Today, I will be bringing you a review of the gorgeous Golden Sugar Ultra Blush Palette from Makeup Revolution. Since I wrote a mini-review of it a few weeks ago (which you can find here), I thought I'd update you with even more information and opinions about this product. I haven't reviewed any makeup items in quite some time and I really missed writing them, so my in-depth makeup reviews are officially back, starting with this lovely palette!

When I first saw this palette, I was blown away by how pretty and photogenic it looked. I definitely wouldn't pick this for myself, but I'm incredibly pleased that I was sent it as it gave me the opportunity to try out something a bit different. Based on the other Makeup Revolution products that I'd tried, particularly the Ultra Blush Palette in Hot Spice, I had high hopes for this product and knew that it would be of an amazing quality, so I was definitely eager to give it a go. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed and I fell in love with it immediately after swatching it.

As with all of the Makeup Revolution palettes, the packaging is glossy black plastic. I really like this, as it feels a bit more sophisticated opposed to other drugstore palettes and it's a great way to keep the price of the product down. The palette is really sturdy and closes well with a good latch, meaning it won't accidentally open in your bag. The mirror inside is absolutely huge, meaning you can easily touch-up on the go and it also makes this palette travel-friendly.

Inside the palette, you are given eight powders, all of which are beautiful and this definitely gives you some variety and the opportunity to create many different looks. Six of the cheek products are baked and provide a generous amount of shimmer, one is solely shimmer and the final powder is a creamy matte. All of the shimmery products aren't glittery or chunky in any way, making them really wearable and not too bold. I'll now be giving you a mini-breakdown of each product within the palette. Unfortunately, the shades don't have names, so I'll be referring to them as 1-8 going from left to right.

Shade 1 - This is a gorgeous white frosty highlighter that is marbled with gold. It's incredibly intense and pigmented, so this could be used as a bold highlighter on the cheekbones or in the inner corners of the eye. However, the intense amount of shimmer in this product means that it's best suited for a night out or party look.
Shade 2 - This is a subtle pale pink blush that looks lovely as a natural flush on the cheeks. I also think this would look lovely used solely as a highlighter or as a blush topper, adding more shimmer to an otherwise matte cheek look.
Shade 3 - This blusher is a dusky pink colour that is marbled with mauve. It is definitely a unique shade and I don't own anything like it, but it looks absolutely beautiful. Again, this could be used as a blush topper or on its own.
Shade 4 - This is a true golden bronzer that isn't best suited to my skin tone, but I can imagine that it will look beautiful on darker skin. This can be used to add a gorgeous shimmer to the cheeks and warm up your complexion, much like a bronzer.
Shade 5 - This is another highlighter, but this one is much more wearable and subtle. It is a satin beige colour, making it suitable for any skin tones whilst still looking lovely and adding a generous amount of shimmer to the cheeks.
Shade 6 - This blusher is a shimmery rose gold shade that looks beautiful on this skin. When applied, it's quite similar to shade 3 only darker, but I still think that it's really pretty and flattering.
Shade 7 - This is an orange-toned bronzer that is quite shimmery yet still beautiful. Although this is probably too dark for my skin, it would definitely look beautiful as an all-over bronzer to add warmth and a glow. However, I'd be quite light handed with this one as it's quite easy to go overboard.
Shade 8 - This is a medium-toned matte brown that is less bold than the previous but would still look lovely as a bronzer. It's quite warm, so it probably wouldn't be the best for contouring, but it would make a gorgeous bronzer, especially on tanned skin.

One of the things that I really like about these powders is that they're all buildable and you can choose what type of look you'd like to create, whether it's something subtle or really intense. They're all pigmented but are blended out evenly, not becoming patchy or separating. Also, I find that they last really well on my skin and are still visible hours after application, still looking fresh and intact.

Although this palette is gorgeous, I personally don't think that it's the best for me and my skin tone. All of the colours would definitely compliment someone with darker skin better, especially the bronzers and more orange-toned powders, which can be too overpowering on my pale skin. However, all of the highlighters and blushers still look beautiful when applied. A nice alternative is to use the bronze shades as eyeshadows, which I've tried and I was really pleased with the outcome.

Overall, I really like this palette and think that it's amazing value for money, considering you can pick it up for only £4. Although the shades aren't best suited to me, I still appreciate the beauty of this palette and I think that it's a great one for many different people to try. I hope you liked my review and hearing my thoughts about this product, and thanks again to Makeup Revolution for sending me this product!

Love from Daisy x
I'm just writing this post to let you know that my blog schedule will be temporarily changing from now onwards. Whereas I used to publish two posts every week, I will now only be uploading once. This will remain the same for the near future, especially as my GCSEs are approaching. I've thought about this decision for quite some time and I've realised that it's best to come into action now, so I hope you can appreciate the change.

In the past, I've always uploaded twice a week and found that this best suited my life. However, things have changed since then and I'm a lot busier now than I used to be when I created Daisies and Delights. I have my GCSEs this year, meaning revision has been taking up a lot of my time, and I also have other commitments that I'm loyal to do. This has caused blogging to take a backseat in my life and I haven't been able to invest as much time or effort into it as possible.

With my workload rapidly increasing, I found it harder to create content that I was proud of and a lot of my blog posts were thrown together at the last minute. This is never how I envisioned Daisies and Delights to be and I'd rather cut down on how many posts I upload than be lowering the standard of where my writing and photography is at. I've always believed that you shouldn't post just for the sake of it and I want everything that I upload to be something to take pride over, which I feel like I'll much better achieve by posting less during this busy time.

Before you ask, I haven't fallen out of love with blogging and a lack of enthusiasm isn't the reason for uploading less. My blog is important to me and I really care about it, which is why I want everything that I post on it to be the best possible. I've stated from the beginning that this is only a hobby and that my schoolwork has to take priority, but I still thoroughly enjoy writing posts and taking photographs, as I always have.

As of now, I will only be posting on my blog once a week. My Sunday posts will continue to be uploaded as normal, but Wednesday posts are no longer occurring. This won't make a change to my content and I'll still be uploading my usual style posts, but they will just be less often. Posting once a week will continue from now onwards, as I continue to prepare for my GCSEs and take my exams. Once those are over, which will be towards the end of June, I will return to posting twice a week. So don't worry, as this is only a temporary action and everything will be back to normal before you know it.

I hope that you all support this decision and realise that it's the right thing for me to do right now. I still absolutely love blogging and I've got some amazing posts coming to you in the future, but hopefully uploading less often will take a weight off my shoulder and allow me to focus more on these new post, as well as my GCSEs. Thank you to all of my readers for supporting me and I guess I'll see you with a new post next Sunday!

Love from Daisy x

I saw this tag post floating around various different blogs and Youtube channels and thought that it was quite interesting and unlike any other that I'd seen before. When I review books, I often outline how I'd like them to change or what I feel would've worked better if it was altered. This tag is a way of summarising all of this and telling you some of my top picks when it comes to changing book series. From characters that should've met different fates and books that should've ended sooner, I really have covered it all! 

Totally Should've Gotten a Sequel - This was a difficult one to choose, as I haven't read many stand-alone books and I often prefer to invest myself in a series of events and characters. However, the Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbovsky was my pick for this, simply because it ended with much more potential for exploring and developing the events. I became really invested in Charlie, Sam and Patrick whilst reading and thought that their stories shouldn't have been cut short at the end of the novel. There's also the possibility of writing a sequel from the POV of the person receiving the letters, which would definitely have proved to be an interesting twist.

Totally Should've Gotten a Spinoff Series - I'd definitely love a spinoff of the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman as I feel as though the world that he created has lots of potential and I'd love to see other characters face it or experience adventures similar to those of Lyra and Will. There's so much more which could be covered, ranging from the detailed history to the geographical presence of the different worlds, which I'd love to be explored in more depth and by different people. (Sidenote: I decided to research into this and turns out Philip Pullman is writing a companion novel to the His Dark Materials series, entitled The Book of Dust! I'm excited for it to be released!)

An Author Who Should Write More Books - Suzanne Collins was my choice for this, simply because she is an amazing author yet she seems to be wasting her potential. The Hunger Games, as you obviously know, was an outstanding series and gained a lot of popularity, but since its publication, she hasn't written anything else. I'm not sure if she's got a new novel in progress or is just taking a break from writing, but hopefully, her novels will be back soon, as they have been highly anticipated after the tremendous support of her previous.

A Character Who Should've Ended Up With Someone Else - I had to pick the Hush Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick for this since I've always been partially unhappy with the verdict in Finale. Although I do really like Nora and Patch as a couple, it was predictable and meant to be right from the start, a bit like Bella and Edward in Twilight. However, I really hoped that Nora and Scott would stand a chance, especially since they seemed to have more of a chemistry and it would be the more interesting route for the novel to take.

Totally Should've Ended Differently - I struggled to choose this one, as there isn't a book that I've read where I distinctly hated the ending, but I would've preferred Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer to take a different route. Alice's vision / the big battle scene towards the end of the film was hugely suspenseful and really played with my emotions, as characters died and others were successful. However, this scene wasn't in the book, as it couldn't take place in Bella's point of view, but I feel as though it was missing this final bit of fear and anticipation.

Totally Should Have a Movie Franchise - I feel as though the book Reason to Breathe by Rebecca Donovan would be an excellent candidate for a movie franchise as it's a powerful and chilling story that would have the audience on the edge of their seat throughout. The story is incredibly emotional, which would make it hard hitting with the audience, and I feel as though it has the potential for an artistic shoot and choice of screenplay, depending on what vibe the director wanted to go for. I just feel as though lots of potential lies within this book and its sequels, which would be perfectly translated onto the big screen.

Totally Should Have a TV Show - Envy by Gregg Olsen would be, in my opinion, the perfect book for a TV show, as I think that the events and general style of the story would really be suited to showing it through episodes. It's a murder-mystery thriller, which means that episodes could be released giving tiny clues and loose ends, only to reveal the killer in the series finale. I feel as though this would work much better than as a movie as it would give the audience more time to connect with the possible suspects and work out who killed Katelyn. Also, the mysteries of Hayley and Taylor, alongside the possible paranormal element, would work as a compelling sub-plot.

Totally Should've Had One Point of View - I found it really difficult to choose this answer, as POVs are usually added to make the reading experience better, and I usually find that this is true whenever I read a book. However, I didn't like the constant changing of voice in Wonder by R. J. Palacio, as it was sometimes unnecessary and too big of a shift from the narrator's voice. Also, I really dislike it when writing purposely involves spelling mistakes or grammatical errors to show that it's a certain character, which is something that happened often within this book.

Totally Should've Had a Cover Change - Although I quite like all of the book covers that I've seen, I do think that Blood Ties by Sophie Mckenzie could be updated. Personally, I think that they look really old fashioned and really stand out from other YA books, but probably not in the best way. They also look quite out of place, like the cover designer was trying to create an adult thriller series, rather than a teenage science-fiction series.

Totally Should've Kept the Original Covers - I think that the original cover for The Iron Trial by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black was beautiful, with the cover-art being relevant to the series and suitable for the audience, as well as just looking appealing. However, they have been updated to the new white covers, which I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with. They definitely look sleeker and more mature, but these backgrounds make the pale details not stand out and they hurt the eyes to look at a bit. 

Totally Should've Stopped at One Book - The more that I think about it, I realise that the events of The Selection by Kiera Cass could've easily been contained in one book, even including some development of the dystopian world. However, it has been made into a trilogy and a spin-off series has begun, all of which wasn't completely necessary. In my opinion, it was quite obvious who was going to win from the start, so I would've much rather had a beautifully crafted book that traced the events with thought, rather than them being spread thin over numerous books.

Thank you for reading this post and hopefully it was interesting to hear my answers, as these are how I would change and adapt many young adult books. I'd love to know your answers to these questions or your thoughts on what I've said, so make you leave any feedback down in the comments. Thank you for reading and I'll see you on Sunday with a new post!

Love from Daisy x

Something that I've kept under wraps for quite some time is that I actually used to have various other blogs before I started Daisies and Delights. Although they were all short lived and not read by anyone, my younger self had endless amounts of fun putting them together and coming up with ideas for posts. I've never mentioned these to anyone, but I thought today that it might be funny to share them with you!

2012 - Daisy's Fashions
The first blog that I ever made was a Wordpress blog in 2012 entitled 'Daisy's Fashions'. It was around this time that I had an obsession with Polyvore and loved making outfit collages on there, so I decided to make a blog to share them. The premise behind it was quite interesting and, alongside my collages, I planned on writing about different designers, the history of fashion and my favourite clothes. However, there was one slight problem - I didn't know much about the subject and it didn't particularly interest me at the time. Although I published quite a few posts that were based on Polyvore images, I had no ideas for other posts or motivation to write them, so I simply didn't. Even the images weren't great, as this was long before my Photoshop days and my 12-year-old self was a bit clueless when it came to styling outfits. Needless to say, this blog didn't last long and I tried to revive it in the summer of 2013, but yet again I lacked the enthusiasm to blog full time. If you'd like to take a look at Daisy's Fashions then you can find it at https://daisyfashions.wordpress.com/.

As you can see, the template was pretty basic and bland, but to me it was revolutionary

A lot of the images weren't edited well and didn't really go together, but 12-year-old me was made up with what I'd created

2013 - Amber-Leigh Fashions
The next blog I created was in 2013 and it was another Wordpress blog. I decided to make it under the alias 'Amber-Leigh', which was really random and I don't have a clue why I chose this name as I don't particularly like it, but back when I was 13 years old the thought of writing with a secret identity intrigued me. Despite being labelled as a fashion blog, only one post made the cut and it was a product review of the Barry M Natural Glow Palette. After this, I got bored with blogging yet again and didn't know what to write about, so I simply didn't. I feel as though this blog is the closest to my current one, as I tried a bit harder with the design elements and wrote a beauty-related post, which is something that I do frequently now. I'm really glad I created Amber-Leigh Fashions, as it made me realise that I wanted to blog and write about beauty, but Wordpress just wasn't right for me. A few months later, I decided to try again but this time using Blogger, and thus Daisies and Delights was born. If you want to take a look at this past blog of mine, it's at https://amberleighfashion.wordpress.com/.

As you can see, I definitely tried harder with this blog in comparison to my first, especially with the visual aspects

I still remember the excitement of getting my first ever comment and feeling like I was incredibly popular

2014 - Daisy's Book Corner (Part 1)
The final blog that I've created that was a failure was entitled 'Daisy's Book Corner' and I created it using Weebly. Although Daisies and Delights had been created and was doing well, I only posted about beauty and I wanted somewhere to write about books, which always has been a huge passion of mine. Rather than simply branching out and writing about multiple topics on my blog, I thought that the best idea was to create a separate site. This blog never really took off and I only had one post, which was an introduction, as I soon realised that Weebly was more suited to making websites rather than writing blog posts. If you'd like to see what little there is of Daisy's Book Corner, you can find it at http://daisysbookcorner.weebly.com/

You can probably tell that this blog was thrown together quite quickly and I spent more time finding a nice header image than I did actually writing posts!

This is the only post on this blog - as you can see I wasn't very committed

2014 - Daisy's Book Corner (Part 2)
I soon realised that Weebly wasn't working for me but I still wanted to continue writing about books, so I decided to remake Daisy's Book Corner but on Blogger instead. I definitely made more progress and wrote a few blog posts, such as a review of the Iron Trial by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black and one focused on the Mortal Instruments. I definitely enjoyed working on this blog and it was nice to have some time away from Daisies and Delights, but I realised early on that writing for two blogs wasn't practical and I didn't have a lot of time to write any posts. It was at this point that I decided to start writing about books on this blog, which is something that I do a lot of now. Unfortunately, the Blogger version of Daisy's Book Corner is no longer on the Internet, but I do have a couple of photos to show you from it.

This was my blog header, which at the time I was thrilled with!

I wrote my first ever book review about The Iron Trial and I was made up with how it turned out, despite it being nowhere near as detailed as my current reviews

I hope you liked hearing about all of my failed blogs and it's clear that you have to keep trying in order to get something right. It just shows that I would've never got to the point of where I am today with blogging if it wasn't for all of these previous ventures. I'd love to know if you've created any blogs or websites in the past but failed to keep up with them, so let me know down in the comments. Thanks for reading and I'll see you on Sunday with a new post!

Love from Daisy x

Makeup Revolution has been one of my favourite makeup brands since I first tried their products, simply because everything is of an amazing quality yet is still budget friendly. I was thrilled when they contacted me asking to send me some products as I'm always looking to try new makeup, especially from my favourite brands. When these three palettes arrived at my house, I couldn't wait to try them out and now that I've had them for a few weeks I thought I'd put together a mini first impressions post about them, so I hope you like it!

Ultra Contour Palette - From what I've seen so far, I think that this palette is definitely an essential for anyone looking to contour and highlight. It contains eight lovely powder products that are all generously pigmented whilst still applying evenly and blending well. The first two products are sheer matte powders, one having a slight rosy hue and the other being more of a banana shade, which would be perfect for setting foundation or under-eye concealer. There are three different matte brown shades that are all cool-toned, meaning they are perfect for contouring and creating the effect of a shadow. The final three powders are all highlighters, with one being a traditional champagne colour, one having more of a beige tone to it and the third being an opalescent white with gold shimmer running through it. From what I've seen so far, all of these products are lovely and definitely worth trying, as they're now my go-to powders for sculpting the face.

Ultra Blush and Contour Palette in Sugar and Spice - After loving the Hot Spice Palette also by Makeup Revolution, I was excited to try out its sister product and see if I liked it equally. This palette contains eight gorgeous blushers and highlighters, with six of them being completely matte and the others being baked. There is definitely a wide variety of shades within this palette, from muted dusky roses to vivid, almost luminous pinks. There's even a coral shade which is perfect for spring and different to the rest of the powders in the palette. The two baked blushers contain a lot of shimmer and pigmentation, providing a concentrated amount of intense colour. The pink one looks absolutely lovely on the cheeks and definitely adds a glow, whilst the pinkish silver really glistens on the cheekbones and makes them stand out.

Ultra Blush and Contour Palette in Golden Sugar - This palette isn't one that I'd normally pick out for myself, but I'm incredibly glad that I've now got it as I've been reaching for it quite often. Most of the eight powders within this palette have more of a golden feel to them and are probably suited to darker skin tones than mine, but I've still enjoyed experimenting with them. Six of the powders are baked, with each one providing an intense yet still pretty amount of shimmer. There are two gorgeous highlighters which have a crazy amount of pigmentation, two blush colours which remind me a lot of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit blushers, and two bronze powders that could be used either as a bronzer or as a highlighter on darker skin tones. The other two products are a neutral matte brown and a shimmering gold, which are both lovely in application and lasting power. I've definitely enjoyed using these products and I've found that they actually look lovely as eyeshadows as well, which definitely adds to their versatility.

Thanks for reading this post and thank you again to Makeup Revolution for sending me these products. If you'd like to know more about them then just let me know down in the comments and I can easily provide you with a more detailed, in-depth review. I'll be back on Wednesday with a new blog post, so I'll see you then!

Love from Daisy x

I decided to set myself the resolution this year of sticking to an effective skincare routine, but I've definitely been going out of my way to make sure that I accomplish it. Aside from being strict in enforcing that I clean my skin regularly and thoroughly, I've purchased a few new products to really ensure that my skin will be a lot better. Due to this, my skincare routine has changed quite a lot and I thought it was about time that I gave you an updated version of what products I've been using religiously.

Not long ago, I had never used a proper cleanser and instead opted for either a micellar water or facial wipes. However, after receiving the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser for Christmas, I've been completely converted to using traditional cleaners. This product is absolutely amazing at removing every little bit of my makeup, leaving my skin feeling spotless. After using this constantly for the past few weeks, I've noticed an incredible difference with my skin and I definitely feel as though this product is to thank for the vast improvements and lack of blemishes that I've been faced with.

I never realised the importance of toning your skin until not long ago and this was a skincare step that I often missed out. However, after picking up the Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic, I've realised that I really should've been doing this more often. Unlike most toners, this one doesn't contain any alcohol, which means that it isn't harsh on the skin and instead feels soothing. The aim of a toner is to restore your skin's pH balance, as well as removing any left over dirt and oil. I feel as though this is a really important step that has ensured that my skin truly is the cleanest possible.

A problem that I was faced with for quite some time was finding a moisturiser that worked for my skin. I have the problem of getting dry patches, especially around my nose, but I'm also prone to greasiness and spots. However, I decided to try the Liz Earle Skin Repair Light Moisturiser, as I fell in love with some of her other products, and so far I'm really enjoying using it. Apparently, Liz Earle created this product for her teenage daughter, meaning it will be particularly good for young skin and blemishes. This product has definitely hydrated my skin and made a noticeable difference, as it now feels glowing and free from dry patches.

For the days when I'm feeling a bit lazy with my skincare routine or simply want to freshen up my face without doing a thorough cleanse, I'll usually opt for a face wipe. Although a lot of people say that these aren't the best for your skin, I feel as though it is okay in moderation, especially if you find some that provide lots of skin benefits. The facial wipes that I've been using are the PS Love Argan Facial Cleansing Wipes, as I found them to sound very interesting and unique, especially since I've heard a lot about the benefits of argan oil. It is hydrating and soothing, as well as promoting healing for blemishes and scarring. These wipes smell delicious and they leave my skin feeling nourished, so I've definitely enjoyed using these.

Although spots haven't been appearing as frequently as usual now that I've adopted this new skincare routine, I have still had a few rogue blemishes that need taking care of. To treat them, I decided to use the Quinoderm Dual Action Spot Cream, which has been my go-to spot cream for quite some time now and I find it to be the best option for quickly treating any imperfections. This cream is incredibly strong but effective, both removing spots and preventing any future breakouts. I've been relying on this for a few years and it's definitely made a huge difference to my skin.

I hope you liked hearing about my updated skincare routine and if you'd like a more in-depth review of any of the products, just let me know. Thanks for reading and I'll be back on Sunday with a new blog post!

Love from Daisy x