August Wishlist

Here is my August wishlist for you! I just want to apologise for my lack of interaction on social media this month, I have a very busy month with two holidays, a trip to Newcastle and a wedding to attend!

I am really intrigued by The Library of Fragrance, I love the idea of the different, unusual scents they do and I would love to try a few out but the only thing I'm wary about is that they don't sell them anywhere that I know of so I can go test them out and see which ones I like but I definitely want to try this brand out.

I have been lusting over the Charlotte Tilbury Lipstick in Bitch Perfect, I think Sammi from BeautyCrush mentioned this when she was doing Vlune and ever since then I have wanted this lipstick, it's looks the perfect everyday shade and I love it. Also I haven't got anything from Charlotte Tilbury so I would love to try them out and the packaging for everything is so beautiful I can't cope.

Next thing I am lusting over is the Oliver Bonas Alphabet 'H', I just think this is a beautiful decoration that would be perfect sitting there on a shelf or on your desk or something, I love it and the fact it is rose gold makes me want it even more!

The last thing on my wishlist is from another brand that I have never tried anything from is the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water, I have heard lots about this and I think this would be so much easier than typical primers you apply on your face. A spritz of this would be so quick and easy.

July Favourites

It's coming to the end of July now which means it's time to round up my favourites of this month and tell you what they are:

The first thing I have been loving this month is the Soap and Glory The Breakfast Scrub, this scrub smells delicious, it smells of a mixture of banana, almond and honey which let me tell you is one of the best combination of smells ever, I love it. It's made with oats, shea butter and sugar which makes your body feel so smooth after you've used it. It's a sugar scrub which I much prefer to salt scrubs as it's a lot more gentle on the skin. I also find a little goes a long way with this product and honestly you need a lot less than you first think you do when you use this product for the first time.

The next thing I have been loving is the Topshop Glow Highlighter, I wanted to get this in the rose gold limited edition packaging but they were all sold out in the store where I live which I was pretty gutted about I'm not gonna lie but I got it anyway and I love it, it's such a creamy texture that blends like a dream. It's so smooth and you only need a small amount of product on your finger and it leaves you with a nice glow on the tops of your cheekbones.

Another Topshop product I have been loving is the Lipstick in Innocent, this one I did manage to get in the limited edition rose gold packaging. Obviously you all know how great Topshop lipsticks are but I really like this colour at the moment and it's what I have been reaching for the past couple weeks. It's a very pink shade with almost lilac undertones in it which I find quite unusual and I have nothing like this in my ever growing collection of lipsticks.

This next favourite is The Body Shop Honey Bronzer which I actually did a full review on here if you want to have a look but I just think this is the perfect natural bronzer for people with pale skin. It doesn't look orange at all when you apply it and you just can't go overboard with this because it's so natural. I also think the packaging is really nice and it also smells really nice as well.

The next favourite is the Stila In The Light Palette, I used this palette for my makeup for my prom and I think it's perfect for a natural look that you can then transform into something a bit more fancy and evening appropriate. I love the shade Kitten for my inner corner highlight and I am in love with the eyeliner, it's in the shade 'Damsel' which is a lovely deep brown colour which I wouldn't usually go for because I normally just stick to black but I love this colour and I have been using it way more than I've been using black, it's a lot softer and natural looking although I think I might pick up this eyeliner in the black colour because I love the formula so much and it's so long lasting.

My last favourite is in fact a person, I have been loving Kathleen Lights this month, and I love her all months but this month especially her YouTube videos are the ones I have been clicking on first, I think she's a beautiful person inside and out and she is one of the most down to earth youtubers there are. I have been loving her makeup stash videos, mainly because I'm nosey and want to know all of the makeup she owns but also because they are usually long chatty videos which are my favourite of hers to watch. Only bad thing is that everything she talks about I want which is not great for my bank balance!

What have been your favourites this month?

Travel Essentials

I'm going on holiday in just under two weeks time so I thought it would be a great idea to tell you my travel essentials for when I go on holiday. I'm going on a plane so obviously I won't have wifi so I can't spend the entire flight on twitter.. I would if I could but I can't so I'm going to need a few things to keep me entertained for a couple of hours. 

The first essential is headphones, I will want to listen to music for the majority of the flight so they are a must-have. I will be taking both overhead and in-ear ones because I don't know about you but having the same type of headphones on for a few hours at a time can start to give me a headache and that's the last thing I want when I'm on a plane. The next thing is chewing gum or some sort of chewy sweet, this is because when you take off and land if you're chewing on something your ears are less likely to pop and feel funny, sometimes they still pop but I find it's never as bad if you have something to chew on.

One thing I like to take on board is what I call a 'beauty bag' which is sort of where I keep all my bits and bobs that will keep me feeling clean and refreshed. So inside the bag I have a few makeup products because I don't like wearing makeup on the plane because it makes your skin feel so dry and gross so near the end of the flight I like to put on a bit of makeup to make myself look presentable. This would usually include concealer to cover up the dark circles under your eyes, a mascara to open up your eyes, a pencil eyeliner to define your eyes and a bronzer to put colour back into your face. To go with that I would also carry a couple of makeup brushes to help apply the products. Other things that I would include in my 'beauty bag' is hand gel to obviously keep your hands free from bacteria, a moisturiser to moisturise your skin as I mentioned before planes can really dry out your skin. I would also keep a deodorant (not tan aerosol can) and a rollerball perfume just incase you want smell a bit nicer and I would never board a flight without my trusty Carmex lip balm which I have loved since I can remember. It's so moisturising and it also smells amazing!

Other things that are essential for flying are cosy socks so your feet keep warm and snuggly, I would also take tissues because you never know when you'll need a tissue! I will also take the book which I am planning to read whilst I'm away incase I want to start it before I'm there. Sunglasses are a must to take in your hand luggage because even though you won't need them on flight if you're going somewhere hot and sunny when you get there you might need them, even if I know I'll be arriving during the night I would always pack sunglasses in my hand luggage so I know I've definitely got them and also because I might just want to get there and go straight to sleep without unpacking so they'll be ready for you in the morning when you have a wander around where you're staying before you do eventually unpack your things. The last essential that I always bring with me is my phone charger, this is sort of the same reason as the sunglasses but also I get really panicky if I think about losing my suitcase, I always have visions of it being put on the wrong flight or something and if one day it did get put on the wrong flight one thing that I would want from my suitcase is my phone charger because I am constantly checking twitter, constantly checking my blog stats, constantly checking instagram, etc.

So that is all my travel essentials that I would bring on a flight. What are your travel essentials? Are they the same as mine or would you bring something that maybe I haven't mentioned? 

Maybelline Colour Tattoos

Maybelline Colour Tattoos are one of my favourite products from the drugstore, the formula of them is so creamy and they last so long on your eyelids. They are great for using as a base but also look amazing when they are used on their own. These products are so cheap as well, drugstore makeup is cheap anyway but you'd expect these to be in the higher price mark of the drugstore yet they are only £4.99 which is incredible for such an amazing product! At the moment I own 5, they are On and On Bronze, Metallic Pomegranate, Chocolate Suede, Permanent Taupe and Eternal Gold, so all quite neutral colours but I just wouldn't wear any of the bright ones like the purple one they do or the blue one. I think the next one I get will be Creamy Beige or maybe Pink Gold.

My all time favourite shade is On and On Bronze which is the one I think everyone loves, it's such a beautiful bronze colour with a bit of shimmer in it. I love using this on it's own as a get up and go sort of thing, but I also love using this with other eyeshadows as a base. It's probably the shade I wear the most out of all of them and I think it's the one that suits me best.

The next one I'm going to talk about it Permanent Taupe, and when I first got this and used it on my eyelids I did not like it at all! I hated the colour on me and it just didn't work as well as any of the other ones I have which was disappointing until one day when I was playing with my makeup and I looked at it and thought lets see what this looks like on my eyebrows. I don't know what made my brain think to do that but I did and it turned out to be the perfect brow shade for me. It did take a couple of times to get my technique right but when I did I loved it. I discovered this a few months ago and it's the only brow product I have used since unless I wanted to go more natural and just use a brow gel. I'm blonde and this works perfectly, so if you have blonde hair and want to try out a new brow product then check this out because it's amazing! I also think if you had darker hair then you could try this out because you can definitely build up the colour and make it darker.

The three that I use but not as often is Metallic Pomegranate, Chocolate Suede and Eternal Gold. Metallic Pomegranate is a really beautiful sort of burgundy shade which I think is perfect for autumn/winter time. It has gold glitter in it which makes me think of Christmas! I think with this shade I'd always go for a bit of extra definition in the crease just to make it stand out a bit more. Chocolate Suede is a rich, chocolatey shade with bits of gold glitter running through it. On the eyes it definitely isn't as pigmented as it looks in the pot, it sort of goes more into a smoky brown shade which is perfect if you want to wear a smoky eye look. I really want to try this as a gel liner, I think it could look quite nice if you had a neutral eye look then wing it out, I'll have to see if it looks alright and report back. Has anyone else tried this? The last Colour Tattoo I will be talking about is Eternal Gold, this is probably my least favourite out of the ones I have, I'm just not sure if the colour works for me but I will keep trying it because it is beautiful in the pot and I do want to love it.

(left to right: On and On Bronze, Metallic Pomegranate, Chocolate Suede, Permanent Taupe, Eternal Gold)

Russian Red vs Blake's Red

These lipsticks are lipsticks that I love equally as much, but they are very very similar. Although in the picture Blake's Red looks a lot more of a vibrant red than Russian Red they are near enough the exact same colour on the lips, you can see in the swatch that they are very very similar and I would say you definitely don't need both, but if you're like me and you're a lipstick addict you will want both, however similar they might be!

They are both matte finishes and neither are very drying on the lips and the staying power for both of them is incredible, they last around 6/7 hours which is amazing! The only difference between these is the Mac one is £7 more expensive. So if you want Russian Red but don't want to pay £15 then get Blake's Red, it's half the price! I almost forgot to say; Blake's Red smells delicious, the scent reminds me of parma violets! We all know how nice Mac lipsticks smell don't we?! When I bought my first Mac lipstick I literally sat there smelling it for a good half hour, who else has done that? Just me, ok.

I would definitely say the L'oreal Blake's Red is a dupe for Mac's Russian Red, the similarities between both lipsticks are amazing!

25 Blog Post Ideas

If you're stuck on what to write or are not feeling the motivation to blog then here is a few ideas for you to write about, thankfully so far I have not been stuck on ideas but having a list has really helped me think of what to write, I hope this helps you too!

1. Top 10 under/over £10 (series - mascara, foundation, concealer, blushers etc.)

2. Tips for blogging/photography

3. Brand focus

4. Things I have too many of (lipsticks, palettes etc.)

5. High end vs drugstore

6. Holiday essentials

7. Products worth the hype

8. Products not worth the hype

9. 1 brand face

10. High end/drugstore makeup starter kit

11. Makeup collection

12. Favourite blogs to read

13. Budget makeup storage

14. Makeup wishlist

15. Makeup brush collection/best brushes

16. Everyday makeup look

17. Seasonal makeup look

18. Tips for staying organised

19. Best beauty books

20. A week in photos

21. Favourite nail polishes

22. What's in my makeup bag

23. Pamper evening essentials

24. Products I forgot I had

25. Face of the day

Max Factor Colour Intensifying Balm | Review

Max Factor are one of my favourite drugstore brands and whenever they come out with new products I am always eager to try them out. This time I'm reviewing the Colour Intensifying Balm and I have to say I really really like this, I have the colour Sumptuous Candy and the only thing that's stopping me getting the rest of them is the price. These retail at £8.99 which I think is a bit pricy for what they are, they are just like lip balms with extra staying power and don't get me wrong I do really really like these and the formula is great but I just haven't used it as much as I thought I would and I just wouldn't pay that much for something from the drugstore that I only use every so often. It might just be the colour that's not perfect for me so next time there's a 2 for £10 or a 3 for 2 offer in Boots I might pick up a couple of other shades and see what I think of them, you never know I might like them better.

I think the formula of these are fantastic, they are so creamy and soft and they honestly last for ages and when they do rub off they leave a stain on your lips which is great because you don't have to keep reapplying it throughout the day. I also really like the packaging, I love how Max Factor are slowly changing their packaging to black and gold which makes the products a lot nicer to look at and is great for displaying your makeup and obviously taking photographs of for your blog. One thing I have read about these is that they are apparently a dupe for the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Balm Perfectors which I can't say if they definitely are or not but just know that that's what I have read and if you have the Clarins option and you are looking for a cheaper alternative then check these out because they are great products. As I said at the beginning I do really like this product it's just not what I was hoping for exactly.

Another Beauty Haul

I did a haul about a month ago saying I had recieved my Covet Me ASOS voucher, I only ended up keeping a few things so everything I sent back was refunded and I decided instead of clothes I would order some new high-end makeup products that I haven't yet tried. The only thing I have tried though is the Benefit Roller Lash, I got the sample size back in February but recently I had used it all up and I was so impressed I had to get the full size. I actually have a review on this mascara, you can find it here. The next thing I got was the Stila In The Light Eyeshadow Palette, I have never tried anything from Stila before but from first impressions it is a really great palette and the eyeliner it comes with is incredible! I will be reviewing this soon so keep an eye out for that. I also bought theBalm's Mary-Lou Manizer, I have heard so much about this lately and when Kathleen Lights said it was one of her favourite highlighters I had to get it, it's a gorgeous shimmery champagne colour and I love it already! I wasn't planning on getting this but I did need one and it's something that you definitely need. It's the Nars Pencil Sharpener. The thing I like about this particular one is that it has a lid so you don't have to be by a bin when you're sharpening your eyeliners or lip liners, you can just empty it as and when you need to. It also allows you to sharpen both small and large pencils which is great because with the sharpener I had before I could only sharpen small pencils.

Then I went to Superdrug and picked up the Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer, I had run out of this a couple of weeks ago and only just got round to re-purchasing it. I've also picked up the Makeup Revolution Eyeshadow Palette in Iconic 2, I've probably had this the longest out of everything in this haul because I got it about a month and a half ago but I thought I'd mention it anyway and I have a blog post going up soon featuring this palette so keep an eye out for that. I also got the Maybelline Color Tattoo in Creamy Beige, it's the only one that I haven't got which I like so I'm glad I finally picked this up and I am thinking of doing a post dedicated to my Maybelline Color Tattoos saying which ones are my favourites and my opinions on each shade I have etc.

How I Clean My Makeup Brushes

Cleaning your makeup brushes must be the least fun beauty related task, it is so boring and if you have a lot of brushes it can feel like it takes forever. Though it might be boring but it is so important, dirty brushes can carry bacteria which could cause you to get spots and blemishes. I am so bad with cleaning my brushes and I often leave it till the brushes are filthy which is gross I know and I need to do it more often! There are two different processes I use, and I should be spot cleaning my brushes every week and then deep cleaning them at least once a month.

Spot Clean
So this is the quick method which I would do once a week. It definitely is easier to clean the smaller brushes with this method rather than the big fluffy ones you would use to powder. The product I use to spot clean my brushes is the Mac Brush Cleanser which I have nearly run out of so if you know of any cheap ones then let me know. To spot clean I usually get a large cotton pad and apply a bit of the brush cleanser onto it, then I get my brush and I gently swirl it around. Sometimes I have to repeat this process especially with my foundation brushes just to get rid of as much makeup as I can.

Deep Clean
For a deep cleanse I use the Johnsons Baby Shampoo which is a great product to use because it's gentle and it's leaves my brushes feeling super soft. I start by dampening my brushes with warm water then put a pump of the Johnsons Baby Shampoo onto my hand then I start swirling the brush on the palm of my hand adding some more water to lather up the product then let it rinse away. I would also repeat that step if the brushes are super dirty and quite dense just to make sure you've cleaned the brushes properly. I do really want to invest in the sigma brush cleaning glove because it looks great and it helps to get rid of dirt in your brushes, it also keeps your hands from getting quite dry which they do when I clean my brushes so I have to use extra moisturiser to make them less dry!

When I've finally washed them all, I like squeeze out the excess water then lay them down on a towel to let them dry, usually overnight. One thing, remember to never dry them with the bristles pointing upwards, the water will seep to where the bristles are glued together and then they will all start to fall out which is the most annoying thing especially if you're applying your makeup and you get brush hair all over you face!

Max Factor Creme Puff Blush | Review

Are these blushes meant to be dupes for the Hourglass Ambient blushes? Apparently so, I wouldn't know in terms of formula but they do look insanely similar in appearance with both having the marbled sort of effect. I think the Hourglass packaging is prettier and more luxurious (which should be the case because of the price difference) but the Max Factor ones more practical since you can clearly see the colour through the packaging which is so much easier if you have multiple shades. 

The range has 6 shades in total, I only have one which is the one shown in the photos and is Seductive Pink. I absolutely love this shade, I think it's beautiful and it gives the skin a lovely luminous glow as it not only acts as a blush but as a highlighter as well. These blushes are very soft and so easy to blend out if you accidentally apply too much, but the best thing about them is that you can swirl your brush in them and you won't get a cloud of shimmer flying at you like you do with most baked products! The colour I have is Seductive Pink and it's a soft peachy pink that has bits of golden shimmer running through it. I definitely am going to pick up a couple more shades of these next time I'm in boots, I really like the look of Gorgeous Berries and Nude Mauve so they might be the ones I pick up next!

I definitely think along with the Sleek blushes that they are the best in the drugstore, and I highly highly recommend these, they are some of the best and at £8.99 you can't really go wrong, can you?!

The Body Shop Honey Bronzer | Review

The Body Shop Honey Bronzer is something I have wanted to try for a while now but only recently when The Body Shop had an offer on I purchased it. I have seen so many people on YouTube talk about this and they all say how good it is so I thought I'd give it a go.

I have to say this is one of the best bronzers I have ever tried, I am really pale right now because I haven't been on holiday in a while and the UK is never sunny enough for me to tan properly so this bronzer is great because it's so natural and it's not orange or muddy looking like a few other drugstore bronzers. I got the shade 02 which is a fair matte and it's the perfect shade for me, I think if I got 03 it would be a little dark for me but I feel like I could probably get away with it if I blended it out really well. I like this for a subtle bronzy glow which is what I love in the summertime. It's matte and very finely milled so it feels very soft on the skin and it does last quite a long time on me, I can't quite go all day without touch ups but it doesn't just fade after 2/3 hours.

I also really love the packaging, I love the look with the honeycomb pattern which obviously goes with the name of the product. It's also quite compact compared to other bronzers I own, for example the Benefit Hoola bronzer is so hard to store because the packaging is so big and bulky, this on the other hand is thin and so easy to store amongst my other bronzers.

It's not the cheapest of drugstore bronzers at £13 but it's definitely worth the little bit extra as it's so good, when I run out which hopefully isn't too soon although I think I'm about to hit pan, I will repurchase this even if there's not an offer on, I love it and will be one that I will have in my makeup collection for many years to come.

What's On My Face | Prom

Yesterday was the day of my prom, it was so fun! I loved it although that was the last ever school event because it is now officially all over and I never have to go back!

Benefit Porefessional
Nars Sheer Glow Foundation
Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer
Rimmel Stay Matte
L'Oreal Glam Bronze in 06
Benefit Hoola Bronzer
Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in Seductive Pink
theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer
The Body Shop InstaBlur Eye
Stila In The Light Eyeshadow Palette
Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner in Damsel
Benefit They're Real Push Up Liner
Benefit Rollerlash
Maybelline Color Tattoo in Permanent Taupe
Rimmel Brow This Way
Mac Lovelorn

July Wishlist

It's wishlist time! Here is what I am wishing for in July:

The first thing on my wishlist is the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette, it's an absolutely beautiful palette and I've seen so many people talk about this lately. I just think it would be perfect now that it's summertime and these would add an extra something to my skin and make it look completely flawless and glowy.

I have heard so many people talk about the Kiehl's Midnight Recovery over the years and I am not completely sure what it is or what it does but I want to have a proper skincare routine sorted and I think this would be one of the products I would invest in as I've not heard a bad word about this and I do love the blue bottle.

The next thing I am lusting over is the Victoria Beckham Nails Inc Nail Polish in Bamboo White, it's a beautiful shade and again nail polish is not something I wear too often, mainly because I only just finished school and we weren't allowed to have our nails painted and also because I don't have the patience to sit there and let it dry for ages but I do really like it when my nails are painted so I want to start painting them more often.

I'm not going to lie here but not only is the Burberry Sheer Eye Shadow in Rosewood a beautiful colour, the name is what attracted me to it. As a lover of Pretty Little Liars, I can't help but reference anything I can to that show and if you love PLL as much as I do you might understand. If you don't watch it (what are you doing, go and watch it now) Rosewood is the name of the town or place it is set in.

I put headphones in my previous wishlist but obviously you need alternatives to over-the-head headphone and that's where I found these Rose Gold Happy Plugs, I bloody love all things rose gold and copper and I can't help but want anything if it's either rose gold or copper, I just love it. And also how much nicer do these look compared to the standard Apple ones you get with your iPhone!