Everyday Make-up

Until recently I very rarely wore makeup everyday, and it was even rarer that I stuck to the same products daily. Something changed recently though, and along with wearing makeup almost everyday - I now wear the same few products daily! 

To start off my face I always use a few sprays of the Urban Decay Deslick setting spray, followed by my Smashbox primer. I just find that between the two of these my makeup lasts longer and looks so much better when it's applied. 

I think with my foundations recently I've been focusing on one at a time to try and use them all up, and the one that I've been abusing recently is the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum foundation. I do really love this foundation. It works well with my oily skin, any dry patches though it really seems to hate! It's an alright coverage but it is build able and can be made up to a light medium coverage - concealer easily hides anything else I want to cover up. Healthy mix lasts a fairly long time as well on the skin. I could put it on first thing in the morning and maybe only need a slight touch up by late evening ( say around 7/8).

The concealer I've got into the habit of using is the Maybelline Fit Me concealer - my dog recently got at it and burst a whole in the bottom of it - tragic. I got this in a swap box awhile back and I love it! It's got really good coverage, covers all redness easily, hides spots and banishes dark eyes! I'm plagued currently with looking constantly tired and the Fit Me concealer just brightens everything up and makes me look 1000x better. 

Sticking with the face, I've got into the habit again of bronzing up my face a wee bit - by that I do a tiny bit of contouring to make my cubby round face look a bit now shapely. The one I've fallen back in love with, after a short affair with one from Bourjois, is my trusty NARS Laguna. Ah, how I've missed you, it's just the perfect shade and I think the new brush I've been using recently has made the application of it so much better! Blog post will be coming soon on the new brushes! 

For the eyes I've been very minimal, only adding liner or shadows on days where I have more time to play about. But the mascara I've been reaching for recently is the new (is it new?) Maybelline Lash Sensational Lash Multiplying Mascara. I don't know what it is about this mascara but I've gone gaga for it, it just makes my lashes look so black, long and thick. Basically everything I could want from a mascara. It might be love. 

Brow wise, I've been sticking to the always trusty and reliable Benefit Gimmie Brow, I think I'm running a bit low on this now, but I'll be sure to buy a new one. It's just the easiest and simplest way to give your brows that little bit extra - you really can't go wrong with this.  

The last part of my daily makeup would be some kind of lip product, but depending on the day or how I'm feeling would entirely determine what lipstick I wear. A few I've been getting a lot of use out of recently are: MAC Rebel; Too Faced Melted Ruby; and my trusty old Revlon lip crayon. 

What have you been reaching for? 

November Favourites

I was trying to think of things that I've been loving this month, and at first I really wasn't sure. But I've come up with a few things that this month I've been absolutely adoring. Without further warbling and rabbeting, lets see what I've been loving. 

The colder weather has done a number on my skin, with my lips taking the worst of the cold. They feel permanently sore and tight, every year they do this as soon as the weather gets colder. These two products I've found really help my lips feel nicer, look nicer and sting less. First up is my trusty, Nuxe Reve De Miel lip balm. I got this last year for my birthday in August, I use it every day at least once a day (two or three times a day in the winter months) and its only just beginning to look like it might be running out soon. I doubt I'll need to buy a new one this side of the new year though. I put a really decent and thick amount of this on my lips and just under them, because this is such a luxe product it takes a wee while to sink in fully, it really does wonders for your lips. Its kind of like a mini treatment for the lips. Once that lip balm begins to wear off, I move on to the more travel friendly of the two - I say this because this is in a tube, where as the Nuxe one is a glass jar. The Lucas Pawpaw Ointment (which I now can't find anywhere!) is a wonderful multi use product, I really only use it on my lips - more so when they are overly chapped or sore, like how they are now. I take this almost everywhere with me, and it doesn't need reapplied overly often - major plus. It goes on really easily and just like with the Nuxe one, you can feel it on your lips for some time after applying it. 

Another product I've been loving using is the Micropedi, I got mine when it was on star gift - so its one of the Nails Inc ones. I tend to use this a couple of times a week and moisturise my feet really well. It really doesn't take long to see results with this, within a few days of using it you can really see and feel a difference in your feet. I tend to have quite hard skin on my feet, and this really sorts this out for me. I was so sceptical about this, but I'm so glad I bought it - I'm a bit annoyed I didn't buy one earlier. 

Another item I've been loving recently is this super soft (and huge!) scarf from New Look. I got it before fireworks night, its black white and pink tartan. Its just the absolute softest and cosiest thing ever, for £14.99 I couldn't really say no - could I? 

A few make-up items now to finish off my favourites for this month. Benefit's Fine One One has been an absolute staple for me this month. Every time I've slapped some make-up on my face this has gone on. Swipe swipe blend blend. Done. It just gives the nicest flush of colour, utterly perfect for me. 

Next, is the new Maybelline liner. Its a dupe for the Benefit one, but I actually prefer it to the Benefit one - I've found recently that the Benefit one flakes and the colour comes away - boo! Also its a fraction of the cost, so if its not for you, then you haven't spent all your hard earned pennies. 

It's that time of the year again girls, MAC Rebel has become a staple in my make-up routine. Cold weather comes, and along with it comes dark lips. This dark pink/ purple is beautiful and I couldn't ask for more from a lipstick. I fall in love with it a little more each time I wear it. 

Eye Brow Routine

It feels like the longest time since I wrote a blog post... So apologises for that, life just took over and if I'm being 100% honest I wasn't really feeling my blog. I'm not 100% sure I'll post this till I have a fair few scheduled posts, just so if life gets in the way again I'll have something to fall back on. 
My brow routine is something that I've only recently got into a habit of. My brows don't take much work, and I don't put an awful lot of time into them. 
Both of the products I use on my eyebrows are from Benefit, I've kind of fallen in love with them as a brand recently - Fine One One, their new liner, so many loves. Gimmie Brow and Brow Zings are my two go to products for well defined brows, I'm already blessed with fairly dark and thick brows, so my main goal when taking care of them is basically just to define them and fill in any sparse bits. This routine does that and then some. 

Gimmie Brow is the first step, after I've plucked away a few lot of stray hairs. I don't know what it is about this that I love, but a quick swipe of this and my brows look thicker and less sparse. If your looking for a quick fix and something to just hold your brows in place a wee bit then this is what your after. 

Next up, is the more complex part, although its not really all that complex - just in comparison to Gimmie Brow it is... Brow Zings is a wax/ powder duo that comes with two little brushes and a mini pair of tweezers. Perfect if you do your make-up on the go or travel a fair bit. One swipe in the wax and one in the powder, frame the brows and then fill in. I tend to go in a couple of times, just so I've given them a good filling in. 
I don't do this to my brows everyday, cause if I'm being honest I very rarely wear make-up now, I'd say I wear make-up less than 10 days a month... The two pictures I put at the start of the post are ones with my full brows done. 

Benefit Fine One One | Review

This is actually something I bought a fair while ago, and only really got used to using recently. I honestly have no idea why it took me so long to use - its bloody amazing, pretty much fool proof and gives you the prettiest shade of colour ever! 
Everything about this product is perfect, when I say perfect I mean it. The packaging is so pretty, even by Benefits standards. It's compact, and rose gold. I mean come on, what more could you want - it is stunning! 

The product itself is made up of three different colours, a champaney highlight colour, a pink and a coral orange. Am I making much sense? I know the way I've described it probably isn't selling you on how it looks but believe me, its so worth spending the pennies on. 

I tend to layer it up a wee bit, giving maybe three swipes and blending out. The Real Techniques Buffing brush is ideal for this - this brush was made for it. The colour is really sheer, despite how it first looks when you open it up, so you might want to build it up a wee bit to get a colour you like. 
I don't think there's anyway that you'll be able to fully appreciate this without trying it in person. So go, go now, and give this ago! If you're looking for something to add to your Christmas list then this might be something? 

★

Giveaway Wins | Benefit, Stila, Lime Crime

I wasn't sure if I was going to do this post, but I decided the items were just to good not too. Recently I was extremely lucky as I won Erin's giveaway, the prizes are unreal, I was actually really hoping that I won it since I'd get to try the new Benefit Push-up Liner! Oh Em Gee. 

 Every since this was launched a couple of months ago I've been dying to own it - but y'know its just a lot to spend on an eyeliner. BUT NOW I DON'T HAVE TO! I'm the proud mummy of this beauty, I've yet to try it myself but I loved the way it looked on my eyes when the girls at the counter applied it to me. 

 Another part of the prize was a Lime Crime Lipstick or Velvetine of your choice, I love this shade - its Suedeberry and oh my is it stunning on. Its very much an orange colour but I really like it. It lasts a lifetime and applies really well. 

I love Stila eyeshadows, so the choice of any Stila palette I want was brilliant. I chose the In The Know palette, it looks like a really wearable palette but its quite different to any of the other palettes I own. 

So yeah, quick post but I just really wanted to share these beauties with you all. 

★

Whoops I Seem To Have Another Haul...

So y'know when I said I wasn't going to spend as much? Well that lasted all of about 3 days before I actually purchased something a whole bundle of things. I was in town with my brother earlier on this week and I basically spent a whole bundle that I didn't need to. 

 The first things I got were from Boots, I've been meaning to get these Revlon shadows for ages, I thought they connected into squares and such like but it looks like they will only connect in a line... Anyhoo, they were on buy one get one half price and I had a points booster (which didn't even work...) so yeah, I got 4. The colours I got are Gunmetal, Cocoa, Taupe and Plum - Plum is my favourite so far. 

 I also got myself, what I think are a couple of new releases from Indeed Labs. The new Hydraluron Moisture Jelly has been on my radar for a little while, I had a £5 off voucher that worked with the deal they already had and I had a 300 extra points voucher. Points make free things! The Exfoliator looks to be very similar to the Dermalogia one - you know that powder one? It looks like it could be quite good and I hope it is nice to my skin. 

So I got my face done by a girl at Benefit, and she showed me this, a highlighter and the new eye liner. Since I'd been wanting this for awhile I thought I'd buy this with my points - also Laura from A Scottish Lass showed it in a haul and instantly made me want to go out and buy it. I did kinda like the liner, but I didn't notice it set properly and one of the eyes didn't look overly great, sigh. 

 Next place I went to was the good and brilliant TK Maxx. They had more than a few products that I wanted to buy and I had to actually restrain myself from going completely overboard. They had an Elemis eye cream but I decided to just go for the Dreamy Sleep Night Time Moisturiser. I really like the smell of this, it smells kind of like Lavender - good I suppose for helping you fall asleep. I've never had a night time moisturiser but I've wanted to expand my regime for awhile now and this seemed like a good way to start, especially as it was reasonably affordable at only £9.99. I went a bit moisturiser mad, and bought this Good Things Miracle Mattifier Moisturiser. Not sure why I bought this - just one of them impulse buys, but it was a cheap impulse at £3.99. 

 I'm not sure if I've mentioned, but I love my Stylfile. £4.99 though for one nail file seems a bit steep for me. My brother found this though, it was £5.99 but you get the nail file, a travel one and the buffer (I think it kind of like a 4 way styler). I'm really happy with this - its a complete bargain. Barielle Essentials Base Coat, another thing my brother found me. Bless his wee soul. My nails are so so so brittle and I basically bought this just to try strengthen them and help them grow a wee bit. For £2.99 I couldn't really turn my nose up at it. 

My brother totally understood why I bought this, my mum not so much. Okay, right so I bought this to use when washing my make-up brushes. I'd heard it was really good for cleaning brushes, so yaaah. It smells really nice, they had a citrus one in as well but I opted for the Dr Bronner's Magic Soap 18-in-1 Hemp Peppermint version. It just smells so good! It was £3.99 so pretty cheap I think. 

★

Blog Swap | UK & USA

I don't even remember how long Rena and I have been planning and buying for this swap but let me tell you its been a long time! We set quite a high budget, and that is maybe why we took such a long time between starting and sending. But anyway, I've been reading Rena's blog for a year or so and I really enjoy reading all her posts. Her blog is Kiss and Make-up and I highly recommend that everyone goes and has a wee look and maybe gives her a follow. She is seriously good with make-up and I'm envious of her skills.
Rena received her box before me - which just made me even more excited to receive mine. I have to hand it to the Royal Mail, they managed to get it over seas so quickly. I dare say quicker than some British parcels I've sent....
My box arrived the day after Rena received hers, it came stupidly early in the morning but I was so excited I wasn't bothered my being summoned from bed at an ungodly hour. The box was a blooming nightmare to get into, you taped this up so well! When I finally got into it I had to contain my joy and stop myself from just ripping through the box. I stupidly forgot to take a picture of all the items together (at least properly) so it'll just be lots and lots of smaller groups of items.
Can I just mention how beautiful the card she sent me is? Like, wow, its definitely getting saved - might see if it will fit in my photo album. I did try to film me opening the box but half the film was corrupted so yeah, that was a fail. Obviously the pictures are in absolutely no order, but I'll try say a wee bit about each thing - like what it is and colours and such like, nothing too detailed.

 In this pretty little black and pink striped box was a few lovely little bits from NYX, it was such a cute wee detail to put them in a box. Rena got me two eyeshadows in Golden Amber and Nude - Nude looks to be the colour I've been searching for, it just looks like it will be the most perfect base. Also in the box was a Roll-on Shimmer in the colour Almond and a lip stick in the most gorgeous red shade, Snow White. Very fitting.

 So much Bath and Body Works!! I'm so happy! The candles all smell amazing, Hulas and Hibiscus smells really sweet I can't quite figure out what it reminds me of but it definitely smells like some kind of baked good. Rena also kindly picked up for me Peach Bellini - smells exactly like peach with the cocktail edge to it - and Pomelo Grapefruit, this smells exactly how it sounds. Heavenly all of them. As if the candles weren't enough - Rena you spoil me - she also kindly sent over a couple of lotions and shower gels. She sent a few things from the Sweet Pea range - shower gel, body lotion and body spray. Its the absolute best thing I've ever smelt, she picked these out because they are her favourite so thank you a billion times over. She also sent me a body lotion in Endless Summer, not a strong scent but it is really nice and Japanese Cherry Blossom. The final Bath and Body Works product she sent me was the Aromatherapy Sensual Bubble Bath and Body Wash - this really does smell sexy. Its kind of musky? Is that the word I want... Hmm, could be. But this really is an absolutely amazing scent when this runs out I'll be so so sad.

 I love nail wraps, they are the lazy girls way of getting really cool "nail art" looking nails. The designs on these are so cool and not only do I have some for my fingers, I now have some for my toes! I don't think I've ever seen toe ones in the UK so it will be really fun to use these ones.

 This I know for a fact was the last thing I got, since it was hidden right at the bottom of the box. But this little notebook is so sweet. The colours are right down my street, chevron blues with a pink band. Perf.

Oh Rena how I love thy choices, she sent over two trios and one - shall we call it a palette - palette. The trios are in the colours On Cloud Nine - which is a blue toned one - and Sweet as Candy which is much more of a neutral kind of one. I'm not sure how much use On Cloud Nine will get but I'm sure Sweet as Candy will get a lot of use. The palette she sent me is in the colour The Naked Truth - the colours in this look really wearable and I'll definitely be trying it out very soon. 

 I was sent a few more bits from NYX. Although we are able to get NYX in the UK its harder to come by and tends to be a lot more expensive than it would be in the States. Rena sent over two of the Jumbo eye pencils, a blusher, an eye shadow palette and a pair of eyelashes. I love eye shadow pencils so I was really happy to have received these - and in two lovely colours as well! The colours I received were Iced Mocha - a lovely bronze-y colour - and Cottage Cream - possibly the perfect silver colour for the inner corner? The blush she sent me is in the colour Dusty Rose, I was actually really close to buying this not too long ago so good job I didn't eh? The eye palette - in Adorable -  is the perfect kind of neutral colours, there is a pink shade in there as well but the palette is so so so wearable. Now for possibly the most beautiful eye lashes ever? These look so fluttery and feathery and just out right perfect. I can't wait for a night out so I can wear these bad boys.

 Two more eye shadow palette type things, my eye shadow collection has grown so much. lolz. The Almay trio is so pretty, the colours look perfect for everyday wear - not too shimmery either - and its the one designed for brown eyes. The ULTA palette is very bright but the colour that I homed in on was the blue colour - wow it is such an amazing colour, I've never seen a blue like that before.

Next up is some bits from Milani, the last swap I did I got a blush and a lipstick from Milani and I quite wanted to try some more from them. Wait a minute... Quite wanted? That is such bad English, but you know what I mean. Rena kindly sent over a shadow eyez pencil, an eye shadow, a lip gloss and a liquid liner. The shadow pencil - your feeding my love - is in the shade Sand Dunes, it looks to be quite a gold toned brown colour. The shadow is in the colour I Heart You and my oh my, can we just take a minute to appreciate how beautiful this colour is? I adore red eye shadows like this - I have a few cream ones in my collection - so this is going to get a fair bit of use. The lip gloss is in the colour Sweet Grapefruit - unfortunately it doesn't smell like grapefruit - and looks to be a really pretty pink shade. The liner really intrigues me, this seems like an odd thing to say but I've never owned a liner in this colour and I very rarely buy liquid liner, I really want to use this but since its blue I'm not sure where I'll find the confidence to wear it out.

 I've come to the conclusion that American beauty products use a lot of packaging in comparison to British ones. With that side note, two new mascaras to try. I'm not sure if we have these in the UK or not but I'm really excited to try them. The L'Oreal Volumious Carbon Black mascara looks amazing - so hopefully it will be as good as it looks. And the Maybelline Volum' Express Mascara looks really cool as well, this is one of the Mega Plush ones and is purple so it'll be quite cool to see what it looks like on the lashes.

Rena had said she would be able to get me a sample size of the Benefit Bad Lash and she did! The They're Real just doesn't work on my lashes so fingers crossed this does a better job. I'm assuming these are all sample sizes? Why don't we get samples when we shop? Tarte recently came the the UK on QVC and I was quite interested in the mascara so now I get to try it before I pay full price for it! Okay so I'm not 100% sure if this is for your brows or for your lashes but it is the Anastasia Beverly Hills Lash Genius, I think I'll look up what its for then go from there.

 Liners, liners, liners! Pencil and Liquid. Rena sent me over two Essence liners in Teddy and Love Me Lavender, along with a Wet N Wild black liquid liner. The applicator nib bit for this looks like it could be pretty easy to use, it seems to be pretty thin so in theory no crazy thick lines. Right?

Rena also sent me a Stila lip glaze - I think I had one of these years ago - in the colour Strawberry Lemonade and a Pacifica Color Quench lip tint. This is in the shade Guava Berry and it looks really pretty, I love lip balm things and I'm always on the hunt for the perfect one so this will for sure get lots of use.

 Next up is a few products from ELF, we do have access to this in the UK but only if we order online and sometimes I'm a bit wary of ordering makeup online if I'm not sure of my colour. Rena sent over a set of three lip glosses - the darkest one looks pretty darn cool! She also sent over two Jumbo Eye shadows in Little Miss Thing - a lovely gold - and Midnight Rendezvous - a really pretty brown. The final ELF product was a Shimmering Face Whip in Lilac Petal, it looks like it will be a really pretty light highlight.

 I'm not sure if we have this concealer in the UK, but I'm excited to try it anyway. The colour Rena sent me matches my skin so well. The Maybelline Fit Me range seems to be a really good range.

 Face wipes are the thing I use when I'm too lazy to take my make-up off properly, I'd ran out of wipes but I now have these Green Tea ones to use.

 I know we do get NYC in the UK but its not a brand I've ever really been interested in. Until now though - the bronzer (in Sunny) looks like it could be even better than my NARS Laguna!!! She also sent over a Sparkles Eye Dust in the colour Amber Glitz.

Final thing now from the swap box! Miniature shampoos/conditioners by Paul Mitchell - I think we have this brand in the UK, although I honestly wouldn't even know where to get it from. I was sent the Awapuhi Shampoo and the Detangler Conditioner - after I wash my hair it gets very tuggy so it'll be interesting to see if this helps.

This post was massive! I hope you enjoyed reading it and thank you so so so much Rena for doing this with me I love everything you sent me! Any items you would like to see reviews on let me know and I'll try get them up soonish :) x

★