50 Facts About Me Tag

As I have decided to transition my blog away from purely beauty topics I thought that the '50 Facts About Me' tag would be the perfect opportunity to share a bit of information about myself. I feel like this is a good starting point to take things back to basics and tell you a bit about who I am if I'm going to be sharing more of myself on this blog.

What's In My Carry-On Flight Bag

 

I still have over a week until my holiday but I'm that girl who packs her bags really, really early. Its better to be organised in my opinion plus it gives me plenty of time to realise if I've left anything out! Obviously as I've still got over a week left to go I will end up chucking more things in as the time passes but I thought it would be a fun post to share to get me in the holiday mood.

 

To start off I guess I should mention my bag itself, I got this in the Debenhams summer sale and its a brand called Tripp which make all kind of travel things - I also picked up the matching suitcase as well. Carry-on bags aren't particularly flash, but when you're travelling its better to think practically. This luggage bag is perfect as it comes sort of like flat-packed meaning that the bag itself is very light-weight. The handles are a perfect length but there is also a longer shoulder strap for if you get tired carrying this over your arms all the time. Inside its very spacious with an internal zip pouch and also one zip pouch on the front of the bag too.

 

So onto the contents of the bag... I won't be going anywhere without my passport. My passport holder is a Cath Kidston one from a few years back in the tiny rose print which I absolutely love its so pretty and girly. For all my airport shopping needs I'm taking a separate wallet to my normal one which has got the perfect amount of space for notes and coins so I can fit in my pounds and euros, this is from Fossil again a few years ago now. To keep myself occupied if I get bored waiting around I'm taking my headphones to listen to my music on my phone. I'm not bothering to take my old battered iPod with me as it doesn't even contain half the stuff I want to listen to these days :P

 

For the flight itself I've got a new book ready in my bag although knowing me I will probably buy a few more at the airport as well, along with some magazines too. I've got my juicecube as you never know when you might want an emergency charge of your iPhone. I also like to take what I deem a personalised 'first aid' kid with me which is basically a Cath Kidston makeup bag stuffed with necessary essentials: kwells, paracetemol, anthiestimin, immodium etc its also got in like a travel pot of sudocreme and bonjella - just medicine that you wouldn't want to be without for a week abroad basically.

I then have two more separate makeup bags that are both a bit more transparent as they contain bits that I'm definitely going to want to access at some point. The flowery clear bag is another one from Cath Kidston and the green mesh type one is from The Body Shop. A few loose items in my bag are likely to be pocket tissues, my tangle teaser and some of The Body Shop Vitamin E Facial Cleansing Wipes as I hate that dirty feeling where my skin feels unclean from the air in the aeroplane and stuff.

Here's a closer look at what's inside those makeup bags then. A couple more from TBS Vitamin E range, I have a little bit left of my Vitamin E Face Mist which I thought will be perfect for an on the go spritz of freshness. And I've also got the Vitamin E lip balm this will be ideal for travel as it contains SPF 15. I don't go out the house without a hand sanitiser so I definitely wouldn't leave the country without taking one, this is from Bath & Body Works and I'm not sure what its called (Orange Swirl?) but its quite citrusy and nice for holiday.

Our flight is thankfully a pretty short one but I still wanted to take a few skincare items with me in case I think my skin needs some TLC. The night before we fly I'm going to a wedding and then catching our flight at 6am the next day so I imagine that my skins going to be looking pretty tired therefore I want to keep it feeling as fresh as possible. I'm packing my Origins Drink Up-Intensive Over Night Mask which is amazing (review to come!) I have this in the handy 50ml size so its good for travelling with. If I don't think I need something as intense as the over night mask I've got a little sample pot of TBS Vitamin E Night Cream, which will still be good to have to hydrate my skin. For some more on flight pampering I'm taking my L'occitane Hand cream which is almost empty so I thought I could use it all up while away and I'm also taking a Lush Charity Pot.

 

For makeup I'm keeping my options very simple -  I don't think I can fathom the idea of putting makeup on so early in the morning. If I do decide to make myself semi decent I'm packing a Nars Tinted Moisturiser sample for a super simple base - I'll either apply this with my fingers or the Real Techniques Mini Face Brush which is such a handy little addition to your makeup bag. Again for super simple brows I'm trusting my Benefit Gimme Brow - this is great as you swipe it on and it neatens your brows up and makes them look fuller. I'm leaving my lips quite neutral with MAC's Lovelorn, which I think is the perfect lipstick to wear when travelling as its quite moisturising and just ever so comfortable on the lips. And even though I'm sure I will be sniffing lots of new scents at the airport my inner perfume junkie couldn't resist popping in my travel sized Jo Malone. 

 

And thats everything so far, I hope you enjoyed a nosey inside my carry on flight bag!

 

QOTD: What travel essentials do you take with you?

The British Tag

 

Kingston Lacy, Dorset.

Hey I've got a new Tag post today created by Sammi aka BeautyCrush on YouTube which I thought was another fun one to do as it's all about being British. Its really been interesting to see everyone's take on this and what it sort of means to them to be British. So here we go then - oh and the rule of the tag is you must drink a cup of tea while doing it so I've got my mug of green tea by me as I type!

1) How many cups of tea do you have a day? And how many sugars?
I love tea a lot and in our household we make tea with loose tea in a pot rather than with tea bags. I would say that I drink on average three to four standard cups of tea not including green tea but this definitely increases in the winter! I have a little bit of milk and recently stopped taking my tea with sugar as it was one of my new years resolution of 2014! My family also drink their tea in cups and saucers which I think is a really British thing to do but I haven't quite gotten in to that tradition yet as I do rather like my Cath Kidston mug for now.

2) Favourite part of your roast?
Oh this ones difficult to pick! I love all of my roast dinner but I'd probably have to pick between Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes... Although I haven't always been a lover of roast potatoes so maybe I ought to pick the Yorkshires. Only if they are home made ones though of course. Well I think everything in a roast should be home made personally. But yeah Yorkshire puddings with gravy swimming in the middle is probably the ultimate part of a roast as you don't really ever eat them with any other meal. My mum's Yorkshire puddings are incredible, I have about four of them no joke!

3) Favourite dunking biscuit?
Again I this is a tough one. As a child I was a huge dunker. 'Dunky biscuits' was my favourite thing and for years and years on Wednesday and Sunday mornings I would get in the middle of my parents bed and have my 'dunky biscuits' with them. I don't really dunk biscuits these days but the ones that I remember always liking were Custard Creams and Bourbons. Although sometimes we would get like 'best' biscuits from Marks and Spencer for special occasions and I was a huge fan of dunking those as well.

4) Favourite quintessentially British pastime?
A few things pop to mind for this one like walks in the country or going to the seaside for fish and chips but I think the number one British pastime for me has to be visiting historic houses and buildings. I've done a lot of looking round National Trust properties over the years and I think that is such a British thing. Nothing quite says Britain like an elegant country home surrounded by acres of land and lots of pretty rose gardens. I think its so fascinating and I'm always mesmerised by how days spent like that would feel like you were stepping back in time and getting a taste for how life was in England back then.

5) Favourite word?
Posh. And putting on a posh accent when saying the word posh.

6)  Cockney Rhyme slang?
I don't really know any cockney slang and I'd literally have to google something to write for this answer :p Whenever we would cover it in English I'd always be utterly clueless.

7) Favourite Sweet?
My favourite sweets are probably Smarties, I've always loved a good old packet of Smarties - especially the orange ones were my favourite. Although an honourable shoutout has to go to Sherbet Lemons, I remember how everyone my age got into having Sherbet Lemons when Harry Potter became popular.

8) What would your pub be called?
I think I'd have to be oh so original here and go with something to do with Blossom as you get like quite a lot of pubs to do with trees and flowers such as 'The Royal Oak' or 'The Rose Inn' so it would probably have to be called something like 'The Blossom Tree' haha.

 9) No 1 British person.
This is kind of a bit of a cheat answer because I have a few... its got to be between William and Kate as I loved all of the Royal Wedding and Jubilee celebrations a few years ago as everywhere seemed to be decorated with cute British flag bunting. Although I think David Beckham has got to be like the most amazing British person, it doesn't even need explain he just is awesome.

10) Favourite shop/ restaurant.
Some of my favourite British shops would probably be Boots, Cath Kidston and obviously I have to mention Selfridges now that I have been because it was absolutely incredible and I want to go back now! As for favourite restaurant I'm actually much more of a pub meal kind of girl, we go to a couple of local pubs that do amazing food thats all fresh and locally sourced so I don't think you can beat that, plus going to the pub is such a British thing as well isn't it?

11) What British song pops into your head?
Spice Girls - Wannabe. So 90's Britain haha.

12? Marmite.
No.

I hope you enjoyed the post - feel free to share your post if you've completed this tag too!

The 90's Kid Tag

Hands up fellow kids of the 90's! Today I thought I would do a fun tag that's a little different (I'm becoming a bit of a tag junkie...)  inspired from Lily Pebbles and Vivianna Does Makeup's video which I will link here which is The 90's Kid Tag. I am a kid of the 90's I was born in 1992 so thought I would give this tag a go and tell you some of my experiences of the 90's as a child. A couple of these answers sort of clash into late 90's early 00's but nether the less I'm giving this a whirl!

* Images used from Google.

1) Favourite Disney Film?
I was definitely a Disney lover as a child, I still like it but I'm not one of those die hard Disney fans any more. But growing up I certainly watched my fair share of Disney, so this was a bit of a toughie. I guess I will start by narrowing it down to my most watched and those were: Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and The Beast. These were easily my top 3 I would say although I watched all of my Disney films loads. If I had to pick one favourite it would probably be The Little Mermaid as Ariel is quite the unique princess with her fish tail and blazing red hair.

2) NSYNC or Backstreet Boys?
I think I must have been a bit young for the NYSNC / Backstreet Boys phase as I wasn't really into either of these. See following question.

3) Favourite music artist?
The Spice Girls were my musical obsession of the 90's. I know The Spice Girls aren't technically an artist but I couldn't really think of an artist as such. But I remember The Spice Girls being the first real music interest that I developed as a child, my parents took me to see them with my cousins at Earls Court one year. Naturally we had karaoke sing-alongs and dressed up as Spice Girls and I always liked to be Posh even though I was the blonde haired one and probably should have been Baby spice.

4) Favourite candy/sweet?
As a child I wasn't a huge sweet lover at all. Actually hard as this is to believe now but I was quite a fussy eater in my early years. However I do remember my grandma always having rolls of Smarties at her house that I liked, and they were the old styled packets that had a round tube with a coloured lid on top that had a letter on. Who else remembers those?

5) Weirdest fashion trend?
This one was a little tricky as I couldn't really remember anything that stood out too horrendously weird. When you're a child you don't exactly consider fashion (or at least I didn't) rather that it was just clothes that your parents put you in. A couple of odd things that came to mind were like neon bright jelly sandals which you actually see pop up now days, I think that they are a bit weird and then I remembered my parents buying me clogs one year!

6) Favourite game console/game?
For the most part of the 90's I was definitely a child that preferred playing with toys as apposed to games consoles - although I think I once had a Gameboy... can't remember actually. But yeah I enjoyed Barbies, Lego, Polly Pocket, riding my bike all with my next door neighbour and so on. However we did have a very robust and ugly first computer in our house and I remember one year buying The Sims which I was bloody obssessed with. I mean obssessed. No joke I would play The Sims after school and all weekend sometimes. I bloody loved that game.

7) What would you watch after school?
I had to think about this for a while as I wasn't a huge TV watcher in comparison to my peers at the time. For many, many years we had the basic channels that came with the television so like, 1,2,3 & 4. How old school does that sound in 2014? Ha. So yeah I only had a selection of BBC kids shows or ITV (hence my interest in playing with toys more than the TV I believe haha) . Some programmes I remember watching: Art Attack, The Really Wild Show, Arthur, Blue Peter...

8) Favourite book?
I didn't start becomming interested in proper reading until the late 90's at least. But my Year 4 teacher introduced me to Jacqueline Wilson and she totally got the ball rolling for me. Generally I loved Jacqueline Wilson books and read the majority of them at Primary School. I think Lizzie Zipmouth was one of the first books that got me hooked. I then also went on to read Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets after watching the first film as I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. And to this day I'm forever glad I read the books before the films to the Harry Potters as they really were something else as a child / young teen.

9) Favourite clothing store?
As I mentioned above clothing wasn't really something that held my interest much in the 90's as I was quite young for the most part of it. I know that my parents ordered a lot of my clothes from the Next catalogue if that counts as an answer haha.

10) A 90's beauty memory?
Again, toys and playing and generally embracing my childhood always came before beauty and fashion in the 90's for me ;) haha. However on saying that I do in fact have a really odd beauty related memory that I can share. If you take a closer look at the collage above in the middle you can infact spot me there. Yes that is me. And yes I do have blue lips. Thankfully you can't really see the picture too well but I remember sometimes I would rub a Smartie all over my lips to make 'smarties lipstick' kind of just goes to show how much artificial colouring must have been in them back in the day! Eww! Not a good look Grace.

I tag all of the 90's kids out there! I would love to read your answers so link me up if you decide to do it! :)

What's In My Travel Makeup Bag

 

It feels like its been a while since I last blogged, so I took advantage of a light afternoon to take some pictures for today's post, which as you may have noticed from the title is the What's In My Travel Makeup Bag tag. I've been away training for the last fortnight hence the need for my travel makeup bag. This is a handmade makeup bag that I found on Etsy a few months ago and I just adore how pretty it is and it also fits in a fair amount of items too! Because it was a work related trip most of the makeup featured was basically everyday bits and bobs, I hope you enjoy the post!

 

For face products I tried to keep it very simple while I was away purely for ease and quickness every morning. Inside the little sample pot I just squeezed some Benefit The Porefessional inside instead of carrying the whole tube with me, and to cover up any blemishes I used my Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer which I think is beginning to run out as its a little on the sparse side lately. I use my Real Techniques Buffing Brush to do my concealer. To set that I use my bareMinerals Touch Up Veil.

Afterwards for a little colour I take Hoola by Benefit to bronze my face which I own the handly little travel size version. A lovely everyday blush I have been enjoying is a minerealize one from MAC in Dainty, it has a very nice delicate glowy effect to it. I also threw in my MAC Soft and Gentle highlighter but because the blush was already quite glowy I only ended up using it a couple of times so it was a bit of a waste of space. To apply these I was using my RT Multi Task brush which is part of a travel set.

Moving on to eyes, I depotted some of MAC Painterly paint pot into a sample container again to save me having to transport the whole thing which is a little heavy and robust as it is in a glass jar. This works amazingly as a neutral base for the rest of my eyeshadow. I wanted to keep my brows quick and simple so took my Rimmel brow pencil, which I'm not crazy for but as it has a spooile it was quite handy for travelling with. I left most of the work to Benefit Gimme Brow to set everything into place.

 For my eyes I simply went for my Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette - an item I just adore and is probably one of the bests palettes for travelling due to its size and range of colours that can create an array of looks. Most days I was taking W.O.S all over the lid with Naked 2 blended lightly into the creases.

My favourite mascara at the moment I luckily have in a Mini size as I tried the sample out before buying the whole thing and that is Bad Gal lash from Benefit. And lastly I took a couple of MAC lipsticks that I would both deem as 'nudes' and they are Angel, the lighter option which is a pretty light pink in a frost finish and for days when I wanted a little more of a sheen I opted for Syrup which is a muted plum colour in a lustre finish.



I was pretty happy with all of these choices as they all achieved a quick and easy every day look for while I was away doing my training. On saying that I was really happy the day I got home to play around with some more vibrant makeup pieces!

 

What do you take in your travel makeup bag?

The TMI Tag

 

 I'm back with another tag for you today, the last one I did went down fairly well and that was the What's In My Bag tag. This time I'm doing the TMI tag, so hopefully you're feeling adequately nosey! I tag anyone who reads this and wants to let their readers know a little bit more about them. 

 

1) Have you got any tattoos?
No, my skin is completely ink free. I haven't ever really got the whole tattoo thing to be honest. I just couldn't justify the permanence of a tattoo - you don't know how your body is going to look years in the future and how you as a person are going to change physically and emotionally. Plus you see so many tattoos that clearly haven't had much thought or meaning put into them. Don't get me wrong I quite like tattoos on the right people but I highly doubt I would ever get one.

2) Piercings?
Yes I have 3. I've had my ears pierced longest since I was quite young, I think I've had my belly button pierced coming up ten years now too and my most recent piercing was a spontaneous one just last summer and that was my tragus in both my ears. I like the amount of piercings I have, however I wouldn't say that I won't get another one in the future.

3) How tall are you / how much do you weigh?
I don't actually have an accurate answer for either of these ones, for a start I've never really known exactly how tall I am but I do know that I'm a bit of a shortie and my weight is always fluctuating up and down. I don't ever step on the scales because I don't want to be governed by a stupid number. There was a stage where I counted calories, kept a track of my weight etc and it seriously sucked. These days I just exercise regularly, eat what I like in moderation and I go by how my clothes feel and look on me.

4) Have you ever been in love?
I think so. I have little experience of real love but I do believe I loved someone for a short while.

5) Have you ever had a terrible breakup?
No I haven't, my first (and only to date) relationship ended after 4 and a bit years on mutual terms. That was around a year ago now.

6) Something you miss?
Hmm, I moved house for the first time last year like literally down the road and so I pass my old house most days and even though I love our new home I still get a little fuzzy feeling in my stomach when I drive by and see the light on in my old bedroom. I don't miss it like crazy, but it was my first home so I still feel connected to it in some way I guess. I also miss the spontaneousness of last summer.

7) Zodiac sign?
Cancer, my birthday is June 26th. I don't believe in horoscopes or things like that and have never followed my zodiac signs.

8) Quality you look for in a partner?
Someone who is kind, thoughtful, honest, reliable, doesn't take themselves too seriously and most of all knows how to have a laugh and a bit of fun. Basically someone who I could easily be myself around is most important. Anyone who says looks aren't important is clearly telling fibs because lets face it looks do play a role because where would you be without any attraction?

9) Turn off?
If someone doesn't have any ambitions, goals or dreams. Also rudeness and arrogance.

10) Favourite quote?
"I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them." - George Bernard Shaw. I think that the message behind this is pretty inspiring and motivating.

11) What are your fears?
My fears  (minus spiders,eww) are that time will pass too quickly, that I might end up alone, not having anyone to share my life with or build a future with.

12) Favourite show?
Ah my, where would I begin? I love so many. I've recently got the Breaking Bad boxset and oh my word, its freaking amazing! I'm only on season 2 so no spoilers ok!? I also adore Nashville because I love country music and basically Nashville is all about that. I've also been loving Mr Selfridge, as I quite like a bit of a period drama and especially as its focused around the introduction of shopping for pleasure. I'm hooked on Revenge at the moment too though. Oh and not forgetting my favourite supernatural type of TV show is True Blood. Wow how do I get time to blog when I watch all of those?

13) Favourite bands?
I'm not really sure? I have an infatuation with country music lately so I guess I'd have to say Lady Antebellum? :P

14) Favourite flavour of sweet?
Easy, orange!

15) Favourite song?
This always changes but 'All To Well' by Taylor Swift has a place in my heart because I can relate to it so much.

16) Do you have a crush?
Yes, who doesn't ?

17) The last song you sang?
Kacey Musgraves - Silver lining.

18) Where do you go when you're sad?
It depends how sad I'm feeling. I find exercise can be a great way of completely taking your mind off things. But other times I like to go and write in my journal, it helps to write down how I feel I find it greatly theraputic. Plus it helps to go back and read over things I've written in the past, as it usually helps me realise that if I've gotten through something tough before I can do the same again.

19) A place you want to visit?
I want to go to New York desperately! I've made a 25 before 25 list and New York is up there to do. I also would love to see more of Europe.

20) The last sport you played?
Does doing a spin class count as sport? :P I do spin classes every Wednesday and Thursday evening. But a proper sport I haven't probably done since I left school six years ago.

21) Favourite Colour?
Oh I don't think I have a favourite colour, I just couldn't pick!

22) Have you ever been in a physical fight?
No.

23) The reason you started blogging?
I started blogging because I missed it, I used to run a blog many moons ago. I love writing and reading blogs and this time it felt like I could come back with a specific interest / topic. Plus my obsession with beauty was just getting too much, I couldn't contain it any longer. It was only a matter of time really I suppose before I started back up again.

24) The meaning behind your blog name?
Graceyblossom is my name. Well I'm known mostly as Grace, Gracey but Blossom is actually my middle name.

25) The last time you were insulted?
Oh, probably at work by a customer!

What's In My Bag

Hello, I hope that your week is off to a good start. I woke up Monday morning to an email from Becky who blogs over at Angels Secrets telling me that I had won her 100 followers giveaway - I never expected to win so I was really surprised! Giveaways can be an amazing platform to discover brilliant new blogs just like Becky's so go and check hers out if you haven't already. Today's post is going to be something a little different from my usual beauty themed posts with the 'What's In My Bag' tag. Continue reading to find out what's in my bag...

 

My handbag is the Sydney Satchel from Fossil in black leather. Initially this might look like a smallish handbag but it is actually one of those Marry Poppins creations as the zip opens up all the way down both sides and you can fit quite a lot in if you needed. I originally saw and liked this in Navy but after sitting on the fence about what one to go for I finally decided on black and I'm glad I did because you really can't beat a classic black handbag that will be ideal for so many different occasions. There is also an attachable shoulder strap which looks really cute but I had taken it off on the day I decided to take these photographs. To match, my purse is the Sydney Zip Multifunction wallet. I would normally go for a clutch style purse but decided on changing it up. One of the reasons that I opted for this multifunction wallet was that it features loads of card slots and I have accumulated quite a lot of those over the last few years!

 

 

After a beautiful, bright weekend in south east England my beloved Chanel Sunglasses that I was gifted for my 20th birthday, have found their way back into my life and therefore my handbag. I know that it might be seen as a bit of wishful thinking keeping sunglasses in your bag in March (this is England after all) but you never know when that thing in the sky might decide to surprise us by showing his face! I wouldn't be much of a beauty blogger if there wasn't a MAC lipstick floating around in the midst of my belongings, this one is my latest that was mentioned in my recent beauty haul, Angel.

 

 

Still sticking with the beauty theme briefly, my Denman Compact Hairbrush will normally be found hiding somewhere at the bottom of my bag, I also use this for a mirror too so this is a good multipurpose item to own. For quick freshen ups on the go I always keep a travel sized Sure Anti-Perspirant 35ml spray, and in case my hair needs rejuvenating back to life I also have a Batiste Dry Shampoo - floral and flirty 50ml spray ready to use in my bag. My Bath & Body Works anti-bacterial hand gel in I heart Bubble Gum is a life saver for an instant cleanse and blast of sweet fragrance. I also like to keep some hand cream with me and the 30ml tube of L’Occitane Red Cherry Hand Cream is ideal for throwing in my bag to keep moisturised whenever I need to. I also always have a packet of facial tissues in my bag, however I've just had a cold so this has reminded me that I need to replace those ;)

 

Some of the more practical items in my handbag include my Cath Kidston Zip Coins Purse. My wallet can only fit a few pound coins at a time and I always like to keep change for car parks and other stuff so this little purse does the job plus its pretty and stands out in my bag when I need to find it quickly. I swear by keeping a JuiceCube in my handbag for an emergency charge of my phone especially when I know that I'm going to be out all day. Any other iPhone 5s owners will understand the frankly unreliable battery life span you get with these phones so being able to charge my phone on the go is so convenient. To write down any blogging inspiration or lists I carry round a small A6 size Notebook and Pink Bic Pen in my bag. And lastly, whenever I leave the house of course I keep my keys with a matching Cath Kidston Key Fob tucked away safely in my bag somewhere too.

Whats in your bag?