September Favourites

WOAHHH, bit late on the old favourites aren't i?! 
Anyway, this month I've bought far more products than necessary, my bank account is not happy! However this does mean that I have had a lot of new things to play with, resulting in a monthly favourites post! Yay!

First up is Soap and Glory's 'Hand Food'. This has been a saviour towards the end of this month. I get really dry skin on my hands when the winter starts approaching, and this year has been no exception. I got this in a Soap and Glory bundle as a gift for my birthday this year, and its been so so handy! It lives in my handbag and is perfect for when my hands are in need of a good moisturising! 

Next is a little sample of Dr Lipp's Original Nipple Balm for Lips. Sounds a bit bizarre eh?! This came in the September Glossybox and I'm so glad it did! It's a really thick consistency, which does feel quite sticky but it works wonders on dry and chapped lips! Definitely buying a full size one asap!

Another lip product, this one is the long awaited Baby Lips by Maybelline. Having just launched here in the UK, these have been on every beauty blog this month, but they are fab! This one Peach Kiss, is definitely my favourite, really moisturising and I love the subtle shimmer it adds.

Next is another Soap and Glory product. 'You Won't Believe Your Eyes' is an eye cream that brightens a 'de-puffs'. Working 5-6 days a week means I'm always fairly tired, and this has really helped to make it less noticeable. Its feels lovely applying it due to the 3 metal roller balls, making it really cooling and perfect for first thing in the morning. 

Continuing along the lines of eye brightening, I've also been loving Benefit's Ooh La Lift eye brightener. This really makes such a difference and has been so handy this month with my crazy workload. I use it by applying 3 dots under my eyes using the doe-foot applicator and pat it in using my ring finger. 

Lastly for my September faves is this Rimmel Blusher. I've never tried Rimmel's blush's before but was pleasantly suprised by this one called Live Pink (No. 050). Is a really pretty pink rose gold shade, and has been really flattering with my sadly fading (very slight) tan. And its so budget friendly! Such a bonus!

Xx

Natural Collection Clear Mascara

£1.99 at Boots

If you've read my previous posts, you'll know that up until about 6 months ago I had never even been near my eyebrows with any sort of product other than tweezers. However these days I cant go a day without filling them in and adding some definition. I've tried and tested various products to fill them in with including the MUA brow kit and the Look Beauty brow kit. However I have now settled on a not so budget friendly combination of MAC's Espresso eyeshadow and MAC's 266 brsuh. I really do think that this brush makes a huge difference, as it allows a more precise application.

I've always wanted the shape of brow that has a point at the top, and it very angled. Unfortunately for me I was not blessed with 'angled' brows and seem to have drawn the short straw with thick, dark hairs that dont grow in a particulary 'groomed' fashion. For ages I used the brow gel that came with the Look Beauty brow kit to set my brows into my desired shape. However this didnt dry to a matte finish and so I was left with shiny, greasy looking eyebrows.

I have recently discovered 2 things though, 1, if plucked and shaped properly, my natural brow shape is quite nice, and 2 is Natural Collections Clear Mascara.

This product is so cheap and does such a good job as a brow gel (am yet to try it as a mascara). It dries to a matte finish, is very natural and doesnt even look like you have setting product in your brows. Its so affordable and keeps them pesky hairs in line all day long! Overall a massive thumbs up from me!

Recent Skincare Buys

Skincare, skincare, skincare. Good god where do I start?! Skincare is something that, despite know a fair bit about makeup, I know hardly anything about. There are so many different types of products, so many different type of skin, and so many different application methods.

For my whole teenage life I've suffered with spots and blemishes. I've tried alot of high street products, but up until now had never tried anything more pricey. The other day whilst out shopping, I took myself to the Origins counter in John Lewis. I spoke to the lady there for a bit and she recommended the Spot Remover Blemish Treatment Pads and the Clear Improvements Active Charcoal Mask. I have been using these for the last couple of weeks and despite speeding £40 on them, I'm yet to see a difference. Obviously I'm fairly dissapointed by that but I will persevere and keep using them. The pads are the things I was really excited by, as from the woman's description, I really thought they would work. The mask I can see working in the long run. and she did say it would take 3-4 weeks for a noticeable difference, so hence I shall carry on with this routine. If anyone has any recommendations of what I could use to sort my skin out, or if you've had similar experiences, I'd love to hear from you.
Xx

Revlon Lash Potion

£9.99 here

Recently I've become very attached to Benefit's They're Real. However at £19.50 a pop I'm keen to find a high street alternative that I love just as much.

I first saw this mascara in one of Fleur De Forces haul videos, and if I'm honest, it was the packaging that I noticed first. Its really pretty and girly and really caught my eye.

I sort of forgot about it until a few weeks ago when in Boots I saw it, as usual I was sucked in by the packaging and popped it in my basket.

Unlike most people I'm one of those who actually favours a plastic mascara wand over a brush, so I wasn'y sure how much I was going to love this. However I was plesantly suprised when I first used it at how long and thick it made my lashes look. Its got a triple groove wand which combs through the lashes leaving them clump free and long. Usually it takes a few goes for me to make my mind up about a mascara, but this one seemed lovely from the start. 

Unfortunately half way through the day I realised it had given me a baaaaad case of panda eyes. I've never really had an issue with mascara ending up under my eyes, and having loved this mascara so much when I applied it, I was very dissapointed.

I don't know if it would have made a difference had I not put it on my bottom lashes as well, but for me personally, I can't really be bothered to faff around with having to apply more that one mascara every morning.

Its such a shame because I really like this other than the panda eyes aspect, but for now I'm still on the hunt for a more budget friendly alternative to my holy grail, They're Real.

xx

This Summer I've Been Loving...

So it seems that summer is sadly nearly over. I think its been one of the best summers England's had in years due to the fact we've actually had sun! However unfortunately the days are now getting shorter and autumns definitely on its way, so I thought I would show you some things i've been loving this summer. The first being orange coral lips. I've always been a pink/reddy lip colour girl, but have been loving a more summery colour over the last few months. Here I have chosen my favourite 5 out of my collection to show you. 

Bourjois Colour Boost Lip Colour £7.99 here

The first one being Bourjois's Colour Boost Lip Crayon in Peach on the Beach. This particular colour has been raved about widely on many a blog since it was launched a few months back. The colour is so lovely. I find these are also pretty moisturising, and the colour lasts fairly well, I only find myself topping up a few times throughout the day. Their  pretty glossy but not sticky like some lip crayons i've tried. I think theres currently 4 colours in the range which are all pretty summery so hopefully we'll get some deeper shades for autumn.

MAC Sheen Supreme Lipstick £15.50 here 

This is definitely the most orange lipstick I own. Its by MAC and is a Sheen Supreme formula in the colour Fashion City. Its a really true orange which seemed pretty scary to me when I first tried it but I'm 100% a convert. I find it really flattering and feel it really complements a tan, however slight mine may be... This is the most expensive orange toned lippy I own but its such a lovely colour and formula I really think its worth the dosh.

 

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer £6.49 here

The next one i've found myself reaching for on many occasions is Rimmels Apocalips in Luna. I first saw this shade on Emily's blog here back in July and fell in love with it. I'm a massive fan of the Apocalips collection and have a fair few colours in my collection. Again this is a product that is famous in the blogger world, and rightly so if you ask me! They have a lovely range of colours, which last well, don't dry the lips out and are affordable!

Rimmel Kate Moss Lasting Finish £5.49 here

The next lippy is a much more pink toned coral than any of the others. Its from the Kate Moss collection for Rimmel and is in the colour 16 which is lovely and summery. The only issue I have with this one is if you have slightly dry lips then it does accentuate that unfortunately. However if your lips are lovely as smoooooooth, then this colour is gorgeous! 

Revlon Lip Butter £7.99 here

Finally, saving my favourite till last, it Revlon's Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya. I absolutely love this and it has become my go to orange/coral lip colour. The lip butters are fairly sheer which makes them alot less scary to wear than it they were an opaque colour. These are so moisturising as well making them perfect for people prone to dry lips like myself. 

Thanks for reading, what have you been loving this summer?

xx

Look Beauty Fat Lips

Ever since Clinque launched their famous Chubby Stick the beauty world is literally bursting with lip crayons! With most brands having their own take on them there are alot of colours, formulas and finishes to choose from. The other week whilst taking advantage of a half price sale on the Look Beauty website I snapped up these two babies. The colours I chose were Smooch and Smacker. Currently the lip crayons I own are fairly light colours so these two darker ones were a welcome addition to my collection. 

The first one (top swatch) is Smooch. This is a purple berry colour which reminds me of a much sheerer MAC Rebel. Due to its blue undertones it makes the teeth appear whiter and brighter and so is very flattering.

The bottom swatch is Smacker. This is quite a deep red colour but isn't too bold due to it being fairly sheer. This means that its much more wearable if you're not wanting to make too much of a statement. 

There's 5 colours in the Fat Lips range and they are a decent variety of shades. The formula of them is fairly moisturising but not particularly long lasting and I do find myself topping them up through out the day. The colour isn't very build-able but if your looking for a sheer sweep of colour then these will be perfect! The packaging is simple yet stylist and it has to be said that I do have my eye on another colour (or three) from the range. 

Have you tried these? What were you thoughts?

xx

Summer Highlights

A slightly different post for you today, but seeing as summer is nearly over I thought I would share some of my highlights from the last few months with you. Due to now having a full time job, summer wasn't quite the same as it used to be in school where I'd have literally nothing to do for 6 whole weeks. But nonetheless it was lovely to have my friends back from uni as well as my sister. So here are a few photos of what I've been up to recently... (Warning, very photo heavy post!)

Before our friends from uni came home us 'Home Gals' took a trip to Minehead in Somerset where my family owns a flat for the weekend. We spent the weekend chilling on the beach, took a walk up North Hill for a BBQ and went for a cream tea, all very english!

A couple of days later, after our uni friends had returned, I turned 19, so we had a night out in Grotty Watty to celebrate.

The first excursion my family made was to Dorset. We stayed in an absolutely beautiful house with an amazing garden and views! It was a lovely week and definitely the best weather we've ever had on an English holiday!

 Becca having a ball on Granpa's old person walker...

I then went away with my whole family for the weekend to stay in some 'yurts'. This weekend was lovely but completely mad and back to nature. Cooking on an open fire,  no showers and compost toilets... (#bbloggerhell) So I took the bare essentials with me, 2 liters vodka, some straws, and a cocktail shaker, and somehow made it through the weekend.

Next best thing to a flower crown...

I also went to Reading with my sis and some pals which was so so good! Im still suffering from Reading Flu now, but it was defo worth it! My favourite bands were Chase and Status, Kodaline and 

Spector. 

 Cheeky bit of advertising;)

So that was a preeeeeetty long post, well done for sticking with me if your still here and didn't get bored half way through! I hope you all had as good of a summer as I did. Thanks for reading!

xx

My Top 5 Real Techniques Brushes

Hello!

Today I thought I would share with you my collection of Real Techniques  brushes and what I use them for. Some would say I have an fairly extensive collection and believe they are genuinely the best brushes out there at the moment.

As I'm sure most of you know they were launched by Samantha Chapman, one of the Pixiwoo sisters and she did a bloody good job!

Their super good quality, wash well and don't shed, and they are also really reasonably priced!

I don't use them all on an everyday basis (I'd have to have about 5 faces to do so) and tend to get into a routine with a certain selection of them.

Instead of talking about all 15 of them, I thought I'd share my top 5 with you.

So the first one I'm loving at the moment is the Expert Face Brush. I use this to buff in my foundation, its similar to the Buffing Brush but more dense and smaller making it easier to work with.  It gives a really nice natural finish to the skin as well.

Sticking with face brushes, the next one I've been using a lot recently is the Buffing Brush. This comes in the core collection along with 3 other face brushes. I find this is so good for blending blushes. It works well with cream and powder and is really good for building up colour.

The third one in my top 5 is the Powder Brush. This is the best powder brush I think I've ever used. It's a fab size, really big which is definately my favourite thing about it. Also just like all of the Real Technique brushes its so so soft and not in the least bit scratchy.

Next is the Duo Fiber Contour Brush. I use this for contouring (suprise suprise). It fits perfectly in the hollows of my cheeks so is ideal for creating the illusion of cheekbones. I also love the look of this brush, with the white handles and pink writing on it. The duo fiber collection is limited edition but currently still avaliable.

Lastly in my top 5 is the Duluxe Crease Brush. This came in the eye brush set along with 4 others. This is my go to brush for blending eyeshadows. It's pretty dense and fits well in the crease making it the perfect size.

Have you tried any of the Real Techniques brushes? Which is your fave?

Xx