I'm back...

So after a couple of months away from here I have decided to get back into my blogging although this time with a bit of difference. When I started this blog it was to share all my thoughts on fashion, beauty, lingerie and whatever else came to mind, but I ended up being predominantly beauty based which as much as I love is not the only thing I want to talk about. I also want there to be more photography used on here as it's something I really enjoy and something I want to experiment with a lot more. So from now on expect a new and improved allthingsmillie!

To start things off I want to share with you my love of all things orange. This is one of the rare colours that you will see me love and enjoy wearing as the rest of the time you will find me in my usual black/white/grey ensemble. Even the smallest hint of colour just adds to an outfit or a room, giving it so much more life. So here are a few of my favourite ways to add that little pop of colour into your everyday life...

I hope you've enjoyed this slightly different type of post from me and I look forward to doing more different and interesting things on here from now on. I've also got my posts from London Fashion Week coming out soon too so you can look forward to reading those too.

I'd also love to hear fro you guys how you like injecting that little bit of colour into your wardrobe. Let me know in the comments below...

40 Random Facts about me...

So i've been writing this blog for about 7  months now and I feel like I haven't really put much of my own personality into my blog. Blogging is something I love doing but is definitely very much a hobby for me. With a lot going on in my life right now I feel it has become something that I just use as a bit of escape to talk about make up and fashion and ignore everything else going on. Probably not the best plan but it's something I really enjoy doing and something I want to make more of a priority in my life.

Thinking along those lines, I wanted you guys to get to know me a bit more rather than just being some text on a screen. Because of that I wanted to do a post just giving you some facts about my life so you get to know the real millie, after all my blog is called 'all things millie' so it seemed rather fitting...

1. My full name is Amelia Louise Stephenson.
2. My birthday is on the 13th March.
3. I am 20 years old.
4. I was originally born on Mothering Sunday.
5. I love to dance and started when I was just 3 years old.
6. Over the years I have done many different types of dance including Ballet, Tap, Modern, Contemporary, Irish, National and many more...

7. My biggest achievement within my dancing was coming third place in the National Finals for my Irish group dance and my Nation duet.
8. I love fashion and spend most of my free time shopping and reading blogs or magazines.
9. I go to London College of Fashion which was my dream school from the age of 13.
10. I study Fashion Contour which is lingerie and swimwear design and love everything to do with it (except maybe writing essay!)
11. One day I really want to start my own lingerie company but am apprehensive of whether I will make it.
12. I have quite a large family spreading across a couple of different countries and I love them all.
13. This means that it's great for holidays as we get to visit them at least once a year.
14. I have had 2 deaths in my family due to cancer.
15. Because of this I really want to run the marathon one day and raise money for The Highland Hospice as it's somewhere that really helped my family through the difficult times.
16. I also really want to do a collection when I start my own company that raises money for the same cause.
17. I am currently part of my university cheerleading club, which has resulted in me bruising the inside of my kneecaps and tearing 2 ligaments in my ankle since September.

18. I hate being injured as I love being active as much as possible going for runs and to the gym.
19. I have always hated potatoes since I was a young child, including chips and roast potatoes. Although I have recently discovered that I like sweet potato chips which are so good with mayonnaise.
20. The smell of coffee is horrible to me and so I have never tried it because I don't think I could get past the taste.
21. My favourite food is my Mum's homemade lasagne which I could eat any time of the day, although i'm not sure if I prefer her vegetarian lasagne or meat lasagne more.
22. I have never travelled outside of Europe and top of my list would have to be to go over to the US and do a road trip around for a few weeks.
23. One day I would love to move to France for a year to work as I really love the culture, especially Paris as I love spending time in Paris.

24. Every year I put learning to speak better French on my New Years Resolutions and I never accomplish it.
25. It's only since the end of summer last year that I have had a huge love for make up and now I am obsessed.
26. I really love collection things fashion related especially rings and sunglasses. I can never stop myself buying more.
27. I have really tiny fingers and find it difficult to buy rings that fit so quite often use midi rings as proper rings.
28. I love having painted nails but never have the patience to sit and wait for them to dry so they are always smeared or chipped.
29. I recently cut my hair short because I got so bored of having long hair and I love it but I still kind of miss my long hair.

30. I live in London at the moment but home for me is near Stansted Airport in a town called Bishops Stortford.
31. I was born in Greenwich in London and always wanted to move back.
32. I love the energy that you get from a big city but I do miss the peace of the country side, one of the perks of visiting home.
33. I used to go to College in Cambridge and loved it. Cambridge is such a beautiful city and everyone is so kind and friendly there.
34. I have freckles on my face that come out in summer and love them so much that I never want to cover them up with foundation.
35. I am super pale and find it really difficult to get foundation that is pale enough for my skin tone.
36. I have a boyfriend and we have been together for almost 2 years.
37. I love loads of different types of music and can be found listening to anything from country to classical to rock, just depends on my mood.
38. I have no hand eye co-ordiantion which everyone who knows me finds hilarious as I am unable to catch anything, intentionally anyway.
39. My favourite drink is water, you hardly ever catch me without a water bottle in my bag.
40. I'm a completely in decisive person and find it difficult to make a decision about anything. That's why I don't have a favourite colour or animal as they seem to change daily.

I hope you enjoyed getting to know me better and I'd love to get to know you better too. Leave a comment below telling me a random fact about you...

Nail polish collection...

Whilst packing up all of my things to move house I decided to procrastinate and go through all of my nail polishes which lead to me creating this heart shape with them. 

I thought it was too darn cute not to take a photo and decided to share this with you all. I have also taken photo's of the individual colour selections so you can see them in a little more detail. I also just want to say quickly that I am not in anyway trying to show off. I'm not even quite sure how I have ended up with so many nail polishes as they always end up put in a drawer and I guess I just forget what I have in there. I think it's a bit ridiculous if I am totally honest as I don't even tend to use half of the colours. This has definitely encouraged me to look through my collection more and use more of the colours. The fact that these are now neatly laid out in a box so I can see the colours should help this. 

 (brands left to right; Tesco collection, MUA, Avon, 2true, Avon, Maybelline, MUA)

 (brands left to right; Tesco collection, Avon, Tesco collection, Revlon, Marks and Spencer, MUA)

 (brands left to right; Babara Daly, Avon, All for Eve, Avon, Marks and Spencer, Rimmel, Max factor, No.7)

 (brands left to right; MUA, Barry M, Revlon, Tesco collection, Rimmel)

(brands left to right; Rimmel, Max Factor, No.7, No.7, MissGuided, Max Factor, Revlon, Rimmel, Rimmel, MissGuided, Barry M, Rimmel, Rimmel)

I've shockingly bought more nail polishes since I took all these photo's. It seems just quickly buying a nail polish when i'm feeling down is very beneficial and a bit too regular an occurance. Think I am going to have to start finding something else to pick up instead. I have to say though the Rimmel polish in the gold colour scheme photo and the pale pink Revlon polish in the centre of the photo above have to be my most used colours. I seem to love nude colours the most. 

That's everything for now. I am going to start being more regular with my posts from now on which I have probably said several times but I will try, I promise. Also please let me know in the comments below if you like this kind of post and would like to see more of them. I am also starting to think about posting about some lingerie or swimwear brands so please let me know what you think about that too.

Hope your all having a lovely day and I will hopefully talk to you again in the next few days.

A,

xxx

Bobbi Brown Tinted Moisturiser Review...

Every girl with a very pale complexion will understand the trauma of trying to find a foundation that suits their skin tone. They are almost non existent in high street brands and I have found that even with high end products I still seem to really struggle to find anything that works (even mac don't go pale enough). That being said it's not like i'm super ghost white or anything so I don't understand why it's so difficult to find anything.

So on my last mission to find foundations I went from counter to counter in Selfridges in an attempt to finally find something that actually works. In comes Bobbi Brown's Tinted Moisturiser...

First I have to say that all the staff working their were super friendly and very helpful. They were very honest in saying what I actually needed for my skin type and finding a colour that worked, which turned out to be colour 00 alabaster. This is their palest shade and I have to say that colour wise it suits my skin perfectly. Talking about the actually foundation the coverage is slightly lighter than I was used to but this is totally buildable for a night out if you want it to. I was just very impressed with how natural it looked. It glides on my skin easily without sitting on any dry patches and gives me a completely flawless coverage without looking like I even have anything on. I have been so impressed that since I bought this I have used it every day and had several compliments asking what I was wearing and that my skin looks really great. The texture of this is quite runny so I tend to put this on the back of my hand and then use my real techniques buffing brush but you could just as easily use your fingers to apply it which will give you a slightly heavier coverage. I would suggest just buffing over it once applied though if you do plan to use this method. There is also a slight scent to this foundation, nothing overpowering but slightly floral although it's only something I notice when I first put it on and not continuously when wearing it. The wear of this foundation also lasts me all day but if I was going out at night I would generally reapply. The only thing I would say is that for nights out I do tend to prefer something with a little more coverage and without the SPF so you don't get the glare when taking pictures. Think my search may have to continue...

How about you? What's your current go to foundation?

Holiday must haves...

For the last week I have been in Salou in Spain with big group of people from my University hence the lack of a blog post last week. While I was there I had a few products that I used every single day and I though as holiday season is coming up soon I thought I would share my must haves for when I go on holiday!

When i'm on holiday the last thing I want to be doing is to pile loads of make up onto my face!! It always just feels so gross when its so warm outside so I tend to stick to the bare minimum and having waterproof products always helps as you know they wont start to slip and slide out of place. The main things I tend to use are the Maxfactor False lash effect waterproof mascara which I have in the colour black brown to make it look even more natural. I also use Benefit Gimme brow in light/medium as otherwise my eyebrows tend to disappear as they are so pale. I like to take away tester sizes of products if I can so Benefit fake up was perfect for this. For evening I like to add a bit of colour and my favourite in summer is oranges and corals to enhance your tan so I use MUA lipstick in shade 16, nectar.

Suncream is essential if you have pale skin as I burn super easily rather than tanning. Riemann P20 is an expensive suncream working out at about £15 for 100ml. However you only use this once a day first thing in the morning and you are set for the day. Anyone with pale skin should pick some of this up as it makes not burning so much easier!

Then sun dries skin out so for someone with already dry skin, moisturising is super important. I tend to change up my moisturisers all the time but at the moment I am using The Body Shop body Butter in Strawberry and The Body Shop Born Lippy in Rasberry which smells so good.

The final thing I think is super important for a sunny holiday is to have painted finger and toe nails for when your lounging by the pool or the beach. I love coppery toned nail polish's but i am loving this one especially as it's got a rose gold tint to it as well. It's almost a natural toned bronze because of it and looks great with pretty much every colour. I also love using white as it shows up your tan even more and again works with almost every colour. The nail polishes I took with me were Maxfactor Max Effect mini nail polish in 04 Elegant Mauve and Essie Nail lacquer in 1 Blanc.

So that's it, all my most essential things that I have to take away with me on holiday. What are your must haves for going away?

x

Drugstore Haul...

Okay, so I know i've been a bit awol recently and honestly I was really considering whether blogging is something I want to continue with at all. Over the last few weeks i've been feeling quite down about things and this has just been kind of left at the side. I've thought about posts but the idea of sitting down and writing them just never really appealed to me at the time. However i'm going to stick at it as I just had to think of the times when the views were adding up which really means a lot to me and made me so happy to think that you guys were actually interested in what I had to say so i'm here to stay.

Anyway on to the post...

Although I may have been down recently one thing that I always know will cheer me up is a little bit of retail therapy (even if my bank balance isn't thanking me for it). And so with boots having three for 2 across all their make up and skin care it seemed the best time to just go all out.

The first few bits i've got here are all skin or base related and you can also tell that I went a little crazy on the L'oreal stand!! The Lumi Magique primer was one of the first things I picked up as i've been looking for a new primer recently. This one is meant to be illuminating and the one thing I really like about it is that it's so light and you don't feel like your caking it onto your skin as can happen with some primers. It also doesn't have a sparkle or a shimmer but just seems to brighten your complexion. I haven't used this much yet so I can't give you a proper review but so far so good! It can also be used as a highlighter and I really like that it has a dual usage. Next I picked up the true Match foundation in the colour N1 Ivory. I haven't used this yet but I think it may possibly the only high street foundation that goes pale enough for my skin tone so definitely one to have a look at if you have a very pale complexion. I also picked up the Lumi Magique stylo touche de lumiere and can I just say how pretty is that packaging!! I love a bit of rose gold! From what I can tell this is a dupe for the touche eclait and I have to say I have been very impressed with it so far. The packaging is also very similar to the touche eclait with the twisting end part and the brush. The consistency is more watery though which I have to say is one of its only down falls as apart from that it is a great little product. 'Le blush' by L'oreal is also a great product although I was disappointed with the packaging as it has a separate compartment in the bottom which has a mirror and brush. To me this just feels a bit gimicky though with the brush being useless to actually use with the product. The product its self is beautiful though, lasting a very long time and it is a really pretty shade. The one I picked up was number 115, true rose. I also picked up a mini Fake up from benefit (forgot to include in this photo) which I have been really loving and have used every day since I got it. I am really not a fan of the packaging but the product inside consists of a hydrating ring and then concealer through the middle. This works really well on dry skin as it stops the concealer from sticking to any dry patches. However benefit claim that this is a crease control concealer but this creased very easily on my eye and generally concealers don't crease on me which was disappointing. Once it has creased for the first time however I found it was easy to blend straight in and then it will stay that way for the rest of the day. 

Next I have the three eye products that I picked up. Another L'oreal product, I picked up Volume Million Lashes Mascara. I haven't used this too much yet as I am currently using about three different mascara's. However I found that it applies very easily onto the lashes making them look very long quickly and easily without any clumping and I am really looking forward to using this more. I also picked Gimme Brow from Benefit and I have been really loving it. I think this has to be my favourite product I picked up. It is almost like a mascara for your eyebrows from the way it has been packaged. within the formula are tiny fibres that stick to the hairs an make you look like you have fuller brows instantly. It also lasts all day and is meant to be waterproof which I look forward to trying in a few weeks time when I go away! The other eye product I got was the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in colour 70-Metallic Pomegranate. Shockingly I didn't own any of these yet and had been meaning to pick one up in a while. I haven't tried this out yet but from swatching it you can see that the colour is just beautiful.

From L to R; Revlon Lipstick in shade Rich Raison Forest, Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Metallic Pomegranate and L'oreal Le blush in True Rose.

I could never do a shop without picking up some kind of lip product as if you don't know already they are my weakness! The one I got was a Revlon Super Lustrous lipstick in shade 383 Rich Raison Forest and it is the most beautiful colour as well as having a lovely name too. I have already worn this several times and it is quickly becoming one of my favourite colours. I feel like this is a spring/summer version of a dark lip. The colour is really bold but has a beautiful berry tone to it as well as some darker brown undertones. It formula is quite moisturising as well and has a sheen finish to it.

The last two bit's I picked up were nail polishes. The one on the left is an Essie nail polish in colour number 1, blanc. This is a pure white nail polish and I have been wanting one for a little while so just thought I would pick up a good quality one as white is a timeless nail polish colour. The second one is a just yellow colour called Lemon Meringue from L'oreal again. I actually saw this over on Lily Pebbles blog and had to try it out because it's just such a pretty colour. Just imagine something that is the palest yellow and thats it. Being so pale makes it the prefect colour for spring and can also go with any outfit!

So that is everything that I bought and I have to say I think it was pretty successful as so far I have really enjoyed using all of the products. What do you think of everything I bought? Do you have any things you've tried recently that I need to pick up? Let me know in the comments below.

Day one...

Okay,so yesterday I flew to Helsinki in Finland as my dad is currently working over here. I've had a pretty intense time with University recently so this was the perfect excuse to get a way for the weekend and relax and so far I have to say its been pretty much perfect and I just thought i'd share some photo's of the journey so far.

It is a really beautiful city and it almost shocks me that it is the capital as its not so horribly crowded as some cities can be. I have also found everyone to be so friendly and welcoming. I've taken several photo's of the scenery while here and just thought i'd share some of it with you.

I got in pretty late yesterday, too late to really do much but we did go and get coffee once we had dropped our stuff of and I had what I think is probably the best lemon meringue pie I have ever had. It was so tasty.

Here are some of the cute things I have found around the city so far. There is a bridge here that mimicks the padlock bridge in Paris. I thought this was really nice and the sign is very cute too!

Then I saw this guy walking his dog who apparently likes to eat ice. I just had to take a few photo's.

And here is me by the docks and also the salads that me and my dad had for lunch. They were really yummy and were only 10 euro 50 each. It was kind of a pick and mix salad bar. You pay the amount and then choose six of the toppings. I had Chicken, mozerella, olives, cranberries, tomatoes and parmasan cheese. It was super tasty!! Thats it for so far but hopefully I will e back tomorrow or the day after with whats happening on the rest of my trip. At the moment we plan to go to the local national park which will hopefully be beautiful!!