Quick Holiday // Callie's Corner

Hey there people! So while Shmee is off gallivanting in France for 2 weeks, I'm still here in Scotland and in charge of the blog for the time being. Which she's already told you all...

 

However, I haven't just been stuck here in one place. Last week my family decided to take a long weekend away in St Andrews, Fife. Staying in Fife is something we do a lot simply because we like it there and it's only a 2 hour drive away. Usually we get a house for a week or two in Elie but this time we decided to stay in the Old Course Hotel in St Andrews. And the name is pretty literal as it's situated slap bang in the middle of the golf course practically!

I was pretty happy because we got two conjoined rooms so I had one to myself while my family were in another room next door.

 

The room was like 76% mirrors and because the hotel assumed that a parent would be in the room with me there were two beds. Obviously I decided to join them together to create a super bed.

 

All in all the long weekend was great! On the second day we went for a picnic – which the hotel prepared for us - on the beach in Elie. It was raining pretty badly when we were driving there so I was thinking we'd have to leave as soon as we got there but nope! The sun was there! Seriously, it was great.

Third day I was left to wander around on my own in St Andrews after a family trip to the aquarium. Once again the weather was great and the tour groups were out in full force. St Andrews is honestly a great place to shop, whether you're buying or just browsing. The streets are full of big high street brand stores, along with smaller businesses.

This is a personal favourite – seriously, the collection this guy has built up in here is astounding. The owner is really great and up for a chat if you feel like talking. Also, if you're a nerd like me you'll love the fact that he has drawers full of comic books dating back to the 60s. If you're in St Andrews and you're looking for something unique to bring home then this is the place.

Anyway, there's not really much to say after that as we went home the next day. It's kinda sad but this took me so long to type up because literally all I've done since I got back was work. Shmee's in France and I'm waiting tables… Life just doesn't seem fair. Oh well! Until next time! Excuse me while I pray that this upload worked.

Callie

Off to France

Within the next few hours I will be on a plane to the South of France for two weeks. As the villa where I am staying has no internet and I would end up with a huge phone bill, I will be absent from my blog but don't worry as Callie will be taking over! 

Over these two weeks that I am away, she will be blogging about whatever she wants and posting whenever she feels like it so make sure you keep coming back to see what she is up to!

See you in two (ish) weeks!

Esmee xx

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The Snow White Effect // Callie's Corner

I find that lot of people are envious of pale skin. I mean, Snow White really set the standard didn't she? However, pale skin isn't really all that it's cracked up to be when it comes to finding makeup - foundation and concealer in particular.

When I tell you I've been through a lot of foundations and concealers I mean it. From drugstore brands to some more upmarket ones and I will tell you now that the struggle is real. For concealers I've gone from spending about £2 to around £10 in desperation because let's face it, I'm a teenager and I'm gonna have acne and I'm gonna want to hide it.

Quite often with concealers they only appear to come in three shades: light, medium, and dark. However if you're "blessed" with pale skin you'll agree with me when I say that light quite often just means a little bit lighter than medium. No amount of blending will hide that fact.

And example of one such concealer would be Revlon's ColourStay Concealer. Now, while it does come in more than three shades I can honestly say that their lightest shade fair is not nearly light enough.

This is the Revlon product in comparison to the ultimately cheaper Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. As you can see there is a massive difference between the two brands lightest shades, and while both provide excellent coverage and lasting power, it's obvious which is best for pale skin. As an added bonus Collection's concealer will only set you back around £4.

My top foundation recommendations for pale skin? Easy!

If you're like me and want something high coverage that doesn't feel cakey then your best bet is Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Gel Foundation (oof talk about a mouthful). It's not exactly cheap at £10.99 but it will last a very long time as all you really need is one small pump for great coverage. 

However if you've also been truly blessed with perfect skin as well as being pale then I'd recommend Soap and Glory's Show Good Face 2-n-1 Foundation and Primer. This foundation is a lot more liquid-like than the other and doesn't provide nearly as much coverage but the two lightest shades are honest in what they advertise as, plus the lightest is called The Fairest of them All, I mean c'mon! But be warned that this foundation is most certainly not matte and has a slight shimmer to it, so powder might just come in handy. Also, if you want to use a foundation that is matte and has higher coverage but it is just slightly too dark, then this foundation is great for mixing. Once again though, this isn't cheap at £11.

As always with any foundation I'd still recommend using a primer but it's up to you.

Anyway, that's my slant on it. I have nothing against being pale, and God knows I'll never tan, but it would be nice if the makeup industry would realise that one shade does not fit all whether you're pale or dark.

Callie

Who? What? Where? Why?

What is it with our generation today that we always want to know what people are doing, who they're with, where they are or just why. 

For example I was in town a couple of months back with my mum and little sister. I saw a girl I knew so I smiled and waved at her, she waved back and turned round to her friends to say she'd seen me. It was if her friends were meerkats, their heads shot up and they scanned the area for me, I was spotted and stared at. As they walked out I overheard the questions; "Why is she here?" "Who is she with?".

Well what did they think I was doing? I was in Primark looking at clothes...what else would I be doing? Getting my hair cut, having lunch? It was pretty obvious what I was doing and there was really no need for stupid questions, surely they could have just thought about it for a moment.

These days people feel a constant need to keep tabs on people but why? 
What do you think? Let me know in the comments or on my social media links! 

Esmee x

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Do I Really Look That Young?

The other day I commented on a youtube video about only having one exam left and some one replied to it with something along the lines of "Why are you sitting exams, no offence but you look about seven...". This comment effected me more than I was expecting it to. I know the profile picture I had was a few years old but not so many years that I actually was seven. A friend of an old crush of mine once said I looked 13 (this was when I was 15) which fair enough I didn't really care about that comment but the fact that this stranger on the internet said I looked younger than my littlest sister (who is 10). The comment both angered and upset me (but only just a little) because why would someone go out of their way just to make a petty comment like that, it's the sort of thing they could think but it doesn't necessarily need to be said out loud. It upset me a little because it made me think...do I really look that young? Obviously not seven, but if I look young for my age? When I'm older I'll probably look back and wish I looked younger but right now I don't want to, I want to look my age. 

Not younger, maybe older but at least 16.

Here is a photo of my two sisters, my dad and
myself last summer in France.

Esmee x

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