LuxeKate: February 2017

New York Travel Diary

By Kate - 17:11:00

As you may know if you follow my social medias, last week I was lucky enough to go on a week away to the big apple! I had never been to America before, let alone New York so I was completely amazed by absolutely everything and anything!!
I could write a million posts about how amazing it was and what I did but I decided I would do a travel diary sharing what I did in this fab week.
Also I'm posting a New York Haul on Sunday so make sure to read that!!

♡ Day 1; Top of the rock, Times Square & Grand Central
This was definitely my favourite day, we woke up and it was such a bright day which we thought would be perfect to see the views from the top of the Rockefeller Center. After having a quick breakfast from Pret we headed straight there.

Going to the Top Of The Rock is a must-have when going to the New York, the views are incredible, seeing the Empire State building and the whole of Central Park was absolutely amazing. One of the best views in the world!

After heading back down the street level we got a pretzel and headed to Times Square. I was a bit disappointed with Times Square, obviously it was incredible to be there as I've seen it on so many films but in the day it wasn't as impressive. And of course I popped into Sephora at Times Square!

After seeing Times Square, we walked round Macy's and headed to Grand Central Station. I loved Grand Central so much, the building was incredible and walking through all the markets was a dream!

♡	Day 2; Statue Of Liberty, Ground Zero & Magnolia Bakery

On Monday we took the free ferry to Staten Island which passes the Statue of Liberty and has amazing views of the city. Although the ferry was cold and windy, it was so good and the views were insane. I would definitely recommend the ferry as it's free and still gives you amazing views of the Statue of Liberty.
After coming back on the ferry we headed to the World Trade Center where the 9/11 memorial is. I found this quite hard hitting seeing this as seeing all the names around the memorial really makes you think and just take it in. However the two memorials where amazing to see as they were built so creatively and the never ending waterfall really made you think. After seeing the memorials we went into Westfield shopping center which was right next to it and of course I ended up in Sephora...
To end this day we ended up in Times Square which was actually very impressive at night and we went to Magnolia Bakery and oh my gosh, words cannot describe how good this cake was. Where is the petition for a Magnolia Bakery in the UK?

♡ Day 3; Central Park & 5th Ave
We had such nice weather on Tuesday, I started off my day with the best pancakes with maple syrup and we started off in Bloomingdale of course shopping yet again! We then walked to Central Park which was actually quite close to our hotel and walked round which was very calm and peaceful! Central park actually gave some good views of the skyscrapers and buildings and is obviously a must if your in NYC.
We then went down 5th Avenue which I won't spoil anything for my haul but lets just say, I was very lucky!!
We then went to see the United Nations building which was an amazing building and we had a look round that area which was by the river.

♡ Day 4; High Line, Bleecker Street & Empire State

We started off our day by walking across the high line which is an old train track in Manhattan. It gave some spectacular views and was so relaxing and enjoyable. It was a perfect place to take photos as well and after walking across a bit of the high line we went to Chelsea market which was one of the cutest places. It was full of deli's and small cafes which all smelled heavenly. Also I got my first bottle of Figi water which I was very excited about (yes I clearly have no life)!

After that we went to Bleecker street as I'd seen it online before and it looked like the typical New York street, which it was. It was filled with designer shops and little vintages stores. We also came across the first Magnolia Bakery store here which my and my family were delighted with!

To finish off our day we went up the Empire State where I desperately searched for Chuck Bass, unfortunately I'd just missed him... Anyway we went up the Empire State when it was just turning dark and the view was as you would expect, incredible!! Although the view was of course insane, what do you expect 443m high in NYC?

♡ Day 5; Shopping & Birthday Cake
As this was our last full day we started by doing some final shopping and did one thing that I'd been dying to do whilst we were there! This was going to the top floor in Victoria's Secret on 5th Ave as the whole floor was full of the outfits the angels had worn in the shows. Being a girl who absolutely adores the Victoria Secret catwalk shows and is always in awe of the outfits, I was absolutely amazed by this floor. They showed the mood boards and designs to some of the outfits which were all incredibly drawn. And seeing the outfits was beyond insane! They even had Gigi & Bella Hadids outfits from the latest show which was weird to see as I'd seen some many pictures of them in them! And also there were all their signatures there which I got very excited about...!
Anyway after lunch we did a tiny bit more shopping and went back to our final look at Times Square. To finish our day we went to Magnolia Bakery again and as it was my birthday when we flied home, I got a birthday cupcake which was absolutely delicious oh my!!

♡ Day 6; Pancakes & Home
After having the best pancakes for breakfast, we sadly went to the airport. After two dunkin donuts, we got on the plane an got home on the Saturday where I slept all day!

Overall I had the best time in New York and I'd do anything to go back!!
I hope you all enjoyed reading my travel diary,

Kate Xx

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Beauty

My Holy Grail Makeup Products

By Kate - 17:04:00

I've tried SO many makeup products and I will always re-purchase the products I love so I thought I would share my holy grail makeup products as you all need them in your collection!
My favourite products range from cheap everyday products to products that are a bit more pricey but all of which I absolutely love!!

♡ Seventeen Define and Conquer;
I bought this quite a while ago and was in love with it and I went through a stage of not using it as much. But now I've fell back in love with it, I love the highlight shade the most but I also love the bronzer. The shades are both so creamy and blendable. I use the highlight shade to highlight my under eyes, cheekbones, forehead and nose which I love as because it's a cream it gives such a natural look.

♡ The Balm Mary Lou Highlighter;
This highlighter is so pretty and is so incredible. Although I found it pricey at the time as it was £18, it is so worth the money. The pigmentation of it is insane and looks stunning on the face.

It's quite a champagne shade and it's not to glittery which I love as I hate highlighters which legit have pieces of glitter in! It's also really buildable so is perfect so a subtle natural glow or a full on blinding glow.

♡ Rimmel Stay Matte Powder 'Translucent 001';
This is one product that will always be re-purchased after I use it up. I can't imagine myself using a different powder as this Rimmel one is perfect in every way. It's so affordable and lasts all day long.
I always use the translucent shade as it doesn't cake up my face at all so keeps your makeup glowy whilst keeping it on for longer. Also this powder will last me the whole day, I never need to top up on powder throughout the day when I wear this.

♡ Freedom Pro Eyebrow Kit Light/Medium;
Ever since I started to fill in my eyebrows, I have used this and I cannot fault it. It is only £3.50 which is such a bargain and Freedom's quality is so good.
I mainly use the light brown shade as it looks so natural on my brows and is super easy to use.
I love using powder as it's really buildable depending on what look you want. In the set you get 3 powders and 1 wax which I don't really use but it does come in handy if you have a couple of hairs which just love to point in the completely wrong direction!

♡ Maybelline Lash Sensation Mascara;
Shock horror!! I bet none of you thought I'd mention this one, jokes of course I would!! Seriously though, do I even need to mention how good this is, I'm sure most of you have used and loved this!! It absolutely transforms my lashes and I wouldn't be living without it!!

♡ Maybelline Color Tattoo 'On and On Bronze';
Yet again, another classic but I rely on this eye shadow so much for when I'm in a rush or even when I have all the time in the world doing my makeup! The shade is the perfect shimmery bronze-y gold colour and couldn't be easier to blend. I love all color tattoo's but this one has to be my all time fave.

♡ Urban Decay Naked 3;
Ever since I got this palette, I have loved it so so much! It's the perfect palette for me as it's full of nude, natural shades and are so easy to use. There is a big range of shades going from light golds and nudes to more darker brown shades. The only thing that I would change is to have another matte shade as there is only one however the one that is there is incredible!
I cannot fault the formula of the eye shadows, they're so creamy and couldn't be easier to blend! You can create an eye look with barely any effort and is perfect for day to day wearing or a glam look.
Although it does seem a bit pricey, it's definitely worth it as the quality is so good and it will last a life time!

♡ Mac Lipstick 'Brave';
I feel like so many people love this lipstick and I'm definitely included! This was my first ever Mac product and I was clueless that it was so loved. The shade is just gorgeous and goes so well with any skin tone.
Like all Mac lipsticks, I love the formula and this has a satin finish which I really like. It's really creamy on which makes it super comfortable to wear.

♡ Mac Patent Polish Lip Pencil 'It's Really Me';

This has to be my favourite all time lip product, which is quite a big statement coming from the lip product hoarder herself.

I do not know where to start!!

The formula of it is amazing, it's unbelievably creamy on the lips and lasts for ages. It couldn't be easier to apply and it seems to last for ages as I have worn mine so many times however it's barely gone down!

The shade I have is the perfect nude with a slight pinky tone. This is my favourite shade ever of a lip product and suits me so well. If you're ever wondering what I'm wearing on my lips, it's probably this!

These definitely do not get as much hype as they should and I am desperate to get another shade.

What are some of your holy grail products?
Kate Xx

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Beauty

Miss Sporty Foundation Stick Review

By Kate - 17:04:00

After seeing this foundation stick on Miss Sporty's Instagram, I knew I had to try it!
I've never tried a foundation stick before so I was hoping this would give me a good experience of using one.

So I ordered mine of Superdrug for £3.99 (find it here) and came 3 days later which always impresses me with Superdrug.

Packaging

When it first came, I loved the initial look of the packaging as it was a light pink colour with white writing. It's super easy to twist up and down and is actually really light so in my opinion is perfect to travel with.
It was all going well until I twisted the whole stick of foundation up and realised how little there was of it. This was quite a surprise but I don't actually seem to use that much when I use it so hopefully it should last for quite a long time.

Foundation

The actual foundation itself was very impressive, as I didn't have high hopes however I was amazed by how good it was. Applying it was really easy, it was so smooth and glided onto my face with ease. I think it's perfect for times when you want to quickly whizz on your makeup or have a super natural look which can be done in a couple of minutes or less!

To blend it out I used my Real Techniques Buffing Brush and it blended like a dream. It didn't needed any effort at all to blend, I just swirled my brush round my face and it was all blended perfectly.

The shade I got was 'Really Ivory' and it matched my skin tone perfectly. With one layer it had given my skin a super natural and healthy look with a good amount of coverage. I did apply a second layer just to see how it turned out and it's so buildable. The second layer just gave an extra bit of coverage to the redder areas on my face, whilst still looking so natural.
This foundation would be perfect for school and I think I might start using it on the days where I want to have a little bit of coverage.

Below is what my skin looked like after applying just the foundation. My skin is normally quite red especially on my cheeks so I'm really happy with the way it looks as it gives a good amount of coverage whilst looking like you aren't wearing any makeup.

Overall I'm really impressed by this foundation stick and for £3.99 I would definitely recommend it. Although it doesn't have the best coverage, it gives a really natural and healthy look perfect for any day.

Will you be trying this soon?
Kate Xx

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Beauty

Valentines Makeup Look

By Kate - 17:18:00

As Valentines is around the corner, I thought it would be the perfect excuse to do a makeup look on my blog! Whether you want to look good for your partner or just want to impress your box of chocolates then I got you covered.

I tried to make this look quite natural whilst having some glam aspects! So I hope you all enjoy!

Face

First off I started by priming my face by mixing my Miss Sporty Insta Glow Primer and Seventeen Skin Wow Highlighter which gives a dewy, healthy look to my skin. And I just moisturised this in with my fingers.

For foundation I'm using the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in shade '52 Vanille'. I used a flat foundation brush for this and then made sure it was fully blended in with my buffing brush. This gives a really healthy look whilst still giving a good amount of coverage.

I then moved onto under-eye concealer for which I use my Maybelline Eraser Eye Concealer in 'light' and drew triangles under my eyes. I also put a bit of my New Look Pure Colour Liquid Concealer in 'Light Beige' over these triangles to highlight a little bit more.

I also took my Maybelline concealer to highlight my nose, forehead, chin and cupids bow. I blended this all in with my pointed foundation brush and expert face brush.

To add some extra coverage to a couple of small spots and redder areas, I took my Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in shade '2 Cool Medium' which is a tad dark for me but I blended it out with my concealer brush and buffing brush.

To set this all in place I took my Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in '001 Translucent' lightly all over my face which gave the perfect finish to my skin. I used my blush brush to do this as I use it for powder.

Bronzer, Highlight & Blush

I then took my Seventeen Define and Conquer in 'Light/Medium' (which for some reason I couldn't find online?) and used the highlight shade under my eyes, forehead, cheekbones and chin. I love using this as it highlights these areas whilst looking so natural and healthy. I used my smaller blush blush to do this as well.

I then took the contour shade from the same palette on my contour brush and sculpted out the hollows of my cheeks lightly and made sure it was fully blended out.

To bronze up my face I used the bronzer from the BarryM Get Up & Glow Palette and bronzed up my cheekbones, below my jawline and on the upper part of my forehead. I did this by using my blush brush very light handed.

To highlight my cheekbones, I used my all time favourite which is of course The Balm Mary Lou Highlighter. I took my setting brush and blended this out on my cheekbones and cupids bow which gives the prettiest glow.

I also wanted to use a little bit of blush so I took my Sleek Blush By 3 in 'Lace' and I used the shade 'Guipure' which is a pretty light dusty pink. I used my blush brush and blended it on the apples of my cheeks and just blended a little bit upwards towards my temples. I did this really lightly as I wanted to make it look very natural.

Eyes

Moving onto eyes, I started with my eyebrows where I used my Freedom Pro Eyebrow Kit in 'Light-Medium' using the top right shade on my angled eyeliner as it's the perfect shape and size for my brows. I drew the shape of my brows and then blended it in which gives a super natural look and is buildable depending on how you want your brows.

Going onto eye shadow, I started with my Morphe 35T and used a transition shade (number 1) through the whole way of my crease. To build depth in my crease I took another matte shade (number 2) and blended this down into my outer v. As this is a dark purple shade I only used a tiny bit and made sure it was completely blended out.

For my main lid colour, I wanted a pinky colour for the valentines theme so I took my Maybelline Color Tattoo in 'Pink Gold'. I packed this on with my fingertip but then just took a flat eye shadow brush to blend it out.
To blend out the edges, I went back in with my Morphe palette and took the pink shade (number 3) on the upper section of my lid blending into my crease.

For my lower lash line, I took the pinky shade (number 3) from the Morphe Palette and use my flat eyeliner brush to do so and blended it out with a fluffy eyeshadow brush. I love this shade and it looks so pretty on the lash line.

I then went back in with The Balm Mary Lou Highlighter and highlighted the very inner corner of my eye and my brow bone with my fan brush.

To finish off my eye I took my Maybelline Lash Sensation Mascara and coated my top and bottom lashes in this which gives so much volume and length.

Lips

Finally, onto one of my favourite parts, lips! I had a big decision deciding on a product but I went with my Model Co Illusion Lip Liner and my Maybelline Color Sensation Lipstick in 'Pink Fling 207' which is such a pretty pinky nude shade.
The lips look quite natural which really compliments the eye look and goes with the look very well.