snow day

Hey everyone! Today my school was off because of the snow, woohoo! However, I've kind of got a lot to do, but I still found time to go out to my garden and take a few pictures. So all I'm really going to put in this blog is pictures. Hope you all have a good day!

Winter Essentials - Hunter Wellies

And my personal favourite...

This was just a quick blog to share with you some of the pictures I took today!

With love,

Penny xo

just me, telling you about my week

Hey everyone! Apologies for not blogging for a week, I've had a seriously stressful week. I've only been able to relax today, so as most people would do, I made the most of it - by doing absolutely nothing (Minus the part when I went out for a run and revised English).

Anyway, getting to the point of the blog...I'm purely just going to tell you about my week. Like I said, it's been pretty stressful, and I can see it being like this for the next few weeks to come. 

Firstly, I had my Higher Spanish final speaking assessment - a whole 8 minute presentation and discussion to learn - which also determined my final prelim grade. I got an A overall though, yay!

Secondly, my moisturiser that I mentioned in my previous blog post ran out, and I can only get it in John Lewis in Aberdeen or online - either way I wasn't going to have it for the next day, which I really needed. So instead I went for this: 

Neutrogena's Multi-Defence Daily Moisturiser SPF 15 (sorry I couldn't find a link for this on either the boots or neutrogena website!)

To add to my rubbish week further, I broke it as soon as I took it out of the packet so unfortunately, I have to struggle opening it again every morning.

In general, I personally think this product is OK. It feels lovely when you first put it on, but within a few seconds I find it goes awfully oily - which is not what my skin needs. Apart from that, I would say it's a very good daily moisturiser if you have good skin and it's quite cheap too. Unfortunately I didn't have time to research this unlike what I like doing, because I was in a rush so this was a bit of a panic-buy. I think their skincare range is excellent though as I am a big fan of their products.

Moving on, I also had 2 NABs this week, which stressed me out even further (and if you follow me on twitter you will have often seen how worried I get). I'm just glad they're over as now I only have 2 NABs left this year, provided I pass these ones (another "yay!")

Lastly, my week was brightened up by my friend at work, Tamsin, who made me this cute bracelet: 

I love simple things that make me smile, and this definitely did, so thank you Tamsin:)

Hope you enjoyed reading about my week,

with love

Penny xo

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inside my make-up bag: my top 5

Hello everyone! 

It's been so long since I last blogged and I am so so sorry, starting a blog 1 week before my prelims was not one of the smartest ideas I've had.

So I thought for my first proper post I would blog about what my top 5 favourite products are inside my make-up bag. Don't get me wrong, I love all of the make-up I have, and it was very difficult to decide, but these are my all time favourites. In no particular order, allow me to being...

I'll start with my moisturiser:

I have only recently started wearing moisturiser (so bad, I know!) but wow am I glad I did!! This moisturiser is by REN and is part of the combination skin range. The actual moisturiser itself is called  T-Zone Balancing Day Fluid. I personally think it's amazing - it goes on effortlessly and is so easy to apply with my fingers. However, because I put my make-up on after my shower and once I've dried my hair, the hot water and hot air dry my skin out  so I need to apply more pumps than usual. Also, this is to ensure that I have a nice base for my foundation to sit on so it lasts longer. It's a pricey product at £26 but it does wonders. I've also used many of the REN products and would definitely recommend them! Check out the website here.

Secondly, my foundation: CHANEL Vitalumiere Aqua Ultra-Light Skin Perfecting Sunscreen Makeup

Wow, what a mouthful! For those of you who follow me on instagram, you will see that I am in love with this product! I decided to try it back in September 2012 after reading so many reviews and really, just wanting to try some of the other products that are out there. I love how this product is very water-based, which means it will give a light-medium coverage. As good as this product is, if you're looking for heavier coverage this isn't the product for you. Again, the fact that it is water based allows it to glide on my face effortlessly, giving me a nice, even finish. However, i was recommended by an assistant at the John Lewis counter to apply it with my fingers, but after experimenting with my foundation brush, I much prefer that. I wear shade 20 Beige which i find is a wonderful match to my skin tone as it's not too light nor too dark. When buying expensive foundation it's so important you get it matched to your skin, and I meant it! As you will expect, it is very pricey - £32 from boots for a 30ml bottle - but I find it justifies the cost as one bottle has lasted me 6 months!! A little bit definitely goes a long way.

Bobbi Brown's Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner - THE best eyeliner I have ever used!

I've been too scared to try liquid liner but someday I will and I'll blog about it. I've also used pencil and have a couple in my make-up bag, but for my birthday a couple of years ago I got my first pot of Bobbi Brown Gel Liner. It's an award winning product and perfectly easy to understand why. I got the shade "denim ink" and have been in love ever since. So much so, I bought a new one recently when I was in Florida called "graphite shimmer ink". The thing I prefer about a gel liner as opposed to a pencil is the fact that the gel glides on really smoothly and is really easy to perfect. The liner certainly is long-wear like it says, as I'll wear it to work sometimes but mainly parties, and it's always perfectly intact 6 hours later (8 hours when I wear it to work). It can be quite stubborn so it involves quite a lot of washing around the eye when taking your make-up off, but it's not waterproof! I recommend the Ultra Fine Eyeliner Brush to apply the liner with as it helps get right into the corner of the eyelid to make you're eyelid more defined and give the liner a nice thin line so that it isn't too thick. The gel also allows you to play about and experiment different looks. I 100% recommend this liner.

This next product is one I got really recently - Christmas in fact - and it was part of a set. I'm really glad it was because otherwise I don't think I would have tried it. It is my bare minerals Prime Time Brightening Eyelid Primer

Like I said earlier, it's one of the newer products I have. Although I've only had it for a couple of months, I completely love it. As you can see from the pictures, the bottle is absolutely tiny! It's only 3ml and is £16 per bottle, so it is very expensive for the size...BUT, a little bit goes such a long way! I'm still on the same bottle I got at Christmas and I think I still have a bit to go. It is a very light product and it really does brighten my eyelids. As you can see above, there is a slight shimmer in the primer, and that definitely makes my eyes appear brighter. I've fallen so in love with this product that I wear it everyday (oops!) It acts as a great base if you want to go on and apply eyeshadow or liner, but it doubles as a shadow itself, so I find myself wearing it alone most days. Like all of these products I would recommend this and I definitely think it's worth the investment!!

Lastly, I'm going to show you my eyelash curlers. (However, I'm not going to put a picture of my own ones as I need to clean them because they have eyeliner on them!) So here is one I found online:

I have been using Shu Uemura Eyelash Curlers ever since I got my first pair for Christmas 2 or 3 years ago (I think 3). These are one of the only products that I absolutely swear by, and I never leave my house without curling my eyelashes now! They come with 2 silicone pads - one already on the curler and one spare - that they recommend you change within 3 months, and change yours curlers every 6 months. This can prove to be expensive as the curlers are £20 on their own. I personally think you get value for your money though with these, as I use them every day for the 6 months. The silicone pads are in a curved shape in order to mimic your lash line and they also provide a protective edge between the curler and your eyelid. My eyelashes stay curled for as long as I'm wearing my mascara, which is another one of the good things about this! All in all, a very good and practical product.

Hope you like what you read.

With love,

penny xo

Make sure to follow me on instagram! @_pennyleake

life is full of beauty

Hello everyone, long time no blog! 

I have decided to create a new blog under a different web address and blog about things I love (hence the name). 

You may ask petite beauty? Well, I'm not the best at choosing nicknames and I never come up with anything "original", so I decided I would for this. "Petite beauty" comes from the fact that (a) I'm only 5ft 1" and (b) I love love love make-up, beauty, fashion and accessories.

I've decided this is going to be a regular blog, and I promise to keep my word! This time I actually have a topic to blog about and it's something i'm passionate about. 

Hope you like what you read, with love

penny xo

make sure you follow me on instagram! @_pennyleake