GRWM: New Years Eve

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great Christmas and are ready for a brilliant New Year. I'll unfortunately be working but I thought I would do a New Years Eve make up for you all to give you some inspiration if you're stuck for a make up look.

First off I'm going to start with my Revlon Colorstay Foundation. I'm in the shade Buff if you were wondering and once I've placed a few dots on my face, I take my Real Techniques Buffing Brush and blend it in. It's a medium to full coverage and gives a flawless base but if you're looking for a lighter base I'd recommend taking a stippling brush and thinning it out on the skin.

Once I've finished with my foundation I move onto my concealer and start off with my Maybelline The Eraser Eye. I love the sponge tipped applicator for applying this under my eyes. I take my beauty blender and bop that in making sure there isn't any I've missed. Then I go in with my Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer to highlight under my eyes and cover any excess redness on my cheeks. And again I bop that in with my Beauty Blender making sure everything is blended in.

Then it's on to powder and I go in with my MUA Hydro Powder to set under my eyes and down the centre of my face. I love this powder as it doesn't look cakey on the skin and helps keep my concealer in place all day long.

After that it's time to move onto my eyes. I normally don't do a lot with my eyes but as it's New Year's Eve I thought I would go the extra mile. It's simple but adds a little bit of glamour to the look. So I dip my finger into my Maxfactor Excess Shimmer Eyeshadow in and dab it all over my lid. I then take my little finger and make sure it's blended out and there is no harsh edges. Once that is done I take my Rimmel Waterproof Kajal in black and press it as close to my lashes as possible. With a angled liner brush I smudge it out a little so that the line isn't as harsh.

Then it's onto mascara. Once I've curled my lashes I go in with my Loreal Volume Million Lashes Feline mascara to give them that wow factor. I like the curved brush on this mascara as you can build the volume without it looking clumpy. And to finish my eyes off, I take my Rimmel Waterproof Kajal in Nude to line my waterline to make my eyes look more awake.

And all that's left now is my lips. I start off with my Body Shop Lip Scrub to make sure they're all smooth before I go in with my lipstick of choice. Today I'm using my Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in the shade Beso. I got this for Christmas from Jasmin and I'm in love with it all ready. It's so easy to use and dries so quickly on the lips. It's a matte formula that isn't drying on the lips and the shade of red is perfect for a multitude of skintones. Definitely one for those who don't want to worry about retouching their lipstick throughout the night.

After that it's a quick spritz of my MUA Fixing Mist and a spray of my Rosie For Autograph Nuit Fragrance and I'm all ready to go. I hope you all have a good New Year's and I'll see you all in 2016 with brand new posts every Monday and Thursday.

December Favourites

It's December Favourites Time! I can't believe it's already the end of the year. Where has the time gone? This month I've been loving quite a few new products and rediscovered my love for an old product as well.

Let's start with the rediscovery of the month. Every few months I find I have to change the foundation I'm using as it isn't giving me the same results as I'm used to. Until I picked this out of my collection. It's the Revlon Colorstay Foundation in the shade Buff. It's a medium to full coverage but doesn't look cakey when applied to the skin and leaves skin looking flawless. A bit of concealer will work well with this if you have excess redness or any other imperfections that the foundation hasn't covered but the foundation alone makes a brilliant base.

While I'm on make up, let's move on to my first new favourite of the month. This was actually a present I received for my birthday and I'm absolutely in love. It's the Urban Decay Matte Revolution Lipstick in the shade Bad Blood. And no I don't just love it because it's named after a Taylor Swift Song. It's a beautiful blue toned dark red that applies beautifully to the lips and wears just as well. It doesn't have a conventional shaped bullet but it is still easy to apply and last all day long. It can be slightly drying on the lips but only if they're not in good condition but otherwise it is ultra comfortable to wear for long periods of time. I'm definitely going to be picking up another shade or two at some point.

Another new make up product I've falling in love with is this Fixing Mist from MUA. A lot like the Make Up Setting Spray from Urban Decay, this one is a fraction of the price but still gives the same brilliant results. As it's been leading up to a very busy time at work for me I've wanted my make up to last longer and a primer just wasnt' working but this spray went above and beyond my expectations. A fine mist that doesn't leave skin feeling wet or even overly tacky it sets make up in place and leaves my skin feeling hydrated even when my make up's been on for a good six or seven hours. I've nearly finished this bottle already as I've been using this every day. Definitely one I'd recommend picking up if you're looking for an inexpensive fixing spray.

And now on to skincare. If you've been reading my blog for a while now you'll know that I love the Garnier Miracle Sleeping Cream. And recently Garnier have released a Miracle Wake Up Cream designed for use in the morning. It is absolutely heavenly on the skin. With Rice Peptides and Glycerin this helps revive tired looking skin whilst giving it a boost of Hydration. I love using this on days when I'm not wearing make up as it really gives my skin that pick me up it needs. Definitely one to try if you get the chance, a full review will be going up soon.

And finally for beauty products I've been loving these Nip and Fab Extreme Glycolic Fix Night Pads. A once a week treatment, these pre soaked pads are filled with Glycolic Acid, Lactic Acid and Salicyclic Acid. All three of these ingredients are aimed at exfoliating and decongesting skin that may not be at it's best. Once a week I use one of these pads after I've taken my make up off/cleansed my skin. The pad will leave a residue on the skin but as the residue sinks into skin you'll get a tingly feeling on your skin that means it is working. And then then the morning after my skin looks better and feels better, gone is any excess texture, any enlarged pores are gone and everything applies better to my skin. Not one for people with overly sensitive skin but brilliant for others whose skin is a little more hardy.

And of course it wouldn't be a December favourites if I didn't mention it's main event as my random favourite. Of course I'm talking about Christmas. It's one of the highlights of my year and I love being able to treat my family and friends to things they've been eyeing up all year. And then there's the spending the day together which this year meant more to me than anything. I spent the day at my nan's where she put on a brilliant buffet for tea and many laughs were had. And it was worthwhile to see the look on my mum's face when I gave her my yearly treat of designer fragrance and her sausage dog shaped slippers.

So that's it for my December Favourites. What were your favourites this month? Let me know in the comments.

Marks and Spencers Beauty Advent Calender Day Twenty-Four

Holidays Are Coming! Welcome back to The Final Day of my Marks and Spencers Advent Calender.

In today's box I recieved a Morgan Taylor Nail Varnish. It's in the shade Paris With Love, a beautiful deep wine shade. From the look of it, it has a very thick formula which will make application easy. It only has a thin brush but sometimes they can be easier to work with than the thicker brushes. Once I've removed all the glitter from my nails I'm definitely going to be giving this a go. If I like then I will do a full review of it in the New Year.

So that's it for this Advent Calender. I'm really impressed with this calender and think it's definitely worth the money. A full review will be going up in the New Year so keep your eyes peeled for that. But for now I'd like to say thank you to everyone who's read these posts this month. And a thank you to everyone who has read my posts this year. For now I'm going to enjoy my Christmas and time off work and I will be back next week with my last posts of 2015. So Merry Christmas to you all, I hope you have a fantastic time and I'll see you soon.

GRWM: Festive Christmas Look

Tis the season to be jolly! Welcome back to one of my last posts before Christmas. As it's that festive season now and a lot of you will be thinking about your Christmas Day Make Up Looks, I thought I'd do my own GRWM. I hope you all enjoy it and hopefully it will inpsire some of you as well.

First off I'm going to wash my face to make sure there is none of last nights make up left on my skin. For that I'm using my Olay Anti Wrinkle Face Wash. It contains exfoliating beads which not only helps remove any dead skin from your face but also gives you and instant wake me up as well. After that I'm going in with my Clearly Youthful Glycolic Peel Off Mask. This is a clear gel mask that dries quickly on the skin ready to be peeled off. This is another brilliant exfoliator for the skin and I love how soft my skin feels after every use. Once all of that is done I go in with my morning skincare and let that sink in whilst I brush my teeth and check my instagram and twitter.

Then it's on to make up. First of I go in with my Revlon Colorstay Foundation in Buff. This is quickly becoming my holy grail foundation. A medium to full coverage, this blends out beautifully on the skin and gives a flawless finish that lasts all day. I use my Real Techniques Buffing Brush to blend this in as it doesn't leave any brush strokes on the skin and leaves my skin looking like it's been airbrushed.

Next up I go in with my concealer. Yes I know three concealers is an excessive amount to use but this is a routine I know like the back of my hand now. I start off with my Maybelline Age Rewind Eraser Eye Concealer. I love the sponge applicator as it gives a smoother application and you're not left with excess amount of product under your eye. I blend all three in with my beauty blender and just use the tip to bop it into my skin. This covers my dark circles like a dream so I don't have to worry about those pesky purple bags making an appearence in any photos.

 After that I go in with my Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer, and yes I know it isn't the best for using under the eyes but instead of using it to cover, I use it to brighten. Yes, you heard me right, I use this to do my under eye highlight. I'm very yellow toned and the Collection Concealer is very pink toned which makes it a brilliant shade to highlight with as it doesn't just blend into my skin like others. I swipe this under my eye and down into a triangle on my cheek then take my beauty blender and bop it into the skin. I love how awake and alert this makes my eyes look and I can't go a day without it now. And finally I go in with my Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer. I put four dots of this on the outside of my under eye area and blend it in with my beauty blender. It gives a beautiful highlight effect to my eyes and the tops of my cheeks without being in your face. Definitely one to try if you aren't sure on actual highlighters.

Then comes the next important part of my look. Setting my make up. My go to powder at the moment is this the Hydro Powder from MUA. It contains Vitamin E and Jojoba to help keep skin feeling hydrated throughout the day. I love using my Contour Brush from Real Techniques to set under my eyes with this powder as it's just the right size. Once I've set under my eyes I use any remaining powder on the brush to brush down the center of my face so that any shiny patches are gone.

Then it's on to mascara. Firstly I take my eye lashes and curl my lashes before going in with a coat of my Maybelline Go Colossal Extreme Leather Black Mascara. This is my holy grail mascara as it gives a brilliant volumised effect whilst still looking natural. The tapered brush fits nicely to the contour of my eye and I find it can hold a curl better than any other mascara I've tried. And if my eyes are looking a little red, I go in with a bit of the Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kajal in Nude to give my eyes that little bit more of a wide awake look.

And this is where it gets to the fun part. You can go with any lip colour you want for this look but as it's Christmas I couldn't resist going with red. First off I go in with my Essence Lip Liner in Femme Fatale, it's a brilliant bright red shade that goes well under a ton of lipsticks. I did a full review of the range here. I use it to outline my lips and partly fill them instead of completely filling them in. I do this with certain lip liners if I know I'm going to be wearing a matte long wearing lipstick. And now for the main attraction in this look.. Out of my many red matte lipsticks I've chosen to go with my MAC Russian Red. Not only is it matte and long lasting but it's a classic red shade that suits not just this look but many. Once this is on I make sure to clean up any messy edges and blot any excess away on a tissue.

Finally for make up I spritz my face with the MUA Pro Fixing Mist. I absolutely love this mist. It sets my make up in place and makes it last longer than a primer would. A good shake and a few sprays and my make up is locked in place. It also leaves skin feeling ultra hydrated even when your make up has been on for a good four five hours.

Moving on to hair. I actually have two styles for this. One is more going out appropriate and the other is more for chilling at home with the family. The first is a plaited bun. It's actually quite simple, all you do is scoop your hair up into a ponytail and secure with a band. Then I seperate it into three parts and braid them like you do a normal plait. Once that's secured at the end I twist it around the band holding my ponytail in place and hold it in place with pins. A spritz of hairspray and you're all ready to go. And the more relaxed style is simply brush you hair, flip over your head and gather it up into a messy ponytail. Twist the tail around until you've made a messy topknot and secure in place with a festive scrunchy. I got mine from Primark and have been holding back on wearing until it was actually Christmas. And yes I will be going for the more messier bedhead chic look of the two as I'm doing nothing more than going to my nan's and feasting until my hearts content.

Hair and Make Up done, all that's left now is to change out of my Christmas Pjs and dress as Christmassy as possible. I didn't manage to find a Christmas Jumper this year but I did manage to get my hands on a Christmas t-shirt. This is from Primark and is covered in Gingerbread Men. Red isn't always the best colour on me but as it's Christmas I just don't give a damn, I'm going to rock this t-shirt and enjoy the day. It's a little on the large side for me but that's fine as you don't want anything too tight on at Christmas. A spritz of my Rosie For Autograph perfume and I'm all done.

So that's it for my Christmas GRWM. I hope you all enjoyed it and I hope you all have a brilliant Christmas. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, I'll see you soon.

Marks and Spencers Beauty Advent Calender Day Twenty-Three

Holidays are coming! Welcome back to the penulitmate day of my Marks and Spencer Beauty Advent Calender.

In today's box I recieved a Stila Lip Glaze in the shade Sugar Plum. It's a nice sized product but when you actually look at the amount of product you get in the tube compared to the size of the packaging it's not very good. It's a nice coloured gloss, more of a mauvey shade that overly pink and I'm sure it looks nice on the lips but I'm not a gloss kind of girl. Also I'm not keen on the brush like applicator as I find that they can malt and leave bits all over the lip. I'm not sure if I'm going to do a review of this but if I do then you can expect it to be up after the new year.

I'll see you all tomorrow for the final day of the calender.

Marks and Spencers Beauty Advent Calender Day Twenty-Two

Welcome back to Day Twenty-Two in my 24 Days of Beauty Series where I show you what I get in my Marks and Spencers Advent Calender. 

In today's box I recieved a REN Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial. It's another product I've been waiting to try from this calender as I've heard a lot of good things about REN as a brand. And this product is right up my street. A treatment that revitalizes and rejuvinates skin once activated with water. It contains Vitamin C, which helps with skins luminosity. I can't wait to give this a go and a full review of this will be on the blog at some point.  

I'll see you all tomorrow for the penulitmate box.

Marks and Spencers Beauty Calender Day Twenty-One

Welcome back to Day Twenty-One in my 24 Days of Beauty Series where I show you what I get in my Marks and Spencers Advent Calender. 

Today's box is the one box I've been looking forward to the most out of this whole calender. It has a very generous sized bottle of Pixi Glow Tonic. Now if you're a massive Caroline Hirons fan like me you will know how much she loves this product. And I've been dying to try this. 

If you don't know what the Glow Tonic is it's a exfoliating face tonic. It's designed to be used after you've cleansed and claims to help brighten whilst removing any dead skin cells. And if I wasn't already looking forward to using this when I looked up the ingredients it has glycolic acid in there which is an ingredient I absolutely love having in my skincare products. I can guarantee a full review will be up on the blog once I've given it a thorough try.

I'll see you all tomorrow for Day Twenty-Two.