Korres lip butter in jasmine

The Korres jasmine lip butter is a buttery smooth lip balm with a light pink tint to it, it's very nude and sheer so it's perfect for days when you don't want to faff around with a lipstick. I really don't like the feel of lipgloss or anything sticky, heavy or too slippery on my lips, so when I felt the texture of the korres lip butters I was so pleased as I didn't know what to expect! they're not sticky in the slightest, they melt into your lips and feel as if they won't budge because they're not slippery. As much as I love my bright lipsticks, sometimes I just can't be bothered and a lip balm becomes my best friend, especially in the colder months as my lips are so dry and sore that any lipstick I wear just looks disgusting. Now I have to say, this lip butter doesn't smell like jasmine, to me it smells extremely lightly of cookies I don't know if that's a general thing for all of the lip butters, or if they're supposed to smell what they're named after? I'm not complaining because cookies smell damn good! because of their butter formula you wouldn't expect them to last all that long, which in this case is kind of true because on myself it lasts around two hours and no more, which I don't mind because I'm constantly applying lip balm anyway! I wouldn't particularly say that these heal my lips from being chapped in anyway, but it definitely protects them from the cold and hydrates them. one negative thing I will say is that because the colours light on myself it highlights any flakey patches I may have so I have to make sure I scrub my lips well before applying this. You can pick these little pots of beauty up for £8 from asos here and if you're not a fan of lip balms in pots they also sell them in stick form here

I'm currently looking at buying the shade 'quince' if you have any recommendations for what shade I should buy next or have a blog post on these little beauties then definitely let me know i'd love to read your thoughts on these once hyped up pots of joy.

How I fill in my eyebrows

 Eyebrows, oh they're a tricky pair aren't they? like many other girls around the world, I went through a phase of over plucking my eyebrows and therefore pretty much having none left, I'll have a post soon all about growing your eyebrows out but for now, I'd like to share how I fill in my sparse brows. As you can see, my natural eyebrows are very ashy and my hair is very warm so I like to use mac charcoal brown eyeshadow to fill them in as they're a good match for my eyebrows, but on the warmer side. I like my eyebrows to look as natural as possible and It's taken me such a long time to get my eyebrows to the thickness/shape I want them but they're still far from perfect, so the products I use to do my eyebrows are: Mac charcoal brown eyeshadow, a mac 208 angled brush, collection lasting perfection concealer and a spoolie (mine's from the Anastasia brow wiz)

Step 1: I comb through my eyebrows and then draw a line on the underside of my brows, this gives them a sharp arch and more shape, I always put more product on the bottom of my eyebrow as I feel it looks more natural and less harsh if you don't put so much product on the top of your arch. I start on the bottom of my arch and work my way to the tail of my brow and then bring whatever product is left on the brush to the inner corner of my eyebrow where I don't want my eyebrows to look quite so thick, doing this will give a slight gradient effect too, as you want your eyebrows to be thicker on the outer corner and not in the inner corner.
Inner corner - near your nose where the brow starts  / Outer corner - the tail of your brow 

Step 2: I add a little extra charcoal brown to my mac 208 brush and with light strokes I add product to the inner part of my eyebrow in upward flicks starting from the bottom where I drew the line in step 1, this will makes your eyebrows look more natural rather than drawing a line on the top and bottom of your brow and following the shape of your brows as it can look too 'drawn on'

Step 3: I then fill in the middle of my eyebrow so that there are no sparse areas and colour isn't too different, at this point I fill in the top of my arch.

Step 4: I add a few dots of concealer on the top of my eyebrow and work downwards and across, towards my brow with my finger, this will clean up any product that may have gone over the shape of your eyebrow, this makes them look a bit tidier, whatever product is left on my finger I take under my brow to clean up the bottom.

step 5: brush through your eyebrows and make sure all of the concealers blended in, and ta-dah! that's how I do my eyebrows.

If seeing how I grew my eyebrows out is something you'd like to see then definitely left me know, i'm not an expert on anything like this but I wouldn't mind sharing my experience!

What products do you use on your eyebrows? 

FOTD | A day of doing nothing

The bad blogger award goes to me, I completely forgot to add the maybelline lasting drama eyestudio gel eyeliner into the picture and it's pretty much one of the main parts of my makeup look?! sigh... nevermind! Today I used the maybelline babyskin instant pore eraser, now you see i'm a little bit torn as to if I actually like this or not, it does do a good job of concealing pores yet it's a bit, slippery? on my skin at least because it's silicone based. I then went for my everyday makeup base with is the Nars sheer glow foundation, with a bit of the bobbi brown corrector underneath my eyes to counteract against my dark circles and the collection lasting perfection concealer to help hide my nasty circles that little bit more. I have quite an oily t-zone so I powdered my face down slightly with the soap and glory one heck of a blot pressed powder which is absolutely beautiful, it's non cakey and doesn't feel heavy on my skin, and so that my face doesn't look so flat I contoured slightly heavier than I normally would with the sleek face form kit in 'light' and used the highlight shade too. I just filled in my eyebrows as I normally would using my mac charcoal brown eyeshadow, I'm posting an eyebrow tutorial tomorrow so if you'd like to know how I do them then be sure to check back again tomorrow. A swipe of mac charcoal brown all over the lid was plenty as it looks beautiful on it's own, my usual winged eyeliner and some of the l'oreal miss manga mascara which i'm not completely sold by, i've got my eye on the new maybelline falsies big eyes mascara so that'll be my next mascara purchase! Finally I put on some of my new favourite lip product which is the Korres lip butter in jasmine which is a lightly pink tinted lip balm... it looks amazing, smells amazing and I can't wait to buy more shades. So all I did today was sit at home, taking blog photos and writing up some posts... I read a bit of a book so today has been an all around success as i've got so many new posts lined up for you guys!

What's your staple everyday product? 

Current wish list

Vaseline spray and go moisturiser  / Hourglass arch brow sculpting pencil / Sugar flower Yankee candle  / Korres lip butter 'quince'  / Maybelline falsies big eyes mascara

As much as I do love my mac charcoal brown eyeshadow, i'm all for trying new eyebrow products and everyone in the blogging world has been raving about the hourglass brow sculpting powder and i'm trying not to give into temptation, I've found that my Anastasia brow wiz is a bit too dark for my eyebrows now that my hair is blonde so I can't use it anymore, boo. I used the vaseline spray and go moisturiser through the summer until it died and I absolutely loved it, I haven't repurchased it yet because I have so many other moisturisers to use (and I just brought more...) I kind of wanted to 'shop my stash' and use those up before I buy anymore! A new high street launch, the Maybelline falsies big eyes mascara, which is double ended so one side is for your top lashes and the other end has a smaller wand suitable for the bottom lashes, I'm in need of a new mascara because i'm not totally loving my L'oreal miss manga mascara. I already own the Korres lip butter in jasmine, it's a lovely nude colour but I want something a bit brighter to give my lips that pop of colour that I need some days, without wearing a bright lipstick that I need to faff around with. I've never looked at this range from yankee candle before, and i've never smelt this particular scent but the name and description makes it sound so appealing that i'm now lusting over something I don't know if I'll like, but powdered sugar, pink cream and vanilla sounds so yummy!

Nivea express hydration primer for normal/combination skin

I picked up the Nivea express hydration primer primer (£4.99) for normal/combination skin in boots a couple of months ago on a whim, they also have another version of this primer with a pink lid aimed towards dry and sensitive skin (they're both currently £3.99 in boots with £1 off). I wanted to try something cheaper than my benefit porefessional as i'm nearing the end of it, i'll say now that the Nivea primer doesn't help conceal my pores, it's a very light gel/ thin cream consistency that glides onto the skin and sinks in quickly. You get 50ml of product in a heavy glass jar, which looks and feels lovely but it's a pain in the backside for travelling or fitting into a makeup bag because it's so bulky.

This product is supposed to act as a moisturiser and a primer in one, I personally still use a light moisturiser before I apply this, but if I'm in a rush I will just use this on it's own... I do like to use a moisturiser first as I like my skin to feel extra soft and smooth. Moving away from the moisturising aspect, the primer side to it does make for a good base, my skin feels smoother and hydrated once i've used this which makes applying my foundation a dream. I sort of forget that this is more of a makeup product than skincare, as I always apply it after my moisturiser without even thinking, it's sort of become an essential part of my morning skincare routine. I do find that my foundation lasts slightly longer when I use this but nothing drastic, but for everyday use this is perfect because it's light and fuss free.

The blogger made me buy it tag

Who are your most influential bloggers? 

Who are the ones that you really rely on for reviews and swatches?

I'm an absolute sucker for anything that EssieButton raves out, if she went on about how amazing a brown paper bag was, i'd most likely go out and buy one. Lily from LLYMLRS is so gorgeous and makes everything look lovely, definitely influences me to buy stuff, no matter how much my bank balance complains.

Do you buy a product solely as a result from one review from your favourite bloggers, 

or do you look for more reviews from others?

Definitely not, especially if it's an expensive product I look at reviews and youtube videos for hours before I buy something, I'm not really the kind of person to just pick something up on a whim, I have to know if a lot of other people like it.

What is your most favourite item that you have ever bought

 as a consequence of blogs?

The Clarins pure melt cleansing gel (influenced by Lily) i've repurchased it three times and has claimed the title of 'all time favourite cleanser', it's a gorgeous gel cleanser which turns an oil when massaged into the skin, then to a milk when water's added to it. beaaaaautiful!

What is your least favourite item that you have ever 

bought as a consequence of blogs?

The revlon lip butters... I was so beyond excited when these were released, and now I have three and never wear them, I like more of a matte finish and they're just not for me I'm afraid!

Name 5 products you have bought recently as a result of blogs.

Korres lip butter in 'jasmine', Bioderma, Dr. Jart BB Cream, Origins clear improvements active charcoal mask, L'oreal ever riche shampoo & conditioner

Have you ever given into blogger hype? If so, which hype?

I give into more hypes than I should probably admit... the nars sheer glow foundation and it was the best thing I have ever done makeup wise, it's my all time favourite foundation!

Have you ever avoided blogger hype? If so, which hype?

I'm actually avoiding one now, everyones raving on about the Naked 3 palette and I just don't see why, to me it doesn't really look like anything special, It's actually pushing me more towards buying the naked 1 palette, the shades in there are way more up my street. Oh, and as much as I want to buy one of the hourglass ambient lighting powders i'm avoiding that too, they're waaaay too expensive!

Is everything you buy based on blogger reviews or are there some

 items you buy without checking out a review?

A fair few of the products I have to check out blogger reviews, I like to check out a tonne of reviews before I buy anything because I like to avoid disappointment and wasting money on a product I won't use, but I do sometimes buy products without looking at reviews (Una brennan tea flower clay mask, Nivea express hydration primer)

Lush Bombardino bath bomb

I know this is a christmas limited edition lush bath bomb, but I thought i'd give my thoughts on it anyway. first of all, in the packet this smells really strongly of cocoa butter and it kind of made me feel a bit ill, you know when a scent just goes straight to the back of your throat and makes you feel a bit queasy? yeah that's what this bath bomb did to me... the strange thing was that I actually liked the scent! It's very warm and slightly sweet, perfect for the winter time. Lush say "Sit back and relax in a bath of creamy Alpine indulgence. With skin-softening cocoa butter and uplifting Sicilian lemon oil." This bath bomb left the water a lovely shade of urine, it was actually quite a disgusting colour but what else did I expect from a yellow bath bomb, flowers and rainbows? moving aside from the rather gross colour, this bath bomb was actually really lovely, once it had dissolved into the water it didn't smell too strongly anymore and was nice and calming, floating around in the water were little bits of what i'm assuming are cocoa butter, like body butter? I rubbed them into my skin and it made me feel so beyond soft I couldn't believe it, i'm lazy when it comes to moisturising so I praised the lord when I got out and didn't need to apply body lotion, booyah! the water was very softening and the light smell lingered on my skin after I got out of the bath, I'm actually quite gutted that I didn't pick up a few of these, but I definitely will this year! I have a whole lot of bath bombs/melts and other goodies to get through, i'm well and truly stocked up from christmas!

FOTD | Writers block

 Today I just needed to take a break from essay writing, and just put some makeup on to make myself feel better and more 'done up'. you know when you hit a block and physically can't think of anything else to write? yep that's me at the moment!
I thought i'de step away from my sleek blush in flushed which I have worn all winter and pick out a coral blush, which is the bourjois cream blush in '02 healthy glow' it's just gives your skin that little fit of extra glow and makes you look more awake... and i'm not quite sure why I decided to put on red lipstick, I had a moment of feeling fabulous and thought i'd go all out. This is really just my everyday makeup with a few extra touches. I'm going to be so happy when the next couple of weeks are over with and all of my deadlines are out the window!

Products used
Nivea express hydration primer, Nars sheer glow foundation, Bobbi brown corrector, Collection lasting perfection concealer, Soap and glory one heck of a blot, Sleek face form kit in light, Bourjois cream blush 02 healthy glow, Mac charcoal brown eyeshadow, TheBalm Nude'tude palette, Maybelline eyestudio gel eyeliner, L'oreal miss manga mascara, Bourjois colourboost lipstick in red sunrise.

The Balm Nude'tude palette

The balm nude'tude palette has been on my wishlist for the longest time, and Aaron decided to pick it up for me at christmas, the palette contains 12 eyeshadows which are mostly neutral shades apart from the shade sexy which is a dark maroon. the eyeshadows come in a sleek, hard palette with a big mirror. there are 9 glitter shades and 3 matte shades in the palette. I think that the top row of colour are more cool toned, and the bottom row is full of warm toned eyeshadows. This did come with a dual ended brush which I lost the first day I actually got it... oops! This palette is available here from Feel Unique for £26 and this product was the first time i've dipped my toes into the brand that is TheBalm, I want to try a few other products from this brand but that'll have to wait!

Sassy is a white shade containing silver glitter, it's perfect for brightening up the inner corner or adding a bit of light or glitter to a darker eyeshadow. 

Stubborn is a peachy pink shade, this reminds me of all that glitters but more on the pink side and it's great for an all over wash of colour on the eyelids. this shade also has silver glitter running through it.

Selfish Is a pretty cool toned taupe with glitter, this is also a really nice all over the lid colour or the perfect base for a smokey eye. 

Sophisticated is a rich chocolate brown with gold glitter, this is one of my favourite shades from the palette, I personally love a good brown smokey eye and this is the perfect shade for deepening up an eye look.

Sexy is a matte deep maroon, in the palette there's a few flecks of glitter on the pan but that's just where glitter has fallen from another shade onto it, I've always been a bit scared to add colour to my eye makeup and this is a nice subtle colour which I love putting in the outter corner to add that little something extra to my makeup.

Serious Is a matte black shade, I love it when neutral palettes add a black shade into them, I feel that's when a palettes complete, because you can use this shade to turn your eye makeup from day to night, or use it on the lash line as eyeliner, or to give the illusion of thicker, darker lashes. 

Snobby is a very yellow toned gold, even though it's very yellow I think it's an exremely wearable shade and looks really pretty on. 

Stand-offish Looks a lot like the shade 'kitten' by Stila and this is my favourite colour from the palette, it's a more warm toned alternative to stubborn, 

Sultry is a medium matte brown which is perfect for the crease, this isn't a very unique colour as it's seen in a lot of other palettes from other brands, but none the less it's the perfect colour to have in a palette because it will always be a colour that's handy or needed. 

Seductive is a shade I can't get enough of, and it reminds me of one of my all time favourite eyeshadows 'woodwinked' by mac so if that's a shade that you want to try but can't justify the £10ish for 1 eyeshadow then I highly suggest getting this palette, because you get 12 beautiful eyeshadows for the price of just nearly 3 mac eyeshadows... say what? 

Silly doesn't have the best colour pay off in comparison to the other shades, and it's got a lot of chunky glitter running through it, it's a gorgeous colour in the pan but it doesn't transfer like that onto the eyelids. 

Sleek is a very dark verging on black, rich brown with slight glitter running through it, it's an almost matte finish as it has very slight glitter running through it, I think this is a good alternative if you don't want to deepen up your makeup look with a black, but have something slightly softer instead. 

Only when I was writing the names down in this blog post did I actually notice that all of the eyeshadow names begin with S... I've been too distracted by the beautiful colours to even notice the names. All of the shades have brilliant pigmentation and are buttery smooth to apply, apart from Silly which lacks colour pay off slightly, the glitter doesn't transfer onto the eyes which is slightly disappointing when it's cram packed with glitter in the pan. The thing I love the most about this palette is how versatile the colours are, you can create so many different looks from the eyeshadows whether it's a simple day time look or a feisty smokey eye.

I have used this Everyday since christmas and I'm in la-la-love with it, it was well worth the year wait to get it and I will probably be taking this palette when I go to Canada in August... planning my makeup bag already, that's not weird is it? probably...

What's your favourite eyeshadow palette?

L'oreal Miss manga mascara

One coat of L'oreal miss manga mascara

First of all, I'm finding it quite hard to believe that these photos were taken in my bathroom, in natural light on my plastic window ledge?! Looks like I have found a new place to photography products! ...and lets just excuse the dirty finger marks all over the product, shall we?
I usually like plastic bristled mascara wands and I find they grip my lashes better and give them some length that they need, although with this mascara I have found that even though the brush is made of that soft fibre material it's still capable of lengthening my lashes which I was pleasantly surprised by. On the second image, nearly half way down the wand you can see that the material is a little different, that's because that part of the wand is actually flexible and moves, so it's not solid... something which I wasn't too sure if I would like but when I'm actually applying the product I haven't really noticed it, I think it's just a gimmick the whole "flexible wand will make your lashes look better". one thing I do like about this mascara wand is that it's tapered, meaning that it starts off thick and thins out nearer the end of the wand, which is do find helps coat all of my lashes evenly and stops me from getting product on my eyelids when i'm applying it.

The formula is black and very long lasting, I haven't had any flakey bits fall down onto my cheeks and I haven't had any experiences with smudging around the eyes, because the whole panda look isn't a good one, yet I do find that if I'm not careful this mascara can my lashes can look clumpy. Overall, I do think this is a good mascara but not the best on the market and I will probably won't repurchase it in the future, I've never really stayed faithful to a mascara before as i'm always up for trying out new products.

13 Favourite products of 2013

So 2014 you've come upon us at lightning speed, seriously though how fast did 2013 fly by? whilst most people spent new years out drinking I was tucked up in bed with Aaron waiting to go to work the next day... who cares though, the double pay was worth not having a hangover!

Nars sheer glow foundation 
I've banged on about this foundation since the day I first used it, once again I got this in may and I use it everyday and I'm still on my first bottle with a second bottle ready to be used, I think it's such great value for money considering how long it has lasted, and not to mention the fact it looks gorgeous on with it's medium buildable coverage.

Bobbi Brown corrector
I've JUST finished my first pot and it lasted around 7 months, which I think it's amazing and I already have another one on the go, this helps me conceal my horrendous dark circles because it's salmon toned which helps cancel out the purples tones, I couldn't be without this product now.

Rimmel Salon pro nail polish in 'soul session' 

Since I started my job just over a year ago, I've had to ditch my colourful nail polishes and opt for the more nude options which I actually love, my favourite of the year has been the shade soul session because it's the perfect nude for me, and I love wearing glitter over the top of it it looks gorgeous and I always pick this colour over any of my other polishes.

Nyx soft matte lip cream in San Paulo
When i'm stuck for a lipstick to wear, i'll always pick this one because I know it will look good and because it's matte it's extremely long lasting, and fuss free, the do foot applicator makes it really easy to apply and i've got my eye on a couple of more shades that I want.

Maybelline lasting drama gel eyeliner 
If you know me then you'll know that I wear winged eyeliner everyday, I don't feel like myself if I don't wear it and i've been using this product near enough everyday for 2 years, it is the best eyeliner I have ever tried and find it easy to apply with an angled brush.

Real techniques brushes 
I thought I would include the brand as a whole, I own nearly all of the brushes and the makeup sponge and they're all amazing quality and wash really well, I don't feel the need to go out and buy any other make of brushes because i'm more than happy with the ones I have and i've been using real techniques for over a year now!

My MAC eyeshadow quad
Why wouldn't it be the perfect palette, when i've picked out the colours that go in it? Shroom, all that glitters, charcoal brown and woodwinked have all been a favourite of mine this year in my nifty little palette, it's very multi purpose and I do have another blog post all about this palette here although I did have the shade 'satin taupe' in my palette back then.

Sleek face form kit in 'light'
This little compact contains a contour shade, highlight and a blush all of which I love and use nearly everyday, this has been really handy when i've stayed away from home because it means there's less to pack and very handy, i've recently hit pan on the contour shade so if that's not an indication of how much I love it then I don't know what is!

Clarins pure melt cleansing gel
I couldn't do a yearly favourites and not include this little gem, I first got this around may and i'm just about to finish my second tube, and i've been using it everyday since I bought it and haven't looked back. With this cleanser I apply it to dry skin and massage it in, add a little bit of water and it turns milky, massage it in for a couple of more seconds and wash off with water or a cloth and it leaves my skin squeaky clean without feeling tight. I will definitely be using this cleanser through out 2014 as I had hardly any breakouts since may and I put it down to this product.

Trilogy certified organic rosehip oil
I had blemish scars on my cheeks and a generally really uneven complexion and one day I thought I would do something about it so I could feel more confident in my skin and I can happily say my blemish scars are completely gone, big statement right there but I put it down to this product, rosehip oil is supposed to be good for scarring which is the reason why I bought it in the first place, but it's true that it has worked for me this is hands down one of my best beauty finds of 2013

L'oreal skin perfection 15 second miracle cleansing oil
This is the product I've used since it was released to take all my makeup off and i've gone through countless bottles of the stuff, I massage it in for a minute or so and wash it off with a hot flannel and it takes off every scrap of makeup I had on, I always go back in with my clarins pure melt cleansing gel just to make sure there's no makeup left but it does the most amazing job of taking off even the heaviest makeup.

Mitchum advanced control deodorant
Is it weird to include a deodorant? probably... anyway I used to find that nothing really worked for me, especially spray cans so I turned to this and it's the best thing i've ever done for my underarms, it's kept me dry and odour free (gross, but true) through all the seasons and I will continue to use this in 2014!

Estée lauder bronze goddess perfume 
Although it may not be a winter perfume, I still wear this all year around because it just smells so gorgeous! it's very much a summer perfume because it smells highly of coconut, and just like a yummy summer cocktail. This perfume only comes out for one month of the year (may-june?) I'll definitely be buying another one or asking for another for my birthday because I can't be without it anymore.

So those are my top 13 picks of 2013, it was quite hard narrowing down my all favourite products of the year but these are what come out on top, and I have no doubt in my mind that I will be loving them all throughout 2014 as well.

Sally Hansen hard as nails

My nails are really flakey and break extremely easily, I've always had problems with my nails and I did have acrylics back in april last year (it's really weird saying that now that we've just hit 2014...) and since then I feel as if my nails still haven't fully recovered and I don't understand why, In an attempt to bring my nails back to life and without paying £19 on the OPI nail envy which apparently works wonders for you nails, I picked up the sally hansen hard as nails to make my nails stronger.
First of all, this really does stop my nails from flaking so much and smoothes out all the ridges, and my nails do feel stronger, I realised as first I was only using one coat and then leaving it a few days and applying another coat but apparently you're supposed to apply 3 coats when you do your nails, since doing that i've noticed that my nails are a lot stronger,  but once I stop using it my nails go back to being very breakable, so really to me this product is just a quick fix. This is also a really nice base for nail polishes, I haven't had any problems with the colours staining my nails and generally my nail polish lasts a little bit longer than it would If i didn't apply this product first. I am going to carry on using this product in the hope that time will make them better, but when I finish this bottle and if there are no good results, I will be turning to the Opi nail envy to see what all of the fuss is about.

What's your favourite nail strengthener?