My MAC Must Haves.............

My lovely Friend Rachel asked me if I could do a video with a selection of my must have MAC shades and products :)

I couldn't resist.....

What are your MAC must haves?

Mwah

OPI Mariah Carey Giveaway.........

I thought it would be fun to have a new years giveaway on my blog as I haven't done one for a while.

Its my way of saying Thank you for all the amazing comments and fab support that you all show me and my lil blog.

The prize up for grabs is a set of the Minis from the OPI Mariah Carey collection, with a full size bottle of Pink Yet Lavender, the beautiful glitter from the collection.

In addition to that I have popped in a bottle of the GOSH Holographic Polish.

The giveaway is open Internationally. 

It is open from today and closes on March 6th.

Good Luck!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Beneifit They're Real.......

Unless you have been living under a rock since its launch last year I am sure you will of heard of They're Real from Benefit.

It is the much hyped and coveted mascara that hit the market and caused many a beauty addict to run to their local Benefit counter!!

I was a little slow on the up take. 

I purchased this last year and popped it in my draw with the 4 or 5 other unopened mascaras that I had at the time. So I worked my way through the collection I had until it was time to break this baby open.

They're Real comes with a lot of promises, they are listed on the Benefit site as.....

What else you need to know:

94% saw dramatic length & volume*

90% saw base-to-tip curl*

94% saw visible lift*

100% saw long-wearing results*

*Results observed in a consumer panel survey

So to say that my expectations were high was a under statement!! 

The mascara has a rubber wand with a small ball like tip on the end. The bristles feel firm but not at all scratchy to apply. The formula its self is fairly wet and in my experience didn't dry out in the tube.

I found that I did get all day smudge proof results with this and in the warmer times in the salon it was a life saver. I personally found that I did get volume with it, however no visible length. As for the curl, my lashes are pretty curled anyway and I only tend to use lash curlers when wearing false lashes.

Now I did feature this mascara after I first opened it in my favourites, mostly for the long wear ability and smudge proof finish that it gives.

At the same time tho, that is also the reason that although I like this mascara, I don't love it.

I found that it made my lashes feel incredibly brittle when wearing it. Something I'm really not a fan off. I like my lashes to have volume and length but not feel almost hard as this left them feeling. I understand that this is most likely what makes it so long wearing, however for me its a bit of a deal breaker.

Now I know that it is incredibly controversial, but I really am on the fence with this mascara. I cant see me running out to buy it again in a hurry, that's not to say that I will never try it again.

What do you think of They're Real?

Are you a lover/hater/on the fence like me?

Let me know!!

Mwah

Botanics Rosewater Toning Spritz........

I have been seeing more and more reviews over about the last 6 months of facial spritzes.

There are several on the market from the much loved high end  Caudalie Beauty Elixir all the way to the more purse friendly Simple Moisture Boost.

They have a couple of uses, mainly as a toning spritz or as a refreshing facial mist.
They have interested me for a long while and have been on my shopping radar for a long while now.
So when I was in Boots shopping and I spotted the Botanics Rosewater Toning Spritz for £2.49 ( normally £4.99, it was on offer...) I had to give it a go.

This spritz is designed to be used as a toner, to remove the last of your makeup and tighten pores. 

It feels refreshing on the skin and the light Rosewater fragrance is very pleasant, its not to heavy or over powering. I can imagine that in the summer this would feel beautiful on the skin. 

It leaves my skin looking fresh with no shine yet not at all dry or tight. I have really enjoyed using this as part of my regular nighttime skin care routine as well as in the mornings to freshen up my skin before I apply my serum and moisturizer.

I must admit that I am a fan of the fact this product is in a spray, although it would work exactly the same if used on cotton wool and swept over your skin. The spray simply makes it quick, easy and I feel longer lasting as you don't waste a lot of product each time you use it.

As a girl who only uses toner from time to time, I am a total convert to facial toning sprays, and this for me will remain in my skin care routine for the foreseeable future, and remain a product that I will repurchase.

This is the first item I have bought from the Botanics range in Boots, am I missing an other hidden gems??

Let me know!!

Mwah

Week 2, FOTW and shopping my stash......

Hi everyone, hope you are all having a good start to the week and the snow isn't causing you too many problems!!

So today I have for you my second installment of Face of the week.

I had some real hits and a massive fail.

The products I mention are.....

MAC MSF Natural

B Glowing in Peachy

MAC Mineralise Blush in Gentle

Sleek Respect Palette

MUA Shadow Primer

Estee Lauder Double wear Gel Liner in black

Elf Cream Liner in Olive

NYX Gloss in Beige

Maybelline Instant age eraser

Loreal Lumi Magix 

Chanell Bronzer in Sierra

So what have you been loving this week???

Mwah

MUA Intense Kisses Lip Gloss................

As you will know I fell in love with lipstick in a big way back in 2011 and 2012 was no different.
This meant that glosses have been something I have put on the back burner and forgotten about for the most part with a few exceptions.

That was until MUA launched the Intense Kisses glosses last year.
They are super pigmented and very long lasting for a gloss. I love that they give opaque colour to the lips, almost like a liquid lipstick, on top of all that, they also smell delicious.

There are 7 shades to pick from in the range, I didn't take the plunge with the bright red shade, as I personally prefer matte reds.

I truly am blow away by this range, there is a great choice and really is something for everyone!

There is every shade from a orange, candy pink all the way to a deep vampy red.

L To R

Smooch, Stolen Kisses, Kiss and Tell, Sweet Nothing, Lips are Sealed and Sealed with a Kiss.

Of the above shades, Lips are Sealed is my favourite  its a great everyday pink that suits everyone, it goes with all looks from a natural eye all the way to a full on smokey. This has become a holy grail for me, I adore this shade, I actually have two of them, one lives permanently in my handbag as it is an ideal shade to grab on the go!!

My lease favourite of the collection is Smooth, and this surprises me as it is the only shade with a touch of sparkle. My reason is simply that it is a little too sheer for my preference, it gives a slight was of colour where as the rest of the range give more of a liquid lipstick look that I love.

I'm sure a lot of you out there will and do love this shade, its just not for me.

If I had to blind test these glosses, I would without a doubt say that they are far more expensive than there £2 price tag. They offer everything we expect from high end brands such as MAC, Dior and Lancome to name but a few. They really are fab!!!

You can get hold of MUA from selected branches of Superdrug or from MUA online.

So even if you like me are more of a lip stick girl, try these out, i'm sure that you wont regret it!!!

Mwah

Christmas gifts and December buys......

Happy Sunday everyone!! 

Hope you are all well and been safe in the snow!!

I wanted to share with you some of the amazing gifts I was lucky enough to receive for Christmas from the amazing friends I have made though the blogging community:)

I know its a little late, but as I explained normal service has been resumed lol.

Hope you all have a lovely eve, 

Mwah

Chanel Waterproof Liner..............

If you watched my face of the week video or read my post this week, you will know that I have been trying to use up a retractable black eyeliner from Buxom. 

You will of also heard my moaning and groaning about how it smudges and ends up everywhere, something I HATE!!

Well I finally used it up ( Yay, empties post coming this weekend!!) and replaced it in my makeup bag with this, the Chanel Waterproof Retractable liner in Ebony.

  

It is soooo lovely to be using this liner again. Gone are the smudges, my eyeliner has no longer vanished by 11am, I have a black water line and so much more.

This beautiful liner gives a smooth and long wearing finish. The liner is firm enough that it doesn't become messy to apply, yet at the same time it isn't to hard so that it drags the delicate eye area.

It works like a dream in the waterline, giving good colour that is smudge free. 

You can see from the swatch above the great pigment and colour pay off you get. 

Now at £19 I know that this isn't a cheap product, however I do feel that it is worth every single penny. 

Sometimes it simply is true that you get what you pay for and this is one of them.

The closest liner in comparison that I have used is the Technakohl liner from MAC. At £14 they are slightly more affordable, I still think the Chanel is better tho, and for £5 extra I would still go for it, its what a lot of people spend on a coffee and sandwich in Starbucks in a day. lol.

So what do you think? Have you tried any of the liners I've mentioned?

Do you think you get what you pay for sometimes?

Mwah

Lil spending ban slip.............

If you follow me on twitter you will know that I am taking part in the spending ban challenge. It is to help me rotate my collection and rediscover some old favourites.

I did mention in last weeks chat that I had however had a little slip ( after 20 days of not buying make up!! Faily good I think?) , it was down to the new range that I spotted in Superdrug whilst on my lunch break.

Any way slip aside, it picked up a few new bits that I wanted to share with you ( Full reviews and pics coming up later in the week!!).

So how are you all doing on the spending ban??

Don't forget the Twitter chat 8pm GMT :)) 

#Spendingban 

Will I see you there?

Mwah

NYC Smooth Skin Sunny Bronzer........

Happy Wednesday everyone!!

Today I have a cult favorite product to share with you. 

The NYC Smooth Skin Sunny Matte Bronzer. Now this is a product that unfortunately isn't available in this country, so like many others I turn to EBay. 

It is such a shame that this is on our NYC counters as it is AMAZING!!!

I for one never thought that I would be saying that about a matte bronzer, especially when it costs less than £3.00!!!

As you can see from my picture, I have hit pan on this bronzer, again, something that can be a rarity for me. I found tho that this became my go to bronzer ( Until December when I wanted something with a little shimmer).


It has fabulous colour pay off and is a great powder for both that all over glow as well as for contouring.
Its long lasting on the skin, isnt too orange and can be sheered out for those with a fairer skin tone.

I will without a doubt repurchase this bronzer when I use it up, and as soon as my skin has a little more colour, this will once again become my go to bronzer.


Have you tried this? What did you think?



Mwah

Something new, Face of the week and shopping my stash.....

Hi everyone, hope you all had a fab weekend!!! Do you have snow where you are? Thank fully it isn't settling here :)

I have decided thast I wanted to share a weekly post with you all. I got thinking and I have come up with a face of the week that is partly shopping my stash. 

Im planning on shopping my stash once a week to create a FOTW that I will share with you on a Sunday or Monday :))

I have 2 days off a week and these are the days that I get to wear what ever I please, the rest of the week, I will stick to my products that I have chosen for the week. 

I am hoping that it will help me rotate my collection, and rediscover some old favorites.

Here are this weeks products :))

And this is what happened....... lol

What do you think of this idea??

Let me know!!

Mwah

Topshop Highlighter in Cresent Moon.......

If you watch my videos on Youtube, you will of seen this product pop up in my favourites a few times. 

Crescent Moon from Topshop is a beautiful champagne toned highlighter that is super soft to touch and feels like silk.

Crescent Moon

I featured this in my top highlighter picks as it is super versatile and suits a wide range of skin tones. 

 I really love this shade when I am a lil bit tanned, it gives a beautiful glow to the skin with no ash tones.

Left swatch, Right blended out.

The tone of the powder reminds me of Soft and Gentle MSF from MAC with maybe just a tiny bit more of a pink hint.

It costs £10 from Topshop, a bargain for such a beautiful quality powder.

Have you tried this highlight? What other Topshop products do you love??

Mwah

Gosh Pink Pie Blusher........

Hi everyone!! Hope you are all having a good day!!
Today I have a beautiful rich pink plum blush to share with you that is ideal for the winter and lead up to spring.

Its a Gosh blush, a brand that I personally find quite hit and miss, so I am happy that I have found this little gem from them.

Pink Pie

Pink pie is a colour wheel blush with segments in different shades and and depths of pink, you have everything from a soft baby pink all the way to a deep plum shade.

Now you could with a steady hand use the shades individually or like me you can swirl them all together and get the prettiest plum shade.

The blusher has some light shimmer to it, but not to much. I would say that it falls somewhere in the satin category.   

I find that this blush gives me just the right amount of colour, its very pigmented and yet doesn't give me clown cheeks, always a bonus, lol.

Its lasts well on the skin and doesn't oxidise leaving me with a true colour throughout the day.

As I mentioned before, I am really pleasantly surprised with this little gem from Gosh.

Do you enjoy there products? What should I try next?

Mwah

Hydralouron, for me a Miracle!!!!!

Happy Wednesday everyone!!

Today I want to talk to you about one of my standout products of the year.
 If you watch me on YouTube you will of heard me talk about Hydralouron on more than one occasion. 

This light weight gel formula promises to boost moisture in the skin with the use of hyaluronic acid.

I can be very cynical when it comes to skin care and some of the promises that company's brandy about. So because of this I tried Hydraluron without too many expectations.

I was wrong!! This gel/serum has improved my skin beyond words. I was having trouble with some redness and breakouts on my cheeks, something that I hadn't had before. And after trying all my go to treatments and methods I decided to take the plunge and try Hydraluron. 

At £25 it wasn't a overly purse friendly choice, but one that I went ahead with.

You apply thin layer of the gel under your usual moisturiser am & pm. It doesn't feel at all sticky, if it does you have used too much! I use about a pea sized amount over my whole face. 

I can honestly say that I saw results within just a few days. And i am someone who doesnt usually buy into skincare hype. My skin was brighter, the breakouts on my cheeks started to fade and disappear, my skin was far less dehydrated and my make up was lasting longer.

Now, I'm no scientist and don't pretend to be, so the exact science of the hyalouronic acid is a little above me. Lol. My understanding of it is this....

The acid increases the ability of the skin to absorb hydration and use it more effectively, this in turn results in wrinkles and lines appearing fewer and less as well as improved skin elasticity. Other benefits include skin feeling smoother and being visibly more radiant. 

As I said the science is a bit above me, what I do know however is that it works and has made my skin look some of the best it has ever looked. It has become for me a holygrail part of my skin care routine. 

It is pricey at £25 however a small amount goes a long way! My first tube lasted me around 8-10 weeks, something that impressed me. 

Ifvyiu decide that you fancy giving this miracle serum a go, it is available from Boots, both instore and online.

What do you think? Have you tried Hydralouron? Dies it work for you? 

Mwah

Chanel Celestial Glossimer...............

For my first post of the new year I wanted to share with you something pink and sparkly, and what better way to do this that with a Chanel Glossimer?!

This pink and sparkly bit of Heaven is No 104, Celestial. Its a super pretty and feminine lip gloss that adds a hint of colour, a delicate sparkle that is more of a shimmer and a long lasting shine to the lips.

The doe foot applicator adds just the right amount of product in just a couple of swipes.

I really enjoy the Chanel Glossimers, they are on the pricey side, but they feel so special when you use them, its a little piece of luxury with out the millionaire bank balance needed.

What are your favourites ???

mwah

Happy New Year, Flu is gone!!!

Happy new year everyone!!! Hope you all had the best fun over the festive season and new year. Sorry I have been MIA over this time, I had flu and didn't leave my bed from Christmas Night until January 3rd!! Really not very nice.

Thank fully normal service is going to be resumed now that I am back in the world of  the living, so expect to see lots of me on twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Instagram and of course here. 

I have lots planned!! I was also a very lucky girl and got a new Canon 600D from Rich for my Christmas present to help improve my Youtube videos. 

So exciting!!!

What were your Christmases and new years like? Tell me everything!!!!

Mwah