January Beauty Favourites

I'm not going to say how fast I think January has gone by because for once I actually don't think it has?? I think January has been one of the longest months in a long time, it feels like Christmas was months ago. It must be the January blues, saving money and getting back into a work routine after Christmas that has made it drag so much but I'm definitely ready to kiss goodbye to January.

Anyway I've fallen in love with some new products this month and also some old products that have been unloved by me but since I've been saving money in January I have been trying to shop my stash a little more.

 The first product I've been loving is MAC's Red Balloon lipstick which is actually a limited edition product but when I bought it, I ordered it online and when it came it didn't really strike me as anything special. However, throughout January I have been really enjoying using this, I think it's because it's quite a cool toned dark pink and in the warmer months it just wasn't the type of colour I wanted to reach for. It's am amplified finish so it's long lasting and I've loved wearing it to work because I know it will last my whole shift without needing topped up.

I have also been loving my Origins Overnight intensive mask because in Winter my skin becomes quite dry and tight feeling so this has been my saviour. You only need the tiniest amount of this for the whole face and neck and in the morning it leaves skin lovely and soft. This is my number one product that I've been recommending to any of my friends that have dry skin.

I also rediscovered my Maybelline Baby Lips which I've been obsessed with again due to the cold weather making my lips dry and chapped. My favourite of all the Maybelline lip balms is the coloured ones because they add a really pretty tint to the lips too. This one is Peach Kiss and it just gives a gorgeous nude sheen to the lips whilst moisturising and helps protect from the cold.

I love my Bioderma for removing make-up which is no secret but in the UK it's both really hard to get hold off and its also pretty expensive so because there have been many dupes released I thought it was about time I tried one. I chose the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water because I had heard lots of good things about it. I am going to do a full review on this but it's really good at removing make-up and considering it's a fraction of the price of Bioderma, I'm impressed.

For Christmas I was given the Liz Earle cleanse and polish, I've never tried it before which being a beauty blogger is like some kind of cardinal sin so I was so happy to get this as a gift. I've been using it to cleanse after using my Garnier Micellar Water and it leaves skin so soft. I'm probably going to do a full review later on this month but it has been a big favourite of mine in January and I think I'll need to buy a big bottle when this runs out.

Another Christmas gift I got was this NailKale red polish by Nails Inc. It looks nothing special but compared to normal Nails Inc polishes the bottle is so big and heavy and feels very luxurious. It's a gorgeous, rich red shade and the brush is amazing for painting nails. It has the perfect size and shape of brush for even application and it's good for your nails so I'm very impressed with this. So impressed that if I wasn't on a spending ban I definitely would have purchased a few other shades from this range. 

I've also been loving my vanilla brûlée lip gloss from The Body Shop. I got this in a free gift set so I didn't have high hopes for it but it's actually really pretty. I like applying this over lipstick to give it a nice shine and subtle shimmer. It smells exactly like the vanilla brûlée range (obviously) from Body Shop which is one of my favourite scents from them.

Another product I rediscovered was my Real Techniques beauty blender, when I first tried this I wasn't overly impressed and then I went through a stage of really liking it but went off it again. All through last month I applied my make-up using this little miracle sponge. It gives a really pretty, well blended, even finish however I do often wonder if it is the most economical because it's bound to soak some product up. It also takes quite a bit longer to apply makeup this way but I really like the finish and find it quite therapeutic bleeding my foundation with it. I must say though it is impossible to clean!

My last beauty favourite has got to be my Soap & Glory Sugar Crush body scrub, I'm sure by now you all know that this is my all time favourite body scrub. This month I've started using it to do a dry body scrub with and it is so much more effective! It feels quite abrasive on the skin but leaves it so soft, I feel like a new woman after I've used it. There's nothing worse than a body scrub that has like ten beads in the whole thing, this is so gritty and it sits in an oily moisture too so moisturises the skin whilst exfoliating it.

What products have you been loving lately?

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,

♥