NYX Cosmetics Soft Matte Lip Cream might just be my new favourite lipsticks, I am in love with the formula and they wont break the bank. The little tubes that look like a lip gloss actually contain a creamy lipstick that dries matte and locks on to your lips. The doe foot applicator makes it easy to apply to the shape of your lips and after the formula locks to your lips feeling light and creamy before drying completely matte. The staying power is good you get around 4 hours wear depending on how much you eat and drink, also the more pigmented the shade the longer it lasts. There is a great range of shades in the NYX Cosmetics Soft Matte Lip Creams lots of nudes, pinks and some darker vampy shades. The shades pictured above are: Stockholm, Morocco, Abu Dhabi and Transylvania.
Stockholm is a cool toned peachy nude.
Morocco is a gorgeous orangey red.
Abu Dhabi is a browny nude (I love to build this one up).
Transylvania is a vampy deep purple.
Stockholm and Abu Dhabi make for perfect everyday nudes or go perfectly with a smokey eye, Morocco and Transylvania are both stunning stand out shades. These lip creams are really affordable at £5.50 and for the price they are excellent, you can buy now NYX Cosmetics in the UK at Boots and ASOS.
I got it! After having my eye on the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit for what felt like the bulk of last year I finally got it for Christmas. I really got into contouring last year and have bought my fair share of contour kits and palettes while lusting after this one from ABH. Anastasia Beverly Hills offers two different contour kits a cream one and a powder one, when it comes to contouring I always stick to powder products as cream ones look much more difficult and scare me a little. I got the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Palette in the shade light to medium, the palette comes with 6 refillable shades to shape and sculpt your face, you get 3 highlight shades and 3 contour shades.
The highlight shades are;
Vanilla - a soft peachy nude in a matte finish.
Banana - a yellow toned matte shade perfect for under your eyes.
Sand - a soft beige shade with subtle shimmer perfect for cheekbones and your brow bone.
The contour shades are;
Java - a cool toned brown contour shade.
Fawn - the most subtle of the contour shades with a cool undertone.
Havana - a warm toned brown contour shade.
All of the powders are finely milled, blend well and are highly pigmented, you can build each shade up for your desired look. I personally love fawn for an everyday contour because it's a bit more subtle than the other two shades. Banana is also the perfect shade for setting concealer and brightening up under your eyes. The palette is very versatile as many of the shades can be used for more than just contouring you can use them for eye shadows and bronzer too. The palette is a little pricey but after getting and using the palette I can justify the price tag, if your into make up then this is worth the splurge.
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Every year for Christmas I get the big box from Soap & Glory filled with lots of goodies and this year we no different. This years big bundle is called The Whole She-Bang and it comes complete with nine Soap and Glory favourites as well as a cosmetics case, the set is currently on offer in Boots for £25 reduced from £60 so if your a Soap & Glory fan then stock up now.
The Whole She-Bang includes; Clean On Me Moisture Shower Gel, Sugar Crush The Scrub Of Your Life, The Righteous Butter, Hand Food Hand Cream, Heal Genius Foot Cream, The Righteous Butter Sun Kissed Tint Body Lotion, Peaches and Clean 4 in 1 Face Wash, Thick and Fast Mascara and a Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Gloss. I love Soap & Glory products especially the scrubs and body butters/lotions, the cosmetics case is great for storing all your favourite bath and body products in.
So many lovely things... must resist. With Christmas fast approaching it's time to start buying gifts -if you haven't already - so I thought I'd do a series of gift ideas to hopefully give you and I some inspiration to start buying (even if it's for ourselves). Christmas is a great time to get great gift sets like the Origins Superstar Mini Skincare Gift Set (1) in the set you get 7 miniatures of some of Origins best sellers. Another great gift set is the LUSH Best Wishes (4) it's filled with 3 Christmas bath bombs and a Christmas bubble bar. Jewellery makes a gorgeous gift and this watch from Olivia Burton (3) is beautiful the black leather strap and large gold dial is a classic combination that will always be in fashion. Marks and Spencer has some stunning lingerie sets including the Beau Silk Set (2) the set is available in 5 different colours with two styles available in the pants, the only down side to this set is that it only goes up to a DD.
Marks and Spencers also has some lovely dressing gowns in that would make a great gift, I love this one pictured above (5) because it's cosy but also glamorous looking. If you've got a beauty guru in your life the Zoeva Classic Brush Set (6) would be a brilliant gift, the set contains 8 make up brushes and a pouch to keep them in. The Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette (7) is packed with 12 stunning eye shadow shades perfect for creating many smoky eye looks, any beauty lover would appreciate this palette. Lastly Skinnydip London (8) do lots of amazing phone cases and who doesn't love a sassy phone case! From mermaids and unicorns to glitter and pizza Skinnydip has a case for any fun loving girl. I'd happily see any of these under my tree this year!
We are about to enter into the last month of the year, how time flies! And December looks set to be a great month, well obviously there's Christmas and that means Winter Wonderland in Edinburgh as well as that all round festive feeling but it's also my mums birthday plus going to see Stereophonics and Mumford and Sons. November has been a good month it was my sisters birthday and I actually started to get organised for Christmas this year for a change.
Let's start my favourites off with something that most people have been loving this month the John Lewis Advert - they always get their Christmas advert spot on and pull art your heart strings and this year is no different. The Man On The Moon is such a touching advert and it gave me so many feels, I love the Oasis cover by Aurora too it's beautiful. If you haven't seen it already I suggest you click the video above, make sure you've got tissues ready. I also love the Sainsbury advert with Mog the cat!
I picked this Primark Reed Diffuser £3 up on a whim by the till point and I've been blown away by how good it is, the smell is stronger than I expected from such a cheep diffuser and it has lasted really well. I picked up the Blackcurrant and Forest Plum one but they had a few different kinds, the box says it will last up to 3 weeks but I've been using mine for a month now and it's still going strong.
This month I've been using Batiste 'Floral' Dry Shampoo and I really like it, the smell is nice but not heavy and over powering like some others. I'm trying to wash my hair less I know that sounds horrible but let me assure you by less I mean every other day rather than daily, day old hair sits better for me as I have fine hair.
When November started I figured it was okay to get out the Christmas candles and fairy lights. Yankee Candles do the nicest Christmas ones and I've been starting with the smaller ones I have like Salted Caramel and keeping the larger ones for December. The candles fill the room with such a lovely scent, I can't wait to start using Candy Cane Land and Christmas Cookie again.
It's got so much colder lately which means it's time for cosy socks, Primark has some nice Disney ones in at the moment like my Bambi and Simba ones pictured above. These socks are so fluffy and cosy perfect for the colder days and nights!
I've been using a few Soap & Glory products this past month the Sugar Crush Body Scrub £8 and Sugar Crush Body Wash £6.50 have been a firm favourite on my bath room shelf. Both have a refreshing limey citrusy scent that lingers subtly on the skin, the body wash lathers up nicely and is creamy and moisturising. The Sugar Crush Body Scrub leaves my skin feeling soft and smooth, the scrub removes all dead skin without being rough.
I've been using Superdrug Vitamin E Body Lotion £2.99 a lot recently and I really like it plus it's so affordable it makes for the perfect daily body moisturiser. No greasy residue is left behind when you use it as it fully sinks into the skin, the smell is nice too and not overpowering. If your on a budget - and even if you aren't- I'd really recommend this, you get so much product for such a low price.
Lastly in my monthly favourites I wanted to mention the Collection Extreme 14 Hour Felt Tip Eyeliner Pen £2.99 which I have been loving, it's amazing! The pen has a felt tip nib that's not firm not flimsy, it's easy to create flicks or just line your eye. The pen is long lasting and a bargain at £2.99 I'm glad I picked it up on a whim, this eyeliner pen is the perfect dupe for the Soap & Glory Supercat Liner. What have you been loving this month?
Need help feeling festive? Then this post is for you. At this time of the year the shops are awash with festive things to bring you that Christmas spirit and if your not a fan of the Christmas jumper then there is other ways of bringing Christmas to your everyday.
I love these festive nails from House of Holland the little Santa jacket nails are the cutest also the Elegant Touch Christmas Jumper Nails are adorable, both of these are a great way to incorporate Christmas into your everyday look. If your not a fan of fake nails you can always paint your nails with glitter to add a bit of Christmas sparkle. If your not practical to a Christmas jumper then this t-shirt from ASOS is a great alternative with sequined sleeves and the sequined fa la la la la on the front, I'd wear it oversized with a red lip.
How cute are these Christmas socks from New Look? For £4.99 you get the set of four. I really like that they are black with a subtle nod to Christmas. Bringing Christmas to the home is super easy as there is a ton of Christmas decorations around but candles are a great way to help you feel festive, Yankee Candle does an amazing range candles and the Christmas ones are no exception. I love Candy Cane Lane it fills the room with a peppermint smell, Christmas Cookie is another of my favourite Christmas candles. If that doesn't have you feeling festive put on your favourite Christmas film I love Elf and The Santa Clause, they always makes me feel Christmassy.
Fake eyelash glue really isn't an interesting topic so I'll try to keep this shirt, I think I've found the best eyelash glue. Okay that's a bold claim since it's the only one I've tried apart from the ones you get with the false lashes but I'm seriously impressed with the DUO Striplash Adhesive. My false lashes of choice are usually from Eylure and while I love their lashes the glue isn't that great, it does the job but I find it takes a while for the lashes to stick and they never really feel that securely stuck on.
I'd noticed the Duo lash adhesive next to the false lashes in Boots and was intrigued so while buying a few pairs of lashes I picked one up. I'm really impressed with the glue my eyelashes go on much easier and faster and it really holds the lashes in place all day. The Duo Striplash Adhesive costs £4.99 and is available in two colours clear and brown, I bought the white adhesive as you can clearly see it when you apply it to the lashes and it dries completely clear. If you wear fake eyelashes a lot I'd recommend the Duo Striplash Adhesive, the tube is a decent size so should last you a while.
NYX is a brand I've heard lots about but only recently tried, the brand is loved by bloggers and has finally become readily available in the UK with Boots and Feel Unique stocking it. The NYX Wonder Stick is a double sided two in one highlight and contour stick available in four shades; light, medium, deep and universal. The wonder stick is easy to use and is very portable it will easily slot into your make up bag.
I really liked the contour side of the stick the shade really added definition to my face and although it looked a little scary before blended it really blended well and could be built up if for days when I wanted a stronger look. The stick is slim enough to slot into cheek bones and harder places to contour like your nose. I expected the stick to be really creamy but it wasn't, it applied nicely without dragging on the skin. I wasn't crazy about the highlight side it was okay but I didn't love it, I'll be honest I really didn't give it a fair shot as you can tell by the photos I've mostly used the contour stick. The NYX Wonder Stick is good for anyone looking for a fast easy way to contour.
Christmas gift sets are everywhere and I don't know about you but I get completely sucked into the deals, offers and sets around and end up buying them for myself. That's exactly what happened with this! The Real Techniques Bold Metal Essentials collection comes with 3 brushes and a clutch to keep them in all for the heavy price tag of £64 but I picked this up when it was on offer for £30. The offer is no longer available online but my local store still have lots of them on the offer so if you fancy this set or know a beauty lover who would love this as a gift it's worth checking your local store.
The three brushes that are in the set are the tapered brush, oval shadow brush and the angled powder brush with the angled powder brush is exclusive to the set. The tapered brush is great for highlight and sculpt, the oval shadow brush is perfect for blending and applying eye shadows and the angled powder brush is so big ad fluffy perfect for powdering your face and the angled cut is great for contouring the face. I don't care much for the clutch I bought the set for the brushes but the clutch will be nice for protecting brushes on the go however large brush is slightly too big for the clutch. The Real Techniques Bold Metals Essentials makes a perfect gift for the beauty obsessive in your life.
It's that old cliche again but hasn't time flown, it's the last day of October (happy Halloween) and I feel like the month only just started! October has been a busy, fun and stressful month for me, I turned a year older, I celebrated my nan turning 70 and I had change at work to adapt to - I'm not the best at dealing with change. Here are my favourites from the past month!
Everybody needs a Phil Dunphy in their life and I've been getting mine by watching a ton of Modern Family. My sister bought me seasons 1-6 for my birthday and I've not stopped watching it, I'd seen the first two seasons or so of it and loved it but then missed the rest. I'd recommend Modern Family to everyone it's really funny and often has touching moments, you can watch it time and time again.
I bought this bag in September from Accessorize for £25 to go with a pair of boots and it's fast become my daily handbag. I like that it's big enough to hold all my crap but it still has that slouchy look, I'm normally a black bag person but this goes with everything. I'm glad I stepped outside my comfort zone and bought it.
I blooming love these biscuits! I haven't had them in ages and then I saw them in ASDA and had to have them, I only ever buy the white chocolate ones as they are my favourite and I might be guilty of eating the whole packet in about a day but their just so good.
I'm nearly at the end of my Lush Roots Hair Treatment because I've been using it so much, I love using it to give my hair a bit more oomph! This 20 minuet hair treatment leaves my hair feeling healthy, nourished plus it fills the bathroom with a lovely fruity/minty smell.
This month I've been super stressed and it's played havoc with my skin so I've been mixing up my skincare in the hope of saving my skin. I've spoke about the Tea Tree Blemish Fade Night Lotion from The Body Shop before on my blog because I really like it, this helps reduce redness and fight blemishes. The lotion is light weight and dries matte so your skin doesn't feel covered in product, it tingles slightly when you apply it and feels cooling on your face. When ever I use this I see a difference in my skin with blemishes less red and starting to fade.
Those are my October favourites, I hope you've had a great month. What have you been loving?
