Maybelline Lash Sensational || Review

It's no secret that when it comes to mascara's that I'm very fussy with what I look for. For a long time I stopped using drug store mascara's because they just did absolutely nothing for my lashes and the amount of money I wasted, it worked out cheaper just to buy a high end one. That was until I found a Rimmel one that I loved which restored my faith in drug store mascara's.

I know Maybelline in general are frequently raved about for their mascara's but this one especially is one I keep hearing only positive things about. Many have compared it to Roller Lash by Benefit that I've been wanting to try so I gave in to the hype to see if it really is that good. 

I really like the packaging of it, it's a pretty pink colour and I like that the writing is just plain black. It looks much nicer than my bright green Rimmel one and it's also a lot less chunky which is handy for carrying around in make-up bags.

The wand on the mascara is really good, it's curved round to hug the lashes much like the Roller Lash one and it's a synthetic brush which generally I prefer. However, the formula of the mascara is really, really wet and I think it will be a much better mascara once it dries out a little.

I really wanted to like this mascara but I just don't. It takes me much longer to get ready in the morning when I use it because the formula is so wet that it's hard not to get it all over your eyelids which is not ideal when wearing eyeshadow. Despite this mascara being so wet, it sets to rock hard once it's on, this is quite possibly the most difficult mascara to remove.. and this isn't even the waterproof version! If you've tried They're Real by Benefit and found that hard to remove then I would completely swerve this one. It's great if you want your mascara to last but everytime I remove it, I lose a couple of eyelashes with it and it takes me way too long to remove when I'm tired. 

Maybe this would work better for you if you had longer natural lashes so you could use less product. However, because I have awful natural lashes I really need to use a lot of product and the messy formula is a nightmare for me. I'm going to try and use the rest of it up but I think I'll end up giving it away for somebody else to try!

What do you think of this mascara?

Lots of Love,

♥

Boots || Haul

I went to Boots ... and I bought a whole load of things that I didn't actually need so naturally I'm going to share them with you so you can buy things you don't need too hahaha (amn't I an enabler!). In all fairness the majority of this haul resulted from my skin having got a good tan so technically I needed some new make-up to match it!

I bought a tanning accelerator because even though I have managed to get a bit of a tan, I'd quite like to darken it at any given chance. Yes I am a tanaholic haha. You can use this both for outdoor tanning and for the sunbeds too (not that I'm advising to use them) and it smells like oranges. It's really moisturising... as for does it make you more tanned? Probably not, maybe it would if you were under a really strong sun but I think I've tanned the exact same as I would have without it! So I think I won't bother buying anymore tanning accelerators once this one is used up.

One thing I did actually need was a new mascara and everyone has been raving about the Maybelline Lash sensational mascara so I thought I would give it a go. I've heard a lot of rumours about it being a really good dupe for Benefits Roller lash which I've been wanting to try. Since it's been so highly raved about I do have high hopes but I'm so fussy with mascara's and haven't managed to find many from the drug store that I actually like so we'll see how it goes. I'll definitely do a full review on this letting you know my thoughts on it.

Another tan inspired purchase was the Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer. I was finding that all my concealers were too light for me (you know that dreaded white under eye look) so I needed a darker one. I went for another cult favourite because I only really need it for under eyes rather than blemishes and anything that promises to brighten those dreaded eye bags sounds ideal to me.

I don't usually suffer from blemished skin so the main reason for me to wear a foundation is to give my face a little bit of colour. So recently I've been finding foundation far too heavy for what I really need so I decided to pick up a BB cream. The only reason I chose this one was because there was some kind of deal on with the concealer but it sounds like it should give a nice sheer coverage. I got this in the shade medium which I would probably class as 'dark' but you know what Rimmel are like with their shades!

I don't know how I ended up purchasing the Toni & Guy salt spray...I'm going to blame it on my friend Robyn for being an enabler. It was really cheap though and so far I have been so impressed, I definitely think a full post will be coming soon on this one! It's quite a small bottle but a little goes a long way.

I'm not going to lie,  the sole reason I ended up purchasing this one was because its erm.. unusual? name caught my eye. Hats off to Soap and Glory's marketing team because their clever names and packaging 100% work. I liked the concept of a tinted moisturiser and this one has lots of vitamins in it. Soap and Glory products usually are really good so I think this one will become one of my favourites. 

I had to stock up on my Eyelure 101 eyelashes. These are always on 3 for 2 which works out at about £26 for 9 sets of eyelashes which I don't think is too bad considering you can re-use each lash (if you're careful) about 5/6 times. I might do a whole separate post on how to look after fake eyelashes if you would like to read it? I did of course buy 3 packs but just for the sake of the photos used one. 

What should I be picking up on my next Boots trip?

Lots of Love,

♥

2014 Favourites || Beauty Edit

I wasn't sure whether to do one of these posts or whether it would be silly given I have done monthly favourites throughout the whole year but I think it's always helpful to know which are the ultimate favourites of the year. Sometimes you can have a fad with a product and love it for a month but then later realise they aren't as great so here are the beauty related products that I've loved throughout 2014.

I've tried to roughly pick through my favourite beauty picks for different parts of the face because if I thought you would have found it interesting then I could have done a whole separate post on purely my lipstick 2014 favourites and the same for eyeshadow etc but I thought this was better. I've also got a Lush favourite thrown into the mix too.

L'oreal True Match Foundation

My foundation favourite for last year without as doubt is L'oreal True Match. It's got amazing buildable coverage, has the perfect colour range for everybody with different skin tones and it has an amazing blendable texture that looks flawless on the skin. I have normal skin but I have friends who use this with dry skin too and love this but it's not at all oily so I'm sure it would work for oily skin too. The best thing about this is it only costs £9.99 which i think is a barain considering this foundation beats any other high end one that I have tried.

Rimmel Lycra Flex Scandaleyes Mascara 

My mascara favourite of the year is one I would never have expected to be in my ultimate favourites from my previous history of trying Rimmel mascaras and that is Rimmel's Lycra Flex mascara. This mascara is amazing, before I was paying over double the price of this for Benefits They're Real but now I will always go for this one. It's packaging isn't the prettiest in it's bright green tube but it does give incredible length and volume and it's much quicker to use than my They're Real one.

Urban Decay Naked 1

My favourite eyeshadow for the whole year was probably my hardest one to chose because I've discovered so many amazing eyeshadow palettes this year. I've really started playing with eyeshadow colours and textures so I've absolutely loved my Make-Up Revolution Flawless and Eyes Like Angels palettes, also my Too Faced natural eyes and my custom Mac eyeshadow palette. However I chose the eyeshadow palette that I've used all year round and loved the most and that is Urban Decays original Naked palette. I know everyone must be bored of hearing about these by now but they really are just that amazing so that's my top eyeshadow palette for 2014.

Mac Chatterbox, Mac Russian Red and Kate Moss #30

As I mentioned previously I could do a whole post on my favourite lipsticks of 2014 but I've managed to narrow it down to three, my favourite Summer lipstick, favourite all year round and favourite Winter. My first favourite is Mac's Chatterbox which is my Summer favourite, it's a gorgeous pretty pink which looks amazing in summertime but I have worn it all year round just because I love it so much. My favourite Winter lipstick has been Kate Moss #30 which is a beautiful berry toned purple and I have absolutely loved this throughout Winter for a subtle take on the purple lips trend. My favourite red lipstick that just looks incredible whenever you want to wear it is Mac's Russian Red which is much loved by everyone and rightly so, it's long lasting, pigmented, stunning and smells amazing.

Tanya Burr Lip Glosses

I know Youtubers releasing products is a controversial one and a lot of people have said they don't think you get the quality for your money and for the most part I agree. However when it comes to Tanya's lip glosses I disagree because I love them, there are some shades that aren't so great but Picnic In The Park, Aurora and Afternoon Tea are amazing. I never used to wear lip gloss until Tanya's glosses but she has got me totally into them. They're pigmented, smell amazing and they look really lovely on the lips, I've even loved wearing them in the Winter (apart from the wind causing hair stuck to lips situ of course!)

Make-Up Revolution Sugar and Spice Blush palette

My blusher favourite will be of no surprise to anyone and that's Make-Up Revolutions sugar n spice blush palette. It contains two beautiful highlighters but my two favourites have been the pink shade in this and the coral shade next to it. They're such pretty blush shades and I love having different shades of blusher available all in the same palette, it would be perfect for taking on long holidays where you want variety but don't want to have to take lots. The only thing I would prefer is that the shades had names but that's just a personal preference thing.

Barry M gelly polishes in Almond & Coconut

Nail polish wise in 2014 I've been reaching for nude nails much more than colours and my two favourites have both been Barry m gelly ones. The first is Almond which is a taupe nude shade, it's nude but a darker nude and it goes with everything. My second favourite is Coconut which is an off white shade and it's another great one for chucking on and knowing it will go with absolutely everything.

Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Stag

When it comes to eyeliners, I have never been fussy I've always just picked up a cheap black one from the drug store that was however before I came across Urban Decay eyeliners. They're so creamy and long lasting not to mention the array of colours they're available in. They are pricey but I personally think they're worth it.

Clinique Pore

This is what I like to refer to as my magic potion and it is without a doubt my favourite skincare item of 2014. Ever struggled with enlarged pores? you know the big ugly ones on your cheek, nose, t-zone because I know I have!! I don't suffer from these half as much anymore though and it is thanks to this, I've tried multiple 'enlarged pore hiders' as I like to call them but this is more an 'enlarged pore curer' which is of course much more beneficial for fixing the problem rather than disguising them. This is pretty high end for skincare but is there a price you wouldn't pay for good skin??

Eyelure 101 Lashes

I love wearing fake eyelashes when I'm doing anything nice because naturally I have rubbish eyelashes, they're quite short and there aren't loads of them so I really enjoy wearing nice full lashes. I hate over dramatic lashes because I like wearing them even if it's just for a date night or for a blog event so I like to wear ones that still look pretty natural but just give me that little boost. I like that they come in a set of three at the moment because it's better value than buying them individually and I love the Eyelure glue it comes with a lot better than 'Duo' glue.

Dessata Hair Brush

I love this brush, it's like a tangle teezer but in this beautiful rose gold colour. It also comes with a handbag compact version which as a girl who finds travelling light impossible really comes in handy for me.

Lush Melting Snowman

My favourite Lush product of the year is a fun one that I thought I would throw in because I absolutely adore Lush and use their products all year round. This one is my favourite Melting Snowman which is a Christmas release but I stocked up on this in the boxing day sale last year because I love him that much. He's a bubble bar so you only need to use a little of him at a time and he creates the most warming, spicy, Christmassy bath. I tend to have more baths during the colder months so it was obviously going to be a Christmas product that made it in here.

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the products that I have loved throughout 2014, what have your favourites been?

Lots of Love,

♥

Maybelline The Falsies || Review

 As a lot of you know when it comes to mascara, I very much had the view that it was high end or the high way. However, my trust in drugstore mascara's was restored after trying the Rimmel Scandaleyes flex one that I got for free which I have gone on and on and on about multiple times and repurchased several times. However, the past few times I've been in Boots and Superdrug it's not been there so I'm assuming it must have been discontinued, if anybody knows then let me know in the comments.

 So once I'd got over my devastation it was either try out another drugstore mascara and hope for the best or go back to using They're Real by Benefit which is obviously much more expensive. After much deliberating I decided to go for Maybellines famous Falsies mascara because everyone seems to love it. Plus it had been a mascara I had wanted to try for a while but having tried so many 'hyped up' drug store mascara's previously and had them do absolutely nothing for my lashes I wasn't convinced enough. I'm super glad I tried this now because it's absolutely amazing. I wasn't sure which one it was everyone raves about either because there seems to be about 5 versions of this mascara but I eventually decided upon the flared one. It's just as good as my Rimmel one that I was in love with so I'm really happy I found a new holy grail mascara painlessly!

 It has a curved wand which I'm not fussed about but apparently it helps to lengthen the lashes and add volume. The idea is that you use the spoon side of the applicator and then flip it over and use the straighter side. I'd be lying if I said I did that, I just use whatever side of the applicator I pull out first and it still gives my eyelashes amazing definition. I don't think I will ever try another mascara again because I've found something that works (unless this gets discontinued of course... there will be war if it does).

Have you tried Maybelline the Falsies mascara? Which one and what did you think of it?

Lots of Love,

♥

Essence UK Launch || Haul & Review

 Hellooo lovelies,

 So a month or so back I was invited by the lovely people over at Essence to their UK launch event in either Manchester or London. However, both these cities are so far for me that the travel expenses of getting there were just unjustifiable. I was so happy when they contacted me again saying they would send me out some of their new goodies to try!!

 The first thing I was sent was their pure skin moistuizing make-up which I would say is between a BB cream and a foundation. It doesn't quite have as long lasting properties as a foundation but I would say it gives a lot more coverage than a BB cream. I've been loving wearing this on days where I don't really want to wear foundation but I don't really want to be bare faced or if I want coverage but I'm not really going out for very long. It lasts around 4-5 hours on my skin which is still really good for a drugstore product and I would imagine it would last longer on drier skin and with a primer used underneath it. I was also very impressed that Essence managed to give me the correct shade for my skintone as I noticed someone paler than me has been sent a paler shade. I really like when PR companies take the time to look at the bloggers blog and pick things out suitable for them etc, not really relevant to the product but just something I really like. Mines was in the shade 02 sand.

 I don't know how this does with fighting spots but my skin certainly has not been breaking out and the product has a very anti-septic smell so it smells like it would keep spots away. I actually do really like this product and will continue to use it.

  The next thing I got was the Essence all eyes on me mascara which I actually didn't hold out high hopes for. As I've mentioned previously I'm very dubious when it comes to drug store mascaras and the packaging although cheerful doesn't automatically scream that the product will be great. However, I was very pleased to see that it actually works really well. If I'm completely honest it won't replace my all time favourite mascara but I've loved using this for top ups to my regular mascara, for bottom lashes and for those days where I don't really need make-up on but just want that little something. I really like that it's waterproof too because my everyday mascara isn't! It's definitely the one to buy for those on a budget though as you can pick it up at Wilkinsons for only £2.00 which is an absolute bargain.

 I love liquid eyeliners so I was really excited to see that Essence have one to see if it's good because we all love a bargain! I like this packaging a lot better than the mascara's because it looks less cheap with just the black and the blue. The liner nib is a thin black brush and I usually prefer a pen nib type eyeliner but this actually worked really well because the bristles don't split apart so it gives the same effect as a pen nib. I really really liked this product, it lasted well and it came out black which even more expensive eyeliners often fail at. Overall I think this is a steal for only £2.50 and it's also waterproof which is fabulous at helping it last longer than a normal liquid liner.

 I was also sent their regular black jumbo eye liner which I was slightly worried about because jumbo products are usually never as good in quality. However, although being slightly trickier to use than a smaller liner pencil it's quality is still fab, really black and really long lasting. I also like the packaging of this with the black and the pink.

 One of my favourite things that I received though was this xxxl shine lipgloss in bright side of life which is a gorgeous shimmery peach shade. I am in love with this gloss, it's the perfect Summer colour and the name is so cute and I'm a sucker for cute names. I've also been loving using lip glosses a lot more in the Summer weather because there's less wind to blow my hair into it! The best part of these is they only cost £1.80 so if you need a good and cheap lipgloss then get yourself over to Wilkinsons!

 My most favourite product though is this blush up powder blush in heatwave which again has an amazing name which suits the blusher really well. I love blushers like these because you really get your moneys worth when it's a three/four shade in one blusher. You get the orange shade on it's own, the middle coral/pink shade on it's own, the dark pink on it's own or swipe across all three and get a mixture. I've used this every single day without fail since I received this so if you've liked my blusher in any recent pictures then this is what I've had on. I usually go for the middle pinky shade or all three together. This only costs £3.50 which I think is great for effectively four different blusher shades!

Bright side of life lipgloss and blusher shades 

Overall I'm so impressed with Essence products and I can't wait to try out more of them. Have you tried any of Essences products?

Lots of Love,

♥

Empties Explained #1

Hellooo lovelies,

 Today I have my first ever empties products post and I've been collecting these for a while so don't think I've gone through all these products all at once. The first empty I have is a duo and it's the Bedhead Tigi shampoo and conditioner, level 2 which you might recognise from way back in January when I showed my hair care routine. This is in fact the same bottles and I've actually had them since last March!!! They've lasted such a long time but that is partly due to the fact that I stopped using them for about 5 months of that just because I wanted more variety. I really do like these, I love the smell of them and they made my hair feel lovely and soft but I found the conditioner had a tendancy to leave my hair feeling clogged up. I'm not sure if I'd buy them again just because they are expensive and I think you can probably get just as good cheaper but if I don't find something cheaper then I probably would buy the shampoo again!

 Any one else find that their conditioner always runs out soooo much faster than their shampoo or is that just me?! I go through conditioner almost twice as fast as I run out of shampoo and this one is the Mane N Tail conditioner which I also showed in my hair care routine. I really like this product, it smells lovely and it feels lovely but the one thing I hate about it is that it's a bright yellow liquid which leaves lovely looking stains in the shower. I don't know how great it is for making your hair grow longer because I already do have and always have had really long hair so it's quite hard to judge but I think the real test will be when I stop using it if I notice a difference.

 The next empty I have is Soap and Glory's Sugar Crush Body Wash which I feel like I've had in my shower for absolutely ages. It certainly lasts a really long time and I do like the smell of it, it's very citrusey (is that a word??..is now!) and fresh so I loved using this in my morning shower to help waken me up. Although I liked it I didn't love it so I won't be rushing out to buy another one right away but when I need a new shower gel (I have many stocked up) then I would definitely consider picking it up again!

 The body cream that I have been using which has now ran out is Superdrug's Cranberry & Pomegranate body butter. It smelled lovely, like sweeties and I did really enjoy using this. It had an okay texture, it wasn't amazingly soft, creamy and smooth but it was when you rubbed it into your skin. Again it was alright but I don't think I'd repurchase it again unless I was looking for a cheap moisturiser that smelt nice and did the job!

 Of course I have run out of my favourite mascara at the minute because I wear this every single day. This is the only drug store mascara that I have ever tried and actually liked using. It has a massive bristle wand which is great for catching all your lashes and coating them. It gives impressive length and volume and for a decent price. If you haven't tried this mascara and you're like the old me thinking the only way to get good lashes is by buying high end mascara- fear not! I will definitely repurchase this again and again and again.

 Sadly I have run out of my Urban Decay Primer Potion too which you can tell has been very very very well loved! I really love this, I won't wear eyeshadow without it underneath because the difference in the colour pay off without a decent primer underneath is draw dropping! I would definitely repurchase this again because it's fab and I couldn't wear eyeshadow without it.

Lots of Love,

♥

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Lycra Flex Mascara Review

Hellooo my lovelies,

As I am extremely lacking in the eyelash department (naturally) I am always on the hunt for new decent mascara's that do the job. It takes a lot for a mascara to impress me, it has to be voluminous, lengthening, last all day and not have the tendancy to smudge under my eyes or on my browbone (THE worst!!) Previously I have really struggled with this until I found Benefit's They're Real and it was perfect and it did the job so I spent the money (£19.50) because it was worth it to have long lashes! From then on I was convinced that no drugstore mascara would ever be good enough and I vowed never to buy one again after repeatedly buying new ones hoping they would work and them always being a resounding fail. Then one day I was in Boots buying lipsticks (which is actually much more regular an occurance than it should be haha!!) and when you bought two Rimmel products you got their new Scandal Eyes Flex mascara free, it normally costs £6.99. I had actually bought Rimmel London's Scandal Eyes mascara before and it was a pink colour?? and it was awful, I hated it and I only used it about three times. Everytime I used it, it made literally zero difference and I just looked like I didn't have mascara on! So I wasn't holding out much hope for this one but who would say no to a freebie?!

 Due to the fact that I did not think this product would be going anywhere other than the bin, it sat in my drawer not looked at for about a month until I decided to try it. I was truly astonished, it does almost as good a job as my Benefit one and I have already repurchased another one for when this one runs out because I was buying more lipsticks (quelle surprise!!) and it was on a deal again so I just picked it up! It even has a bristles wand which I usually don't go for, I usually go for the silicone applicators e.g. They're Real so I was truly stumped with this gem! I won't say that I prefer it to my benefit one but i find it does the job quicker than my Benefit one did because the brush is bigger and thicker so it can do more at once. This one doesn't last aswell as my Benefit one does as I could wear that days on end if I wanted too(which I never did) but it literally would not budge from my lashes without being scrubbed at. It also never smudged on me at all whereas the Rimmel one has a few times if I've been exceptionally hot, sleeping or have rubbed my eyes. All things which can mainly be avoided though but I won't completly replace it with my Benefit one. I now use this one for everyday where I don't really need my lashes to withstand high temperatures or heavy water but for nights out, holiday's and special occasions I will still reach for my Benefit They're Real.

 The amount of money I will be saving though on buying this mascara which is around a third of the price is ridiculously good! I may even do a blogpost on how much I hate the other mascara because it is truly appalling! So it looks like Rimmel may actually be getting there and producing better mascara's and now I feel that I'd be a bit more confident about picking up another drugstore mascara to try out!

What are your favourite mascara's? Have you tried out either of these and what did you think of them?
Shop the post:-
Rimmel Londons Lycra Flex Scandal Eyes mascara http://www.boots.com/en/Rimmel-London-Scandaleyes-Lycra-Flex-mascara_1333697/
Benefit They're Real http://www.boots.com/en/benefit-theyre-real-mascara_1231677/

Lots of Love

A x x x

2013 Favourites

Hellooo my lovelies!

Since 2013 has come to an end, i thought it might be nice to share the products that i have been loving this year with you. Altogether i think 2013 has probably been the best year of my life so far and i hope that it has been good to all of you too! It is the year i passed my uni exams, met my boyfriend, the year i conquered my fear of flying, had an amazing holiday in Italy and the year i overcame my shyness. However i shall crack on with the blog post before i bore you to death with waffling!

I've had to narrow this down ALOT because i have loved a crazy amount of beauty products this year so i've tried to select the ones that have been my ultimate 'can't live without' products this year.

OPI 'Which is witch' nail varnish, YSL Manifesto perfume, Bioderma, Yankee Candle in 'Summer Scoop', Rimmel 'Wake Me Up' foundation, Nars 'Laguna' bronzer, origins 'gin zing eye cream', Revlon lip butter in 'Raspberry Pie', YSL lipstick in 'Peach Passion', Rimmel's Kate Moss lipstick in '107', EOS lip balm in 'Watermelon', Benefits 'Coralista' blush, 'They're Real' mascara by Benefit and Collections Lasting Finish concealer in shade 1.

A resounding favourite for me across this year, every previous year and no doubt every year to come is candles. I am a real candle lover and my room could easily be mistaken for a candle shop. My dad frequently tells me that my candle collection will probably outlive me cause i have so many hahaha! I just can't seem to resist them and a particular favourite of mine this year has been Yankee candles. The one i have chosen to show you is 'Summer Scoop' which my lovely boyfriend gifted me. It has a gorgeous sweet smell that reminds me of ice-cream and summer (hence the name). However, i just used this candle to represent my love of all Yankee candles this year, another particular favourite being 'November Rain'  which i'm not entirely sure what it smells like but it's lovely all the same and very Autumnal (can something smell Autumnal?? i think so hehe).

Left to right:- 'Kate Moss 107', 'Revlon Lip Butter in 'Raspberry Pie' and YSL 'peach passion'/shade 15.

Another real love of mine this year, especially throughout the colder months has been dark lips. Previously I've never had the confidence to wear a darker colour. I didn't even really feel comfortable in bright reds or pinks but this year I've totally come out of my lipstick shell and boy i'm glad i did! This also represents to me how my confidence has grown across this year and that has been a major thing for me, i will never be the type of person who is uber confident but I've overcome being shy and i'm immensely proud of that BUT i'm rambling again so back to the lipsticks! The first of the two dark lip colours I've picked is the Revlon's lip butter (which as a whole this year i have loved) 'Raspberry Pie' which is this gorgeous deep pink seen below. It has a glossy formula between a lipstick and a lip balm which can also be blotted onto the lips to form a lip stain. I actually bought this shade when the lip butters first came out in the UK which i'm not exactly sure when that was but it was last year sometime (i think). Anyway i was too scared to wear it for a long long time until one day i was brave and wore it to uni and one of the girls complimented me on it. Well the next day i went out and bought another dark lip and that one was Rimmel London's Kate Moss 107 lipstick which is a dark red that has alot of hype around it. The lipsticks matte which i usually don't like in a lipstick but in this one i don't seem to mind. However, if i'm having a really dry lips kinda day i'll just slick on some lip balm (particular favourite of mine being EOS) before hand and i'm good to go. The swatch below really does not do it justice as it truly is the perfect dark red for Winter! 

Left to right:- 'Raspberry Pie', Peach Passion, 107 Kate Moss'

 Whilst i'm on the topic of lipstick another favourite lipstick, more in the warmer seasons has been YSL's rouge volupte lipstick in shade 15 'peach passion' which my boyfriend also got me (he has very good taste it has to be said!) It's a beautiful coral shade which will be stunning in Spring/Summer and it smells delicious which is also a plus. So that's been a massive favourite this year. Another YSL product i've loved this season is the YSL perfume my boyfriend bought me (i did tell you he had good taste!!) which is called 'Manifesto'. As i've said before i'm not the best at describing scents but i'll give it a whirl. It's a very sexy smell and it's one of those perfumes you can put on before a night out and you instantly feel a little more sassy and glamorous. Even the bottle has a glamarous, luxury look about it. It's definitely more of a night time scent as it's quite heavy and the main notes in it are bergamot, jasmine, lily and sandalwood. It is pretty pricy (£64 for 50ml) so i tend to only use this for special occasions or when i just want to feel a little more glam! 

 I have two favourite skincare products for 2013, none of which will be a surprise to you i'm sure! The first is Bioderma which i picked up on my summer holiday in Italy this year and i fell in love. It's a miscellaneous water cleanser which removes your makeup perfectly and first time (even stubborn mascaras like Benefits 'They're Real which has been a favourite this year too) It is also quite expensive for what it is but i think it's totally worth it and it does last a long time, I've had that bottle since the first week in July and with using it every night, as you can see there's still quite a lot left! The good news is that Bioderma has now been brought to the UK (big cheer) although it is quite hard to source however it is quite easy to buy online from places such as Amazon for a reasonable price. I will definitely be repurchasing another bottle as soon as this one gets low. Like i said previously it removes Benefits 'They're Real' like a dream which is a stubborn mascara that does not budge for love or money but it does for Bioderma!! hahaha. I would definitely recommend it to everyone as I've always struggled with mascaras, i'm naturally lacking in the eyelash department so it takes alot to please me when it comes to mascara but Benefit ticks the boxes with this one! My only complaint with it is the difficulty to remove but since i bought Bioderma it's not been a problem, hip hip hooray. They're Real retails at £19.50.

 My second skincare fave this year has been Origins Gin Zing eye cream. Yes it is another pricey product but i really am a firm believer of you get what you pay for and you certainly do with this bad boy. It retails at £23 for 15ml which sounds craaaazy i agree but you literally need the smallest smidgen of it and it works miracles. I hadn't been much interested in this before but during my exams and after, my sleeping pattern was all over the place and i was struggling to sleep and it was visibly showing on my skin. So in an effort to battle the bags i gave it a bash and i'm delighted i did! It doesn't reduce my bags completely but i really struggle with under eye bags and paired with a decent concealer it makes my bags almost invisible. The concealer i pair it with is Collections lasting perfection in shade 1 and it is only about £4 from any drug store and it's better than any other concealer i have tried. So thanks to this fabulous combo no matter how little hours sleep i get, i can still look like I've got my beauty sleep!  

 My foundation love this year has got to be Rimmel London's Wake Me Up foundation (alas a drugstore foundation that's actually of good quality). This product has also had quite alot of hype around it but deservedly so, it has sparkles lightly through it which brightens your face and just generally makes you more awake. I can't put my finger on what it is i love about this foundation but it just applies beautifully, is the perfect coverage, not too full but not too light and it helps brighten my skin. It's definitely better in the Summer months as in the Winter sun it may have a tendency to make your face resemble a glitter ball however i still love wearing it all year round. It has SPF 15 in it which is great because it protects your skin however it's not so great if you're going to be getting your photo taken as SPF and camera flashes do not get on because of flashback and all that technical stuff. Unless you're a model or on a night out when those pesky nightclub photographers are lurking about to catch you out this isn't really a problem and the SPF is good for protecting your skin. Another massive plus is because it's from a drugstore it doesn't break the bank at only £6.99 and Rimmel is often on 3 for 2 so handy for picking up a powder and a lipstick at the same time, bargain!

 Well-loved Nars Laguna bronzer

What combination i have been loving on my cheeks and absolutely killing all year round is NARS 'laguna' bronzing powder (shock horror) and Benefits 'coralista' blusher. It's an expensive combo so i'm not looking forward to repurchasing but there's no way i can not repurchase them as they have fastly become staple beauty products for me. The bronzer is shot through with golden shimmer so it really warms up the face and makes you look sun-kissed and because of the shimmer it can be used to bronze up the whole face aswell as a contour. As a pale girl i LOVE my bronzer for tanning me up, i use it all year round, tanned or pale and feel naked without it so i'm pretty clued up on my bronzers! 'Laguna' is the lightest shade of bronzer Nars do and as much as i love being tanned i'm defo too pale to pull off 'Casino' or 'Irrestiblement'. As if my love for Laguna bronzer could grow anymore, when paired with Benefits 'Coralista', it's beautiful.. 'Coralista' is also well loved as you can see from the picture, it's a gorgeous peachy, pink coral colour which shimmers amazingly which is great if you want to miss out the highlighting stage on a lazy day. I'm definitely intending to try out more of Benefits blushers as they're incredibly pigmented and they last really well on the cheeks. Strangely they smell really nice, like perfume which pleases me. The bronzer costs £26 and the blusher is £23.50 so put together it is expensive but they are long lasting. This cheek combination is especially beautiful in Summer when paired with YSL's 'peach passion' lipstick.

Benefit Coralista blusher.

My last favourite this year is a nail polish and it's O.P.I'S 'Which is Witch' from the Wizard of Oz collection. It's a gorgeous glitter and i'm not actually a big fan of glitter nail varnishes purely because of the time and effort it takes to remove them. However, i could not resist this beauty and what i have loved doing with it is layering it over paler more neutral shades to jazz it up like O.P.I's 'I Theodora You' also from the Wizard of Oz collection and Essie's 'fiji', both pale pinks. Another colour I've loved it over is O.P.I's 'Big Apple' nail varnish which is a beautiful red shade and it's just perfect for the Christmas season. I really love O.P.I. nail varnishes as they always have amazing names, they're good quality and come with good sized brushes to apply them with (i do love a good nail varnish brush).

Those were my beauty and random favourites of 2013. I hope you enjoyed reading and maybe found something you'd like to try out!

Happy New Year

Abby x x x