Party Season Must-Haves

Monday, December 15, 2014
Party Season Picks

The festive season has always been my favourite for makeup because it's acceptable to rock a bold lip and a bit of glitter. I've compiled 5 of my must-have makeup products for the party season, appropriate for whether you want to go heavy on the eyes or wear a bright red lip! There really is something for every one here and this is definitely what I shall be using over this Christmas!

The first item I couldn't not mention is NARS' Sheer Glow foundation. A classic staple in so many makeup collections and rightly so. Christmas is the time for a bit of luxury and you could squeeze yours in via this - you won't regret it! I've been saving this for special occasions as I'm so in love with it. It applies like a dream, lasts amazingly and gives off a lovely, radiant, my-skin-but-better glow. Again for the base is NARS' Laguna bronzer. After my love-hate relationship with this, I'm back to loving it. A gorgeous bronzer that gives a nice, natural bronzed cheek.

When it comes to eyes, I'll be using The Body Shop 4 Step Smokey Eye* palette in Smokey Brown. I mentioned this a while back on my blog and said that I loved it and it's still true to this day. It gives a gorgeous golden brown smokey look, but if you can't get your hands on this (it's pretty hard to track down!), I'd recommend the Naked palette for the golden/brown shades.

Lip-wise I have two options: the Rimmel lip liner in Black Tulips or the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Hot Pepper. Black Tulips has become my latest obessions as wearing it on it's own gives a gorgeous, matte lip shade that isn't too drying. Hot Pepper is more Christmassy of the two with it's bright red colour but the formulation of this is second to none. Not to mention the lasting power of both of these products - you're able to pig-out on all of the food you'd like without smearing lipstick all over your face. Result!

What will you be wearing this Christmas - bold eye or bright lip?

The Big Blush Debate: Cream vs. Powder

Saturday, December 13, 2014
Cream vs Powder Blush

When it comes to blush there's always a constant battle on which I prefer - cream or powder. Cream blushes are something that I've only delved into recently as I've been Team Powder ever since I can remember, but every time I use creams I love them more and more. As with most things there's good and bad points about both but I think I've finally made up my mind as to which I prefer.

Let's discuss powders first. They're compact, readily available and amazingly pigmented - what more could you ask for? There is actually something that powders don't score the points on and that's how they never quite look natural, especially when used on my dry skin. Powders tend to cling to dry patches and highlight the fact that you're wearing blush. It's not all bad - they're super easy to blend out and give a nice glow to the face. My powder of choice is Sleek's Blush in Rose Gold.

When it comes to creams, it's all about the natural look. Cream blushes are very up-and-coming in the makeup world as of recently and rightly so - they're amazing for a natural, fresh look. The only downside to this is that from all of the cream blushes I've ever tried, they're not as pigmented as powders but they're build able. That's not much of a problem if you're going natural - a little is all you need. My cream blush of choice is Revlon's Pinched.

I think when it comes to blush, I'm definitely Team Cream. What about you?

Recently In

Tuesday, December 09, 2014
Recently In

One of my not-so-many talents is being able to shop until my feet feel like they're about to fall off. It's a quality many girls have and are known for using, but sometimes I take it to the next level - even if I'm just popping in and out of a shop, there's always time to find the nearest Boots and have a quick snoop around. I'm a girl. It's what we do. It's also not uncommon for me to come away with a huge bag of beauty bits, rushing home to play with all of my new finds and remembering what I bought as there's usually so much. I thought I'd share a few of the items I've picked up recently as these hauls tend to go down quite well, so here we are!

The first item was one that I bought for my mum as she's been looking for a new foundation. I chose the Maybelline Better Skin as I've never tried a foundation from Maybelline before and I'm interested to see how it fairs out. The shade range wasn't the best & I haven't tried it as of yet but by the sounds of things, it's a full coverage foundation with a nice consistency. I also had a moment of madness when I realised I couldn't live without a Gold eyeliner, so I picked up the NYC Liquid Liner in Liquid Gold. I don't even know how to explain that. Let's move on.

The Rimmel Brow This Way seemed like a dupe for Benefit's Brow Zings and you know me, I can't pass up on a good dupe. I can't comment on the dupe-ability (cool word, huh?) as I haven't tried Brow Zings but it looks pretty similar to me. So far, so good - I love the waxy end and the brushes that come with it aren't flimsy at all. A new mascara was on my shopping list this week as my beloved Wonderfull mascara has been used up so I stuck with Rimmel and opted for the Kate mascara. It has a different wand than Wonderfull and it takes a bit of work to build up the lashes but once you've got the hang of it, it's a decent mascara.

Two of my favourite products that I got my hands on lately are the Rimmel lip liner in Black Tulip and the Clinique Chubby Stick in Mega Melon. I use the liner to slightly over draw my lips - not to the size of Jay-Z but just to even out the plumpness - and then the Chubby Stick to make it glossy and put some moisture back into my lips.

What makeup products have you picked up recently?

Sunday Snoozing

Sunday, December 07, 2014
Sunday Snoozing

This is how I feel today and how I've felt for the past week. Exhausted. I always find that December well and truly tires me out, so much so that it's only the 7th and I feel drained - it must be all of the Christmas shopping I've been doing! This is mainly the reason why I haven't blogged recently as I wanted to take a break from my schedule and have some time-off. Now, I've re-charged my blogging batteries and I'm coming back at you with lots more posts.

Today's post is nothing fancy, beauty or fashion related, it's just a chat. I feel like sometimes with all of the beauty posts I try and put up here, it's sometimes difficult to have a chat with you and get to know you. This week I spent my days watching Prison Break (mainly because of Wentworth Miller but it's an amazing show!) and lots of re-adjusting the Christmas tree because Meenie thinks it's acceptable to pull the baubles off whilst she's climbing it. The troubles of having a cat, hey? I don't mind, especially when we have our nightly routine of her purring away on my lap whilst I watch I'm A Celebrity. She's great during the Winter time - she's a hot water bottle that never gets cold!

What have you been doing this week?

Where Are They Now?

Monday, December 01, 2014
Where Are They Now

One thing that comes with reading endless amounts of beauty posts from the past 3 years comes a long list of hyped products. I have no self-control when it comes to makeup and as soon as somebody tells me that they love a product, I have to try it myself. This can have two issues: a) you buy it & don't like it, or b) the hype wears off after a few weeks and people start to admit that it wasn't actually that good or even worth the hype. Jumping on the bandwagon gives you a heck of a makeup collection and I often look at the products I hyped about and think "how are they doing now?". So I gave them a go.

The first ever hyped-up product that I bought was the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Rose Gold. When I originally reviewed them here, I loved them. Since these came out early last year it seems like almost every brand now has their own pot of cream eyeshadows. I have to admit though, I'm no longer much of a fan of these. It's so funny how your interpretation and opinion of a product changes once you get older & try others! The Touche Eclat highlighting pen by YSL was a product that came into the blogger hype earlier this year and when I reviewed it at the time, I didn't understand the hype. 8 months later & I still can't say I'm head over heels for it! I would rather use the Collection concealer which is much cheaper, gives my cheeks more of a highlight & covers my dark circles!

Lots of lip products were hyped-up last year, especially when the first drugstore launch of the famous Chubby Sticks came to Boots. The Bourjois Colorboost are still, one year later, one of my favourite lip products. They're so glossy and hydrating with such a gorgeous pay-off - these still deserve hype now! Revlon also had their 10 minutes of fame with the launch of their Lip Butters. I loved these to begin with, yet never seem to hear much of them anymore! Kate Moss' lipstick in 107 was one of the most memorable hyped-up products for my whole (almost 2 years!) of blogging. Needless to say, it's still as amazing as ever. Every time the #bbloggers Twitter chats focus on Autumnal makeup, this always comes out on top.

MAC's Mineralise Skin Finish in Soft & Gentle is always one of the most recommended when you ask for a champagne-coloured highlighter. I remember everyone going mad for this last September and I fell in love with it at the time. It's not a product I look to everyday and I mainly stick to using this in Winter because it's too golden for my skin to look decent with in Winter!

What products have you bought due to the hype surrounding them?