Ellie Parky

Primark Foundations💓 Rate or Slate?✌ 1 week test! I am a complete foundation junkie... I am forever YouTubing different brands for ones with different finishes and of all price ranges! As much as I love my Double Wear or Born This Way; I am always on the search for drug store or affordable alternatives for everyday to wear to work. 😊 I have seen sooo much hype about the new Primark range 'PS.. My Perfect Colour' range from bloggers and YouTubers and was so excited to try some out for myself. I got myself these 3 with different finishes - matte and velvet, different coverage and in 2 colours (one to match my fake tan colour- just because!) The prices ranged from £3 - £6 making them super affordable - I was so excited! 😍 I have normal-type skin, with a slightly oily T-Zone by the end of the day and my go-to foundation for work is normally Maybelline's Fit Me. I run around all day for my job so I was eager to put these Primarni foundations to the ulti...

💕MADISON MAKE-UP💕 HOW BEAUTIFUL THOUGH? A week or so ago, I was lucky enough to be sent this beautiful (and huge! - even my boyfriend was impressed!) package from Madison Make Up. They are a new make up brand based in Ireland (I'll link their Instagram page down below) and they sent me a few bits to try - I am so grateful and it is even more special for me as it was my first ever box from a brand! They sent me a set of 12 brushes - the packaging is beautiful white with rose gold 💜 and the bristles are super soft. They also sent their 'Berry Bold' eyeshadow and highlight palette and their contour kit. I swatched some of the colours, and the pigment on the pinks, reds and oranges is unbeatable! They are super easy to blend and there is a nice selection of shimmers and mattes too. I used the bottom brown/ nude shade 'Neutral' as my transition colour and the bottom 2 red & pink colours 'Mika' and 'Berry' for my crease wi...

Charlotte Tilbury's Bar of Gold 💕 HOW BEAUTIFUL is this little gem though? Seriously... I can't cope with the gorgeousness. This little beaut was recommended to me by a friend on New Years Eve and it has seriously been my purchase of the year so far 😍 It is £32 and it is a teeny little tub - I did expect more, but hey ho.. CT is a luxury brand and you definitely pay for the quality that you get... Here are the swatches without and with flash, they almost don't do it justice of how amazing it really is. If you are a lover of gold highlights then I would definitely recommend. On the website it is labelled the 'exclusive illuminating highlighter' and I would 100% agree with this statement. It lights up the whole face and really makes your skin look glowy. It comes in a magnetic little box and I think the packaging is gorgeous. It follow's the Charlotte Tilbury theme with all the gold and rose gold but I like it is all on it's own and yo...

ALDI SKIN CARE 💕 Aldi? Skincare? Probably not a title you have seen more than once.. or twice? Or even words you would potentially put together in a sentence? Fab - that's exactly what I wanted! 😊 I l o v e good skincare products - I love products that make your skin feel amazing and I am always buying and trying new things to see how they work. I am often a sucker for packaging too - if something looks cute; I really want to try it!💚 As much as I am a fan of Kiehl's, Clarin's and Estée Lauder skincare products (my sister is a Lauder girl - perks!) I am always on the hunt for bargain products  that are also just as good (or near enough!) that don't break the bank but do work wonders on your skin. I am a self-confessed drug store hoarder so I wanted to try something completely different - and that is where Aldi steps in! 😍💚 Aldi's everyday moisturiser was recommended to me maybe 2 years ago by a work colleague who had it recommended to her. ...

New Year Resolutions 💗 January is a funny time of year ... some people say it is the 'Monday of months' which I totally understand ... and other's see it as a time to think about the year ahead, new challenges, what they want to achieve in that year ... Which I also completely understand, too!  It is dark, grey, wet and often, it can feel like the longest month going and is still forever away from Summer. But it does get us all thinking about 'resolutions' and what we, often, want to change about ourselves.. They mostly involve weight or appearance change or loss (or they did for me for many years!) and we often have a target in our head of when we will meet the 'resolution has been made' which is often, never! I went into January promising myself that I would be kind to myself... that I would continue to be more positive, kind and caring to others, but also more to me! A lot of the time we become so wrapped up in others, caring for them,...

Hey, what's up, Hello! Hi, hello, welcome to my blog! Lovely to meet you! Well that is a sentence I never thought I would say! My name is Ellie and I'm 25. I'm a qualified Special Needs Primary teacher and a self-confessed make up, beauty and skincare junkie! I live in Nottinghamshire with my boyfriend and I love naps. Haha, I'm not sure what else to say about myself really? Is there anything in particular you would like to know?! 😊 This is such a huge deal to me... as I have always wanted to start a blog and give myself something to focus on, but my anxiety has always held me back from doing so (but more about that later!) My friends and sister gave me the push I finally needed  towards the end of last year... and here I am! 💕  I finally took the plunge to put myself out there to the world and I am really enjoying it so far. Anxiety 0- 1 Ellie! 😍 I am hoping to post as much as I can and as often as I can about all the things I love. Specifically...

Smart Casual Vibes! 💕 I love an excuse to go out and dress up and do my make up... But another love of mine is shopping and putting different outfits together! As much as a dress and heels is a girl's go-to; recently I have been loving trousers and top combinations! These Topshop trousers were a Depop bargain! They are a satin material with jogger-style bottoms for ultimate sports luxe.. I teamed it with a plain Next t-shirt and tucked them in and simple black heels. I had a lot of compliments on this outfit as the blue was very royal and striking but still simple at the same time! I feel like this is a look that's perfect for date-night or drinks with the girls, too! What's your go-to night out look?😍 Please check out Depop if you love second hand clothes - it is my favourite app! Search for me 'EllieParky' if you want! Lots of love EP 💕

Current skin care & Night time routine 💞 I loveeee make up! Applying it, playing with colours, trying out new products... etc etc... But honestly the one thing I love more than a full face is a fresh one! I love to take off all my make up, cleanse, tone, moisturise, use face masks, sheet masks... I love anything that is hydrating and that makes my skin feel fresh, plump and a perfect base for the make up I cake on! These are my current favourites I have been using for a month or so to help me achieve this... (Top to Bottom) The Kiehl's daily cleanser I received for Christmas and I have been religiously using it since. I honestly cannot fault it... It gives my skin that 'just washed' feeling where it is almost tingly and fresh which I love. I would definitely recommend giving it a go if you are in need of a new cleasner. Pixi Glow Tonic. I am obsessed with this! I think it has made such a difference to my skin over the last month or so I have been u...

Monday Motivation 💕 Being real now... I used to absolutely DREAD Monday's!  I'm not even sure why, as I have never been in a job that I actively dislike.. and I have always had good friends and colleagues at work...  I think it has always more been the Sunday-lull and the 'whole-week-before-another-weekend' scenario as I have never worked weekends and they have always been my days off. I went in to 2018 with a new mindset of 'positive positive positive'... and so far, I have been doing well at picking myself up when things go wrong, and trying to re-train my brain to see the good in everything and the positive side of life. However, I am only human & it is totally normal to have those down moments, or the 'oh ffs'.. which I say to myself a lot!  This quote is an absolute favourite of mine... as it sums up my life perfectly! Life is all about baby steps of progression... and often, when we look back on life... we realise how far we have ...

Saturday Night Make-Up ❤ I love a good excuse to play with some make-up, and going out to see family and friends is a perfect excuse to do just that! I had an engagement party on Saturday, and this was how I decorated my face 😊 I went for purple tones with gold, and a  nude/ pink lip. The products I used I found at my local TK Maxx - I had never realised what bargains they have for make up before! I treated myself to W7 make up... and I was pleasantly surprised and the quality and price of the products! I used the Blazin' palette and the "Double Dip - Skinny Lippin' set with the lip liner and liquid lipstick and it lasted allllll night - including the drive to London with only 1 touch up! ❤ I have never tried W7 before this but I was so impressed - therefore, I am recommending them to you all! 😊 I will definitely be purchasing more of these! What is your favourite Saturday night look? Lots of love EP 💕

Comfort zones.... and how to step out of them! This is a make up look I posted on my Instagram last weekend as I was quite proud of how I had stepped out of my comfort zone to use blue and silver eyeshadows on my eyes...  I have green eyes, and I like what I like! I tend to opt for browns/ soft purples on my eyes as I feel these colours compliment my eyes best. Everyone knows their go-to look, but sometimes I do like to step out of that and see what I can do with different colours... and this is the look I came up with! For this eyeshadow look I used the Sleek Cosmetics i-Divine palette which I received as a Christmas present. It has some gorgeous shadows in, some perfect for the crease but I was excited to experiment with the silvers, blues and black to create something different and smokey. I would really recommend this palette as I found it super easy to work with. I used the 3rd shade from the top line as my crease shade, and the blue on the top and blende...

Simple Sundays 💕 Sunday's for me are absolutely a day of rest! & not always because they are spent with a hangover! I am doing dry January this year and I feel fantastic for it... But I still like to take my Sunday's as a real day off! A day of no make-up, simple hair and lots of good skin care products. I do this because I just feel it is so important to give your skin time to recover from all the make up you use throughout the week. Even one day off a week helps to improve my skin - or I think it does anyway! I might be wrong! 😊 I visited my parents this weekend after a family party, and therefore couldn't lug my whole make up bag but these are the products I used today to keep my skin looking glowy!  The Clarins face toner I was really impressed with. I feel all their products have a similar scent, which I don't mind, and it made my face feel really clean. I used this after I washed my face with my Simple face wash and followed it by the Ca...

Weekday heroes to beat the back-to-work blues! I'm a bit behind writing this... but everyone needs a pick-me-up after Christmas to get back in to the working routine and to get us through the cold mornings/ evenings/ life... Or at least I know I do! These were the pretty items getting me through the first 2 weeks of being back at work... the item's making me look less of a walking zombie and also the little things that just made me smile throughout the week. Make-up wise .. the Maybelline Instant eye eraser is my go-to for my under eyes to keep them looking fresh for the early mornings. & for blush and highlight I have been loving the Sleek Cosmetics palettes! They are really pigmented and pretty and have enough colour choice in each for a different look each day. I am going to keep trying more of these as I am super impressed with this brand so far! I received Fearne Cotton's "Happy Journal" from one of my best friend's as a Christmas ...

Everyday Make Up Everybody has an 'everyday' make up bag... It's the one bag that has your holy grails in for those day-to-day looks, and for going to work where it isn't going to be a full- on glam... But you still want to look glam... Half glam? Soft glam? You get the idea. Mine looks like this. I honestly can say this bag holds my whole face! It has my few faaaaavourite bits that I literally couldn't be without on a daily basis - unless *shock*  I'm going bare-faced! There are a few obvious things in there, such as eyelash curlers, a Real Techniques Beauty Sponge  and my Real Techniques Mini Expert Face Brush. I love these. I travel around a lot and the mini brush is perfect for keeping in your daily bag! But here are my must haves for wherever I am, and my must have's that help me look less of a zombie (pre-coffee anyway!) Aaaaand most of them are drug store or affordable products, too!  Maybelline Great Lash mascara. This...

My Top 5 Beauty Skincare Tips. . Now, I am not a beauty guru by any means... But I like to think I have 'okay' skin. It's pretty normal in terms of 'type', not overly oily and not overly dry, I get spots when it's that time of the month... that kinda thing! It's kinda somewhere in the 'normal' region, but that doesn't mean I don't have to look after it! I have looked after my skin since I started at secondary school because I suffered terribly with bad acne and my mum helped me so much with my spots. So I promise that I have been-there, done-that, tried-that and more! Pinky promise!  Over the years I have tried all sorts of lotions and potions, but I have narrowed it down to 5 top tips to keep my skin looking glowy - even in the winter months! 1. ALWAYS take your make up off before bed!  No excuses!  Honestly, this is suuuuch a must must for me! It drives my boyfriend mad because I take aaaages but even when I am sha...