I love nothing more than laying around being lazy and binge watching beauty videos on YouTube and I have a collection of girls who I love to binge watch their videos on a weekly basis.
M E G S A Y S
Meg is someone who I have been subscribed to since she started YouTube 2 years ago and I fell in love with her straight away. I love her makeup videos because does really beautiful natural glowy looks that you can recreate on a day to day basis. I also completely trust her monthly favourite recommendations and watch her videos religiously. I never miss her videos and love watching her vlogs especially if Will is in them, them two are super cute.
T H E M A K E U P C H A I R
Sinead was one of the first beauty You-tubers I watched and all these years later I still swear by her videos. I like that she breaks down videos to make them really easy to follow and she literally has a video for everything! Plus I love her accent I wish I had it!
T H E A N N A E D I T
Anna is an old school You-Tuber who again was one of the first people I started to watch on YouTube. I love that Anna is a beauty YouTuber who is super natural and doesn't cake herself in makeup which is how I am a day to day basis so I totally trust her recommendations. You can tell she genuinely likes the products she talks about and recently she did a video where she tried something new everyday for a week and vlogged her thoughts and I loved it.
C O C O C H I C
Steph is a new obsession of mine who I have recently watched nearly every video of, she seems to make any product whether it is a really underrated cheap product look amazing on her skin. She loves her drugstore makeup which is one of the reasons I love her so much as she talks about stuff that everyone can afford. Her makeup just slays every time and I wish I was her friend.
S O P H D O E S N A I LS
I discovered Sophie at the end of last year and her videos are so good. She does great testing makeup videos trying out different technics and brands and that was how I found her. I love testing makeup videos and she has some pretty great ones on her channel. I love the way she does her makeup and again she is a drugstore makeup lover!
L U C E S T E P H E N S O N
After finding Sophie I discover Luce who is very similar to Soph but deserves a lot more followers then she has! Like Soph she posts testing makeup videos and reviews on her channel which I totally trust as she is so relatable. I love the way she does her makeup and the range of products she uses so anyone can afford to buy them too.
J U S T J O D E S
Ahh my Jodes! I don't know who was the first person to start the 'Testing Makeup' trend but for me Jodes is my queen of it. I have been subscribed to Jodes for years now and she has always been one of my favourites. She has such a range of videos to her testing makeup videos to high end hauls and everything else in between. I love watching this girl.
Now I thought I would do honorable mentions to two girls I love to watch who aren't all about beauty. The first is...
F A B U L O U S H A N
I bloody love this girl! Everything she says is hilarious and she is so down to earth I can totally relate to her! I could watch her all day and not get bored so she needs to live stream her life for everyone to see. If I could chose one YouTuber to be best friends with it would definitely be Han!
R H I A N N O N A S H L E E
I started watching Rhiannon when she was at the end of her pregnancy and I loved how open and honest she was about everything she was going through while pregnant, then she gave birth to Delilah and I have been a sucker for the family every since. I religiously watch her vlogs now and love seeing what her, Delilah and Doug get up to. I feel like i'm a part of the family and I feel like a proud family friend watching Delilah grow up which is so strange considering I have never met any of them. I think Rhiannon is a great mother and I love how she is still so open and honest about parenthood even when people make comments on everything she does.
Meg is someone who I have been subscribed to since she started YouTube 2 years ago and I fell in love with her straight away. I love her makeup videos because does really beautiful natural glowy looks that you can recreate on a day to day basis. I also completely trust her monthly favourite recommendations and watch her videos religiously. I never miss her videos and love watching her vlogs especially if Will is in them, them two are super cute.
T H E M A K E U P C H A I R
Sinead was one of the first beauty You-tubers I watched and all these years later I still swear by her videos. I like that she breaks down videos to make them really easy to follow and she literally has a video for everything! Plus I love her accent I wish I had it!
T H E A N N A E D I T
Anna is an old school You-Tuber who again was one of the first people I started to watch on YouTube. I love that Anna is a beauty YouTuber who is super natural and doesn't cake herself in makeup which is how I am a day to day basis so I totally trust her recommendations. You can tell she genuinely likes the products she talks about and recently she did a video where she tried something new everyday for a week and vlogged her thoughts and I loved it.
C O C O C H I C
Steph is a new obsession of mine who I have recently watched nearly every video of, she seems to make any product whether it is a really underrated cheap product look amazing on her skin. She loves her drugstore makeup which is one of the reasons I love her so much as she talks about stuff that everyone can afford. Her makeup just slays every time and I wish I was her friend.
S O P H D O E S N A I LS
I discovered Sophie at the end of last year and her videos are so good. She does great testing makeup videos trying out different technics and brands and that was how I found her. I love testing makeup videos and she has some pretty great ones on her channel. I love the way she does her makeup and again she is a drugstore makeup lover!
L U C E S T E P H E N S O N
After finding Sophie I discover Luce who is very similar to Soph but deserves a lot more followers then she has! Like Soph she posts testing makeup videos and reviews on her channel which I totally trust as she is so relatable. I love the way she does her makeup and the range of products she uses so anyone can afford to buy them too.
J U S T J O D E S
Ahh my Jodes! I don't know who was the first person to start the 'Testing Makeup' trend but for me Jodes is my queen of it. I have been subscribed to Jodes for years now and she has always been one of my favourites. She has such a range of videos to her testing makeup videos to high end hauls and everything else in between. I love watching this girl.
Now I thought I would do honorable mentions to two girls I love to watch who aren't all about beauty. The first is...
F A B U L O U S H A N
I bloody love this girl! Everything she says is hilarious and she is so down to earth I can totally relate to her! I could watch her all day and not get bored so she needs to live stream her life for everyone to see. If I could chose one YouTuber to be best friends with it would definitely be Han!
R H I A N N O N A S H L E E
I started watching Rhiannon when she was at the end of her pregnancy and I loved how open and honest she was about everything she was going through while pregnant, then she gave birth to Delilah and I have been a sucker for the family every since. I religiously watch her vlogs now and love seeing what her, Delilah and Doug get up to. I feel like i'm a part of the family and I feel like a proud family friend watching Delilah grow up which is so strange considering I have never met any of them. I think Rhiannon is a great mother and I love how she is still so open and honest about parenthood even when people make comments on everything she does.
At the start of 2016 Cal and myself decided to start saving money so we could move into our own place, we always knew we wanted to buy a place instead of renting so we saved pretty damn hard all of last year. We never intended to buy anything until maybe 2018 when we thought we had enough money and time to look but then something caught our eye over Christmas last year. We found out about some houses for sell in the village next to us and fast forward to two months later, we have just exchanged contracts with the sellers and are waiting to move in! It is so crazy to think that two months ago we weren't even thinking about buying for another year and now we have everything in place to move in this May/June!
The house we are buying is a three storey new build in a little village right next to where we live now, it has three bedrooms (plenty of room for kids hint hint Cal) and should be ready for us to move in between May and June. I never thought I would have ever been able to buy a three bedroom house at the age of 22 and we are able to do it because the housing development that we are buying it from run a help to buy scheme for first time buyers which means we are able to buy a house we never would have been able to buy otherwise. The scheme so far has been fantastic and there hasn't been any scary small print catches that we have found so I would seriously recommend this scheme if you are looking to buy your first home.
Because we have chosen a new build as well we got to chose everything that went in so from built in appliances to carpets and flooring. Obviously we have to pay for any extra that they fit ourselves but because we picked the 'house of the week' we actually got money off some of our options for the house so we have picked all our carpet throughout the house (cream for the first and second floor and then light grey for the master bedroom) and a fridge freezer and cooker. So luckily we don't have to worry about picking a design and shape to fit our kitchen after we have moved in.
We have also picked our kitchen units and floor colour which is really exciting. We picked a grey marble kitchen top, with like grey cupboards with a even lighter grey flooring which has very subtle sparkles in it which you can't see on the photo sadly. For the bathrooms we picked this dark grey/black flooring which has sparkles too which luckly you can see in the photo.
Ever since we found this place we have been buying as well as our families little bits here and there so that when we do move in we have the essentials. We don't plan on buying anything big like sofas or new beds until we have moved in and decided what colour we plan to do each room as but we have a big pile of little bits and bobs all ready to go. I will try and link everything for you so you can have a nose yourself!
K I T C H E N
The kitchen is the one room in the house which I think is nearly complete as we actually have so much stuff already for it. Cal and I both liked the idea of square plates and bowls rather than circle and we found these individual plates in Tescos in January for around £3 so we picked up 4 plates. We also picked up 4 of these cute mason style glasses from Tesco too which I absolutely love. After we purchased these we did find sets of each at B&M so ended up buying a 16 piece square dinner set and a set of 4 mason jar glasses which I can't find on the website but they were only about £3 again so well worth a look round B&M for.
From B&M again we bought a Russell Hobbs 3 Piece Pan Set for only £19.99 which I think is a great deal. They were reduced from £50 to £20 so we had to yet them when we saw them. My mum swears by Russell Hobbs so hopefully I like these as much as she does. We also have loads of bog standard kit for the kitchen like drainer, pizza cuter, peeler, wooden and metal spoons, Tupperware, frying pans, mixing bowl and measuring jugs. We got all of these from either B&M, Wilkinson, Tesco and Home Bargains. One of the kitchen utensils which I think is definitely worn checking out is the Rose Gold kitchen utensils in Wilkinson. We picked up this rose gold Colander which is so cool.
Lastly for the kitchen we recently picked up at Tescos the Hinari Genie 8 In 1 Blender which was reduced so obviously we picked on up. My mum has one of these and whenever I make toad in the hole or pancakes or shakes I use hers so I really wanted one for myself when I moved out. On most websites this set is in the £30-40 range but at Tescos it is only £24.50 so definitely worth a look.
L I V I N G R O O M
We are super lucky to be given two practically new sofas of some family friends which we are very thankful for but to make them our own we have bought two super fluffy grey throws from Next which feel so beautiful I want to wear them all day every day.
Now this last Living room object is something Cal wanted for his birthday so Myself and my family all chipped in to get Cal this old fashioned suitcase Record Player from HMV. At first I didn't really get the appeal of this if I am completely honest but now that I have used it, I think it is a great piece to have in the house - one because it super cool and unique and two because it will be perfect when in the summer you want to listen to music in the garden.
R A N D O M
Me and Cal both love a bit of Ikea so of course we stocked up on a few bits in the last few weeks. We found this brown 'Welcome' mat for just £4 in store and this was exactly we wanted for the front door as having a cream carpet is hard work. We also got this green fake grass mat to put outside the back door. Lastly from Ikea we bought two bath mats for the main bathroom and the ensuite on the top floor, we picked this grey super soft design in large for the main bathroom and small for the ensuite shower.
Cal and I both are quite minimalist people so don't expect us to have quotes and sayings dotted around the house but we did find two cute little wall hanging in B&M this month which we thought would work great in the house. The first is this grey chalkboard week planner which we want to plan our meals for the week on, I plan on becoming a cooking goddess when I move out so having this will keep me from forgetting to prepare dinner and relying on take out food, this was only £2.99. We also got this super cute grey key and post holder to hang be the front door, can you tell we have a grey theme running through the house yet?! This was around £3.
The house currently has a roof, stairs and flooring but no walls so hopefully by the next of next week (the 4th of March) the walls should be fully plastered and they can start fitting in our appliances and flooring! I am so excited for this big change and if any of your are interested I will keep you posted on the progress with lots and lots photos! If you have any questions on Help To Buy loans leave them below and I will answer them for you.
I love getting dressed up for Valentines Day whether Cal and I are sitting at home watching a film or going out for a meal or a drink. This year Cal and I are going out to dinner and getting our favourite meal, curry! Not a very romantic meal I know but we love it!
For the evening I have already planned out my makeup for the night and it is a really easy gold bronzey look which is basically all I wear lately. For my base I am going to wear my all time favourite dewy foundation, L'Oreal True Match in shade Rose Vanilla. This foundation gives my skin a flawless healthy glow which is just want I want for Valentines. To give my skin even more glow I am going to be adding the Tanya Burr Face Illuminator which I love to mix in with foundations. When I mix it with matte foundations it adds some subtle glow to my skin and when I mix it with more dewy foundations, it keeps my foundation topped up with glow instead of becoming dull during the day. To prime my skin for my foundation I am going to be using my new favourite primer the Mac Prep + Prime Skin Base which I have used everyday since getting it last month.
On my cheeks I will be using a mix of the Tanya Burr Beautifully Defined palette and the Revolution Vivid Baked Bronzer in Golden Days. The Tanya Burr palette is absolutely beautiful and I love using it for bronzed glowy looks. I will be using Caramel Kiss to bronze and slightly contour my cheeks and topping that up with the Revolution Baked Bronzer. Then adding Champagne Shimmer on the top which is a beautiful highlighter.
On my eyes I'm going to use the three shades in the Tanya Burr Beautifully Defined palette to create a golden shimmer eye look to match my cheeks. I also have the Seventeen Easy On The Eye Birthday Suit palette on hand too which has some amazing nude/golden shades which would work well with the Tanya Burr shades.
On the lips I have two different options because I am someone who changes my mind way to often. The first option is my mini Charlotte Tilbury Red Carpet Red lipstick which is my favourite red at the minute and is the perfect red for Valentines. I also have my old favourite The Clinique Pop Lip Colour in Bare Pop which I always talk about because it is such a good moisturising nude. To add a little something to the nude lip I also have the Newlook High Shine Lip Glaze in Rose Gold to pop on top. I love adding this shimmer nude lip gloss on moisturising and matte nude lips.
What are you doing for Valentines Day? Whether your going out with your partner or staying in with your friends, I hope you have a great day/night!
I have spoken before about how much I love a striped back skincare routine and through January I have had three firm favourites that have helped over haul my skin. Firstly I have been trying out properly the Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm which I picked up back in November . I have spoke before about how I didn't like it at first as I felt you had to break the first layer of product to really be able to pick up any balm, well I have well and truly broke the seal now and I love this cleanser. I use it in the mornings to wash my face, in the evening to take my makeup off and all over my face except for my eyes. It does say you can use this product on the eyes but having sensitive eyes myself, I find it makes the area quite dry. The cleanser breaks down makeup really easily and leaves my skin feeling super clean. The product is really smooth and nourishing on the skin so my face never feels striped after using it which I can find with some balms. I got into using this product daily at the start of January and I have used it every day since and love it.
After Christmas my skin didn't want to co-operate at all and I had mountain after mountain appear on my chin so I decided to try something new. The L'oreal Pure Clay Masks have been floating around everywhere recently and having a real obsession with masks I wanted to try one of them. I opted for the Charcoal Detox Mask to really clear my skin of all the gunk that had been clogging it. Since purchasing it about 2 weeks ago I have used this mask twice a week and since then, my chin has completely turn around. The spots on my chin were big puss spots which I would pop and then they would reappear. The worst thing about them was that no amount of makeup would cover them which I hated. Since using this mask the spots have become less angry, less puss fill and are slowly going away so it has saved my skin this month.
Lastly I mentioned in my January Favourites post that I don't change up my moisturisers very much but since the start of January I have fell in love with a new moisturiser which I have now sadly ran out of. It is the Lush Gorgeous Moisturiser which I had a little tester pot for from Christmas. Since trying it at the beginning of January I have used it nearly every day since because it is the perfect moisturiser to wear underneath foundation. You don't need a lot of product for it to do its job, it leaves your skin tacky at first so doubles as a primer for your foundation and if you leave it to sink into the skin, it leaves it feeling really smooth and soft. If I wasn't on a spending ban I would go and repurchase it straight away but sadly since I am, I will have to make my way through my remaining pots first before I can justify buying any more.
Do you have any products you have tried in January you would recommend?
It feels crazy to be writing my January Favourites already when it feels like just yesterday I was writing my yearly favourites for 2016. It is scary how fast the first month of this year has gone by but it excites me so much because that means I can move into my new home sooner! Oh yeah I haven't told you that I have been accepted for a mortgage with Cal for our first home! I am beyond excited but anyway on with favourites.
A friend of mine gave me a sample of the Mac's Prep and Prime Skin Base to try this month and I haven't used anything else since trying it. This has become my favourite ever skin primer and it makes me quite sad that my new favourite product is a £23 primer but it is worth it. It leaves my skin super smooth, super healthy and glistening with sparkles which you might think isn't what you want on a day to day basis but it works. It works more like a moisturiser than a primer which is why it works so good everyday.
It is very hard for me to change up my skincare routine as I am a creature of habit but the Lush Gergous Moisturiser has stolen my heart. This again is a little pot Callum got me for Christmas to try out and it become part of my daily routine. A little goes a long way with this moisturiser so even though it is a tiny pot it has lastly me longer than I would have imagined. It leaves my skin quite tacky which makes it great for wearing under makeup to help it last all day, this moisturiser plus the Mac primer is the perfect combo underneath makeup.
A base product that I have been wearing none stop during January is the Bourjois City Radiance Foundation in Vanilla. At first I wasn't a fan of this foundation but it wasn't until I sprayed my beauty sponge with Newlook Fix Makeup Setting Spray that I really started liking the finish of this foundation. This foundation gives me a lovely healthy glow when I wear it which I have fell in love with, I usually go for matte foundation for everyday but this has changed my opinion of dewy/healthy formulas. It also lasts all day on my skin while I'm at work so its duration is amazing. I also can't use my beauty blender without spraying it with Newlook's Fix Spray as it gives the best finish with all my favourite foundations.
I have been loving the Revolution Ultra Bronzer this month which has been in my stash for years now but I only fell in love with it recently. First of all the pan is huge, this product is going to last me for even more years. Secondly this shade which annoyingly has no name looks good on any skin tone. I can be tanned or as white as a ghost and the colour still suits me.
I've mentioned the Pippa Palette by Blank Canvas Cosmetics before in a post about it here and it is in my favourites for the month too because I have been wearing it non stop. The palette has everything you need in it including a bronzer, blush, highlight and eye shadows. If you want to know more about it then read my post about it here.
My last make up favourites are the Newlook Matte Velvet Lipstick in the shades Toffee Apple and Heather. I have spoken about these before in my Newlook Makeup Haul post and I still love two months later. They don't dry out my lips at all and the colour lasts all day if I don't eat but if I do, they re-apply non patchy and no crust in sight.
I have three random favourites for the month too and the first are my two new harry potter books that I got for Christmas. I read Fantastic Beast and Where To Find Them first and absolutely loved it, I loved the story, the cover, the characters and surprisingly I loved reading it as a screenplay. Couldn't recommend this book enough. I then read Harry Potter and The Cursed Child and I didn't enjoy it as much as the first seven Harry Potter books to be completely honest. Don't hate me hardcore HP fans but I am just a lover of the old school books.
Lastly I have been obsessed with Gossip Girl since Christmas and am currently starting series three. I used to watch it while I was at school but I can't remember half the stuff that actually happened. I know who Gossip Girl is but I'm enjoying going through it all again.
My everyday makeup routine has changed up recently since I introduced some new products and some old products which I had forgotten about back into my routine.
B A S E
I recently got this little sample of Mac's Prep and Prime to try and I can't actually believe I have never tried it before. It feels more like a moisturiser than a primer which is why I really like using this product. It leaves my skin so soft and smooth so my foundations applies so nicely afterwards. I have finally started trying out the L'Oreal Infallible Stay Fresh Foundation properly and I like it so far. Compared to the matte formula of the foundation I find it feels more clogging on the skin and oxidizes when I first apply it but I can get away with it as I have quite a tanned neck thank god. I have been applying this foundation with my beauty blender which I wet first with the Newlook Fix Makeup Setting Spray which I think makes so much difference. I find the foundation gives me a nice glow but doesn't have the best coverage so I do have to go in with my concealers after. Maybelline Fit Me concealer in 10 works perfectly under my eyes to brighten my bags and the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer in 2 cool medium covers all my annoying blemishes with a thin layer. Lastly for powder I brought back out the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder which is an old classic.
C H E E K S
To give me so killer cheekbones (or try anyway) I have been using my W7 Honolulu which I got in a Christmas calendar. This contour is the perfect colour and suits my skin tone so well, I would describe it as a dark ashy toned brown. It works as a contour and bronzer product so depending on what look you are going for you cover both bases. I have been double bronzing lately though so I have been packing on the Benefit Hoola bronzer on top of my contour and with a soft hand it can look really natural.
E Y E S & B R O W S
Since glitter was used way too much over Christmas I have ditched the eye shadow lately and opted for just some mascara to keep my eyes simple. I dug out my little mini Clinique High Impact Mascara from my collection and I have really been loving it. For brows I have been kicking it old school with my Soap and Glory Brow Archery in Brownie Points. To set my brows I am working my way through a pot of Sleek Clear Brow Gel which I totally forgot about for most of last year.
For Christmas I got the Blank Canvas Cosmetics Pippa Palette from my partners parents and I am so thankful for it. I had heard about the brand before through Sinead Cady from the Makeup Chair on YouTube and I have been wanting to try something from the brand for a while.
This palette is the perfect palette for me as it is great for easy everyday smokey eyes which don't look to crazy and over the top. I am not one to stand out with my makeup, call me boring but I like to do subtle makeup that compliments my face and looks natural and that is so easy to achieve with this palette. In the palette you get a bronzer/contour shade Amour, a blush Pipsy, a highlighter Lulu and six eye shadow shades K.D, Dodo, Susu Tobi, Ollie and Lily. I love how natural all these shades are from the blush and highlight to the contour colour and I have used all the shades and liked how they turned out. I am not a big blush fan as you all know but Pipsy is a lovely soft natural shade which with a soft hand is hardly noticeable on the skin if you don't like to have an obvious blush on your cheeks. Amour is a lovely ash brown shade which I really like to contour with and Lulu is a gorgeous subtle golden highlight which I can't wait to wear during the summer.
For my everyday eye shadow I have been covering my whole lid with Ollie to make my lid look neutral for the look, I then use Tobi on the outer half of my lid and Susu on the outer third of my lid. To add some dept to the look I add a little of Dodo in the outer corner and if I am feeling really brave I add a tiny bit of K.D in the outer corner. These eye shadows are powdery when you swatch them but don't appear chalky or patchy when on the lids. The eye shadows blend really easily and last all day on my eye lids so they past the test there. The packaging for the palette is your standard cardboard which I know a lot of people don't like but I don't have a problem. It has a pretty pink girly design which I think is really pretty and stands out in my draw which is full of pretty much all black palettes.
For £30 it isn't the cheapest palette on the market and I don't see it to be a very big brand that talked about a lot but I totally think the palette is worth the price. I think it is a great palette for everyday use and with the amount that I use this palette, totally worth the money.
When Tanya Bur first released her makeup range in 2014 I wasn't too interested in her products at all, but her 2016 make up collection is absolutely right up my street. As soon as she uploaded a video of her using the products I knew I had to have them. I purchased the Face Illuminator months ago and fell in love with it so when I realised I got the Tanya Burr Beautifully Defined palette for Christmas I was so happy.
First of all the packaging is just gorgeous, compared to the packaging of her first range the packaging of this range is so much better. The palette has a magnetic lock which is a very nice touch indeed and as you open it you have a heart shaped mirror on the left hand side and all the product is on the right hand side.
After trying the Face Illuminator I knew I would like the other products in the range and I was right. Included in the palette is a squeeze-y tub of highlighter, three eye shadow shades, a powder highlighter and a powder bronzer.
The liquid highlighter is an absolutely gorgeous golden shimmer highlight which is very much the spiting image of her Face Illuminator if not a little more glittery. It will be amazing in the summer when I have a tan and want to look sun kissed and golden.
The powder highlighter (Champagne Shimer) is more a subtle version of the liquid highlighter which I have been using non stop so far this month. Whereas the liquid highlighter is more golden, the powder highlighter is more toned down and more of winter highlight in my opinion which is why I have loved it.
The bronzer shade (Caramel Kiss) is a lovely subtle powder bronzer which really suits my skin tone and I have really liked wearing since I got it. In the pan the bronzer looks quite dark but on the skin it isn't too dark or over the top.
The three eye shadow shades are really easy to wear everyday bronze shades. Cuddle Me is a lovely brown crease shade which I have been using all over the lids. Silk Pyjamas is a gorgeous golden brown which I like to pat on top of Cuddle Me to add some shimmer to the look. Baking Brownie is a dark chocolate brown which I have been using lightly in the crease to give my eyes some extra dimensions.
Who has the time in the mornings to sit in front of the mirror for hours and do your makeup nowadays? I definitely don't unless I have a day off so my makeup needs to be quick and easy. Here are a few products which I like to use on those early mornings when I have a lot to do but not enough time to do it all.
You can't go wrong with Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in my eyes for a quick and easy application. The product makes you look really healthy (which the names suggests) and awake in the morning when your more than likely still too tired to get out of your pjs bottoms. I use a Real Technics sponge to apply this product and takes about one minute to blend it all into my face, I never have to worry about it caking or being streaky. My Miss Sporty concealer in light is my favourite concealer to use underneath my eyes and always helps me look more awake and alive during the mornings. It blends in really easily so it doesn't take very long to apply it.
My go to bronzer for when I don't have time to contour is the Bodyshop Honey Bronzer in light which works a treat at making my look like I have some sort of colour in my face. A couple of sweeps on the cheeks and I am good to go!
For eyebrows my easiest product to use is my Soap and Glory Brow Archery pencil in brunette, I love the felt tip on one end for filling in my brows as it is really quick and easy. I don't have to worry about making a mistake as I can just wipe the excess away and the product lasts all day on my eyebrows.
A easy way to look like you've spent time on your makeup when you really haven't is to use cream eye shadows, my new best friends and my holy grail. They are basically the lazy girls guide to eye shadow. Two of my favourite ones to use are the Maybeline Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze and The Kiko Long Lasting Stick Eye shadow in 04. They are both beautiful golden browns which suit any look and lasts all day on your lids. I usually skip mascara if I am in a rush so I tend to just use my eye lash curlers instead to give the illusion that I have done something to them.
Lastly the lipstick I always reach for and which is always in my hand bag for referent use is the Newlook lipstick in Camel. The perfect nude that suits any eye look I have gone for and which isn't fiddly to apply, one coat and your good to go.
I am starting a strick no spending ban this year as Cal and I are hoping to move out and get a mortgage this year and if things continue the way they are going... we may have bought a house and move into it by the middle of the year ekkkk. Therefore I am not going to have any money to spend on makeup anyway. Over November and December I have collected a huge stash of new makeup to keep me going through this long year of no spending.
Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm
This was very much a impulse buy if I am totally honest. I had seen a few people talk about this product on YouTube and that really made me want to try it since Clinique is one of my favourite skincare brands. So far I haven't reached for it very much as I find it isn't as easy to move round my face, I think I might need to work it a little and break the first layer for the product to work better.
NYX Matte Finish Fini Mat Spray
I really like this makeup spray so far and it is one of my favourite fixing sprays to use at the minute. It helps my makeup to last longer during the day and leaves my skin with a fresh feel to it. I really want to try the Dewy version next (although I won't because I am on a ban...)
Newlook Refresh and Prep & Fix Sprays
I was really intrigued to use these sprays from Newlook and so far I have used the Refresh and Prep spray most days since I purchased it. I like the feel of it on my skin rather than a primer. I find If I layer too much on my skin such as primer, foundation, powder ext my skin can feel really clogged and bumpy rather than smooth. So using this spray helps keep my makeup lightweight and comfortable. I have used the Fix spray a couple of times but I definitely need to give this product a bit more love before I comment on how good it is.
L'Oreal Infallible Foundation
I absolutely love the L'Oreal Infallible Matte foundation so of course I had to try the non matte version. So far I have only tried it once or twice and I can't say I love it as much the matte version but I am still trying it out.
Rituals Foundation in 11
I haven't heard much about the brand Rituals before hand but my friend bought me this foundation for Christmas after she tried it and feel in love with it. I have only tried it a few times so I can't give you a proper review of it but so far I have found it to be really dewy and gives a healthy look to the skin.
Bourjois City Radiance Foundation in 02 Vanilla
I am a big fan of Bourjois foundations and I haven't been disappointed with this new addition to my collection. It is a much thicker consistency than their other foundations but after using it with a beauty blender I am really loving the consistency of it. It is definitely a medium coverage as my red cheeks are covered but my fresh spots still pop out and need some concealer on top.
NYX Dusk Til Dawn Dream Catcher Palette
This palette caught my eye when I was in Selfridges in London and I really wanted to leave London with something and this was the only thing that I liked. The palette is filled with different gold shimmer shades which is basically all I wear at the minute. So far I have found I really need to break the first layer of the product for me to really get any pigment from them, so some of the shades are looking a little worse for wear. Once you have broke the first layer, the pigmentation of the shadows are really good and great for nights out. It also has a matte brown which means you can make lots of looks with this palette.
P.s Illuminate Cream Highlighter
This palette was another impulse buy which I do regret a little bit because I have not used this product since I purchased it, it was only £4 so that made me buy it. The colours of these highlights are gorgeous and so dreamy but I am not a big fan of cream highlighter at all so I always find myself reaching for my powder products.
Newlook Strobe KitThis highlighter kit gives me life!
It includes three powder highlighter shades and two of the shades have become a staple on a day to day basis and I love them. Like I said before powder highlighters appeal to me much more than cream products so I have been reaching for this palette nearly everyday since I purchased it. I like to use the middle shade to highlight my nose and the end shade on top of my check bones.
Newlook Matte Lipsticks Latte & Mulberry
Of course another Newlook product to talk about... I picked up Latte which is a pale pinky nude and Mulberry which is a very dark burgandy red which is just gorgeous. These are the matte formulas so they last really long and they dont dry out on the lips which some matte products can do. Also the new packaging is so lush.
Charlotte Tilbury Red Carpet Red Lipstick
This miniature lipstick is the cutest present idea ever and I have to give my friend props for giving me the Red Carpet Red shade for Christmas. I love a good red lipstick and this lipstick is a gorgeous dark berry red which I have wore so much since getting it. Also the size of the lipstick is great for people like me who always mess up applying red lipstick.
Newlook Eyebrow Powder Pen in Dark Brown
Powder eyebrow pens are something new to me and I am a fan so far, I find this pen is easier to use when your in a rush in the morning and looks much more natural then a normal pen or eye shadow.
Hope you enjoy my naughty purchases
Wish me luck on my spending ban!
Trying to pick just 10 beauty products that I have loved during last year is always hard because I go in between different products all the time so narrowing them down is hard. I have narrowed it down to 10 picks which I have been head over heels with during the year.
Origins GinZing Moisturiser
I have spoken about this moisturiser many times before and it is a favourite of mine for many reason. I prefer using this moisturiser underneath my makeup rather than any of my other moisturisers as it sinks into my skin so easily I don't feel like I have anything on my skin. It leaves my skin really soft and smooth so applying foundation afterwards is so easy.
L'oreal True Match Foundation
I tried three new foundations in 2016 and this is one of them. I knew this was a blogger favourite so I finally purchased a bottle to try myself and I am so glad that I did. It gives my skin the most amazing finish and gives my skin a boost of life. It covers all my imperfections and lasts all day on my face so its gets a big thumbs up from me. This is the foundation I apply when I am going out for a night out and I want my skin to look a-m-a-zing.
L'Oreal Infallible Matte Foundation
This is the second new foundation I tried in 2016 and again I loved it after trying it. It is such a easy product to wear, I would feel completely confidence applying this foundation in the dark. It gives a really good coverage which can be built up for a evening look and gives my skin a a flawless finish. I never have to worry about my red cheeks peeking through as this foundation lasts all day and doesn't look cakey after a few hours wear.
Revlon Colourstay Foundation
The last foundation I'm going to talk about today is this little beauty. Just like the L'Oreal foundation, I would feel confident applying this foundation in the dark because it always turns out looking great. This is my everyday foundation which I can apply in a rush and know I don't have to worry about my makeup before I leave because it blends into the skin so easily it doesn't look like I am wearing foundation.
Maybelline Mastersculpt Highlight and Contour
I really don't mix up my contour products very much so this contour and highlight duo from Maybelline have been in my makeup bag all year. It is the perfect contour shade for me and is my favourite product for contouring in my whole collection. I do use the contour shade more then the highlighter shade but you can never have enough highlighters in your collection.
NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams
NYX cosmetics have exploded this year and I totally understand why after trying a few of their products. I came a bit late to the party which isn't really a surprise with me anymore but I am so glad that I finally gave into the hype. I currently have three Soft Matte Lip Creams in the shades Abu Dhai, Cannes and San Paulo and I love them all so far. The pigmentation of the lip creams are so good and because the product is so creamy they look amazing on the lips even if you have quite dry lips like me. If you have read my Liquid Lipstick Collection post then you will know that I have purchased these products from NYX, Collection and Bodyshop and I reach for my NYX products why more than the other brands.
Clinique Colour Pop Lipsticks
It will be no shock that I have included these lipsticks in my yearly favourites as I have spoke about these in so many posts this year. The formula of these lipsticks is one of my favourite in my whole collection, the lipsticks are so creamy and moisturising but the pigmentation packs such a good punch which you don't always get with moisturising lip products. The Red and Nude shade have been my go to products for most of the year, I hardly wear the pink shade as I am not very much of a pink girl but I can bear to separate the three.
Maybelline Colour Tattoo // On and On Bronze
Cream Eye Shadows have been one of the main makeup trends of 2016 and I took full advantage of all the new releases snagging some amazing products through the year and my all time favourite cream eye shadow out of them all is the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze. I've spoke about this product in many posts and so many bloggers love this shade as well so I agree with them all in saying it is amazing. When I want a really simple easy makeup look but I still want to look like I have put in some effort, I reach for On and On Bronze. It is a gorgeous golden bronze shade which is perfect to wear by itself with a nude lip or underneath a powder glitter shade to really pack a punch. I love this product during Christmas time, especially if I finish work at 6 and need to be ready for a Christmas party at half past!
Revolution Salvation Palette // What You Waiting For?
Picking my favourite palette from the whole year was really difficult, really really difficult. I have narrowed it down to one palette that through the year I have pulled out and shown some real love to. The shades in this Salvation palette are absolutely beautiful and you can mix and match with all the shades in the palette to create some lovely looks. My favourite combo is to use Hot Track all over the lid and then place Moving Car over the top and it gives my eyes a beautiful bronze-y shimmer feel. I really need to start using the other shimmer shades more but every time I go to use it, I see Moving Car and immediately wack it on my eye lip because I love it so much.
What were some of your favourite makeup products from the year?
My family and friends know me very well and I got a ton of Lush Bath Products for the bath this year so I thought a post was definitely in order. You really can't go wrong with a Lush Bath Bomb or Shower Cream when you are feeling run down.
Floating Island is the only bath oil I got for Christmas and I am interested to try this out. I am pretty sure I have used a bath oil from them before but I don't remember anything special about it so when my skin is needing a pick me up, this bad boy will have its time to shine.
Two Bubble Bars which I am so excited to have in my collection again are the Comforter and Brightside. I owned both of these before and I absolutely loved them for so many reasons. I crumbled a little bit into my bath and the amount of bubbles they produce are amazing. The bars lasted me so long before I was so sad to see them finish. Brightside made my bath a bright pink mess of bubbles and Comforter made my bath look a little bit like bright pee but it was still lovely.
Bath Bombs have to be my favourite products from Lush and I got a 8 bath bombs in total for Christmas which made me a happy bunny indeed. I got two Golden Wonder bath bombs which is very exciting because look at them! What could be better than a gold castle and it smells really citrus-y (yes I have just made up that word). I also got The Experimenter bath bomb with I have used before and loved. It makes your bath a rainbow colour which looks a-m-a-zing! Fizz Banger is a amazing smelling yellow colour which smells like a really sweet apple pie which is one of my favourite deserts. Intergalactic is like Experimenter because it feels your bath with lots of colour but mainly a sparkley blue which I absolutely love, it reminds me of the Frozen bath bomb which is one of my all time favourites. Butter Bear is a super cute white bear which smells like a savory butter cake which smells amazing and really makes me what some cake. Lastly for bath bombs I got Ickle Baby Bot which I have already used, it is a super cute little blue robot which made my bath turn baby blue in colour, I found it didn't do anything apart from change the colour though so glad I used that one first and saved some of my favourites for later.
Lastly I got the Snow Fairy shower gel which smells like heaven to me. Its smells like them candy necklaces that you used to eat when your were a kid but x1000 in impact. I find Lush's shower gels are so amazing for their smell and how amazing they leave my skin. They lather up so well and leave my skin so soft and smelling like a candy shop.
Right now I wish you could add smell to posts so you can all smell how amazing my room smells now from have all the products out of their packaging. I shall link all the products which are still availible on the website, let me know what is your favourite bath bombs and bars.
1. How To Style | Ripped Jeans
This post still gets a lot of love 2 years on and I am so happy as I loved writing it. I take you through my favourite looks that I style with ripped jeans from checked shirts to over sized jumpers to winter boots. I got all the photos from Pinterest which is my main source of inspiration for most of my outfits.
2. Kiko Universal Fit Hydrating Foundation
This is another post which a year on still gets so much love. I was really excited to try this foundation and sadly I don't still have it in my collection after using it up and never repurchasing it. Since this post I have tried loads more products from Kiko and it has become one of my favourite brands for eye products.
3. Why Lily Collins Will Forever Be My Girl Crush
This post is all about my favorite gal on the planet. I run through a list of reason why she is amazing and why she is my girl crush and trust me, there are quite a few. If you love Lily too then you will love all the photos I included.
4. Pure Lips
You guys should know by now how much I love Newlook makeup. For a high street clothing brand I think most of their products are top notch. A popular post of mine is this post on my first 4 Pure Colour lipsticks that I bought, shock the lipsticks are all nude but you know me very well. Since then I have bought soooooo much makeup from the brand and definitely recommend to everyone.
5. Why Short Girls Have More Fun
I wrote this post after having all my hair chopped off and I felt like a new women tbh. I have been trying to grow my hair for so long but it never seemed to reach further than my shoulders so I took the plunge and cut my hair into a short bob. I absolutely loved it so wrote a post about all the great thing about having short hair. It also features me other girl crush Jenna Louise Coleman.
6. Pure Colour Collection | The Good, The Bad and The Wonderful!
So you know I love Newlook makeup and this bumper post includes all of my collection from their old collection. They have recently re-branded their range so non of the products look the same as in their post but it does give you an idea of how good their products are and which ones to look out for.
7. My Hair Inspiration
Linked to my previous post about why I loved having short hair, I posted this first of all the beautiful women who inspired my to chop off my hair. It includes beauties like Poppy Deyes, Wonderful You and Jenna Louise Coleman. It also shows off my new hair which sadly has totally grown out now.
8. Rimmel Foundations | The Formulas
Rimmel foundations have always been one of my brands to use so I had to write a post about all my favourites. It includes Wake Me Up, Match Perfection and Lasting Finish which are firm favourites in my collection. You really can't go wrong with this brand.
9. LaRoc Beginners Eye Shadow Palette
In this post I talk through this amazing eye shadow palette I found on eBay for £4.99. It is a right bargain and definitely deserves a look if your love brown and golden shades. It is a big chunky for travel but you have everything you would need to do god knows how many makeup looks.
10. 5 Things I Wish I Knew At The Start | Blogging
This post is slightly different to my normal posts as I talk about a few things I wish I knew when I started my blog how many years ago. A lot of you found this post really helpful which made me really happy and made the post worth while.
I just want to say thank you to everyone who had followed my little blog this year and a huge thank you to everyone who has followed my blog for a long while. I love writing this blog and I am so happy people enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it xxx
I always like to take a perfume out with me in case I get a bit crazy on the dance floor and start to smell funky... My go to perfume at the minute is Dolce and Gabbana and my bottle is nearly empty because I have used it none stop recently. Carrying on with smelling nice I always have a pack or pot of chewing gums in my clutch bag because you never know when you might get bad breath. I hate drinking a cider and then smelling it on my breath and since I am a boy when I drink, I 99.9% of the time will be drinking cider so chewing gums are always needed.
I take my Babylips lip balm with me everywhere during the day and night so of course it is in my clutch bag on a night out and also for my lips I carry two lip options for the night. 9 out of 10 times I wear a red lip for a night out in December so of course I carry one with me and I've included the Clinique Colour Pop Lipstick in Cherry Pop to top up my red lips but I also take a nude shade out with me. This is because during nights out I can get bored with my lips or after having food and drink my lipstick is non-existent and I don't want to reapply the red shade, so I always bring a moisturising nude shade to give my lips a rest and I picked the Clinique Colour Pop Lipstick in Bare Pop for this. This lipstick is so moisturising and long wearing on the lips that it is a easy choice to throw in the bag.
To stop me sweating my life away I always bring some sort of powder in my bag for top ups and my current favourite is the Dior Skin Nude Tan in light which I have had for a very long time. I used to think this powder was more of a bronzer but after some time I realised that it wasn't giving me bronzed goddess cheekbones so it must only be a powder. This gives my skin a lovely glow and feels lovely on the skin. It doesn't leave your skin looking like it has powder on which is one of the reasons I really love this powder for nights out. To top up my bronzer I always carry my Hoola bronzer in my bag as this is a fail safe option. It doesn't matter what bronzer you have previously used on your face, this product always look good on your skin and suits everyone so if someone in the group needs a top up I have them covered.
Concealers are a must have product during a night out to cover up the dark circles that appear after a certain time! My two favourite products to use are Maybelline Fit Me in shade 10 and Collection Lasting Perfection in Cool Medium. The collection concealer touches up any blemishes that start to reappear and the Maybelline concealer covers my good old grey bags.
Lastly of course I carry around my money, phone and ID in my bag and I am set to go.
Hope you all have an amazing and safe New Years Eve.
For Christmas Eve I did my sisters makeup for her night out in town (while I stayed at home in my pjs watching Christmas films) and I loved how it turned out so much I've decided to write this post about it.
For her base I used a mix of two Mac Studio Fix foundations in the shades NC15 and C5.5 which create the perfect shade for my sister who as you can see is a few shades darker then me. To make sure her makeup lasted all night I used my Dior Primer which definitely done the trick.
To define her cheek bones I used a mixture of my W7 Honolulu bronzer and my trusty Benefit Hoola bronzer which together created the perfect simple contour, my sister is like me and doesn't go crazy with the contour, we both prefer to bronze ourselves. To bronze on top I used her No7 Perfectly Bronzed Duo Bronzer that I bought her for Christmas a few years ago and an old favourite Revolution Vivid Baked Bronzer in Rock On World.
To create the smokey golden eye in the photos I used the brown shade in the Revolution Iconic Pro palette to define her crease and continued using darker brown shades in that palette and the Revolution Affirmation palette until her crease was defined enough and blended equally. I then used the Gold shimmer shade in the Affirmation palette on the inner half of her eye to make the look more party. I then added the L'Oreal Eye shadow in the shade Gold Mania on the inner corner to add a pop of gold to really brighten the eyes.
For my sisters eye brows we used Mac Eye brown pencil in Spiked and because my sister has amazing eye brows anyway I didn't need to do much to them.
Lastly for her lips of course we went for a red lip and I choose Charlotte Tilbury's Red Carpet Red for that night and it worked perfectly. To line her lips I used the Max Factor lip pencil in Red Blush.
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