Welcome to the place where I talk about my life, my likes and all things beauty

Blogs shouldn't all be about "sorry I've been so bad at posting", because that's boring, nobody wants to read that, so let's jump right in.

Since my last post (way way back), my life in terms of my writing career has changed A LOT. And this website needs to reflect that. Back then I was a journalism student with a beauty blog, a dream of being a well-known journalism and absolutely no clue how to get there. A year and a half on, I'm still a journalism student with a beauty blog and a dream of being a well known journalist, but I have a much better idea of how I'm gonna make that dream a reality.

In the year and a bit that's passed since my last post, I've worked with the likes of BBC Radio, ITV News, The Sun, Vice, The Trinity Mirror Group, Mercury, S4C and more. I was made Editor of The Tab Cardiff in April last year, and I'm now heading into my second year in the position. I can honestly say that joining The Tab family has been the best thing I've done since starting university, and it's helped me in ways I never thought possible. I've picked up so many skills that I haven't yet (and probably won't) on my course, and I've gone from considering myself as a "journalism student" to a journalist.

This blog is from now on, gonna be a little outlet for the things I wanna write about which aren't exactly materials for the masses. From life updates, rants about things that piss me off, hauls, makeup tutorials to reviews; there could be anything on here. For once, I'm not writing something for the traffic, I'll just be writing it for me, and for those who have requested certain beauty-related things. This is your spot.

This is The Beauty Bay 2.0: maredparry.com

For those of you who don't know; this blog used to be called 'The Beauty Bay'- I'd had it for a while and even bought the domain "thebeautybay.co.uk", but the online cosmetics shop "beautybay.com" threatened to sue me, which was nice (thanks for that, legitimately made me shit my pants that day, well played.) I wanted to be bitter and never buy off them again after the fuss they'd kicked up over a 19-year-old's blog THAT NO ONE EVEN READ, but I love Beauty Bay, and the stock Jeffree Starr, so I've ended up crawling back to use their services anyway.

That's it for this first post, it's just the introduction for what's coming soon..

14 things the first term at uni taught me

The first term of being a fresher is officially over, and we've all learnt a lot... Uni is in many ways exactly what I expected it to be, and so different from my expectations too. Here are some things I've found to be true so far..

1. You will go into your overdraft

2. You will probably lose all motivation to go to lectures, especially if your lecturers are anything like mine and upload every single lecture, including a voice recording. (What exactly is supposed to be our motivation when we can listen to it all in bed?)

3. You'll buy a gym membership and vow to live healthily but will live off turkey dinosaurs and visit that gym once despite still paying the fee every month and getting weekly "we miss you" e-mails

4. You will get too comfortable with your flatmates very very quickly. These friendships will know no bounds. These people will have seen you at the lowest of the low and will love you for it/in spite of it

5. Your sleeping pattern will flip. Nocturnal is definitely a thing. 10am bedtimes after a coca-cola/vodka fuelled netflix binge.. That's a thing.

6. You will hear the word "chunder" at least 42 times a night, and WILL teach yourself to tactical chunder if you didn't know how to already, it's a valued skill, especially on your CV

7. Pre's are usually a bigger event than the actual night out

8. McDonalds at 3am will become normal, and the staff will eventually begin to recognise you

9. Early morning/mid day drinking - acceptable

10. It's normal to do the "have you done this weeks reading?" Before every seminar. And for most to say no along with you. Always a nice satisfaction in knowing your course mates are just as shit as you.

11. It's also normal to feel smug asf when you've actually done it for once

12. Bullshitting for essays, a given

13. All nighter for essays, a given

14. Harvard referencing will become the bane of your entire existence.

Recent Beauty Purchases

Christmas has now been and gone, and as much as I love the festivities (the food), there's nothing better than the Boxing day/January sales for some cheeky purchases! 

I've been a massive perfume junkie the past few months and treated myself to the odd fragrance or 5.  The most recent ones are as listed;

Narciso Rodriguez - For Her

Roberti Cavalli - Paradiso

Givenchy - Dahlia Divin 

This beautiful Givenchy EDP has to be my favourite out of the three, and it's also the most impulsive purchase. I was looking around Boots for something to spend my Christmas vouchers on, I picked up the first random bottle I saw, smelt it, and absolutely LOVED IT! I bought it straight away, and definitely don't regret it! The 30ml which I have was £45 which is very expensive in my opinion, but still; worth it! 9/10

I also needed to repurchase some long time favorites, so I got myself a small Benefit gift set for around £24.99 that included;

A full size "Pore-fessional" primer

A mini "That Gal" primer

And a mini "It's Potent" eye cream.

I've been using these three Benefit products for well over two years now, and always seem to re-purchase. I've tried a fair amount of both high-end and highstreet primers, and in my opinion, nothing comes close to the Pore-fessional, it's amazing!

As you can see in the photo, I also grabbed myself Urban Decay's Perversion mascara, which is a recent  favourite of mine! I received a small sample of the mascara back in September, and having recently finished the sample tube, I decided to purchase the medium sized mascara (£8). I tend to use this one first on my lashes for volume and intensity, followed by my trusty Volum' Express by Maybelline to lengthen. 

Another beauty buy I got over the Christmas period is this "Fast Self Tanning Mouse" by St Moriz

St Moriz is the only self tan brand I've ever bought, I remeber buying the "spray on tan" by them around 5 years ago because my cousin recommended I get it. They were pretty bad back then,the typical biscuity smell was very strong and the tan was slighty.. Well, orange. But I stayed true to the brand and decided to move to using the mousse instead. This "Fast Tan" they have is new, and seeing as I only had the "Instant Tan" version, I decided to pick this one up too (after a recommendation from my flatmate- hi Ella!!) and my oh myyy! I love it! The smell is divine in comparison to the others, and it goes on and develops beautifully. You put it on with a mitt and wait from 1-3 hours (depending on how dark you want to go) before showering it off. I faked tanned myself 5 days ago and the tan is still slightly here, with no patchiness! 8/10

My student loan is due to come in January, so I'll be buying a few more beauty bits to show you soon!

MAC False Lashes Extreme Black Mascara First Impression/Review

Anyone that knows me fairly well will know that I have always been 100% sure that I found my mascara soulmate in the form of Maybelline's Falsies Volum' Express. So when MAC were awesome enough to send me a sample of their False Lashes Extreme Black Mascara to try out, I was more than willing to give it a shot, and was excited to see if it could come anywhere near to being on par to my trusty holy grail mascara.

I came home from work today to a great surprise - MAC had sent me a mini version of their False Lashes Extreme Black Mascara. Everything about the package was so typically MAC - the glossy envelope, the cute notecard - it made we wanna buy the full sized tube before even trying it out! The tube is absolutely tiny, but the actual brush is a normal sized one, which is great as I got to know exactly how the mascara would work on my eyelashes.

So the purpose of these ugly asf pictures of my eyes are to show you what my eyelashes are like without any mascara, and as you can see - I'm not genetically blessed in this area, I have tiny lashes, and they have no curl in them at all. I also have to dye them to get them this colour as they're normally much lighter. So you know this post will be honest - as now you've seen how horrendous my natural eyelashes are.

                                                   

This is what my eyelashes look like with my normal mascara on - Maybelline's Falsies Volum' Express. I love love love this mascara so much, and I feel as though it works wonders on me. It's all about the length of my lashes - and it does make them long and falsh-lash looking (I often have people ask me if I'm wearing some!)

So this is what one eye looks like with the MAC False Lashes Extreme Black Mascara on in comparison to its Maybelline competitor. The left side is MAC (your left) and the right is Maybelline. This is only after one coat, and I could instantly see the that the main difference between them was MAC's intensity of colour compared to Maybelline. It shows in the photo that the mascara is definitely 'extreme black' as it claims to be, and it definitely outshines Maybelline in that aspect. It isn't as clear in the photo above as it was in real life, but the length of my lashes were pretty similar here, it's just that the intensity of MAC's colour makes it seem a lot more obvious. 

                                                    

                                                    

Aaaand the second/final coat. It's fair to say that MAC definitely looks amazing compared to Maybelline - the eyelashes look so much darker and longer! I have to give it to MAC - This really is extreme black, my eyelashes look amazing! The only downside to it from my point of view is that it's quite a runny consistency compared to the majority of mascaras, making application a bit harder and lengthier. But if you've got the time and patience to apply and build it up - the I'd definitely recommend investing! I know I'll be!

Beauty Favorites Pt 1 - Makeup

So my first proper blog post. I've decided to go with an easy one - my beauty favorites.
I'm splitting my beauty favorites into separate blog posts, as it would be waaaay too long if I put them all in one - I have too many favorites! I'm gonna start off with makeup. Enjoy!

GOSH - Classic Velvet Touch Foundation Primer RRP £12.99/
/Maybelline - Baby Skin (Warm Apricot) RRP £7.99

I'll kick it off with primer. I've always been a massive fan of Benefit's The POREfessional (who isn't?) - but at £24.50 for a 22ml tube... I thought I might as well look for some cheaper alternatives, and lo and behold - I managed to find some ones that I prefer to POREfessional, for half the price!

For the day, I'll use the Baby Skin Instant  Fatigue Blur in warm apricot. The apricot tones brighten up a tired looking face and it definitely helps correct my dark circles (I have really bad ones!) At £7.99, it's a massive steal! It's quite a small tube, but it goes a long way! One thing to bear in mind is that it doesn't actually claim to be a primer as such, but it doesn't really claim to be anything aside from an 'instant fatigue blur'. I took that as 'primer' - and it does the bloody job, so try it out! At £7.99, you can afford to, surely?!

The GOSH primer (available at selected Superdrugs and Superdrug.com) is what I tend to use when I'm wearing heaving makeup/going out. In my opinion, it's very similar to the POREfessional in terms of how long it makes your makeup last, and how it works with my skin, but not in its general texture/colour. It's half the price of its Benefit twin, and does the exact same job. Job being that I will usually wake up hanging out my arse the next morning but with my skin looking exactly as it did when I headed out the night before. My foundation etc literally will not budge. 

MAC - Studio Fix Fluid RRP £21.50 in
 NC15// NW18// NC20// NC25

Quite a well-known high-end foundation. The Studio Fix Fluid by MAC is a good entry-level foundation if you're looking to start investing in more high-end designer/semi-designer makeup. It's medium/full coverage according to the website, which is normally what people will wear for a night out, but I use it as an everyday foundation as I prefer fuller coverage stuff. It's nowhere near as full coverage as the Estee Lauder foundation though... That stuff is cement. But good cement. It has mixed reviews from what I know, but I definitely favour it over a lot of other foundations. It's blendable, you get a lot of bang for your buck, great colour selections, lasts pretty much all day... It's a solid 7.5/10.

Estee Lauder - Double Wear
Stay-In-Place Makeup RRP 29.50 in
1W2

I don't care what anybody says about this one, it's my baby! When they say double wear.. They do not lie!! Put this on your face at 5pm before going out.... and I guarantee it will all still be looking as fresh as it did the night before at 4pm the next day (although you probably won't be feeling very fresh!). It's quite thick, but I don't find it a problem to blend at all, although it can make cleaning your foundation brushes a little harder than normal! It's as if once this has dried.. It won't come off unless it's scrubbed for a while! I don't recommend it as an everyday foundation - it's waaaay too thick, and it's a tad expensive to be using every day! (If you can afford to use it every day.. then be my guest, but buy me a bottle too please?)

A good recipe for an ideal cake-face (just the base) to wear on a night out is as goes;

GOSH primer

Double Wear foundation

MAC Pro Longwear concealer

Too Faced loose powder

MAC Fix+

MAC - Pro Longwear Concealer
RRP £15.50  in NC15

MAC's Pro Longwear concealer - I think I'm on my 15th or something?! I absolutely fly through this! It's a tiny little tube but oh my lord it's amazing! I probably use more than I should do on an everyday basis, but as I previously mentioned - I like my makeup full coverage, and that it does! I have quite good skin in terms of spots and stuff, but when I do get blemishes, this covers them up no problem! I will just use it as a highlighter normally though, applying it above/inbetween my eyebrows, down my nose, above my cheekbones/under my eyes, and on my chin. It's a brilliant product, and it's going to be hard for me to find a concealer that beats it. I will literally use this with any foundation I put on, and sometimes I'll use it by itself as a foundation when I'm not feeling like putting a lot of makeup on (doesn't happen often). If you haven't already tried this - DO IT!!!!!!!! It'll be a £15.50 well spent! Try not to get addicted.

Maybelline - The Rocket Volum Express RRP £7.99

Buy it. But it now. But about 20 of them and just don't look back. You will not regret it!! I don't understand why this hasn't blown up in the 'MAC's Velvet Teddy' style. It should be sold out everywhere. It is amazing!! Do you get it yet? I really like this mascara. Without blowing my own trumpet I do get a lot of compliments on how long my eyelashes look, I've had a few people that I don't know come up to me and ask me what mascara I use or if they're just falsies! Well this is my holy grail - Maybelline The Rocket Volum' Express. It's £7.99!!!!!! BUY IT.

  

Anastasia Beverly Hills - Beauty Express Palette in Blonde
RRP $39.99

If you're in desperate need of some brow lovin' and have £30-odd quid going spare, then definitely give this a try! I got mine off an American website, as I found it hard to find on any UK sites. I wanted this one specifically as it had everything you needed (minus tweezers) to create perfect ABH style brows, and who wouldn't want ABH brows?! It includes 2 shades of powder (I use the lighter shade on the inside and darkest on the outside), a highlighter/eyeshadow, a wax, an AAAAAAAAAAMAZING brush, and 5 AAAAAAAAAMAZING stencils.

The brush and the stencils are 100% percent my favorite part, The brush is perfect for creative perfect, precise eyebrows, and makes lining the 'tail' etc. a breeze!

The stencils range from 'full arch' to 'slim high arch' and 'petite arch' - there's literally an eyebrow shape for any face type. This is an ideal beginners kit for someone who needs a good eyebrow re-vamp and isn't sure where to start. A lot of people still use just pencil, and want to start investing in some better products - if that sounds like you...Think about this!

But for those who aren't so keen to be making the jump from a £3.99 Rimmel London eyebrow pencil to a $39.99 kit.. the next palette may be a better one for you...

MUA - Pro Brow Kit in Fair RRP £3.50

This is the first powder/gel combination I bought and completely loved. It's just WOW. It's also £3.50 which makes it double WOW. The pictures aren't the best (I'm sorry) cause I've completely trashed it, but that's utter proof of how much I use it, I like to use my ABH stencils with the powder from that, and then go over it and finish it off/fill in gaps with this - with the ABH brush. You can get brushes like that pretty much anywhere for really low prices though, or just use an angled eyeliner brush - it'll do the same job! 

PHEW! Okay that took me ages! I hope everyone who's managed to reach here has enjoyed my first proper blog post, and I'd appreciate any comments that you have! Pt 2 will be up soon!

My first blog post

Welcome to my new blog!!

Mandatory polo neck selfie

I'm buzzing to kick-start this now! I've had quite a few blogs in my time, but they've all been pretty short-lived and haven't had much of a theme to them, and hardly any consistency! The reasons behind starting fresh with a brand new blog are as goes;
    1- I'm sick of talking to myself in my head.. I definitely need something I can use to ramble on, I also have this crazy desire to write 24/7, and hadn't really bothered to create an outlet for this. Well now I have!
    2- I'm starting a Journalism course at Cardiff University this September, and I really want to fit in with the huge amount of bloggers that I'm sure to come across! It makes sense really... Journalism student with a blog. Pretty standard so I might as well start this and stick to it this time. We'll see if that actually happens...