Whats in my make up bag? | Everyday Edition

For those of you who don't know me, I'm a nosy besom (and for those of you who don't know what a besom is, Google it). Truly, in fact you there reading this very post, I have probably stalked your Twitter at some point! Or your instagram, who knows maybe even your house! In fact, just consider me to be lurking on most corners of the social media world waiting for you to post, tweet, hashtag or update. But I know I'm not alone in this, in fact my generation appears to be the generation of social media stalkers, Tweet freaks and like lurkers, so knowing that both my nosiness and your nosiness know no bounds I thought I would today let you in to my world a little bit and share my every day make up essentials for my daily work face!

Eyeko Liner Pen; I discovered this when it came free with a magazine and I fell in love. I buy this from ASOS, it is so dark and glides on your eye so easily, I usually just put this on top of a regular pencil eyeliner to give me a little more definition (it's also super easy to cat flick - just sayin')

Benefit Roller Lash; As you guy know this is my first love... sort of you know after the 'They're Real' mascara by Benefit too (what can I say? I've had a lot of loves!) for my full review click here.

Brow Zing in the shade light by Benefit; this was actually a free sample from the Benefit Brow Bar, which as you probably know is where I have my brows done, this is a gel like brow product with a lovely little soft brush that you literally brush through your brows and you're good to go!

Smashbox Primer; so if you're into your make up as I am I won't need to tell you how amazing this primer feels. It is quite thick but feels like silk on the skin and protects your pores from your foundation, products and all manner of dirt and grime. Since using this I have not had a breakout caused by make up build up and I rarely need to buy a new one as it lasts so long.

MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation in NW15; having repurchased this twice now I can safely say this is my true shade, my one and only, my love. This offers a medium to high coverage, a little goes a very long way if applied properly and is makes up my daily face skin! You can read my full review here!

Soar lip liner by MAC; one of my newest MAC additions, with it having been sold out every which where I jumped at the chance when I saw it in my local. The colour is amazing it's a sort of your lips but better and well I don't really need to tell you how great it looks and feels!

Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Gloss; and to top off my entire lippy look I apply a slick of this soap and glory gloss which helps draw blood to your lips and give you that much coveted trout pout. It's such a subtle colour and goes really well with my Soar liner. 

Eyelure Lashes Enchanted Edition in Poise; when I could no longer find my Katy Perry lashes in stores I resorted to these and they're a fantastic sub, they're a bit more exaggerated and extravagant than my other more 'natural' lashes but I'm loving the dramatics at the moment!

Well guys I hope this has given you nosy nellies a bit of insight into my face, this is just my sort of everyday, work make up, if you liked this post be sure to drop me a comment below and share your favourite every day products, I may even do a night out edition shortly, but we shall see. As you know I also love hearing from you on Twitter and as usual if you want to keep up with my latests be sure to follow me on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, I'm probably i-stalking you right now!

H.Elizabeth

Cafe Culture | Aberdeens First Ever Cat Cafe Crowdfunding Appeal

Cakes, coffee and cats, these are indeed a few of my favourite things and very soon myself and my fellow residents of Aberdeen may be able to simultaneously enjoy all three with thanks to The Cat in the Window cat cafe. Yes that's right the Granite City is potentially heading the way of Edinburgh, London, Paris and Tokyo with the latest cat craze sweeping the world and cafes everywhere!

The Cat in the Window is the brainchild of local Aberdonian and self confessed cat lover Heather Lynch who simply wants to bring her love of cakes, home bakes and cats to all of us right here in the Granite City. The cafe will feature 10 feline friendlies and serve a selection of sandwiches, tea, cakes, coffee and delicious home bakes.

Now you guys know how much I love local business and particularly ventures that involve coffee, cake, cats or critters and I find Heathers business venture to be so inspiring. Heather was in a job and sector she was unhappy with and so what did she do? Changed all of that with her cat cafe ventures. I truly hope the business starts up and becomes a raging success, there's nothing I love more than seeing people follow their ambitions and achieve, achieve, achieve. I salute you Heather Lynch!

The hope is that the cat cafe will launch early 2016, and be able to give a little bit back to local charities working to protect felines in the area and of course work together to create as positive an environment as possible for the cats in residence.

Now before we all rush and put our cat lady jumpers on the cafe is still in the planning and development stage due to funding and while the start up funds are generously being covered by the Princes Trust the cat cafe is relying on a crowdfunding appeal which I am planning on donating to come payday and if you're a fellow Aberdonian or you just love cats I hope you will too. So if you're interested in dining in feline style or as Health so aptly put, 'if this is up your alley cat' please be sure to visit the crowdfunding page and give their Facebook a quick like.

Until next time folks, cat with your coffee anyone?

H.Elizabeth x

Blogging Pet Peeves | A Rant by Granite City Girl

As a blogger and human being of this particular generation I read a lot of blogs. Through the use of social media and tools such as Bloglovin, technology has enabled me to discover some amazing writing talent, experience the wider world and dare I say live vicariously through my favourite bloggers, but sometimes you'll come across a piece of writing, design or blog in general that makes you question all that you know about the world; and I'm not talking total worldly enlightenment I'm talking, aah the humanity!!! Okay so as you know I may be one to exaggerate but if it helps get my point across then that's really all that matters. In light of my recent burst blood vessel(s) paroosing the twittersphere and blogosphere I thought I would share some of my top blogging pet peeves and just say, stop it!

Image Credit: Pinterest

There have been so many blog posts detailing why this is wrong so I won't go into all of the gory details all I will say however is that this is theft and is a crime against copyright laws. Yes it may make your blog look very pretty, professional even, that is in fact because it came from a professional bloggers post! This makes my index fingers curl up inside my body that's how great a peeve it is for me, it is an automatic 'unfollow' and discredit to your blog. If you want to learn a bit more about image crediting, blogging and copyright you should have a read of Forever Amber's post here.

Scheduled Promo Overload

Last week I unfollowed somebody on Twitter for posting 15 (yes you read that right 15!) promotions for the same post in a row on Twitter. Don't get me wrong, scheduling is sometimes an amazing thing, a fantastic promotions tool for bloggers, but if you're posting the same Tweet at say hourly intervals someone is bound to notice (FYI that someone is me!) for me it's off putting as I like to feel as if I'm having a conversation with the blogger but it's obvious that particular person is switched off and just happy enough to post out automated messages.

Twitter Auto Responses
Bleh, the ultimate form of shameless social media poaching, you know the ones I mean, 'Hi thank you for following me on Twitter, why not follow my blog too,' with sickly, sugary x's and o's. Again it's so impersonal and isn't the entire point of blogging to share your views with the world, open up a dialogue and meet new people. After extensive research and attempting to open up a dialogue with the particulars who have these auto responses I can confirm they are not interested.

So this may have disgressed int more of a social media scheduling, response, twitter rant but it kind of links to blogging right? I'd love to know what your biggest blogging pet peeves are or even social media peeves, in fact just use the space below to have a good old rant, those are my favourites as you can probably tell. Be sure NOT to send me your auto responses on Twitter or spam me with your promos (grrrr internal screaming) but quick plug if you do enjoy my rants and ravings be sure to follow Granite City Girl on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, screaming internally at all of the blogging blunders.

H.Elizabeth x

BBC Good Food Show Glasgow | Granite City Girl Reader Discount

Hello everyone, as you can undoubtedly tell it is not Wednesday or Friday (at least I hope not!) but today I am coming at you with a special little post that includes a reader discount for tickets to the BBC Good Food Show which is coming to Glasgow's SECC in November (6th - 8th)

Now you guys know how much I love food, well you know maybe you don't but guys, I love food! So when the BBC Good Food Show got in touch to collab and give me an offer to share with you lovely lot how could I resist?

The BBC Good Food Show Scotland is a showcase of culinary talents from across the UK and spotlights exceptional chefs, bakers and candlestick makers (no not really, sorry!) There are a whole host of events taking part throughout the weekend from interviews, demonstrations, book signings and if you've got time a spot of shopping! This year sees the likes of our baking faves Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry in attendance as well as Scots favourite Tom Kitchin. For the full line up of celebrity chefs, events and general happenings of the weekend be sure to head on over to the BBC Good Food Show Scotland website

Granite City Girl Reader Discount

So on to the juicy, steaky goodness part of this post, all you lovely lot have to do to is use the code MVS2 to get 20% off tickets booked from their online web store. The promo code expires on the 1st of October so if you'd like to get your hands on these foodie goodies be there or be square (oh yeah, that's right!)

I hope to make it down myself for the weekend with a couple of my friends so I'd love to know if you are heading down too, who knows we could meet, drink and get fat together! Do let me know if you have decided that yes I am a human person, I like food and I'm doin' this thing in the comments below, share your foodie inspos with me on Twitter or if you'd just like to keep an eye on this space for more discounts (wink wink) you can follow Granite City Girl on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, feeding my inner foodie.

H.Elizabeth x

Beauty How To | How to clean your make up brushes thoroughly

As much as I would love to sit here and tell you that I am a creature of habit that simply isn't true, unless you count a monthly (weekly) make up purchase as a habit, albeit a bad habit but a habit all the same. So when it came to writing this post I thought you know what let's just get all of our cards out on the table and show the world how poor a beauty blogger I really can be, so here goes. I, Hannah Adams, am guilty of leaving my make up brushes to stew in their own mess for 2 (okay 3!) week periods without a ritualistic cleaning... there I said it, and yes I do feel better for it. But you know what doesn't feel better? My face!

So in order to pull me from my make up brush cleaning slump I thought what better way to give myself a swift kick up the backside than to write about it so I feel obligated to clean them weekly! Today therefore I would like to share my very thorough brush cleaning routine and share a pledge with you today that I, Hannah Adams, henceforth here and forever promise to clean all of my make up brushes at least once a week from here on out. And so without further ado, here are my tips, tricks and general routine for cleaning my make up brushes:

What you will need:

A small tea plate

Washing up liquid
Olive Oil

Alcohol Make up brush cleaning solution (For this I use one from MAC)
A clean dishtowel

Method:

1. Squirt some washing up liquid on to your tea plate and add an equal amount of olive oil to the centre.
2. Take your make up brush and swirl it around really getting in there and watch all of the liquid seep into your brush.
3. Rinse your brush under a running tap, squeezing out any excess soap and olive oil. Usually I rotate the brush on the palm of my hand under the water then squeeze it out gently.
4. 'Shampoo' your brushes with the alcohol solution, for this I use the MAC make up brush cleaner.
5. Use your dishtowel to dry off your brush, it will still be a little damp so wrap the head of your brush in the dishtowel and leave over night.
6. Repeat steps 1 through 5 for all of your make up brushes and you're good to go!

I am aware the way I am washing my brushes is perhaps not the right way, best way or even the second best way but it has served me well throughout the last couple of years and my brushes always come out conditioned and squeaky clean! But of course as you know I am always open to your comments, feedback and general musings so if this post has helped you or you think I need help be sure to leave your thoughts below, come share them with me on Twitter or if you want to see more of my now clean and blemish free face and brushes be sure to follow Granite City Girl on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, squeaky clean with my weekly routine!

H.Elizabeth x

Pure Gym | What to expect from your first spin class

 
Your arse will take a pounding and you may cry a little (a lot)

So now that you know I'm not going to sugar coat this 'what to expect from your fitness' post I can move forward. Very recently I started attending the spin classes at my local Pure Gym where I have been a member of for almost 2 years now and it has honestly taken me THAT long to build up the courage to attend one of these classes. When I first started going to the gym on a regular basis I would work out for a solid 30 minutes on the treadmills in front of a congregation of avid spinners, every night they'd come saddle up, sweat, screech and of course spin out their frustrations (which I imagined at the time they must have many) as the incredibly enthusiastic instructor would scream over whichever bass pumping track was playing that evening. The prospect of every joining this class terrified me, yet here I am, one of them, part of the screeching, sweat drippy spinners! And with that in mind I would just like to share the story of my first ever spin class, the good, the bad and the downright ugly!

When I first decided to go to spin it was after quite a long break from exercising, that was my first mistake. I had got it into my head that if I push myself really hard for say a week or wishful thinking, a few days, then perhaps I'll just fall back into it really quickly, unfortunately that was not the case. Surprisingly enough I set up my bike quite well and I didn't need any help, though my RPM monitor wasn't working but I just assumed this was quite a common occurrence, just for your information it isn't, and this was my second mistake!

One of the great things about the spin classes is that the instructor does it along with you so you know what you're doing at every step and stage instead of floundering a bit unsure, plus, and as said as it sounds, it feels like you're all in it together and there's a sense of,'ahhh we can do this!!!' My first clue to the difficulty of the class itself was when asked if anyone was new, I raised my hand and there were gasps, oh dear....The class started with a warm up which was more taxing than I thought and made me seriously rethink my fitness levels, just a word of advice, a towel is a necessity. The class I attend takes you through a serious of different speeds and resistance settings, usually going for a hill climb then sprints and we even work in some push ups and squats in there (on the bike might I add)

When it came to the sprints, this is where my RPM would have come in handy as I was pushing myself far harder than I really needed to through some bits and was totally burned out by the time it came to doing the sprints, ordinarily you aim to stay at about 100 RPM throughout the class and dip lower for areas of higher resistance and of course ones of lower resistance you can speed way up, to date I think the highest I have ever seen my RPM go was about 170 / 175. I have to be honest and say when I was doing the class I decided there and then that this was not for me, I would never get on a bike again, not just a spin bike, I mean ANY bike. My mind went through every emotion possible from oh my god I feel so emotional I may cry to, I'm going to throw up then die and circling eventually back to AAHHHH BEAST MODE. And as unpleasant as that all undoubtedly sounds the feeling you have afterwards can only be described as euphoria and I've really never felt anything like it or had such a satisfying work out.

Since doing spin twice a week my fitness levels have increased dramatically, I've noticed more of a difference in my energy levels and I just generally feel better. Though after the class walking home as such a sweaty mess has been quite an experience, you can guarantee that I almost always bump into someone I haven't seen for years and they automatically think I'm a hobo, just a sweaty, ginger hobo and you know what I don't blame them! If you implement one thing into your fitness routine make it spin, you'll want to hurt your instructor, crawl into your bed and sleep for the longest time but you will feel so glad you went.

I hope this has given you guys a bit more of an idea of what a spin class entails, specifically the spin classes at Pure Gym, though every instructor is different I'm sure the feelings are mutual! Do let me know in the comments below if you go to a spin class and what you thought or come drop me a line on Twitter if you have any fabby fitness tips to share with me. Or of course if you'd just like to see more of my sweaty, hobo face be sure to follow Granite City Girl on Bloglovin.

Until next time, spinning mad.

H.Elizabeth x 

Nip + Fab | Bee Sting Fix Eye Cream Review

When I first heard the news that you are never considered to be too young to be wearing eye cream I panicked, 'oh my goodness my poor peepers they're doomed,' thoughts of intense eye bags by thirty, creases my make up would fall into and be lost forever filled my brain and images of dark circles plagued my dreams. Okay so perhaps I'm being a little dramatic and exaggerating a little, but I'm not exaggerating when I say I began to experiment with eye creams immediately! I have been through a few in the last year or so and even went as far as to repurchase Lush's Enchanting Eye Cream which, at first, worked a treat for me, it brightened up my under eye baggage and made me feel a little less self conscious (about something I hadn't really been self conscious about until last year!) but as of late those creases have really been getting to me, and my make up and sadly it was time to move on.

On my travels I came across a great deal of new, innovative and exciting skin care 'revelations' that would reverse the signs of aging, typically those all cost a bomb and involved either taking your own blood and smearing it on your face or letting a snail do the dirty under your eye balls, none of which tends to appeal to my price range or stomach for that matter, but thankfully the high street held the answer!

If I'm totally honest I bought this Nip & Fab Bee Sting Eye Cream on a whim along with their face mask of the same range (which I have yet to try and test, so stay tuned for the verdict) it was on offer in my local Boots, and as I'm sure we have discussed before, I'm a sucker for a bargain! The Bee Sting Eye cream at a glance promises to plump, firm and fight against the visible signs of fatigue. The cream required a test patch, much like hair dyes do, this was a little daunting to me so if you are going to give this cream a go make sure you don't try it on a whim right before a big event (I've been there before and it ain't pretty!) So after acing the patch test I was all good to go.

My main concern, as I know it is with many girls, are under eye creases catching all of your foundation / concealer / red lippy (if that takes your fancy) and further defining the shadows of your under eye baggage, and honestly short of botox and a facelift I felt skeptical that any product, particularly on the high street would be able to help me. Boy am I glad I was wrong! The cream is quite a thick consistency and takes a bit more dabbing than any other eye cream I have used in the past to sink in, but the creamy and thickness give it more of a luxe feel which is always nice.

It took me a couple of days use in the evenings after my shower and before moisturising to notice a difference but when I did... it was magical. My under eye bags seemed to be lighter in colour, now I'm not simply saying this is solely down to the eye cream as I have been sleeping a lot better recently and as you know I have been getting a bit of sun, but they seem less puffy and dare I say 'wrinkly' than before. When I was using the cream, because it is a 'bee sting forumla' I had half expected a tingling or stingy sensation when it was applied but thankfully it is so gentle there was none of that nonsense.

After using this cream and reaping the benefits so far I'm really excited to try out the face mask, apparently you can use this as a one off treat as you would a regular face mask or you can leave it on all night to give a proper soak in, though I would worry I'd wake with a Hannah face shape on my pillow so I may give that a miss. As you guys know from my previous Nip and Fab glycolic cleanser review way back when I'm quite a fan of their products and they just continue to surprise and amaze me and I would definitely recommend this to any of you out there who have suffered similar issues with under eye baggage like me, but I MUST stress the importance of a patch test, your eyes are one of the most sensitive areas of your body and you could cause permanent damage if you're not careful!

Okay so disclaimer and warnings aside, I hope you have enjoyed reading this review, drop me a comment below with any Nip and Fab products you have tried and loved or even tried and loathed, otherwise you can catch me on the flipside... otherwise known as Twitter and the latest Granite City Girl posts on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, I'm buzzing about my eye baggage!

H.Elizabeth x