The current skincare heroes

If you have read my previous posts you might know I've become a bit of a skincare addict. A couple of years ago I used a cheap makeup remover and slapped on an equally cheap moisturiser and I was done. Now I'm not saying cheap products are bad, there are some real gems on the shelves that cost less than a fiver but as soon as I finished uni and got my first real job, I was drawn to the higher end products that promised some amazing results. Paired with a then new found love for Caroline Hirons' blog I've accumulated quite a collection of lotions and potions, so today I'm talking you through my current favourites!

Let's start off with cleansers. Most days I'm wearing a full face of makeup so I need a heavy duty remover in the evenings. I used to love The Body Shop's camomille cleansing oil but it didn't remove stubborn mascara. I always double cleanse anyway but I prefer my first cleanse to entirely remove my makeup before I go in with the second cleanser. During a FeelUnique sale I decided to give the BareMinerals Oil Obsessed a go and I haven't looked back since. You only need one pump and it effortlessly removes every last trace of makeup. It smells delicious as well, very subtle and calming. After that I usually go in with the Pixi cleansing balm or glow mud cleanser, depending on how my skin is feeling. The cleansing balm feels rich and nourishing and a tiny bit goes a long way. It leaves my skin feeling plump and oh so soft. The glow mud cleanser on the other hand doesn't smell as nice as the cleansing balm but leaves my skin feeling really fresh, without that "stripped" feeling. With 5% glycolic acid this is my cleanser of choice when my skin is feeling a bit 'meh'. The texture is quite unusual, it's somewhere between a slippery gel and a cream rolled into one. It doesn't foam at all and I need a good squeeze to cover my whole face. My morning cleanser of choice is the Bliss 2-in-1-cleanser I reviewed here. It really helps waking up my skin and leaves it soft and polished before I put my makeup on.

On to serums and treatments. My all time favourite night time treatment is the Kiehls Midnight Recovery Concentrate (reviewed here). No matter how dry, spotty or just meh my skin looks, this always comes to the rescue. It's your 8 hour beauty sleep in a bottle! I instantly notice a difference when I don't use this and I'll forever repurchase it! In the mornings I currently alter between two samples, the Origins A Perfect World age-defense skin guardian and BareMinerals Skinlongevity vital power infusion. I'm alright with the ridiculously long names because both products are amazing. The Origins serum feels like liquid silk when applied (I'm not sure if it's silicones, Origins doesn't list the ingredients on their website) and takes quite some time to sink in but once it has, it leaves my skin feeling nourished without being greasy. The Bare Minerals serum is much lighter in texture and smells lovely. It almost feels watery and sinks in in a matter of seconds. With this I get instant results as this leaves my skin looking super fresh and radiant. They are both on the pricier side, the Origins one is £50 for 50ml and the BareMinerals one is £45 for 50ml but I'd definitely purchase the full sized versions of both. I always, ALWAYS follow up with my favourite SPF, the Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration face lotion. Living up to its name, it feels super silky and moisturising without leaving any greasy shine or white residue behind. It sinks in straight away, making it the perfect base before putting on your makeup. The tropical coconut scent is just the icing on the cake!

At the beginning of this year I vowed to make more time for pampering, body scrubs and face masks in particular. I got the Antipodes Aura Manuka Honey mask for Christmas last year and really enjoyed using this over the past couple of months. So much so that I even took this to Bali with me! You can't beat relaxing on your porch, a divine smelling face mask on and a cocktail in hand, overlooking the sea. Now I'm not in Bali anymore but I still enjoy the mask, it has a lovely light vanilla-mandarin scent and really perks up tired or dull skin. I'd love to try more Antipodes products in the future, do let me know what your favourites are!

So these are my current favourite skincare products, let me know yours in the comments or over on Twitter!

5 concealers for every skin type and budget

If I had to choose one makeup item and get rid of everything else, it would be concealer. When I'm not tanned (which is like 99% of the time, I'm not good with fake tan) I have ridiculously dark undereye circles and discolouration around my nose and mouth, so concealer has always been a must. I've tried my fair share over the years, so today I'm talking you through five options that stood the test of time.

MAC Pro Longwear concealer £18
Like every MAC product this comes in a wide range of shades to suit every skintone and colour. My skin has yellow undertones and my usual MAC shade is NC25. Since I'm using this to get rid of dark circles, I always go for NW20 because peach coloured products counteract the blue veins which are causing them. I also go a shade lighter to brighten my undereye area. The Pro Longwear concealer has amazing coverage and staying power but can be a tad drying - on the bright side, it hardly creases on me throughout the day. The only downside to this is the pump. One pump would be sufficient to cover your entire face and it's quite hard to dispense the right amount, but four tubes down I finally figured it out.

Coverage: full

Staying power: up to 15 hrs

Shade range: 16 shades (8 NC/yellow toned shades, 8 NW/pink toned shades)

Packaging: glass bottle with pump

17 concealer £4.49

If you found the Collection concealer (my all time favourite) too drying you'll love this one. Same coverage and staying power but not as matte! Also, it's cheap as chips - what's not to love? I'll tell you: it only comes in three shades, extra fair (neutral, almost white), fair (cool/pink toned) and medium (warm/yellow toned). I use fair as an undereye concealer and medium on any blemishes but imagine anyone with a different skintone won't find a matching shade. I know we're used to shoddy shade ranges but three shades is quite meagre.
Coverage: medium to full

Staying power: 8 hrs

Shade range: 3 shades

Packaging: doe-foot

Bourjois Radiance Reveal concealer £7.99

This offering from Bourjois is very creamy and smells delicious. It contains glacier water and hyaluronic acid which makes it very moisturising and great for dry skin types. As an undereye concealer it claims to correct and illuminate which I think it does. It's peach toned (again, great to ban those pesky dark circles!) and has a light to medium coverage. Layered on top of the MAC concealer this gives me some seriously bright peepers! Unfortunately this also comes in a mere three shades, definitely something that should be improved in the future.
Coverage: light to medium

Staying power: 6 hrs

Shade range: 3 shades

Packaging: doe-foot

Maybelline Eraser Eye concealer £7.99

The Maybelline Eraser Eye concealer has been around for ages and it's one of those products I have put off trying for a long time because it comes with the most impractical sponge applicator. A product which is designed to use around the eyes surely shouldn't allow too many bacteria to harbour? Well, that's exactly what this is doing. The concealer itself is amazing, it's creamy, illuminating, has great coverage and staying power, but please, just put it in a squeezy tube, will you Maybelline?
Coverage: medium 

Staying power: 6 hrs

Shade range: 5 shades

Packaging: twist-up sponge tip

NYX HD concealer £5.50

This is basically the same as the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer and it's a concealer I'd repurchase without hesitation. It's £1.50 more but it's that tiny bit less drying and the shade range is a lot better than the Collection one which consists of a mere four shades. It's super creamy and longlasting and a great option if you're one a budget.
Coverage: full

Staying power: 8hrs

Shade range: 9+3 correction shades

Packaging: doe-foot

What's your favourite concealer? Have you tried any of these before?

Highlight on fleek - my favourite highlighters

If you know me, you know I love a good highlight - who doesn't these days? Today I wanted to share with you my top picks, from liquid to powder, from subtle to IN YOUR FACE! Brace yourselves for the glowiest of all posts.

The Liquids

Soap&Glory Hocus Focus Instant Visual Flaw-Softening Lotion

Quite a mouthful! This is an old bottle, it now comes in a more travel friendly plastic packaging as opposed to the glass one. Hocus Focus contains 30ml for £11 which is such a bargain price considering this has lasted me 5 years - and it's still going strong! (Bit gross? Well yes, maybe.) It's almost iridescent with a watery consistency and works great mixed in with a matte foundation for a dewy look. If used sparingly it won't make your skin look greasy and it has the lovely signature S&G scent, but don't worry, the scent fades after a couple of minutes.

staying power 4/5 chunky glitter 1/5 blendability 4/5

Becca liquid

Now this obviously is a more bronzed shade (Opal) which makes for the perfect summer highlighter. You can either mix it in with your foundation, use it as a primer, which makes for a more subtle glow, or just use it as a liquid highlighter on the high points of your face. It's a multitasker really! The consistency of this is lovely, it's not as runny as the Soap&Glory one and feels slightly silicone-y. A must try if you love your Becca powder highlighters!

staying power 5/5 chunky glitter 1/5 blendability 5/5

The three that pack a punch

Now these aren't for the faint hearted and you definitely have to use a light hand with these as it's easy to go overboard - you have been warned!

Soap&Glory Glow All Out

This pink golden stunner is one of the most pigmented highlighters I've ever used. It's really soft and dare I say it "buttery", and, you only need a tiny amount to achieve a lovely glow.

staying power 4/5 chunky glitter 2/5 blendability 4/5

Urban Decay Flushed palette in Streak
Another super pigmented one, this Urban Decay highlighter is included in their Flushed palettes. I've got the Streak palette which contains a matte coral blusher, a lovely bronzer and this peachy golden shade. This doesn't blend as nicely as the other two, which may be due to the slightly metallic finish, so you want to make sure you tap off any excess and apply with a light hand!

staying power 4/5 chunky glitter 2/5 blendability 3/5

TheBalm Mary-Lou Manizer
Probably the best known and one of the most coveted highlighters these days. TheBalm definitely hit the nail on the head when they created this champagne coloured beauty. It's definitely the most pigmented of the bunch. I got this in the Manizer Sisters palette which also contains a beautiful pink highlighter (Cindy-Lou Manizer) and a bronze shade (Betty-Lou Manizer). My favourite has to be the original one though, especially on a night out!

staying power 5/5 chunky glitter 2/5 blendability 4/5

The all over glow

Bourjois Java Rice Powder

A reinvented classic from 1897, the Java Rice powder was one of the first Bourjois products. First of all, this is worth getting for the packaging alone - SO gorgeous! The translucent shimmery powder has an old fashioned powdery scent which is strong but fades shortly after application. You can either use this as an all over face powder, in which case your skin WILL look greasy by lunchtime or, you apply this to those areas on your face which lack radiance or seem a bit dull. For me that would be my forehead and the jar line, where my skin is super dry. The only thing I hate about this is the waste of product due to packaging. It comes with a twist top which makes it impossible to only get the amount needed on your brush.

staying power 3/5 chunky glitter 4/5 blendability 3/5

I hope you enjoyed this round up of my favourite highlighters! I seriously missed out on the whole strobing trend, but the way I see it, it's just a new and fancy name for highlighting, isn't it?

What's your favourite highlighter? 

Do you prefer a subtle glow or do you really go to town with your highlight?

The Ugly Heroes - Great Products in Disguise

Hiya lovelies, I hope your week's going good so far! I'm really stressed out at the moment to be honest. My boyfriend hasn't been feeling well the last couple of weeks. It got so bad he was admitted to hospital on Tuesday and we only found out the reason for his condition last night. I've been crying non stop on Tuesday because I'm such a worrier, but luckily it turned out to be nothing too serious, thank God! However, I really want to keep up blogging this time, so here we go.

Now lets be honest for a second. How many times have you fallen victim to lovely packaging, only to find that the product inside wasn't all that great? Now imagine it was the other way round - great products with shoddy packaging which is just too ugly to photograph for the blog. Today I thought I would give these products some well deserved praise, because you wouldn't neglect a nice person just because they're ugly, would you? Alright, getting a bit too dramatic here but you get the drift.

I obviously chose a proper bad picture to get my point across - no I didn't, it's just a bad picture - soz!

If you can get your hands on Essence products I suggest you do [check Wilko]. They have some amazing high quality products which cost less than your morning coffee. This blush doesn't seem exciting at all when you look at it but, let me tell you, it packs a punch! It's pigmented, blends effortlessly and lasts longer than your avarge blusher. It has a slight sheen to it, too, which means you can go cray cray with your highlight if you wish - and who doesn't want that?

I'm pretty sure I don't have to go into detail about Wet'nWild products. You lucky people living in the US! They are cheap as chips but deliver some amazing results. Just Peachy is the perfect peachy nude lipstick for my yellow toned skin and Pinkerbelle is an exact dupe for MAC's Viva Glam Nikki lipstick. They do feel dry when applied but they're actually comfortable to wear. I also really like their eyeshadow trios. They were the bee's knees when I started blogging a couple of years ago and everyone was eager to get their hands on Walking on eggshells. The trio contains three neutral (but very shimmery) shades, one for all over the lid, a darker crease colour and a highlighting shade. All of them are very pigmented, especially the two lighter shades.

Rimmel Stay Matte powder has been my go-to face powder for a good eight years now. It's cheap, comes in six shades and keeps shine at bay throughout the day. I've tried a lot of powders in the past but nothing compares to this. It never looks cakey and mattifies for hours. For those of you who love that dewy glow - stay away! I always make sure to have at least one back-up at home as it's a product I always come back to.

Next up we have the MUA Hide&Conceal concealer stick. Now, I've never been a big fan of stick concealers. I always found them hard to blend with their waxy consistency and they usually went patchy on me after an hour. This one however has a lovely creamy consistency and suprisingly lasts the whole day without going patchy. The only downside is that it comes in three shades only - but for £1, you really can't expect more, can you?

Now the next one is kind of a dupe and I've written an in-depth review if you fancy a read. The Garnier Moisture Match is not as unsightly as the other products, and it's definitely a plus that it comes in a tube rather than a jar but still, it's not the moisturiser you'd proudly display on your dressing table. It's a lovely, light moisturiser nonetheless and I really recommend giving this a go if you haven't already!

Last but not least, the Collection Deluxe lipsticks. I was sent these back in 2013 by the lovely Adrienne [The Sunday Girl] and fell in love the first time I've tried them. They're super creamy, pigmented and longlasting, so you don't have to choose between comfort and not needing constant touch ups. They smell quite nice as well which is always a bonus and not something you'd expect from a £4 lipstick. They come in ten lovely nude, pink, and red shades, so there should be a shade for everyone.

Phew, so these are my ugly heroes! What are yours?

The foolproof favourites

Over the last couple of weeks I have been dropping some hints on Twitter and Instagram about how I wanted to get back to blogging. I'm quite positive nobody noticed (or cared for that matter) but, here I am! It's been well over a year and life has been a whirlwind to say the least. I met my boyfriend towards the end of 2014, moved to a new city and have just generally been busy enjoying life. For those who know me, this is a first - I'm not planning on whining or complaining, but me actually loving life, that's new. Naturally, blogging had to take a step back in that process but, now that I've kind of settled into my new life, I'm eager to start blogging again, interact with you lovely lot and swoon over the latest beauty releases - as you do.

For my "first" post I thought I'd do a round up of the things I've been loving over the past year. Being very busy means I needed a foolproof routine, so these are the things that stood the test of time. I hope you enjoy this post and I'd love your feedback in the comments, on Twitter, or Instagram.

Foundation & Powder
I've lost count of how many bottles of Healthy Mix I've been through over the years. This has to be my favourite everyday foundation, it has medium coverage and blends so well. I also love the fruity scent! Although this leans more towards the dewy end of the foundation scale it doesn't make my skin look greasy or patchy. My skin gets really dry in autumn/winter so most days I don't even apply powder on top. However, if I do feel like I need to powder, I've been enjoying the matching powder. It's not as mattifying as the Rimmel Stay Matte powder but does last a good 6-8 hours (depending on your skin type obvs) and never looks cakey!

Concealer
Now this product holds holy grail status, which is rare for me. Of course, as a beauty blogger I love switching things up on a regular basis. I started using this about two years ago when it's been all Jaclyn Hill was raving about and she was so right - amazing coverage and staying power, and a little goes a long way. Even with daily use one little bottle usually lasts me a good 10 months.

Hands up - Who else is still saying collection 2000? Their Lasting Perfection concealer has been a firm favourite for years and I've gone through countless tubes of this. For just over 4 quid you get a concealer with equally amazing coverage and staying power as the mac concealer I just mentioned - although I found the Collection one to be a tad less drying. I use shade 2 on top of the MAC concealer to hide my hideous dark undereye circles, and although I'm trying other concealers here and there, nothing beats this combination.

Bronzer
There's a reason why so many bloggers and YouTubers are considering this their favourite budget bronzer. It has a matte and a shimmery side, the shimmer is hardly detectable once applied though. The matte shade also doubles up as a contour shade. It also doesn't go patchy during the day which is something I'm experiencing with a lot of bronzers. I've really been enjoying using this!

Eyes & Brows
Now I'm not into the bold Delevignesque kind of brows but, one thing I did realise last year is that a defined brow is essential. Due to overplucking my brows in my teenage years (sigh), they are pretty sparse to say the least. Cue this amazing little pencil by Soap&Glory. If you've been reading my blog before you'll know I'm slightly obsessed, and this product doesn't change this fact. It has a brush on one end and the tiniest little nib on the other, which makes faking fuller brows easy peasy. A convenient and foolproof brow product? Yes, please!

Another holy grail item are MAC's Paint Pots - forget what I was just saying about HG products, I do have a couple of them in my stash. Soft Ochre matches my skintone to a T and I've been using this daily to even out my dark eye lids an as a primer for over 2 and a half years now. I'm almost out but to say a little goes a long way would be an understatement. So please don't be fooled by the price - you do get the best bang for your buck here. If I'm particularly lazy I just put something like the shimmery champagne shade that is Bare Study on top and I'm good to go.

I only got the hang of liquid eyeliner last year. Can you believe it took me 25 years to manage a cat flick? I know. The Maybelline gel liner definitely helped, it's creamy, forgiving and stays put until you wash it off. I apply this with the Zoeva liner brush which makes it a breeze. I finish with lashings of my favourite, the Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara (this stuff is THE BOMB! It doesn't say waterproof but boy, it does take some elbowgrease to get if off!) and there we have it, a full face of foolproof makeup.

Have you tried any of these products? What are your foolproof favourites?

June Favourites

It's monthly favourites time, woo-hoo! Since I haven't done a May favourites post there are quite a few products I'm going to talk about today. However, before I start rambling about last month's favourites I'd like to say thank you so much for the lovely comments on my last post! It really means a lot, and knowing that you guys seem to enjoy my blog is what keeps me going. So let's get crackin'!

Like I said, there have been quite a few bits and bobs I really enjoyed using the past two months. The Urban Decay Naked 3 palette as well as the Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation were featured in my April favourites already, but I just couldn't not mention them. We have had a couple of sunny days recently, which usually results in me having a sweaty face, that's why I needed something that I knew was seeing me through the day, and Healthy Mix did just that. It stays put for well over eight hours without going patchy, which is very rare for me. As for the Naked 3 palette, I still can't get enough of the beautiful rose gold shades. They also go well with another favourite of mine, the Maybelline 24h Color Tattoo in On and On Bronze. I really wish we got the US shades as there's not much choice in shades over here, but that doesn't make them less amazing. They are as good as my beloved MAC Paint Pots, and this particular shade would look beautiful on anyone. It's one of those one swipe wonders which saves you a good ten minutes in the mornings - winner!

On days I fancy a bit of a change foundation wise, I'll make sure to have my Real Techniques Retractable Kabuki brush and Rimmel Stay Matte powder at hand. They've become a staple in my handbag recently and I'd even go as far as saying that the brush is one of my favourite brushes of all time. It's that good!

As you might know if you've been following me for a while, I'm not too keen on Benefit. Most of their products aren't cutting it for me, but I do love their Box'o'Powders. Bella Bamba is a bright pinky-coral shade with a slight sheen to it, the perfect summer shade if you will. Lipstick-wise I've been loving the L'Oreal Collection Privee lipstick in Julianne's Nude, this shade literally goes with any makeup look! I don't even mind the Parma Violet scent and that is saying something. Last but by no means least is the Elemis Balancing Lime Blossom Cleanser. It was love at first use and it definitely does what it says on the tin. I can't wait to try more Elemis products, since this one has totally won me over! I'll try and get a review of this beaut up soon.

Which products have you been enjoying lately?

April Favourites

This is the second post today, I'm on a roll - woohoo! I know it's so cliche to say but, this year is flying by, isn't it? Before you know it, it's time for another monthly favourites post. This month has seen a couple of new favourites, as well as some rediscovered loves I'm going to share with you lovely lot.

As you can see, I caved in and got the Naked 3 palette. I only got the original one two months ago and I was so impressed with it, I just had to get the latest one, too. Like most people I was a bit hesitant at first as to whether the rose gold/pinky shades would suit me but, they look stunning and I have used this palette almost every single day since I got it. Another new-ish product (for me, that is) is the Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation. I have no idea what took me so long to finally give it a go, but now that I've tried it, I can't live without it! Being a bit dramatic here, but you get the drift. It has such a lovely finish and stays put all day, I only wish I got it in the lightest shade (I got it in 52 Vanilla) but this one works fine when I have a bit of a tan. 

As for rediscovered loves, there are two lip balms I have been using a lot this month. The Maybelline Baby Lips in Peach Kiss is my go to lip balm for when I'm out and about, as I don't actually own many twist up lip balms. They are so much more hygenic when you're on the go and although it took me quite a while to jump on the bandwagon, I'm glad I did, because they are really moisturising. My second favourite lip balm is the Korres lip butter in Guava. Their lip butters are super creamy and smell absolutely amazing, you can read my rave review here! Another thing I've been constantly carrying around with me is the Taylor Swift Wonderstruck fragrance. The mini bottle is perfect for chucking in your handbag and it smells incredible as well. If you're into sweet scents, definitely check this one out. Last but by no means least is this Gilly Hicks body cream in Annadale Moore. The packaging of their body care range is adorable and everything smells amazing, this one in particular has a sweet fruity scent. I didn't expect it to be as great as it actually is when I got it, it sinks in super quick, leaving your skin soft and moisturised. My skin is really dry, so that is saying something!

There you have it, my April favourites. I'd love to know which products you have been loving throughout the month! Let me know in the comments below and feel free to leave the links to your favourites posts.

March Favourites

Hiya lovelies!

This has to be the first monthly favourites post where I don't feel like saying 'wow this month has flown by!' because to be quite frankly, it hasn't. It felt like the longest month ever. Anywho, there have been a couple of products I've been loving throughout March and I wanted to share them with you guys, so let's get crack-a-lacking!

Now that it got a bit warmer outside I tend to go for lighter fragrances rather the sweet and heavy ones I use in autumn/winter. Jo Malone's Nectarine Blossom & Honey is the perfect spring fragrance and I've been using it almost every single day this month. In case you haven't tried their fragrances before, don't even start as this will turn into a full-on addiction. To tame my frizzy mane I've been using the new-ish Miracle Recharge Frizz Remedy spray by Aussie, you can use it on wet or dry hair and it really helps keep frizz at bay. It also smells lovely! Skincare-wise I've been using the Origins Drink Up Intensive overnight mask quite a lot this month, my skin has been really dry and this little beauty works a treat. You only need the tiniest bit and it's super moisturising, but not greasy at all. Another product I've been raving about in the past is OPI Nail Envy. It's basically a nail strengthener, but it works so much better than anything I have tried before. It takes a while to see the results but it is definitely worth the wait! My nails have never been in a better state than they are now. In terms of makeup there are three things I've been using non-stop throughout March, the first one being the MAC Mineralize Blusher in Petal Power from their recent Fantasy Of Flowers collection. I've been searching high and low until I finally got my mitts on it! It's the most gorgeous peachy-pink which has a golden sheen to it, if you can get your hands on it I'd definitely recommend picking it up! Same goes for the Revlon Matte Balms. Elusive has been my go-to shade lately, they tick all the boxes when it comes to matte lipsticks! Last but not least, the Maybelline Fit Me concealer. I got this in the lightest shade available and I absolutely love the formula, although unfortunately it's still too dark for my skin tone. Nothing that a bit of fake tan can't fix, eh?

What have you been loving this month?

The Spring Beauty Edit

To me, spring is all about floral, fruity and fresh products. Seeing as spring has sprung(ish), I've picked my favourite products to share with you. 

LIPS - You know I've become quite the lipstick kind of girl - the brighter, the better. Some of my favourite lipsticks formula wise, but also shade wise are the Maybelline ColorSensational lipsticks in Shocking Coral, Coral Pop and Coral Tonic. Can you sense a theme here? Other lip products to go with the whole coral theme are MAC's Coral Bliss, Revlon's ColorBurst lip gloss in Papaya and the Bourjois ColorBoost lip crayon in Peach On The Beach. I really enjoy lighter formulas come spring, think Revlon's lip butters in Pink Lemonade, Juicy Papaya, or Sweet Tart. The Maybelline ColorWhispers are just as amazing, if not better, and I absolutely love the shade Pin Up Peach. If you're in the States I'd definitely recommend picking some up! A more easily accessible alternative is the L'oreal Rouge Caresse lipstick in the shade Dating Coral. If you're after something more opaque, the YSL Rouge Volupte lipstick in Peach Passion is for you. This blogger favourite is probably the most luxurious of the lot and would make a great pay day treat. 

FACE - I'm a huge fan of the dewy look during the warmer months and happily trade my full coverage foundations for light and illuminating bases. One of my favourite products to achieve a dewy, glowy look is the Clarins Beauty Flash Balm. I use this as a primer under the Revlon Nearly Naked or Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation, both of which have a light to medium coverage. For adding a slight flush of colour to the cheeks soft corals and pinks are the way forward. The MAC Mineralize Blushers in Azalea in the Afternoon and Petal Power from their Fantasy Of Flowers collection are the most beautiful shimmery spring shades. A more subtle option would be Nars Daydream, a soft coral shade, and, in case you still want to add a bit of a glow, I'd recommend the Soap&Glory Glow All Out highlighter.

SKIN - All the makeup in the world isn't going to help if your skin is lacking moisture. One of my favourite quick fixes for dry or dehydrated skin is the Origins Drink Up 10 Minute Mask. The peachy scent just screams spring! If you love fruity scents as much as I do you should also try their GinZing moisturiser. To stay with the whole fruity theme, the Soap&Glory Sugar Crush scrub and The Body Shop Vineyard Peach body butter will leave your body smelling good enough to eat. If you don't have the time to exfoliate and moisturise, you may want to spritz on a light spring fragrance. The Victoria's Secret body mists are the perfect alternative to perfumes as they aren't too overpowering. Another favourite of mine is the Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom & Honey perfume, a fruity floral spring fragrance. 

NAILS - Nobody wants to sit around for ages, waiting for their nails to dry when the sun is out, so the super quick drying Barry M Gelly Hi Shine nail polishes are a must. They come in a wide range of shades, most of which are really summery and they also just released three new gorgeous pastel shades for spring. These are some of my favourite nail varnishes, I might have to treat myself to some new shades!

I hope you enjoyed today's post lovelies, it took me ages to peruse my stash and pick the most spring appropriate items. Did you spot anything you'd like to try? Let me know in the comments below!

February Favourites

It's monthly favourites time again, woo! Being the nosey parker I am, I enjoy seeing which products everyone has been loving each month. What's more, if a product makes it into your favourites at some time or another, this goes to show you actually use and like it, and didn't review it for the sake of it. There haven't been a lot of products I've been enjoying throughout February, mainly because I had loads of makeup free days thanks to revision. In fact I have a mere six favourites to share with you.

One of them has been popping up on my little blog every now and again, it's the Sigma F82 round kabuki brush. It's the perfect brush for cream products and I love using this to apply my beautiful new Sleek blushers, especially the ones in the Californ.I.A palette. They are the most gorgeous spring/summer shades and they blend like a dream with a little help of my trusty Sigma brush.

Another product I've been loving is Soap&Glory's Glow All Out Illuminising Face Powder (ooh, another S&G product, who would of thought). It's the most beautiful highlighter I own, and that is saying something. Keep your eyes peeled for a full review! The other three products just found their way into my collection this year and boy, I'm glad they did! The infamous Urban Decay Naked palette is probably one of the most coveted palettes in the blogosphere. I finally, finally gave in to the hype after years of trying to tell myself the MUA dupe will do. I can't believe how different they actually are, the Naked palette is worth every penny in my eyes and I've been using it non-stop this month.

Lastly there are two lip products, the first one being a Tanya Burr lip gloss in Afternoon Tea which is the most gorgeous nude shade, and I've been wearing this almost every single day since I got it. I've reviewed two of Tanya's lip glosses on here recently if you fancy having a read. The second lip product is the Nuxe Rêve de Miel lip balm. I'm not giving anything away just yet as I'm currently writing a review of this, but the fact this made it into my favourites says it all, doesn't it?

Which products have you been loving this month?

January Favourites

Hiya lovelies!

After my three-part favourites of 2013 (which you can have a read of here) there hasn't really been anything new I've been enjoying this month. To me, January is the worst month of the year. It's cold, it's gloomy and there's absolutely nothing to look forward to. To top it all off, Christmas and the sales left me skint, which could only mean one thing: shopping the stash!

I had a good rummage through my Soap&Glory box and came across an old-ish tub of their Flake Away body scrub. I almost forgot how good this stuff is! Not only does it make you smell delicious, you also don't have to moisturise after using this, as it contains various essential oils. Which leads me to Peaches 'n Clean, a 3-in-1 cleanser which isn't drying and smells of fresh peaches, what's not to love? Speaking of skin care, my favourite moisturiser at the minute is Origins GinZing. Not only does it have an amazing scent, it's also deeply moisturising. Another January favourite is the Victoria's Secret body mist in Pure Seduction. This is a bit heavier than most of their offerings, it smells quite fruity and sweet and makes a nice winter scent, although it would smell equally lovely in summer. Their body sprays are great year round scents in my eyes.

Now onto the makeup bits I've been loving recently, the MUA blush has been sitting in my drawer for years and it's probably the cheapest blusher available on the high street. It's decently pigmented, finely milled and comes in quite a good range of colours. The one I've been using a lot lately has been shade #3, a slightly darker peach shade with a hint of shimmer. It's so easy to blend and looks really natural once applied, even on my NC20 complexion. Next are the Collection Deluxe lipstick in Talullah and the Kate Moss for Rimmel lipstick #5. The Collection one is the perfect pinky nude whilst #5 is a slightly deeper but wearable shade of berry-pink. Last but not least, I tried to paint my nails a darker colour as long as it's still winter but couldn't resist the summery pastels. OPI's Sweet Heart has adorned my nails for the past two weeks or so, I just can't get enough of this perfect pale pink!

Which products have you been loving this month? Have you tried any of the products mentioned?

Favourites of 2013 Pt.3 - Skin/Hair/Bodycare Favourites

Hiya lovelies!

Here goes my last 'Faves of 2013' post. In case you haven't seen the previous ones yet, you can have a read here and here. Today's post is all about the skincare, hair care and body care related items I loved using last year. Let's start with hair care. My Tangle Teezer is something I have to have with me at all times. I've had it for two years and it looks a bit worse for wear but I can't imagine not brushing my hair with this little gem. My other two hair saviours have been (and still are) the Aussie 3 Minute Miracle and the Lee Stafford Hair Treatment For Hair That Never Grows, both make my hair feel super soft and nourished and smell lovely, too.

Skincare-wise Origins has to be my favourite brand of 2013 (Soz Soap&Glory, I'll always love you!). I got the Drink Up 10 Minute Mask for my birthday and it's a real treat for dry skin. I then purchased GinZing, which instantly became a staple in my skincare routine, it also has the most amazing smell so keep you eyes peeled for a review. My skincare favourites wouldn't be complete without a bit of S&G, the No Clogs Allowed mask does exactly what is says on the tin, it clears your skin up in no time. Lastly, a product the lovely Nuala introduced me to, the Superdrug own brand Hot Cloth Cleanser. Read my review here to find out why you should give it a go.

The last category of my 2013 favourites is body care. Silly me forgot to include some Lush bath bombs in the pictures, a product I started loving only last year. I love a good bath and another item that had to be featured is the S&G Sugar Crush scrub. I think they've changed the packaging again but it's still the same sweet, citrussy scent I adore so much. It's also quite gentle on your skin and leaves it feeling moisturised and smelling good enough to eat. Another luxurious product you don't have to spend a fortune on is the Rituals foaming shower gel. It smells absolutely amazing and using it feels like you're hugging a fluffy cloud. I can't rate them enough, if you haven't been to one of their lovely stores yet, I urge you to pay them a visit!

As you might know I'm obsessed with the likes of Abercrombie, Jack Wills, Hollister, and Superdry so I obviously own the entire Gilly Hicks body care range, too (told you I'm obsessed). Their mists are so longlasting, the Victoria's Secret body mists, albeit lovely, have nothing on them. The body lotion feels really luxurious as well. The same goes for the Bath and Body Works body lotion I bought from Stacey's blog sale. I didn't expect anything as they're fairly cheap but it's one of the most moisturising products I've ever used, big thumbs up!

Two last random favourites, first is OPI's Nail Envy which I have used weekly, I haven't had a broken nail in ages (touch wood)! It's a true miracle worker. For my birthday my parents got me a bottle of the Taylor Swift Wonderstruck fragrance, a sickly sweet scent which doesn't break the bank but still smells absolutely ah-mazing.

Soo, that's it lovelies, my 2013 Favourites are set in stone. I'm super excited to discover a bunch of new favourites throughout 2014 and can't wait to share my discoveries with you along the way :) One last time, I hope you enjoyed reading and don't forget to leave the links to your Favourites posts in the comment section below. Thanks for reading, well done if you've actually made it to the end of this post!

Favourites of 2013 Pt.2 - Lip Products

Hiya lovelies! Check me out posting twice in a day, ha!

Well that's what you get if you don't schedule your posts. Anywho, as the title of this post suggests, it's all about my favourite lip products of 2013. This was the year I managed to accumulate over 50 lipsticks, when all I owned before were five lip glosses. Blogging has made me discover my love for lipsticks and I can't imagine stepping out with bare lips ever again! So here are my top picks.

The Korres lip butter is a saviour for dry or chapped lips. It smells lovely and is one of the few lip balms that actually does what it says on the tin. I've been using this most mornings and evenings and might have to get some of the tinted versions this year. Another firm favourite is the L'Oreal Rouge Caresse lipstick in 301 Dating Coral. The RCs are similar to the Revlon Lip Butters which I love, but I might go as far as saying I prefer these. The formula is just amazing and if you haven't tried them yet, what are you waiting for? Keep your eyes peeled for a review and swatches of another shade. 

2013 was also the year I bought my first MAC lipstick, and I've been addicted ever since. Bombshell was added to my collection during my trip to Berlin in October, it's the perfect pearly pink. Pink in the afternoon by Revlon isn't as shimmery, but equally lovely. This was actually my first Revlon lipstick but it certainly won't be my last! 

Rimmel is one of my favourite highstreet brands and I've used both, Apocalips and #107 from the Kate Moss collection a lot this year. The Kate Moss one is actually the most perfect wintery shade, no wonder that this is one of the most hyped Rimmel lipsticks out there! Last but not least comes one of my beloved YSL Rouge Voluptes. I wore Peach Passion a lot during summer, it's an almost neon peach shade which looks lovely with a tan. It also has the most gorgeous packaging!

As always I hope you enjoyed reading lovelies, I had to do a seperate posts on my favourite lip products as they were too many to put them in my previous post! Don't forget to leave your links in the comment section below. I'll be back soon with the last part of my 2013 favourites, so keep your eyes peeled!