• K.I.S.S.I.N.G – Hepburn Honey (Lipstick)

• LIP LUSTRE – High Society (Lip Gloss)

• MAKE-UP BAG
 

The Makeup Bag and Look Card

Lets start with the Sophisticate Eyeshadow Quad; it is the only completely matt shadow palette that Charlotte offers and has shades labled prime, enhance, smoke, and pop. The idea, of course, is that the lightest shade is used to prime, the next shade to enhance and so on! A look card is included in the box with a tutorial for the Sophisticate look so that you can create it youself following the guide. Each shade is incredibly pigmented and soft and very easy to blend. I can definitely see more of these quads in our future!

 

The Products in all of their glory!

The Eyeliner in Audrey is a deep brown and therefore a bit more natural for daytime/bridal makeup and the mascara gives good separation and volume.

 

There is a lip trio in the set of the famous Pillowtalk Lip Liner, Kissing Lipstick in Hepburn Honey and High Society Lip Gloss. All are a pink toned nude and give a beautiful natural and sophisticated (!) look when used together. Long lasting and glowy this lip trio should require minimal top ups for a wedding day!

 



Finally the Sex on Fire Blush has the trademark Charlotte light and dark sections so that you can swirl and 'pop' the blush onto the apples of your cheeks.

 

The set is beautifully completed with the inclusion of a makeup bag stating 'Give a woman the right makeup & she can conquer the world'...How true!

 

Although the final decision as to the wedding day lipstick will not be made until nearer the time (a couple of others are in contention!) the remainder of this make up collection and the Gift of Red Carpet Skin set will definitely be used on Mimi's wedding day.

 

She is excited to wear it all and we will be sure to post a picture to show you the finished look!

 

Elle x

 

Have you tried any of these products of purchased any of the 'looks' from Charlotte Tilbury? We'd love to hear your views! 



BeccaXJaclynHill Champagne Glow Palette

As someone who has watched Jaclyn Hill's Youtube tutorials for years I was so excited when she collaborated with Becca to produce a highlighter! Said highlight did not disappoint! Champagne Pop is a STUNNING soft, white gold with pinky peach undertones which is not for the highlight virgin! Although it is a very intense creamy highlight it has actually become a staple in my everyday make up routine (I haven't touched MAC Soft and Gentle since I got it!!!)

Fast forward a few weeks and a thing of beauty popped up on my Instagram feed. A BeccaXJaclynHill Champagne Glow Palette! I had died and gone to highlight heaven! I knew from how much I adored the original Champagne Pop I had to have this palette! It not only includes Champagne Pop is also includes Pearl: a milky white silver and Blushed Copper: a warm copper almost brown highlight. Jaclyn said this colour was designed as a blush "topper" however some fair skinned girls like myself could use this as a blush on its own! 

If you can still get your hands on this I highly recommend it, if not I'd recommend that you pick up Champagne Pop as it is most certainty the star of this palette without a doubt! 

For all of our UK based readers Becca just announced that Champagne Pop is being stocked in Space NK!! Snap it up now ladies or get it on your Christmas list!

Have you tried Champagne Pop yet? What are your thoughts?

Mimi x

  

Charlotte Tilbury Christmas Sets - Haul and Review

We were recently browsing the Charlotte Tilbury website at their beautiful new Christmas releases when we were gripped with a sudden urge to make an order. So order we did! This is what we were tempted by!

 

 

The Gift of Red Carpet Skin Travel Kit

We have been interested in trying some of Charlottes highly recommended skincare products for some time now but we have never quite gotten round to taking the plunge. As we have only a few weeks before Mimi's wedding we thought we that now would be a great time to sample some of her products in preparation for the big day. Charlotte has a bridal makeup tutorial on her YouTube channel using some of her famous skincare therefore when we saw this kit that includes 15ml travel sizes of six of her most popular skincare items for £59 we could not resist! The kit contains the following:

 

 

GODDESS SKIN CLAY MASK - a plumping and smoothing clay mask treatment

MULTI MIRACLE GLOW - a deep cleansing cream to oil balm

MAGIC CREAM - award winning cream that seals in moisture and plumps skin

WONDERGLOW - instant soft-focus beauty flash primer for skin luminosity

SUPERMODEL BODY - skin shimmer, highlighter for the body

TAKE IT ALL OFF - oil rich cleansing eye makeup remover

We could not wait to try these generous travel sizes and they have impressed so much we are seriously considering purchasing the full size of at least two of these products. Our favourites so far are the Goddess Skin Clay Mask and the Wonderglow. They are simply AMAZING! Lets face it, Charlotte Tilbury is so passionate and such an great ambassador for her products that she could quite literally sell sand to the Arabs! However, hype aside, after trying them out these products sell themselves on their quality alone. No hype required!
 

Mini Lipstick Charms

We were unable to resist the tiny lipstick charms! Beautifully boxed in Charlottes trademark packaging they are the cutest little lipsticks from the K.I.S.S.I.N.G range (Charlottes signature range of lipsticks made with modern and classic icons in mind) and would make an idea stocking filler for a beauty obsessed lady. They would also be great to split and give one each as part of a gift for three friends. If you want to keep them all to yourself they are just the size to pop into your handbag for a night out over the party season. The lipsticks included are:
 

PENELOPE PINK - a nude/pink/beige
BITCH PERFECT- a peachy/beige
SO MARILYN - a deep red

We can't lie, we have already worn these lipsticks and have been very impressed with the pigmentation and staying power. We will most definitely be taking them along with us to the office Christmas Party.

Now that we have tried and tested more of the Charlotte Tilbury range it has whetted our appetite to try more! Lets hope Santa brings some in our stockings this year!

What are your favourite Charlotte Tilbury products? Do you have any recommendations for us? We would love to hear from you in the comments below!

Forever Living - Flawless by Sonya - Review

When I was asked by my good friend Victoria if I would like to try some of the Forever Living Products of course I jumped at the chance! No beauty addict would turn down the opportunity to test out some new products!  I was excited to receive the goodies and couldn't wait to try them all out. Forever Living specialise in natural products and their USP is their use of Aloe Vera in all of their makeup and skin care products as well as their line of health based products.
 

The Forever Living Makeup Products are branded Flawless by Sonia and are presented boxed (easy for Christmas wrapping!) The products I was tasked with testing and reviewing were the Aloe BB Crème, EyeLuminate Mascara and Eye Pencil set in Blue and the Luscious Lip Colour in Cappuccino.  
 

L-R: Aloe BB Crème, Flawless by Sonya EyeLuminate, Luscious Lip Colour

Aloe BB Crème

The BB Crème comes in a 1.5oz tube and has an SPF of 20. I like my BB creams to have an SPF as I tend to use them in the spring/summer months when I want a lighter coverage and it is great to not have to add extra sunscreen to your face. I thought that the coverage would be very light, however I was pleased to see that the coverage was very buildable. I applied it with my holy grail Beauty Blender and it blended into the skin quickly and left a very flawless looking finish. I didn't set it with a powder and blush and contour applied effortlessly over it. It has a pleasant and natural smell, not at all overpowering. I could definitely see this being a staple product when I am on holiday as it feels light and natural and the SPF 20 is an excellent benefit.
 

EyeLuminate Mascara and Eye Pencil

The mascara and eyeliner set I tried came in blue which is not a colour I would usually go for. I couldn't wait to try it as it was so different for me so I applied it immediately over the top of my usual black mascara thinking that it would not show up. How wrong I was! It was perfect over the black mascara as it gave enough colour without being over the top.  Used on its own I have no doubt that this would be great for nights out (especially in the party season) as it is vibrant and eye-catching. On first use I was immediately struck by how soft and creamy the eyeliner was. It glided across the lash line with no dragging and was incredible pigmented. I am going to order this set in both purple and green as well as I think both would suit my eye colour perfectly.

L-R: Eye Pencil, Mascara, BB Crème, Lip Gloss

Luscious Lip Colour in Cappuccino

The lip gloss comes in the cutest packaging with a mirror and light included and I get such a lot of comments when I take it out to reapply! It smells like vanilla which is always a good thing and it is shimmery and eye catching. I like to apply it over a matt or cream nude lipstick as it gives it another dimension.

I was pleasantly surprised by the products and delighted that I had the opportunity to try something that I would never have otherwise discovered. If you are interested in finding out more about the Forever Living Products and their benefits you can visit Vic's Facebook page here or her Online Store here

Elle x

Our Perfume Collection

We certainly do not consider ourselves to be big collectors of perfume and compared to most our collection is probably quite modest. However as its getting close to Christmas and after purchasing a couple of new fragrances ourselves this year we wanted to write a post about the scents currently in our joint perfume collection and hope you enjoy it!

 

Yves Saint Laurent Cinema

YSL Cinema is considered to be Elle's 'signature scent' with clementine, almond blossom and cyclamen we would describe it as a citrus vanilla-almond perfume. It lasts really well on the skin without being overpowering and it certainly attracts plenty of compliments when it is worn.

Chanel Coco Mademoiselle

Described as oriental-fresh with a floral jasmine-rose accord Coco Mademoiselle is a grapefruity floral scent with jasmine and musk base notes. It is sophisticated, long lasting and beautiful fragrance for special evenings out. It's quite pricey but worth a splurge if you are keeping it for special occasions.  

Jo Malone White Jasmine and Mint

This is our only Jo Malone fragrance and it has a bouquet of jasmine, lily, orange flower and rose with a very subtle hint of wild mint making it fresh, crisp and clean. It is a perfect summer fragrance.





L-R: YSL Cinema, Taylor Swift Wonderstruck, Jo Malone White Jasmine & Mint, Chanel Coco Mademoiselle

Fresh Sugar Lemon

We picked this scent up on a recent trip to the USA and love it! Again, this is a great summer fragrance as it is has a wonderful citrus scent with the mixture of fresh squeezed lemons and the sweetness of sugar.

 

Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black

We bought this Elizabeth and James rollerball in Sephora this past summer and it came in a set with its sister fragrance the Nirvana White. Nirvana Black is a woody fragrance and is somewhat masculine (it was created to be worn by both genders) The fragrance is built around violet, sandalwood and vanilla and it is beautiful when layered with the Nirvana White. 

 

 

Elizabeth and James Nirvana White

The Nirvana White is a more delicate scent with peony, muguet and musk notes making for a lighter more feminine scent than the Nirvana Black. We would definitely recommend layering this with the Black for a totally different experience. The Elizabeth and James brand is part of Mary-Kate and Ashley Ohlsens empire of products!  

Taylor Swift Wonderstruck 

This floral scent with fruity notes makes for a young and fresh perfume. Perfect for teens and twenty's!. Including hibiscus, honeysuckle, apple blossom and raspberry this is a distinctive but light enough scent that it can be worn both day and night. One of four available Taylor Swift perfumes, Taylor can do no wrong in our opinion!

Nest Fragrances Indigo

We had never heard of Nest Fragrances although we had come across their candles in the past. This mini rollerball came as a gift from Sephora as a 100 point perk and it is such a beautiful and unusual scent. The notes are Moroccan tea, Kashmir wood, cardamom and wild fig. 





What are your favourite fragrances? We would love to hear your recommendations!

Sephora Favorites - Superstars

While we were in Orlando recently we couldn't resist a couple of trips to Sephora. We always like to visit at this time of year as the seasonal gift sets are being released. After seeing the Superstars set unboxed on Glam Life Guru's YouTube channel we were dying to get our hands on this multi branded set with thirteen beauty items inside, seven of which are full size.

 

The set contains: 

Beautyblender Original 
Benefit They're Real Mascara
Clinique Chubby Stick Sculpting Highlight
Lancôme Drama Liqui-Pencil Extreme Longwear Eyeliner in Noir Intense 
Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Highlight 

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner in Intense Black
Tarte the Sculptor Contouring Face Slenderizer in Park Ave Princess
Tarte The Slenderizer Bamboo Contouring Brush
Touch in Sol Stretchex Stretch Lash Effect Mascara
Urban Decay Eye Shadow in Lounge
Make Up For Ever Step 1 Skin Equalizer Hydrating Primer / Base Step 1 Skin Equalizer
NARS Dual Intensity Eyeshadow in Himalia
Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water

This set offers excellent value for money and has some beautiful products inside. The stand outs for us are the NARS Dual Intensity Eye Shadow in Himalia which is an beautiful shadow in a gorgeous almost rose gold shade. On the NARS website it is described as a shimmering topaz and it can be used dry or wet for a more intense look. Perfect for the holiday season! We also really love the Urban Decay Eye Shadow in Lounge.This is one of those almost impossible to describe shadows that looks different in every light! It looks green until you start to apply and it takes on a dual chrome green, brownish red tone. Told you it was impossible to describe!! Another great holiday season shadow!
 

 

With some great staples like the Benefit They're Real Mascara and the holy grail Beauty Blender you really can't go wrong with this set. Whether you are treating yourself or buying it as a gift for a friend or relative we am sure any make up loving lady would adore this!
 

 
The Sephora Favorites - Superstars is now available in Sephora stores and online for $75. The total value of the contents is actually $207 so it is an absolute steal!

 

Have you managed to get your hands on the Sephora Superstars set? What are your thoughts?

A Food Festival, Halloween Horror, Universal Orlando Resort and a Sephora Splurge!

Welcome to our first ‘Review of the Week’. We will not be posting these on a regular weekly schedule as, believe us, our lives are not interesting enough to do that! However, when we have something fun happening or a particularly busy week we would love to share it with you all!

A couple of weeks ago we took an impromptu trip to Orlando, Florida on a top secret mission that we will be sharing with you in the new year. Until then let us fill you in on some of the fun activities, eating and shopping we did while we were there.

We set off on Saturday morning at 10am and had a great flight in which we watched Jurassic World (fab movie!) and The Age of Adeline (excellent film, many tears were shed!). We touched down at 3.30pm at Orlando International Airport and were whisked off to our Hotel, Radisson at Celebration. We had every intention of having a night out but the truth is we were so tired that we fell into bed super early, exhausted from a busy day travelling

Epcot Food and Wine Festival

We had a full itinerary for Sunday! We purchased tickets at the gate and headed into Epcot Food and Wine Festival at around 10am. We enjoyed the obligatory Starbucks (Christmas drinks are now available!) before the stands opened and 11am we started to eat our way around the world! Wow! We had some amazing food! We have inserted a sample  of what we managed to consume above so that you can get an idea of just how much we managed to get through! If you are in Orlando during Food and Wine Festival we cannot recommend this enough as it was a really great day out. We really enjoyed the food we sampled and it was so lovely to wander around Epcot World Showcase in the November sunshine and pick out the food we wanted to taste. We especially enjoyed the cheese and wine trio at the end of the day! Once we had eaten our fill we headed back to our hotel for a nap as we had a very scary evening ahead….

Universal Halloween Horror Nights

We purchased tickets in advance for Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) as the night we attended was the very last night and we didn’t want to risk missing out. We arrived about 45 minutes before the gates opened and joined the line with lots of suitably dressed guests! As the park opened fireworks were set off and we heard chainsaws jump to life! Halloween Horror Nights is an annual event at Universal Studios in both Orlando and California. The park is divided into ‘Scare Zones’ – or themed areas where scarily dressed actors frighten this life out of you (both with and without chainsaws!) They also have themed ‘Houses’ which are based on both popular horror films and original ideas. This year they included Freddie vs. Jason, The Walking Dead, Insidious, The Purge and an original house themed around the 25^th Anniversary of HHN. We managed to see every scare zone and walk through 6/9 of the themed houses before jet lag got the better of us and we were forced to stagger home to bed dreaming of zombies….zzzzz

Shopping Craziness at Sephora

No trip to the USA would be complete without a visit to Sephora We already had a list of items that we wanted to check out and of course once you start browsing you are always seduced by other pretty items you decide you can’t live without! We were excited to see that some of the holiday sets were already released and we picked up the Sephora Favorites  Superstars  $75 and Sephora Give Me More Lip $59 (apologies that we are unable to link to this but it does not currently appear to be available online) .We love these sets as they offer fantastic value for money and are a great way to try products without having to splash out on the full size item.

After the 'snapped in the suitcase Anastacia Brow Wiz debacle' of Summer 2015 we invested in a new and intact Brow Wiz and kept it in its box for travel purposes this time (in case of snappage! ) We also managed to get hold of the coveted (and pretty much sold out) Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Jaclyn Hill Palette $49. This is a limited edition palette with Pearl/ Champagne Pop/ Blushed Copper highlighters, get it fast as it is sure to be popular! We were also delighted to be able to get our hands on the new Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette which is sooo beautiful! It is available in the UK from Space NK and although it is a little pricey at £65, in our opinion it is worth it as it has been used every single day since its purchase!

We will be dedicating a whole post to some of our new Sephora purchases soon including photographs and reviews once we have tried and tested them for you all! Watch this space for details!

 

An Epic Universal Orlando Day

 

To finish off our incredibly busy week we decided to dedicate a whole day to visiting the Universal Parks - Universal Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios the day before we flew home. After an early lunch at Bread Box we started off in Islands of Adventure which was so much quieter that it was in August when we last visited! We rode some of our very favourite attractions including Spiderman and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey before jumping on the Hogwarts Express to Universal Studios and riding Escape from Gringotts. We couldn't leave without paying a visit to Mummy and Transformers (another two of our fave attractions!). We left in the early evening totally exhausted after a packed day of having fun!

Universal Orlando Resort

 

 

We spent our final morning at the newly rebranded Disney Springs (AKA Downtown Disney) where we had our traditional final day lunch at Earl of Sandwich and a quick look at how the Disney Springs building work was progressing since we last visited. We always seem to end up there on our final day as it is a great place to have a leisurely wander and lunch before heading to the airport.

 

By early afternoon the time had come for us to head back to Orlando International Airport to return our hire car and start the long journey home.

 

We had an amazing visit to Orlando and despite only being there for one week on this trip we managed to cram a whole lot into our 7 days! We hope you have enjoyed reading about our visit and we look forward to sharing our Sephora purchases with you very soon.  

 

Orlando for Grown-Ups - Part 2

We had such great feedback from our previous post 'Orlando for Grown-Ups Part 1' that we wanted to get part 2 up on the blog for you as soon as possible. So here it is! Welcome to Part 2 of 'Orlando for Grown-Ups' If you missed Part 1 you can catch it by clicking here

This time we wanted to look at some of the things that you might like to do and places you may enjoy visiting if you are in Orlando without the kids! Of course if you want to take the kids with you then I am sure they would enjoy a lot of these suggestions too! So, if you are looking to take some time away from the craziness of the parks then here are some more of our tried and tested suggestions!

Take an Airboat Ride at Boggy Creek

We had visited the Orlando area many times before we finally got around to taking the plunge and getting on an airboat in the swamps of Boggy Creek! We wondered what had taken us so long! We opted for the 1/2 hour airboat ride but there are various tours to choose from. The captain of our airboat was both funny and informative and helpfully pointed out various wildlife and birds as we sped through the swampy lake. We even got to see an alligator close up! It was great to be able to see all of the creatures in their natural habitat and having a guide give useful information about everything we were seeing was fantastic. At the end of the tour as we left the airboat we even got to pet a tiny alligator! The Boggy Creek Airboat Rides range from $26.95 per person and are highly recommended by us.

Airboat Rides at Boggy Creek and an alligator in hiding!

Ride the Orlando Eye

This years newest attraction in the International Drive area was the Orlando Eye and we could not wait to give it a try! The Orlando Eye is basically the London Eye on a slightly smaller scale and with a totally different view! It is located right in the middle of International Drive and is 400 metres tall with amazing views of Downtown Orlando, all of the surrounding theme parks and even Cape Canaveral on a clear day! The capsules are all air conditioned making the eye a great place to go to escape from the Florida heat. We were lucky enough to have a capsule all to ourselves (we believe that they do try and do this where possible) and we got to see some fantastic sights while we were up so high. The tickets are sold in time slots and are available at the attraction gate but you can also pre book online where you will get a discount of 25% for booking in advance making the cost of an adult ticket $20. You can also combine the Orlando Eye, Madame Tussauds and Sea Life Centre for just $39 if booking in advance. Well worth doing if you want to take advantage of our next recommendation!
 

The Orlando Eye on International Drive

Photo's with the Stars at Madame Tussauds

We have to admit we have never been huge fans of the wax figure but our trip to Madame Tussards Orlando this past August changed our mind! Situated right next to the Orlando Eye the International Drive Madame Tussauds is a fun and interactive experience and does not involve any wax figures hidden away behind ropes! This has always been our gripe in the past. Static wax figures that are roped off and crowds of people shuffling by staring at them from afar! This venue was a totally new experience for us! We were able to fully interact with all of the wax figures from Taylor Swift, Michael Jackson and One Direction to President Obama and Tiger Woods! The whole place was filled with photo opportunites to take advantage of and have fun with. You can combine the Madame Tussauds ticket with the Orlando Eye and Sea Life Centre (also worth a visit) for $39 or if you want to make a stand alone trip the adult ticket is $20 if you book in advance.

Madame Tussauds

Visit the Town of Celebration

Discovering the town of Celebration counts as one of the highlights of our 2012 holiday as once we found it we totally fell in love with it. Celebration, known to some as 'The Town That Disney Built' was developed in 1996 and was intended to make history as a town worthy of the Disney brand. Before you visit read up on the history of the town as it makes for very interesting reading! Celebration is thought to have been developed to extend Walt Disney's original vision of the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow or EPCOT as it is more commonly known. It is the perfect place to enjoy a leisurely stroll around the lake after a hearty breakfast at the Market Street Cafe and watch children having fun playing in the water fountation nearby. Celebration is definitely worth a visit even if you just drive through the town to take a look at the beautiful houses and imagine yourself living there! At night there are some lovely restaurants to choose from including, Celebration Town Tavern and Cafe D'Antonio.
  

Celebration, Florida

Take a Stroll Along the Boardwalk

Our next recommendation, Disney's Boardwalk, is a quarter mile long promenade themed to resemble boardwalks in cities like Coney Island and Atlantic City USA. It is situated right next door to EPCOT Centre and many regular park visitors we have spoken to are not even aware that it exists! It is a charming and peaceful area to stroll through by day where you can enjoy an ice cream and a soda while you watch the world go by. At night it is more geared toward adult entertainment with an adults only duelling piano bar named Jellyrolls, Atlantic Dance Hall and ESPN Sports Club. There are also some great places to eat, in particular the very popular Flying Fish restaurant.  We love to stop by the Boardwalk whenever we visit Orlando and one of our favourite things to do is grab a delicious ice cream sundae at Beaches and Cream Soda Shop before we head into Epcot.
 

Disney's Boardwalk

Eat at Sanaa Restaurant at Animal Kingdom Villas

One of our favourite places to eat at Disneyworld is Sanaa Restaurant.  Situated at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas - Kidani Village this excellent restaurant features African cooking with Indian flavors and we have enjoyed some delicious food here! What makes it even more special is the view. Out of the window is the famous Sunset Savannah and some seats give you an amazing view of  animals such as gazelles, zebras and giraffes which roam the grounds. We love to start with the Indian Style Bread Service featuring a choice of 5 naan breads and accompaniments while we wait for the main course, 'Potjie Inspired' which is a choice of 2 main dishes served with rice. Delicious!

Sanaa at Animal Kingdom Villas and some of the delicious food on offer!

 

Cocktails, Chips & Guacamole at La Cava del Tequila

Hidden away in a quiet corner of the Mexico Pavillion at Epcot Centre is La Cava del Tequila. Here they serve more than 200 types of authentic tequila alongside various cocktails and Mexican beers and wines. We enjoy visiting this lovely and relaxing venue to take a break from the sunshine and sip a cocktail or two. To make things even better they serve amazing guacamole with warm tortilla chips which keep on coming! The surroundings resemble the cellar of a hacienda and the ambience is warm and comfortable. It is the perfect place to settle for a relaxing hour or two away from the rest of the Epcot crowds.
  

La Cava del Tequila

We hope that you have enjoyed our Orlando for Grown-Ups series. Remember that some of these activities could also be enjoyed by families with children or teens as well as adults only!

If you have any recommendations for us or our readers we would love for you to share them with us in the comments below!

Starter Makeup Kit for Teens

One of our very good friends has a 15 year old daughter who is starting to get into makeup in a big way. Recently she asked our advice on some recommendations so that her daughter can to start to build her makeup collection. We were very excited at the prospect of putting together a starter kit tailored towards teenage girls to include budget friendly but great quality items. Even if you are not a teenager all of these suggestions are for fantastic, affordable makeup that we would recommend to all ages!

 

                                                                   Moisturiser

Let's start with a moisturiser. When it comes to affordable skincare for young skin we really don't think that there is anything that comes close to Simple products. Our choice of Simple Kind to Skin Protecting Light Moisturiser (with SPF15) is a great place to start. It is light enough for young skin and has no artificial perfume or colour so shouldn't aggravate teenage skin. It is currently £4.35 at Boots.com.

Simple Kind to Skin Protecting Light Moisturiser



Foundation

There are so many great drugstore foundations and we are particularly partial to Revlon  - in fact Revlon Colourstay is one of our all time favourite foundations. Bourjois also do some fantastic foundations that would be great for teenagers (Healthy Mix Serum Gel Foundation is a great option) but we decided to go with the Collection Illuminating Touch Foundation for our UK readers. This foundation comes in 6 shades and is currently on sale at the introductory offer of only £3.99 in Boots! It has a 'radiance boosting formula with a 'your skin but better’ finish' and has a long lasting medium/full coverage. Perfect for young ladies experimenting with foundation. As an alternative for our USA readers we love Covergirl Ready Set Gorgeous as it gives a very natural look and light coverage. It has an oil free formula to create a long lasting shine free finish. It is also very affordable at $7.99.

L-R; Covergirl Ready Set Gorgeous, NYX Full Coverage Concealer, NYX HD Concealer, Maybelline The Eraser Eye Concealer

CC Cream 

As an alternative to a foundation we would recommend the Bourjois 123 Perfect Colour Correcting Cream. This is a fantastic lightweight and oil free CC Cream with a beautiful natural finish. Its a great light coverage option and although its a bit pricier at £9.99 it lasts for ages!  

Concealer

We couldnt have a concealer category and not mention the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer! A blogger holy grail product for many years this is pretty much a dupe for the much more expensive Nars Creamy Concealer and at £4.19 it pocket money priced! Another affordable favourite of ours is the NYX Cosmetics Concealer Wand and for a fuller coverage the NYX Concealer Jar both £5.50 and now available at Boots.com

Bronzer/Highlighter

We adore this Barry M Chisel Cheeks Contour Kit as it has everything you need in one! The contour shade is just perfect for underneath the cheekbones to give some definition and you don't need much as it is very pigmented! The bronzer shade warms the face up nicely. The highlighter in the kit is not at all glittery so no disco ball faces here! It is also a steal at £6.49.



L-R; Barry M Chisel Cheeks Contour Kit, Makeup Revolution Blushing Hearts Blush

Blush

We are recent converts to all things Makeup Revolution and really love their I Heart Makeup range of products. A perfect addition to any teenagers madeup bag would be the beautifully packaged I Heart Blush. We have the shade Blushing Heart and it is a gorgeous triple baked, shimmery pink blush that lasts all day! Makeup Revolution is available at Superdrug stores and this pretty blush is only £4.99.  

Eyeshadow

On the subject of Makeup Revolution you really can't go wrong with their amazing Chocolate Eye Shadow Palettes. We have them in White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate and each palette has 16 excellent quality and highly pigmented eye shadows in the, good enough to eat, chocolate bar packaging. Any of these palettes would make a fantastic first palette for a young lady who wants to experiment with shadow colours. At £7.99 these eyeshadows will not be breaking the bank.

Makeup Revolution Chocolate Palettes

Mascara and Brows

The Barry M Showgirl Extra Lengthening Mascara recently came into our possession when it was a free gift with the purchase of the Barry M nail polishes but it has fast become a favourite! It has a long and thin brush which grabs hold of every lash but does not look clumpy. It is only £4.99 and a great budget option. It also comes in pretty silver packaging that is sure to look great in any starter makeup kit. For brows the Collection Work the Colour Eyebrow Kit is an amazing affordable option to experiment with filling those brows and keeping them in place! At just £3.99 is offers exceptional value for money and comes with a mini brush, two eyebrow shades and a brow highlight as well as a clear brow gel.

Top: Barry M Showgirl Mascara, Collection Eyebrow Kit

Lips

We are huge fans of the lip crayon and one of our very favourites has to be the Bourjois Colour Boost Lip Crayon in Proudly Naked. This is a perfect - your lips but better shade - and is natural enough for a younger teen to wear. They also come in 8 other shades for £7.99 each and the formula is moisturising and very comfortable to wear. Special mention to Maybelline Baby Lips too as these lip balms with colour are perfect to pop in your bag and top up throughout the day. We also really like the Electro Lip Balms which have more colour pigmentation and are more like a lipstick. At £2.99 each they are super affordable too. The final two lip products we would like to mention are a balm stain and a liquid lipstick. Revlon produce some amazing lip products and some of our favourite colours are in the Revlon Colorburst Balm Stain range. The one pictured is in the shade Honey however there are some fantastic shades to choose from and should be something there to suit everyone. The liquid lipstick, and a new discovery for us, is the Makeup Revolution I Heart Makeup Lip Lava in the shade Tremor. Its a long lasting but perfectly natural shade that is great for daytime wear if you are looking for a 'my lips but better' lip colour. These are just £2.99 at Superdrug or direct from the Makeup Revolution website.

L-R Revlon Colorburst Balm Stain, Bourjois Colour Boost Lip Crayon, Makeup Revolution Lip Lava, Maybelline Baby Lips Dr Rescue

Whether you are a teenager yourself or you have a young daughter or relative who is discovering make up and building her collection there are so many fantastic and affordable products out there to experiment with. We hope that we have been able to help by suggesting some of our favourites.

Do you have any suggestions for our readers? We would love to hear them in the comments below!