January Beauty Favourites :)

I feel like I say this everytime but this month went really fast! I put myself on a spending ban to save some money and I've been trying to use up a lot of products so haven't bought that many new things but these have been my beauty favourites for this month.

Skincare

Garnier Summer Body Moisturising Lotion - £7.15 for 400ml

My skin has been looking so pale recently and this has been a real savior! I've tried a few of the gradule tanners and this is my favourite. It smells of apricots and leaves my skin so soft and gives me a natural tan that isn't orange but makes my skin look healthier.I use this all through the year and I love it so much. 

Soap & Glory Mist You Madly Body Spray - £6.13 for 250ml

I got this in a Soap & Glory set at christmas and i've been using it all month. It's a lovely floral scent that last really well for a body spray. It goes really well with my Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume I got for christmas too. 

LUSH Tea Tree Water - £3.75 for 100ml

I've had this a while now and never thought it did anything amazing since I was using it at night. Now i've started using it in the morning and I really like it. I always use Tea Tree products in the morning to help with my acne and this is really refreshing and light on the skin. I can't wait to use it in summer to freshen up with. 

First Aid Beauty Daily Face Cream - £15.00 for 60ml

This is my morning moisturiser and I love it. It leaves my face feeling soft and matte so is perfect under make-up because it's really light. I did a review on some First Aid Beauty products here.
Make-Up

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette - £36.00

I was so happy when this came out this month. I love the first Naked palette and i've been using this pretty much everyday since I got it. The shades i've been using the most are, Foxy, Bootycall, Tease and Busted for a simple everyday eye look.

17 Mirror Shine Lipsticks in 'Beehive' and 'Belle' - £4.59

I've mentioned before how much I lvoe these lipsticks, they're so moisturising and feel like you're just wearing a lipblam. Both the colours I have are great everyday colours and I use them all the time because they're so easy to wear.

Bourjous Bronzing Powder in Shade 51 - £6.99

I've had this since last summer and I've used it so much and still shows no signs of running out. It's completely matte and doesn't look muddy or orange on which is perfect since I have pale skin. It is also perfect to wear in Winter to warm up my complexions without looking over the top. I couldn't recommend this bronzer enough and it smells of chocolate! 

Topshop blush in 'Flush' - £6.00

This has been my go to blush this month. It's a cream blush but it so easy to blend and apply. The colour looks so natural so is perfect for everyday. I will definitely be trying some more of their blushes since they are such good value and so easy to use. 

Rimmel Fix and Perfect Pro Primer - £6.99

I bought this a few months back and I've just started using it again and I love it. It keeps my face matte all day and makes my foundation last longer and doesn't go patchy. This is one of the best drugstore primers i've tried and would definitely re-purchase it.

MUA Pro eyeshadow trio in 'Innocence' - £2.50

This was my go to everyday eye before I got the Naked 2 palette and it's a great trio. The shadows are so pigmented and easy to use. I use a primer with them so they don't crease. For the price of this trio you really can't go wrong. Here's some swatches:

So thats my favourites for this month. As I said i've been trying to use a lot of things up so not as many new make-up thigns but i've definitely re-discovered some old favourites this month which is always good.

Random January Favourites :)

I was lucky enough to have two weeks off in January whilst still on Christmas break, which meant plenty of time to catch up on films and TV shows! So here have been some of my random favourites this month.
TV - Mad Men

I've heard such good things about this show and I've finally started watching it and I already love it! I'm about 5 episodes in and I'm already hucked. I'm sure most people have heard about it but my favourite thing so far is just the style of the show is set in the 1960's and they've got it spot on. The cast are really good, one thing I noticed was they all smoke so much! More than I imagained they would. If you haven't already checked this show out I would really recommend it.

Film - Drive

I've watched this film twice this month because I enjoyed it so much the first time. Ryan Gosling plays a driver for robberies as well as being a mechanic and a stunt driver. He is so good in this films, his character doesn't really say much which really adds to the feel of the film. The soundtrack is amazing and was done by Cliff Martinez. I don't want to say too much because it would spoil the film but everyone should check this one out since it is definitely one of my favourite films of 2011.

Film - Submarine

I watched this film at the begining of the month after hearing great things about it. It's a very British film and the soundtrack was done by Alex Turner from the Arctic Monkeys and it fits really well with the film. Its about a boy who thinks his Mum is cheating on his Dad as well as having his first real girlfriend. It's a great film and I will definitely be watching it again soon.

Music - The Bicycle Thieff

I've mentioned before that I love this band and even though they have only done one album back in the early 2000's it's still one of my favourites. This album is perfect for so many situations, first thing in the morning, at night and even when writing essays! I just love it! Bob Forrest writes such honest lyrics and the whole album is so well put together. I'm so happy to hear that they want to make another album when Josh Klinghoffer is finished with the Red Hot Chili Peppers' tour, I seriously can't wait!

Music - Fool's Gold

I've mentioned before that I love this band and they're are so easy to listen to. I saw them live supporting the Red Hot Chili Peppers in November and they will so good live. I've had both of their albums on repeat all the time this month and I just love them.

App - Tiny Tower

 I'm obssessed with this game! It's kind of like Sims but basically you build a tower and employ people to work at jobs on each floor. So far I have around 40 floors and it just keeps growing! This best thing about this app is that it's free!

Food - Fruit
One of my new years resolutions was to eat better, so this month I have been eating lots of fruit and I've definitely felt better. I find grapes so good to snack on whilst watching a film and I take oranges, bananas or nectarines to University to keep me going through the day. I will definitely be sticking to this trhoughout the next few months.

So thats my random favourites for this month, my beauty favourites will soon follow this post. :)

NOTD - Beauty UK 'Cafe Culture'

This is the first product I have ever tried from Beauty UK and the reason why I picked it up was because I loved the colour so much. I don't often wear nude colours on my nails mainly because I've never found a really good nude that suits my skintone.

It is more of a brown toned nude rather than pink toned which I like, it also has a small amount of shimmer to it which isn't that noticeable until it catches the light. Onto application, it took me 3 coats to get it opaque which is expected for a pale shade. It did start to apply a bit thick on the 2/3rd coat so I had to be careful not to apply too much. On my ring finger I put OPI's 'Designer.. De Better' from the Muppets Collection. I only put on 1 thin coat so the colour underneath could show through.

A really like how it turned out and will definitely be wearing more nudes on my nails. If anyone has any recommendations I would love to hear them :)

Beauty UK is available at Superdrug and polishes retail for £1.99. I just found out they also have a website where you can also buy their porducts here. And they ship internationlly.

Soap and Glory Pulp Friction - Reviewed!

I got a whole set of Soap & Glory products for Christmas and the first review I have for you today is Pulp Friction which is one of their exfloiators.

As with all Soap & Glory products it's as beautiful packaging and I seriously love the name too. Unlike other products from their skincare range this doesn't have that 'Soap & Glory scent' which surprised me but instead it as a sweet lemon scent which is very pleasant and is a great wake-up smell in the morning.

As you can see it applies as a white cream that as it is massaged into the skin foames up releasing the small pink beads that gently exfoliate. One of my main loves about this product is that it can be used as a exfoliant and a shower gel which means it's a great product to use when in a rush. You also don't need to use a lot of product to cover a large area which means you really get your money's worth since it will last a long time.

I've tried a lot of Soap & Glory products but this has to be one of my favourites and it surprises me that not many people seem to talk about it that much because it is a fairly unique product. I would definitely recommend this product and will be re-purchasing it myself many a time! 

Soap & Glory products are available at Boots instore and online. Pulp Friction retails for £8.00 for 250ml

Topshop Blush in 'Flush' - Reviewed!

I've only tried a couple of things from the Topshop make-up range and after hearing great things about this blush i thought I would try it when ordering a few things the other day.

I absolutely love the packaging of this blush, it so pretty. The blush itself is a cream product but when applied onto the skin it is a powder finish. I can't express how easy it is to apply, one of the easiest cream blushes i;ve ever used. The colour I got was 'Flush' which look like a very bright pink colour at first but when applied it leaves a natural pink flush to the skin! 

As you can see from the swatches you can apply it heavy and appears very pigmented but as I said it blends out so easily and leaves such a lovely colour. I've been wearing this blush everyday since I got it and I love it so much! I use a brush to apply it but it would also be easy to apply with the fingers. I'm so glad I bought this blush and for £6 I think it is a good price for a great product. It is available instore or online at Topshop.com.

Boots Haul, I got some bargains!

So I have put myself on a spending ban so I can save to go to America but I still had a £20 giftcard for Boots that I was given over Christmas so I went shopping the other day and got some good deals.

So the first thing I got was the Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer in 'ivory', this is my favourite under-eye concealer and instead of being £5.99 it was £4.49 so I thought I would get another whilst it was on offer. I'm not going to use it straight away since i'm trying to use up so old concealers at the moment.

Next I decided to get a few Bourjous things, first being one of their Bluhes in the colour 'Rose'. I've wanted to try one of these blushes for a while but never wanted to pay £7.49 for one but I decided to get this one and the colour is lovely and well pigmented.Next was the Healthy Mix Serum in shade 52. I love the Healthy Mix foundation and after hearing great things about the serum version I thought I would try it but in a darker shade since 51 is a little light for me. With the foundation they were giving away a free mascara! The one I chose was the Elastic one which is good for length, it seems like a nice mascara so far and it's worth £9.49 normally.

Finally I got another 17 Mirror Shine lipstick because I love them, this is the colour 'Beehive' and it's a great baby pink colour. So this lot only ended up costing me £7.56 with using the giftcard. The concealer, mascara and foundation will all be going in my draw until I use some other things up first!

First Aid Beauty Skincare - Reviewed!

I first heard about this brand when I got a sample of the cleanser in my December Glossybox, after using it for a few days I knew I had to get the full size because I enjoyed it that much. So after using a few products by them for a couple of weeks now I thought I would do a review on them. 

The main theme of their products is that they have no parabens, harsh chemicals or colorants in them and that they are safe to use on sensitive skin. This really appealled to me with having acne prone skin I don't like to use strong products on my face because they break me out.

The first product is the Face Cleanser which retails for £13.00 for 141.7g.

 The consistancy of this cleanser is really nice, it's a cream/gel formula and leaves a thin white film when applying to the face. It washes off very easily and doesn't leave the skin feeling tight or dry. I use it first thing in the morning and it removes all dirt on my face and really helps to wake me up in the morning because it makes my skin feels so fresh and clean. You also don't need alot to cover your whole face which means this tube is going to last really well. I've been using it for a while and it hasn't irritated my skin at all or made me breakout. I have nothing bad to say about this product becuase it is the perfect everyday gentle cleanser.

The next product is their Daily Face Cream which retails for £15.00 for 60ml

I decided to try this after loving the cleanser and hearing great reviews about it. This is a really light moisturiser which is perfect for me since I have oily skin but even though it is light it does moisturise my skin all day. Again like the cleanser I find that I don't need to use a lot to cover my whole face and it leaves my skin feeling matte which is perfect. I use this in the morning underneath my make-up and my skin doesn't feel cacky or like I have too much product when i'm wearing it. This hasn't irritated my skin or broke me out if anything it has improved the texture of my skin. 

The finally thing I got as a free gift for ordering two products and it's the Detox Eye Roller which retails for £18.00 for 8.5ml

Now i've never tried a product like this before and I've never really found that they do anything for me and this is no different. It claims to help alleviate undereye puffiness, dark circles and fine lines. It is a clear gel liquid and it feels nice and cooling under the eye which does help to wake you up and for that I think it would be great for using on a plane or hot day. I don't suffer from terrible dark circles so I didn't see much improvement there but this might be different for someone else. All in all it's a nice product but didn't really do anything for me. I would say

I really do love this range, I think their products are perfect if you breakout a lot and want some neutral products to use that won't irritate your skin. I adore the packaging I think it looks so cute and simple. They're are not the cheapest of products but as I said you don't need to use a lot and the qualitity is great so you definitely get your money's worth. 

First Aid Beauty products are available in Boots but I found them cheaper on Feel Unique and you can still get the Eye Roller free if you order two products.

Top 5 My Lips but Better Products

'My Lips But Better' is a saying I always here on youtube and on blogs so I thought I would do a post on some of my favourite neutral and easy to wear lip products.

The first two are both Lipsticks by ELF from their Mineral Range, I did a review on these recently which you can read here. I love them all but the colours I've choosen are 'Pouty Petal' and 'Nicely Nude' which are both perfect easy to wear colours. The next is one of the 17 Mirror Shine Lipsticks (blue packaging) in 'Belle' now I love this packaging because it's so different and I love the almost balm feel of this lipstick because you don't need a gloss with it because it has such a nice shine to it. The only lipgloss I chose was  Bare Minerals Pretty Amazing gloss in 'Flair' now this is my favourite lipgloss because it doesn't last great on but it's a gorgeous colour so it's worth having to re-apply it throughout the day. The finally products is a Topshop Polish (far left) in 'Iced Coffee' this is the perfect pink with brown undertows in it. It feels like a balm, lipstick and gloss all in one and last really well on the lips. I've been using it a while and it's only just got a dent in it so it will last you a long time. So onto the swatches! 

 From left to right: ELF Mineral Lipstick in 'Pouty Petal' and 'Nicely Nude', 17 Mirror Shine Lipstick in 'Belle', Bare Minerals Pretty Amazing Lipcolor in 'Flair' and Topshop Polish in 'Iced Coffee'.

NOTD - Barry M 'Dusky Mauve'

I really do love Barry M nail polishes, you can't fault them for the price and they last really well on my nails. This is one of my favourite colours that I have because it is very unique. 

I got it last year when grey and brown nails very on trend. I was never a huge fan of that look since I prefer pretty colours  on my nails. This is a great alternative to that look. It is a brown/grey colour but has purple shimmers running through it. What I love about it is when it catches the light you can really see the shimmers and it is very beautiful, I would definitely recommend this colour because I have seen some Chanel polishes that look like this but are a lot more expensive!

Barry M polishes retail for £2.99 and are available at Boots and Superdrug.

New Make-Up Storage!

I have a very small room, I often call it a shoebox because it's that small! So this means that i'm always looking for ways to make the most of the little space I have. I was never really happy with how I used to store my make-up, the most of it being in plasic containers in my bedside draw. Although things were organised into face, eyes, lips etc I found that I would always reach for the same things when in a rush meaning that a lot of my make-up was getting used. I found this white wicker 4 drawer stand in Sainsbury's at the weekend and I love it! It was reduced from £25 to a more affordable £12.50 and the white is great becuase it fits well with the colours in my room already.

As you can see it fits really nicely on top of my bedside table without taking up too much room. Also the draws are a good depth so I can stand up bottles of foundation which is great. So I've stored different types of products in each draw, from top to bottom is lips, eyes, blush/bronzers and face. 

I've put my lipstick to the front of the draw and lipglosses to the back. There is also room for some lip blams as well. What I love is that there is still a good amount of space for more products!

This draw is mainly for blushes and bronzers but there is also room for highlighters as well and other setting powders. 

As I said the finally draw is face products, so I have foundation, primers and concealers in here. It still stores some make-up in my bedisde draw such as eyeliners and mascara but they are a lot easier to get to now. I really love the storage system and it will hopefully mean that I will be using different products all the time. I hope this id helpful for someone who was in the same problem as me, I'm sure you can get similar storage systems like this in other places such as ikea or even on ebay.

I did another post on storage ideas which you can read here.

The 10 Pan Challenge

I saw this on youtube recently I thought it was such a good idea! With wanted to spend less on make-up so I can save to go to America this was perfect for me to do. Basically you choose 10 products that you want to use up and you can't buy any make-up till you've used them all up! Now that would be very hard so I thought after every product I use up I can buy something I want or needed. So these are the 10 products I have choosen.
1) Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in shade 51

I really do love this foundation put I have two of them (both same shade) and I want to use one of them up before I buy a darker shade which would be better for summer since this one can be a little light.

2)ELF Tone Correcting Concealer in Ivort and Light Beige

Now again I do like this concealer and it is great for when you're on a budget since it costs just £1.50. But the Ivory is too light and they're both nearly empty so I want to use them up instead of them just sitting in my draw. 

3) ELF Under eye Concealer & Highlighter in fair

Another concealer! Again I do like this product and the colour is the right one for my skin tone, I don't really like the highlighter because I don't think it actually does anything. So I want to try and use up the concealer end because I haven't used it for a while.
4)Rimmel Day 2 Night Mascara in Black

I have too many mascara that I don't use, this being one of them. I do like it but since buying it I have found mascara's that work better for my lashes. It is starting to dry up so I want to try and finish it before I have to throw it away.
5) ELF Waterproof Eyeliner Pen in Ash

I really like this eyeliner but it seems to have started to dry up so fast! I don't know if I didn't store it right but I want to try and finish it. I will probably end up getting another because it is really affordable at £1.50 and easy to use.

6) MUA Professional Eye Primer

I got this when the ELF eyelid primer was out of stock. I do like it and it does make my eyeshadow last all day. The only downside is that it takes about a minute to dry which isn't great when you're in a rush! So I want to finish it and buy the ELF one again. 

7) Witch Pressed Powder

Now I really do like this powder, is it one of the best that I have tried for my oily skin. This reason why I chose it was that I find it hard to finish powders, when they look like they're empty I buy a new one and just leave it! So I actually want to try and finish this one.

8) The Body Shop Born Lippy Stawberry Lip Balm

I never seem to finish lip balms, I always lose them them before they're finished! I've add this one for a while now and it's actually a really nice lip balm so it's going in my bag and it's gettting used!
9) Natural Collection Duo Eyeshadow in Mink/Sable

I used to use this everyday because it is so easy to create a simply look when in a rush. I really like the cream colour as you can see so I want to start using it again because they're really nice colours.
10)ELF Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Baby Lips

Again this is another product I do like but when sorting through my make-up I found out I actually have two of these in the same colour! So i'm going to start wearing it again and use one up since it's been in my draw doing nothing for a while now.

So thats the 10 things i've choosen to use up, I think I have choosen a good mix of things which will hopefully make this possible to do! I will try and keep you updated with what how it is going and when I have used a product up. Let me know if anyone else is planning on trying to do this since I think it is a really great idea.

My Style Icons

With one of my 2012 Resolutions being to put more thought into my outfits each day I thought I would do a post about some of my style icons. Now this doesn't mean I want to dress exactly like them but instead take a few ideas from them.

The first one is that band Warpaint, I love their music so much and the fact that they are four girls who play instruments and make great songs which is pretty rare these days in my opinion. I also love how they dress, here's one of my favourite pictures of them.

I love the boots with leggings or shorts look and i've really taken inspiration from them and most days you will find me in high waisted shorts, tights and boots. I think this is a great way to get me out of wearin jeans everyday. Emily Kokal and Theresa Wayman (first two on the left) are my  favourite for when it comes to style. 

I love Emily's (left) hair and I also love when she layers vest tops, I really like this look because it is still casual but looks more put together. She also wears feather earings a lot which I think is a nice touch and I think I might go on a hunt for a nice feather necklace. With Theresa (right) I love in this picture that she is wearing a t-shirt with a body-con skirt which I love! It's feminine but still edgy. I love that it's a boyfriend fit and she has rolled up the sleeves, also the boots add a 'rock chic' sort of feel and finish the whole look off really well.

 

 What I love about them in this picture is that Theresa (far left) is wearing a skirt with Converse, which II think is a great way to make the outfit seem more casual.Then Stella (far right) is wearing shorts and tights with a shirt but has then put it with a bright blue cardigan to add a pop of colour to the look. They all wear long necklaces which I think is a great way to make an outfit seem more put together and make a plain top look more interesting.

My next icon is Zooey Deschanel, now I know everyone seems to be in love with her at the moment but i've been a fan of her style for a while now.

With the left image I love the shorts with the blouse look, it is casual but still looks smart. The right image is her on stage during a She & Him show, I love that she wears dresses even when looking casual. This is something I would love to do more often because it looks really good but is easy to wear. I also love the pattern of this dress, it's an almost aztec style which has been on trend recently ans would be perfect look for when we get into the warmer months. (500) Days of Summer is also one of my favourite films and I love every outfit she wears in it, also I love her look in her new show New Girl which I have been making mental notes of what she is wearing.

So these are just some inspiration pictures for me to look at when i'm struggle to think of how to put an outfit together and not just go for an easy option of jeans and a hoodie which gets a bit boring after a while. With being at University I wear casual clothes everyday so I think more thought into my outfits will again stop me getting in a rut. I might do future posts of things I find to make creating this looks a bit easier.

NOTD - OPI Muppets Collection

As a big fan of the muppets growing up when I saw that OPI was doing a collection on them I knew I had to have it! I decided to get the mini collection so I would be able to try out a few different colours and I also picked up 'Rainbow Connection' becuase I found it cheap on ebay.

I love all the colours in the set, I think there is a good range to create different looks. It this nail look I used 2 coats of 'Wocha Wocha!' which is a deep dark red and over the top I applied 1 coat of 'Excuse Moi!' which is a lovely fine pink glitter. I think they work really well together and it was so easy to do but looks like you put more effort in that you actually did! I did apply a top coat over the top so that the glitter wouldn't chip.

I love how it turned out and will definitely be wearing more glitter even though it's not Christmas time anymore!

ELF Matte Lip Colour - Reviewed!

These are another fairly new product from the ELF Studio line and I now have the four colours that are available so I thought I would do a review on them. 

So they look like a thick lip liner, they come in a retractable pen format which I like because you don't need to sharpen them which I find can ruin the end of a liner. The formulation is nice, they are definitely a matte product so I do find that I need to wear a lip balm underneath but my lips are pretty dry at the moment so I tend to do that with every lip product I wear.

Onto the colours, as I said there is only four shades to choose from which isn't a lot but I think they might add to the line in the future.

L-R Tea Rose,Praline,Coral and Natural

'Tea Rose' is a purple toned pink colour which I tend to put a pink gloss over the top becuase it can  tend to make me look a bit dead on it's own. Lightly applied it looks fine though. 'Praline' is a brown toned colour which I don't wear a lot since i'm not a fan of brown colours on my lips but I think this would suit somone older than me. 'Coral' is a lovely orange toned pink which would be perfect for the summer time, I really like this shade becuase it is very easy to wear. Finally 'Natural' is a lovely pink 'my lips but better colour' this is one of my go-to everday colour and it is always in my handbag.

All in all I think these are another great product from ELF and they last really well on the lips and wears very well throughout the day. I definitely hope they add some more colours soon, I would love to see a red colour in this range. I love how easy they are to apply because they are like a lip liner and lipstick in one. 

ELF Matte Lip Colour's are available online here.