Twenty Five Facts About Me

I'm not very personal on my blog at all and felt it was time for you to all get to know me a bit better. I looked through some other blogs to find a quick yet informative tag I could do and came across this one. What better way for you to get to know me better than by posting a cheeky 25 facts about me for you all.

One: My full name is Abbie Rose Deen, my name was planned to be Robyn or Lily Rose but my dad decided he didn't like them at the last minute and I got stuck with Abbie.

Two: I currently study Accounting and Finance at university and I'm in my first year.

Three: If I won award for anything it would be 'Queen of Procrastination' as I am the laziest person ever.

Four: My parents didn't have to worry about me losing dummies as a kid as I sucked my thumb for 14 years. In fact, on one of my baby scans it looks like I'm already sucking my thumb from the womb.

Five: I really hate eating in front of people who I'm not really close to or in public, I'm a really fast eater which means messy dishes usually end up all round my face and on the surface I'm eating from, attractive thought for you there.

Six: I used to be a dancer from the age of 4 until I was 16. In my final few years I belonged to two dance schools and one dance company and would train for anything up to 16 hours a week.

Seven: When I was younger I was convinced my toys all came to life when I wasn't looking like in Toy Story, I'm still yet to be convinced this isn't true.

Eight: If I could be anyone in the world, it would be Beyoncé.

Nine: Most people assume my heritage is full English, however, I'm a quarter Pakistani and and eighth Irish.

Ten: My favourite colour is green.

Eleven: I have the stomach of a sparrow, however, I can absolutely demolish a full rack of ribs in 5 minutes flat.

Twelve: I get cold really easily and I absolutely hate winter, snow and cold winds make me want to cry. But this is made up for by the addition of white hot chocolate to the coffee shops seasonal menu.

Thirteen: My eyes are dark brown but they change colour like Vampires do in Twilight. Some days they're near hazel and others they appear black.

Fourteen: I'm very much a dog person, in fact the thought of cats make me shiver a little. I am super obsessed with pugs and will own one day (will someone convince boyfie please?).

Fifteen: I stay up crazy late. I don't actually have things to do, I just find them instead. This isn't a student trait at all, 4am has been an acceptable bed time for me since about the age of 14.

Sixteen: I'm scared of things that fly; birds, butterflies, wasps etc are my worst fears.

Seventeen: I'm a really fussy eater and places like McDonalds are more hassle then they are worth. Having to order everything 'without salad' or plain makes waiting times devastating.

Eighteen: My biggest love in the world is cars. I've been obsessed with them ever since I was a little girl. I'm currently driving a beautiful little yellow BMW Mini Cooper called Coopz.

Nineteen: I have the worst collection of laughs known to man. They include the 'duck' and the 'pig snort'.

Twenty: I prefer cute looking guys to rough around the edge manly types, but I strangely find Ryan Gosling the most perfect specimen of a man ever created.

Twenty One: I always say five is my lucky number, but good things to happen to me in threes.

Twenty Two: I always prefered indulging in things that no body else wanted to do. This led me to studying 4 languages during my school years and doing 2 of them for GCSE. Sadly I can speak barely any of them these days.

Twenty Three: When I was younger, I secretly wanted to grow up and be a lingerie model. Unfortunately my legs and boobs never grew enough for me to fulfil this dream.

Twenty Four: I thrive in messy environments and despite my battle to be a neat freak, I will always be a naturally untidy person. Nothing bugs me more than other people tidying my stuff up.

Twenty Five: My favourite band has been the Arctic Monkeys since the age of 13.

Soap & Glory Lid Stuff™

Whilst in town the other day I popped in Boots so pick up some Mascara as I'd run out. I noticed they were doing a 3 for 2 across all their make-up and thought I might as well get my moneys worth being a student and all. I thought 3 mascaras may be a bit much and saw it as an opportunity to try something I'd wanted to for a while. I was instantly drawn to the Soap & Glory range of cosmetics which are something I have delved into yet despite being a great lover of their bath and body range.

I never used to use eye shadow before; but as I'm getting older and my nights become more sleepless, I notice I can suffer from discolouration on my lids. I find a nice neutral eye shadow always fixed this a treat. I've been using some shades from my Naked 2 palette for the past year but as they are hitting pan I thought I should invest in something that's more travel sized yet decent quality but not too pricey. I did consider the Naked Basics but thought it was quite expensive for my budget right now.

I came across this beauty, something I've seen raved about in the beauty circle for quite a while yet still in my eyes an under hyped product. The Lid Stuff quad comes in 3 different shades; What's Nude, Smokey Dokey and Off The Wallflowers. Obviously looking for a nude colours, What's Nude seemed like the perfect choice for me. The quad hosts 3 matte shades and one shimmer to create the perfect everyday look.

(Left to Right: Aubersheen, Mudhoney, Pink T, Vanilla)

I like to use 'Pink T' on my lids, 'Mudhoney' in my crease and 'Vanilla' for my inner corners and under the brow bone. If I'm travelling I also like to use Mudhoney for my brows too which is perfect! I haven't got much use from the only shimmer - 'Aubersheen' yet but I reckon it's a good switch up from Mudhoney for a night time look!

The packaging is super sturdy too which is essential for travelling with and can take quite a battering. The shadows are all well pigmented and last well on the eyes without much fallout if any. They're not quite Urban Decay standard, but for £10, I really can't complain; in fact I'm pretty impressed!

How To Clean Your Make-Up Brushes

Having acne prone skin and using a base on my face requires clean effective tools. My make-up brushes are a god send and without them my poor spotty face would be having my hands transferring all kinds of bacteria on it of a daily basis. Cleaning your brushes is an essential but gruelling task in order to keep your face blemish free and your make-up application as seamless as possible. There are a number of ways in how you can clean your brushes but I thought I'd write up a little post showing you my way of doing it in case you're curious.

I don't own many brushes as you can see, I don't apply a huge variety of products and I wash my brushes every few days so it isn't too much of a problem. My brushes are all MAC and Real Techniques which are fantastic may I add so check them out if you're on the hunt for good brushes! My brushes can get really grubby quickly, mainly from my base make-up and clogged up brushes aren't too hot at applying non-streaky foundation. Every few days I take my pot of brushes to the bathroom for a good wash at the sink. For this I use a Dove hand wash as they clean well without stripping the brushes too much so it leaves them soft and fluffy once they're dry. I also take a hand towel and some toilet paper.

First, I run the tap so it's warm, too hot can damage the hairs on the brushes and too cold won't lather up the wash enough to thoroughly clean them.

I wet the hairs on the brush and also my left hand.

I then pump the wash onto the head of the brush. The amount will depend on the size of your brush, an eye shadow brush will require a lot less than say a powder brush.

I then swirl the head of the brush around my wet palm in circular motions for around a 30 seconds. If you have quite a thick dense brush I suggest also using your fingers to work the product into the hairs.

Then thoroughly rinse the wash out of the brush under warm water. Give them a little squeeze with your fingers to get the excess water out.

And finally, wrap them in tissue or toilet paper and leave them overnight to dry.

The result? Clean fluffy brushes that work a dream. I've also heard you can microwave brushes zap all the bacteria out of them but my MAC brushes have metal on them so I don't think I'd even try this. You can buy fancy brush cleaners but like my skincare, I don't think something is properly clean without using a product and clean water. Give this a go and let me know how you get on or if you have any other suggestions on how to clean brushes.

OOTD: She Likes Red Lipstick, Fish And Chips.

Shirt - Topshop | Jeans - Topshop | Shoes - Converse | Bag - Autograph by Marks & Spencer

Necklace - Tiffany & Co | Bracelet - Pandroa | Ring - Swarovski

Very brief OOTD from me, and my first one ever so apologies for the lack of photography! Today was a very casual day, I missed my lectures again as my body craved sleep so I threw whatever I had left clean on and let my make-up take centre stage. Now the weathers getting colder I feel it's hard to dress myself without reaching for jumpers and jeans so this shirt was a less warm but more stylish option. Teamed with my skinny, high waisted jeans and converse it was perfect for lazing around the flat in. I went for simple accessories; just my eternity ring, Pandora bracelet and Tiffany necklace. And as always when I opt for red clothing, a swipe of  MAC Ruby Woo on my lips. As I went into town to grab some food, I carried my everyday handbag which is my black leather bowler bag by Autograph.

My University Room!

This post has been a long time coming but I wanted to make sure it was as interesting as I could make it rather than snapping a bare dingy room for you. I moved into my halls of residence in Nottingham city centre a whole 6 weeks ago and its safe to say I'm loving student life! One thing that was most important to me was that my room reflected my personality as much as possible so it was a welcoming atmosphere after a day of long lectures. My room isn't completely finished and I'm constantly buying bits and bobs to prevent it from looking too bare and contemporary.

 I've posted a video over on my channel too if you're interested, enjoy!

November Wishlist #01

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

(1) I'm always obsessed with tall boots when the cold weather kicks in. Although my beautiful Autograph pair are still going strong, these beauties from Kurt Geiger have taken my eye. If they ever go in the sale, they will be mine. (2) I've become pretty addicted to bronzer later as I'm super pale due to my lack of sun exposure this summer. I've been lusting over a benefit box bronzer for ages and Hoola has so many good reviews! (3) My trusty GHDs have been going strong for about 4/5 years now and after a year of solid abuse from heated rollers I had to have it cut quite short and therefore went back to straightening and curling with an iron. My plate just don't heat up the same as they used to as expected after this many years but these limited edition Wonderland set need to fall onto my Christmas list! (4) Love, love, love dressed at the moment. Although I have no idea when I'd wear this one, this little number from Topshop is gorgeous. Dresses are perfect for winter when they're layered up properly so push yourself to try them more, you may be surprised. (5) I've wanted to try Nars Sheer Glow for years but knowing it doesn't have a full coverage always put me off as having bad acne required me to use heavier bases. However since my skin has improved loads I'm definitely debating getting colour matched soon!