FASHION - How I Save for Luxury Items.

A few people have asked me to write a post about how I afford to buy designer items. Every designer item (minus one which was a gift) I have purchased myself, and as much as I wish money grew on trees, it doesn't so I work hard for everything I buy and spend months saving.

Tip 1. Get a separate account/bank card.
I have my normal debit card, the one my wages get put into then I also have another card which I label as my 'spendy account'. I personally wanted a separate bank card so I opened another account specifically for saving (then spending). I can see both accounts on my online banking so its easy to transfer money over, but I don't use that card unless I'm buying an item I've saved for.

Tip 2.  Put money aside every month.
It doesn't matter how much or little you put aside, as long and your saving something. Whenever I get paid I will go onto my online banking app and transfer money to the 'spendy account'. I usually only put £100 each month away, I could put a lot more away a month but I don't wanna stop myself being able to do/buy other bits that I want. You could always start off the month with an amount and once the next pay day is approaching you can always put some more aside. Which leads perfectly to the next tip..

Tip 3.  Know what your saving for.
It's ALOT easier saving when you know what your saving for. When there's nothing in particular I'm saving for I will still put money away each month but I'm not as dedicated as I would be if I knew the goal amount I need to buy something. This will stop you buying unnecessarily and you will also put more money away each month if you can afford to. We all know on average how much a month we spend on the necessities, if you know you can put and extra £100 do it! It takes you that one step closer to getting your desired item.  

Tip 4.  Try not to waste money.
Now, we all will see what wasting money is differently. Some people think that buying designer/luxury items is a waste of money. For me, when people talk to me about wanting to start buying luxury most of the time the first thing they will say is.. I should probably stop going out. I personally don't go out much (as in nights out), for me this is a huge saving that I don't know I'm even doing. I'm not saying that I put the money I would save going on a night out into my other account because I don't, but if I did go on nights out I definitely wouldn't own any of the items I do. Now obviously don't let saving stop you from living your life or buying something you like, I'm not saying that. If I wanna go out for a meal or have a little high street shopping spree I certainly will, but when I'm in crazy saving mode, I might think about the items I'm buying more. I used to like something and just buy it, now I will walk around the store with it get to the till and turn around and think to myself, no I don't need that item.

Tip 5.  Any cash I get I save.
Christmas money, Birthday money, any money, if I get cash I don't spend it (well I try not to). When I used to be a freelance makeup artist (I still am, I just don't work in makeup anymore so I don't do as much) this was a lot easier for me. Every month my nanny gives me £10 and I will put it aside, then sometimes she gives me the odd £5 note and again that gets saved.. which leads on to the next thing that I do..

Tip 6. Save your small change.
I'm a pennies make pounds kinda gal, yes I will pick change up if its on the floor.. a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. If I have any small change (1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p) I save it, then take it to my bank and they put it in my account. Don't take it to a supermarket machine, it takes 10% off you, which adds up if you have a large pot. by the time it gets full you would have around £80-£100 in it. I have a separate pot for silver & the odd pound coin and £2 coin, then one for copper. Just think to yourself that those 20ps and 10ps you have in your purse would look 100x better as your desired luxury item compared to that pack of m&m's from the vending machine which you will eat in 2 seconds. Now banks (well I'm guessing most banks) have machines that you chuck all your change into, it counts it, gives you a receipt which you take to the counter and they put that amount in your account, no bagging up needed. Its saving without actually saving, because you will only waste your small change. I'm quite lucky because I have two people in my family who also save their small change and give it too me every few months.

Tip 7. Write a money diary.

This is wont be for everyone. I did it for two months last year then got lazy but I've done it this month. Write the amount you've been paid down, how much money you had left over from your last wage then add it together. Write that amount at the top of the page then I wrote down all of my bills, then added them all together took that money from the total then that gave me the money I have left. I then made little boxes labelled Petrol, Food Shop and Other and when I buy something from whichever category I will write it down and get my new total. This will give you an actual view of your money and that way you will know how much you can afford to save for the month.

Tip 8. IOM (I owe me).

Always pay yourself back. I've done it before when I've not had anything I'm saving for, I'm just putting money away every month and some months can be tighter than others. So you take a little bit of money out of your saving account or you take money out of your cash pot. Always put it back, either straight away or make a note of it and put it back the next month. My nail shop is cash only and if I'm being lazy and I know I have cash in the house I will use that and (most of the time) instantly transfer the amount I've taken in cash out of my regular account to my saving account, because the cash would end up in that account.

Tip 9. Do your research.

Before I buy any item I will watch every YouTube video and read every blog post, if there's not much on the item I will get on Pinterest & Google and look how the item is styled. I will also always see the item in person. I will go to a store and look at it, touch it and try it on, these are expensive items, your going to be spending a lot of money, you need to know 100%. I know that not everyone will live near a store, if that's the case make a day of it or a trip of it. I went to Paris to buy my Chanel bag (I will leave the blog post down below) but before I spent all that money on a bag I went to my closest store to see the item. Its also a good incentive for you to save quicker if you know there's a certain date you need to save up by. Do not impulse buy.  Especially if its your first purchase. Don't settle for something, you WILL reach your goal, it doesn't have to be achieved in 3 months take your time and do your research whilst your saving.

Even once I've bought my item of choice straight after I will start saving again. You don't need to go straight onto the next item, but I will still put money away because there will be a time where something else will pop up on your wish list and that way you wont be starting from £0. I also want to have the option that if I see something I like I can buy it. But if I was you I would always have a goal in mind because you won't waste the money on just anything (coming from personal experience of 'well I had the money so I bought it). This doesn't just have to be for shoes and handbags, if you have a goal amount keep yourself focused on it and you will reach it and you can reward yourself with whatever your heart desires.

Just a heads up, we all have an expectation about how buying designer items will be and I'm going to be brutally honest.. I personally have only had a few good experience's when buying items in store. Sometimes I really have to tell myself to enjoy the whole experience, because I do so much research & saving I know exactly what I want. Most of the time they will offer you a drink, accept the drink, look at the other colour options, try the item on (maybe even look out for the next item you can begin saving for..). Buying handbags is still super exciting for me, I work months and months to be able to afford them, so when I do have my eyes on something and I'm ready to make the purchase I will make a day out of it. 

Also just a side note I do not have a credit card. There's no point getting into debt for a designer bag. Just be patient and save. The more you save the quicker you will reach your goal amount and all will be worth it.

Paris & Chanel bag blog post - http://ellietaylorx.blogspot.com/2016/06/my-first-chanel-bag-paris-trip.html (I'm selling this bag, if you are interested email me on makeupbyelliex@gmail.com or direct message me on my Instagram @ellietaylorrxx) 

BEAUTY - 2018 Beauty Favourites.

Its 2019 and that means its time to do a rundown on all the beauty products I was loving throughout 2018. 
First off I'm going to start with hair products, I've never really been one to do much with my hair but I had my hair done back in October (Balayage) and I really wanted to start doing more with my hair. I'd just got a new job and I wanted to do more than just chucking it up into a ponytail when my hair had gotten too greasy to wear down.
Hair favourites...

Ouai Haircare Texturizing Hair Spray.
The start of my Ouai Haircare obsession. I had my hair wavy in work and I needed something to give it some oomph, so I wondered over to the hair section, randomly picked that product up and boom. Obsessed. It gives the most amazing texture to your hair, I cant really explain it but it made me feel fabulous. Thus the obsession started...

Ouai Haircare Leave in Conditioner/Smooth Spray.
I got the 'On My Ouai' Kit which included a mini Texturizing Hair Spray, mini Dry Shampoo, mini Smooth Spray and three sachets of the Treatment mask (not to mention it all came in a cute little clear bag). My hair is naturally very knotty & thick so brushing my hair wet can be a painful process (not a 2018 discovery but my favourite hairbrush is the WETBRUSH, amazing!) it says spray on before you brush your hair (I did everything as instructed on the back of the products) then I would leave it for a couple of minuets then brush my hair with zero pain or knots, not to mention once my hair has been dried my hair feels i n c r e d i b l e. So silky & smooth.

Dyson Supersonic Hairdryer.
Now, this was a very last minuet favourite as I got this as a complete surprise Christmas present, but I cant not mention this. its crazy money I know but its worth it in my eyes. I have very poofy hair so once I'd dried my hair I would always have to straighten it. This hairdryer smooth's your hair why drying it, my hair feels in amazing condition its less frizzy and I just love it.

That's it for hair products for now but I do intend on doing a review on all the Ouai products I have, also if you have any hair must haves/fave's let me know! On to makeup...

Huda Beauty Faux Filter Foundation.
I think I actually found this at the back end of 2017 but I cant remember if I've mention it. this is the ONE. The coverage is so full (which I personally love) and its so long lasting. I have such oily skin and this foundation is just perfect, plus you don't need a lot to do your full face and because its so full it takes like one minuet with my beauty blender to do my whole face!

MAC Dark Golden Mineralize Skinfinish.
This was a firm favourite of every Mac girl & boy I worked with. The perfect bronzer shade, not to red or orange, like it says in the name, golden. There's no shimmer in this, though when you first look at it you will see something but it gives off the most gorgeous natural matte finish (almost satin, another favourite bronzer of mine is the Hourglass Ambient Bronzer in Luminous Bronze Light, its not as satin finish as that, its more matte, similar vibe).

MAC Hushed Tone Extra Dimension Blush.
Yes, your reading that right. If you know me my favourite blush by mac was Margin, which I still love but Hushed Tone stole my top spot. Very similar blushes just slightly darker than Margin. some days I would look at my face and think something is missing, and when I put this on my cheeks for the first time, I never looked back. Extra Dimension Blushes from mac are stunning, they give the most amazing glow.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Amrezy Highlighter.
ABH has always been amazing at creating highlighters (does anyone remember So Hollywood? dreamy). So when this came out I knew I had to have it! It's such a beautiful gold shade which works on so many skin tones. I'm fair and it doesn't give that gold/brown stripe on my cheekbone when I'm not facing any light.

MAC Brushstroke Liner.
2018 I went back to being a winged liner gal, after not wearing a wing for 2 years, I fell back in love with the shape and how it made my eyes look. i love the tip on this pen its very thin and super black.

ABH Caramel Eyeshadow.
My favourite eyeshadow brand. My go to used to be Burnt Orange, now its Caramel. There's not a huge difference between them other than Caramel is a little bit more neutral and a tiny bit darker. I created a huge hole in it in 2018. I'd also like to try Birkin eyeshadow from the brand next.

Tom Ford Naked Bronze Cream & Powder Eye Colour.
I had this for a really long time before I started loving it. Id bought it back in 2017 and tried it and not liked it and left it alone for a long time, when I finally picked it up again and it became probably one of my most used items along with ABH Caramel, that's just how I would use it, Caramel in the crease, the cream then powder duo, done.

Lilly Lashes ASH_KHOLM.
I said goodbye to my Lilly Lashes in the style Ella (not a forever goodbye I still wear them they just aren't my number one lashes any more). They are so soft and pretty and fluffy, I just love them and I've had several new pairs throughout the year. Lilly Lashes are my FAVOURITE lashes EVER. My favourite lash glue is from Eldora.

Clarins Hydra-Essential Lip Balm.
My love, My life saver, My most used lip product of 2018! Some days I would put lip liner on then this over, its glossy so it was perfect! glossy & moisturized lips! This comes with me on every holiday I go on. I discovered this the back end of 2017 but only actually purchased it in the airport going on my first little holiday to Iceland in 2018. I'm intending on getting another tube the next time I'm at the airport.

I think that's all I have. I'm very much a creature of habit so when I find a product I love I stick to it. So most of what I use has actually been the same for a long time, I just switch out a product here and there. If you have any ideas on blog posts for me please do let me know. I'm always asking over on my Instagram @ellietaylorrxx. So if you have any ideas please let me know through there or leave a comment!
X

BEAUTY - Morphe X Jaclyn Hill.

When I saw that Jaclyn was launching a brush set with Morphe I was glad I had saved some of my wage to get them! The beautiful white and silver brushes and the silver glitter brush case, dreamy! I was refreshing the website and the minuet they launched I headed

straight for The Master Collection, the 24 piece brush set with the gorgeous brush case. There were some brushes in the set I knew I wasn't going to use, nevertheless the price for 24 brushes and a case was amazing and a chance to try some brushes I might never pick up.  The Master Collection is £160 (£144 with any of the 10% off discount codes beauty influencers have. I used Jaclyn's code JACATTACK) it's a £264 value, that's a £104 saving! And it works out around £6.60 a brush! If you didn't want the Master Collection there are two other sets available. The Eye Master Collection (£42) - 8 eye brushes and bag, and The Face Master Collection (£55)- 5 face brushes and bag. The Master Collection includes both of the Eye & Face Master sets and an additional 11 brushes. All the brushes are also sold separately on the Morphe website. I knew I would probably order a few on the single brushes but wanted to wait to have a play with the set so I could find out which brushes I loved and needed doubles of (I say need but it's more a want, plus I like to have several of the same brush). 

What's included in The Master Collection? 
(If it's in the Eye Master Collection I will mark with an E and for the Face Master Collection an F).
JH01- Power Brush (synthetic) 
JH02- Bronzer Brush (natural) F
JH03- Ride-or-Die Foundation Brush (synthetic) F
JH04- Blush Brush (synthetic) F
JH05- Perfect Contour Brush (natural)
JH06- My Everything Brush (natural)
JH07- Under-Eye Power Brush (synthetic) F
JH08- Anything Creamy Brush (synthetic)
JH09- Glow Baby Glow Brush (natural) F
JH10- Snatch Your Edges Brush (synthetic)
JH30- Beast Mode Blender Brush (natural) E
JH31- Fluffy Blender Brush (natural) 
JH32- Transition Blender Brush (natural) E
JH33- Universal Blender Brush (natural) E
JH34- Carve Your Crease Brush (natural)
JH35- Upper Crease Brush (natural)
JH36- Eye Buffer Brush (natural)
JH37- Buffer Blender Brush (natural)
JH38- Perfect Pencil Brush (natural)
JH39- Inner Corner Highlight Brush (synthetic) E
JH40- Precise Blender Brush (natural) E
JH41- All Over Lid Brush (blend of natural & synthetic) E
JH42- Brow Bone Highlight Brush (natural) E
JH43- Eyeliner Smudge Brush (synthetic) E
Master Case.

I now really appreciate natural hair brushes since Mac changed all there brushes to synthetic. With certain brushes synthetic is fine but with blending brushes it makes them so much harder to blend with/work with. I will only ever use natural hair blending brushes, gives a flawless blend. 

The set includes quite a few blending brushes which I love because I use so many. I do think there are a few brushes missing. There's no angled brush in the set or eyeliner brush, which i'm not fussed about but it would have been nice to have. Even though I said it includes a lot of blending brushes I wish there were a few smaller blender brushes in the set as they are mainly longer/crease brushes, that is me being picky though. There are only two brushes I haven't used (JH01 & JH10) which I expected not to use a lot of the face brushes, but I've had a play with them and the brush i'm most shocked about loving is the JH02 Bronzer Brush. I don't usually use a brush that big for my bronzer but I absolutely love it! 
I'd had my set for only a few days and I knew I was going to order a few doubles. I started just by ordering 3 but there are more brushes I'd like extras of. The 3 brushes I doubled up on we're the JH39- Inner Corner Highlight brush, I would usually use a different shaped brush for my inner corner but when I tried this I love how precise it was. The JH42- Brow Bone Highlight brush, I have so many brushes just like this and I use them for all different things so i can never have too many. Lastly the JH43- Eyeliner Smudge brush, I'd never had a brush like this before. I'd seen lots of people using brushes this shape it was just a brush I wasn't fussed about but when I use it I knew I needed an extra for another use, I love it. 

Along side ordering the three extra brushes I thought I'd give the Jaclyn Hill palette a try also by Morphe. I'd heard so many things about this palette and I was late to the party 100%. I really love the palette, it was the only eyeshadow palette I used on my holiday and I've used it everyday I've done my makeup since purchasing it. It's £37 for 35 eyeshadows! (£33.30 if you use a discount code). The eyeshadow pans are around the same size as a mac palette eyeshadow refill, and they are probably more pigmented and easier to blend! The mattes are amazingly pigmented and beautiful to blend the shimmers are stunning without wetting your brush with Fix +. I would recommend it to everyone, makeup artist or for personal use, it's made me want to try more of the Morphe palettes and I'd also love to try Jaclyn's Vault collection also! 

Overall i'm so impressed with everything, the quality of the brushes, how they look, the palette and how pigmented it is. I'm defiantly going to be purchasing some more of the single brushes to add to my collection! And Morphe have a UK site now with free delivery when you spend over £20! 
I hope you have found this post useful if you were thinking of getting any of the brushes. I would recommend giving the brushes a quick clean before using them to ‘puff’ them out a little and get them to their true shape! If there's anything else you would like me to review please leave a comment on this blog post or comment under the picture of this post on my Instagram (@ellietaylorrxx) and I can hopefully get around to doing that! 
X

TRAVEL - Italy. Venice, Verona & Milan.

If you have Italy on your list of travel destinations next year this blog post is the one for you. A little late (I went to Italy in July) but better late than never. We were in Italy for four days in total, this post will tell you all the sights to see and day trips also! Italy has so many beautiful places and things to see, I'd love to see more of this beautiful country. 

Our first stop was Venice. We were in Venice for 2 nights, one full day and just under a full day (we got to our hotel around 1/1.30). From the airport we had booked a water taxi (we pre booked this. As when I go away one of my many stresses is getting from the airport to the hotel, we've been burnt before and now it's a thing I see as a must do). There is a bus you can take from the airport into Venice, we did this on the way home, but it's really something beautiful seeing Venice for the first time from the water going down all the beautiful side streets. 
Our hotel was a less than five minute walk to the Rialto Bridge. This was my second favourite sight in Venice. Around Rialto bridge there's lots of restaurants, we didn't find the food prices expensive. We had a pizza & fries facing the bridge and it came to around €15 that's with drinks. 
What is there to see in Venice... 
I'm obsessed with seeing all the sights a place has to see and if I miss one I'd be desperate to go back (this happened in Rome, when using Google maps abroad would brake the bank). So I make a list of all the sights I want to see and tick them off as we go along. I spend a lot of time checking maps and making the list in order of where they are so we aren't walking to and from different areas. My FAVOURITE app is Visit a City, this app is a god send for travel lovers, type the place in, click sights and you have everything your destination has to offer! There was one thing I wanted to see that wasn't on the app, but i'm going to list everything you need to see when in Venice.

Piazza San Marco. 
St. Marks Square, dating back to the 12th century!

Basilica di San Marco.
Venice's most famous church, this you will find in St. Marks Square.

Campanile di San Marco. 
9th Century bell tower part of the Basilica di San Marco. 

Torre dell'Orologio. 
The clock tower on St. Marks Square. It's very beautiful.

Palazzo Ducale. 
The Doge's Palace. This was once home to the rulers of Venice. This building is so beautiful! It was also a prison which leads on to the next sight..

Ponte dei Sospiri. 
The bridge of sighs. The beautiful bridge connects the Doge's Palace to the old prison. So convicts could go straight to their prison cell from being sentenced. It's said to be called the Bridge of Sighs because the prisoners who crossed the bridge 'sighed' as they had their last look at the free world through the windows before going to their cell. 

Ponte di Rialto. 
The most beautiful & most famous of the 4 bridges that cross the Grand Canal. 

Santa Maria della Salute. 
This is a beautiful church. We found it quite hard to get to as its on the other side of the canal and to view it from across the water you would have to go into the gorgeous (very expensive) hotels. We crossed the canal at Accademia bridge and google mapped it. 

Scala Contarini del Bovolo. 
My favourite sight in Venice. It's so beautiful and not as crowded as everywhere else, walking to it you will feel like you are in the wrong place but just follow your google maps and you will not be disappointed. You can also go to the top for a pretty view over Venice. There was probably only 5-6 people there when we visited. 

There is obviously more to see in Venice these are just the most popular sights, the streets are a sight themselves with gondolas all over. We pretty much did all the sights on our first afternoon because on our second day we were doing a day trip to Burano. If you've not heard of Burano it's a beautiful island known for its brightly painted houses. It's stunning, you can't stay on the island. To get there you can do a day trip which you usually would go to Murano & Torcello. We decided to make our own way there by the water bus. We walked to Fondamente Nove and caught the boat there . It probably took around 30/40 minutes, but it doesn't feel that long as you get to see Venice and so many other beautiful things on the way over. Can't remember exactly how much tickets are for the water bus, maybe around €6. But it's so worth going and exploring it's tiny streets and seeing the houses you've seen on Instagram. 

Our next two days of our trip were in Verona. We caught the train for Venice into Verona which took around an hour and a half. Again we booked our train in advance because we were staying in Verona for two nights. 
We arrived in Verona around 1pm then headed straight out with my check list of sights Verona is most famous for Shakespeare's classic Romeo & Juliet. One of the main reasons I wanted to visit Verona is the film Letters to Juliet.
There's not an awful lot to see in Verona as it is quite small but it's so beautiful...

Casa do Giuletta. 
Juliet's house, where the entrance is full of letters to Juliet and the courtyard was so full with people taking their picture with the bronze statue of Juliet and on the famous balcony looking over into the courtyard. 

Arena di Verona. 
A 30AD arena. The arena is still used to this day for opera!

CastlVecchio Bridge. 
This was constructed in 1354. 

Piazza delle Erbe. 
A gorgeous market square dating back to the ancient roman era. 

Torre dei Lamberti. 
Piazza delle Erbe's 1172 bell tower. 

Arco dei Gavi. 
A triumphal arch from the first century. 

Verona Cathedral. 

Arche Scaligeri. 

5 Scaligeri family gothic burial monuments. The 14th century rulers. 

Piazzale Castel San Pietro. 

The beautiful Verona view point. Such amazing views over Verona. 

While we were at the viewpoint and had checked the final Verona sight off our list, we were thinking what are we going to do with our full day in Verona the day after when we had done everything within a few hours. We decided that we would go back to everything, if you can go in it then we will go in. We then heard someone saying they were on a day trip from Venice, so when we got back to our room we decided to see where was around 2 hours away on the train and that is how we stumbled on to our day trip to Milan. 

I had always wanted to go to Milan but I knew there wasn't a lot to see there and if we were ever going to go it would be a stop off on our next Italian adventure. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to go and see a city i'd always wanted to visit. So we woke up the day after walked to the train station and booked the train to Milan (1 and a half hour going with the €25 tickets and 2 hours coming home with the €12.50 tickets). We had to book a time to come back to Verona so we only had 3 hours in Milan! We got to Milan train station went to the metro and got off at the Duomo stop and there it was the INCREDIBLE... 
Milan Cathedral. 
Honestly one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen. Its just stunning. You can go inside and up it but with our strict 3 hour schedule the outside we just enough. (I probably took around 100 pictures of this cathedral). I would say its in my top 3 of the most amazing sights I've ever seen.

Piazza del Duomo. 
This is the main square site of the Duomo and other historic buildings. 

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. 
A beautiful shopping mall. Pretty much every designer boutique and fabulous restaurants. 

Castello Sforzesco. 
A huge medieval-renaissance fortress. 

Porta Sempione. 
Triumphal arch within Parco Sempione. 

Im glad we did Milan on a day trip because there was not a lot to do. Im sure if we had a full day or one night we would have been fine and there are some amazing bars/restaurants that look onto the cathedral, I would have loved to have gone to one of them and watched the sun set over the Duomo. Im not sure I would recommend going for a full city break but I would 100% recommend going on a day trip, maybe giving yourself more than 3 hours so you can relax in the gorgeous bars facing the Duomo. In our three hours we wanted the check off the main sites so that's what we paid attention to. We managed to do everything in 2 hours which gave us time for lunch. NOW if your going to day trip I would recommend booking the tickets that were around €25 because the €12.50 train journey home was a packed full train with no aircon and it was a longer journey home, not to mention the temperature was 30 degrees! The train going was fast, air-coned, you were assigned a seat so it wasn't over packed. But we were on a budget because the trip was so last minuet!

I hope this blog post gave you some travel inspo and if your going to any of the places I had been to it gave you a nice easy itinerary! My MUST SEE spot is 1000% the Scala Contarini del Bovolo. I know people say its hard to find but that's why its a gem! I'm so happy I stumbled across a picture of it on Pintrest, otherwise i'd have never known of it. I love Italy and I can't wait to explore more of it!

Ciao for now Italia.

TRAVEL - First Trip of 2018. Reykjavik, Iceland.

I don't know about you but I get really nervous before I go away.
I'll worry about everything that can be worried about, and i'm a really nervous flyer. Yes, I am the person at airport security that takes everything off that I can. I would walk through in my underwear if I could. Then I like to have a little walk around the shops, buy myself a few magazines (which I usually don't read until i'm back home!) always buy way more snacks than needed so we have a few things in the hotel room for when I get peckish. 
I have a few trips this year and the first of them is REYKJAVIK, ICELAND. 

This trip was a very packed two days. Flying on 20th March, coming home on 22nd March. Now we don't mind a ram packed trip. We love to see everything the place has to offer. I like to take as many pictures as possible. There's nothing worse than going somewhere and not seeing all the sights it has to offer (trust me i'm still desperate to go back to a few places just to see one or two things we didn't come across). 
Iceland is a very small place. We stayed in Downtown Reykjavik, everything was a 5-10 min walk away. To read about where we stayed, what we saw and where we ate keep reading!



Where we stayed - Centric Guesthouse.
It is just a room. Very basic. But we knew we wouldn't be in the room much. It's the first time I've stayed somewhere where the bathroom was not in the same room, now for me I would rather stay in a hotel, but Reykjavik is know for being really expensive. We literally landed put our stuff in the room and went out, came back for a nap then went to find something to eat. The next morning we were picked up at 7 and didn't get back to the room until 8pm, went for food, went to sleep and we were out again for 6.30am to go to the airport so we didn't need to spend lots on a hotel room because we knew we wouldn't be in it. The location was really good though! We were so close to the main sights, each was around a 5 minute walk from our room! 

Things to do.

The first thing we went to see was the Hallgrímskirja. A beautiful church, built in 1945 and was completed in 1986,  with a 73 meter high steeple tower! You can go up to the top if you want to see the city from the sky! We didn't go up but it's beautiful to look at! We also went back at night and we could hear the choir singing inside! 

The next was the Sun Voyger. It's a steel sculpture of a Viking ship.  It was built to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the city in 1990. It's a lot bigger than I expected. We sat on a bench looking out to the sea by the Voyger! The sea is a beautiful colour and is so peaceful. 

Then we saw the Harpa Concert Hall. It's such a pretty building. We didn't get any sun but even without it the glass reflected beautiful shades of blue and purple! Construction on this building started in 2007 and was completed in 2011. 
The day after, our first stop was the Blue Lagoon. This place is beautiful. The walk up is
amazing the path leading to the main building is between natural black lava formations! The lava around the lagoon is said to be 800 years old! You walk in and you get a wristband which will open your locker, you purchase your drinks from the lagoon bar or them (you get your first drink for free) and if you eat in the cafe they scan your wristband and then at the end you would just pay for what you have had! This means you don't have to be walking in and out of the locker room/changing room. We was on the early tour so we got there when the lagoon opened so it was empty when we got in! It's a very strange experience! We obviously went in cold weather so you were in your swimwear in freezing temperatures and when you get in the water it's like being in a super warm bath outside surrounded by lava! It's definitely a must do when visiting Reykjavik. 

After the blue lagoon we got on our bus back to the bus station and had an hour wait until our Golden Circle tour. We did the express tour which was 6 hours long! on this tour we saw Þingvellir National Park where you can walk in between the European and North American tectonic plates and is full of beautiful views! Then we saw the beautiful Gullfoss 
Waterfall. This is such an amazing sight! Then lastly the Geysir hot spring area where the famous Strokkur erupts every few minutes and shoots hot water up to 20-40 meters into the air! The area is full of bubbling geysers, mud pits and hot springs.

Then there's the other obvious thing to do when visiting Iceland but the most difficult one which is to attempt to see the Northern Lights. We weren't lucky enough to see them unfortunately but it's not an easy thing to see. You have to have good skies and when we were there we had heavy and thick clouds. We did check the aroura forecast for days before we went and it looked like we had a chance to see them (we didn't have enough time to do a tour so we researched places where we could go ourselves) but unfortunately the weather was not in our favour and we didn't get to see them! We actually didn't go to see the lights though so we weren't too disappointed but once we were there we obviously wanted to see them! It's definitely on my list of things to see though! (Excuse to go on more trips to Norway or Finland).

Now I would strongly recommend booking a transfer to get you from the airport and back to the airport as its a very long way out! We booked our transfers and our Blue Lagoon & Golden Circle tour through a company called Gray Line. They were always on time! They offer lots of tours so I recommend you checking them out before you go! 

Now let's talk money! Everyone told us that it is expensive! I changed £114 and I got 15,000 Icelandic Króna (will vary on the rates) . Now I will say I didn't spend all my money (until we got to the airport and what I had left I tried to get rid of). If you drink you will definitely need more! We didn't find it overly expensive but we looked around to find restaurants! Your looking at a pizza being around 2,000 cheaper end, there is a good choice of places to eat, but like I said we had a look around at menus before we went out for food. We ate in the same restaurant both nights. It wasn't ovearly priced and the food was very good! On my first night I had a pizza the second night I had mozzarella dippers which both were very yummy! The place was called Kebabhúid. If you are going to Reykjavik I would definitely recommend it! Plus it was again around a 5 minute walk from our room! 

So that's a round up of my recent trip to Reykjavik! Iceland is a very beautiful place. If you are thinking of going I would definitely recommend it. Everything I've mentioned in this post I would go to see! If you have anymore questions feel free to leave a comment! 
I also hope you enjoyed my first travel post! If you think of any ways I can improve or you think of a section i'm missing and can improve on let me know! 

X 

Instagram- @ellietaylorrxx
Email- makeupbyelliex@gmail.com

TRAVEL - Whats In My Travel Bag - City Break Edition!

This post is about what I have in my travel bag. This is the only bag I will take on the trip with me! So it needs to be a good decision and go with everything i'm going to be wearing. (Usually I go on colder city breaks so you can't see my outfits at all, but it needs to make my coat look stylish!).

Copenhagen 2017. 

Bag of choice: Celine Nano Luggage. 

Reasons: small but mighty, fits more that expected and is durable. 

I purchased this bag last October and since then it's been on all of my city breaks with me. Riga, Edinburgh, Kraków, Copenhagen and most recently Reykjavik. 
It's such a good bag and there is much more room than you would expect. When I buy a bag I do lots of research and that was a fact that popped up every time. It fits in what you need. (If your a bag stuffer like the old me you might need something a little bigger). 


In the bag I have...

My passport and all other important travel items. (I keep them all in a clear travel bag they give you at the airport and I keep my travel insurance papers, my European health insurance card and then I will put my boarding pass in there so when i'm walking around the airport it's all together)  

My purse (wallet). Which is a full size purse! If I used a smaller purse or coin purse there would be even more room! I do have a card holder but when I go away I obviously take cash of the currency of the place Im visiting.

I always have bobbles (hair ties) because my hair always gets in the way so I like to have the option of getting it off my face if it becomes to annoying. 

Lip balm. I have learnt my lesson on previous city breaks! I always get dry lips and now I have lip balm with me wherever I go, but I find it such a must when I go travelling as the plane and the cold weather make them extra dry! My personal favourite is the Clarins lip balm. It's amazing! 

Headphones. For obvious reasons. I usually listen to music the whole flight if  there isn't TVs on the plane. (Which I have just realised I will have to take my adapter on flights now since I got the iPhone 8 as it's not got a normal earphone plug!) 

Phone charger. If my phone ever gets to even 50% I go into panic mode! Plus if you ever get delayed its good to have with you in case you need to top your charge up.

That's mainly it. That's what I would have with me when I go to the airport. When I get to the destination I would take a few items out that I don't need. If it's too full I will only panic if I can't see my passport so I try to keep it organised, everything has its place. And a plus for this bag is it has a zip closure so nothing falls out and people can't get in! With it being a small bag it also doesn't take up much leg room under the seat so you don't have to be uncomfortable on the flight with a bag taking up that precious leg room! (Because if your like me I don't really like putting things in the over head compartments unless it's my hand luggage case. I like to have all of my things by me!)

This post is kinda a little review of this bag also! This is my second most used handbag (behind my Louis Vuitton Neverfull, if you would like a review on that bag just let me know!) it was my first smaller bag as I was always a big bag person which has definitely changed, this bag fits even more in it than what I listed above, that's just the items I put in when i'm going away. The pebbled leather makes it really durable from scratches, so if your someone that worries about your bags, if you can get a textured leather so you don't have to worry as much! This bag has seen all weather conditions! In Kraków it poured down to the point I could have probably rung the bag out! (I know your not meant to get leather that wet so it was a little worry of mine but there's no problem at all with the bag!)
Overall I really love this bag for when i'm travelling and when i'm not! If you were thinking about this bag I would definitely go for it (especially since the price goes up every few months to a year!). 

My next post will be about my recent trip to Reykjavik, Iceland! All about what there is to see, where we stayed, how much money I took, if we found it expensive and all that good stuff so if you have any questions about the trip please send me your questions! 

X 

Instagram - @ellietaylorrxx
Email - makeupbyelliex@gmail.com 

FASHION - Entry Level Designer Bags!

If you are wanting to get into the designer bag game and are buying your first bag but don't want to spend too much money on one bag, here are 18 of my top pics for under £1000. 
There are 9 in the £500-£800 category and 9 in the £810-£1000 category. There are obviously more than 18 bags and there are some brands that have bags under £500 these are just a few of the bags I would pick from the top brands which I think are great prices for the designer. 

£500-£800

- Mulberry Darley Small Textured Leather Shoulder Bag £550.
This bag is a great size and sold in lots of colours, the size up isn't too much more if you were wanting a bigger bag. 
- Saint Laurent Shopper Leather Tote £685. 
I love this bag and I do consider purchasing this bag but it is too similar to my Louis Vuitton Neverfull (which is also under £1000! Bonus bag there!). It comes in so many colours!
- Prada Textured Leather Shoulder Bag £700.
Another bag which comes in lots of colours, perfect for going on holiday, or someone who doesn't carry lots around! 
- Gucci Marmont Mini Quilted Shoulder Bag £715.
For Gucci this is an amazing price I just recently just went looking at this bag and last minute changed my mind to another bag in this category. Available in so many colours and is a really beautiful bag. 
- Valentino The Rockstud Leather Shoulder Bag £740.
A bag that is on my wish list and has been for a while as I have some Valentino heels that this bag would match, again comes in so many colours. 
- Prada Quilted Leather Camera Bag £765. 
Quite a new bag I think but this bag is so pretty. I love the silver chain. 
- Saint Laurent Monogram Leather Shoulder Bag £770.
This bag is on my wish list also. I think I want it in white.. I also love the burgundy colour on the picture! 
- Givenchy Mini Pandora Bag (washed leather) £790. 
A last minute entry to this post as I was searching through my favourite designers and saw this. I love givenchy, the first handbag I bought myself was the Givenchy Antigona!
- Gucci Soho Disco Bag £805.
£5 over the £800 mark but this bag is a classic. I purchased this bag just yesterday in the red leather! I can't wait to start using it. Such a great price and a beautiful bag!  


£810-£1000

- Saint Laurent Lou Lou Quilted Leather Shoulder Bag £815. 
Another bag I've been loving recently! They have this in so many colours and also black velvet which i'm loving and have my eye on!
- Valentino Rockstud Small Leather Shoulder Bag £830. 
A bag I own and I love! I have it in nude and it's such a beautiful bag. It's like a piece of jewellery because the cross body strap is covered in the gold studs! Love this bag. 
- Saint Laurent Lou Medium Leather Shoulder Bag £850. 
Pretty sure this is a new style bag for YSL as I've only seen it in the past couple of months. It also comes in a smaller style and can get it with the YSL stitched into the bag. 
- Balenciaga Classic Reporter Grained Leather Crossbody Bag £855. 
If you like the classic Balenciaga bags but don't want to spend over £1000 for it this is perfect for you! Same look but different!
- Gucci Marmont Small Leather Shoulder Bag £885. 
This is just the size bigger that the Gucci Marmont mentioned in the other category. The mini is quite small and the cross body strap isn't adjustable! So if you want something a little bigger this is for you. 
- Jimmy Choo Lockett Petite Leather Shoulder Bag £904. 
This bag comes in a size smaller and also bigger (I think). I love this bag it's to chic. And it comes in different materials and colours! 
- Dolce & Gabanna Sicily Small Embellished Textured Leather Tote £925. 
Such a classy bag, comes in other colours, this one the top handle is embellished you can also get the handle plain. 
- Chloe Faye Small Suede & Leather Shoulder Bag £930.
Dare I say it but i'm not a huge fan of the Chloe Faye bags, it comes in a smaller size which is just over £500. I included this bag because I know people are obsessed with Chloe Faye bags. 
- JW Anderson Pierce Mini Leather Bag £975. 
When I first saw this bag and the size up I really didn't like it but the more I look at it I like it (the mini).

There we have it! There are obviously more bags that fit this criteria there are also brand that have bags for £200 + just depends on your personal preference and some people may also prefer their first designer handbag to be an investment piece or just a bag they love the look of! If you would like another post on bags to make money on write a comment down below of if you have any other ideas also let me know! 

Instagram- @ellietaylorrxx