April is the month of somewhat excessive chocolate consumption and new seasons. Shoutout to the Autumn chill in the air. April was a bit quieter over on the blog for various reasons. I ended up being quite busy and we've had work going on at our house so filming videos is a bit trickier at the moment. Hopefully I'll be back into doing those next month. Anyway, here's what you may have missed over on the blog this month.

An introduction to Essence: European cosmetics brand Essence is much more readily available in NZ now and can be found in most Farmers stores. I'd never tried any of their products until quite recently and I found some absolute gems among their range. All their products are very affordable too which is great, especially since a lot of overseas brands, even the cheaper ones are quite pricey here.

Sydney to-do list-I'm off to Sydney next week and I'm quite excited, not gonna lie. I compiled a little to-do list of what I want to do whilst I'm over there. If you have any recommendations of things to do or places that have to be visited, let me know.

Autumn skincare update-It's only recently that my skin seems to have left it's mirror-shine days behind *knock on wood* and so I've found myself reaching for products that are more hydrating than anything else. Most of my skincare routine's stayed the same but these new additions are going down a treat. If you grab one thing from this post, make it this. 

Products I have used up + new beauty things-This month's video. The title says it all really. I used up things and talked about them. There's also some new bits from The Body Shop in there which'll keep the tea enthusiasts happy and an interesting product from Mac.

All I Know Now-Thanks to Carrie Hope Fletcher. I was lucky enough to be sent this book for review before release date. Spoiler alert: I loved it. Check out my review and keep an eye out for another Carrie-themed post sometime soon!

-What posts did you enjoy reading in April?

*I hope your week's have been rad so far. It's a short working week here in NZ, although I still went to my part-time job on Monday. Then yesterday I was in the city for a meeting and an obligatory Moustache cookie. Today's a bit more chilled and I'm just catching up on things really. Nothing exciting! I'll be back on Friday with another The Week post so I'll see you cool cats then x.

It seems like every YouTuber is bringing out a book these days which I think is such a big thing for #teaminternet and bloggers/vloggers aplenty. Hitting our shelves tomorrow is All I Know Now* by Carrie Hope Fletcher. Her book is part memoir, part guide to navigating the sometimes treacherous road that is adolescence and life in general. So what did I think of it? Sit back, get your cup of tea and cake ready and maybe put some Disney music on to further set the mood. Can you tell I'm a bit of a Carrie fan? Moving on...

For those not in the know, Carrie is more than just a YouTube sensation. As well as now adding author to her list of talents, she is pretty darn successful on the West End. She is currently playing Eponine in Les Miserables but has also been in a number of other shows during her childhood. She is one talented lady. I'm sure you're probably thinking, how can 22 year-olds know everything? Sure we've lived a little bit but we certainly don't know it all, and neither does Carrie. What we do know though is about being a young person, navigating the sometimes scary and frustrating world that is high school, mean girls, goal setting and everything in between.

All I Know Now is broken down into acts, including an overture and a finale. Being a musical theatre enthusiast, this concept did excite me quite a bit. There's sections on internetiquette, friendships, achieving your dreams, love and more. I won't spoil the whole book for you, don't worry. Each section is broken down into multiple chapters and Carrie shares a lot of her own experiences and stories from growing up. The advice never feels generic and it's just like hearing Carrie's voice from one of her videos, in book form, or as one of her reviewers put it "this is a best friend in book form".

Carrie is often dubbed the 'honorary big sister' of the YouTube world and after reading this and watching her videos it's easy to see why she is so deserving of that title. Her advice is never patronising and the fact she includes anecdotes from her life makes this book that much more relatable. It's not too serious and is often very entertaining. She even has some Harry Potter analogies in there which earns her extra Gryffindor points. Even though I am no longer a teen this book was still incredibly relatable and I feel like everyone, no matter how old they are would be able to take something away from this book. 

I had high expectations for All I Know Now, being a Carrie Hope Fletcher fan and all, and it really didn't disappoint. This book is fantastic and such a valuable resource for teens and young adults who are still figuring life out. Carrie's writing is brilliant and you can really tell she's put a lot of herself into this book.  The fact she's taken the time to include a selection of valuable resources for people who may be facing trying times in her book just shows how much she cares about her fans and their wellbeing. I'll definitely be re-reading All I Know now again very soon.

-If you're in the UK, All I Know Now is available for purchase now. Australia and New Zealand, All I Know Now is out tomorrow, April 28th and I suggest you get your hands on it asap. 

*I was sent an advanced copy of this book for review but I am such a Carrie fangirl that I would have been lining up at the shops tomorrow to buy myself a copy. Scouts honour.  In fact, I may have even squealed with excitement when I opened this up in the mail. Make of that what you will...

I get by with a little help from my Friends-Quick nostalgic moment, my cousin used to have this poster on her bedroom wall and I'm not gonna lie, I was jealous of that poster. It was massive! Anyway, this week good ol' Buzzfeed posted a list of Friends quotes guaranteed to brighten your day and as expected, it is brilliant. Be prepared to laugh out loud at your desk/phone screen and not even care about who's watching. 

An Hourglass dupe?-Say it isn't so! Max Factor bought us their Facefinity primer which is said to be a reasonable dupe for the Hourglass Veil Primer, according to Alix. Well now they've released some blushers to rival the Hourglass Ambient Lighting ones. The Creme Puff blushers are very similar in design, with an almost marbled effect and from what I've seen online, they don't come up short in the pigment stakes either. They're not out in NZ yet but a little bird told me they're not too far away. 

A Nail Polish Heaven-If you're a longtime reader you'll know I used to get my nails done by the lovely Leah Light. I've known Leah for over five years now (scary!) and she's done so well for herself in that time. Well now she's opened up a second nail salon in Parnell and it is fancy. I went along to the opening night this week with Tara and it's such an awesome space. It's so spacious and there's lots of separate rooms to get your finger and toenails did. Don't quote me on this but I think they do tanning there too. Definitely check their salons out if you're in Auckland and want fabulous nails. 

Good Reading-After perusing the library's magazine selection and not find the latest Vogues *sad face* I stumbled upon this magazine about books. It's Australian so there is a bit of a focus on Australian literature but there's also a focus on popular reads of the moment with great reviews. If you're a bit book-obsessed and you live in NZ or Aus, try to track this down. It's great.

A Spring Edit-Yes, I'm well aware it's not even the slightest bit springlike in the Southern Hemisphere right now. Makeup rules are made to be broken so if you like softer Spring makeup then go for it. I loved this makeup look that Anna created this week. How gorgeous is that Tarte palette too? *insert heart eyed cat emojis here*

*Have an awesome weekend everybody! It's another long weekend here in NZ, to honour ANZAC Day in its centennial year. I've actually had a busy ish week and I feel like I've not been home very much. This weekend I hope to sleep all day sleep in and I'm doing a spot of shopping on Sunday and no doubt watching the anticipated Bruce Jenner interview too. Have a good one x

'Bout that base...Okay I'll stop with the Meghan Trainor references. Foundation, BB creams, and tinted moisturisers are all staples in many a girl's beauty arsenal. Whether they make your skin look flawless, conceal a multitude of sins or just leave things looking a bit more glowy, we'd be lost without them. I currently have three base options-this one from Rimmel which I'm a bit 'meh' about. I liked it at first but to be honest, I don't think it's that amazing. Then there's the Clear Difference* BB cream. I do like it but it's reserved for good skin/lazy makeup occasions. Lastly we have my ultimate go-to, Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet or PLV as I like to call it. Satin finish, buildable coverage and longevity. It's amazing. There's just one problem, I'm running out of it.

Where am I going with this? Well, I'm due to replace my foundation and I'm torn. While I love PLV, I kinda want to try something else. I'm tossing up between this new version of Laura Mercier's silk creme foundation and Nars Luminous Weightless. So what should I do? Stick to tried and tested or try something new? Let me know your input in the comments below. If you've tried either of these foundations let me know what you thought of them.

*PR Sample