I love sitting in bed curled up in my pjs reading a good book and in my last book post I talked about my favourite book series' to read and now I have for you some more books I have been reading which I just love. To give you a breakdown of what type of books I love, I mainly read young adult romance fiction but I also love a good action book with magic in.
That Secret We're Keeping by Rebecca Done
This book really pulled on my heart strings but because of the concept of the book I felt kind of ashamed to admit it. The story follows a man and women who meet again after 10 years of no contact, they met a decade ago when he was a teacher and she was a pupil. They had a relationship and get caught out which is why they have had no contact. Most of the book is in the preysent tense with a few chapters thrown in from the past to tell you exactly how they started and ended their relationship. I will admit this book made me cry and with it being a taboo subject you may be surprised to know I was crying because I was routing for the couple so much. I love this book a lot and it is a real tense pull on the heart strings kind of read.
You and Me, Always By Jill Mansell
This has to be my favourite book of the year so far! It is about a girl who meets a famous guy and of course they fall for each other (who wouldn't) but waiting in the wings has always been the friend of hers who is a big player and wouldn't look at her in a million years because they are friends. Like any human who has just realised the person they have loved for years but never done anything about now has a rich sexy actor boyfriend, he gets jealous. While all of this is going on the girl is trying to track down the man who was her mothers only true love so that she put together more pieces of the mother she lost too soon. I go really invested in this book and it started a love affair with the Author, I recently downloaded seven more books of hers and the last book I read was Falling For You by Jill and I would really recommend it!
The Substitute by Denise Grover Swank
The concept of this book is absolutely hilarious of meeting a stranger on a plane and leaving the airport with a pretend fiancee to please a super high maintenance mum who would make the characters life a misery if she knew the truth. The main male character Josh is so dreamy I can admit that I fell for this fictional character a little bit. You know a book is good when you fall for a made up character. This is the kind of book for when you need a little pick me up because it light hearted, romantic and hilarious.
Love Me, Love Me Not by S.M Koz
This book has very adult themes but is such a good read and really got me invested. It follows a girl who hasn't had an easy life in foster care and ends up living with a real genuine nice lad and his parents. Of course her old life comes back to haunt her and that plus a jealous ex girlfriend nearly ruin her nice new life. Some parts made me feel really sad for the characters and my heart went out to Hailey the main girl most of the time as she just has bad luck. This includes real adult themes and a dodgy druggie ex boyfriend who I hate so much with a passion.
I have got a lot of things in Primark over the years but if you told me I would purchase and really like their brand of makeup I would not have believed you. I am not a snob when it comes to makeup at all, drugstore brands are my baes for life and Newlook makeup is just incredible but Primark, I was sceptical about.
I was feeling adventurous one day when I was in Primark with my sister so decided to try two of their eye shadow palette for £2.99 each. First of all that is ridiculously cheap! I did think even if the product wasn't any good It isn't like i've wasted much money. You get 9 shades in the palettes which is a great number and I picked up two palettes. A neutral brown selection and a more pink and purple selection which I thought I could have a little play with one day.
Both Palettes have a base colour in the selection which I like as recently I have been using base colours. I find all the shades I have tried so far are really creamy, more creamy then I expected to be perfectly honest so that was a good surprise. They aren't ridiculously pigmented with one swipe like the Naked Palettes but I find they are really easy to build up and make dramatic.
The nude palette is perfect for creating a everyday smokey eye and would be great for beginners who want to play around with makeup since it wouldn't matter about wasting the product on practice runs. And for people like me who only really wear smokey eye colours, spending £2.99 on a palette with different colours then what I'm used to is an absolute bargain. I am very careful not to waste money on expensive makeup which I don't know whether I would like or get use out off.
The packaging is very much copying Mac but that definitely works in their favor as younger girls (and boys) who can't afford a Mac palette can purchase this instead. Obviously the product isn't the same but this palette is a good item to hold you over until you can purchase the expensive version. It is also a great size for traveling.
Since buying these I have found that most days this last week I have used the brown palette because it is really quick and easy to blend out and go. I even got complimented on my eye makeup at work and that has never happened when I have wore Mac or Urban Decay before. That makes it a winner for me!
Anyway I have a few products I have been loving this past month and I am going to start off with the prettiest of them all. I bought these brushes in September after reading Makeup Savvy's blog post about them and I am so glad that I did. They are from eBay and they are only £4.99 for 7 brushes! They are an absolute bargain. I love the gold design of them and they are the perfect size for sticking in your makeup bag on the go. The brush hair is super soft and gentle which is the main reason I love them so much, I have a huge pot of eye makeup brushes from loads of different shops and brands but these brushes are now my favourite for creating eye looks. They are the perfect size for blending out eye shadows and most importantly blend them out beautiful so you don't have any harsh lines and the eye shadows don't go all the way up to your eye brow. You also get a foundation brush and two face brushes that I like to use for bronzing and contouring (which is why they are a little dirty)
An old favourite that I have pulled back out of my draw is the Dior Pore Minimzer primer. It is very expensive but for a good reason as it is a great product that keeps my makeup in place all day and makes my skin feel like a babies bottom. The tub has lastly me a few years as well even with me using it more and more over the last few months.
Two products that I purchased only two weeks ago but have fallen in love with are the L'Oreal True Match Liquid Glow Illuminator and the Tanya Burr Face Illuminator. These are both golden illuminators which I tend to wear underneath my foundation on top of cheek bones. These give my skin a really lovely glow from within look and gives my skin some dimension before I have even contoured or bronzed. You only need a small amount of product on your face so these tube will definitely last me a long time, these will definitely come in handy during next summer.
A new mascara that I have been loving the past month is the Revlon Volume and Length Magnified mascara which is my new favourite mascara ever. The wand is big and fluffy so it is perfect for getting big fluttery lashes and perfect for my straight lifeless mascara.
Lastly a lipstick that I have been reaching for the most this past month is the Newlook lipstick in 24 Mid Brown which is the perfect dark nudey brown. The lipstick is really creamy and glides onto the lips really smoothly. It lasts me usually till about lunch time and then after I have eaten I reapply it and I am good to go.
What were you favoruites of the past month?
Having healthy skin is something that is really important to me during the winter months as I do have irritated skin during this time. I have 5 steps which I know from experience works for me and since it feels like full blown winter outside already I know these will help people straight away.
1. Keep you routine simple
Some people include the whole range of Boots in their routine twice a day because they think their skin needs every single product. I find the more product you use the less it works on your skin because you are telling your skin to do lots of different things. Keep it simple and use products that really work for your skin.
2. Keep a steady routine
Following on from the last point, I find my skin is the best when I keep up my daily routine so I try and keep a steady routine and don't skip out on days so my skin is always fresh when I wake up and go to sleep. This doesn't always happen I am human but I do try!
3.Always start with a clean face
I find my makeup always goes on better when I have a completely fresh face so if I've done my morning routine then I am ready to go. If I am having a lazy day and don't actually put my face on until the afternoon I always splash some water on my face at least before I do my makeup.
4. Drink lots of water
I know everyone says that but it does work especially in the winter, I've even bought a giant 1lt bottle to take to work which makes drinking more water much easier. Plus I actually love the taste of water unless some people I know.
5. Protect yourself from the environment
Since I have sensitive skin I always have to keep my skin protected during the cold and hot weather. During the summer I use SPF to protect my skin if I am going to be in the sun all day and during the winter I use a super hydrating moisturiser to protect my skin from the cold.
I have quite a few new beauty bits that have made their way into my makeup collection recently and some of them are so so pretty. You know I am a sucker for pretty packaging and even prettier products. A lot of the products are for eyes but what can I say, I am a keen eye shadow shopper!
I picked up a new lipstick from Max Factor called 837 Sunbronze which is a super pretty shinny mauve /pink which is perfect for this time of year. Yes I know it is very similar to most of my other lipsticks but it really hydrating and packs a lot of power. I love the colour and shin the product gives my lips and the gold packaging is definitely eye catching.
I hadn't invested in a new mascara in months so I went for a shop and picked up the Revlon Volume and Length mascara which I have had my eye on for a while. I love the concept of having different mascara to do different jobs for my eye lashes. I picked up the volume and length version as my eyelashes are quite short and stumpy this is great at making them long and fluttery.
The first of my eye shadow products is another Kiko cream crush pot in the shade 05 which is a shimmery sheer creamy glitter. In some lights the product looks pink and in other lights it looks silver especially if you apply more product. It is so gorgeous and would make a brilliant highlighter as well (if not over applied)
I also purchased this single shadow from L'oreal in the shade Lumiere 500 which I am very excited about. I mean look at it! It is a gorgeous bright gold which is so pigmented so you have to be careful not to be too crazy with it. I haven't used it properly on my eyes yet as I don't think this is a everyday shade. This would be great for Christmas party makeup for sure! I will definitely make use of it soon.
A new quad that I have picked up is by Rimmel in the shade 002 Smokey Brun. It is the perfect everyday eye shadow quad in my eyes as it has great everyday shades and is a great size to take on the go. I like using this palette for a subtle smokey eye which these colours are great for.
The last product I've purchased lately is a cute little eye shadow palette from Seventeen in Birthday Suit. I have never tried a Seventeen palette before which I think it a crime after I have swatched this beauty. The pigmentation of the eye shadows is really good, the cream eye shadows I am still a bit unimpressed with but I am looking forward to playing around with this palette at a later point.
Concealers can sometimes be more important then foundation depending on the state of your skin and I have three concealers that I go in between constantly. I've always been told you shouldn't use the same concealer to cover all the problems on you face and mine come sometimes be in double figures! It is good to have a range of different formulas and shades to work with and here are my top three concealers for my skin!
The Cover Up - Collection Lasting Perfection
This concealer is the best concealer in the drugstore for covering spots and blemishes. I know every blogger and YouTuber shouts about this product and at one point it was in every video and every blog post, but that is because it is just so good. Whenever I have an angry spots or some really rosey cheeks, this stuff covers it up completely and makes me look human again. It doesn't cake on my skin no matter how much I top it up and I don't need powder to set it, plus it always blends in perfectly with your foundation. Like any make up product though, the more you touch your face the shorter time the product lasts and I have a habit of always touching my face, especially if I have a blemish I want to make sure hasn't grown in size. Long story short - don't touch you face and the concealer will last all day!
I have shade Light and Medium
The Under Eye - Miss Sporty Perfect Stay Concealer
This concealer is rarely spoken about in the beauty world but it definitely deserves more credit in my eyes. I use this product under my eyes everyday to brighten my eye area and cover my permanent bags. I tend to suffer from dark bags under my eyes 6/7 days of the week and I find some concealers just exaggerate the problem and especially the few lines I have there as well. This concealer brighten my eyes and doesn't make my lines look worse. Brilliant!
I have shade Light and Medium
The Radiant Look - Bourjois Radiance Reveal
When I need a little bit more help to look awake or if I am going for a really healthy glowy look then this concealer really comes in handy. It is super brightening on the eyes and on the days when I have had little or no sleep, this product makes me look human again. It is also the perfect concealer to use for highlighting your features when you contour as well as it is so bright.You do need a light hand with this product as I find applying too much can make you look like a ghost and if there is anything worse than dark bags under your eyes, its white bags!
I have the shade Light
The Cover Up - Collection Lasting Perfection
This concealer is the best concealer in the drugstore for covering spots and blemishes. I know every blogger and YouTuber shouts about this product and at one point it was in every video and every blog post, but that is because it is just so good. Whenever I have an angry spots or some really rosey cheeks, this stuff covers it up completely and makes me look human again. It doesn't cake on my skin no matter how much I top it up and I don't need powder to set it, plus it always blends in perfectly with your foundation. Like any make up product though, the more you touch your face the shorter time the product lasts and I have a habit of always touching my face, especially if I have a blemish I want to make sure hasn't grown in size. Long story short - don't touch you face and the concealer will last all day!
I have shade Light and Medium
The Under Eye - Miss Sporty Perfect Stay Concealer
This concealer is rarely spoken about in the beauty world but it definitely deserves more credit in my eyes. I use this product under my eyes everyday to brighten my eye area and cover my permanent bags. I tend to suffer from dark bags under my eyes 6/7 days of the week and I find some concealers just exaggerate the problem and especially the few lines I have there as well. This concealer brighten my eyes and doesn't make my lines look worse. Brilliant!
I have shade Light and Medium
The Radiant Look - Bourjois Radiance Reveal
When I need a little bit more help to look awake or if I am going for a really healthy glowy look then this concealer really comes in handy. It is super brightening on the eyes and on the days when I have had little or no sleep, this product makes me look human again. It is also the perfect concealer to use for highlighting your features when you contour as well as it is so bright.You do need a light hand with this product as I find applying too much can make you look like a ghost and if there is anything worse than dark bags under your eyes, its white bags!
I have the shade Light
I'd love to know some of your favourite drugstore concealers!
I haven't wrote a skincare post since February and that is just not alright with me. Skincare is my all time favourite kind of products to talk about but I very rarely mix up the products that I use, once I have a routine that works for me I stick with it so I don't want to talk about the same products over and over again. Today I am going to talk you through three of my favourite skincare brands for work for me. Now everyone's skin is different and different things work for different people so just because these brands work with my skin doesn't mean they will definitely work for you too.
Even though I have called this brand the 'fancy skincare' doesn't mean I have the products just because of the name! My mum used to use this brand when I was younger so I knew of the name and always wanted to try it. I started out with a moisturiser from a discount beauty shop and fell in love with it. Clinique are the only moisturisers I use as they make my skin feel amazing every time I use them and they don't irritate my skin or break me out. I have tried other brands (and the Origins moisturiser is quite good I'll give the brand that) but I always come back to my Clinique moisturisers and always take them away with me because they are so amazing. Some of the products can be expensive so I tend to buy them when I go through duty free or visit Bicester Village so I can save some pennies.
I have ... Dramatically different moisturising lotion, Daily superdefence moisturiser, All about the eyes eye cream.
The Everyday Skincare - Lush
My love affair with Lush started out with the bath bombs and gradually moved onto other products like the skincare. I really like their skincare as I know non of the products are going to irritate my skin or break me out as they only include natural ingredients. I use Lush products on a daily basis as they aren't too expensive and won't break the bank if I need to repurchase them. I have a range of products from Lush from cleaners and face washes to toners and eye creams and all of them I have fallen for as they really works for me. You can tell how much I love the brand with the number of products I have in my skincare collection!
I have ... Enchanting Eye Cream, Eau Roma Toner Water, Ultrabland Facial Cleanser, Kalamazoo Beard and Facial Wash, Ocean Salt Face and Body Scrub, Dark Angels Face and Body Cleanser and lastly Angels on Bare Skin Face and Body Cleanser.
I love using Origins skincare for a pamper night product as the masks in their range are so good at refreshing your skin. I tried one mask many moons ago and fell in love with how it left my skin, so tried another one and then it snow balled into to buying a new mask every time I visit Bicester! Origins know how to make a good mask and all their masks make my skin feel cleansed and polished after I use them. You get a generous amount in the packaging too so they can last you for ages which means less money you are having to spend. Again some Origins products can be pricey but they do sell them in discount shops and obviously at duty free. After trying the face masks I moved on to buying a moisturiser from the Gin Zing range which I love as much as my Clinique Moisturiser!
I have ... Original Skin Retexturising rose clay mask, GinZing Refreshing Face Mask, Out Of Trouble 10 Minute Mask and Drink Up 10 Minute Mask.
Photo nicked from Pinterest because I really can't take photos of clothes to save my life. Im sorry but they all look like poo so if you have clicked this post to see where that skirt is from I have no idea... Link for Photo!
I love the autumn season and with the change in weather I can finally wear the clothes to match the season. I have already picked up a few pieces for the colder weather and I thought I'd show you some of my new pieces as well as some of my old favourites.
I have quite a collection of patterned skirts in my wardrobe and I love how they look on me. I recently bought this green tartan skirt which I absolutely love, it fits perfectly on me and I love it paired with a plain black long sleeve t-shirt or a roll neck jumper. I love this jumper with the cut out shoulder and of course I have it in light brown and black but with sleeves.
When I'm not in a girly mood I live in black skinny jeans; plain black or black with rips I love both but they always have to be high waisted. These high waisted black skinny jeans from Topshop are my all time favourite. I live in cropped jumpers and long sleeved cropped tops too. This yellow cropped jumper (similar) goes perfect for a lazy casual day.
I recently picked up this super cute baby pink shirt jumper combo (similar) which I absolutely love. It is so cosy and easy to wear and it looks really good with my light blue ripped jeans. Its a really casual look which keeps me cosy when it is cold.
My favourite purchases for autumn is this fur waistcoat from Newlook which I have fallen in love with. I wear it with my black high waisted jeans and long sleeve black top and I absolutely love it so much. It is so cute and is perfect for when it is really cold but you also get too hot wearing a big coat, I like my arms to breath otherwise I sweat (I know you wanted to know that!)
Lastly every girl needs a pair of little brown boots and some super cute beanie hats! I bought two from primark recently for only £2 which is such a bargain. I picked up a mustard colour and a burgandy hat. As for my boots (similar) my all time favourite ones are pretty battered since last year but I can't part ways with them, they are super comfy and easy to pair with tights and jeans.
Newlook have done it again and created some amazing shades for the autumn winter months and I have already got my hands on some of them before they re-brand their makeup all over again (which I am very excited about). Before I purchased these new shades I did sort out of my makeup and give away some of my less used shades in my lip collection so I now keep all of my Newlook lipsticks in this little cute lipstick holder from TKMax.
I am embracing the dark lip for once this year and have purchased a few darker shades then I am used to, one of them is the Dark Brown lipstick in shade number 27. The name isn't very imaginative but it describes the shade perfectly and although it is a dark brown shade, I think it is very wearable and won't look too out of place on a day to day basis. I tried it on at home the day I bought it and at first I was a bit like woah, but once I had got used to it I really liked the colour on me. I am tried to expand my lip colour range so I don't spend another few months with permanent dark berry lips!
My last lipstick with a more inventive name is the shade Cinamon 81 which is a peachy-orangey shade which is very autumn appropriate. Some people only link autumn and winter with dark shades but I think this is a perfect autumn shade as it reminds me of orange leaves and the brilliant burnt orange shade we get in clothing shops. I am not a big fan of orange lip shades but this lipstick is a very loved addition to my collection and I suspect with be used a lot in the next few months.
You can read my first Pure Lips post here and my second Pure Lips post here.
In the last few weeks I have purchased a few extra little lip treats for myself (because I deserve a treat for no reason) and I wanted to show them to you since I am a little excited about them. Where I live I don't have any Boots shops that stock NYK products, not even the MK store has them! So when I went to Leicester with my boyfriend and friends and noticed they has a NYK counter, well I was quite embarrassing if I do say so myself. I had to leave with something so I picked up the Butter Gloss in shade 15 Angle Food Cake. It is a mauve coloured nude which is my favourite lip colour at the moment as you can tell from my previous post. I love a lip gloss recently and after trying this butter gloss I am excited to get a few more shades.
My next purchase was the Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Lipgloss (see the theme here?) in Plumsup. I had an old Sexy Mother Pucker lipgloss in my stash that just needed to be thrown away so I re-purchased a new one and I forgot how tingly it made my lips! The sensation is probably the best thing about the product and then there is the plumping of my lips. I don't have small lips anyway but sometimes you do want your lips to be bigger and juicer. Again this shade is my favourite nudey shade which I know I will get a lot of use out of.
Lastly I picked up the Bodyshop Lip and Cheek Stain in Deep Berry 029 as a whim really. I didn't have any in my collection yet and I wanted a shade which I knew would be something I could get a lot of use out of and this dark berry colour is perfect for me. It is very pigmented but a watery consistently like most lip stains, I find that this lasts longer on my lips then the products I have tried years ago. I usually apply a small amount on my lips with the wand and then use my finger to blend it out and cover every inch of my lips. It dries quickly and then lasts for ages on my lips which is why I wanted it, it makes it look like I have permanent rosey lips which only you guys will know is not true.
I was shopping my stash recently and I have found a bundle of products that haven't seen the light of day in months now. My collection has boomed lately so it has been hard seeing every product that I have and finding time to use every single product. I recently sorted through my draws and condensed my makeup down from four to two draws which is really good for me. Here a few products that I have kept in my stash and need to try and show some more love to them.
I purchased this Next Palette so long ago now in a next store when I went in to find some funny presents for my family at Christmas. I have never tried Next makeup before so I was really intrigued as all these colours are gorgeous and it was only £10. I can honestly say I have used this palette once since I got it which I am really sad about. The pigmentation of the colours are really vibrant but you do need to really work your brush to get the product. It is the kind of shadows where if you rub your finger into the product you get a lot of product but when you rub your brush in it, you don't get a lot of product off the brush. It isn't too much of a problem as I quite like using my fingers to apply eye shadow sometimes.
My next forgotten gem is the Bodyshop Shimmer Cubes Palette in 30. My friend bought me these for Christmas last year and I absolutely loved them! I used them for quite a few weeks but since then they haven't really been opened. The pigmentation of these is really good and I like to use these when I want some extra shimmer on top of another shadow or in the crease to give my look a little something. The cube includes the shades Dusty Fawn. Warm Copper, Burnished Gold and Rich Expresso and they are all shades I really love, especially Dusty Fawn as a highlighter! I really need to whip this out more often.
I have included the Benefit Erase Paste in blog post before and really liked how it worked on my posts and blemishes but recently I have fell back in love with my Collection concealer and every other product has been forgotten. I have this concealer in number 1 Fair but I could still use something a little bit lighter as it is quite a orangey shade which obviously isn't good when you haven't got a tan. I have a sort of tan at the moment so I am going to pop this in my makeup bag and use it on some pesky spots that keep appearing on my chin.
Another Benefit product I have only used once is a sample size of the Hello Flawless foundation in the shade Honey. I got this in a Benefit box set and the women in boots colour matched me to the Honey box so that is the shade I got, once I was home I realised she must have needed glasses as it was so dark on me! Even with a tan I am still not the right shade for the foundation so that pot is a lost cause, I am hoping if I mix it with a really pale foundation I can find a shade that will suit me. Wish me luck on that one!
Lastly I have had my Dior Addict Fluid Stick in the shade 754 Pandore in my collection for years and I have only used it a hand full of times. It is am amazing product, with an impressive duration, in beautiful packaging and in the most vibrant colour but I don't really wear it. The colour is so vibrant it can't be worn on a day to day basis as it is too in your face (for me anyway). This is definitely more of a night out product with its bright red colour but when was the last time I went out and got dolled up? I don't even remember.
I have been promoted at my old job in my home town and will be starting back there in two weeks so I am hoping when I was not doing 10 hours days and getting up stupidly early to drive to work for 6 or 7 that I will have more energy and be more willing to go out again. I have been such a hedgehog recently in the sense that I have hibernated for most of the last 3 months. I even fell asleep when I had couples round my house for date night because I was that tired from travelling to and from my current job so coming back home is going to feel like heaven!
Anyway enough of my ramble, hopefully I find some time or occassion to wear these products otherwise they might be in my 'forgotten gems' post next year! Hopefully not!
Before I became embedded in the world of Lush products, my bathroom was full of mainly Soap and Glory products. I still love them and some of these gems I have had for years and still repurchase them when I am running low. You can never go wrong with Soap and Glory products especially when they are usually on 3for2 in boots!
A little product I have thrown into this mix because I have recently really enjoyed using it in the shower is the Peaches and Clean Cleansing Milk. I included this in a post way way back in January 2014 so it has been a long old favourite of mine that I seemed to have forgotten about for a long while. I recently re-purchased it and I have really enjoyed how soft and smooth it leaves my skin. It is nice as a refreshing wash after you have cleaned your face of all the impurities.
The Clean, Girls Body Wash is an old favourite of mine which is one product I dual use as a makeup brush cleaner and I can't decide which way I prefer. The wash lathers up so much you only need a small amount of product to cover your whole body, which is also great for when you clean your makeup brushes. It leaves your skin really soft and clean and feel so creamy when you work it in. I have had this bottle for what feels like years and I still have so much left, even after using it for cleaning my brushes every time!
For when I need a big re-fresh and want to really make my skin smell amazing I like to use the Sugar Crush body wash purely because it smells a-m-a-zing! I don't even know how to describe the smell apart from sugar covered fruit. When I have had a long day or I feel really disgusting and grubby, I love using this product to make me feel human again.
I have only ever had one favourite body scrub for years and that has always been The Scrub of Your Life. I like to call this scrub the best of both worlds as it has lots of beads in the product that works great at scrubbing your skin super smooth, plus once it mixes with water the product then turns into more of a wash as well as the beads so it is like using two products at once.
The Righteous Butter is an old classic in most peoples books and rightly so, the tub you get is huge and the product lasts so long! I have tried a lot of body butters over the years but I always come back to the Soap and Glory Righteous Butter as it works every time and isn't greasy like some body butters. It sinks in quite fast as well so you don't end up standing like a statue for half an hour.
I have another Bath Time post including some of my Body shop favourites to show you soon. Let me know if you think there are any products worth trying out?
I thought it was only right that I write a post about my lip products from Kiko as I love them quite a lot and think they deserve some lime light. For the price that they are, the products are such great quality and are lovely to use.
Starting of with some of the many lip balm products I have from Kiko, I'll talk about the pH Lip Enhancer Base and Glossy Balm. I bought this in the first place ages ago because it intrigued me a lot, a pH lip enhancer? I didn't know what it would do to be perfectly honest. I agree with the 'glossy balm' statement as it leaves my lips very glossy and plumped, perfect to prep your lip before a lipstick. I do find that the product brings out the natural colour of my lips and makes it look more rosey and healthy, no body wants dull dry lips! It also smells of chocolate?!
I also have the Glossy Balm Ultra Moisturising Lip Balm. Yes I know its another glossy lip balm but I have a problem okay? This does have a difference to the previous one though. Instead of being a stick the packaging has a ball on the end that dispenses product onto your lips as you roll the ball on them. I love this packaging idea and it makes the application of the product really soothing as the ball is cold so the product stays cold on your lips while it sinks in. When you first apply the product it does feel quite greasy on the lips... until it sinks in and then it you are left with non - greasy hydrated lips!
Now for my last balm of the day... the Kiss Balm in 03 Tutti Frutti. Firstly can I just say the packaging of this product is very cute and expensive looking, especially for just a lip balm. This gives my lips a gorgeous colour perfect for the summer months when you don't want to clog your lips up with a thick lipsticks but you want a some colour on your lips. This balm is super moisturising, probably the most moisturising out of all three. The colour doesn't last long on your lips but for the price you can apply this balm 10 times a day and it will still cost you less then a similar expensive version.
Now time for my first lip gloss in the collection (well proper lipgloss, you'll understand when you read about the next product). The Creamy Wet Look Lip Gloss in 103 Pearly Coral is my lips but much better looking. The product does make my lips look wet but in a really nourished way if you know what I mean, they look like I'd tried to have some drink and missed my mouth badly. When I am having a 'no make up' make up day I like to use this lip gloss to give my lips so shine but not so I look like I have tried.
Lastly my newest product from the brand is the Pencil Lip Gloss in number 10 Dark Rose. I choose this shade as it was a nudey/beige shade which as you can tell from my recent lipstick post, I am loving that shade. The pencil is a touch lighter on my lips then what I expected but I still love the colour that I get. Being a 'pencil lip gloss' is a strange concept to myself but to be completely honest with you, it is basically just a giant lip pencil. I love that I can cover my entire lips with just a few lines of this pencil because it is a large size and it comes in handy when you just want to quickly do something to your lips while your on the go. The durability of the pencil is standard I'd say, I put it on first thing in the morning and reapply it after my lunch and it lasts the best part of the day.
If you haven't invested in some lip products from Kiko before trust me when I say they are worth a trip!
There has been a few products that I haven't stopped using this August, to the point where I have turned my room upside down because I can't find them (they were in my hand bag for the record). I have mentioned the Dior Pore Minimizer Primer before in a post looking at my Dior Collection and I did say that I rarely use this product because it is expensive and a present from a relative. This month I stopped hiding it in my draw and whipped it out for some uses, I mean there is no point holding onto a product for it just to go off! It is a great product and leaves my skin so soft. I don't have a problem with big pores thankfully but when my skin has been red and patchy, this product has smoothed out my problems ready for my next products. I do believe it keeps my foundation on for longer as I used it when I spent the whole day in Leicester where it was windy and rained on and off, when I got home my foundation was still in tack and looking good.
My first and favourite loose powder that I like to use is the Newlook Pure Colour Loose Powder in Translucent. I used pressed powders for years and never wanted to try loose powders before until I decided to try out this powder from Newlook. I have now jumped on the bang wagon and wouldn't go back to my Rimmel Pressed Powder. It is great at keeping my under eye makeup in place all day and doesn't make my skin turn cakey or give me spots. That was one thing I was worried about with loose powder as you tend to use more product but I didn't need to worry. It can get messy and from now on I do keep my pot on the top of my draws as it gets messy when it moves around in my draws but it is easy to clean with a brush.
I have been going in between two different concealers this month and the first one is the Miss Sporty Concealer in Light. This is great at brightening my eye area and different points around my face. It is really creamy and easy to blend in which makes making my eye bags a thing of the past. It doesn't have a high coverage so I wouldn't use this on problem areas but it is a great eye concealer. My other concealer is the Bourjois Radiance Reveal Concealer in 01 Ivory. Again I use this concealer on my under eye area and it is great at brightening that area. This product is a thicker consistency than the Miss Sporty product so it takes a bit more to blend it in. I like going in between these two products depending on how much makeup I am putting on that day and how bad my bags are.
I have two lip products I have been all over this month and they are Mac Cremesheen in Delight and Clinique Colour Pop in Bare Pop. Yes I know I have mentioned Clinique Bare Pop why too much in my lifetime but I just love it sooooo much! I will try and stop talking about it but I can't promise anything... The Mac Delight on the other hand I think I have hardly mentioned which I am shocked about. It is the perfect lip gloss in shade and product, the shade is a perfect pinky nude which is great for everyday makeup and goes with any makeup look. The consistency is kinda thick but not so thick that your lips feel suffocated, it sinks into your lips and leaves them with a glossy colour on you lips which isn't sticky.
Lastly a hair product that I have been using for months now but it hasn't made its way into my favoruites before now is the Urban Therapy Twisted Sista Different Strokes Serum which I apply to wet hair before I leave it to dry. This gives my hair moisture, stops it going frizzy when it is dried and leaves it super smooth and shinny when it is dry. When I don't use this product my hair feels dry and rough and doesn't sit well whatever I try to do with it. I couldn't live without this product to be honest.
What products have you loved in August?
I have gone a little crazy for eye shadow palettes this last year and most days now I wear eye shadow which is a stark contrast to previous years when I didn't even know what eye shadow was. Recently I have felt naked without something on my eyes and in my collection I have three palettes which I can't put down. None of these will be a big surprise to any of you as these are all pretty popular products on the scene, although that may be an understatement for the last palette!
As you can see from the photo this palette has really been shown some love since it was purchased. For just £10 you get 3 matte and 9 shimmer shades which are so easy to wear and blend like a dream. I was really surprised by the quality of this palette when I first tried it as the quality of the product is really good. The shadows are quite buttery so blend really easily and the colour pay off is so good for price. Apart from the last 2 shades (sorry dark purples) I wear most of these shades on a daily basis and two shades have been hacked at as they are so beautiful. The three matte shades are perfect colours to work as bases for the rest of the shimmer shades and you can create some really pretty looks with this palette. When I use this palette my eye shadows lasts all day on my lids, I usually use a Maybelline colour tattoo as a base primer to make sure it lasts me till bedtime.
Once I knew the quality of W7 eye shadows were up there with some of the best, I invested in another palette when I came across one. This palette is perfect for smokey and glitter party looks, just like the previous palette the pay off and quality of the eye shadows is amazing for the price. I couldn't find this palette on the W7 website so I am unsure whether it has been discontinued or something? But I did find it on the Argos website of all places at half price so it is a right steal. The gold shades in this palette are beautiful and range from an intense dark gold to a subtle shimmer which could easily be used as a highlighter. Apart from the last black shade (I'm sorry but dark colour aren't for me) I love all the shades in the palette and enjoy playing around with it.
You may notice but this palette is exactly like the W7 palette I've just talked about, the W7 palette is a dupe for this gorgeous palette which is a steal at the current price, but there is nothing like having the original. If you can afford to buy these palettes then definitely go out and buy one because they are amazing. If you can't then the w7 palettes are great substitutes, they aren't as good as Urban Decay but they definitely are a good dupe. The quality of the Urban Decay shadows are just amazing, there is no other words to use. They are so pigmented, blend so easily and last all day with or without a primer. This palette really packs a punch with its colours and glitter and YDK is my all time favourite shadow of all time.
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