What's Happening to my Feet? #2

A weird post today, but I thought I should probably do a bit of a follow up to the "What's Happening to my Feet? #1" post I did back in January. I was having a lot of problems with my feet, as I explained in that post, and also a lot of pain but since then I visited a local Podiatrist to get them looked at and see if they could do anything to help me.

I visited the Podiatrist probably four or so months ago now and actually had two appointments. In the first appointment the Podiatrist looked over my feet, looked at my leg lengths, looked at how I stood, how my hips and shoulders aligned and how I stood. From that she determined that I do walk with my feet pointing inwards, that one legs is actually quite a lot shorter than the other (nothing noticeable, don't worry) and that I have fairly low arches. All of this combined does put a lot of strain on my feet and especially so since I spend almost all day, every day on them.

She said that my footwear of choice, although not the most flattering, is the perfect choice for, not only my feet, but for my current job. They keep my feet firmly in place, thanks to the T-bar style strap and have a fairly thick, cushioned sole.

After the consultation she said that she thought the best resolution was to order me in some innersoles and then fit them to my feet, which is what we did. I waited a couple of weeks and then had a call that the innersoles were waiting for me and so I made a second appointment to get them fitted. The second visit was super easy and we trialled and errored until we were both happy with how they fit.

Basically what happens is they order the main body of the innersole (the grey part you see above) in the style and size that is needed, in my case she ordered the half style, and then with it comes lots of bits and pieces that can be added on where needed to fit it to you. In this case I had the large red piece on the left added to help with my low arch, and she actually shaved it to correctly fit it to my needs and the black part on the right is to help with the leg length to even them up.

To begin with I wore these in every pair of shoes, every day. I swapped them between my work shoes and boots and whatever I was wearing, whereas now I exclusively wear them in my work shoes and I have absolutely no problems. So clearly it was at work that was causing the most damage, which I kind of assumed. Now on days off I can wear really flat shoes, without them, and have no pain at all which is a complete blessing. Even at work now I have zero issues or pain, so i'm very glad I bit the bullet and went and them looked at.

K|xo

If I Could Only Own Five Eyeshadows

When it comes to doing my make up everyday I always use the same foundation, the same concealers, the same powders and although I love applying it, it doesn't feel particularly creative. Now, I know some people love buying and trying all the lipsticks under the sun, but for me it's eyeshadow. I have enough eyeshadow to sink a small ship and paint a medium-sized country in a technicolor haze. So when asked by a friend if I could only five eyeshadows what would those be? I really had to scour my collection and think about it. It wasn't easy, and although I think that my choices are probably a bit boring they're some of my favourites and are really quite practical.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Sin | Sin is always the shade to disappear first in my Naked palette (yes, i've owned more than one) so I decided to buy it in a single eyeshadow so I always have it on hand. It's just such a versatile shade that I honestly could not be without. My favourite way to wear it is all over the lid with a darker brown in the crease, something like Hustle also from the Naked palette and it also looks lovely paired with Toasted from the palette too. It's a gorgeous pink-toned, champagne shimmer that is just so flattering on so many skin tones and can be used in so many ways.

Cargo Cosmetics Single Eyeshadow in Yukon | I have had this colour for so long, but it's one of those shades that I always come back to. Yukon is such an unusual colour because it's base is a purple, which you might be able to tell is one of my favourites for the eyes, but it has this amazing silvery, pinky duo-chrome running through it that makes it so special. On the lids it's so easy to wash all over and look like you've made an effort but actually, you really haven't.

By Terry Ombre Blackstar in Misty Rock | This is an absolute repeat offender for me, and one that I get lots of compliments on when I wear it for work. This is another one of those products that is so easy but makes it look like you've made a serious effort. The Ombre Blackstars are some of the creamiest eyeshadows that i've ever worked with, but in the best way possible. They're super easy to blend but once set into place don't budge all day. My favourite way to wear this one is to smudge it roughly all over the lid and then blend it out with a fluffy brush, making sure to use a clean one to blend it into the crease and above. Misty Rock is my favourite colour of all time, it's a beautiful grey toned shimmery purple that is packed with silver glitter running through it. It looks amazing on it's own but also really pops if you smoke some dark grey or black through the crease for a real, classic smokey eye.

Burberry Eye Colour Silk in Rosewood 202 | This one is a real classic from my collection and actually one that I think is quite hard to get hold of these days, but it's another that i come back to time and time again. Rosewood is a beautiful, soft rosy brown shade that is absolutely perfect for washing all over the lid. The texture of these eyeshadows is so buttery and easy to blend, making it perfect alone or paired with something else.

L'Oreal Paris Color Riche Mono Eyeshadow in Cafe St Germain | This is a shade that I think is really under appreciated. There are so many eyeshadows in the world of beauty that it would be easy to overlook this one but i'm really happy that I found this in a 3 for 2 episode. This one, similarly to the rest, is a purple-toned grey colour absolutely packed with shimmer which is probably something else you've noticed that I love. These shadows really are the epitome of buttery, they're so workable that when applying they almost feel like a cream. They're beautiful to blend but this shade is amazing just all over the lid, blended out too.

Lastly, I have two runners-up. When it comes to eyeshadows, like i've said, I just adore them and picking just five was really quite hard. So, these two have been picked for specific reasons unlike the ones i've shared with you above.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Last Call | Last Call is an intensely pigmented pink-toned, cranberry, burgundy colour that is absolutely to die for. Other than purple, my favourite shade to rock on my eyelids in cranberry and even more so in a smokey eye which is exactly how I love to wear this. We all know how beautiful, buttery and blendable the Urban Decay eyeshadows are so I won't bang on about that but these is amazing for working in with other shades. My absolute favourite combo is wearing Urban Decay's Sin all over the lid and then, using a pencil brush, pop this in the outer V; in the crease, round the outer eyelid and bringing it down onto the bottom lash line too and smoking it out. It looks effortless but really put together, and also really different too.

Urban Decay Moondust Eyeshadow in Space Cowboy | Although an eyeshadow and one that could be worn alone, I choose not to. This is my favourite finishing touch to any eye look, whether i've just popped a light brown matte shade all over the lid, or applied an extensive smokey eye adding just a touch on Space Cowboy completes them all. It's basically just complete champagne glitter, that has no base colour but is just thousands upon thousands of glitter pieces packed together. If you're ever near an Urban Decay counter go and swatch this, although it doesn't do it justice until you've got it on the lid. Everyone needs to own this, to jazz up any look.

So, that is what I would have if I could only keep five eyeshadows, well seven but we just won't talk about that. Is there anything i'm missing? What would you keep, if you could only keep five?

K|xo

Things You Might Not Know About Me

Hello lovely people.

In keeping with my resolutions to keep this blog more lifestyle and personal, i thought i'd throw in a things you might not know about me post a la Milk Bubble Tea. I have shared an awful lot here over the past five, nearly six, years but I can feel myself a-changing - blog posts to come - and I haven't shared too much personal information for a while. As Becky said in her post, it's always nice to feel as though you know the author behind the blog you spend your time reading. So, without further ado here are some facts you may not already know about me.

1. I hate peas, but love sweetcorn.

2. I love celebrating; Christmas, Birthdays - give me an occasion and I will go all out.

3. I have always hated my height, but now I embrace it and even rock a heel.

4. I can barely remember what I ate for dinner last night, but I can remember the hotel room number from the holiday I went on when I was five.

5. I don't really do sauce. I don't like ketchup, I love to eat pasta plain & use minimal spreads.

6. Up until about six months ago I was a real nights in kinda gal, but now I'm quite partial to a night out with the girls.

7. I always choose salted popcorn at the cinema.

8. I can quote pretty much every episode of Friends but my favourite episode is "The One With The Dollhouse".

9. I conciously-stream when I text. I'll text you not once, not twice, but 100 times because I have no filter.

10. I have never been punting, but live in one of the largest punting cities in the UK.

11. I adore driving and will often take the long route home so I can play my music too loud and sing-a-long in the car.

12. I am an absolute and complete hopeless romantic.

13. I was a Brownie Leader before I went to University.

14. I love all genres of music but there is not much I love more than singing along to my favourite country music artists.

15. I have never broken a bone. Touch wood.

16. I'm unsure where my faith lies but always pray when I'm in a particularly sticky situation.

17. I never kiss on the first date.

18. I was born and raised in Cambridgeshire.

19. I would love to learn another language.

20. I don't have an extensive friendship group but a lovely tight-knit friend family.

21. I am way too excited for Pretty Little Liars to start again on 21st June, and think about it daily. Obsessed.

22. I scraped a C in Maths GCSE, and only because I had a tutor.

23. My local Starbucks know my order and know me by name.

24. Despite my love for a lie in on my days off, I consider myself a morning person.

25. I'm roughly 5'10, someone measured me at work.

26. I always say that 7 is my lucky number, always have, but i'm not sure as to why.

27. I haven't done one in probably 10 years, but I could always do a mean cartwheel.

28. I'm considering getting Netflix just to watch the new Gilmore Girls remake.

29. When i've saved, and bought, my first house i'll start saving for my Chanel bag.

30. I'm not an awkward person and can chat to anyone about anything, but if you make me nervous it's a good sign.

K|xo

Current Perfume Collection: Only Three?

Up until about a year ago, probably, I was obsessed with fragrances. I had a whole collection of them but really only used about two of them religiously. I was running out of room and honestly, just came to the realisation one that it was obscene for one person to have so many perfumes and I just simply didn't need them all - we'll call it my scent epiphany. Anyway, I decided that rather than being wasteful I would slowly use all of them up; I took them to work with me and used them during the day, basically did everything to use them up as quickly as possible.

I told myself that if i could use them all up by my birthday, which is April 3rd, I could treat myself to a new perfume that would become apart of my new capsule collection. Luckily, I stuck to it and did in fact use them all by my birthday. That is when my latest addition came to be, and there we shall start.

Dolce by Dolce & Gabanna is a typical 'me' scent. Although it's unlike the other two, there is something that I am very drawn to and I actually often use it over what i would consider my signature scent. It's a floral number, with it's heart notes being White Amaryllis, White Daffodil and White Water Lily but it's nothing too sweet, or girly, with Cashmeran, Musk and Sandalwood at it's base. I think it's a very clean scent, nothing too over powering but it has great staying power as I can smell it on myself long after I spray and it people compliment me on it all throughout the day. Of course, I do like to top up when I can - as you do when you find a fragrance that you love. I'm actually saving up my Boots points to purchase it's sister scent, called Dolce Rosa Excelsa by Dolce & Gabanna. I know, I know I just spoke about having a capsule scent collection but when I was trying to decide between them it was only by a whisker that I purchased the original Dolce. It's notes are almost identical to Dolce but with the addition of African Dog Rose and Turkish Rose. It's very unlike me as I am not normally a Rose scent kind of gal, but the nose likes what the nose likes.

My second Dolce & Gabanna scent is Light Blue which I ended up loving thanks to some of the girls at work. They wore it a lot during the day and I fell in love with it! I think this smells super lemony, and it does contain Lemon in it's top notes, but many people disagree with me. This one is my most clean smelling perfume, it's so simple and fresh which is why this is the one that comes in my work bag with me. Bamboo, Jasmine and White Rose are at it's heart, with Apple, Lemon and Cedar as it's top notes. Again, however, it still has those musky base notes that keep it from being too sweet or too girly, for me.

Lastly is what I consider to be my signature scent, which just happens to be Daisy by Marc Jacobs. I have been repurchasing this one for years and I always, always go back to it. Notes-wise it's the simplest of my three choices, with just Violet at it's heart, Wild Strawberries at the top and White Woods Accord at the base. Again, it's really fresh and clean which is obviously what I look for in a scent. I would say, although the notes don't really agree, that this is my most floral choice. It's also probably the sweetest, but it is not at all too sweet as those sort of scents give me a headache. Either way, this particular fragrance has many warm memories linked to it and I think that is one of my favourite things about scents.

It's so lovely making so many new memories with my new choices, and I love that scent has such an effect on people - as does things like music or items of clothing. It's very nostalgic which I think in the age of social media, taking pictures of everything and rarely living in the moment that is quite a lovely thing.

K|xo