My 2014 wish list | Beauty

I thought for my first post of 2014 it would be suiting to do a post on the beauty products that I would like to buy and review during 2014. I like to read these posts, so thought I would give it a go myself.

First up is obviously a lipstick, as we all know how much I am addicted. This particular one is in the shade Pleasure Bomb, which is a lovely Matte Fuschia from Rihanna's collection RiRi hearts mac holiday, from mac. I adore mac lipsticks and have over the year 2013 built up a lovely collection of a variety of shades and finishes. However, during 2014 I am hoping to extend this collection starting with this lipstick. I have already tried to buy it, but due to its popularity it was already SOLD OUT. Not good. 

Next up are two Soap and Glory products that I have had my eyes on for a while, their Sugar Crush Body Scrub and  Brush with Greatness exfoliating brush. Both of these I have been wanting for a while due to seeing fantastic reviews written by many other beauty bloggers, and I thinks it's about time that I tried them. I admit that I do slack on the whole exfoliating side of things, so these really are something that I need to get my hands on.

I love the thought of mac eyeshadows but not for the price that they are sold at. I am dedicated to my Urban Decay Naked palettes. However, two shades which I have wanted for a very long time are Woodwinked and Cranberry, both beautiful and versatile shades which I would use all year. I would love to build up a mac eyeshadow palette, but I think I will start with tiny steps and try these two first.

Liz Earle's Hot Cloth Cleanse and Polish cleanser. I don't have much to say about this, besides the fact that I need a new cleanser in my life, and this is the one that I want to try due to its popularity amongst beauty bloggers. I will update you when I have bought it and tried it.

Maybelline the Falsies mascara! Had it, loved it, need it again! The best mascara! Just waiting for my current one to run out!

Benefits Sugarbomb blush! Apparently the UKs number one selling blush! That along with the four beautiful colours in this blush has me sold. Four colours in once blush! Amazing,! I also think Benefit blushes are the best.

Last but not least, Macs Kohl eye pencil in the colour Powersurge. Which is a bronze colour with golden shimmer. Beautiful. I am a naturals girl when it comes to eyeshadow so I think that this on my waterline, or underneath my bottom lashes would compliment my eyeshadow. I also love the fact that it has golden shimmer in it.

And that is that! Just a few of my beauty wishes for 2014! I hope you enjoyed reading this, and if you have any comments on any of these products, if you have tried them before, them let me know :)

Byeeee

Happy new year!

My AWOL!

Hi guys! Long time no see.

First of all I would like to apologise for my absence. Lately I have been very busy with university as it is my third year. However, from now on I am going to make an effort to post at least once a week onto my blog.

Secondly, I would like to say thank you to everyone who has read my blog and followed it in my absence. Hello new followers :)
I was amazed when I logged on to see that people have still been viewing my posts and commenting in the time that I have been gone. Thank you!

I am excited to get this blog up and running again :)

My Carmex nightmare.

When i was in school, i always used Carmex, ALWAYS! It was my go to lip balm.

However, since repurchasing it a few months back i have become extremely disappointed with it.

It dries my lips out so much! My lips were a little dry, but there was not any dry skin on my lips when i first applied it! A few days of applying it a few times a day and my lips were all sore and flaky!

I don't remember Carmex ever making my lips worse before, but this time it did! I don't know whether they have changed the formula, or whether i just got a bad batch, but i am thouroughly disappointed!

BAD,BAD, CARMEX!

I will never repurchase this again, and this one has gone straight into the bin! Not a good experience at all.

Has anyone else had a bad experience with Carmex lately?

How To Get Rid of Dark Knees/Elbows.

Since i can remember i have always had dark marks around my knees. If some of you have no idea what i am talking about then here is a picture that i have found on the Web :)

Mine were never this bad, but this is a good example.

I have always been really self-conscious due to the darker spots on my knees, and in the end decided that it was time to do something about it. I then did some research on line and found this natural process that helps to lighten the marks. I got some excellent results from doing this process and thought it would be good to share it with you all. After two weeks of doing this my marks had visibly become lighter.

Dark marks on your knees are a build up of dead skins cells, we therefore need to moisturise and exfoliate them.

What you will need:

Olive Oil

Sugar

Lemon/Lime Juice (Or a lemon/lime)

Cotton Pads/Balls

Moisturiser

A Bowl/Plate

Spoon

Towel

• If you already have an harsh exfoliator then you can skip this step. I used olive oil and sugar to make my own exfoliator. The sugar will get rid of any dead skin cells and the olive oil will moisturise the area. I used two teaspoons of sugar to one teaspoon of olive oil and mixed them together, on a plate. But you can also use a bowl.
• Exfoliate the whole of the knee area paying particular attention to the dark areas. This should get rid of dead skin cells around the knees.

• The next step is to apply some Lemon/Lime juice all over your knee area using a Cotton pad/ball. Obviously if you have fresh lemons/limes then you need to cut them and squeeze the juice out of them.

• Make sure you cover the whole area thoroughly and then leave the juice to sink into the skin. Lemon and Lime juice have natural antioxidants in them which will encourage the breakdown of dead skin cells.

• Once the juice has sank into the skin you need to apply a moisturiser onto the knee. I have been using Lush's Dream Cream, however, this month in my glossy box i received Nip and Fab's Coconut Latte which contains cocoa butter. I would recommend using something which contains cocoa butter as well as vitamin E to get even better results.
• I do this daily, just before i go to bed. However, you could do as often as you feel is necessary.

I hope i have helped at least one of you with this post :) i definitely recommend trying this. It really does get rid of them pesky marks.

My Everyday Make-Up.

Hey guys! 

I thought i would do something a little different and write a post about the products i use for my everyday make-up. This way you will all have an insight into what i use regularly, and therefore obviously like to use. For each item i will give a mini review, however, i will not be providing the prices simply because i cannot remember how much i paid for each item.

So here is a picture of my make-up a few days ago, and this is the look that i will be referring to.

So first things first. Before even applying any make-up i will cleanse and moisturise my face.

To do this i use:

• Ultrabland - from Lush, i have already posted a review on this here.
• Dream Cream - also from lush. This cream is amazing. Its purpose is to soothe irritated skin. Now i suffer from eczema so my skin is very sensitive and dry, so this cream is perfect for people with skin like me. Its not really meant to be a face moisturiser, however, i find that it really does the trick on my skin. It doesn't leave a greasy residue like many other intense moisturisers, and it also smells nice :)
• Oil Balancing wipes - Primark. These are my go-to cleansing wipes. I love them. As i have already mentioned i have sensitive skin, and these are the only cheaper cleansing wipes which don't leave my skin in a rash, and still do their job properly. They leave my skin feeling really clean and soft.

Before i move on to the make-up i thought i would quickly give these make-up brushes a mention. Since discovering these almost a year ago i have never used another make-up brush. These are so inexpensive and so sooo good. They are really soft and last such a long time. In the year that i have been using them, not one hair has come out of these brushes when i have been using them. Such good quality for money.

•  Real Techniques Core Collection - Boots £21.99. This set comes with a Buffing Brush, Blush Brush, Foundation Brush and Concealer Brush. It also comes with the little carry case that you can see in the picture, which i use to keep all of my brushes in.

• Real Techniques Starter Set - Boots £21.99. This set includes an Eyeshadow Brush, Blending/ Crease Brush, Eyeliner Brush, Eyebrow Brush (which i lost :( ) and an Accent Brush. This also comes with a carry case.

• Blush Brush - Boots £9.99
• Stippling Brush - Boots £11.99. These two came seperatly from the sets.

Face.

I don't normally wear foundation, and i am not in the photo, however i thought i would give these a quick mention.

• Mac Studio Sculpt Foundation - I only ever wear this if my skin is really blotchy and i have had an outbreak of spots. I think in the last few months i have used this twice, so for the money this does last me a long time. It gives a really nice matte finish, it makes my skin look flawless, i would say it gives a medium coverage but is build able. I do find that it feels really heavy on my skin, but i do feel like that no matter what foundation i wear, so i think that's just my hate for foundation.
• Bare Minerals Original foundation - I wear this when i feel that my skin is looking a bit dull and tired and whenever i have bad red patches on my skin. This gives a medium coverage but is build able. ( I use my Real Techniques Buffing Brush to buff this into the skin) This doesn't feel heavy on the skin, which i love. I love the finish that this gives, and the fact that it is a powder. I have had this since December and have nearly used the whole pot, so i definitely use this often.

Concealers

I use two concealers:

• Mac Select Moisture cover concealer - This gives a great coverage, so great that i tend to just wear this instead of wearing any foundation. As you can see on the picture i have nearly used it all, which makes me kind of sad. My favourite concealer. The only negative is that i cant use it under my eyes because it just sits in the creases.
• Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer - The best concealer for under your eyes that i have come across. I have just ran out of this, and will definitely be repurchasing.

who can spot me? haha

• Mac Mineralize Skinfinish - This looks amazing when put on top of the Mac Studio Sculpt foundation. I use this to contour my face, and because it is a little darker then my skin i sometimes use it as a bronzer, however, now it has gotten a bit sunnier i am going to start using a darker bronzer. This is great to dab onto the skin with a Stippling brush in places that the sun would naturally hit, to give your skin a lovely natural finish.
• Benefit Dandelion Brightening Face Powder - I use this mainly as a highlighter, however, it do sometimes use it as a blush because of its pinkie colour. I have used this everyday since September and it just doesn't seem to be going down, worth every penny. It gives my skin a natural glow.
• Sleek Blush in Life's a Peach - I pretty much use this everyday, and think i will probably use it throughout the summer too. Its just a really nice summery colour. Very pigmented and long lasting.

Eyes

• Maybelline Great Lash - I have always used Maybelline mascaras and at the moment it is not any different. I use this for my bottom lashes, it gives them lots of volume, and tends to never clump no matter how many layers i apply.
• Maybelline One by One Volume Express Mascara - I have already written a review here. I use this for my top lashes.

• Urban Decay Naked Palette - £36. I tend to use both of the naked palettes, however for this smokey eyed look i used the Naked palette. Shades, Toasted, Hustle, Darkhorse and Creep in particular. ( the dark brown across to the black) I tend to never use eyeliner because it makes my eyes look really small, so instead i use my Eyeliner Brush and the black Shadow Creep. I just sweep the shadow across my lash line, just like i would with an eyeliner. this does the same thing, but without making my eyes looking tiny. I would recommend the Naked Palettes to everyone! You can create so many looks with these shadows, and they last forever! They are also extremely pigmented!

Lips

• Mac Prep and Prime - This really moisturises your lips and makes your lipstick last longer. I tend to use this when i am not already wearing Mac lipstick, because they are already long lasting.
• Mac Cremesheen Speed Dial Lipstick - £14. A lovely bright pink. Very creamy, but long lasting. Cremesheen is my favourite finish from Mac.

And that is my everyday make-up finished!!

This post ended up being a lot longer than i planned. I hope you all enjoyed reading this. :)

Lipstick Dupe | Rimmel vs Mac

Kate Moss wearing Shade 20 from her collection.

As we all know I LOVE Kate Moss's lipsticks collection with Rimmel. If you would like to read my blogpost on them I will leave the link here. So when i came across Shade 20, which is a bright fuchsia pink, i had to buy it! The picture above doesn't really give it justice, it is BRIGHT! And i love it!

This is identical to Macs Show Orchid Lipstick, which is almost £10 more expensive! I have been wanting to get this lipstick from Mac for a while, but didn't want to pay the price for something which i would rarely wear. So i jumped at the chance to buy the Rimmel one which really is an excellent dupe.

The finishes are almost identical (the mac one being an Amplified finish)

So if anyone is thinking of buying the Mac one, i would totally recommend this cheaper alternative, which is also excellent quality.

Does anyone else have any good lipstick dupes?

St Ives Invigorating Scrub | Review

I absolutely love this!

I have insanely dry, but sensitive skin so any other exfoliators that i have tried on my face, have either been too harsh or not harsh enough.

This one is just perfect. It gets rid of my dry skin and also leaves my face looking really fresh, and feeling soft and smooth.
It also smells delicious, which is an added bonus to the whole thing
.

I normally use this twice a week, or whenever i feel that my skin needs a little pick me up, and the container doesn't seem to be getting any lighter. I have had this same one for a few months now, and it just seems to last forever. I am normally short for money so when i saw that this retails for £3.99 i was a bit sceptical, because i didn't want to waste more of my money on an exfoliator that wasn't suited for my skin. However, i would definitely say that it is worth every penny, and recommend it to everyone who hasn't already tried it.
(I know that it has been the must have product amongst beauty bloggers for a while now)

I have the Fresh Skin version of the exfoliator, however, there are numerous versions of it to choose from, so they really do aim to please everyone. :)

Has anyone else used this product? Has anyone had any bad experiences with it?


P.s I \am very sorry for my AWOL lately, i have been a very Busy bee. Wont happen again, i promise. <3

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