January Favourites

A new year and a new round of favourites, how is it that we have already reached the end of January? Time is moving seriously fast, it won't be long until we're all celebrating Christmas and the coming of 2017!

Surprisingly I have been preventing myself from buying beauty products this month, and this does mean that I have been using products that I'd completely forgotten I had instead of sticking with my usual. I went through a phase last year where all I would use for my brows was the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade and because it's a product that will literally hold your brows in place all day, I decided to only use it for nights out or special occasions, but for the last couple of months I have gone back to using this everyday. I love the way that I can use this product to really carve the brows out and with the right brush you can still achieve the hairlike strokes that everyone craves for their brows!
I remember raving about the Smashbox Primer Water not long after it's release last year and although some people think that it is a gimmick and doesn't really work, I have been relying on this product before foundation this month, because my skin has been dehydrated and this just places moisture into the skin before applying anything else. And this leads me onto my next product which is a foundation, and I'm not really someone who is a lover of drug store foundations but I'd had this one for a while and decided that I would try it again and my gosh I am glad I did! The Revlon Colorstay Foundation has been my go to, and I use the formula for oily and combination skin because although my skin has been dehydrated it is still oily which I have to admit is a real pain! But I have to admit that this seems to keep oils at bay throughout the day and I can put this on in the morning and it won't fade anywhere near as much as some other foundations that I have used in the past! And I have to say that the shade range for this foundation is actually impressive for something out of the drugstore, I would highly recommend checking that one out!

So a while ago I saw everyone raving about the MAC Mineralize Blush in Warm Soul and without even considering it, I had ordered. Then came the problem of me being so pale and this having a very beige tone to it, and so I put off using it for so long in case it looked too stark on my skin! But just recently I decided to try it out with a bronzed look and a very light hand when it came to applying this product and I think I've found my perfect way to wear this blush and I'm pretty happy about it! This blush also has a lovely gold pearl to it which makes the cheeks shimmer slightly which I think really adds to the look!
I have also been using a different tool to apply my foundation recently and this is a blending sponge from Chi Chi Cosmetics and honestly I think I bought it because it was blue but I prefer this over my Real Techniques sponge because it seems softer on my skin and has the pointed end to it making it great for applying product around the nose and in the under eye area. But I know that Chi Chi isn't easily assessable in the UK and so I feel like when it's time comes to an end, I will go back to the much loved Real Techniques sponge!

A product that I have gone back and forth with since I got it is the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer, it's one of those products that works for me sometimes but not all the time. I love it because it is a concealer that is actually light enough for my skin which is always a bonus and if my foundation is a little too dark, I can semi highlight with it, but I only tend to use this on my under eye area day to day. However I feel like sometimes it just doesn't quite cut it for coverage with me, my under eyes are very dark sometimes and so layering is what happens but I love how lightweight this concealer feels and I do think that I will end up repurchasing this when it's gone!
I recently made a post all about my Z Palette containing my Makeup Geek shadows and I feel like for most of this month, this was the palette that I would reach for because it's custom and you put the shades you want in there, so you know there's always going to be an eyeshadow look you can create that will suit you and your own preference. But I have been also using the Makeup Revolution Awesome Metals Rose Gold eyeshadow as well either on the centre and inner of the lid or just in the inner corner as a pop to the shadows I'm already wearing. And I just find that it creates a really nice metallic foiled look to the eye and I must admit whenever I was wearing this, I seemed to receive more compliments which is never a bad thing!
What products have you been loving this month, anything you think I should try out? Let me know in the comments!

2015 Favourites

It's unreal to think that its been a year since my last yearly favourites, and I can't lie, I feel as though many of these products will be the same as last year because I can't help but be a creature of habit! And I also wanted to say that I really want to stick to a post schedule this year, as last year started well for me and then went pretty downhill towards the end!

PRIMER: L'Oreal Skin Perfection Magic Instant Blur I've gone through two of these this year, and I did try to use other primers after I used up the first one but I decided to come back to it, as I feel like it works well blurring any pores or imperfections, and it does make my makeup last a little longer than it would without a primer FULL COVERAGE FOUNDATION: Mac Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15 I'm pretty sure that this would have been my favourite foundation for last year as well, but I still continue to love it and use it a lot. This year I did finish up a bottle and for about a month I didn't repurchase it but finally caved and had to buy a new one as I found myself not knowing what foundation to use and wishing that I still had this one to use! I also find that this does a good job at covering almost everything up, and so I use less concealer! MEDIUM COVERAGE FOUNDATION: Makeup Forever HD I know that some people will say that this is also a full coverage or at least build able, but I tend to find that on my skin, it is more a of a medium coverage because I'm used to the coverage of the MAC foundation but I would recommend this highly as it's such a nice finish and feels so lightweight on the skin! It's also perfect for photographs as there's no flashback. CONCEALER: Collection Lasting Perfection Probably one of the cheapest concealers and still everyone raves about how good it is, I love that this concealer is so light that it works for me and it has amazing coverage, I use it for both under the eye and covering any imperfections and once it's been set with a powder, it looks so nice and so I will continue to use this, but I do tend to find that I need to stock up whenever my shade is available because they sell out fast! POWDER: Mac Studio Fix I am someone who prefers a full finish foundation and ever since I've had this powder, I've been using it to set my liquid foundation and I just find that it helps keep my oiliness at bay and I now can't imagine using a lighter powder to set everything! CONTOUR: Benefit Hoola Bronzer So, at first I found this powder to be pretty scary because it's so pigmented and I'm someone who is so fair and bronzer shows up immediately, so I've learnt that less is more with this and I also like to use the brush that comes with it to blend out my contour and I just find that it works so well and doesn't look orange on my skin! BRONZER: The Body Shop Honey Bronzer I love this bronzer, I use the lightest shade and I've had this bronzer for well over a year and only just hit pan, but I just find that it looks so nice for my skin colour, it makes me look bronzed which is a miracle and doesn't make me look like I've just bathed myself in a bronzer that is way too dark. BLUSH: Natural Collection Peach Melba I had someone suggest this to me on a previous blog post and I can't thank them enough because this is my go to for every makeup look, it's so natural and I'm not too keen on pink blushes so I love this and will continue to use it every day, and for the price point its really a steal! HIGHLIGHT: Sand (Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Palette) This is one of the only highlights I can use that doesn't make me look oily by the end of the day and just looks like I have a glow as such, but I'm a fan of the whole palette so its a win win situation!

BROWS: Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow Pomade and L'Oreal Brow Artist Plumper These two products have been the best combination for my eyebrows this year, and I'm someone who is all in for the strong brow and so I use my dip brow to fill everything in and create the desired shape and then I use the brow plumper to add more volume and set them in place. Honestly this combination will insure that your brows are in place for hours and I love that the plumper is warm toned and so it works well with my hair colour and the eye looks I usually wear. EYE PRIMER: Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow base I can't rave about this eye primer enough, it's the only one I'll use now and it just keeps my oily lids at bay and I can trust that whatever eyeshadow is going on top of this will be there for the whole day with no creasing, so what more can I ask for? SINGLE SHADOW: Makeup Geek Frappe Ever since I've had this shadow, I tend to find that it's my go to warm toned brown for almost any eye look, and for the price of Makeup Geek shadows, I really don't think it gets much better! And this is a brown that looks good in a mixture of eye looks or just on its own and I use it both ways. CREAM SHADOW: Maybelline Colour Tattoo On and On Bronze I have loved this for a long time and I think that everyone and their cats own at least one of the colour tattoos, the formula of these is so incredible for a drugstore brand, and I use this on this own, as a base, or part of a complete eye look, and built up to full opacity this is a beautiful shade and I feel like it compliments blue eyes extremely well! SHADOW PALETTE: Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette Who doesn't like this palette? No one. I think everyone needs this palette in their collection because it's got so many different potential eye looks in there, and I can use this for both natural day to day and dramatic night looks. I tend to find myself taking this with me when I'm away from home because it has everything you need and it smells like chocolate, so it doesn't get much better! EYE LINER: Bobbi Brown Gel Liner I'm not someone who wears eyeliner too often, personally I find that it takes me far too long but I have to admit that whenever I want to wear some sort of eyeliner, I tend to go for this, as I find gels easier than pens and also this gel lasts so long on the eyes and doesn't transfer into the crease of my eye. MASCARA: Maybelline Lash Sensational I think this will be the only mascara I use from the drugstore for a long time now, I do tend to use the waterproof version purely because I prefer waterproof formulas, but this mascara makes my lashes look longer and thicker which is exactly what you want and it holds a curl which is pretty important for some people also!

NUDE LIPSTICK: Mac Velvet Teddy Is it really a surprise? I've yet to meet someone who doesn't like this lipstick and I feel like it's one that suits pretty much every skin tone and I just find that it's a go to nude and its a matte formula which is what I tend to lean towards so I will go back to this time and time again. BOLD LIPSTICK: Nars Audacious Lipstick in Liv As someone who wears a lot of berry and purple shades, I struggled to decide on one that is a favourite but I always find that people compliment this lipstick and its one that I find very comfortable on the lips and I die for the packaging of these lipsticks, as well as the inside product! LIP BALM: Nuxe Reve De Miel This has been my favourite lip balm for as long as I can remember now and admittedly sometimes I forget to use it and I know it because my lips will hate me, but I must admit if you use this as part of the skincare routine, you shouldn't ever experience dry lips as this is so highly moisturising and nourishing and I also love this its a matte finish because I hate the look of glossy balms on the lips!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and that you also enjoyed my favourites from the past year. Let me know what you'd been loving, or if any of my favourites are the same as yours!

Getting into Pinks and Nudes

In previous posts, I've always said how I would usually steer clear of pink and nude lipsticks just because I never really felt like they suited me. But just recently I've been stepping out of this comfort zone and so I thought I would share them all with you! 

I'm someone who will use a lip liner almost every time I wear lipstick, and I think this is because it makes it last so much longer on the lips but it's helpful for when wearing darker colours because you have the outline instead of going straight in with the bullet! The two lip liners that I tend to use the most are East End Snob by Rimmel and Whirl by MAC. I find that I can wear both of these shades on their own as well as under lipsticks, East End Snob is a dusty pink and I find that this can be used under pretty much any pink lipstick and works well! For the price of this lip liner, it is well worth picking up, it's so easy to wear, and the formula is so creamy on the lips but still lasts so well! This has also been rumoured as a dupe for one of the Charlotte Tilbury lip liners, what's not convincing you to pick it up?! Then there is Whirl which is a a dirty rose colour and on me, it works so well as a "my lips but better" shade and so I do use this a lot! I find that it works well with both nude and pink lipsticks, and would say that is a must have lip liner for those of you who like to wear the muted pinks and dirty rose type colours!
There's a couple of MAC lipsticks that I can use as everyday shades and I find that these two are shades that are spoken about highly in the beauty community. The first one is Velvet Teddy which for ages was so difficult to find in any MAC store, and this is a deep beige toned lipstick that I find can dress any look up, I wear this both as an everyday lipstick and as an evening lipstick because it works so well with a lot of different makeup looks, and I would probably have to say that it is one of my favourite nude lipsticks to wear! The other shade from MAC is Brave which when I first starting wearing this was strange for me, because I'm someone who tends to wear matte finish lipsticks all the time, and this lipstick has a satin finish to it, but this is ridiculously easy to wear and feels so comfortable on the lips! This shade also holds some beige tone to it, but it is a lot more pink than Velvet Teddy, and I find that when I use this with the Whirl lip liner, it really is a 'mlbb' look, and it looks lovely for everyday makeup!

I think the lipstick that started off the pink and nude wearing for me personally is the lipstick Resist from Illamasqua and this is a brand that I haven't tried anything else from but when I saw this lipstick in their sale I couldn't resist - no pun intended - and so immediately picked it up! I would describe this is a wearable brighter pink and again is a rosey toned pink rather than fuchsia pink, and this is another matte lipstick and I do find that this can be a little bit drying on the lips if I wear it for a long period of time but that is probably due to the formula!
The next two lipsticks are both from Gerard Cosmetics and they are in the shades Buttercup and Rodeo Drive, which are both extremely wearable shades, that are non drying on the lips and have a pretty good longevity on the lips! Rodeo Drive is a shade that is pretty similar to the Illamasqua one, except a little bit darker and has more of a purple undertone to it, and this is one that I think would look good on anyone. Whereas Buttercup is a lot more of a nude shade with pink undertones to it and when applied to the lips it looks quite sheer due to the creamy formulation, and so I tend to use this one with a lipliner to make the lipstick more opaque.

The final lipstick that I used all the time when I first bought it is the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in the shade Nude-ist and I love these because they have a little doe foot applicator which makes them so easy to apply with or without a lipliner, and the opacity of these is unreal! I find that I only need one layer and the jobs done, these are technically a liquid lpstick and this shade in particular dries to a semi matte finish which I love and because of the finish, I tend to find that it lasts all day on my lips which I'm not complaining about however they can be quite drying which is the only downside! This shade in particular is pretty much Rodeo Drive in a liquid lipstick with a more matte finish to it.
I hope this was helpful to anyone wanting to try out more nude or pink lipsticks and if you have any reccomendations for other lipsticks that are similar to these, please let me know in the comments!

July Favourites

Another month has rolled around at a ridiculously fast pace and so that can only mean that it's time for me to ramble about what products I've been loving for the month of July! I do have to admit that July has been a month where the weather got ridiculously hot for the UK, to then be raining at the current time of writing this post! And so due to all this, it's safe to say that my skin is rebelling and really doesn't like me at the moment!
So the weather has made my skin a little drier than usual and so I have been using The Body Shop Vitamin C Glow Boosting Moisturiser which not only provides my skin with a hydrating layer to help battle my dry patches but also leaves my skin looking so refreshed and glowing like the name would suggest! Due to the colour of this moisturiser, it helps to prevent the look of tiredness to the skin and I really think that it does improve this, at least one me. It's one that is a little pricey for a drugstore option, but if you suffer with skin that looks a little lifeless and dull, I would highly recommend trying this out!

The first of my makeup favourites comes from Makeup Geek, and their eyeshadows are something that I wish I had discovered a long time ago because the quality of these shadows are incredible for the price! But the one shade that I really want to mention is Peach Smoothie which is the perfect transition shade for any eye look and honestly this has been my go to for almost every time I've done my makeup, and I can see me hitting pan on this before any other of the shadows from Makeup Geek! I've also been using my MAC Quad again which honestly, I'd kind of forgotten about and glad I've rediscovered, it houses Vanilla, Charcoal Brown, All That Glitters and Woodwinked which all together create the sort of eye look that I create all the time! There's something about MAC shadows that I really love, the pigment is amazing and I have yet to find one that doesn't blend out beautifully and although these are pricier than the Makeup Geek ones, I would still highly recommend if you want to splash out a little more!
Sticking with the eyes, I have also been using the Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Liner but not in the typical black shade, instead I have been opting for brown which I have found is a lot easier to wear and goes with a lot more of the shadow colours that I tend to wear! And I have found that the Maybelline gel liner is so easy to use, and because it's so creamy, it just glides straight onto the eye and really does stay in place for the day! And even though I have been using brown liner, I have still been loving my Maybelline Lash Sensational because it's the one mascara that really separates my lashes while still giving them length and definition, and it doesn't transfer onto my eyelids! But everyone has raved about this mascara and so I feel like I don't need to say too much about it, just buy it if you haven't already!

A few new purchases have made their way into this months favourites, the first of them being the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit which I am questioning to why I didn't buy earlier! My most used shades from this kit are definitely Sand and Fawn which I use for my contour and highlight and I don't feel like I would use any other contour shade (except maybe Hoola) now just because it is so grey and really looks like a shadow on the face and not bronzer in the wrong place! And as for the highlight, it isn't chunky or too glittery, instead it looks subtle on the cheekbones and is a shade that really reflects in the light! And to go with this I have been using the Real Techniques Sculpting brush with the fawn shade as the brush fits into the hollows of the cheeks perfectly and really helps to create the defined contour!
As I have been trying to get into using pink lipsticks, I picked up Brave from MAC and I have been loving using this shade as it is one that is so easy to wear! I feel like if I have been wearing a lipstick this month, it has most likely been this one and for someone who wasn't into pink lipstick a few months ago, they have really started to grow on me as long as I'm wearing the right shade of pink to suit me! As well as this I have been using the Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in the shade Nude Mauve which I have found is so subtle on the cheek, while still giving a glow due to the marbled effect of the blush! And this is one that I have been using a lot because it goes with almost any make up look and any lip colour and so it's definitely been my go to blush! And my final favourite for this month has been the L'Oreal Lumi Magique Concealer which I have been mixing with the concealer for my under eye area as it this concealer really brightens and reflects in the light which is perfect for the under eye area! But I do find that using this on its own doesn't hold enough coverage and so this is why I mix it with other concealers!
So these have been my favourites for this month and as you can see there has been a lot of make up involved in this one! I would love to know if any of you have been loving the same products as me? Or any products you have been loving this month, I'm always looking for new things to try! 

Makeup Haulin'

Some of you may have seen the little Superdug session I posted on Instagram and I also picked up a couple of things from Debenhams, Cult Beauty and MAC, so I thought is there anything better than to share with you all what I got? I did purchase these products all at different times but since then, I have had the chance to use quite a few of them, and so for some products I will give mini reviews for you all!
Starting with all the purchases I made from Superdrug as it's the largest part of the haul, I think it's safe to say I went a little crazy, and I think it's because I've mainly been buying higher products recently and I saw some new things in the drugstore that I decided I need to pick up! There were a couple of products that I knew I wanted to find in store and the first one of these is the Real Techniques Sculpting Kit which I already use every single time I do my makeup! Even if you don't want to buy this set, you need to buy the sculpting brush because it makes contouring so easy! I use this with either my Benefit Hoola bronzer or Sleek Contour palette and it just makes it quicker and easier than it's ever been! I honestly think this would be a good one for beginners in contouring!

I've yet to find someone who doesn't love the Mayeblline Colour Tattoos and I so what would a little haul be without a couple of new shades?! I already have a lot of the shades and so I decided to pick up Immortal Charcoal and Timeless Black, the black shade being more for a base when I'm using darker eyeshadows to make them pop that little bit more and the charcoal colour is so pretty and I think that it will be a good way for me to step out of my eyeshadow comfort zone! But honestly, I can't even fault these cream eyeshadows and if you're looking for alternatives to higher end cream shadows, I wouldn't look much further than these! And for a drugstore product the shade range isn't all that bad so these come highly recommended from a lot of different people!
One of my favourite purple lipsticks is the Collection Little Mix Perrie, and recently Collection have launched the colour Mulberry Burst into their ordinary lipstick line and when I heard this, I was so happy and decided that I needed to pick it up in this version (I don't even know why!) I have yet to try this lipstick out but I'm pretty sure it's the same formulation as the Little Mix ones and if it is, I know I will love it because they aren't too matte nor too glossy but they are very  creamy on the lips meaning that whenever I wear this, it doesn't dry out my lips which is always a bonus!    Something that I think goes unnoticed by most people is the MUA counter in Superdrug's, and in all honestly, I've only ever tried one of their products but after using it, I decided to pick one up in a different colour! And this product is the Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer which I bought in the colour Tranquillity, which is a very neutral brown beige colour, and when swatched really reminds me of Velvet Teddy but just a little bit lighter! As well as this lip product, I also picked up another one of the Maybelline Colour Drama Lipsticks in the shade Red Essential and I probably do have enough red lipsticks but having one in a pencil form seemed so much easier, and everyone loves these so can you ever have too many?
I also picked up a few more things from Maybelline - they did have an offer on and so I took advantage! A product that I had been seeing pop up a lot, is the Lash Sensational Mascara and I picked mine up in the waterproof version, thank you oily eyelids! But so far, I have been loving this mascara and I use it pretty much everyday, the wand on this is small and so I find it's easier to use, and it actually holds my lashes in a curl and makes them look longer which I love! I was a fan of the Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner in Black and Black Chrome, but recently I have been liking the idea of using a brown liner as it's a lot softer and so I picked it up in Brown and so far I really like it! It's a gel liner that's very easy to use and I find that I like to create a liner close to the lashes and then smudge it in, to make it look more rough and undone! The final thing that I got from Maybelline is a newer product, the Master Sculpt and I'm a good fan of contour and highlights so I knew this would be something to pick up! I picked up the lighter shade and the contour shade is really good for my skin tone but I've found that I'm not overly keen on the highlight but if you are just starting out with contouring, this could be a good one to get!

A couple of new things from MAC is never a bad thing, and something that I had wanted for such a long time now is the Fix + and for some reason I just never picked it up, but now that I have it, I'm really questioning why it took me so long! As I'm someone who gets super oily especially now the weather is getting a lot hotter, I find that powder is my best friend but I never want to look cakey, who does? And so, I find that giving my makeup a spray of this after powdering just stops it from looking cakey and keeps it fresher and so I have fallen in love! I'm usually someone who goes for a matte lip but I purchased the lipstick Brave a while ago for one of my friends and since seeing them wear it, I knew I needed it, which led to the purchase of that for myself!
The Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation is something that is highly coveted by a lot of beauty bloggers that I follow, and so I'm someone who can't stay away from a hype even if I don't give in right away and so, this saw me purchase this foundation! I love it already, I've had it for a few weeks now and it really does stay on the skin for a long time, which is a bonus for me! I also found the shade range was pretty good and although I am the lightest shade, there would something for a everyone I think! If you want a new foundation and feel like splurging, I would highly recommend this, but I do find it works best when my face is hydrated and primed properly!

So, it's safe to say that we all went a little crazy with the launch of Makeup Forever in the UK, and with the ever talked about HD Foundation and Full Cover Concealer I knew that I needed to try them out and so that's what I purchased from Debenhams! I did have high expectations for the foundation and I have to admit I'm not overly in love with it, but I think it's because I prefer a full cover foundation and this gives medium but I feel like it doesn't build up well on my skin, but I will keep trying to use this as it does look nice when first put on! However, the concealer is my new holy grail product over most things, don't get me wrong I still love my Collection concealer but I find that I can really target conceal certain areas of my face because there is no applicator with this and I use a brush for it instead of using a concealer on unnecessary places due to using one with a doe foot applicator!

I have to admit that this purchase was one that I'd wanted to make since the launch of this product and I'm pretty sure that I placed it at like 2am one morning, but I really don't regret the decision! The Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit is all kinds of beautiful and I feel like my contour has never been as good as it is now! The Fawn shade I've found actually works pretty well for me even though I am super pale, and I know a lot of people also rave about the Banana shade but I find that for my skin tone, I just can't use it because the under eye area will just look yellow and so out of place instead of looking highlighting so I'm steering away from using that! But what I really love about this palette, is the highlight shade Sand, which I find is really beautiful on my skin and doesn't look like too much! I find that having oily skin can often be a problem when it comes to highlights, but this one doesn't look super sheeny or wet on the skin and actually stays in place for the duration of my makeup which is a bonus! 
Have any of you done some makeup shopping lately, or got some of the products that I've mentioned? Let me know what you think of them, and if you want any in depth reviews of products I've purchased!

The MAC Eyeshadow Quad for Beginners

As a self confessed eyeshadow junkie, it's probably only right that I let you know what I consider to be my top eyeshadows from MAC, for the neutral lovers and beginners at least!

All these shadows have been picked so that they can be put into a quad and all used for make up looks, whether it's very natural for everyday or smoked out for a night time look. There is a shadow that can be used all over the lid, one on the crease, one to smoke it out (lightly or heavily) and one for a brow bone highlight!

To begin with I picked Naked Lunch, which is beautiful shimmery pink shade, but don't be put off by it being a pink shade because its more of a minimal pink that when blended with other shades, really doesn't look pink at all! But its a shade that can be used in a complex look or can just be used on its own, which is something that I do quite regularly just because the shimmer makes the shade seem a lot more on the lid, than just the one shade! 

A colour that is coveted by many and is pretty much a staple for your MAC collection is the shade Charcoal Brown which is for some reason the perfect brown, its cool toned, almost muted and just seems to work perfectly in the crease for pretty much any neutral eyeshadow look! And as a crease sahde should be, this is a matte shade and as a matte lover, I can't get enough of this shade!

We then have the shade Vanilla which I use as a highlight shade in the inner corner and on the brow bone, and this is simply because the shade is a very light peachy come ivory shade which holds a lot of reflect which when used a highlight looks very flattering as it tends to catch the light and reflect - as it should! But I also find that when I use a highlighting shade I want something that isn't overly shimmery or glittery especially for everyday use and this shade certainly isn't!

And finally the shade that I use for lightly or heavily smoking out the look is Bronze which is a golden brown, that holds a gold bronze shimmer and again isn't an overly shimmery shade so you can pack it onto the outer part of the lid and add it into the crease without it looking like too much! It's also a nice shade that can be added in with shades like Amber Lights if you feel like branching out from the neutral shades!

Since writing this post, I have fallen in love with the shade Sable, which was mentioned in the previous post, and this shade has been sat in palette for quite a while, and is one that I have been wearing all over the lid because it comes across as more than one colour on the lid! A shade that I'd highly recommend!

Do you have any favourite shades from MAC, or any shades that you've tried and didn't really like? If you own a quad, what shades do you have housed in there?

January Favourites

Most of my favourites for this month are either completely new products to my routine or stuff that I have loved throughout 2014 and so I've kept them as part of what I do pretty much every day!

The two new products that I have been using a lot are the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette which I have been talking about way too much but it's just too good of a plate to not rave about! Although I don't do many ‘evening looks’ this palette can be used for daytime and evening because there is so much colour choice with darker and lighter shades available! And it smells like chocolate when you're using it, what more could you want? And the other is the Nuxe Rêve De Miel which is like heaven for your lips – especially in the cold winter weather! But I just slap some of this on my lips when I need it and just before I go to bed and it lasts so long that I barely feel like I'm thinking about having chapped lips!

I haven't had a particular foundation that I've been going to back to this month as I feel like my skin has been all over the place and I've been using whatever feels best for my skin on the day! But no matter what foundation I've been wearing, you can guarantee that I've been using The Body Shop Instablur primer underneath because this is a primer that managers to smooth over everything and just creates an even base for foundation to be applied on! I've also been using the Honey Bronzer from TBS as well because I'm fairly pale in the summer and so the winter is terrible, I somewhat resemble Caspar the Friendly Ghost and so the lightest shade of this bronzer is nothing too in your face or orange as others would call it! Perfect for all those pale skinned girls out there!

Speaking of being pale, I've also been using the MAC Mineralise Skinfinish Natural as my setting powder because I find that the shade Light is pale enough for me to not have to use a translucent powder as the MSF does give the smallest amount of coverage without altering the colour of my foundation! However if you are more tanned, the same shade is great for an under eye setting powder! 

A skincare product I've been using for a while now is the L’Oreal Skin Perfection Advanced Correcting Serum which is a serum that claims to perfect the look of skin by minissmising the look of pores and hydrating the skin to make it look more youthful. And I can say that I have felt a difference in my skin since using this and I'm now on my second bottle so it can't be half bad! I've always been conscious of my pores and I find that the combination of this and the Instablur primer, I'm not worrying anywhere near as much which I'm happy about!

The last favourite for this month has to be the song Real Love by Clean Bandit and Jess Glynne, and I know this isn't a new song but it's one I have been listening to non stop, I just love Jess’ voice so much!

Winter Lips

I love the cold months, it means that the darker lipsticks make a reappearance with all varieties of red and berry tones to indulge in, however with the weather as it is at the moment, the chap sticks are coming out ready for preparations.

Rimmel London Kate Moss in 107: now, I love a good berry lip as much as the next person and I remember a couple of years back, I would never have gone near dark lipsticks as they were waaaay out of my comfort zone! But alas, I fell in love with this lipstick and its ones that pretty much every female owns! But this is a lipstick that isn't too dark for daytime wear, I love the fact that it's matte and a good matte considering its a drugstore brand!

Rimmel London Kate Moss in 01 & 30: these are both glossy finish lipsticks one being a deep red and the other being a wine colour - both the colours you would associate with the upcoming season! My personal favourite the 30 which the wine colour but either of these can be worn as a stain or a full on colour which I think is great for those who want to start wearing more daring colours because it doesn't have to be worn as a solid colour! I found that for shade 30 the Maybelline Colour Sensational Lip Liner in Midnight Plum works extremely well to line the lips!

L'Oreal Collection Privee Pure Reds in Blake's Red: one of the newest reds to come out in the drugstore and has been dubbed as one very similar to MAC’s Ruby Woo and I can see the resemblance and for someone who wouldn't want to pay out for MAC, this is a very good alternative and again for a drugstore brand, a very good matte lipstick that I find isn't too drying on the lips!

Collection Little Mix Lipstick in Perrie: a very cheap lipstick for those who are on a tight budget but still one that is in my favourites because I find the colour to be so unique considering the brand! The purple is one that is a lot lighter than the rest and can easily be wrong for a day or night time look and I find that this has pretty good staying power and is quite nourishing on the lips! I'd pick it up if you're on the hunt for lighter purple shade!

Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Shame: this one is on the pricier end and one that won't be to everyone's likings, but last year I took the plunge and got the darkest lipstick I've ever bought! Now in the stick this looks incredibly scary and on the lips, it's still dark but it's one that I love to wear at night! You can bet that once this is on, it's going to be hard to get off but on the downside is that it's messy to apply and so a light and goes a long way!

MAC Lipstick in Ruby Woo: my favourite lipstick of the bunch, there is no doubt that if I could wear this everyday, I would! Daytime or night time this lipstick comes out to play and if you like a red lip, you should probably go and pick this up! I also pair this with the MAC Lip Liner in Cherry which a perfect combination! 

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Colour Balm Stain in Crush: the perfect berry shade for the people who don't like a full on colour because this is a very balmy and glossy and does stain the lips so the colour can be built up to be opaque or just left very sheer on the lips! I also like this because the product comes in a chunky pen form and this makes it so easy to apply!

Do you have any lip favourites for the upcoming months? 

The Brow Game

When it comes to eyebrows I never went down the route of filling them in, until about a year ago and to start with, I just used the good old MAC Omega eye shadow which I have to admit on lazy days, I still go for. It does the job! That was before trying out Benefit's Brow Zings which is again a do it all product - quick and easy - but I found that the colour was too dark even in the lightest shade, so I tend to use the powder side of this and leave the wax side!

More recently, I've been on the hunt for different products and have a few that I have been enjoying using, and for people like me who have to find brow colours for blonde hair, I've been searching for brow colours that match my hair! The first one I tried out, courtesy of Zoe and Gabby who both raved about it, is the Soap & Glory Archery Brow Tint and Pencil which I have in the shade Love is Blonde. At one end is a felt tip type nib which produces a tint and the other end is a waxy crayon which is the end I use because I find that the colour is a great match for lighter hair.

The next two products come from Anastasia Beverly Hills - who we all know, know brows pretty well and so I felt as though I didn't need any convincing when it came to buying these two things. The first one I bought was the BrowWiz in the shade Ash Blonde and this is handy because not only is the pencil amazing in terms of the colour and texture, the other end of this a spoolie and so it saves taking a spoolie and a brow pencil around. But the actual product itself is amazing and I love that the pencil is thin and so it makes it a lot easier to fill in the thinner areas without overfilling the brows. 

The second and final product that I have been using religiously since I got it is the DipBrow Pomade in the shade Blonde which I have to admit is darker than the pencil but nothing too different from my hair colour. But I feel I can't rave enough about this product, it's one of those products that you can put on at 8am and not worry about for the rest of the day because by the time its 8pm everything is still there; I honestly think this stuff is one of the best brow products I have ever used. I especially love that this is not anything like the texture of a pencil and so I find that this almost glides on exactly how you want it to and still looks natural!

There are a few more products such as the Gimme Brow that I want to try out, are there any products you think I should try? Have you tried any of the ones I've mentioned?

A Mini MAC Haul

I'm not sure what classifies as a 'mini' haul but for the purpose of the title, we will say that this is a mini haul! Just recently, I've fallen in love with MAC all over again (not that anybody doesn't love it) and this saw me purchasing some new things that I've had my eye on for some time and other things that were rather spontaneous! 

When I was recently browsing the MAC website, I found myself adding lot's of new products to my favourites but there was one product that I had been thinking of purchasing for quite some time now! And this product is the MAC Mineralize SkinFinish Natural which I have seen so many bloggers rave about at the moment and I think this is what finally made me decide to buy it, unfortunately I couldn't order from the website (as it was out of stock) but I managed to pick up from the nearest counter! However, I did end up ordering more products from the website and I've been waiting to try out these products because I wanted to get this post up! Which means I'll probably be back with some kind of review of the products mentioned!

The first thing I bought is rather boring but I feel it's going to become a staple for me as I'm doing a lot of travelling to London in the upcoming weeks and this is the Pro Palette Eye Shadow x 4 and this just means that I can pop my eyebrow colour in there along with three other shadows and that's all I have to take with me instead of taking any of my larger palettes with me! But even for home use, I can keep the colours I use most in this palette which is easier for access. Speaking of eyeshadows, I decided to order another pan for my current palette and decided on the shade Shroom which is a very neutral shade that I will most likely wear all over my lid with a brown shade going through the crease! I like this shade though as it's one of those that isn't too matte nor too frosty, a win win situation!

There's seems to be a running theme with my online purchases so far, because yet again I have something that is for the eyes. Now this product is a holy grail for most but I have seen some people who don't like it, but it's something I've wanted since I first started buying from MAC and this is the 217 Blending Brush and finally I have it! It is the brush that is able to blend eyeshadow even if it's owner can't, or so it's been said! I am very excited to use this and see whether to the hype has been worth it and maybe buy more..!

I'm one of these unfortunate ones that has very obvious dark circles under my eyes so I'm always searching for a concealer that not only hides the circles but keeps them concealed for quite a while! And after searching through endless reviews on different concealers, I ended up ordering a blogger favourite and that is the Pro Longwear Concealer. And I have to admit that I was so eager to try this, that I did end up using it the day it arrived and then I placed it back in the box ready for writing this post! It did impress me though, covered up what I needed covering and looked very natural and not at all cakey on top of my foundation, I think I've found a winner!

Along with these purchases, when I opened the box, I also found two samples and these were the Zoom Fast Black Lash Mascara and the Prep + Prime Skin, and I haven't thought about ordering either of these products before, so I will give them a go and see how I get on with them!

Eye Spy

Something I've been spending (too much) money on lately is eyeshadow and for some reason it was always a product that I never really paid too much attention to before. After trying a range of products, I'm now questioning this!

Having possibly one of the worst skin combinations ever, I wasn't too sure whether these types of products would sit on my eyelids without creasing throughout the day or just disappearing altogether. But I bit the bullet and decided that I'd try it out and see what worked and what didn't! I started out by buying a Sleek palette in Au Naturel Nude and I have to admit I was impressed with the quality of the product considering it's a drug store product. The palette contains twelve different shadows that are highly pigmented, and I have found that these eyeshadows do last throughout the day even without the use of a primer. Before indulging in more eyeshadows/palettes, this was my go to palette every day because the colours work with everything, I would highly recommend this to people who don't want to spend too much on their eyeshadows or make up in general but want a variety of colour that still holds quality.

After trying a powder eyeshadow, I thought I would try out a more creamy based eyeshadow that I could use as a base colour to build up on, or just on it's on (if I'm feeling lazy). So I found the Maybelline Colour Tattoo when I was in Boots and bought two different colours, and rather quickly, I have built up a collection of these little pots. I went for colours that I could easily blend and were more natural and so I have Eternal Gold, On and On Bronze, Permanent Taupe, Pink Gold, and Metallic Pomegranate. I have yet to try these without using a primer first because I feel the creamy texture would crease easily on my lids, but I use Pink Gold a lot and build it up with other eyeshadows.

So, leaving the drug stores behind, I went out in the search of a decent eye primer and ended up in the Urban Decay section of House of Fraser... Ooops! Not only did I come out with a primer, but I also left with the Naked palette which I love dearly and I would recommend this product to everyone! I can use these eyeshadows with or without the primer, but I find that they stay on for a lot longer if I'm using the primer and I also find that the colour is a lot bolder if I have used the primer beforehand. This palette has colours that can be used for everyday wear or for night time wear and I must admit, I use this palette almost every day even if it's only for one colour. The pigmentation in the shadows is amazing and they shadows are so easy to blend, I can honestly say this palette is worth the money and I wouldn't hesitate in repurchasing it. 

The biggest splurge as far as eyeshadows go is MAC. Now, I decided that I would start my own palette, and so far I have six eyeshadows that I have kept in the neutrals zone and I will slowly build this up. But with the colours that I bought, I have to say that with the use of a primer, they will stay on all day and the pigmentation of these eyeshadows is unbelievable no matter what finish the eyeshadow is. I also found that with these eyeshadows they are so easy to build up and blend with each other to create a daytime or evening look and you can create what looks like a complex look with only a few of the eyeshadows. My go to look with the colours I have at the moment is Naked Lunch, Satin Taupe and Sable which make a really nice autumnal look. I also bought one of the pigment pots in Vanilla and I use this to highlight the inner corners of my eyes and also on the brow bone, and I love this product because it can just be put on with any eyeshadow colour and it accentuates the eyes that little bit more. 

As well as all these eyeshadows, I have recenetly purchased the Benefit they're real! mascara which I have decided I will use for evenings rather than a daytime look, because it does what it says and really lengthens the lashes and makes them seem thicker depending on the number of coats you apply. I recently stopped wearing eyeliner on my lash line as well so I thought why not start again and bought the Maybelline gel liner in Black Chrome and I haven't used this product in this colour but is a normal black with a slight shimmer to it which caught my eye, and I also bought a Rimmel Exaggerate eye liner which is liquid based and I now use this on a daily basis.