Pretty Little English Things

So last weekend (Sunday 6th of August to be precise) I was fast asleep dreaming about, (food probably lets be honest) when I heard my husband abruptly turn over and say, ‘Babe shall we  go to visit Chatsworth house today?’

At this point my eyes opened and I looked at him in shock.

‘You, want to, go to Chatsworth?’ I was in absolute amazement. ‘Erm ok then, lets go come on get up!’ I screeched! (My husband by his own admission is quite hard to convince to go on days out).

On to the post…

I shot out of bed, picked a simple outfit to wear, because I knew a lot of walking would be involved, ironed it and ran to the shower before he could change his mind.

Before he knew it I was dressed and ready, waiting at the front door with a picnic blanket, a small satchel type bag, and obviously my camera dangling around my neck ready to start snapping away.

‘Ready?’ he asked.

‘Yeeeeeaaaah of course I am.’

Now I’ve been to Chatsworth before, it’s in the Peak District in England, for any of you wondering what on earth I’m babbling on about.

Hubby hasn’t been before despite me going on and on about how beautiful it is.

How many of you have visited Chatsworth house before? So picture perfect isn’t it?

Once we arrived there, we were directed to a parking space, because it was quite busy. One thing I would suggest is to try and get there quite early. Obviously not 8am because I don’t even think they’re open at that time, but around 11am is a nice time to find parking and make your way to the area you want to visit.

On this particular day there was a Jaguar car show-taking place. This was rather exciting because I particularly loved the old classics on show.

Jaguar classic car

Jaguar classic car

Chatsworth House

Chatsworth House

We opted to visit the beautiful garden, as it stands there is a charge to access this area of Chatsworth, but believe me when I say its totally worth it for a day in serene surroundings and beautiful views. You can get some pretty decent snaps there too.

Who doesn’t want some amazing pictures eh? I certainly wanted some! Credit goes to my amazing husband who followed me around snapping shots every 2 minutes of anything I thought would make a nice backdrop, which lets face it was everything. I did some snapping of pictures too but he did quite the load this time.

First we walked down a beautiful path which led us straight in to the gardens on our right there was the most amazing view of Chatsworth House, and to the left there was a carefully sculptured water feature, which was called the ‘Cascade’.

Chatsworth house

Chatsworth house

Views, views....views

Views, views….views

After trying all sorts of positions on the floor and on my tiptoes to get the perfect picture without invading other peoples privacy, I gave up. Had a small tantrum about how I wanted the best pictures but people were getting in the way and walked off.

But my husband being the most patient soul he is took some for me. He of course also tried different positions, but didn’t throw a strop like I did. In fact he got some amazing shots of the cascade.

'Cascade'

The ‘Cascade’

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Next we passed the ‘Rock garden’ that was essentially a rockery which appeared to have a small waterfall flowing down it.

'The Rockery' Image no 1

‘The Rockery’ Image no 1

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‘The Rockery’ Image no 2

Can you see the waterfall stream?

Can you see the waterfall stream?

Let me just stop you right there, just to set the scene, the deeper in to the garden I got the more surreal it felt. It was like I had been transported in to a fairy tale setting  in an ‘English Country Garden’ with a lavish mansion built for a king and queen in the Victorian era. I felt like I was in Pride and Prejudice.

Chatsworth house and a smidgen of the garden

Chatsworth house and a smidgen of the garden

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From above 'The Rockery'

Breathtaking views from above ‘The Rockery’

We were most excited about venturing in to the ‘Maze’, yes you read it right, they have a maze, and I ran round it like a over excited big kid trying to beat my husband to the centre.

I won. Obviously!

'The maze'

‘The maze’

Entry and exit in the maze area

Exiting the maze area

Finally we found the ‘Coal tunnel’. I wasn’t too sure about going in there, but my husband was beaming with excitement at the thought of getting me in there and scaring the life out of me.

Signs for the 'Coal Tunnel'

Signs for the ‘Coal Tunnel’

After much convincing, and seeing even small children eager to go in I decided to just go with the flow. The closer I got the entrance the more I asked myself, ‘Kiran are you absolutely sure you want to do this?’

Entry in to the 'Coal tunnel'

Entry in to the ‘Coal tunnel’

My husband had already gone in so I closed one eye took a step forward and ran, shouting his name. He came back to walk with me, and then started saying things like… ‘Can you see that spiders web?’ ‘Oh look there’s a bat?’

Inside the 'Coal Tunnel'

Inside the ‘Coal Tunnel’

Don’t worry guys there was no spider and certainly no bats for goodness sake, he just got sheer enjoyment out of making me squeal.

There were so many more areas of the garden I wanted to visit, but as we arrived quite late in the day we didn’t have that much time. Like I said earlier the earlier you go the more you can explore.

I would certainly recommend going to Chatsworth house. It’s suitable for anyone in my opinion and I can’t see how you would not enjoy it?!

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On our next visit we’ve agreed to do the house tour also. Obviously I’ll write about that too.

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For now farewell x

Love

The Five Minute edit x

Summer NARS

I have absolutely no real excuse or justification for why I haven’t posted in over a month. I’ve just had so much on in my personal life I haven’t had a minute to sit down and type away… which leads me on to this post.

So since I’ve been so busy (with 0% social life), I’ve had to find myself an everyday makeup routine that’s been quick and easy to get on in the mornings and take off in the evenings. Who else thinks removing your makeup in the evenings is such a chore? Not just me right?!

Anyway I’ll stop babbling now. These have not been brand new purchases in fact a few of the items have been re purchases and some rediscoveries. I decided to stick to a brand I knew and was fond of.

I’ll start with the order of my application.

First up is the NARS ‘Pro-Prime’ primer with SPF 30. Now since I have pretty clear unproblematic skin I try not to use foundation on a daily basis, in stead I stick to this to give me the look of evened out clear and smooth skin. Also with SPF 30 it provides some protection from the sun.

NARS 'Pro-Prime' primer

NARS ‘Pro-Prime’ primer

I am aware that traditionally Primers are used to provide a base for foundation to sit on, however being the rebel that I am I have decided to use this instead of a foundation and dare I say it but it works for me!

I know what you’re thinking… How does it cover up and even out the skin tone?

Well this is where my next product comes in to application.

Concealer. Yes you guessed it. It’s Nars radiant creamy concealer.

Now I know this is a cult product for many and it is for me also. I love it! One of the best concealers I have found on the market and believe me I have tried MANY. Like others I find it difficult finding a concealer that;

  1. Matches my skin tone and doesn’t look to grey or orange

And

2. Doesn’t look too cakey or cracked after half an hour of application

NARS Radient Creamy Concealer

NARS Radient Creamy Concealer

It’s so easy to apply on to dark circles and it blends out really nicely. It’s also quiet easy to remove at the end of the night so I’m not rubbing away at my eyes like a makeup removing obsessed person.

Next up…

Eyeliner

For an everyday look I tend to go for something that’s quite light on the eyes for a no make up make up look. This one is perfect to apply to the lower lash line. It seriously does not budge throughout the day.

NARS larger than life eyeliner in Rue Bonaparte

NARS larger than life eyeliner in Rue Bonaparte

On to the Blusher …

This blush has been one of my absolute favourites for quite a while now. It’s one that I reach for on a daily basis, and I think it suites my olive skin tone perfectly. To apply it I sweep it on with an Eco Tools brush and it lasts the whole day, leaving my cheeks glowing throughout the day.

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NARS Blush in Deep Throat

NARS Blush in Deep Throat

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Finally…

Lip-gloss

Now even though I am more of a lipstick girl, I NEEDED to find something that was low maintenance and would go with every outfit. So this is what I chose and I absolutely love it. ‘Giza’ is a lip-gloss I purchased a few years ago and because of the longevity of it, I only had to replace it early this year. This colour is the perfect nude, peachy colour. It lasts hours and hours and is not sticky at all.

NARS lipgloss 'Giza'

NARS lipgloss ‘Giza’

NARS Giza lipgloss swatch

NARS Giza lipgloss swatch

IMG_4989Here they are my NARS go to makeup picks for an effortless no makeup, makeup look. Oh and my Ray-ban Aviators! Just can’t go anywhere without them!

What are your makeup favourites right now? Are you more of a lipstick girl or a lip-gloss girl? Which Nars products can you not live without?

I’d love to know!

Love

The Five Minute Edit x

(Oh … and don’t forget to check out my Instagram account – thefiveminuteedit1)