2016 was a good year for me. One of the best I've had in a while and I'll actually be sad to see it go. Might be the minority of people that think that but hay ho. 2016 saw me buying a car and passing my driving test, finally getting into 3rd year of uni, getting a new job which I love and seeing so many amazing and new places. I made quite a few great beauty purchases too and cut back on bulk buying by a huuuuge amount - at least compared to how much makeup I bought in 2015 anyway. This did mean that my purchases were all things that I liked, but this post is for all the things I love!
Compared to 2015, I wore sooo much more perfume in 2016. I made a few new fragrance purchases and I love the scents I got. The fragrance I've been loving most though throughout the majority of the year is YSL Black Opium. Everything about this perfume is amazing, the bottle is sheer perfection and the scent, oh wow. Its so sophisticated and such a grown up scent. I always get compliments on it when I wear it, its odd to be told you smell nice but its also so good to know that other are able to smell it and that it smells as good to others as it does to you.
My next favourite is the Kat Von D Shade and Light Contour Palette. I got this a matter of weeks before it was released in the UK, I waited a long time to get my mittens on it and I was so chuffed when I finally got to use it. I've not used all the shades in the palette, cause frankly I'm too pale for some of the contour shades but the lightest shade is the perfect match for my skin - in terms of the ideal contour shade... The highlight shades are so good to, I've played around with the first and middle shades and they give a really nice soft subtle glow. The shades blend brilliantly, and so far I've had no muddy faced disasters. Another favourite from Kat Von D is her Tattoo Liner. The one I have is only a sample, but I'm absolutely certain that the full sized version will be getting bought very soon. At this point I'd hate for it to run out, because its genuinely the best liner I've tried. I used to be so big on the gel pen type but this felt tip one is life. It gives the blackest of lines and you can control the line so so so well. Because the nib is so thin, its also super easy to control the thickness and get a super thin line towards the inner eye. I'm really fussy with eye liners, and this one gets all the thumbs up from me.
Highlighter wise, discovering Hidden Cosmetics was game changing for me. Their products are amazing, and the glow you get from these highlighters is amazing. I find the best way to apply them is with the Zoeva Luxe Highlighting brush, which is another firm favourite for my makeup loves. The brush just blends everything out ridding harsh glowing edges for a more dimmed glow look. I was gonna try force a few more favourites, but the only other things I could think of are things that I got right before Christmas, so didn't think it was fair - cause really they haven't been tried and tested enough. The Huda Beauty palette almost made the cut but that'll have its own post v soon. So these 5 products have been absolute must haves for me in 2016, god bless them and I'll not be without them in 2017!
Recently I took part in a blog swap with my friend, Rena, who lives in New Jersey, you can see the blog swap post here if you're interested. In the swap box Rena had kindly said I could have things to her house to save myself a bit of money, I got some things from the US Sephora and LA Splash sent to her house.
The stuff I got from the US Sephora I'm really glad I got and I can't wait to give it all a try! Since when I did the order last year it was my birthday month I got the Sephora birthday gift, the one I picked was the NARS One Year Bolder lip set. The set comes with two miniature pencils: Cruella and Rikugien. Cruella is a lovely red shade and Rikugien is a nice your lips but better nude shade. I also got a 100 point freebie, the one I decided on was the Kat Von D Studded Lipstick in the shade Lovecraft, this is another nude shade - it looks like it will be quite a good nude shade and hopefully it suits me. Sticking with Kat Von D - I got two more things from her range - I am so excited for her brand to launch here! I also decided to buy the High Voltage Eye Primer, I don't actually remember buying this, so it was a nice wee surprise seeing it in the box. Her makeup seems to be pretty heavy duty and it'll be interesting to see how it helps eye makeup last. The last Kat Von D thing I got myself was the Shade & Light Contour Palette. It was between this one and the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour kit, I think I chose the Kat Von D one because it was a little cheaper and the colours looked to be better for my skin. My NARS laguna bronzer is running out so hopefully one of the shades in this palette will be a good replacement. Next up is the Becca x Jacklyn Hill Champagne Pop Highlighter. I bought this when the hype for it was at its highest. And basically two weeks after I bought it, it was released in the UK. Just my luck. It looks stunning though, I'm not sure if its too gold toned? I'll have to have a wee play around with it to see how suits my skin. The final thing I purchased was the Sephora Ultimate Oil-in-Gel Lipstick Remover. There is no worse thing than being unable to get last nights lipstick off that has now encrusted itself onto your lips. Or when you decide to change your lip colour but its a stubborn one and stains your lips. Hopefully this comes in handy and will help with taking off a bright lip.
Next four things I've got are from LA Splash, they're all part of the Dia De Los Muertos collection that was released last year. The shades I have are: Catrina, this looks to be a grey shade with hints of green and purple running through it; Sangre Azul, this is a beautiful blue shade - I've always wanted a blue lipstick but finding one in the UK is a little tricky; Guadalupe is a beautiful burnt copper orange shade - I can't wait to try this out; and finally Hasta La Muerte, a very dark purple shade - its definitely the darkest purple shade I own. I'm thinking of doing a first impressions video with swatches of these so keep your eyes peeled!
Final things are from Sephora France, I only got two things but if I had waited and gone into the Champs Elysees store I'd have probably spent a lot more! The first thing I got was the Sephora Metamorphosis Exfoliating Power, it cost around 15 euros and it looks like you get a fair bit of product. I do quite like exfoliating my face once or twice a week, but I much much muuuuch prefer the powder ones, but again there doesnt seem to be a lot of these on the market. The final thing I got was an ETTANG Charcoal Peel Off Mask Cup, it looked really interesting so I decided to pick one up - I now regret only getting one but alas too late now to go back and get more. Product reviews will probably be coming up soon on the blog and maybe even in YouTube video form. Have you tried any of these before?
I've done blog swaps before and I've actually already done a swap with Rena before - so last year we decided to do another. Various reasons meant this didn't happen sooner but better late than ever though! I tried filming the swap but a bunch of footage got corrupted, argh! But I thought I would do a little post showing some of the things I got - as more likely than not there will be some posts reviewing some of what I got. The box came very well packaged, and was in three layers- the top two were items Rena picked for me and the bottom layer was things I'd bought and had sent to her house (more on this in another post).
There was a fair amount of lip products in the box, a few lovely wet n wild colours that I'm excited to try, and the apricot Burts Bees Lip Shimmer looks amazing.
SO MUCH EYE STUFF. Who knew Maybelline sold Colour Tattoo Crayons? The Wet n Wild palette looks lovely too, the colours look really pretty. The Wet n Wild liner has some glitter in it and I really really hope its a fair bit of noticeable glitter. I've so much to try out and I'm super excited.
Final things are face products. KAT VON D! Hole-crap. This blush is hugeeee, and it looks so pretty, so many heart eyes. The Maybelline Fit Me concealer is the best concealer I've tried, the UK version of this is definitely not as good as the US version though, so I love when I can get my little mitts on the US one. I'll be testing these products out over the next few months, if theres anything you'd like to see a review on let me know and I'll be extra sure to review that for you!
