Long time no see... A short goodbye from this platform.

So, it's been a while since I blogged!

I have come to the conclusion that blogging isn't necessarily for me.
I'm quite happy using my other platforms now that I have started using them regularly and can finally do video content!

So for those who didn't know...
I have moved back to the UK, been living in central Scotland for the past 4 months and it has been wonderful. I had completely forgotten how easy life is when you have access to everything you need!

I have officially started my Youtube channel, active as usual on Instagram and have also started to dip my toe into TikTok. I have the same username everywhere if you want to check what I've been up to: cynthia_steenkamp.

Other than that I've been busy sorting out our home from scratch for the third time in the 10 years I've been with the love of my life. Our little girl Cookie is so happy! My heart is so full right now and I can't wait for what the future has to offer.

This is my goodbye from this platform.
I don't quite know if I will start blogging down the line or what will happen but as mentioned I'm very happy with the outlets I currently use.

Hope you're all doing well and have a wonderful last few weeks to 2019!
Look after yourselves and see you around!

Review: Espionage Cosmetics Cartridge Compacts.

Where to begin...

I love these things and I remember that I completely missed the cut off date to pre-order due to my yearly medical check trip to South Africa after making sure everyone else knew about them! Haha. But Espionage Cosmetics had my back and I got a lovely care package around Christmas with two cartridges, some of the new shadows and the lip blushes.

I have since bought an additional cartridge which is the Zelda inspired one, of course I had to have that one! 

But enough about all that, let's get into the actual review.

These cartridges are made to hold two standard sized eyeshadow pans which sit very snug once in place and can be removed thanks to the little hole in the compact.

There's two mixing compartments in each compact which is great for just that, mixing. During my recent trip to Sweden I used this little compartment to keep a little clear balm to mix with a shimmer shadow which I was using as a highlighter. 

The mirror is an actual glass mirror which I have successfully already scratched on my favorite compact. Sigh. I just can't have nice things! The size is about as big as a standard size powder compact but shaped as a Game Boy cartridge. Perfect size for keeping in tight jeans, breast pockets, tiny purses and anywhere else you'd be able to. 

This is such a fun little item for anyone who grew up on these games. It makes me so happy opening my bag and taking this out, just fills me with a sense of pride and nostalgia. This is definitely an item I'll be collecting and seeing that the pans that fit into them are available from such a wide variety of companies makes this even more attractive. 

In my stash: My current F.A.I.R. Beauty Cosmetics Eyeshadow Collection.

I've been meaning to post swatches of my collection for a good few months now but with moving and not being able to find the pictures from my original swatches I had to do it all over.

Had close to no clouds today (at last) and I was finally able to swatch them all. F.A.I.R. Beauty Cosmetics makes amazing shimmers, everything is vegan, cruelty free and hand made.

All shadows were swatches over "Embellished" Eyeshadow Primer by Darling Girl Cosmetics.

I do have an affiliate code you can use if you want to, it's "CYNTHIA" (all caps) and it gives you 10% off your purchase.

Limited edition shadows have * at the end.

In my stash: Favorite lip balms.

Oh well hello there! I've been ridiculously overwhelmed with life lately and everything had to be put on hold for a week or two, sorry for that but I'm back to my normal self now... Feels like its been a long year already...

Anyhow!

Lip balms!

Ah, so much money that has vanished over the years when they go "poof". I have never been much for really caring about ingredients and benefits of my lip balms until I started going cruelty free and educating myself about what does what.

There's a crazy amount of bad products out on the market, I can't even begin to tell you how many balms ended it drying out my lips or even disappeared off my lips in no time... Also, as I was writing this post I realized that most of the balms I feature here had been sent to me or GWP but these are my opinions and nothing has been filtered... I've basically only wasted money in the past year seeing as I have started " investing" in quality but only one that I bought myself (out of the countless) are here...

But that's not what this post is about.

This post is about my favorites!

I've become quite the addict and I use different typed of lip balms for different reasons, so if you, like me, are a self proclaimed lip balm connoisseur then keep reading and also dropped me your recommendations!

 F.A.I.R. Beauty Cosmetics.
Peanut Butter Cup and Candy Corn Lip Balm ($ 3 each).

I love these balms as a night time balm, they stay on through the night and don't "evaporate". Colourless and don't melt in your average summer temperatures which I've had a lot of unfortunate accidents with other balms leaking in my bags or pockets... Not a nice thing... The fragrance is quite strong but I don't mind it as it kind of  makes me love them more as they trigger childhood memories.

 FRUU
Colour Balm in Mulberry (£ 5).

One of those perfect tinted lip balms. I got this one in a subscription box many months ago and I keep reaching for it. It's not a very hydrating balm but the colour does stay on for a while and doesn't have a fragrance.

Bybi
Plumper Lip Balm (£ 9).

I won this! And it was lost for a few months due to us moving, that's why it looks a bit rough. But this is what I use to prep my lips before applying a matte liquid lipstick. Works well and doesn't feel like your lips are on fire or you're being attacked by a swarm of bees. Its a light tingle and it does what it's supposed to. If only more products did what they claim...

Linda Hallberg Cosmetics
Fantastick in Ametrine ($ 23).

I actually bought this one! I'm about halfway through it and I will absolutely pick up more when I got to Sweden next month! It has a very pleasant texture, not thick, not sticky, not too slippery, it's just right in my opinion. Oh, and it has SPF. It is so damn difficult finding a good quality SPF lip balm that feels nice... The tint isn't crazy, it is just a nice way to perk up a dull face.

Espionage Beauty / Espionage Cosmetics
Lip Blush Tints in Bubble Dragon and Barrel Blast ($ 6 each).

These were kindly sent to me in PR. These are surprisingly pigmented once you get through the top layer which mine seemed to have as the first few times I used it I didn't get much colour. They smell like candy and bubblegum which is something that makes me happy. I didn't think I'd get as much use out of these as I have, they're just so damn convenient to keep in my "on the go" palette.

Dr. Paw Paw
Multipurpose Balm (£ 3.95)

A GWP I received ages ago but didn't touch until a couple of months ago when I had some random dry spots on my hands. I love this balm. It's my bedtime main. I wake up with nice lips which is a lot to ask here as I tend to get really dehydrated through the night.


But that's it for now.
A few of these are running low and I'm trying to not buy anything unless I have to this year. I do have high hopes seeing as I have found some wonderful products over the last two years that I will stick to. Hope this helps someone out there and don't forger to leave me tour recommendations!

All the balms above are cruelty free and vegan.

Current stash, post declutter.

I've been going hard on decluttering my life over the last four years and early December I decided that it was time to say goodbye to a lot of things in my make-up stash.

Ma stash.

So this is what I kept.
I didn't have a huge stash to start with as I've always made sure that I don't have more than what fits in a regular desk drawer. It's not so much that I don't have space but more of a way for myself to not get overwhelmed and not know what I have, which has happened more then once before I started my somewhat minimal living way. I do go through a decent amount of products in a year but right now I feel like I'm in a place where I'd much rather use up what I have then buy things this year. I do however have 5 things coming and will most likely pick up a few things during my visit to Sweden in a few months... But until then, I'm happy.

I have a wide range of everything I can imagine ever needing and I'm also a fan of mixing so I don't own loads of lipsticks or any other things, I prefer buying lip safe pigments and have good mixing mediums. This is something I did a lot more when I first started exploring make-up. Now I enjoy having a couple of perfect lipsticks to take with me everywhere and not make a fuss.

Since I discovered make-up I've stopped using foundation, I only spot conceal and use correctors if needed. Powder is my best friend but I only use it for my T-zone and a fine banana powder for under my eyes. Not buying foundation has probably been my best decision! I could to start with never find a match as I have a pale olive skin tone and in the early 2000s there was, if you were lucky, maybe 5 shades to chose from... And seeing as I grew up in Sweden, there wasn't much catering for non Scandinavian complexions.

Eyeshadows is the thing for me.
I love wearing it and while my fashion is dull and muted, my eyes will absolutely compensate for that... Oh and blinding highlighter of course.

For this year I won't be doing many hauls, instead I aim to do "what's in my stash" again on a monthly basis or whenever I feel like swatching stuff for my own sake. I have for a long time wanted to do a digital library of my make-up and I think now's the time to do it!

So yeah, that's it.
Hope you enjoy and let me know if you plan on doing a minimalist year or declutter your own stash.

New kinder year: Veganuary.

If you, like me, always aim to do the right thing and be the best you can possibly be, then veganism might be for you. I'm Chilean, our food culture is very meat heavy and I grew up in Sweden where again, food culture is very meat heavy.

I wanted to create this post to help those who are interested in living a more ethical life take the first steps in the right direction.

First of all, please keep in mind that it takes time.

I don't suggest throwing food, make-up, skincare, fashion and what not away. This is why I incorporate the word ethical which to me is the baseline of doing good.

Changing your lifestyle takes time and as someone who has been changing towards a vegan/ethical lifestyle over the past 12 years I can advise you to not stress about it. The biggest change isn't about what we throw away, how we nitpick at things or the preaching, the biggest change has to come from your heart.

I don't say this lightly.

Opening your eyes to the reality of the vast cruelty we pay for is not an easy pill to swallow... It is something that constantly hurts me deeply when I see any form of animal product. And I never expected to feel this way in my life, I used to be an exotic meats eater, avid luxury collector etc. I would enjoy all forms of cruelty and it took a lot of research and basically studying for me to come to terms with it being time to make a change in my life.

I can't imagine people enjoying butchering animals unless there's something very wrong with them which leads me to question how we can justify paying for such a thing... Doesn't it make us as consumers just as sick as someone who enjoys causing pain? We pay for it after all, we create the demand. A very powerful phrase is "If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian" by Sir Paul McCartney. While vegansim doesn't include dairy, honey or eggs, basically anything from animals, I always encourage people to do their own research. There's so much information widely available now... And with the times changing where so many facilities who have animals are being monitored with CCTV due to reports of animal cruelty there's no better time to wake up to the big marketing scam we have been fed for generations.

I'm always available for discussion and help.

Documentaries I recommend:

• What the health.

• Cowspiracy  

• Food Inc

• Earthlings

• Forks over knives

There's a lot more if you simply Google "Vegan Documentaries" but I thought these would be a great start.

Inspirational and generally helpful Instagram accounts split into genre:

Food:
@avantgardevegan
@bosh.TV
@accidentallyveganuk
@thevegankindsupermarket
@thevegankind
@nutrition_facts_org
@epivegan

Activism:

@anonymousforthevoiceless 

@albaparis
@earthlinged
@nimai_delgado

News:
@plantbasednews

Hope this helps.
❤

2018 Outro.

This was a year full of challenges, lots of joy with sprinkles of anxiety attacks because what would life be without a few breakdowns? Overall a good balanced year and I had lots of important conversations with myself about myself. I've learned to not force myself to do things I don't want to do because they're expected of me, learned to stand my ground a bit more and be OK with my sudden bursts of anger which I have worked on suppressing for many years. I've let myself be myself much more, good and bad, and prioritize the people I love while still allowing myself to disappear when I need a break.

Creatively this year has been awesome!
I've decided to just not care anymore about societies ridiculous beauty standards, I have embraced my occasional pimples, facial hair, wrinkles that have started to make their appearance, even my dark circles under my eyes (which I intend on getting fillers for in a few years but for now I'm letting them be). I find it so exhausting and terribly boring seeing all these people face tuning and trying to be living dolls without any "flaws" (or humanity). I have also realized just how much I love make-up, I have always liked it but now I truly believe that it's what I want to do for the rest of my life as well as photography. While I don't ever want to lock myself into a specific genre as I love too many different styles, as my "Best nine of 2018" proved on Instagram, I don't stress about being too plain or not living up to peoples expectations. Following the changes Instagram made earlier this year with the algorithm I feel even less inclined to please others and want to reach a point where I only do things that speak to me, for me. I feel very fortunate to have made so many wonderful friends on such a diverse platform who all inspire me to keep growing and who have been encouraging me to keep up with my not so traditional Instagram beauty feed.

In short.
I'm happy and excited for the future.
I've started setting up my bullet journal which I absolutely loved and am so happy I discovered this year. Definitely helped me keep my anxiety at bay.

And to end this "outro" I hope you feel inspired to better look after yourself by perhaps having more talks with yourself and do more of what you love in the new year, for you and less pleasing of others.

Have a peaceful end to the year and wishing you all a stronger and more confident 2019.

Indie Beauty Holiday Gift Guide 2018.

I've been very fortunate to mainly have had positive experiences with the Indie community. These recommendations aren't listed in any particular order, they're all special to me. I have to say that the thing I love most about indies is the personal touch and communication. While I could easily have made this list 10 times longer I wanted to do my best at keeping it from turning into the next wall of text. All shop names are clickable and will take you straight to their shops. I hope this helps someone and happy shopping!

Moon Baby Shop

A small batch Etsy shop with focus on body care with jewelry pieces and lots of beautiful herbal creations. All vegan and everything is worth the money.
I have tried a lot of things from this store and I've not been disappointed. They do frequently add new things to their shop and change it up depending on the season. Awesome customer service, I ordered a gift for two friends a while back and had it gift wrapped, it looked lovely so don't hessite to ask for help.

F.A.I.R. Beauty Cosmetics

I almost own every eye shadow from this lovely lady.
She makes my favorite shimmers.
I'd also highly recommend the lip balms which have quickly become my new favorites, they are so nice and most importantly for me; they don't melt in the tube in the Zambian heat. All products are vegan and always send very well packaged. And I do have a discount code with her, use code "CYNTHIA" for 10% off (affiliate code). Also have plenty of hauls and swatches on the blog, just search on the side bar.

The Collective Cosmetics

A brand started by two make-up artists I follow on Instagram ( @beautanica and @josephwilliamrobinsonhale ).
You can absolutely tell how passionate they are for their brand in every post they make. I was very lucky to get The Mandela Effect Palette sent to me for participating in a contest they hosted (review can be found on the blog). Very pretty, all vegan and very much a brand that encourages and sparks creativity.

Espionage Beauty (formerly known as Espionage Cosmetics).

What can I say that I haven't said already about this brand?
I love this company to bits. It speaks to my geeky heart and fills me with joy. As a lifelong nerd I get constantly punched in the feels by the amazingness. Everything is cruelty free and they do a very good job at stating what's vegan. Lots of nails wraps, incredible make-up/eyeshadow compacts but be fast! A lot of the things take a bit of time to get restocked but are always worth the wait and speaking of things being sold out... They now have gift certificates! So if you have a nerdy someone you plan on gifting something, maybe just shoot them a gift certificate!
I do also have a discount link on the side bar here on the blog (desktop view) which gives you 10% off your purchase! And yes, this is a affiliate code but you can absolutely bet that whatever I make going back into the same company because nail wraps...

Twisted Wonderland Perfumery

I love everything about this indie!
Horror inspired body care? Yes please! I managed to try a few things a while back before our courier company stepped up their charges and it was all really nice stuff! I tried a few perfumes and soaps which were all very nicely balanced in fragrance. There's always new things and the inventory does change depending on the season which I personally enjoy as it keeps you interested and has you coming back.

I Am Sin

For those that don't know, I absolutely love following fetish models. Masuimi Max was one of the first latex and pointy shoes ladies I ever followed, well, stalked on Model Mayhem back when I gave modelling a short lived shot (something I aim to resume when I'm back in civilization). Anyhow, this vixen has a make-up line consisting of liquid lipsticks, eye shadows, gloss, blushes and now bronzer and highlighters! I have written a thorough review of a few of her lipsticks which you can find on the blog, just search in the side bar.

Southern Comforts

Ah, my heart.
I discovered this little company many years ago and has been a part of my health journey. I stopped using perfumes a few years prior to finding SoCo because I suddenly started getting nauseated by all perfume smells... Or so I thought! Turns out it was only to mainstream alcohol based perfumes... SoCo does oil based ones, not only do they last a lot longer but the fragrances they offer are so unique! I love every single fragrance I've gotten from them and they have been a big part of my aromatherapy journey. Forever grateful for finding SoCo.

Lethal Cosmetics

Berlin based über cool company who oozes minimalistic goth grunge (that's a thing according to them and I'm all for it).
I've been a fan since they launched as a brand and I have nothing bad to say really, all vegan and cruelty free, really exciting palettes and cool lip products which all speak to me.


Brands I want to try or have only dipped my toe in:

Linda Hallberg Cosmetics

While this is a brand I haven't personally tried many things from, not for the lack of wanting but rather because I am the way I am and I struggle with decision anxiety. Everything is at a glance very basic... But that's the beauty of it. Everything is multipurpose and the possibilities are endless! I have only seen good things about this brand and from the two things I have myself I can say the praise is justified.

Menagerie Cosmetics

Ah, in case you missed it, I'm a sucker for colour.
Menagerie Cosmetics is not only a vegan brand who makes really cool palettes and more (expanding their line in the new year) but they also donate a portion to animal welfare.

Lip Slut

A brand founded to raise funds for various charities. What's not to love? With all wearable shades who wouldn't want to whip out their lipstick tube with "Fuck Trump" in bold print? Love it!

Aether Beauty

Call me a hipster all you want but I love everything this brand is about, from their packaging being free from plastic, shadows being crystal infused and the shade range. While it might look very basic I will tell you that basic is fine! It looks like the perfect palette to keep in your travel kit as it has a bit if everything for a daily face.

Salt New York

Who doesn't want a snazzy palette to keep in their purse? On their instagrammable vanity, living room table, sink, work desk, heck anywhere?! These look so luxurious and I can not for the life of me decide which colour I want!!! I like them both but we'll see... I might just have to get them both eventually for the sake of my sanity... Lol.

Unboxing: The Vegan Kind Beauty Box, The Monami Frost Edition.

Oh how this box has tortured me...

I've had it in view range for the past 3 weeks but not had the time to do an unboxing due to our sudden move.

Torture I tell you!

So for those who might not know, The Vegan Kind is a UK based online store which has two kinds of subscription boxes, one beauty and one lifestyle box. On top of that they have a massive vegan supermarket which they're currently doing a crowd funding campaign to expand further. Do check them out! They're my favorite snack place, I tend to place a big self care box every few months as we don't really have many vegan options here in Zambia. But enough about that for now, let's dive into the box, shall we?

Siskyn Lemon and Sea Buckthorn Brightening Night Oil.
30 ml, RRP £38.00.

I'm so excited to try this! I very conveniently ran out of my night time treatment serum so this will make an entry this evening. I will keep you updated in my Instagram stories about it once I've used it enough times to form a fair opinion.

MEMI Expert Liner.
0.55 ml, RRP £10.00.

This is so damn good!
I used it today and I have not been this happy with an eyeliner in a VERY long time. I will see how long it lasts but so far so good. Has the little shake bit inside.

Nabla Crème Eye Shadow in Utopia.
5 ml, RRP £11.00.

Fool proof shadow and a shade I see myself putting in my "slap on and go" pile. Easy to use, sets fast and I've so far slept in it face down with it still looking as fresh as when I applied it.

Natura Avocado Sheet Mask.
RRP £4.95.

Guess I'll be losing my sheet mask virginity soon...
Can't say much about it but again, will share my thoughts on Instagram stories once I've used it.

Unicorn Cosmetics Dragon Faux Silk Vegan False Lashes in Style Flammie.
RRP £9.99.

So, I don't use false lashes so these will be given away to someone who will apprentice them. They are however very pretty, nicely layered and fluffy.

Umberto Giannini Miracle Worker Serum.
75 ml, RRP £8.00.

WOHO! It has heat protection!
I rarely do anything to my hair but I do blow dry it, now, don't get any saloon images, I turn my head upside down and dry it until I look like a living troll doll. This I've used today and I'm pleasantly surprised. The fragrance did not linger, I hate fragrances in my hair... And it did what says on the bottle, what more can one ask for?

Final thoughts.

This was my first beauty box from the vegan kind and it blew me away. I wasn't expecting such a great box to be honest. I can see myself reaching for everything regularly, minus the lashes of course, and that makes me happy. I have a rolling subscription and now I'm excited to see what's in store for Christmas. I'm not expecting every box to be this crazy good but I like subscription boxes because they usually contain things I don't use, it's a nice surprise and treat for myself.

If it's still available, I highly recommend getting this one.

Anyhow.

Hope you enjoyed my first post in a very long time!

Make sure to follow me on Instagram @cynthiaiskillikill for updates, swatches, random mini reviews playtime and shenanigans.

Life update.

So, it has been quiet here huh?
There's a few reasons for that.

Mid September we went to see a house and we liked it.
So we are moving in at the end of this month.

It has been a mission and a half.
Not too stressful because we barley have things to move which I'm so happy about!
But there has been a lot of planning, furniture designing, list making, budget planning and Halloween make-up looks.

I will probably be fully set up in the new place during the first week of November (fingers crossed).

I'm so excited to make this new place an actual home.
Our current place was a bit of a panic move as we didn't have any options and life was nothing short of chaos.

Now we're in a better place mentally and financially so we can enjoy this move and make it the smoothest move out of our 7 moves we've done in the 10 years we've been together...

Wish us luck and hope you're all enjoying the best time of the year!!! And don't forget to check Instagram! I've been having so much fun doing Halloween looks!

Byyyyeeeeeee!

Self Love and Personal Growth: Rewiring My Feelings Towards Myself.

Lately I've seen a lot of women on social media be hard on their selves... It has taken me until now, 32 years on this earth for me to start questioning the little asshole voice in my head.

I like to think that I love myself.
I like to think that I know what's best for myself.
But do I?

It is a strange thing to question a thought/voice that has been in my head for as long as I can remember, inherited in fact.
Growing up I never heard women around me speak in a positive way about their bodies. I know it has been almost like a trend to complain about "imperfections", forever comparing oneself to celebrities who probably have signed contracts which state how their bodies have to look... But we don't think about anything beyond what we see.

I'm happy to say that my body is functioning at it's best.
My whole life I've struggled with pain and aches.
I know I'm not thin enough for my hardwired image of myself as a 16 year old... But I also know that that's completely ridiculous to even think to compare myself to!

I was way more active, hormonally different and I was skinny for a reason... I barely ate! I was living on alcohol, candy and meal replacement shakes... And I couldn't figure out why I was always feeling so bad as I looked healthy... After a 10 year long health journey I'm finally healthier, I have learned so much about my body and I'm so grateful for all the knowledge I've managed to gather during this time.

Life is strange and our silly brains don't help us much when it comes to the way we feel about ourselves.

You'd think it would be easy to love your own body. That we could easily take the same advice and compliments we give our loved ones... How many times do we look at our loved ones when they ask if they look different and we can't see anything wrong with them, saying " you're crazy, you look great! Stop being so hard on yourself! ".

My goal is to get there.
To be more loving towards my body and be happy for my health.

Haul & Review: First Cult Beauty Order!

I've been window shopping at Cult Beauty... For YEARS!

And for whatever reason never actually placed an order until this past month when there was a few things I just couldn't find locally as well as feeling the urge to treat myself a little (as if I suffer normally...).

Lucky for me there was a huge GWP filled with goodies that I wanted to get my hands on (Not featured here as I still haven't opened it). All I had to do was spend £150 which is ridiculously easy once you start looking around at home to make sure you got backups and start the whole "what do I " need"".

So for my first order I got:

A Circu-Lite Squeeze Therapy for legs.

A Body Brush.

Hand Cream.
Perfume set.

Body Cream.

Two Mascaras.

Make-up setting spray with SPF.

Texture Spray.

I've so far used everything except for the two body tools which I'm keeping in their bags until after I move next month.

I'm really exciter for them and got the brush because I've been meaning to get a dry body brush for ages due to my skin being dry in general. And the squeeze therapy thingy is just one of those things I've been eyeing for a long time... I have cellulites and orange peel skin from half my thighs and up, I can easily get away with using shorts but I've not been as active as I used to be in the past 10 years and my skin has changed. A personal preference really, I'm absolutely not ashamed of my cellulites, I've had them since I was around 12 I just want to see if there's actually any merit to this while suction thing as I want to do it on my body as a whole as I age.

Alright.

So now the reviews.

Ecooking 

Hand Cream 75ml £9.30 (on sale):

I absolutely love this hand cream.

I've been using hand creams for most part of my life and I have only come across a handful of truly effective ones in that time, this one included. I use this one at night and it makes my hands feel moisturized and not unpleasantly greasy. The fragrance is not too strong and is botanical which I personally enjoy.

Peter Thomas Roth 

Mega-Rich Nourishing Body Lotion 235ml £17.50:

I like this lotion.

Is it worth the price?

I can't really say... While it ticks the boxes of being odourless and fast absorbing I don't know if I will buy it again. I have dry skin all year round, my skin actually hurts most of the time from being dry so I tend to get rich lotions and this is a very thin consistency. A little does go a long way which it has going for it but I can't tell you how I feel about it quite yet as I've only been using it for a week and a few days. I'm the type of person who will not think twice about the money if something delivers... But I don't know in this case... I'll let you guys know in my empties later this year.

Hair by Sam McKnight 

Cool Girl 250ml £25.00:

So as I was just mentioning above, I invest in good products and I believe I have found an actually gem here.

I have very thick straight hair and my hair strands are thick and very healthy... Anyone who has healthy straight hair will know the pain of flat boring hair. Which is why I always make sure to dry it with my head up side down and I'm not happy until I look like a troll. I want texture and volume.

This is texture and a pinch of volume in a can.

I'm so impressed with how amazing my hair looks, feels and smells with this product! I don't even care about the price, this works and I need 3-4 light sprays for my hair to be transformed. I'm genuinely amazed.

Soleil Toujours 

Organic Set + Protect Micro Mist SPF 30 59ml £34.00:

Living in Zambia, where the sun always shines I need to be extra careful with sun exposure.

I turn lobster red when I'm in the sun or heat in general for more than a few minutes and my skin gets really irritated from the dry heat. So I finally got myself a spray face SPF which very conveniently also sets make-up. Feeling like a really winner with this one. Doesn't leave a residue, no weird sheen, it does smell strong when sprayed but it shouldn't be inhaled anyhow so I just hold my breath for a few seconds. Don't have anything bad to say about it. The size is generous compared to many of the setting sprays with SPF I've seen and this is one of the very few vegan ones I've come across. So far all good.

CLEAN
Classic Rollerball Layering Collection 5 x 5ml £18.00:
Late to the game on these!
I absolutely love these which is really surprising as alcohol based fragrances usually make me feel EXTREMELY nauseated.
I've found three favorites which I'm absolutely getting for me and the husband to share. Love that these are unisex!!!

So there you have it peeps.

That's my reviews for now and I haven't opened my mascaras as I will only do so once my current one runs out, which should be any day now.

All in all this was a successful first order.

Everything came well packed and whole.

I feel good about my purchases and they feel like an investment which is something I have to do while I'm here... Also ageing! Haha. I'm getting older and have to start looking after certain parts of me but I'm honestly really looking forward to it all.

Let me know if you have an thoughts or questions about anything! 

I'll probably do a small unboxing kind of thing of the goodie bag during the weekend that I'll keep in my highlights on Instagram for those who want to see all that (@cynthiaiskillikill).

Thank you for stopping by!

Take care.

Haul & mini review: Ve_Cosmetics.

It's been a while since I received my most recent order from Ve Cosmetics. I had a bit of a panic as I was running low on eyeliner so thought I'd take the opportunity to get a few extra bits while I was at it.

My order this time round consisted of a mystery lipstick, Pocket Rocket liner, Feline Good liner, two Witchcraft liquid concealers which have become my favorite formula, a concealer palette and one of the new Majick brow pens. I got two little bonuses in my order as well which I was excited for, a pocket mirror (can never have too many) and a pale shadow which I'll probably be using to set my under eyes.

Swatches.

So while I loved all the things I ordered there was a few issues.

The lipstick (Twin Star) is very drying and applies patchy, it was quite a challenge to get an opaque lip with this one so I will stick to using this it as a liner or mixed with gloss as a bright tint. I have two other lipsticks from this brand and they are really nice so it might just be this one or the shade in general. 

As for the Majick brow pen I struggled with the usual thing one does struggle with when dealing with felt tip liners, it dries out way too fast for my liking. I really love the shade, there's no lack of pigmentation, absolutely smudge and waterproof once it dries down and the tip itself does a great job doing hair stroke like lines. Easy to fix with a drop of water and a bit of patience, patience which I unfortunately don't have for everyday use. 

Not what I expected but I'm also not upset about it.