Current Favourites | Beauty

(WARNING: This post will be a long one!)

I've been away from the blogging game for quite a few weeks now as I've had problems with my camera and its' ability to upload onto my shoddy laptop! But now I've got it all sorted out, I'm back and feeling more inspirational than ever. I'm going to put much more time and effort into my blog so expect many more posts from me and more updates to the layout and design of my blog as the weeks go by. 
In my attempt to pop my head back into the blogging game, I thought the best way to do this is to introduce to you my favourite current beauty obsessions of the past few months. 
As summer is approaching, I find more products being used, typically those with incredible scents, and you'll see through this post that scent has been very important to me whilst picking these items to review! 

A few weeks ago, after months of anxiously waiting for my Boots Advantage points to rack up and my then current makeup bag to eventually fall to pieces, I finally took the plunge and purchased this pretty little makeup bag. It wasn't particularly expensive (£10), but I own so many makeup bags that I felt I wanted to wait until I could more or less get it for free, so it was more of a gift than a purchase (logic). I love the colour nude and paired with black and gold you just can't go wrong. It has plenty of space but isn't too big that I can't fit it into my handbag, it is literally the perfect size. It's sturdy and made from a lovely faux leather material and looks much more expensive than it is. Although it's fashioning a few makeup smudges in this picture (sorry), I've had it for a couple of months now and it's still looking pretty fresh! I definitely recommend it if you, like me, are incredibly close to your makeup and just need to carry it around with you everywhere. 

This is a slightly odd review, as makeup wipes are usually just a staple in a beauty routine and are never particularly raved about. However, as someone who suffers from sensitive skin and can never be bothered to go to the effort of cleansing and toning every night, a quick wipe with these Boots own make 'Botanics' makeup wipes leaves my skin feeling so soft and fresh that it's hard to remember to moisturize! Unlike normal makeup wipes, they're less like a baby wipe and more like a tough, stretchy but ultra-thin towel, so you can really feel the material scraping all the dirt and grime from the top layer of your skin. 

When it comes to fake tan, I would immodestly call myself a fake tan genius, as I have built up about four years of knowledge on it since I became a little bit addicted to it at 16. I began with gradual tanners and then took the plunge into full on fake tan as I loved the confidence I had when carrying a little colour. I'm not extreme with it, and only tend to fake tan my entire body once or twice a week, but I do like to apply a little bit to my upper body (arms and chest) every day, as well as on my face so I match my foundation. I've tried nearly every fake tan out there, from expensive to super cheap, and I can fundamentally say this is my favourite. Xen-Tan are a little over your usual price range for fake tan and are considered a luxury tan brand, but they have many amazing reasons why they're so well-loved, especially by me. The tan itself is a creamy consistency, softening the skin and feeling as though it is actually nourishing the skin while colouring it. The guide colour is very dark but sinks in enough so that when you wash it off, it still leaves a rich, golden colour, depending on how much you initially applied. Many fake tans I've tried before have an amazing guide colour but when washed off appear quite pale and barely noticeable. I tend to chop and change between this particular Xen-Tan product, and their slightly cheaper 'Moroccan Tan', which gives a slightly deeper, more olive glow. Both are equally as good as each other, but this one has an amazing almond scent, leaving me smelling like a bakewell tart after application. I know the smell isn't too important when it comes to fake tan but it definitely means a lot to me not to have that biscuity smell!

Sticking with the 'smell' theme, this is a very odd item to have in a current favourites post, and I'm sure not many people would think to review a hand sanitizer, but I am crazy about this little Body Shop number! I received it as a free gift with a recent purchase I made with The Body Shop (If you didn't know already, as a registered customer of The Body Shop, you will regularly receive emails letting you know that they're hosting 20%/25% or even sometimes 40% off all their range of products along with offers such as free shipping or even the odd free gift). I love to use hand sanitizers anyway as I am a hygiene freak, but this one really trumps every other one I've tried. With most run-of-the-mill sanitizers, they come with the usual cucumber or aloe vera scent (a scent I'm not a huge fan of), so when I saw that this one was coconut scented, I got a little excited. Since using it, not only does it leave my hands soft and smelling great, but I actually receive compliments on it all the time! I've had so many people saying "Ooh, you smell nice, are you wearing a coconut perfume?", I've even had mentions about it while being served in shops. It's a little odd to rave about a hand sanitizer, I know, but go out and grab a bottle if, like me, you love to have nice smelling hands! 

This is a product I have been using for quite a while, and one that never seems to run out. It's a Lee Stafford heat defence spray from his line of luxury hair products. I use it just after I've washed my hair, before I blow-dry it, and before I ever straighten or curl my hair. But as well as this, I also like to use it even when I'm not using any heat on my hair, when I'm having a no-hair-wash day and my hair looks, feels and smells a little lack-lustre. It has an amazing scent (again, following the smell theme), which will stay in your hair and on your clothes all day long *sprays on clothes while typing just to enjoy the smell*. Overall, it not only protects your hair, it nourishes and cares, and brings dull, frizzy hair back to life when you're not due for a wash. Definitely a must-have product!

This heart-stoppingly beautiful pink number from Sleek Cosmetics is an absolute must-have for every fan of the pinched pink cheek. It's a reasonable price, (currently retailing on their site for £4.49) and well worth every penny! The shade is 'Pixie Pink', and believe me, this picture does not do justice to just how bright and beautiful it is in real life. As it is so bright, it is also VERY pigmented, so a little goes a long way. It's perfect for summer and adds a lovely glow to any skin-tone/colour. I'm currently eyeing up a few more of their shades, and may have to make a cheeky purchase soon, because with 10 more shades on their website, I don't want to miss out. 

I definitely saved the best 'til last with this lipstick. If you've read any of my other posts, you'll know I recently became a big fan of Kiko Cosmetics following a visit to Cambridge not too long ago. I visited a friend just a few weeks ago and we went on a little shopping spree to Cambridge (I say little, I probably spent more than I even earn). We popped into Kiko with the intention to follow up with the Mac store as I was in the market for a bright orange/red Mac lipstick called 'Good to go' which is part of their 'Pro-longwear' range. My friend is a Mac virgin and was very excited to pop her Mac cherry. However, after visiting Kiko, there was no need to. They were holding a little sale on all their lipsticks, and she ended up buying three for the price of one Mac lipstick and was more than happy with her purchases. I found just what I was looking for with this one, labelled shade 604, it is an extremely bright orange/red and compliments my skin-tone and bright blue eyes perfectly. As I've said before, Kiko's products are extremely pigmented and build-able, which is especially great for this lipstick. It's creamy and nourishing and has everything I wanted when I bought it. Although I'm madly in love with it, that's not to say I won't purchase the Mac version....

So there you have it, all my current favourites. If you've read this far, well done, I'm quite a rambler! I hope I've encouraged some of you to give these fab products a try and I'll be back very soon with a brand new post, it might even be a fashion one this time! 

xoxo

Kiko Milano lip product review

So recently myself and my boyfriend took a trip to Cambridge on a spa break which I can definitely say was much needed. We stayed in a beautiful hotel in which we spent most of the three days chilling in the pool, relaxing in our room and being treated to the most amazing massages! If you don't know already, I happen to be a bit of a shopping addict and any opportunity to shop in another city other than the one I live in is so exciting for me! On our second day we took a trip to the city centre of Cambridge and browsed the shops in the Grand Arcade. We popped into shops such as Fossil and Ted Baker which was torture enough for me as I'm not supposed to be spending money! I hadn't spent any money on makeup products (a big thing for me!), and as we passed the Kiko Milano shop, Will encouraged me to pop in and have a look. I'm a Kiko virgin and I hadn't ever been terribly excited about their products as they don't have many shops in the UK and they're not heavily advertised. 

I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of products they had to offer, and not only that but their prices were incredible! There were rows upon rows of colourful single pallet eyeshadows and creamy lipsticks. I spent a good half an hour browsing and eventually settled on two lipsticks and a lip liner. (I could have bought so much more but with my boyfriend next to me, I had to restrain myself!). 

I chose a dark matte nude to start with - number 601, with high hopes it would provide the perfect Kylie Jenner lip (something I've been obsessed with recently). I then picked an orange-toned red which is number 605, both of which were from one of the collections, called 'Velvet Mat'. The different lipstick collections were varying prices and this particular one was £6.90 a lipstick. I believe the cheapest collection is the 'Smart Lipstick' which is £3.90. I picked up a dark red lip pencil too as I seem to have misplaced mine and it looked like a good shade to match my lipsticks. 

The lipsticks are incredibly pigmented (as you can see in the swatch picture), you barely need to apply any product to get a bright colour. They're also incredibly creamy and moisturising. The only thing I was slightly disappointed about was that they weren't particularly matte effect, especially if you're used to MAC's retro matte collection! The red lipstick is my favourite as it compliments my blue eyes (the last picture isn't the best quality but I like the way it makes my eyes pop!) and it tends to hold it's colour longer than the nude, but I would wear the nude more in the summer when I want a moisturising colour without wearing anything too striking. 

I definitely think they are worth the money and the cool packaging makes it so much better, they look so pretty on my dressing table! I would definitely pop back when I'm next near a store, and hope and pray they bring a store to Norwich some time soon. 

xoxo

The Consequences of a Lost Passport | London Trip

So just lately, my boyfriend and I have been excitedly planning a sun-soaked trip to sunny Tenerife for a week of pure relaxation, and after weeks, no MONTHS of planning, just a fortnight ago we finally booked the holiday. 

Unfortunately, though I love him to bits, my lovely boyfriend is a bit of a disaster and he hadn't realised whilst booking the holiday that he had absolutely no idea where his passport was. Scouring his bedroom, and in fact his entire house the week before our flights, we had no success in finding the passport and therefore had to devastatingly give up on the idea of a perfect summer holiday. 

We were both feeling pretty blue and in an attempt to pick up the pieces, I spontaneously booked 3 nights in a nice hotel in central London for the both of us, as a consolation prize. Of course, London is no Tenerife but we couldn't afford much more and he was already having to grieve over the loss of £1000! 

We actually ended up having the loveliest time in London, and although the atmosphere is a world away from a relaxing, warm holiday, it was still so nice to get away! 

On the first full day we headed straight to Oxford Street to do a bit of naughty shopping (spending money I actually didn't have, oops), and even took a stroll down Regent Street, on constant celeb watch. Obviously these streets to most people aren't anything exciting, but for a country girl who rarely goes to big, amazing cities, a gander in Selfridges or a peep in Harrods is eye-opening! 

I made a cheeky purchase in the hustle and bustle of busy Selfridges, (nothing terribly exciting, just another MAC lipstick, will post a review and swatch up on my blog soon!) and bored my boyfriend to death as we trawled the makeup aisles. 

I didn't take many pictures and annoyingly, forgot to take any during our little visit to Westminster on the second day, but I figured I'd surely be visiting again soon and there are only so many identical pictures of Westminster Abbey, the Eye or Big Ben you can enjoy! 

These are some of the things I did take pictures of, although not terribly exciting, they remind me that no matter where you are, or what you're doing, concentrated time with the person that means more than anything in the world to you is the best (soppy). 

New Obsession || 'Depop'

Nearly everybody can shamefully admit they're accustomed to a little bit of indulgent shopping, and I for one need to reign myself in when I see new stock on Topshop's website. My downfall has to be the revolution of internet shopping. Around six years ago, I would have thought it was only possible to buy the odd 'necessary' household item on websites like Amazon and Ebay and it didn't even cross my mind that you could buy all manner of fashion items on the interwebs. 

I even remember the first thing I ever bought online and I was so nervous about giving away my details and parting with my money with a virtual sales assistant that I enlisted the help of my mum! Needless to say, I was mostly worried because it was an £80 hoodie from the Abercrombie & Fitch website (a purchase I am astounded a 16 year old girl would even dream of making!). 

Nowadays, around 60% of my wardrobe (and beauty products) were the result of naughty online purchases, and while online shopping has it's benefits (being able to grab something you have failed to find in-store, the ability to improve your mood by around 99% once you've found something you'd always dreamed of, and the excitement of imagining you'd look just like the model in the new dress you're about to buy), it's also a pain in the butt when you are stuck with something that looks much more crap than it did on the website and you have to battle with the postage costs to send the item back. As a result of my terrible online shopping addiction over the past 3 years I've been working, I have built up quite an impressive amount of clothing (half of which I dislike or am not even aware I own), and it dawned on me recently as I struggled to find enough money three days before payday to pay for the bus, that I needed to do something about it.

I have been putting the odd item here and there onto Ebay and Asos Marketplace and have always been pleased with the service they offer, but just the other day I found a brilliant new app called 'Depop' which is basically a shop in your pocket! It's just like instagram (another one of my obsessions, just thankfully not an expensive one!), only you create your profile with pictures of items you wish to sell. People will like your pictures, comment asking about your items, make you offers and even offer to swap your item with something they're selling! It's just like having a little market in your pocket, which you can buy, sell or trade with, wherever you are! 

I've added several items today and tried to make the items look as lovely as possible so people feel they're getting the best idea of just how lovely they are. I'm aiming to build up a little holiday fund for myself so any money I earn from selling is such a bonus! I recommend this app to anybody who's interested in selling unwanted items as it's just so so easy! 

I also have to cheekily add that there's a search bar to see if anybody happens to be selling anything in particular you've been looking for. I am literally having to tear myself away from staring at the screen when I find something super super nice that somebody's selling! Ha ha.

xoxo

Mini Mani Monday

I'm well aware I have been away from the blogging scene for a little too long just lately, and am feeling deeply ashamed of myself! I adore blogging and feel sad that life can just get on top of someone so much that they neglect doing something they love. I've created myself a little plan of action, (or as I like to call it - a 'plaction') to get myself blogging regularly again. For every day of this week that I happen to have off work, I'm going to do a little blogpost! Whether it be a teeny paragraph reflecting on a piece of my day, or reams of waffling about something I'm really loving at the moment, I will post it for you to read :)

So to kickstart this very grim monday (It's been raining and thundering and even HAILING where I am today - boo!), and to cheer myself up from this blue mood, I decided to give myself a well overdue manicure. I'm no nail artist and I should definitely be ashamed to say I've actually never had my nails done by a professional before, but I thought I'd give it a go. My poor, unhealthy nails are unfortunately so used to having a fleeting lick of polish before I head to work or bed (exciting life I lead), as I simply don't have the time to sit down and give them a little pamper. So I grabbed my nail file, filled a bowl of hot, soapy water and doused my hands and nails in as many nourishing products as I could find. I really enjoyed the feeling and my nails looked and felt great afterwards.

I went for a simple lilac-toned nude from Loreal and gave my nails an intense buff with my four-sided nail file from The Body Shop. They were super shiny even before I put the polish on which creates the illusion of gel nails! 

I'm super proud of my efforts and am fiercely fighting the urge to pick them, (a terrible habit of mine) so I can have them last a whole week! 

It's only a little act of pampering but sometimes a little is all you need for a pick-me-up and I felt a little less blue afterwards. Of course, selfless acts of kindness are much better than selfish ones, but everybody is entitled to make themselves feel a bit better every now and again, and what's the shame in a little Monday mani? :)

xoxo

Review | Revlon Colorburst matte balm sticks

As it's been said before (many times), I'm a big fan of lip products and think they're my favourite make-up item to buy. However, I rarely stray out of my MAC comfort zone and have found just lately that I'm stuck in a bit of a rut! 

I am a big fan of matte lip products at the moment and am forever reaching for my MAC 'flat out fabulous' for the comfort of knowing it'll pretty much stay on my lips for my eight hour shift at work. I find it rare to find a matte effect high street lipstick and was quite surprised to stumble across these at the Revlon counter in Boots.

I'm a huge Revlon fan, and go to them for nearly everything from my nail polish to my foundation, but rarely buy their lip products. I have one or two of the Revlon Colorstay balm stains, which are the shiny version of these, and find they're very similar to the beautiful Clinique Chubby Sticks (however not so similar in price!)

Knowing how much I liked the balm stains, I had every faith in Revlon not to let me down with the matte balms, and alas, they did not!

I bought three different shades, for three separate occasions. The red balm is called ‘standout’ and is my favourite of the three. It's an incredibly vibrant red - perfect for a night out with a super winged eyeliner. The pink balm, called ‘elusive’ is a pretty pink, ideal for an everyday face, good to team with a delicate brown smokey eye, while the nude, ‘complex’ , the least pigmented of the three is a soft, natural and versatile colour to work with a dramatic smokey eye or a pretty natural eye for any occasion.

All three have great staying power and create a dramatic but classy look, even intensifying the size of your lips to make them look plump and voluptuous. 

One thing I was fairly surprised about was the cool minty flavour of the balms and the slight tingling sensation they left on the lips once applied. It felt, to me, as though I had just applied a lip-plumping gloss on my lips, although I didn't notice it'd had any 'plumping' effect! Overall, I would recommend these balms to anyone, with a fantastic colour range there's plenty of choice and without the glossy sheen they're a subtle but sultry way to add long-lasting colour to your lips!

xoxo

Goodbye dark brown, hello blonde (sort of)

bye bye dark brown locks!

Since the day I was born I have had thick dark brown hair, and despite a few dubious 'experiments' during my teens, it has pretty much remained the same colour throughout my life.

I adore my brunette hair, and after attempting all over bleach blonde when I was 17 (cringing at the thought of those blotchy yellow/bronze highlights), I was more than happy to go back to my comfort zone and my glossy chocolate brown locks.

However, over the past two years, I've been contemplating doing the hair fashion must-have and bleaching the ends of my hair to create the 'dip dye' or 'ombre' effect.

I adore this look and think it's incredibly classy and pretty (if done correctly, it is SO easy for it to go horribly wrong, I've seen a few prime examples), but feeling nervy about the dreaded bleach on my ends has left me saying no at the very last minute.

Speaking to a friend who is a hairdresser, she's given me many tips on where to get it done, how much to pay, what to ask for and what to expect and I'm feeling a little bit better about it. I've been doing my research and trying to find as many pictures as I can of girls with long dark hair like mine, with ombred ends. The pictures I saw the most, were lovely, long, dark brown hair with subtle golden highlights stretching from the mid-lengths of the hair and splashing out onto the ends. This gives a golden glow and blonde effect to the hair without the ends having to be totally doused in bleach and without the awful blonde to brown line that would stretch across the mid-length of my hair. I fear it'll be a tricky thing to ask for, but hopefully with the correct care and dedication from professional hairdressers, I'll come out with the barnet I've always dreamed of!

The gorgeous Camilla Alves with the look I want to ask for!

google images

Sometimes you need a little change to brighten things up!

xoxo