PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT - MILANI BAKED BLUSH IN 'BERRY AMORE'

Hey guys! Brands such as NYX and Milani are very hard to get hold of in the UK and if you are lucky enough to find them then they are about double the price. So, a while back decided to order a few bits from an American website called BeautyJoint and I highly recommend it! Postage was only around £10, prices were extremely reasonable and even better, my package arrived in just under a week.

As I may have mentioned in a recent post, I admit me and blusher have never been the best of friends. I have always loved how it looks on other people but haven't really got the hang of applying it myself without looking like I have had some sort of allergic reaction on my cheeks. That aside, I decided that it was finally time that I mastered it. I ordered 5 blushers from the website and my favourite out of them was definitely the Milani Baked Blush in the shade Berry Amore. I discovered this product whilst watching one of MissGlamorazzi's videos on YouTube over Christmas and when I spotted it online for just under £5, I thought, why not?

This shade is a funny one, as in the pan it looks like a mauve-y berry shade with flecks of gold and I feel like this is what it looks like on my skin as well when I just apply it lightly. However, when I applied it as a swatch on the back of my hand it was more of a light brick red; either way, it is a gorgeous colour! I must admit that it looks a little scary whilst in the pan, however is nowhere near as daunting when you put it on your skin... a little goes a long way! The hints of gold give your cheeks a lovely glow and I just think this blush is perfect for the current and upcoming Autumn and Winter months. Also, the formula is just perfect in my opinion. The Milani Baked Blush is very easy to apply and the colour is very pigmented. Since I have started wearing blusher on a more regular basis, this has been my go to product.

MY GO TO 3-STEP LIP COMBO

Hey guys! I wasn't sure what to write for today's post to be honest so I decided to show you my go to lip combo. This is a look that works rain or shine, day or night, shopping or partying- the opportunities are literally endless...

1) Firstly, I apply a clear lip balm to moisturise. I have horribly dry, chapped lips therefore this step is crucial for me. At the moment, my favourite is the Nuxe Reve De Miel Honey Lip Balm (which I have recently written a post on and am LOVING at the moment!)

2) The next step is to apply a nude lipstick. Personally, I like my nude lipsticks to be more on the pink side therefore my go to nude at the moment is the Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lipstick in the shade Let's Get Naked. I love these products- they are purse friendly, highly moisturising and stay on your lips basically all day!

3) To finish the look off I apply my favourite lipgloss of all time in the form of the NARS Larger Than Life Lip Gloss in the shade Pirée. I'm pretty sure that this was my first NARS purchase and I just know that the second I run out I'll be off buying a new one. At £19, they are a little on the pricey side however in my opinion they are so worth it! Both the colour and the finish of this gloss are beautiful.

Swatches of the products used and the finished result!

             

SUNDAY FUN-DAY!

Hey guys! Despite the fact that it is finally brightening up outside compared to the horrible, stormy weather that us people in the UK have had to deal with over the past few months, I love spending my Sundays pampering myself, blogging and catching up on work from the comfort of my own bed. Personally, I used to hate Sundays- the dreaded day of rushing to finish things that should have been done days ago and the day where all you can think about is returning back to school/work the next day. However, nowadays I like to spend my Sundays treating myself and relaxing. Here are my top 5 ideas for things you can do on a Sunday...

1. BAKE
One of my favourite things to do when I feel like I need to unwind a little is bake up some sweet treats for myself. My favourite recipe at the moment is this Cinnamon Rolls one that I discovered the other day whilst browsing through Cupcakes & Cashmere (which, by the way, is one of my new found favourite blogs)- I tried these out yesterday and they turned out absolutely beautifully. Another all time favourite of mine is Lorraine Pascale's Cookies and Cream Fudge Brownies - personally, instead of the 200g of dark chocolate I prefer to use 100g of dark and 100g of milk to create a less rich flavour. Super, super yummy, trust me!

2. RELAX
Pampering myself is not just something I do on a Sunday, however I feel like it is the perfect time to do so. I love to give myself a full manicure and then apply a face mask- my favourite at the moment is one that I know is also a favourite of other beauty bloggers, which is the Superfacialist by Una Brennan Tea Flower Pore Purifying Clay Mask. At just £8.99 it is a bargain and it leaves my skin feeling super soft. Then, I like to just sit back and read my book for about 15 minutes before washing it off with cold water.


3. SPEND TIME WITH FAMILY & FRIENDS
Of course, spending time with family is important any day of the week. I often meet up with members of my extended family on a Sunday, having a roast dinner or going out on a day trip. Even if it is simply going on a walk with my parents and siblings, having just a little time to relax with the people you love is an extremely important thing for me.

4. SHOP
I find that whenever I want to just a little bit of shopping, my favourite time to do it is on a Sunday. The town where I live is nowhere near as busy than it is on a Saturday, so whenever I need to pick up a few bits I like to do it then. I always find coming home with a bag of goodies (usually food and beauty related, sorry not sorry) so satisfying!

5. CATCH UP
Whilst the last idea is more suited to days when the weather is miserable and dull, Sundays are PERFECT for catching up on TV shows. My personal favourites at the moment are Orange Is The New Black and Greys Anatomy, but every once in a while I will snuggle up in bed and laugh for hours upon end over the good old F.R.I.E.N.D.S. (which, by the way, I would do ANYTHING to get a new series back on TV).


So, what are you going to spend your Sunday doing? It's Father's Day today in the UK so I'm going to be spending some time with my dad before going to meet up with some friends! Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend, leave a comment below about what you're doing today (I get so interested in what you guys get up to, in the most non-creepy way possible). 

MINI BEAUTY HAUL

Hey guys! I just thought I would do a quick post telling you about the beauty products I have picked up over the past few days

Naked 3 Palette: Yes, this happened and I do realise I'm a little late to jump on the bandwagon. I have wanted to buy the Naked 3 ever since I first saw the pre-release photographs and on multiple occasions have I wandered over to the Urban Decay counter in my local Debenhams and restrained myself, but yesterday I finally gave in. The rosy, pink toned shades in the palette are absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to try out some new looks that are different from my religiously used Foxy all over the lid, Bootycall in the inner corner to highlight and Busted in the crease look from my Naked 2.

Soap and Glory No Clogs Allowed Face Mask: I haven't tried this yet but have heard very good reviews about it. My skin hasn't been in the best state recently so I'm hoping this stuff will work its magic and give it a little TLC. I'll let you know my full opinion when I've used it a few times, however I did use it the other night; the sensation of the warming was REALLY weird but it didn't take very long and left my skin feeling as smooth as a baby's bum!

The Body Shop Passion Fruit Shower Gel: I actually only went into The Body Shop on this occasion to buy a present for someone but when I spotted this in the sale section at £3 I couldn't exactly resist. It smells absolutely divine and I love shower gels from The Body Shop. Also, I just want to add how good the customer service is and how nice all the staff are... the lady serving me today was kind enough to provide very generous samples of 5 different products, which I really appreciated!


Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water: When I heard people comparing this to Bioderma, a highly coveted product that is incredibly hard to get hold of in the UK hence why I haven't tried it, I knew I needed to get my mitts on it. So far, so good- it successfully removes my make up and leaves my skin feeling very clean. Obviously, I can't comment on how it compares to Bioderma though.

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush: Again, something I have been wanting to buy for a while but just haven't got round to for some reason. I really love Real Techniques brushes, for both their quality and their price. I've been desperately in need of a new brush like this for a while now so I'm hoping that this will work as well as my other brushes by Real Techniques do.

Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm in the shade 'Elusive': Oh. My. God. This stuff. Guys, if you haven't swatched these yet then I urge you to go do it right now. The shade range is amazing considering they have only just been released and the formula is just... ugh, oh so pigmented. I bought the shade Elusive in Superdrug for an introductory price of £5.99 (instead of £7.99), which is a beautiful pink colour and as you probably know, I am a real sucker for pink lip products.

I hope you liked seeing some of the products that I have bought recently! If you enjoyed this post, please comment and I'll do some more hauls in the future.

JANUARY FAVOURITES

Hey guys! I know, this is my second post of the day hahaha, but I'm currently stuck in bed with an absolutely horrendous cold (booooo, I hate you winter) and am a little bored, so I thought that I would write a quick blog post. For today's post, I'm going to do my January Favourites- I am SO excited for this, because favourites posts are always something I have loved reading on other peoples blogs! It will be a mixture of beauty and non-beauty related items, so I hope you enjoy! Ps. sorry for lack of photos, whilst there really isn't much that will stop me writing I don't really feel up to getting up and finding the things I need to photograph.

BEAUTY FAVOURITES

The first beauty item that I have been loving this month is my Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation, which has been raved about by I don't know how many people. I have the shade Light Vanilla, which is just perfect for my skin. It feels very lightweight however it is still easy to build up coverage. The formula is very gel like and blendable, which I love. It brings a lot of radiance to my usually tired looking, pale skin. One other thing, which is completely irrelevant to how I find the product works for me, is that I LOVE the smell of it.. I can't even describe it, it just smells soooo good (prize for best scent description goes to me of course).

I could not make this favourites post without mentioning my go to lipstick for the past few weeks (or maybe even few months), which has been MAC's 'Captive'. I wrote a little about this in my recent MAC Lipstick Collection post- it is moisturising, which is always handy when it's winter and you live in England, the colour is a gorgeous plummy shade that no picture could ever do justice and I as a huge fan of dark lipsticks, I just think that I may have found the one.

Despite the fact that the festivities of Christmas are now well and truly over, I am still burning my spiced candles, have yet to delete the festive songs off my phone and am still loving my The Body Shop Gingerbread Shower Gel. This stuff is freaking Christmas in a bottle! The smell lasts ages and is beautiful. However, I'm sad to say that I have just looked on the Body Shop website and they no longer sell it, so I'm presuming it's only available at Christmas (*cries*).

I feel as if I have never been one to bother with applying a load of sprays and serums and masks and what not to my hair, so the fact that my last two favourites (could've been a lot more) are hair related is a little odd. Firstly, I picked up the Macadamia Natural Oil Moisturising Rinse in TK Maxx earlier this month for a bargain price of £5! After seeing Ingrid (missglamorazzi on YouTube) talk about this brand all the time, I thought it was time to get my hands on some and try it out for myself. So far, I am incredibly impressed and can see why she loves it so much! My hair feels so smooth, soft and knot-free after I use it, as well as looking very glossy.

My second haircare product that I have found myself reaching for more often is the Organix Coconut Milk Serum. I feel like in the past my hair has always felt slightly dry and dehydrated, and after using this my hair definitely feels a lot healthier and stronger at the ends. Plus, it smells absolutely divine!




NON-BEAUTY FAVOURITES

TV SHOW: Two words for you. Greys Anatomy. Oh my god, that show! I started watching it in around November '13 as seasons 1-8 are on the Sky On Demand service. I am now on Season 8 (I live a very sad existence, I am aware) and I think this may be taking the top spot on my list of favourite TV shows. If you haven't seen it, I urge you to start now!

FILM: I recently watched Little Miss Sunshine and oh my goodness, what a lovely, heartwarming film. Abigail Breslin was just the cutest in it and I found myself crying with laughter/sadness AT LEAST once every few minutes.

CLOTHES: I have never really been much of a hat wearer, I must admit. But I seem to be wearing a light grey, thick knit bobble hat that I bought in Topshop last October none stop... It's so cosy and goes perfectly with so many outfits!

MUSIC: This month I have rediscovered The Fray's music and completely fallen in love. I used to listen to them all the time but I haven't in a while. My favourite songs are Over My Head (Cable Car), Ungodly Hour, Be Still and Never Say Never.

BOOK: I only managed to read 3 books in January due to being so busy all the time, which is really odd for me as I usually read alllll the time. For my favourite of the month, I am torn between Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, which was extremely gripping (yet twisted) and Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, a book that I've been meaning to read for a while and is on the complete other end of the spectrum to the Flynn novel- a fun, light YA novel that I thoroughly enjoyed!

TOP 5 TOPSHOP NAIL POLISHES

Hey guys! Recently, I was browsing on the Topshop website and fell in love with at least 10 of their nail polishes. As a self confessed nail polish addict, Topshop ones are definitely amongst my favourites- cheap, glossy and with a large range of shades, they are very hard to resist. Anyway, I thought for a quick post I thought that I would pick out my top 5 favourite Topshop nail polishes.

1) Adrenalin Nail Polish - £6

Adrenalin is definitely my all time favourite glitter polish- any photo cannot do it justice. Rather than being just a pink glitter as it looks on camera, some of the glitter in there is other colours which gives it a gorgeous effect. It is a thick consistency which means that it can be worn on its own or over the top of another polish. Just lovely!

2) AWOL Nail Polish - £5

I recently bought AWOL after seeing it on so many different beauty blogs and I have got to say that it is definitely worth the hype. It is very classy and looks absolutely wonderful with an LBD!

3) Gone Fishing - £5

A beautiful mint colour, 'Gone Fishing' is a beautiful colour that I wear very often during spring and summer. I must say that it takes quite a few coats to build the colour up, however the end result means that it's definitely worth it!

4) Parma Violet - £5

Again, I find that to get the most out of this nail polish I have to put on 2-3 coats, but it is worth it I promise. Another one of my favourite spring/summer polishes (pastels are my weakness, I know).

5) Jump - £5

Another good summer polish! I just find that Topshop have such an amazing range of bright, vibrant colours that it would be too hard to resist picking a few up every year. I'd describe this as a VERY bright coral and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is into bright colours.

On the same note, I just thought I'd let you know that on the website (I'm not sure whether it applies in store too or not) but they have an offer on the polishes that means you can get 2 for £9, which works out at £4.50 each.. Only knocking £1 off but I suppose they're good value anyway and every little helps!

My (small) MAC Lipstick Collection

Hey guys! I apologise for the long wait between posts however once again I have been extremely busy with school and it completely sucks. The second apology of this post will be for the dodgy photos- for the first time I have decided to include my own photos and swatches, which is slightly daunting; they have all been taken with an iPhone 4 (still not learnt how to use the Nikon 1 sitting downstairs yet, oops) hence the crappy quality. I thought for today's post I would do a MAC Lipstick Collection; even though, by almost every other beauty bloggers standards, I'm not sure I can even call it a collection. Despite the fact that I love the formula and the shade range and the packaging, I only own 6 MAC lipsticks due to the fact that I find paying £15 for them is ridiculous- the fact that 6 MAC lipsticks total to £90 makes me want to sit in a corner and cry, as I could've spent that money on other more important things. However, as a self confessed beauty addict, I can't help myself sometimes and I thought I would at least share with you the ones that I own. 

On the left I have the swatches of my lipsticks, which are Captive, Pink Nouveau, Lovelorn, Pink Plaid, Creme Cup and Imagine This. As you can probably see, I tend to lean towards the pinky colours when visiting the MAC counter.

There are many things I love about MAC lipsticks. The range of shades is jaw dropping, eye popping stuff when you walk into a beauty hall and see them all perfectly lined up. Personally, I struggle to contain my excitement whenever I get the opportunity to go and try out some new shades. Another factor that contributes to my love of MAC lipsticks is their formula- of the 6 I own, none of them are drying and I don't know whether this is just down to the type (I own Satin, Lustre, Matte, Cremesheen and Amplified) or whether their lipsticks in general are extremely creamy and moisturising. The staying power of them is just magic. The packaging is classic and none-garish as opposed to some of the alternatives available in the drugstore nowadays.

I've just realised that on the bottom right photo the right lipstick isn't labelled and I really can't be bothered editing it oooooops (lazy girl problems).

Creme Cup- A gorgeous nude pink colour with a little bit of shimmer. Very moisturising and one of my favourite lipsticks of all time!

Pink Nouveau- I love this pretty bright pink colour and the formulation is amazing, but I find because it is quite a bold pink (something that is out of my comfort zone), I don't really wear it as often as I should do.

Pink Plaid- Carrying on the pink theme, I love this muted pinky purple colour and the matte texture of it just makes it a beautiful lipstick to finish off any outfit.

Captive- My favourite lipstick of ALL TIME! The pictures included really don't do it any justice. I wear this purple-plum coloured beauty at least once a week.

Lovelorn- One of my favourites to wear in summer with a pretty sun dress and sandals. It is a lot more pink than Pink Plaid, however not quite as bright as Pink Nouveau- a perfect shade, in my opinion!

Imagine This- A limited edition brown nude colour that was released a couple of years ago as part of MAC's Christmas collection. I'm not so keen on it nowadays however at the time I absolutely loved it as it was one of the first MAC items I owned!

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation SPF 15 - REVIEW

Hello, hope you're all enjoying your weekend so far! I just wanted to do a quick review of my current (although, saying this, it has nearly run out) foundation, which is the Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation with SPF 15. I have really liked using this foundation and I think it is the best I have found for my skin so far. I have used a range of brands in the past, including Benefit, Bare Minerals, Revlon and Maybelline, however a lot of cheaper foundations tend to flake on my skin therefore whenever I can afford to I try and buy a higher end foundation. This was the first Bobbi Brown product that I have tried and I can definitely say that I will use products by the brand again. It gives a brilliant coverage and stays on my (oily) skin all day. I have the shade Sand and it matches my skin tone perfectly! I also just want to say how helpful the lady at the Bobbi Brown counter I visited was- she spent a good 15 minutes showing their range of skin care, applying the foundation and a little blusher, and wasn't pushy at all which I always appreciate! I'm not sure I'll be able to buy another bottle anytime soon because at £30 (a day's wages for me) it is a little pricey! But if you want to splurge a little, then it is definitely worth it.

SUMMER BEAUTY WISHLIST

   I have had several blogs/websites in my 15 years alive, ranging from highly embarrassing Piczo websites created when I was about 10 to only slightly less embarrassing Tumblrs and have even once or twice had a go at using Blogger 'for real' before. However, none of these have really got me anywhere, hence why I am writing this now. For a while I have been wanting to start a blog that I could actually take seriously and after only recently discovering blogs such as Lily Pebbles and Buy Now, Blog Later, I realised that it would be a very good idea to contribute the three main loves of mine- writing, clothes and beauty related products. I am yet to decide whether this is actually a very good idea or not, as I can see myself spending a lot of time on here. 
   
   For starters, I would like to give a short introduction about myself. My name is Rebecca and I am 15 as previously said, living in the North West of England. I am a big city girl at heart trapped in a small town and dream of getting out. I am generally a very friendly, approachable person (at least that's how I see myself, you'll have to ask others whether it's true or not ha ha) who doesn't enjoy arguments and confrontations in the slightest. I get anxious, scared and frustrated very easily- my tendency to worry about every single thing ahead of me has stopped my from doing things I have really wanted to do in the past but I'm now getting better at controlling it which is good. I'm also the type of person that has learnt not to get their hopes up that often to avoid unnecessary disappointment, however I dooooo enjoy life (most of the time) so don't get me wrong, I am not completely miserable even though it may seem that way. I like exercise but have next to no motivation (believe me, not a good combination). I love the sun and the outdoors and my best days always consist of a combination of the two. Other likes of mine incluuuuude candles, which I am completely obsessed with, travelling (my list isn't as extensive as I would like it to be at the moment- Spain, Greece, Portugal and Ireland) and reading; whenever I am not busy I am quite happy to bury my head in a good book for hours upon end. 

So now, I will get on to the actual interesting part.. at least I'm hoping that it will be interesting. For my first ever blog post, I thought that I would do something quite simple since I created this blog on a whim and therefore don't have anything prepared- a wishlist of my beauty must haves for this summer, both high end and drugstore.

1. Laura Mercier Free Spirit Baked Eye Palette- £30, available at Space NK. I have had my eye on this palette for quite a length of time and is still near the top of my wishlist. I love the fact that the shadows can be used dry for a more natural look or wet for a more intense look. The compact itself is classy and convenient, as it is easily portable. The palette is Limited Edition therefore I will be buying it very soon!
2. Rimmel Kate Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick- £5.49, available in Boots etc. As much as I adore MAC lipsticks and their formulation and the vast range of shades available and the fact I could spend all day at the counter in the Selfridges Beauty Hall swatching them on my hand, I am put off completely by their price (which has recently increased to £15). My favourite alternative is the Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick. The range of shades is very good, with a colour for everyone practically, and they do not dry your lips out like many drugstore lipsticks that I have tried. One of the ones I have my eye on at the moment is the 101 Shade (pictured), a perfect blush pink shade that I am very much looking forward to purchasing. Also, at £5.49, it would be hard not to!
3. Essie 'In the Cab-ana' Nail Polish- Price varies, available online. Part of the 2013 Essie Resort collection, I am completely and utterly in love with this colour, as it would be absolutely perfect for summer. However, a downside is that it is not actually in the diffusion line in stores such as Boots, therefore is very hard to find. Your best bet is to buy online- Selfridges are selling it for £10.95, which is a little pricey but I believe that Beauty Bay do have some money off it at the moment making it around the same price (if not less than) as the normal Essie polishes. I am a complete nail polish addict and Essie is my favourite brand, as I love the formulation and the range of colours.
4. Nars Tinted Moisturiser- £27, available from Space NK, Selfridges etc. Around a year ago I went for an appointment with Nars, one of my favourite brands quality wise however I do not own many products as I find it to be a teeny bit overpriced. They tried the Nars Tinted Moisturiser in the shade 'Finland' on my face and I instantly wanted to buy it. It feels as light as air but gives a very good coverage, therefore is great for someone who, like me, still wants to wear make up in the summer. As I said, the thing that lets it down is the rather hefty price tag that comes with it. However, if you do want to invest then I would definitely recommend this. If not, then my current foundation is the Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation in the shade 'Ivory', which is £9 available in Boots and Superdrug.
5. Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration Protective Sun Lotion SPF 50- £7.49, available in Boots. I have never actually tried this sun lotion however have heard so many good things about it. As I learnt on a recent holiday in Portugal, I am very prone to burning therefore am going to buy this as soon as possible!

So, there we have it, my first ever blog post. I'm not even sure anyone will ever read this blog, but if you do then thank you. It would definitely be an amazing feeling to know that my blog posts help and advise people in any way.

PS- Sorry about the dodgy formatting of the image ha ha, wrote this blog post in a short amount of time.