Monthly Favourites - January 2015

This month, I've had a lot of spare time on my hands, which is always bad for my purse! And has resulted in a lot of money being spent on what some may call 'unnecessary' items....pffft. All beauty products are necessary in my book! So in this weeks blog post I thought I'd share some of my favourites:

MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation: in the shade NW13. Of all the MAC foundations and concealers I've tried in the past, this is the first one that has been correctly colour matched, hooray! It's perfect for oily/combination skin, and provides the medium/full coverage that I look for in a foundation. After a month of heavy use, it's an inevitable repurchase for the future (I'm looking at you Duty Free) 

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream (Fragrance Free): A while pack I received a small sample of this multi-use product, it's a great winter skincare product essential as it does wonders for dry, flaky skin. Which at this time of year you can find right on the end of my nose, annoying as hell, but the eight hour cream sorts it right out, so I recently went all out and purchased the full size, a whopping 50ml, which will literally last forever. It also claims to have many other uses which I am yet to explore: shape brows, revitalize shine, soothe dry hands and smooth cuticles and nails, as well as treating burns, sunburn and cracked lips! A true all rounder. 

Rituals Miracle Hand Balm: My current go-to bedside table hand cream. I've always been funny about 'crinkly' hands after I've sat in the bath too long, so this super thick balm does just the trick by returning my hands to something more human like. However, do be warned, this hand balm is a definite no no for the daytime, way too sticky and greasy. I've made that mistake. 

Aveda Smooth Infusion Hair: I'M IN LOVE. Another savior product for my #hagridhair days. This glossing straightener should be applied to wet hair after washing, it's heat activated so only works when you blow dry your hair, but it promises to 'straighten out waves, curls and kinks for all day control and lustrous shine'. Perfect. And it actually works! Bonus. 

Magic Minerals by Jerome Alexander: New to UK, and available via High Street TV, this powder conceals and covers like a powder foundation, but with a twist. It features different coloured 'spots' within the powder, the pink, brightens pale complexions, the mint, reduces redness and conceals skin discolouration, the lavender, camouflages yellow and sallow complexions, and the yellow, conceals dark circles and uneven skin tone. It's also great for setting foundation, or as I like to use it, as a base on those 'no makeup, but I can't leave the house like this' days. The compact is super pretty too! 

Ole Henrikson Pure Truth Melting Cleanser 3 in 1 Cleansing gelee: first of all, 'gelee' yes please. If that one word alone hasn't sold you, read on... As i'm obsessed with cleansing balms and the like, I picked up a sample size (30ml) of this skincare product after reading Caroline Hiron's blogpost. It's honestly unlike anything I've used before in terms of texture, but I do love the smell, very citrus-y. for more information I can only do the honorable thing a lead you to Ms. Hirons herself. 

TV Show - The Fosters: My love for this programme grows stronger with every week. I've now watched the first series and a half twice over, and literally wait like an over excited puppy for the new episode to air... Sad I know. 

Film - The Theory of Everything. Eddie Redmayne fully deserves every award possible for his performance as Stephen Hawking in the film, he's just unbelievable!  

Album - Hozier by Hozier, after listening to his live lounge on radio 1 earlier this month, I just had to download the album, my favourite tracks are: Take Me To Church, From Eden, and Foreigner's God. 

Link me to your January favourites below!

xx

Links to where you can buy the items are hyper-linked in the product titles. 

Fill your Boots!

A few days ago I unintentionally... found myself in Boots, yet again. It's a problem. I picked up a few bits, some oldies and goodies and some newbies. 

The 'Why do I not own you?' foundation:
L'Oréal True Match Foundation in Ivory.
I have been pondering over this foundation for months and months, ever since I started watching Nicole Guerriero's videos on YouTube. But I always found it difficult to find my shade, and it be in stock. After swatching countless colours on the back of my hand, i finally settled on Ivory, one of the palest colours... I need to get some sun soon! And after trying it out on my combination skin these last couple of days, I love it! I'd say it's medium coverage but buildable, and it unexpectedly feels light on the skin, not to dissimilar to the YSL Fusion Ink foundation. It smooths out your skin tone, and works really well with the real techniques buffing brush for application. 

The 'finally someone invented you' bobbles (hair ties):
Scϋnci Thick Hair Elastics 
So for me tying my massive Hagrid hair up into a sleek ponytail has always been a problem. Not helped by bobbles snapping every time i tried - the amount of Primark bobbles I have gone through .... So when I saw these new XXL hair elastics in Boots, I had to give them a whirl. Specially made from for us ladies with thick hair, this pack of 10 bobbles are metal free, therefore causing no damage to the hair, and allow me to wrap the bobble round at least 3 times to make sure it's all secure, i'm so happy someone has finally produced these! Thanks Scϋnci! 

(Am I the only one that calls them bobbles? Unsure...)

The 'you have sparkly packaging' purchase:
No7 Midnight Lash Mascara 
Do I need another mascara? Nope. Why did you just buy one then? Duh, it has sparkly packaging! Now No7 isn't a brand I usually go for, but with a collection of £3 off makeup vouchers, I felt the need to explore. This mascara promises 'spectacular volume' hmmm not sure about that one, but it is a mascara that is great for those, low key, barely there makeup days, and I like it for that, but if you buy this and expect long, fluttering eyelashes, look somewhere else! 

The 'I love anything travel size' razor:

Gillette Venus snap with embrace razor

The Americans have had this for agesss, and it's only just found it's way to the UK. The mini 'snap' razor is just the cutest thing, i just couldn't resist. The razor itself comes in its own little carry case, with holes in the bottom to aid drying out, such a good idea! It features 5 blades, making shaving just as good as it would be when using a normal sized razor. I can't wait to take this away with me! 


xx

What's in my bag? 2015 Winter Edition

I thought it was about time I share with you the contents of my day to day handbag. I was bought my Mulberry Oversized Alexa (Black with Nickel detailing) for my birthday last year, as it was significantly reduced in the sale - praise the lord for sales! At first I did think it might be just too big, as it is on the rather large side, but after getting used to, and beginning to use it for uni, it's just big enough to fit all of my essentials in without the need of negotiating your 5 lip products down to 3 for the sake of 'handbag space'. 

The Essentials:

Iphone 6 White, Lauren Conrad Wallpaper, google it!
Car Keys - Cath Kidston key ring (in the sale right now! £3.50)
House Keys - Nothing to say here....
Umbrella - the one that outlived them all! Superdrug, super cheap and good quality.
Earphones - Apple, standard, only ones I like/fit in my stupidly small ears. 
Perfume - Barr & Co Eua De Parfum in Tobacco 1812 available from Nomad and the Bowerbird. 
Jack Wills Card Holder - Gym card and MCFC season ticket inside. 
Sparkly Silver Gel Pen - sums me up! 
Where things get interesting:

The Purse - Mulberry Bow Continental Wallet in Pink Glossy Goat(currently on sale! ) 

The Makeup Bag - Clearly I like to be prepared! This one's from primark.

Inside:
Laura Mercier Invisible Pressed Setting Powder
Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector  
Clarins Joli Rouge Brilliant-Perfect Shine Lipstick
Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick in Ole flamingo! 
Real Techniques Duo-Fiber Face brush 
Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer
Cath Kidston Mirror
The Body Shop Hand Sanitiser in Satsuma
Swiss Army Knife Handy Card thingy (incl pen, ruler, screwdriver, toothpick etc)
Invisibobble traceless hair ring in black - obsessed with these!



The Diary - New for  2015, recently purchased from Paperchase for £8.00. I think this may be favourite diary ever, purely because i'm a sucker for brown paper, it makes me feel creative and influences my choice of gel pen colour like no other paper will... metallic green anyone?

I love reading peoples What's in their bags (yes, ok, i'm just a generally nosey person!) so link yours below!

xx

Haulin' - Cult Beauty

This week my student finance loan came in, which means only one thing, shopping!

As the money dropped into my account, my fingertips were already hovering over the C, U, L, T. (beauty ... that bits kind of necessary!) 

For once I was actually sensible (shock horror) and only ordered 3 items, but they were 3 products which I had been lusting over for quite a while. 

Let me introduce, The Wet Brush (Silver), The Original Beauty Blender, and the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz (Soft Brown).

The Wet Brush: 
When I first saw other beauty bloggers review this product and label it 'the best hairbrush ever' I was initially skeptical, especially when tackling my mane of hair! (See previous post), however after trying it out for a week or so, I completely agree, it's much better than my tangle teaser, which just doesn't cope well with the thickness of my hair, the length of the bristles and the handle make hair brushing much easier with this. I also love this product because, as the name suggests, it's perfectly fine to use when your hair is wet, which is typically a no no with other brushes, but as I girl who pretty much only brushes her hair after washing it, this is the ideal brush for me! 

The Beauty Blender:
This is amazing. Go buy it. 
Need I say more!
Dampening this sponge makes it the most universal makeup tool. It allows you to apply foundation with a smooth, natural, even coverage (even with a full coverage foundation), and it's perfect for under the eye concealer  and spot concealing with it's tapered edge. Completely, utterly in love with this product.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz:
Having only recently become a 'brow girl' I thought it was time to try out this cult beauty product, see what I did there! It's teeny, tiny, nib makes penciling in your brows super easily, and full proof. When ordering online, I was worried about whether the colour would be right for me, but with the help of a detailed colour chart, soft brown was perfect for me! I'm now not sure if I'd use any other product. Although I am now tempted to try the DipBrow Pomade though!

See links below for prices etc. 

The Wet Brush 
The Beauty Blender
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz

My Hair Savior : Philip Kingsley's Elasticizer

Before I begin, let me tell you about the wild ways of my hair;

1. It's THICK, not like normal thick hair, like INSANELY thick...
2. This causes me countless problems with washing, styling etc...
3. I have considered shaving my head and wearing a wig many times. 


I recently received a 75ml tube of Philip Kingsley's Elasticizer in the You Beauty Advent Calendar over Christmas, and bearing in mind the 75ml version is £15 I was pretty chuffed!

The product is described as an intensive, super-conditioning pre-shampoo treatment for all hair types. It claims to add elasticity, manageability, bounce and shine (WOOP!). This product is a little different from your usual intensive conditioners, as it requires you to apply it previous to washing your hair, rather than afterwards. Just wet the hair thoroughly, squeeze out excess water and apply it in sections. I then wrap my hair up in a warm towel and leave it to do it's magic for 10-15 minutes, before washing my hair as normal,

The end results include, soft, smoother hair reducing frizz and adding shine, and for me, a definite improvement in manageability, I can now leave it to air dry without me looking like Hagrid from Harry Potter! I am seriously in love with this product and will definitely be purchasing the full size product in the near future. 

Do you have super thick hair like me? Does it drive you crazy? Let me know in the comments section below. 


xx

For product details and links see below. 

Available at Feel Unique and Marks & Spencers in several different sizes, 75ml (£15), 150ml (£27.50), and 500ml (£54.50). Prices vary. 

Style Inspo: Maia Mitchell (Callie Jacobs)

This week I'm obsessing over the star of ABC Family's The Fosters, Maia Mitchell, or as her character is known as 'Callie Jacobs'. She manages to effortlessly pull of casual cool, as well as glam it up, both on screen and even more so off it (check out her twitter @MaiaMitchell). In the programme her character wears a gorgeous necklace (see above) by Sophie and Chloe Jewelry Designs , in the USA, and I think I've fallen in love with it! Unfortunately though as i'm in the UK, it's a little bit more difficult for me to get hold of... 

If you haven't watched The Fosters, watch it! You'll end up watching 20 episodes a day like I did!

http://www.shopyourtv.com/tag/callie-jacobs/

https://www.sophiaandchloe.com/p-73-peace-love-happiness-charm-necklace.aspx

The Best Beauty Advent Calendars for 2014

It's coming up to that time of year again, but whilst you frantically search for that awkward present for the friend from work, who you know is getting you a present, but quite honestly you have no idea what to get them..... read next weeks post for a little help on that one! I've made it simple to buy your advent calendar! But the advent calendar's featured below aren't like your average Cadbury's advent calendar with a Santa and Rudolph stuck on the front, Oh no, this is another ball game. 

Let me introduce.... The Beauty Advent Calendar.

Many cosmetic companies are now joining the club and have cottoned on to the fact that, no, woman aged 18 and above do not want a chocolate advent calendar, we want a box with 24/25(if were lucky) box, housing all manner of beauty products, some to try out, and some of our firm favorites, although, actually i think i'll pop to ASDA and get a Cadbury's one too. It'd be rude not too!

Listed below are my top picks of the beauty advent calendars for this year, follow the links to buy the products, but I would do it pronto as these sell out very quickly!

1. The Selfridges Advent Calendar 2014 

24 beauty products, from brands such as Lancome, Kiehls, Yves Saint Laurent. 

Priced at £85.50 and sells out REALLY FAST!

Selfridges Advent Calendar 2014 - SOLD OUT

2. The Body Shop Beauty Advent Calendar 2014

'24 days of Joy' Any product with this motto on is definitely coming home with me! I have ordered one of these for myself, after seeing all of the products, and the price (£50) I was sold! The little minitures are great for weekends away and holidays, and allow you to test out lots of products, try it before you buy it as they say! 

Featuring Nail Colour, Body Butter, and Shower gels (see website for details)

The Body Shop Advent Calendar 2014- BUY ME

3. You Beauty Discovery Advent Calendar 

Key word - Discovery. I LOVE the look of this advent calendar, so many great brands (Caudalie, rituals, Laura Mercier), it's like Space NK in a box! According to the website its worth £240 in total and it retails at £49.95 (plus delivery) but I think it's one of the best! 

Discover Me - You Beauty Advent Calendar

4. Benefit Advent Calendar - Candy Coated Countdown (nice bit of alliteration there!)

 In at four, is Benefit's 2014 advent calendar, inside this lovely, candy themed packaging are 24 mini benefit beauty treasures, such as Benetint, Badgal lash, and they're real. I think this advent calendar would be a great gift for a younger girl, who's just discovering makeup, as it is ideal for trying and testing and the packaging is easy on the eye! RRP £60

Benefit Advent Calendar 2014 - See all product details here

5. THE ULTIMATE BEAUTY ADVENT CALENDAR! - wait for it - 

The Jo Malone Advent Calendar

(available instore only)

First of all, look at it! It's bloomin gorgeous! Although £250, who wouldn't pay that amount for such beauty, I can't seem to find any information online, and after asking in store, they confirmed it is instore only. A girl can dream.... 

Amy

xxx