Flawless Finish

Say hello to massively close-up mugshots! Cringe.

I thought it was about time I showed you the results of my new favourite foundation. I've had this badboy, Flawless Finish by ELF, since it got sent to me in July and just like most things I own, it was sat in my make-up bag unloved and untouched. I'm always wary about using highstreet foundations, not because of coverage, but because I'm a bit concerned that they don't last as well as more expensive brands. That's not a problem with this though, the coverage and finish are both absolutely fantastic and the longevity is also incredible; Flawless Finish survived a 10 hour shift yesterday and it had only disappeared off my nose. BUT ALL FOUNDATIONS DO THAT, HOW DO I MAKE MY NOSE STAY COVERED AS WELL AS THE REST OF MY FACE?!

As you can see it is a little bit orange on me but I guess that's a risk you take when buying foundation online, at £6 though I can hardly complain! The shade I've got at the minute is called Buff but I placed a cheeky ELF order the other day and ordered a replacement bottle in Sand so we'll see what that's like on me. Just for the record, I'm NW20 in Studio Fix and number 7 in Skinbase if you're thinking of purchasing, which I highly recommend you do!

Christmas help

November 1st is usually when my excitement begins; Mariah Carey, Wham and Slade have make their way onto my playlists and they're on repeat, my list has been written and my advent calendar is all ready and waiting to be opened.

Not this year though, for some reason I just am not in the Christmas spirit at all. I loaded some songs onto my iPod yesterday but I just wasn't feeling it, my mum asked me to write a list and it currently consists of two things: Lancome mascara and a wireless remote for my camera. Exciting.

Usually my lists are ridiculous, endless asks for make-up, perfume, bath stuff, candles and I'm asked to try and make them more imaginative. This year? I'm being asked to make them longer but I just CAN'T, I can't think of a single thing that I'd like to open on Christmas Day, I really can't. I'm even struggling with ideas for presents to buy other people; I've bought odd bits for but no present has been actually completed, and as for cards and wrapping paper? Who knows when thoughts of those will even enter my head! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? I blame Australia.

Can you help me get into the Christmas spirit please? Right now all I want to do is hibernate forever.

Have heart, my dear

I've always been a bit of perfume obsessive, it's all I'd ever ask for at Christmas and on birthdays and when I was at uni I was known to just dawdle through the John Lewis perfume department sniffing almost every tester bottle. When people ask me what my signature scent is, I don't really have an answer. I go through phases. My first ever 'proper perfume' was Gucci by Gucci and whenever I smell it now it brings back memories of being 15/16. Then I went through a few Burberry years and had everything from Burberry Baby Touch (yes, really!), Burberry Brit to Burberry Weekend.

These days I tend to wear whatever I feel like on the day, these are the four perfumes that I'm tending to wear on a more regular basis. Well, until they run out anyway. Although sometimes it is a Diesel day or a Britney Spears day and occasionally, if I think it's going to be a good day (or night!), I have a Chanel day. Chanel days are definitely the best type of days.

Three of these four; Lanvin, Jimmy Choo and Pucci are all really similar. They're sweet smelling, summery, happy, girly perfumes. I loved Jimmy Choo the moment I smelt it when it first came out last year, it reminds me of Miss Dior but I feel it's more suited to me than that one. Pucci I got given in my goody bag from Psychologies and I wasn't too fussed about it at first, so it sat on my shelf for a while until I smelt it again one day and fell instantly in love with it. It certainly makes for a good daytime perfume anyway. Lanvin is currently my work perfume although it seems nothing will cover the foul stench of burgers, but it's good to at least try and make an effort, right?

And Juicy Couture, well, this is my least favourite of my collection but it's included in this post for nostalgia purposes. This is the one and only perfume that I wore in Australia so whenever I smell it now I'm taken straight back there and that's what makes me love it. It's certainly not something I'd usually wear, or even buy in fact. I was drawn to it because of the bottle, it's quite a musky scent and it makes me think of winter perfumes. God knows why I decided to take half way across the world in the height of the Australian summer. Wonders will never cease!

Oh, and while we're on the subject, does anybody else get through bottles of perfume like nobodies business? I live by the theory that if I can't smell it then nobody else can. Goodbye 547 sprays each morning.

What are you signature scents and/or favourite perfumes?

Up all night

I should probably apologise for the somewhat offensive and/or explicit content of this post but, anybody who knows me and who knows how literally crap my music taste is, wouldn't expect any more or indeed, any less from me. BUT I LOVE ONE DIRECTION'S ALBUM AND EVERYBODY SHOULD BUY IT.

I'm not sure why I feel so passionate about this, nor why I feel like it would make a good blog post but I just think everybody needs to realise just how good the album actually is. Yes, it's an extremely stereotypical teenage girl album. And although I'm bored of What Makes You Beautiful (I can't expect anything less since it's top of my iTunes 25 Most Played. 102 times.), I just skip that track and then I'm the happiest ever. It's the perfect driving album.

There's a couple of swoony love songs that have probably been written by Zayn with me in mind, a couple that you'll somehow already know the words to even though you've never heard them before and a few you'll listen to while you're getting ready to go out. Not going to lie, there's one or two songs that sound like they should be getting played in clubs and I cannot wait until I hear them whilst drunk. YESSS. Bring it on.

It has a 90's boy band feel about it, when I first heard it I thought I was listening to an old A1 album (and oh how I loved A1, Ben was my first love) and that might be why I love it so much. It's been a while since an album like this has been released but honestly, IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY. I also quite like Cher Lloyd's album but again, that's probably no surprise to anybody who knows me. I doubt I'll write a blog post on that though. Definitely tempted...

DO YOU LOVE IT TOO? Or do you just hate me now?

white chocolate & raspberry cookies

Today (just like every other day just lately it seems) I've been mostly feeling sorry for myself, hating life and just to make things a littttle bit better, I missed a hairdressers appointment. It was supposed to be at 11am and I rocked up at 2pm all excited and ready to have the underneath of my fringe dyed like a chav, le sigh.

MOAN MOAN MOAN, shut up Lucy.

SO YER, in a bid to cheer myself up I decided to do some baking, it passed a bit of time and made the house smell nice for a while so I was at least a little bit happier. I made white chocolate and raspberry cookies (duh) and they're really nice! I'm actually really pleased with the way they've turned out; they're a good shape and they're not too hard and not too soft. Practically the perfect cookie in my humble opinion! I kind of think they look a bit like the ones you can get from Marks and Spencer...

The recipe I used was on the Carnation website, they were so easy to make and don't take long at all, definitely recommend having a go. I was going to make these as well but I decided that dropping almost £20 in Tesco on ingredients was perhaps a little bit too much. They're definitely on my 'to bake' list though!

17 Blemish Balm - giveaway

I've been wanting to try a BB cream for a while now because I've heard nothing but good things about them. Ideally I'd have liked to have had one whilst I was in Australia but I never actually got around to buying one before I went so I'd hoped to buy one out there but never actually came across anywhere that sold it.

I saw this one by 17 in Boots yesterday and it was on offer for £5.99 (usual price is £6.99, not really much of an offer, but still...). I debated, I picked it up, put it down and then in the end decided to try it annnnnd, I wish I hadn't. I used it for the first time today and to be perfectly honest it doesn't do a lot, it kind of evens my skintone out but that's about it and it definitely doesn't leave a flawless finish and the longevity is crap. I look dog rough as I type this and I've only had it on about three hours. To me it just resembles a slightly tinted moisturiser and I don't really see the point in those. I mean, it's not even like I'm objected to using light foundation. Fair enough I used to use really heavy stuff like Doublewear but recently I've been using Chanel's Vitalumiere Aqua and I've got used to using, and quite like, something that doesn't feel as if it's been applied with a trowel but this really takes the piss!

I have heard that highstreet brands aren't a patch on the Asian products that people get, but you'd think they'd be at least a little bit worthwhile, would you not? I still really want to try an actual BB cream that isn't made by an English or American company though, does anybody have any recommendations where I can get them from (eBay?) and what brands to go for?

How do you feel about highstreet BB creams? Yay or nay?

I've decided to do the right thing and give this away to somebody, I probably won't use it again so there's no point in hoarding it along with the rest of my stuff. If you want it, leave a comment and if more than one person takes an interest I'll put names into random.org and pick somebody so leave your email address. It's literally brand new, been used once and is shade 'medium', I'm usually NW15/20 in MAC and my Illamasqua Skin Base is number 7 if that gives you an idea of the skintones it'll be alright for.

Shower time!

Essentially this is a bit of a pointless post but I'm trying to get Grazed Knees back on track and back to being primarily a beauty blog, and even though these aren't technically beauty products, it's a step in the right direction... yes?

SO, I'm not normally one to rave about shampoo and conditioner. Or face wash to be perfectly honest, but I think these three products may have changed my life just a little bit. I first used this V05 stuff back in July, I bought it because it was cheap and I was mega impressed; I think V05 rebranded themselves because they used to have really cheap looking and smelling stuff didn't they? Anyway, I usually just stick to what I know and use the turquoise Herbal Essences but when it's not on offer, you know it can be pretty expensive. SO YES, I got these and haven't looked back since. My hair is a bit weird and if I use certain products to wash it with then it has a hissy fit and goes even greasier more quickly than usual so I don't really like using new stuff if I can help it. But my hair seems to like these, and not only do they smell good but they also come in maaassive 500ml bottles so I've found they last a lot longer than Herbal Essences, and probably other brands too. I stocked up on these today actually, they're currently on offer in Superdrug for £1.69 a bottle - definitely worth trying.

And well, as far as this Neutrogena face wash goes, it is definitely heaven sent. I first bought this a while back after using some at a friend's house and was mostly impressed because it smells amazing. Then when I bought my own, I was even more impressed at how well it cleared up my disgusting skin, it's quite expensive, I think I pay around £4.50 for it in Superdrug but I'm sure I've seen it in Bodycare for about a pound cheaper? Could be wrong though! I stopped using this for a couple of weeks before I went to Australia and whilst I was there and my skin got awful again (so much for the sun being good for your skin!) so I repurchased it last week and I've definitely noticed a significant difference since using it.

What are your favourite shampoos, conditioners and face washes?

Fraser Island

If you hadn't already guessed by the title of this post, then this is Fraser Island, one of my favourite places that we visited in Australia. A few of us who were on tour did a four-wheel drive tour of the island which was was a definite highlight of the trip. The amazing BBQ and free wine alone were enough to keep me happy!

Fraser Island is just off the coast of Queensland and seriously, this place is so surreal. Obviously it's an island but in the middle of it there is the beyond beautiful and picturesque Lake McKenzie, the water is so pure and the sand is white silica, it's incredible. There also happens to be a casual rainforest that we walked through and then we took a drive on the Great Sandy Highway, where we saw a dingoe and dodged waves whilst driving before we got a ferry back across to the mainland.

I think I would do pretty much anything to be back sat by that lake right about now.

Northern Territory

Party Rock Anthem, our day song - it was played every day we were in the Northern Territory. It's amazing how a song I once hated now holds so many happy memories!


















Okay so, here we go. There's a few more here than originally planned but a picture says a thousand words... right? Obviously I don't expect everyone to look at each one, but if you want to make any of them bigger then just click on it and it'll open in a new window. AREN'T I NICE?

I was going to write a bit about each day in the Northern Territory but like I said in my last post, I don't want to overwhelm/bore people. I think I preferred being there more than the East Coast, not saying I didn't enjoy that part of the tour because I did, but the Territory is just so much more cultural, it's naturally beautiful and it's just so different from anywhere I've ever been before and I'll probably not go anywhere like it again. The heat was something else as well, walking around in 40+ degrees and not having one single bead of sweat drip down your forehead is really quite surreal! It's also a pretty dangerous place, everything is so few and far between; you can drive for hours and not see a single landscape change, not turn a single corner and not see another car on the road.

Throughout the ten days spent here I met and learnt about the Aboriginals and their way of life which was so interesting, I saw endless stunning views and lots of rock art at Kakadu National Park, visited numerous towns that had populations of hardly any people and places where the police do not give a shit (the night spent in Tennant Creek was one of the best!), went to the historic Daly Waters pub - we all signed a Hawaiian shirt and left it there, experienced Katherine Gorge, I saw sunrise and sunset over Ayers Rock and then subsequently spent THREE HOURS walking the circumference of it(!), I swam in natural waterholes (Litchfield National Park and Edith Falls), witnessed a croc fight, I slept in a swag on a working farm with cowboys and so, so much more. It's times like this I wish I'd kept a journal from the start and not started one half way through...

I hope this post isn't too much for everyone, if it is let me know and I'll try and come up with something else for my other ones about the East Coast, Sydney and Melbourne. :)