January Favourites 2016 ♡

I know it's a little late to be doing a January favourites, but I really want to try and do a favourites post for every month. January was a strange month for me, it flew by but I was really busy, and my skin had a bit of a tantrum half way through, so I was a little scared to keep trying new things. I do have a few things though so I thought I'd mention them.

I tried quite a lot of skin care last month to try and calm my skin down, but the one thing that I found really helped was the Origins Super Spot Remover, it's a gel like spot treatment that contains salicylic acid which is perfect for reducing spots, but I had little rash like bumps on my forehead and this cleared it up so quickly, I wish I had used it on it straight away, it did dry my skin out but I used a very nourishing moisturiser (I'll include that in my February favourites as I started using that in February but it was the Make a Difference Plus ultra nourishing cream)

For the most part of this month I've been layering two Mac blushes, Cheek Pollen and Stereo Rose mineralise skin finish, unfortunately they are both limited edition and aren't in stock, but together they give a beautiful natural glowy look to the cheeks, I had purple hair for the first half of the month so kept my cheeks quite neutral and these were perfect, Mac do have a habit of reusing their limited edition items in new collections, and I know Stereo Rose is re-released quite a bit so it might be worth keeping an eye out for them.

Another two products I've been using together have been the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani eyeshadow palette, and the Charlotte Tilbury Vintage Vamp palette, I love these both individually, but I also find that using "punk" from the Gwen Stefani palette with the Vintage Vamp shades, and blending out with Anaheim looks so pretty, they are both so pretty and I've been loving putting together different colour combinations.

L-R UD Baby-Anaheim-Stark-Steady-Punk-Charlotte Tilbury

With having bright hair for most of the month I stuck to more neutral lip colours, Invasion by Gerard Cosmetics is a beautiful grey toned nude, it's a liquid lip stain but is actually quite comfortable to wear, I wish the brand was easier to get hold of because I'd love to try more of them! 

I was so excited to see Ellie Goulding was coming out with a Mac collection, and I love the colour of her Only You Lipstick, but unfortunately despite their claims that it is a cremsheen formula it is definitely more of a lustre, so I found that putting it over Soar lipliner makes a really pretty, easy to wear colour, perfect for a nice everyday lip colour.

The last lip product that I was loving in January was Mac Persistence, it's a peachy cinnamon colour that is pretty without being too bright or dark, I love the formula of Mac matte lipsticks, they are creamy and quite long lasting, I wore this in place of red/bright lipsticks so that it wouldn't clash with my hair and it worked really well.

L-R Invasion-Soar-Only You-Soar & Only You-Persistence-Cheek Pollen-Stereo Rose-Cheek Pollen & Stereo Rose

I've discovered a few new TV shows in January, I started to watch Luther at Christmas, but finished it in January and loved it, it's a detective show set in London, and it really addictive! I don't know if there will be more series, but I really hope they do make more as it's so good, it was quite scary but if you like slightly more gripping, chilling shows you will love this! I also discovered Tattoo Fixers and am hooked on it, the second series is on at the moment, but I've also been watching the first series on 4OD as it's so good, it's basically three really good tattoo artists fixing peoples dodgy tattoos, the artists are amazing and I really want a tattoo by them now, they are really funny and the tattoos are stunning, love it! Finally Pretty Little Liars came back this month, I wasn't sure if the whole five years later thing would work but it really does, the new story line is really interesting, and refreshing after years of the same. 

 I read The Five People you Meet in Heaven last month and absolutely loved it, the story is really thought provoking, I really didn't want it to end, I'm going to review this book soon so I won't go into it now but I'd really recommend it, it was quite a quick read as well. I think there is a film based on the story which I'd love to watch as well.

As for music really liked X Ambassadors, I listened to their VHS album a lot last month and loved it, I really like Gorgeous, Feather and Hang On. I also really like Nina Nesbitt's Chewing Gum and The Weeknd's In The Night.

That's it for my January favourites, it was quite a long, rambly post so thank you so much if you got through it, I'm already really looking forward to writing my February one, the year is going so fast already!

Thankyou for reading ♡

My 2015 Favourites ♡

I know everyone says it, but 2015 went so fast! It wasn't particularly the best of years for me, but I got on with it and while I'm relieved that it's over I really enjoyed looking back on the year, picking out the things that I loved, whether they were beauty items, random things or memories it was really nice to think back and pick my absolute favourites.

I have so many to get through that this might be a very long post, sorry about that in advance, it was much longer but I forced myself to only choose things that I really truly loved, for the whole time that I've been using them.

Lord of Misrule ♡

Every year, around Autumn/Winter time Lush bring out a whole collection of exciting new products, but every year there's one thing I look forward to more than anything else, Lord Of Misrule.

I fell in love with the Lord of Misrule bath bombs years ago and since then it's grown so popular that Lush have created a few more items that share its fragrance.

Lush Review-Soft Skin for Winter.

When the weather starts to get cooler my skin tends to panic a little, I get dry patches and it can just get really tight and itchy, I know most brands have products designed to combat this issue but because I get eczema on and off I have to be a little more careful about what I am putting on my skin.
This year Lush have released two items into their Christmas range that I've found really helpful, and I really want to share them with you.

My Mac Lipstick Collection ♡

Mac lipsticks must be one of the most popular products across the blogging community and with good reason, I find that they always seem to have what I'm looking for, they cannot be faulted on their variety and it's for that reason that they make up the majority of my lipstick collection.
While £15.50 is a little much for a lipstick something about them makes them worth it (though it's annoying that they keep raising their prices) and lately I've been buying them more from my local Cosmetic Company Outlet as they are discounted to £11 and then I get an extra 10% off as I work in the same shopping centre, if you live near a CCO, or are near one while shopping I would really recommend checking them out as they stock really good brands at a discounted price and also sometimes have old limited edition collection items which people will be selling online for a lot more. Anyway, onto the lipsticks.

Huge Lush Oxford St Haul ♡

I've wanted to visit Lush Oxford Street since I first heard about it and last week I finally got the chance, if you haven't heard about it it's their new flagship store with three floors, a Lush spa and 200 new and exclusive products, it's amazing!

I finally got to visit last week and was in love, the shop is set out really nicely, the exclusive products all look great and I'm excited to use the ones I bought.

I did try to research before I left, and found Jen's blog, All Things Lush, and Jess' instagram ! Using these I gained a good idea of what to keep an eye out for but still became overwhelmed in the shop and forgot a few things, anyone fancy taking me back for a second go?

Anyway, onto the actual products, this might get quite long and rambly so sorry in advance.

Lord of Misrule Shower Cream (250g-£9.50) This is one of the things I knew I needed straight away, Lord of Misrule is one of my favourite bath bombs and I've wanted a shower gel with this scent for ages, it has a warming, spicey peppery scent and is amazing!

Comforter Shower Cream (100g-£4.75) I really wish I had bought the massive bottle of this! I love it so much, it's like a warm, comforting (get it?) hug in a bottle, it smells like the Comforter bubble bar and is so soothing, my anxiety has been quite bad lately so I've been really loving this.

Yuzu and Cocoa Shower Cream (100g-£4.75) This is supposed to smell like chocolate oranges but I don't get that at all, like not even a hint, to me it smells like Summer, sun cream, cockatails, I love it! I haven't used it yet so the smell might change a little in the shower I suppose but hopefully it will still smell like Summer in a bottle. 

Shades of Earl Grey Massage Bar (£5.95) I've just realised this isn't exclusive, but I've wanted to try a massage bar for a while and this one smells lovely, it has cocoa butter, shea butter (both fair trade) and lemon and lime oil and is really moisturising.

They had so many amazing bath bombs and bubble bars but I really had to limit myself as I was buying for my friend as well, I wish I had bought back ups but I will have to wait I suppose.

Intergalactic Bath Bomb (£3.50) This is one I wish I had hundreds off (ish) as the photos I've seen on instagram are amazing, it contains peppermint and popping candy, smells lovely and I'm stupidly excited to use it, but dreading not having more to use after.

Guardians of the Forest Bath Bomb (£3.35) This is one I let my boyfriend choose, it smells very relaxing and earthy, I can imagine this one being nice for bedtime.

Top left-bottom right: Frozen, The Experimenter, Guardians of the Forest & Intergalactic.

Frozen Bath Bomb (£3.75) "do you want to have a bath bomb? do you want to splash and play?" I love lush's stickers, it's so nice to see a brand with personality! This one has grapefruit and neroli and is really uplifting.

The Experimenter Bath Bomb (£3.75)  This caught my eye thanks to it's shape and colours, it smells quite smokey but fizzes away quite quickly. I've already used this and found that while it's really colourful initially it does turn the bath a grey/green colour.

 Pink Flamingo Reusable Bubble Bar (£5.95) I've never actually used a reusable bubble bar before but this one is so adorable I couldn't not get it, it's inspired by cocktails and smells amazing with rosewood and ylang ylang, I can't wait to use this!
Karma Bubble Bar (£4.25) This is actually another one that isn't exclusive to Oxford Street but as it's changed formula and style I didn't realise, the purple got everywhere-the bag was covered, but it smells amazing, it's refreshing and uplifting with orange and patchouli and I'm so happy that you can get this in normal shops as I really do like it.
Milky Bath Bubble Bar (£3.75) This wasn't really something I wanted to try until I read a few reviews online, I don't like milk so was completely put off by it but I've read that it's actually really good if you have eczema, as the seasons change my eczema tends to flare up so while all lush bath things help, I wanted something that would go that extra mile, it smells very uplifting-it has orange oil in it-and contains skimmed milk to help your skin.

I was particularly interested in having a look at the bath oils, they are supposed to be really moisturising so I bought quite a lot for me and my friend, they are all £2 each. They are all quite slippy and messy, I made the mistake of initially putting them in the same bag and they got a little mixed in colours.

Ginger I'm going to be honest, the main reason I picked this one up is because it reminded me of a Golden Snitch, it doesn't smell overly of ginger but does smell lovely.

Lime Pastille This was the messiest of them all but as my boyfriend loved lime scented products I picked this one up for him.

Orange Blossom This one smells so uplifting and beautiful, I love orange products and am so excited to try this

Shark Infested Custard This one smells quite comforting and the melon paper fin is a cute little addition.

Double Vitality I've already used this one and it was so nice! It's sandwiched together and smells like peppermint and lemon, it's very refreshing and cute.

Oil on Troubled Water This one smells like mint and oakwood and the colour is gorgeous.

Johnny Appleseed This one is adorable, it looks like a little apple with a cinnamon stalk, it smells very sweet.

You've Been Mangoed This one smells exactly like the You've Been Mangoed bath melt, it's refreshing and uplifting and smells almost sherbert-y

Cloak of Invisibility Another Harry Potter themed one, the description says "when you just want to disappear, pop this into the bath and cloak yourself in jasmin and rosewood waters. Perfect for shielding yourself from reality until the doorbell rings. Use it well." I'm hoping I'm not the only Potter fan who fangirled over that? This one looks really cool and I'm really excited to try it out. 

Since I've been writing this (it took me so long) I've heard that they are bringing about 100 of the exclusive products into regular stores, I don't know for definite which ones but it's worth a look in the next few weeks to see if your local store has any.

I hope this haul has been useful, it took me a while but I really wanted to make sure I was happy with it, I do want to write a wishlist of the things I forgot, and when the new products make their way into my local lush I'm sure there will be another haul.

Thankyou very much for reading :) 

Smashbox Step-By-Step Contour Kit Review ♡

Hey, I know it's been a long time (again) since I last posted, and I'm not even going to try and explain, I guess I'm just not great at balancing work and blogging but hopefully I'll get there.

Today I wanted to talk about a new favourite product of mine, the Smashbox Step-By-Step Contour kit. I picked mine up in my local Cosmetic Company Outlet for a little cheaper but it usually costs £35 and can be bought in boots. 

To be honest I picked this up on a complete whim, it was pay day and I just felt like spending a little money and as I work in the same centre as the CCO I got a little extra discount, what better reason to try new products right? The moment I got home I was so excited to play around with the palette and have been obsessed ever since.

The palette includes a contour shade, a bronzer and highlighter, but what I love about all three is that they are all matte and none of them are really unnatural colours so they create a really natural look, originally I didn't know if I'd like a matte highlight but it really does work

With this palette you get a useful guide to contouring, and a brush that can be used with all three shades, while the brush is useful it isn't the best I've used, it's handy to take with you as it's travel friendly and gives a light but build-able colour, the main issue is that I've found it sheds a little which can be irritating. I tend to use other brushes that work better than this one but it's nice that they include it. 

Another thing about this palette is that no packaging is wasted. You have the three shades and a mirror, and a guide that you might be able to peel off the mirror (I have left mine on as it doesn't bother me) The brush comes separately in the box so there are no annoying spaces in the palette, or little compartments that you end up not using, making the palette perfectly slim and travel friendly.

I've spoken for long enough about the packaging so lets move onto the most important part, the product itself. As I mentioned you get three shades, one contour, one bronzer and one highlighter. There is only one shade option for the palette but as they are build-able it will work for many skin tones, including very pale as they are easily blend-able. 

The contour shade is the best I've found yet, it isn't warm or the slightest bit orange and is completely matte, making it perfect for contouring with, I like to build it up into the hollows of my cheeks with the Real Techniques Bold Metals Contour brush and then blend out with the Contour brush from their core collection, then take a little down the sides of my nose and up along the outside of my face in a "3" shape (through my temples and across the forehead) It blends so well and you really can tailor it so suit whatever makeup you're wearing that day.

The bronzer shade is probably the one I use the least, I'm not usually one for bronzing my face but I do use it sometimes with the core collection contour brush to help blend the contour shade into my blush sometimes when I want more warmth. It isn't too orange or muddy and works well with the two other shades. 

The highlight shade was the one I was more cautious of, I don't usually like a matte highlight but I've found that using this under my usual highlighter does help to brighten and add brightness, I use it with my Real Technique Setting brush and also apply down the bridge of my nose but I love it most as a brow bone highlight. While I don't like matte face highlighters I also hate shimmery eyebrow highlights and have never even thought to use something like this, but it's perfect. It helps brighten the entire area, emphasizing eye makeup without drawing attention to stray brow hairs, and makes eyebrows look more put together. It's brilliant!

I'm sorry this review was so long and rambly, I hope it's been interesting at least. I don't think I've tried a product review before so if anyone has any advice please tell me. 

Thankyou so much for reading, I'll try and not leave it too long until the next one.