A New Base

As summertime rolls around in the UK, it means that my face only gets oilier and trying to keep foundation in place becomes a pretty big task! But I have found a foundation that works so well for me and it is such a good price (I'm already on my second bottle).
I'm sure most of you have already heard of the Maybelline 24 hour Superstay foundation and if you haven't tried it yet, what are you waiting for? At only £9.99 a bottle, I'm quite happy to repurchase this and wear it all the time! I use this foundation for a day at work and it lasts in a very hot and greasy environment, but I will also use this for a night out or events because it just looks so lovely on the skin! Despite this being a very full coverage foundation I find that it looks so good on the skin and never cakey at all!

This foundation has a soft matte finish to it, but it is not in anyway drying on the skin which is great for all day wear, as it it not uncomfortable and I do feel as though it stays matte on the skin for me which is always a bonus! As someone with oily skin, I do always go for a matte foundation over anything else, but I also feel like this foundation would work so well on dry skin, just because it never clings to any dry patches I have even after a days wear!
Even though it is a matte foundation, I do set it with either the Laura Mercier powder or the RCMA No Colour powder as I would with any other foundation, and both of these seem to work really well with this one and keep it matte and on my face all day!

The only downfall with this foundation is that it could have has a bigger shade range as I feel like there isn't a huge variety and I struggled to find a shade light enough for me until they released the shade 103 which works perfectly me! And I do know that my hand looks rather tanned in the photo but my face really isn't as tanned as that!
I know this is only a short post but I thought I'd just let you all know about the new foundation that I just can't seem to put down! Let me know if you've tried it and what you think!

Most Used Palettes

I'm always so used to writing about all my favourite products as a collective, and so I thought that I would break it down and just write about my favourite palettes. So here's a mix of eyeshadow, contour and highlight palettes that I love and use all the time!
The first palette I love using is one of the newest ones in my collection I think, and it's the Urban Decay Naked Heat which I must say might just be my favourite out of the Urban Decay palettes! As someone who wears a lot of warm brown and orange tones on my eyes, this palette has everything that I love! And as all the other Urban Decay palettes, the pigmentation is amazing but it's still so easy to use and blend no matter how advanced you are with eyeshadow!

A brand that I continue to love is Anastasia Beverly Hills, and I have a few palettes that I continuously use from them! The first one is their Pro Series Contour Kit and I have mine in the shade light/medium which does work well for super fair skin although they could bring out a few fairer shades I think! I don't tend to use the banana shade in this because it just doesn't work for my skin, but the middle contour shade is the perfect colour for me, and the highlight is so subtle and pretty! If you haven't tried this palette, I would highly recommend to anyone who is into contouring and highlighting.

Another palette from this brand is a cult classic, and I feel like it would be wrong to not include it, as I can't imagine not having this and of course its the Modern Renaissance palette! This is the original eye shadow palette that everyone has and loves and if you don't own it yet, you need it! Filled with warm tones (which we all love) but you have the  lovely pops of colour that can spice up your eyeshadow look! This is a palette I could definitely take travelling and not need anything else!

The last palette from Anastasia Beverly Hills is the newest to my collection, and this is the Sugar Glow Kit and as someone with super fair skin, highlights for my skin are difficult to find! And I bought this one mainly for the paler white and pink shades but I've found that the other two shades also work so nicely on my skin and can be doubled up as eyeshadows so I do get my wear out of all these shades! But they all have a lovely buildable formula and so I find that I can this for day time wear or night time wear, and they all blend in to the skin so nicely!
The last two palettes I have to talk about are both from Morphe which is the brand that just blew up on social media and everyone seems to love them! The first palette is another cult classic and this is the Morphe 35O which everyone and their dog owns! And if you don't own this, you probably should, because it's something that can work for everyone, it's filled with all the warm tones you could want from a palette! All the Morphe shadows I've tried have been incredible for the pigment whether its the matte or shimmer shades, and all the shadows are so easy to blend and this palette is no exception, and there's definitely a reason that this palette is always sold out!

And the last palette I have to talk about, is possibly my favourite out of all of them, and this is the Morphe x Jaclyn Hill which was unbelievably difficult to get hold of and still is! But it's the one palette I take everywhere with me because it's got all the warm brown tones that I love, but its also filled with an array of colours to brighten up any look, and the shimmers in this palette really pack a punch so I don't feel like you can go wrong with this one! I also love the first two pale shades in the palette as they make such an incredible for on the face as well as the eye!

Do any of you own any of these palettes and love them just as much as me? Or do you have any palettes you would recommend me picking up, I'd love to know in the comments!

My Five Product Face

A face with only five products? Sounded easy until I actually sat down and thought about what I would use, and I have to admit a lot of thought went into this! This is something that I've seen a lot of people do, and so I thought it would be fun to try it myself, and so I've come up with the only five products I would use!

As someone who has an oily t-zone and areas with larger pores, the idea of not using a primer is something that worries me and I can't remember the last time I didn't use one. But I do have to admit that only being allowed five products would make me skip this step completely and just go straight for foundation! And the foundation that I've chosen is my everyday go to, the No 7 Beautifully Matte Light which is I've previously raved about on this blog, so I won't again!
I would then use concealer because even though the foundation has a lovely coverage, I still find that I need to conceal certain areas, and the concealer I would use is the Collection Lasting Perfection, as it's light enough for my skin, and works well both under the eyes and on any blemishes because it is a very full coverage concealer! I would recommend this product to everyone as it's high coverage, easy to blend into the skin and so affordable!
To keep all this in place, I would then have to use a powder, as this is something that my oily skin just couldn't skip! I would use the No 7 Perfect Light Loose Powder as I could use this to bake the under eye and to set the rest of my face and I love this powder because you can pack it on if you want to bake certain areas, and it doesn't dry the skin out and doesn't make the face look cakey at all! I also love this because a usual powder contains 10g whereas this contains 20g and as a product I use everyday, I feel like I'm hardly making a dent in it!

Brows are something that I like to wear even if I have no other makeup on and so I would definitely make sure that I use the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade for the brows. This is because I find that product is good for carving out the brows and its a product that doesn't need a brow gel on top if you needed to skip that step! I also find that the shade blonde is perfect for me and matches my hair so well!
The final product I would use the mascara, and if I had to pick one specific one, it would probably be the Maybelline Lash Sensational, as I find that this really curls the lashes and keeps them curled all day, it also adds a lot of volume to my lashes which is always a bonus! And this is a mascara that doesn't smudge or run, and so I would also be able to use it on my bottom lashes as well as the top!
I hope you all enjoyed reading what products I would use! What product would you use, if you could only pick five?

Kylie Cosmetic Favourites

As someone who has buying Kylie Lipkit's since she first released them, I realised that I'd never done any type of post about them on here. And so I thought I would share with you all what my favourite shades are currently, and what I think of the lipkits in general as I know there has been a lot of mixed reviews floating around the internet!

The very first shade I bought was Candy K and still to this day it is probably my most loved and worn shade, it's just so easy to wear with pretty much any makeup look! I find that if you're looking for a pink based nude, then this is the one to get, personally for me being so fair, finding a nude that looks good is difficult but with this have the pinky tones to it, it makes it so easy to wear! I can wear this on a day to day basis or for a more full on look, as I think that it compliments a lot of makeup looks from a simple winged liner or a blown out smokey eye!
Throughout the end of summer last year, all I wore on my lips was the shade Kristen and I bought this one as soon as it was released and I'm so glad I did! This is a lovely deep pink strawberry shade and I love wearing this with minimal makeup because it can be used as a statement lip. I'm someone who loves to wear a red lip in the colder months and so this is the perfect option for me in the warmer months, and it means you can wear less makeup while looking like I've made an effort! I also think that this is a perfect shade for all complexions and so would highly recommend this one to everyone!

As someone who likes to wear a lot of warm browns and oranges on my eyes, I've found that I reach for the shade Ginger a lot as it seems to compliment these warm tones. Again this is a colour that can easily be worn on it's own as a statement lip, but I do tend to reach for this one more when I have a more warm tone to my eye look, as I feel like it just brings it altogether! This is definitely a colour I would recommend for all complexions, because on me its a very stand out lip that some people wouldn't find as easy to wear but on darker complexions, it would be a really nice lighter shade with a hint of peach to it almost!
The last favourite is the shade Love Bite and  I find that this is one that I reach for on occasions more than day to day basis, as you really don't have to try too much or can you wear tones that match if you are someone who likes to go full glam! I love this shade because although it is another purple, it's a beautiful mauve purple and not just the stereotypical purple. And as far as purple shades go, I do find that this is an easy one to wear because of its muted, more dusky tones, and again this is one that would look gorgeous on all complexions, so if you're someone who enjoys these tones or just likes a more bold and out there lip colour, I'd highly recommend trying this one!

I do really want to invest in her lip glosses next, as I'm someone who rarely reaches for glosses, but with Candy K being a favourite shade, I would love to know what the gloss version is like! How many of you have tried products from Kylie Cosmetics, and what are your thoughts? I'd love to know if we have similar favourites!

A New Base

 As I regularly say on this blog, I am someone who is super pale no matter what time of year it is and so when I find a foundation that is pale enough for me, I have to hope that I'm going to fall in love with it! And during the Summer months, I came across a foundation that I've been not stopped using!
I've always been someone who looks for a more matte foundation as I can tend to get an oily t zone, and earlier on this year No7 released the Beautifully Matte foundation but in a light version. So this foundation has been everything I needed, lightweight for when the weather is hotter, a matte finish but still covers everything that I want to be covered, as my skin has cleared up a lot recently meaning I haven't needed a full coverage foundation!

No7 was a brand I'd never really tried out before and after using this foundation, I really have no idea why! But I decided to get colour matched and as I had guessed, I needed the lightest shade they do and so I ended up picking the new foundation Beautifully Matte Light in the shade Calico. I think being colour matched does help, but I have found this foundation is the perfect colour for my skin, and I love this because even though it takes a little more effort to work it into the skin, the results are so worth it! It covers redness and most imperfections extremely well, so I find that I use barely any concealer with it, and it does stay matte all day which is always a bonus for me! But I would say if you are going to buy a No7 product, it is well worth getting colour matched just so you know you are getting the shade that is right for you!

No7 do have a wide range of foundations, so if the matte look isn't for you,I'm sure there is another foundation that would be just as perfect, although I will say that not all the foundations have the same shade range. And so I found that there were other foundations that unfortunately didn't go as light in shade as the Beautifully Matte Light one. I have also been pairing this foundation with the No7 Primer for pore minimising and I just find that the two products work really well and for the price of the No7 foundation I really can't complain!
Have any of you tried the products I've mentioned, if so what do you think? Or will you try any of these products after reading this?

Inside the Skincare Drawer

I'm always intrigued to know what other people use in their skincare routines, and mine is something that I don't think I've ever shared on my blog! I do admit, that some products do get changed around and I'm still trying to use everything I feel is necessary but I'm still not 100% with my routine, is anyone? I thought I would share it with you all anyway and maybe some of you lovely people could give me product suggestions, but skincare is something that I really want to completely happy with, you only get one face after all!
So my skin type is oily/combination, sensitive and acne prone, could the combo get any worse? I don't think so! So obviously my main concerns are keeping oil at bay while making sure that acne and redness is reduced as much as possible! I do also suffer from small dry patches which can be a right pain and so I use a mixture of products to target different things! My AM routine starts with the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish which I have been using for as long as I can remember, and I think I'm now on something like my fourth or bottle and that's when you know you love it well! I just find that my skin feels super clean whenever I use this and it's so gentle on my skin -  I do think I use the light version though! But this is a great cleanser for anyone who is starting out in their skincare routine because it's almost a one size fits all! I don't have one toner that I necessarily stick to, but at the moment I have been reaching for my Lush Tea Tree Toner Water because my acne has been playing up and it soothes my skin, while helping to dry out the blemishes! I also have the Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic, which brightens up my complexion whenever I use it and this is also great for people with sensitive skin because it contains no alcohol!

I have two serums that I like to use, one of them is The Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Serum and I find that this one is great because it hydrates the dry patches on my skin, therefore making the application of any makeup on top a lot easier however I am now on my second bottle of the L'Oreal Skin Perfection Serum which I found really helped the way my skin looked and felt, which is does claim to do! For a drugstore serum it can be seen as a little pricey, but honestly for the price it is worth it! My skin looked healthier and fresher all the time, I do need to pick up a new bottle thinking about it! When I do remember to wear an eye cream, the one I reach for is The Body Shop Vitamin C Eye Reviver Duo which holds a cream in one side and a liquid the other, and what I love about this is that the side with the liquid also has a metal roller ball, so when you put it on it really soothes and cools the eye area! As far moisturiser goes, there is only one that I've been reaching for just recently, and that is The Body Shop Vitamin C Moisturiser which makes me skin look so healthy and glowing while giving it enough moisture to tackle my dry patches but not take my oily areas over board! This also smells so fruity which I love, the only thing I wish this did have was some kind of SPF, but it's great for everything else so I can't complain!
Now moving onto my PM routine, this contains fewer products and because I mostly finish work at 1am, it does mean that I tend to skip steps which I know I shouldn't do! Anyway, to remove the mess on my face, I use The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Oil that everyone has raved about because it really is that good! It does remove almost all my makeup, aside from waterproof mascara (which we all know is a pain) and I just massage it into the skin before taking it off with a wet muslin cloth, it's as easy as that! I do sometimes use the Garnier Micellar Water after my first cleanse to make sure that everything is gone, especially when I've been wearing foundations like Estee Lauder Double Wear, which really clings to the skin! This micellar could be used as a cleanser on it's own but for me I don't feel like this cleans my skin thoroughly enough! 
Something that has become an absolute holy grail since entering my routine is the Dermalogica Clear Start Overnight Treatment which has really helped with most of my acne, but I will admit that for me this wasn't an overnight transformation with my skin, and I know if I have forgotten to use it because my skin will hate me! Along with this, I will sometimes use the La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo and these two together just tackle blemishes to the best of their ability! I do need to find something to help fade my scars now though, oh how I love my skin! The final step in my nightly routine is to use The Body Shop Bouncy Sleeping Mask which I love! This product is something that I feel I will repurchase again and again because I've found that it has really helped how my skin looks in the morning, because it's a mask that sinks in overnight to really plump and brighten the skin! This could be seen as pretty pricey for the brand but I would honestly recommend this to everyone and their dogs!

I also have a few other products that I use in my skincare, just not so regularly and the first of these is the Lush Catastrophe Cosmetic Mask which I could sing and dance about for days because it's that good! I slap a good layer of this on, and it's so cooling and soothing on the skin, that I never want to take it off! But seriously, this has ingredients in that are really good for the skin, and I find that once I've washed this off, my skin looked less red and acne prone which for me is incredible! I also like to exfoliate every two to three days to keep my pores clear and take away any dead skin (tmi?) and for this I tend to use the Garnier Pure Active Exfoliating Scrub which is designed for people with oily and acne prone skin and so I'll keep using this until I find something better! Some of you may have noticed no face wipes yet and I technically don't own any for the face, but I do have a packet of the Simple Kind to Eyes Wipes and the only time I really use these are when I've been wearing an excessive amount of eye makeup that I want to remove before going in with my oil cleanser, as it just makes it a lot easier! And I find that these ones don't aggravate my eye area too much which is always a bonus!
I hope you all enjoyed a little look into my skincare! Do any of you have any suggestions to what to add in or replace, I'm always looking to try new products! Or do any of you use some of the products that I do? I'd love to know!

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! 

Confessions of A Beauty Blogger

I saw a post a couple of weeks ago where someone was talking about the things they find difficult when it comes to beauty and so I thought I would give it a go! We all have things we aren't good at even as bloggers or enthusiasts in beauty and so here are a few of the things, I probably should work on, or accept will never work for me!
Winged Liner Oh, the dreaded winged eye liner, I often feel like this will never be an achievement for me no matter how much I practice it! I have tried with gel liners, pencil liners and liquid liners but I am no further forward in mastering this makeup magic (and yes, I really am beginning to believe it's magic!) I've found that the only way I can get reasonably presentable looking liner is by using tape, and even then they can still be a little uneven where I've put the tape on! Any tips or tricks?!

Eye Cream Reaching 20 years of age, means I really should have stepped up the skincare game and whilst I take a lot of steps to maintain my skin and keep the acne at bay, one step that I really don't see myself doing enough it eye cream! Now, I don't want wrinkles around my eyes by the time I'm 30 and so I feel like I really should be searching for an eye cream to put in my skincare routine but I will admit that I am rather lazy and just never know what I'm looking for when it comes to eye creams!
Cleaning Brushes  Okay, so I can go from washing my brushes once a week to once every three weeks and it really just depends on the time I have to wash them and let them dry before needing to use them again and I stupidly think that if they don't look lean, I won't need to clean them... Bacteria is my enemy! I also haven't found a way that to clean my brushes that is quick and easy while still being thorough so if any of you have any product suggestions, I would love to know!

Hair Care I'm someone who is lucky to have thick hair that grows very quickly and so you'd assume that I look after it pretty well, which really isn't the case! I am someone who tries to wash their hair as little as possible, using far too much dry shampoo as a result of this and the only product that I use regularly is argon oil so really my hair should hate me! I am trying to get myself to use more products though but I just find hair care to be time consuming and so skip a lot of it which I know I really shouldn't do!
Cream Products There's just something about cream products that don't seem to work with me and I know that as an oily skinned person, creams aren't the best but sometimes a product is too pretty to resist! It doesn't matter what method I use for putting the products on, it always seems as though the cream product just takes my foundation straight off and so for now I think that I'll just stick to using my powders until I find a way to use those pesky creams!
So these are the things that I'm not so good at and I'll happily admit that, is there anything that you find yourself not being good at yourself? I'd love to know!

A Month in Photographs // June

June has seen me use Instagram a lot more, and I'm not sure why, maybe I've just been going out the house more often and buying more things? I say it like it's a bad thing... But these are my photographs from last month!

one. to start the month I saw Ariana Grande (fangirls inside) and I have to admit that she was amazing and I would see her over and over again

two. a few things that were featured in my June Favourites

three. I finally got around to sharing what I bought from Makeup Geek and I'm sure I'll be ordering more

four. took me long enough to visit the Makeup Forever counter in Debenhams but I did and this concealer is probably the best thing to enter my life!

five. if you buy just one eyeshadow palette, make it the Zoeva Cocoa Blend because the shades are to die for and I think that Zoeva eyshadows are such high quality considering they are £15.50 a palette!

six. I went Superdrug haulin' and there will be a post up on this very soon!

seven. a few new bits from MAC and Estee Lauder arrived as well, why it has taken me this long to own Fix+ I do not know!

eight. I saw 5 Seconds of Summer twice in the space of about a week, excessive but worth it

nine. I posted about some habits that I can't seem to shake off

ten. finding pretty cases for the iPhone 6 Plus is a task but I've fallen in love with a few of the Skinnydip London ones!

eleven. I love Kiko eyeshadows and I want to buy more, 'nuff said

twelve. my Gerard Cosmetics order arrived, and the shade Underground is beautiful, imagine the heart eye emoji right about now!

I hope you all had an amazing first half of the year and here's to the second half!

June Favourites

This month has been a bit of a crazy one and for some reason hasn't gone as quickly as the rest but for I started off the month travelling for various concerts and then finished it with celebrations for my mums birthday! So in between all these things and work, it's been a month filled with full face makeup which I've enjoyed but my skin really hasn't! But these are my favourites for the month of June!

There's a photograph coming up in my next Five Inspiring Things post and I fell in love with the makeup and since then, I've been trying to recreate it and there's ones eyeshadow that I've been using constantly for it! Omega by MAC which is a beige toned taupey brown and I've been using it all over the lid with a smoked out lash line using a dark brown (almost black) kind of eyeshadow and although it's still not what I see in the picture, I've been liking it! And by like, I mean that I wore this look for almost a week straight which is kind of crazy for me!
Let's praise the heavens because there is now a new concealer that I'm really loving and although I use my Collection Lasting Perfection one all the time, I just find that it's so difficult to get hold of and so I've been trying different concealers out! With the launch of Make Up Forever in the UK, I made an order and with that came the Full Cover Concealer and anyone who doesn't have this concealer, really needs it in their life! This covers pretty much everything, so when my acne really plays up, I know that I have this to help out, and it's light enough for me which is something that I tend to struggle with!
An favoruite that is reappearing this month is the Rimmel Stay Matte powder that I decided to pick up when I was browsing in Boots! And I remember buying this a good few years ago when I started to take makeup a lot more seriously and I have tried a lot of powders since but there is something about this drugstore offering that is seriously great! I always use the translucent shade and I just find that this sets my foundation for so long in comparison to other drugstore powders and it doesn't look at all cakey on the skin which everyone knows is a bonus!
Staying with the line of older products, something that I feel I've been using a lot more just recently is the Sleek Contour Kit and I've mainly been using the highlight side of this which I think is beautiful and not over the top for everyday use which is always great! I know there are some people who don't like to use this as they find it to be chunky with glitter but I don't find that mine is like this and so I don't know whether it's a luck of the draw kind of thing! But I really would recommend this product because the contour shade is also great and so easy to use and I think for the price of this you can't go wrong especially if you're starting out with powder contouring! 

This month I had a belated birthday present given to me by one of my amazing friends who gave me the highly coveted Velvet Teddy and I'm in love with a lipstick, if that is even possible! I don't feel like I need to rave about this too much as every other blogger has done exactly that but honestly, this is one of those lipsticks that you can reach for at any time, any occasion with any makeup look, a holy grail product in my eyes and well worth picking up!
Quite a while ago I made a post about blushers and a recommendation from another blogger was the Natural Collection Peach Melba blush and I eventually remembered to pick it up when I was shopping in boots and I must say for the price this is a seriously good blusher! This is a beautiful peach colour that would work with a lot of paler skin tones and so great for me, but the one thing about this is the pigmentation which really is very good for a drugstore product! With the pigment being so good, I do find that you have to have a lighter hand with these, but I do think I will be buying some more of the shades as they are something I don't think you can go wrong with!
Let's thank the heavens for my next favourite because I think it's a product that I will be forever repurchasing, and that is the Dermalogica Overnight Treatment which is the greatest thing to enter my skincare routine! As an acne sufferer, I have scars and so I feel the need to cover up with full face makeup most of the time, and after seeing YouTuber Claire rave about this product I knew that I needed to get it! And I've only been using this product for about two weeks now, and there is a noticeable difference in my skin already and for anyone who has acne and sensitive skin, I really would recommend this! I use it after I've cleansed my face at night and then place my moisturiser on top to lock it all in, but it doesn't feel heavy on the skin at all and really does help!

Things I Would Buy Again

As someone who buys a lot of skincare and make up, it really says something about a product that I will go and repurchase instead of trying something else, and so I thought I'd share with you some of the products that I will continue to repurchase for a long time!

Starting with skincare - which is something that I really struggle with - it's nice to find a few products that I can keep in my routine and know that they work for me! The first thing is something that I only discovered towards the end of last year, and this is the Lush Catastrophe Cosmetic face mask, and I love this because it's so soothing on the skin, and for me it calms all the redness and acne down! The next two products won't be anything you haven't seen before, but I swear by the Liz Earle cleanser which is great for people like me, who have super sensitive skin and want something that isn't too harsh! I am thinking about delving into the world of Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel though, any thoughts? For evening time though, I don't think I'm going to stray from The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Oil for quite some time, I love this, it removes make up so easily, and leaves the skin feeling so clean!

A brand that made a huge appearance last year was Zoeva, and something that I will continue to purchase is their brushes, and I think I may even prefer some of them over Real Techniques..! The quality of these brushes are fantastic, they're so soft and wash up really well which is always a bonus and you wouldnt expect this for the lower price tag, and with collections such as the Rose Golden both Vol 1 and 2, these brushes are so luxurious to look at! Honestly if you haven't tried these brushes out yet, I highly suggest that you do!

I'm someone who prefers to wear eye shadow over lipstick, and so it's rare that I do my make up without even a little bit of eye shadow on! But oily lids are work of the devil, and sometimes I kick myself for not buying this product sooner, but I don't know how I primed my eyelids before having the NARS Pro Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base in my life! I will forever repurchase this.

If we were to rewind back to a few months ago, I would have told you that the ABH Brow Wiz was work of the eyebrow God's, and honestly, I still believe this! But if you want something that is a little bit cheaper, and does pretty much the exact same thing, look no further than Soap & Glory's Archery pencil which only has two shades to choose from, but I'm starting to think that the blonde shade is a better match for me than the Ash Blonde shade from ABH!

I don't think that there's a beauty blogger out there who hasn't tried the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer and although not everyone will love this concealer, I can't count how many repurchases I have made! It's the one concealer I can rely on to be light enough for my skin shade, and be able to cover both under eye circles and blemishes which for me makes this one a clear winner! And you really can't complain for the particularly small price tag! 

The last item that I would definitely buy again are Urban Decay eye shadows, I have five palettes from this brand and I love every single one of them, the eye shadows are buttery and so easy to blend out, and because I love neutral shades, I feel like you can't really go wrong with a naked palette! 

How many of you have holy grails that you will repurchase again and again, if so what are they? I'd love to know!

Abigail

xo

Being a Bookworm

Something that I've always loved doing is reading and I own a lot of books, some that I've read countless times and some that are still waiting to be read! And just recently I bought a few more books to add to the collection and they are more on the fiction side of things with the exception of one and I'm sure I'll be posting reviews if I think anyone else would be interested in reading them!

The Maze Runner Series by James Dashner

Girl Online by Zoe Sugg 

Where We Are by One Direction
Love, Tanya by Tanya Burr

But I really want to branch out and buy some books that aren't necessarily stories and more along the beauty side of things, do any of you have any suggestions or recommend anything you've read yourselves? 

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? 

New Routine with Old Products

Entering the colder months can only mean one thing, a bit of mix up in the make up department and lately I have found myself reaching for the same products when it comes to my eye make up! And with only three staples (sometimes four, depending on laziness levels), it's becoming a quick and easy routine!

Remember when the Maybelline 24 hour Colour Tattoos made first made their appearance, well I was one of those who went and bought one in almost every colour and then forgot to use them as they got thrown to the back of drawers! But alas, I have found a use for them, and I'm beginning to wonder why I waited this long to start wearing them. The shade I have been wearing pretty much everyday (what a creature of habit I am) is On and On Bronze which yes, you guessed it, is a bronze!

Before I use the Colour Tattoo, I prime my eyes with the MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ochre, which I know seems crazy, using two cream shadows but I feel like these paints pots really do help keep eye shadow in any format in place, which is great for people like me with oily lids! But back to the contender of this post, I then put the colour tattoo all over the lid with a finger and then use a clean finger to blend out all the edges before adding any more to the lid if I feel like the colour isn't opaque enough.

After the shadow is how I want it to look, I use mascara and I haven't had a particular mascara that I've been using at the moment, instead of being using a variety but I am enjoying the Rimmel Wonderfull Mascara and the Maybelline Falsies Volume Express Mascara but those are the three main products that I have been using on a day to day basis. However, I have decided to add in a little bit of colour with the Urban Decay Naked palette on rare days, I have been taking the shade Half Baked and just placing that on the centre of the lid and blending out and this adds a lovely golden shimmer to the already bronze tones that are there!

This make up look is so quick and easy to achieve, I would suggest it to those of you who don't like to spend too much time of eye make up, or simply don't have enough time to spend on it because this is something that can be worn for pretty much anything!

How many of you have been hoarding the Colour Tattoo's in the back of the make up stash? Time to dig them out and start using them!

Zoeva Rose Golden Luxury Set

After seeing so many reviews on the Zoeva brushes, I decided it was time to just order a set and see what all the raving was about! Admittedly, I'm a little late jumping on this bandwagon but I had been placing these brushes in my basket and then never ordering them - living the life of indecision. 

But I have them and now I can see what all the fuss was about, these brushes are the softest, I can't even express how soft they are. And I think we all fell for the packaging, I mean who can resist the lovely rose gold handles. The answer is no one can. 

I haven't had the chance to use all of the brushes yet but I can see them all being very good to use and with a couple of dupes in there, this set is one to buy if you haven't already! The best dupe in the set is probably the 227 brush which unsurprisingly is pretty much the same as the MAC 127 - if not softer! 

Anyone looking for reasonably priced brush sets (or just single brushes) should look into getting Zoeva brushes because not only is the price cheap enough for people on budget, but the quality of the brushes doesn't drop because of the price! And I would like to try some of their make up products after hearing some good things about them!

Have any of you tried any of the Zoeva products? Or been lusting over this set just like I had been?