Cruelty Free Beauty: My Thoughts;-

Something that has been weighing on my mind for a long time is cruelty-free makeup and beauty so and I want to share some of my thoughts on that with you today. I've seen more and more Youtubers and Bloggers who only want to use and endorse cruelty-free products, along with the tag of 'How Cruel is my Makeup Bag?' it seems like it is finally becoming a forefront in a lot of people's minds. And as such I finally began researching it for myself.

I've never been somebody that agrees with animal testing, particularly in cosmetics. Considering there are so many brands that don't test on animals, its something I see it as completely unnecessary in this day and age. I absolutely love makeup, but its not a necessity to me, I wouldn't die without it. Therefore, I don't see why innocent animals should be harmed in order for me to wear it. For the longest time this is something I've put out of mind, never researched and remained ignorant on. This is not something I'm proud of and something that I want to change going forward. This year (as far as I'm aware) all of the makeup I have bought is from cruelty-free brands, which is something I'm really proud of.

So continuing forward I don't want to buy another makeup or beauty product that has been tested on animals and classing myself as cruelty-free. However, I do still have a number of non-cruelty free products in my makeup collection. I don't want to throw away these products as I feel like that would be wasteful when unfortunately the damage has already been done. As I have things like blushers and bronzers its going to take me years to use all of them up. I want to use Project Pans and declutters to get these out of my collection eventually. I also want to spend some time to find cruelty-free dupes for the non cruelty-free products I love.

This is completely a decision I've made for me and I never want to put other people down or make anyone feel bad if they don't want to be cruelty-free. I completely respect everyone's right to make decisions so I never want to seem like I'm ramming my opinions down somebody's throat. That being said, I also want to use my blog as a place to promote things I really believe in so any new products I review will be cruelty-free. But like I said I will be trying to move some of my current non cruelty-free items out of my collection, so naturally I will be using and talking about these things and I want to make sure I mention whether something is cruelty-free somewhere in the post, so you know. I'm really looking forward to sharing new cruelty-free products I bring in and I hope to provide a bit more information on what you can get your hands on without causing harm to animals.

This is something I am still very new on and things are always changing so although I try my best to do my research on brands there may be hiccups, or I may make mistakes. If you know something I don't about a brand please let me know! Another thing to mention is parent companies. If you don't know some companies are owned by bigger companies, so sometimes while the brand itself may be cruelty-free, the company that owns them may not. I've seen a lot of opposing views about this, but I have decided I will still be buying from these brands as I still want to promote these brands for being cruelty-free themselves. So in places of mistakes or my views being different than yours may be I would always recommend that you do your own research!

Cruelty Free Kitty and Logical Harmony are two websites I find particularly helpful when I'm looking to find out if a company is cruelty free and they are both a great read in general if you're interested in cruelty-free beauty for yourself

What are your thoughts on cruelty-free beauty, even if its completely different to mine I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts!

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My Pin Badge Collection;-

Over the past year I've developed a new obsession, collecting pins. I sort of fell into this obsession whilst browsing through Etsy for patches for my denim jacket. There are so many amazing designs for every interest, and I love the fact that I can wear a symbol of something I love with any outfit. So I thought today I'd show you my collection so far.

The pin that started the collection is the X-Men themed Mutant and Proud pin from Get a Life Designs, which was a gift from a friend when she began her own pin collection.

One of my favourite stores for both pins and patches is Punky Pins, everything I buy from them is always great quality and arrives in good time. Their website carries pins for almost every interest. I have two girly pins and another reader related pin, bonus points to anyone who knows where the quote is from!

Another favourite store of mine is Really Big Dill Store, mostly because of their Pokemon as food collection, which I own most of. I've worn this Jigglypuff cartridge pin the most out of any of my pins. My absolute favourite pin is this Pikachu Gameboy Advance pin, as it opens to reveal the handset with a little Pikachu on the screen (this is no longer available from their Etsy store, so I'm glad I nabbed it when I did). As these pins come from Australia they do take a while to arrive, but they're so worth the wait.

I've also received a few pins as gifts. The first two Harry Potter themed pins were bought for me by my boyfriend from a local store. Unfortunately the first one ended up in the washing machine and ended up a little discoloured, but I still wear it! A friend bought me this 'Take Me to Neverland' pin for Christmas, and another sent me this band-aid pin after a tough time so I absolutely love it!

The past year Primark have released an extensive Harry Potter range (you definitely already know this) including a set of pin badges for each Hogwarts house. I finally tracked down a store that still had any of the range still in stock, I knew I needed the Gryffindor pins as according to Pottermore (who I whole-heartedly trust) it is the house belong to. But once I saw that the Slytherin set had a Dobby pin, I bought all four sets. At only £3 a set I regret nothing!

Some of the latest pins to arrive in my collection are these two pins from Punache, who are all about punny pins. These are glittery, pastel glories. On the left we have the genie from Alladin and on the right the grimm tea leaves from the Prisoner of Askaban. These pins also arrived in the cutest little bag! I also picked up the most adorable Charmander pin from another store called Midnight Alien Studios, he literally looks so cute holding his Gameboy and I love it!

I purchased a few more Harry Potter themed pins from Rad Girl Creations. I really love these because they're more subtle than some of the rest, and they're all beautiful. We have a little bottle of Skele-Gro, a grindylow in a tank and a chocolate frog box. I'm also itching to get another design named 'Journey of the First Years' but I really need to calm down on buying pins for the moment!

Does anyone else out there collect pin badges? How do you wear them?

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Primark Haul;

I've said it before, but I think Primark is my favourite store. Last weekend I took a trip to Plymouth to see Busted and visited a 3 floor Primark store. I've been trying to save up for my holiday in March and I'd resisted buying anything else the whole shopping trip. I only just managed not to buy half of the shop so I thought I'd share with you the few things I did come away with.

My mum is forever telling me that I need new pyjamas, I think the last time I bought any I was in college, and since then I've pretty much survived on any I'm bought for Christmas. Pyjamas just don't seem like a fun thing to buy myself... usually.

I'm a massive Pokemon fan, and the only good thing about the worst Pokemon game ever (i.e. Pokemon Go), is the increase in Pokemon merch. I couldn't resist these adorable bottoms covered with Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle and Pikachu heads. I don't think my legs have ever looked better than when I am wearing these, and they're really soft too!

I also picked up a set up of silky, button-up Tinkerbell pyjamas. The pattern on these was also too cute for me to walk away from. Again these are super soft and comfy, I will say that these are pretty long, so if you're 5'1" like me expect the bottoms to get dirty if you wear them into the back garden with just your slippers!

Pretty much everything in this haul is fandom related and the next two things I picked up I just couldn't resist because I'm a total Potterhead. The first is this maroon long-sleeved shirt, with the Hogwarts crest embroidered on the right side. I really like this shirt because I think its subtle and not too cheesy. Its a nice casual shirt that looks great with jeans and the Hogwarts crest just makes it amazing.
I also picked up this gorgeous Gryffindor blanket/throw. I spent forever oggling over the (very extensive) collection of blankets that Primark have because they are all so extremely soft! I had convinced myself that I really don't need a blanket and then I came across this one... I've taken the Pottermore quiz and its official that I belong in Gryffindor house, so I justified buying this one as I need to show my house pride! They also have these for all of the rest of the houses, and I really love the design with the Gryffindor crest, stars, moons and the word Hogwarts. I think its so detailed for a blanket from Primark and it is literally the softest blanket ever.

Another thing I picked up was this Alice in Wonderland makeup bag that I absolutely love. Whenever I go away I tend to use a vanity case, so I definitely didn't need another makeup bag but this was too gorgeous to walk away from. Its made of a kind of pleather material that feels really durable. On one side this is black with silver glitter that is exposed, but doesn't come off (or atleast not yet), with the quote 'Curiouser and Curiouser' in a pink flourished font that I totally love. The other side has a collection of stills from the Disney movie in triangles. Its really colourful and reminds me of a kaleidoscope. Although you can't see it in the pictures there's also a purple keyring attached to the zip in the shape on the Cheshire Cat. The makeup bag is a really good size to fit in enough makeup for a night or weekend away. If I don't use this atleast I know it will make a lovely blog prop.

The last thing I picked up was this jar candle in the scent Raspberry and Vanilla. I pick up a candle nearly every time I'm in Primark, these candles aren't the strongest smelling, but I think their really great for the price, this one was just £5. I really don't see the point in spending a lot of money on candles, because its literally like burning money. The scent of this fruity, sweet, but fresh which I think will be perfect for Spring. I also love the pink of the jar, its a lovely Spring update for my bedside table.

Have you found any great bargains in Primark lately?

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Best of The Season - of Autumn;

I've already got my first cold of the year, and I'm wearing tights to work again that means its Autumn right? I've put all of my summer crop tops in a drawer until next year and all I've wanted to do is snuggle up in an oversized jumper so today I wanted to share some of my favourite things about the season of Autumn.

Autumn Fashion
The perfect Autumn outfit for me is a jumper, a big scarf, leggings and ankle boots, and I personally can't wait to roll down my sleeves over my hands and snuggle in a big blanket scarf. I love the colours of Autumn-wear; wine coloured jumpers and tan boots. I also got a couple of burnt orange skirts from ASOS last year, that looked totally awesome and I really can't wait to dig them out of my wardrobe again. Another thing I can't wait to get out of its summer hibernation is my burgundy cape. Capes are the best cover up when its not too cold enough, they're awesome for layering over thin jumpers and under huge scarves and make me feel totally Blair Waldorf! I also just got myself a dark purple, courdoroy pinafore, (because you need pinafores for every season) which I think will look great in Autumn with a stripey tee and thick tights.

Autumnal Makeup
I also love seasonal makeup, and Autumn/Winter is kind of my favourite. I'm a total sucker for a gold sparkly eye with a berry-toned lip. I'm so eager to delve into my makeup collection and drag out some of my old favourites that I haven't used since last year and I want to do a whole post of my favourite products for this time of year.

Halloween
I like to really embrace seasonal holidays, and Autumn is the time for Halloween. I always love dressing up and seeing everyone else's spooky costumes. Last year my outfit was completely last minute and comprised of a jumper labelled 'witch please' and some cobweb tights. But I made up for it spending hours on a bright green eye look and a purple gradient lip, not to mention even a light green highlight that made my whole skin glow an eery green. I'm not sure yet who/what I want to be this year, but I love getting creative and I'm really excited to get planning.

Hot Chocolate
I'm not a big hot drink, drinker throughout the year so hot chocolate is very autumnal to me. Bundling up, over eating and a hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows make the cold weather all worth it!  A Starbucks or Costa is the perfect Autumn/Winter accessory to warm warm your hands up while Christmas shopping. Is it a bit early to mention the 'C' word?
Candles
My last favourite has got to be candles, I burn candles all year through, but my favourite scents are definitely autumnal ones. Last year I picked up a spicy orange and a log fire smelling one from Matalan that made my evenings feel oh-so-cosy and amazing for the price!

What are your favourite things about Autumn?

Beneath the Makeup;

I've been thinking a lot about my blog recently, which is odd considering I haven't put together a post in over a month now. So I thought I'd take the time out tonight, while I can't sleep to write a little about why I haven't posted in such a long time and what I'm hoping for my blog in the future.

I'd been an avid blog reader for a long while before I started my own, I love hearing other people's opinions in a less formal way than a magazine article or a book and it got me thinking yeah I could try my hand at that too. I mean I definitely have a lot of opinions. So around this time last year I began spending time here, writing, taking photographs and really enjoying myself. It felt amazing to spend my time doing something I felt was creative and productive with my spare time, even if it was only for myself. It felt like I finally had my own little corner of the whopping world wide web.

At this time I was working at a bar in my village for anywhere between 30 - 50 hours a week, and my time off was midweek and before 6 o'clock. Which meant that my friends and family were all at work and I had all of the time in the world to write. I'd become a barmaid to fund my studies in law, in a part time and mostly at home course, and last year I was offered an assistant job in a real life law firm in their property law department. I now get to see my studying paying off, I have help with tuition fees, the opportunity was, and still is amazing. My career is finally moving, my work feels a lot more rewarding and definitely keeps me on my toes! This means I work full time, and when I get home I need to give my brain a rest. I'm now on a higher level on my course, which is more taxing and time consuming with a lot more coursework. I'm also learning to drive as I now live a 20 minute journey away from most of my friends and my parents, which isn't a lot but can feel like a world away when you need a cuddle from your mum. Trying to fit that in with spending quality time with my other half my spare time is also non-existent. Not to mention the fact that during winter it is almost impossible to take a decent blog photo after 6 pm. So its safe to say my blog is sitting in the back seat in the vehicle of my life.

Another thing that has been plaguing my thoughts is the future I want to take with my blog. I fell into the very common category of 'beauty blogging', and it was easy for me because I love makeup. Makeup is another creative outlet for me, experimenting with colour combos and products is something I really enjoy. But lately I don't read a lot of beauty blogs, I feel like beauty blogging is changing a lot its really become an industry rather than an activity. There are a lot of people seeking out to make a career of blogging, and if you can do it that's amazing. However posts that are written with a professional voice with facts and figures are things that belong in magazines. I loved that blogs gave a place for someone to voice their opinion and show a bit of personality. I try to fit that in to my posts, even if I'm only writing a short review of the product. I am no skin or makeup expert and sometimes I struggle with enough to say I just know I want to say something!

When it comes to makeup I've never been someone with an everyday routine, I like to vary it. But I now have time to spend around 20 minutes to get ready in the morning I tend to blindly grab for the same things, which wouldn't make for exciting writing. I have this entirely self inflicted feeling that now I've started to blog about makeup I've put myself in a box. Although I still want to write about makeup and beauty I do want to change up my blog, so when I feel uninspired by makeup I want to start writing about other things.

So I'm sitting here with my to-do list of blog ideas, hoping that they will actually (someday) turn into posts. I just wanted to put the girl beneath the makeup out there. And say hey, I'm Tamara-Jayne, unedited and unspellchecked and I promise to blog again sometime in the future.

Warner Bros Studio Tour;

I've been pretty busy the past month, so I thought I'd make up for the lack of posts by showing you something I got up to. A few weeks ago me and my family travelled up to London to visit what we call Harry Potter Land for the second time (we used the excuse of needing to see the Hogwarts Express).

If you haven't been, the studio tour displays sets from the Harry Potter film franchise, along with behind the scene info on how everything came together. We got to experience the Summer Sweet Treats event and got shown how they made all of the delicious looking banquets from the films from not-so-delicious resin. You get to hear all about the special effects and see the anamontronics that gave you Hagrid and Dobby and a heap of other magical beasts. There is also a collection of artwork and models of all the sets which are truly fantastic. You can also try flying a broomstick or enchanted car with photo ops at both! I had great fun with my sister's HP Passport (included with a child's ticket) I got to some unique embossed stamps and found 13 hidden golden snitches. It was also the summer sweet treats event when we went so we got to see how they made delicious looking food from the movies from not-so-delicious resin! 

One of my favourite parts is the shop, it really is a HP Haven. You can get anything from £300 model chess sets (my mum's favourite) to themed tea towels. There's a whole section dedicated to Pygmy puffs and pesky piskies, and even death-eater themed items of you're that way inclined. 

You can deck yourself from head to toe in Hogwarts uniform, it you can bear to part with £75 for a robe (I already have a scarf from last time I visited). But I can't bear to leave without a Chocolate Frog and some Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

A 'No Clothes' Primark Haul;

The thing that has blown me away about Primark in the last 2 years is how much their homewares and beauty has improved. So I headed to my local the other day "just for some hair clips" and was not disappointed.

The first thing I picked up was this threaded, patterned makeup bag. The lilac and pink colour with tribal print makes this perfect for summer and festival season, I even think you get away with using this a clutch. It also has a tassel accent along the zip. This thing is huge, and padded on the inside to keep all of your makeup protected. I also think this will make a lovely prop for blog photos.

Next I had a look at the nail section, Primark's falseys are my favourite. They're just the right length so they don't get in your way, and the glue that comes with them is pretty good, Primark nails last the longest of any false nails on me. This set is pink to purple ombré with a black palm trees and covered in glitter. The only thing that would make these better is if they were wrapped around a cocktail in the sun and these are just £1. I also picked up a bottle of their Fast Dry Nail Spray, I've tried a few fast-drying products and I have to admit none of them have been perfect. But I'm always up for something that reduces drying time and this was 80p. I will get back to you on how well this works.

I've heard great things about Primark's perfumes so I decided to pick up the rollerball called Midnight Kiss. I'd desribe the smell as a grown up floral scent with a hint of musk to it, it smells pretty similar to Katy Perry's 'Purr'. I'm tempted to go back for the spray version as its only £6. I also picked up a new hand sanitizer, as these just £1. These are so handy to keep in your bag. This is in the scent Sparkling Fruits which I thought was a nice summer shake up.

The next thing I picked up was this intagram-worthy cup/bottle. I'm a kitsch cup fanatic I own far too many, but I couldn't pass this up. It looks like a bottle but has a straw and yet still fits my reusable icecubes (also from Primark). And this is huge! I had to then pick myself up a new candle, these aren't the strongest smelling but for the price they're pretty darn good. This is pineapple and ginger, it smells fruity but with a tang and it's perfect for this time of year. It's only £2 and look at the size of it.

The last thing I picked up was this 'chill' cushion, its huge and I love slogans. I like the mint writing as it goes well in my bedroom. The whole bedding section in Primark has improved so much and I definitely want to pick up a bedspread in the future.

 I did also manage to grab my hair clips and I bumbled to the check out!

June Favourites;

It's that time again! I have been loving quite a few things this month but only a few of them are beauty related. I thought I'd include a few lifestyle-y faves for those of you that are as nosey as I am.

I'll start with those few beauty bits, I've been using this Mango & Papaya Body Lotion from Natural Collection at Boots. My skin has really been through the wars this month as its burnt and is still peeling now, but this has really helped! Its slightly thicker than your average moisturiser, but doesn't take long to sink in to the skin. There is no residue, it just leaves your skin smelling lovely and feeling moisturised all day long. This came in a Christmas gift set and I'm actually pretty impressed.

I really can't believe I haven't spoken about this Maybelline Color Drama in Keep it Classy, I picked this up when there was a big hype surrounding it and I didn't want to write 'just another review'. But these are great, they are dubbed as a Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil dupe. Its basically a matte lip colour, that feels creamy and doesn't dry out the lips, and lasts for a really long time. All this is pencil form too, which is my favourite for application. Keep it Classy is a berry-pink shade, but I actually prefer it when its faded a little on the lips as a more natural stain. I still love this as much as when I bought it and these are so worth the hype.

My favourite new lip products are the I Heart Makeup Lip Lavas. These have the pigmentation of a lipstick, at first are glossy but fade to a matte colour that lasts so long! These do everything they say on the tube, and everything that everyone says they do, and you can get the whole collection of 5 for the price of 4 on the Makeup Revolution website.

This month I have only used one thing on my brows this month the Brow Define Tinted Brow Mascara in Dark from MUA. This does a pretty good job at keeping my brows in place and adds a little bit of colour. Luckily I have some pretty beastly eyebrows so I don't really need to fill them in when I use this which skips an entire step, but I can't imagine its for everyone.

First up in the non-beauty category are these sunnies, they're blue and green and I love the blue tinge to the lenses. They also little penguins, I am obsessed with these and they were only £3! I bought these when I took part in Slide The City which I blogged about here. So they're also a wicked reminder of an awesome day!

Next up is my FitBit Charge, this little guy has slotted right into my life. This is a Bluetooth pedometer and sleep tracker. It tracks steps, flights of stairs as well as calories burned. It's so interesting to see how many steps I walk when I totter around at work, and it gives me the oomf to get off my arse and move from in front of the TV on days off. I'm not sure if pay the full price for this, but I managed to get this for free when my boyfriend bought the Samsung Curve.

Speaking of days in front of the TV I need to tell somebody about the shows I've been watching! Pretty Little Liars has been my favourite show, I bulk-watched the first 5 series in a couple of months but they have really upped the amp in season 6. I'm obsessed with the liars, as well as they're outfits, boyfriends and the mystery of the show. I've spent hours browsing the #PLLTheories tag on Tumblr, but I'm still not entirely sure who A is. I have been suspicious of Aria for quite some time (even though she's my favourite Liar), but I don't think the writers are that cruel. I kind of hope its Wren, but mostly so I can see Julian Morris back on the show.

I've also been loving Once Upon A Time. I love myself a fairytale and this is all about fairytale characters in the real world (minus their memories). I love watching each of the backstories and they're full of twists, you'll never guess who the pied piper really is! I'm currently on season 3, but its such an easy show to binge watch, and Julian Morris stars again.

My Mad Fat Diary has just returned for its 3rd series and the second episode came out this week. This show is just as great as ever, the 90's setting makes everyone a little nostalgic some of those clothes were a little cringe but thank god for dungarees! It deals with teenage issues such as insecurities and 'the University debate', as well bringing mental health to the light. And it still manages to be funny, you need to watch this!

What have you been loving this month?

Slide The City!

I thought I'd leave the makeup in my dresser today to tell you about something I got up to over the weekend, that you totally need to try! This weekend me and a group of friends decided to Slide The City of Shepton Mallet (which I'm still convinced is only a town but the internet is always right, right?).

If you've never heard of Slide The City its an over 300m slip and slide set up usually set up in the middle of the city, however ours was actually the hill of a field but that's typical Somerset. Its perfect for all ages, there were children and big kids (me) and adults. It has traveled all over the world, and currently has dates all over England. The slide and most of the staff have come all the way from America managing to snag some local volunteers to hold hoses and escort people around all day long. Trust me, even if you think this will be fun we were all in agreement that it was way better than we thought! Burger vans, music and ice-cream trucks were set up so it lead to a fantastic day out.

Temp tattoos and high-necked bikinis lead to such awkward tanlines. Bikini - H&M.

Tickets are available from the Slide The City website for events all over the country. Its just £10 for a single slide, £20 for 3 goes, or just £35 for unlimited slides! We opted for the 3 slider, and were lucky enough to get an extra slide as it was their first UK event, this left us with enough time to chill out in the sun (the weather for once behaved) and really make a day of it. You also receive a bag for all of your wet stuff, and a waterproof phone case that truly didn't let in a drop of water. Some of my friends caught some really snazzy videos, however I just got a great recording of the sky. You're also provided with inflatables, we even got to keep ours as they are apparently swimming in inflatables.. pun intended. Which is the only thing you had really had to queue for as the staff keep you moving. But you can also bring your own, we've seen every blow-up crocodile in existence I'm sure. I can't tell you enough to go along if there is an event near you. But make sure you bring sunscreen, even if it is cloudy out, you don't want to risk taking cold showers for 3 days (and counting) and being unable to wear sleeves when its grey and drizzly out...

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