July Favourites 2016 ♡

July has been such a long month, I moved down to Southampton a few weeks ago and have been finding my feet since, I have a few ideas for home decor posts so I'll be working on those but for now, it's July favourites time.

I tried the Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation (CF) this month and despite being underwhelmed at first (I have a bad habit of expecting perfection from foundations and concealers) I have grown to love it, it's buildable so that you can get the coverage you want. I find that when I use this foundation my skin looks fresh but not cakey, it looks lovely and I'm really tempted to try the Naked Skin concealer now as well. 

In my last post I reviewed the Sleek Solstice Highlight palette (CF?) and I love it,  particularly the shades Equinox and Hemisphere, they both look stunning on the cheek bones, and Equinox looks amazing on other highlight areas too, they are nicely pigmented so you don't need a lot, they definitely pack a punch and I actually haven't used my beloved champagne pop since I've had this palette, and to make it even better it's really affordable.

I just realised that I actually mentioned the Lime Crime Venus palette (CF) in my June favourites..oops..but I guess it shows I really like it? For the first week or so after I moved I just used whatever palette I could grab but wasn't really happy with any of the makeup looks, so I went back to using this and my eyelids are now happy again, I love the looks you can put together with this palette and am planning a review of it soon.

I've been liking this NYX Matte Liquid Liner (CF) despite usually struggling with this type of applicator, this one is more sturdy than others I've tried, it stays put all day and is really affordable.

Another two liquid lipstick favourites this month, I'm kind of obsessed with them and lately it's been these two in particular. Tanya Burr released her new soft luxe line recently and this Martha Moo Matte Lip (CF?)  really stood out to me, the colour is really pretty and the formula is creamy and lasts really well, I hope she brings more shades out in this line because I'd love to try more. 

For a darker shade I've been really liking the Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Lolita (CF), I've been wanting this shade for so long and finally bought it on depop, they are releasing Kat Von D products in Debenhams soon so I'm so excited for that! I don't really know what else there is to say about liquid lipsticks, I always seem to repeat myself but this one is definitely one to look out for when it comes to the UK.

top to bottom- NYX liner, Lolita, Martha Moo-sleek equinox on right
venus palette-muse venus &aura,sleek ecliptic& hemisphere 

While I was packing to move I got into watching Cuckoo on netflix and iPlayer, it's another BBC British comedy which I've really been getting into lately, I love Greg Davies and Tyger Drew Honey but to be honest I got to love all of the actors, if you're looking for something new to watch I'd definitely give it a go. 

Once I moved we didn't have any internet for a couple of weeks so I bought a few seasons of CSI quite cheap and have been addicted, I've loved watching the show since I was younger and really want to watch the New York ones too, is is bad that the whole murder/CSI thing really interests me? I think if I were to train to do anything it would be to be a crime scene detective..or a makeup artist, possibly weird..

I've had Me Before You for at least a year but never got a chance to read it, then I heard all the hype when the film came out so gave it a a go and I'd definitely recommend you read it if you haven't. I still need to see the film but the book was so beautifully mundane and frustrating..in a good way, I fell for the characters and after seeing which actors are playing them I'm now so excited to see the film, even though I'm secretly hoping the ending changes in the film. 

I forgot to take a picture of it but while we had no internet I really got into playing Rise of the Tomb Raider, I've never really been a games console person but this game was really fun, I've played Tomb Raider in the past but this game is so much better than the older ones, I'm so excited for the next one to come out, I am playing the game that came before this one and it's not as addictive but it's nice to do something that isn't on the internet.

So that's it for my July favourites, it's been a pretty crazy month and I'm still getting settled in in the new flat, hopefully soon I'll have a new job..mostly because there are a few releases coming up that I really want..but I'm also bored out of my mind.

Thankyou for reading ♡

Sleek Solstice Highlighting Palette Review & Swatches ♡

Everyone loves a good highlighter but they can get quite expensive, I think I may have found the perfect affordable option and as a bonus, it's a palette of four different, stunning highlight shades.

The Sleek Solstice Highlight Palette is a gorgeous gold palette with a magnetic closure and retailing for only £9.99 Sleek have really tapped into what every makeup lover seems to be looking for, and that's not even getting onto the highlighters. It does contain a brush but like most brushes that come with palettes it's not the best quality.

The Solstice palette contains four highlighters, three of them are powder and one cream but the formula for all of them is really nice.

Ecliptic- a really pretty champagne colour, the one cream of the group and is really smooth and easy to blend, this works really well as an brow bone highlight, and you can use Equinox or a similar eyeshadow to set it if you need to

Hemisphere- a lilac pink with a silver tone to it, I was really unsure about this shade but it manages to be wearable without losing it's colour, this is lovely on the cheekbones and the cupids bow

Subsolar- a golden yellow which is another I was unsure about, probably the one I reach for the least but it does look nice with the right look, I do light this down the nose to add some depth to the face

Equinox- a coppery gold colour that is stunning! this over Ecliptic is incredible and I think this might be my favourite shade in the palette, I love this on any highlight areas, it's great all round, I've also been using it on the inner corner of my eyes a lot too

sunlight swatches-L-R Ecliptic, Hemisphere, Subsolar & Equinox

I took the swatch photos both with and without flash to show the shades properly, and all of the swatches are just one layer to show how pigmented they are, you really don't need a lot of product with these! 

flash swatches-L-R-Ecliptic, Hemisphere, Sebsolar & Equinox

I use the Real Techniques setting brush (CF) to highlight, and a Spectrum A13 smudge brush (CF) to apply the cream shade to the brow bone, I can imagine these would also work well applied with your fingers if that's how you prefer to highlight, the only thing I would change about this palette is the brush, it would be better if it was softer but also would have worked well without the brush with larger pans of highlight instead. 

All in all I really would recommend you check this palette out, I was unsure myself to begin with but it was love at first swatch when I saw it in Superdrug, at £9.99 this palette is not one to miss, the packaging is lovely, the highlighters are incredible and I even love the names, such a cute touch.

This palette is available in Boots, Superdrug and Feel Unique. Sleek also has a highlight palette called Precious Metals which I'm now really tempted to get knowing how amazing this one is! 

I mentioned in my last post that I'm starting to note in my posts which products are Cruelty Free by putting (CF) next to it, I'm not 100% sure whether Sleek is cruelty free but I think they are.

Thankyou for reading ♡ 

June Favourites 2016 ♡

How is it July already?! I know everyone says it but it's so crazy how fast the year is going! I actually  just moved into my new flat today and won't have internet for a few weeks so I'm hopefully just going to get some posts ready as and when I can but for now I have my June favourites, before I start though I just wanted to say that I'm starting to try to go cruelty free, I still have and use some non cruelty free products but I will be putting (CF) after any products that to my knowledge are cruelty free, if I make a mistake please let me know but I am referencing various blogs and bloggers to check as much as I can.

The Benefit They're Real Push Up Liner has been an actual saviour this month, this eyeliner stays put so well that I have been relying on it to withstand my leaky hay fever eyes, I find that the applicator makes it easy to get a nice eyeliner shape and while it's a bit pricy for an eyeliner it does last quite a while as you don't need to use a lot of it.

I've also been loving the Rosie by Autograph loose powder (CF), it looks really nice on your skin but the packaging is kinda genius, it has a net that dispenses the product and a stopper that stops it from spilling out into the top section, I always make such a mess with loose powder but this one is really mess proof!

I've also been in love with the Lime Crime Venus Grunge palette (CF), I love the tone of the palette and think the shades look stunning in smokey eye looks, I really want to try posting some looks with this palette but I don't know how it could work.

I know I've been on a liquid lipstick hype lately but I've been hooked on them so much lately, I like the Lime Crime ones, specifically Saint (CF)  and Anastasia Beverly Hill's Crush (CF), I'm thinking about making post comparing all of the different brands and formulas but I just heard that colour pop are shipping to the UK so I might wait to try those..not that I need anymore, anyway, Saint is a really pretty deep almost brown red, perfect for vampy looks, while Crush is a nude pink colour that looks really nice for just everyday normal looks.

I think I've mentioned the M.J Arlidge Helen Grace series before but his newest book came out last month and I was so excited, the book was really good, it had me hooked and I love that the story twists and surprises you, it's called Little Boy Blue and I'm so excited to read the next one which I think it out in a couple of months, if you like crime/murder detective books I'd really recommend this series, I've actually got my boyfriend hooked on them now and it's set in Southampton as well which is where we are both now living, I know I've mentioned quite a lot of posts I want to try and do but I also want to write a review for the whole series but I don't want to miss any upcoming books out, but I also never want the series to end, oh the struggles, I know..
I've actually been meaning to put this in a favourites for a while now but I've finally remembered, it's the new (ish) Tangle Teezer for thick & curly hair, I love normal Tangle Teezers but this one is amazing, I have quite thick hair that gets the most impossible tangles in it but this helps so much, if you have slightly longer more difficult hair I'd really recommend these.

It couldn't be a June favourites video without mentioning Orange is the New Black..I know lots of people watch it but if you haven't you need to! This for me was the best season by far and I am already really excited for the next one, I feel like everything intensified a lot the season and is really boiling up ready for the next few, the season finale was incredible (I cried so much!) but I also feel like there wasn't a single weak episode or story line. I can't rave about it enough, just watch it, I'm ready to re-watch it already.
Another TV show I've been enjoying is Outnumbered, I'm really getting into re-watching TV shows on netflx and this one is so funny, I don't know how to explain it without making it sound rubbish but if you want a light heartened entertaining show to watch (perfect for after the heartbreak of OITNB) try this one.

I don't think I have any more favourites, my month was basically finishing work and packing to work,  I hope it wasn't too rambly (why do I end every post like this...I clearly ramble far too much..sorry)
Hopefully I can get a post or two up before the end of the month but if not I definitely will once I've got internet in the flat.

Thankyou for reading ♡ 

Summer Collective Haul ♡

I know I've only recently put a haul up but I have a few more things that I've bought recently, for a change I've actually got some clothes as well as I realised I don't actually wear half of what's in my wardrobe, I was supposed to be putting up my June favourites but a couple of these things actually features so I thought I'd wait until I'd posted this.

I bought these boots from depop, they're originally from New Look but I can't find these exact ones but these are fairly similar. I love the buckle detail but I did wear them on a night out the other day and my feet hated me, hopefully I can get used to them.

I needed a new pair of jeans and love the colour of these grey high waisted ones, they didn't photograph well on their own but you can see them at the top of the picture, I really struggle to find jeans to fit me properly but these are really comfy and soft.

I also needed new dungarees because they are perfect for Summer, again I love the colour of these, I'm not sure these are the exact same colour but they look close. I rely on dungarees so much in the warmer weather, they can make an outfit look more put together without being over the top.

The moment I saw this top I fell in love, I adore the colour and the lace detail, the bottom layers means it looks really cute with black leggings and they do this top in a few different colours too, the mint green one would look really cute with some denim shorts.

I love the colours in this H&M top, it's a really light weight material so perfect for Summer, they had this same print in a playsuit but I prefer the look of this top, I can't find it online but it wasn't in the sale so it should be in shops still.

Another H&M top that I can't find online, but again I really liked the patterns on this, it's a little thicker than the last one but still comfortable for Summer, I've definitely been following a theme with these clothes, but then I usually have too many Autumn clothes so these have definitely widened my clothing collection.

Makeup wise I bought another two liquid lipsticks, both through depop so I'm not sure how easy it is to get them in the UK, I have Anastasia Beverly Hills liquid lipstick in Crush which is a really pretty nude colour but is lighter than the others I have which I felt I was missing, I also got the Kat Von D everlasting liquid lipstick in Lolita, I've heard so much about this shade and am so happy to finally have it, I wasn't expecting the wand to be so long so I'm having to get used it it but it is stunning! 

bottom-top: ABH Crush KVD Lolita & a selection of Venus Palette shades

I saw a few looks on instagram using the Lime Crime Venus Grunge palette and I had to have it, the shades are gorgeous and all work really well together, I'm really tempted to try and post some makeup looks using this but I'm not sure if I have the guts yet.

I also got this W7 Lavender corrector to try and help cover up my dark under eyes, I'm starting to accept that they are probably here to stay but this does help to mask them at least.

Another W7 product is this nail polish in Glisten, it's a really pretty grey/blue colour with a slight silver glitter in it, definitely not a Summery shade but I've been eyeing it up a lot at work and thought it would be perfect for Autumn/Winter.

Another nail polish but this time from Urban Outfitters in the colour Paprika, this one was in the sale but I've been eyeing the colour up for a while, it's a deep orangey red colour, I would wear this all year round as well, it's not overly Wintery like some reds can be.

 You may have noticed from my Top 5 Lush Bath Bomb's post that I love Intergalactic so I picked two up to use before I move, and I grabbed a Lava Lamp one too as I wanted something a bit more Summery, I'd definitely recommend both of these if you're looking for a new bath bomb to try.

Lastly I have Tanya Burr's new book Tanya Bakes I preordered the signed copy a while ago and am so excited to bake some of the recipes in this book! I love the pictures so much, I now kinda want to put sparklers in everything I make. 

That's it for this haul, I hope it wasn't too long and rambly, I'm moving house this weekend but will hopefully have my June favourites up before then, in the mean time if anyone has any recommendations for any cruelty free makeup please let me know, as I'm really interested in finding more CF makeup to try, especially to replace basics such as mascara and foundation.

Thanks for reading ♡

Top 5 Lush Bath Bombs ♡

I've mentioned it a few times on here but I'm moving into a new flat soon, and unfortunately it doesn't have a bath so I'm going to have to learn to live without my beloved Lush bath bombs, to soften the blow of having to go without bath bombs I thought I'd share my top 5 bath bombs from the permanent collection, I would love to do a top 5 from limited edition ranges but I don't know how I could make that work with them all coming out at different times of year, especially seeing as I can only actually use them when I go to stay at home.

My absolute number one favourite Lush bath bomb from the regular range is without a doubt Intergalactic (£4.25) it was originally an Oxford Street exclusive but thankfully they extended it into regular stores and I've used more of these than I care to remember, it contains peppermint, grapefruit, vertivert and cedarwood oils and has the most incredible balanced minty scent, I would genuinely love to have this in perfume form, and think they should just bring the scent into a shower gel so that I can love it once I've not got a bath anymore. It's not just the scent that has me head over heels though, when you pop this in the bath it's like a stunning galaxy in your bath! With the deep blue colour and the lustre it is incredible! I can't say enough about it..but please Lush, please make a perfume and shower gel to feed my Intergalactic addiction?!

The Experimenter (£4.25) is one that I seem to forget that I love as much as I do, with all of it's stunning colours it's one of the best for taking photos of when it's dropped into the water, it's so bright and colourful, the scent is quite different from what people expect from Lush, with vanilla and tonka absolutes and vertivert oil it's very smoky and earthy, I think it would definitely appeal to a lot of people, especially people that are usually put off by sweet smell that people usually associate with the brand.

Next up, another popular ex-exclusve is Frozen (£4.25) this one contains grapefruit, rose and neroli oils and smells very refreshingly sweet, it's very uplifting and looks beautiful as it fizzes away, I really like this one for warmer weather.  The mix of blue shades and lustre have a really pretty effect in the water, very fitting for a bath bomb based on the film Frozen, Elsa would definitely approve.

If you like more relaxing baths then Twilight (£3.75) is definitely my favourite soothing bath bomb they have, with lavender and ylang ylang oils and tonka absolute it's got a much sweeter, softer lavender scent which is perfect for me as I'm not a fan of strong floral scents. It has a pinky, purple blue blend of colours which look beautiful in the bath, it kind of reminds me of Sleeping Beauty, perfect for late night baths.

The last of my top 5 is definitely Honey Bee (£3.50) I only have one photo of this one as it doesn't tend to make patterns in the bath, while it isn't the most exciting of bath bombs it does smell lovely, very sweet and warming, and leaves your skin feeling lovely, it contains rhassoul mud, honey and aloe vera gel. If you like the scent and softening effects of this one the Shoot for the Stars Christmas bath bomb is basically the same which I have a photo of below.

Choosing just five favourites was really difficult, especially if you take into account all of the limited editions and ones, and this isn't even thinking about the bubble bars, so I thought I'd put a few extra pictures in of some others, I love taking photos of Lush bath bombs and my instagram has quite a lot on there (@yazminejenni-shameless promo)

top-Yoga Bomb, bottom left-Intergalactic bottom right-Shoot for the Stars

top left- Intergalactic top right & bottom left-Lord of Misrule bottom right-Big Blue & Sunnyside

I really hope I didn't ramble too much..I hope you liked this post, I'm going to miss Lush's bath products but there's always visits home I suppose (let's hope my mum doesn't see that!) let me know your favourite Lush products in the comments, especially non bath ones!
Thankyou for reading ♡

Collective Haul-Spring 2016 ♡

I might have a little bit of a haul today, I've been meaning to post it for a while but keep getting distracted, I've also been buying some homeware bits but I think I'm going to put those into a separate post once I'm moved into the new flat and have things set up, so for now I have a mix of some beauty and random things that I've collected over the last month or so.

Unless you've been living under a rock the last month or so you'll probably have heard that boots now stocks NYX and I'm really interested in trying some more of their products, especially as they are cruelty free and affordable, I picked up the Dewy Finish Setting Spray (£7), I was running out of my old setting spray so thought I'd give this a try, I went for the dewy one as my skin tends to get quite dry and so far I've been liking this one quite a lot. 

I really wanted to try some liquid lipsticks from them but wasn't keen on the formulas or colours they had, so I chose two of the matte lipsticks instead, I want to try to make my collection cruelty free so was looking for shades that could replace a few of my favourite Mac lipsticks so choose the colours Euro Trash and Whipped Caviar (£6.50). 

top-Euro Trash, bottom-Whipped Caviar

Another cruelty free replacement for my makeup collection is the Rosie for Autograph Translucent Finishing Powder (£18) this powder is really nice, but the thing that interested me the most is the packaging, I always end up making a huge mess with loose powders but this one has a sort of net that dispenses the powder, and the lid has a stopper that stops the powder from spilling out when the product is closed-genius! 

The shop I work in sells W7 as one of our main brands and I really like their new Spring collection, this is one of the three pastel polishes they came out with called Dawn, it's a really pretty nude pink shade and the formula is actually really nice, I don't hear anything about W7 nail polish but for such a light shade this is really easy to apply and lasts longer than other brands I've used.

The Body Shop released their new Piñita Colada range for Summer and it is divine! I picked up two of the shower gels (£5) as they were on offer in my local store  at two for £7 and they smell amazing, a blend of pineapple and coconut that contains coconut flakes and oil, it's so refreshing, perfect for Summer.

The last beauty item I picked up was two packets of the Simple Micellar Wipes, they are on offer in Boots at two for £4, they are the best makeup wipes I've ever used and they don't irritate my skin at all, I know makeup wipes are frowned upon in the blogging world but these ones don't seem so bad to use on occasion.

So if you've read any of my favourite posts for the last few months you may know that I've been slightly (majorly) obsessed with watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and then Netflix took it down just as I got onto the last season so I bought it on amazon, it's only £39.99 for all seven seasons which is really reasonable for box sets so I bought them all so I can watch them over and over again..which I most definitely will be doing.

Coconut Lane have released a range of macbook cases in beautiful marble patterns, there are three patterns to choose from but I went for this simple grey marble effect, aka the Classy Case (£28) , they come in a range of sizes and are really good quality, you can also use the code ditsy20 to get 20% off.

While making a homeware order on Urban Outfitters I got one of the Urban Renewal Vintage Surplus  Bandana Scrunchies (£4) I love hair scrunchies at the moment and this one is so cute! I don't really know what else to say about a hair scrunchie but I love the look of a lot of Urban Outfitter ones.

Finally, and probably the thing I'm most excited about, I was waiting for M.J Arlidge's latest book, Little Boy Blue (£3.85) to come out in paperback for what feels like forever, it's the fifth book in the DI Helen Grace series and I am obsessed with all of them and this one was just as good! If you're looking for a new book series to read I'd really recommend this one!

That's all for this haul but hopefully I'll be able to show some of the things I've been buying for the flat really soon, I hope you liked this post, thankyou for reading ♡

May Favourites 2016 ♡

I'm sorry that this post is late (again) but time seems to be escaping me lately and I actually struggled to pick out enough favourites for this month, it just didn't seem like enough but I'm determined to get one up each month so I forced myself to make the most of the few favourites I had.

I'll start with food..in an attempt to make myself eat and enjoy breakfast I started eating one of these New York Bakery Co Sesame Bagels with butter in the morning and I have actually started to look forward to breakfast which never happens! On a slightly less healthy note (if bagels and butter count as healthy) I've also had a slight obsession with crispy m&m's this month, as in I think I'm verging slightly on addiction with these, I really don't know what to say about them aside from that I love them and could eat them practically all day..no shame here!

I tried the Too Faced Hangover primer last month and have been really liking it, some primers tend to sit heavily on my skin and cause it to breakout but this one is lightweight and sits really nicely on my skin, meaning that my skin actually likes this one, I also find that the pump always gives the right amount of product so I don't waste any.
Another lightweight base product I've been loving has been the Maybelline Dream Flawless Nude foundation, it has a beautiful look on the skin, you can build the coverage but it doesn't feel heavy or thick on the skin at all, perfect for Summer when you don't want too much makeup on your face.
Mac's pigment in Tan has been another favourite this month, it's a really pretty pinky bronze pigment that looks beautiful with a smoky eye, especially in the inner corner.
I had two lip favourites last month, I tried my first Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in the shade Kathryn, liquid lipsticks can sometimes be really drying but the formula of this one is really creamy and the colour is beautiful, I think it's actually the easiest to apply out of all my liquid lipsticks and I really wish they were easier to get hold of in the UK. My other lip favourite is the very popular Whirl lipstick by Mac, I hadn't even really looked at this before but when Tanya Burr wore it in one of her videos I fell in love with it, it's a beautiful colour, described as a dirty rose and looks really pretty, I really like the Mac mate formula, it's not too drying and tends to look flattering on the lips, it's probably not the right season for this sort of colour but I don't really mind, it's not like we get much of a Summer here in the UK anyway.

Tan, Kathryn & Whirl

Barry M came out with their new Molten Metals polish and the colour Copper Mine is the prettiest rose gold nail colour, Barry M are by far my favourite nail polish brand and this one definitely does not disappoint.
I also discovered the Garnier Skin active Oil Infused Micellar water, it makes removing eye makeup and liquid lipsticks so easy, and doesn't dry your skin like some other micellar waters can, I'd definitely recommend this if you tend to wear heavier eye makeup or makeup that can be more difficult to remove.
For a TV favourite I've actually really been enjoying watching Loose Women clips on youtube, they can be really interesting and I've become slightly addicted to watching them all the time, I've never been one for day time TV (Jeremy Kyle when revising for A levels not included) but I'm starting to think I've been missing out!
That's it for my May favourites, not too rambly I hope, I now officially have one week until I leave work and start to pack to move but let's face it, I don't really post regularly on here anyway so probably won't be missing much when I move, I'll hopefully be back soon though, thanks for reading!
♡