Charlotte Tilbury Haul and First Impressions

The day before Valentine's Day, me and my sister went to London for the day to have a little shop around and somehow we fell into Selfridges and came upon the Charlotte Tilbury counter. I have been lusting over Charlotte Tilbury for the longest time and since I only have one product from them which is the Rock 'N' Kohl eyeliner in Bedroom Black I thought it would be a great opportunity to try a few more of their products and better still I thought I'd treat myself to a little Valentine's present because if there's no-one to love you and spoil you on Valentine's Day you might as well spoil yourself!

The first thing I picked up was something I knew I wanted and had to get before I even got to the counter and it's the Filmstar Bronze and Glow, so many people have this and so many people rave about this, it's a lovely little contour and highlight duo and I've only used this once but the contour shade is the perfect colour, not too warm and not too cool toned. I also really like the highlight well but I do love a strong highlight and this is a little bit subtle but it's great nonetheless. I think that this would be a great product to take on holiday since you've got the two in one contour and highlight. One thing I have to talk about is the packaging, Charlotte Tilbury packaging is the most beautiful packaging I have seen. The rose gold is literally to die for and this is a blogger 'thing' if you like but you just want to take hundreds of photos and Charlotte Tilbury products are just ones that should be out on show on your dressing table, they are way too pretty to be put away into a draw where no-one can see them.

The next thing I got was the Magic Foundation, I have heard a lot about this recently and I am always sceptical when it comes to base products that everyone seems to be raving about because I never know if it'll work for me and I think with products like bronzers and highlighters you can definitely work with them if you feel like they don't work as well for you as they did for someone else but with base products it's different. I've used this a couple times since I got it and I do really like it so far, I feel like it's not as full coverage as I'd like it to be and I do find myself having to use more than I would if I were to use my Mac Studio Fix but I find that it lasts on my skin all day and it just makes my skin look quite radiant and fresh I think. The only thing I'm not too keen on is the smell of it, I think it smells a bit funny but you can't really smell it once you've blended it in so that's alright, I can live with that. Again I think the packaging is gorgeous but I won't go on about it because we all know how lovely looking Charlotte Tilbury products are.

I then got myself two lipsticks, I wanted to try out both of the formulas that they do so I picked up Bitch Perfect from the K.I.S.S.I.N.G range and Very Victoria from the Matte Revolution range. Bitch Perfect is one that is very popular and there are a few people that seem to be talking and wearing this lipstick recently. I had wanted this since I heard Sammi from BeautyCrush or Samantha Maria it is now, but it's such a beautiful pink colour that is perfect for everyday use. Very Victoria is a very nice nude colour, I sort of picked this up on a whim because obviously I wanted to try out one of each formula and I just picked this one because I thought it was the nicest Matte Revolution one that they had. I don't think that it being matte makes much of a difference to the other formula when it comes to being quite moisturising. Usually matte lipsticks are quite drying but I didn't find that with this one at all. I found that it lasted a really long time and it didn't make my lips dry in the slightest. The only thing I would say in comparison about these lipsticks are that the packaging is exactly the same, I definitely would've preferred the two to be slightly different because they are two different formulas and since there are only two different formulas that they do I think it would've been nice to put them in slightly different packaging so you can tell the difference between them on the dressing table but that's not the end of the world and I still love both lipsticks just as much.

Are there any Charlotte Tilbury products that you've tried that I think I should try? I would love to know your recommendations as this is a brand that I will definitely be purchasing more from in the future.

HUGE Haul

Last month I made a massive decision and that was to leave college, I think I might do a post on why I left and what happened afterwards because this year I want my blog to be slightly more personal rather than focusing on beauty, but anyway I left college and I got my first ever job. I am working full time in Boots and I have been since the beginning of December and I absolutely love it. I got my first payday last week and of course I went out shopping, I may have gone slightly overboard spending nearly half my wages but I was very excited to finally be paid after nearly a month and a half of working there. I wasn't going to do this haul, I'll be honest, I was scared of coming across like I was bragging about what I got but I just thought I'm not doing this to show off, I just want to share with you the things that I picked up and who doesn't love a good haul?!

The first place I shopped at was Topshop, this was an online purchase made at around 2:30am when I realised I had been paid. I have had things in and out of my Topshop bag for around the last month just sitting there waiting until I got paid so I could buy them and finally when I was I just couldn't wait any longer and I literally made my order as soon as I got paid. So the first couple things I picked up were some sweatshirts, I got this NASA sweater by Tea and Cake which was £32, it probably sounds really silly but the thing that made me want this was because of the detail on the back, I love that it's really simple on the front and then you turn around and there's an image on the back, I just think it looks really cool. Then I got another sweater as well and this one is the Mono Colour Block Sweatshirt, it's just a really simple black and white sweater and I love it. That was £28. Next I picked up a skirt that I had been eyeing up for a while, but it had been out of stock in my size for a while and finally it came back in stock. It's the petite Herringbone Jersey A-line skirt in the grey and it was £26. I'm not a big lover of skirts but I want to branch out with the clothes I wear and slowly try things that I wouldn't usually wear and I think this is perfect because you do have the options to dress it up and dress it down as well. Then I got Cord Pinafore Dress in the burgundy colour (£39), I love the look of this, it looks so nice to just throw on and be comfy. I think it's definitely more for autumn/winter but I will definitely be wearing it throughout spring as well since it is so nice. To wear underneath that I got the Ribbed Wool Blend Cropped Jumper, the model in the photos on the website actually wore these two together and I just thought it looked really nice together which is the main reason I got this but it will also be so easy to throw on with a pair of jeans and be good to go. This was £24. Next I got a new coat, it's the Jaxson Faux Fur Short Parka, it was in the sale down from £78 to £45 which I think was pretty good. I really like it and it's very casual. I got it in the navy blue colour. The last item I ordered from Topshop was a leather jacket, I don't actually own a leather jacket because I've never found one I loved but I saw this one and had to have it. It's the Faux Fur Collar Biker Jacket (£55), one of the main reason I love this is because the fur is detachable so I have two options on how I want to wear this which I like. I think a leather jacket is a staple wardrobe piece and I am so glad to finally have one which I love.

The online shopping at half past two in the morning didn't stop there, I went onto ASOS and ordered a few things, first was another scarf to go with the 1000s of scarves I own, it's the Oversized Scarf in Orange and Blue Check with Tassels, I really like this and I haven't got one like this so I picked it up, it was in the sale at half price from £18 to £9. I then got a hat, it's the Short Turn Up Beanie with a Pom Pom in the burgundy colour, this was also in the sale at £5.50. The last thing I got was just the simple Authentic Classic Black Mono Lace up Vans, they were £47 and I mainly got them to wear at work because they're comfy.

I decided that in my lunch break I would go out and pick up some things, the first place I went was Superdrug, there was a couple things from there that I knew I wanted anyway so I picked them up. I got two of the Zoella 'Favourite Things' beauty bags, you may be thinking why I got two and that was because I got one for myself and I was also feeling nice so I got my sister one as well. They were £8 each. I also got a couple of things to go in the little bag for my sister as well and they were a Makeup Revolution Oil Control Fixing Spray (£5) and a Cadbury Caramel egg which I also go one of them for myself because they were on a 2 for 90p offer. Then I got myself two lipsticks, one from theBalm which was theBalm Girls in the shade Mai Billsbepaid which is such a nice nude colour which I've used a couple of times and the formula is so comfortable on the lips. That was £13.49. The other lipstick was one I could not resist, it's the Ciate Olivia Palermo lipstick in the shade Praline, again this is a nude but it's a darker nude and I really like it. That was £19 which is pretty pricy for a lipstick but it's such a gorgeous colour I couldn't say no.

Then I went into Primark and surprisingly I didn't actually buy hardly anything from there, just two bits. They were just two of the 20 bulb Copper Mini Fairy Lights, one set was for myself and the other to go with the other things in the beauty bag for my sister. They were £2.50 each.

The last place I went to was the place where I work, Boots. I picked up three of the Garnier Micellar waters because they were on offer for £3 and also in the 3 for 2 on all skincare deal, I only paid £6 for all three which is good considering they are £4.99 when not on offer. I also picked up a new eyebrow product because I wanted to have a change from using my Maybelline 24 hour Color Tattoo in Permanent Taupe, I got the Soap and Glory Archery Brow and Tint pencil in the shade Brownie Points which may seem weird because I am blonde but I quite like a darker brow. That was £10. I then did pick up another Maybelline Color Tattoo in Permanent Taupe because I had run out of my last one and I do really like how it makes my brows look. That was £4.99. I then got two Benefit lip balms. One in the shade ChaCha Balm which I bought for myself because it's the only one I didn't own and the other shade I got was the Posie Balm which I also got to go in the beauty bag for my sister. They were £14.50 each. I then also picked up a nail polish from Barry M, this is in the shade Cappuccino which was £2.99. The biggest thing I got from there was the Gucci Guilty Black perfume, I will be doing a full review on this sometime in the future but everyday I have gone to work straight to the perfume counter and just sprayed myself with this, I love the smell, I got the biggest size which is the 75ml for £68.

That completes my haul, I can't believe I bought that much and spent that much money but I don't regret it one bit. I absolutely love everything and I'm so grateful that I now have a job which allows me to be able to go out and buy things I want. Again I just want to say I am not bragging in any way, I just want to share my new things with you guys. I hope you enjoyed reading this, if you got to the end that is! What have you been picking up recently?

January Favourites

Here it is, the first monthly favourites of the year! I love doing these, they are definitely some of my favourite posts to write!

The first thing I have been loving is a perfume, it's the YSL Black Opium Perfume, I got it just before Christmas and I honestly have been wearing this every single day since I got it. Even in the weeks before I got it I was wearing it. That's the perks of working on a fragrance counter in boots! I won't even try and describe what it smells like because I am the worst at that so this is what it describes it like on the YSL website: 'With a glam rock aesthetic, this addictive gourmand floral entices with notes of black coffee for a shot of adrenaline, white florals to instantly seduce, and vanilla for sweetness and sensuality. Playing on the incongruity between the bitterness of the coffee bean accord, an ingredient never used before in such a high quantity in a feminine fragrance and radiant white flowers, BLACK OPIUM gives a sensation of light-headedness, bordering on ecstasy.' I can't recommend this perfume enough, it's gorgeous!

The mascara I have been loving is the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara, I got the mini size in my stocking on Christmas morning, and I tried it straight away. I fell in love with it straight away, it's so volumizing and lengthening and I didn't find that it went clumpy which is what I've heard it does on other people so I'm very glad about that. I find that it stays on all day with very minimal fall down. I think the packaging is really lovely and it feels very luxurious to hold. The only thing I'd say is it's not (if you know what I mean)! ;)

The first of three eyeshadow related favourites is the Maybelline The Nudes Palette, for a drugstore product this is very good. The colours are all very nice and neutral and great for everyday use. I do find they are more pigmented with a primer but that's fine, normally I'd use a primer before wearing eyeshadow regardless of if it's more pigmented or not. You can create so many makeup looks with this and the thing I loved about this when got it was that there is a sort of chart on the back of the palette which has so many different combinations that you can try out which also makes this palette very good for people who are starting out with makeup.

My next favourite is the Benefit Stay Don't Stray eyeshadow primer, I find the texture very nice and creamy, it's very long lasting and this is what I've been using underneath the Maybelline palette and they've worked so well together. You hardly need to use any product and when you blend it in on your eyelids it gets rid of any redness and veins. It doesn't make my eyeshadow crease at all which is normally a problem for me when I use other eyeshadow primers. Can't recommend this product enough, I love it.

The last eyeshadow product I have been loving is the No7 Stay Perfect Eyeshadow (middle shade from 'Good Earth' trio), I got this as a little prize from work because we had a little competition when No7 launched a new mascara and I sold the most on that day. I also got a few other sample bits but this is the one I have been loving. It's a silvery shimmery colour and it looks beautiful all over the lid either on it's own or paired with other shades. When I'm in  rush getting ready I will just apply this all over the lid and it just looks like you've spent a lot more time on your makeup which is great because in reality you've only spent about 5 minutes on it. I'm not sure that you can buy this shade on it's own but you can get in the Good Earth trio from No7. I haven't got the trio but I am so tempted because the other colours are so pretty and they compliment this shade so well!

2015 Favourites | Skincare

Skincare is something I'm not very good at doing, I don't currently have a skincare routine but this year I am definitely going to try have a solid routine that I do most nights, if not every night. Nearer the end of the year I got the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish after all the hype that was around that product and I can definitely say it lives up to the hype. I love this product and it is going to be a firm favourite during 2016 as well. Even just using this product once I could see that my skin looked so much clearer. I'm very lucky in the sense that I don't get too many spots or blemishes often so I can't say if it clears up spots well but it definitely cleanses your skin and keeps it fresh so that the likeliness of a spot or blemish appearing is less. I have also been using the Garnier Micellar Water all year round to take off my make-up before I go to bed and this is just amazing, it takes off my make-up so well and quickly too. I must've used up at least 4/5 bottles of this during 2015 which shows how good it is and how much I like it. I will continue to buy this this year until I find something that works better for me. I feel like I should be talking about a face moisturiser in this post but I've tried a few this year and none of them have really stood out to me at all which is a shame. If you have any good moisturiser recommendations I love to hear what they are so I can try them out and see if they work for me.

Because this post seems a little bit on the short side I thought I'd talk about a body lotion that I have been loving this year and it's the Zoella Creamy Madly Dreamy. Honestly I didn't have high hopes for any of the Zoella Beauty collection when it was announced (well actually I did but I definitely didn't think it would be as good as I hoped) so when I tried the body lotion I was happily surprised. You need the tiniest bit as a little goes a long way but it is so moisturising and once it's rubbed into the skin you cannot feel it at all. It just leaves your skin feeling so soft and moisturised which is lovely. I use this most mornings when I am getting ready and also whenever I have a shower I use this straight after when my skin is a little damp so my skin soaks up more moisture making it feel extra soft!

Let me know what you're favourite skincare products have been this year. Have they been the same as mine? Or do you have different favourites that you think I should try?

2015 Favourites | Lipsticks

When it comes to lipsticks for me, I am very much someone who will stick to brands and formulas that I know I like so there isn't a huge variety in the ones that have stood out for me this year. Originally when going through my lipsticks to see which ones I had been loving all year round it was quite difficult narrowing it down, I did have about 14 different lipsticks in the list but I managed to cut that in half somehow to the ones I really have loved this year. The first of three L'oreal lipsticks is the L'oreal Color Riche in Blake's Red, this is probably my all time favourite red shade, I love it, it's not a bright red which is what I'm drawn to, it's more of a darker red which I think suits me and my skin tone better. It's a lovely matte shade which isn't too drying and it does last all day with minimal touch ups needed. The next in the trio of L'oreal lipstick loves is the L'oreal Color Riche in Julianne's Nude, this has been my go-to nude this year, it is more of a pink shade of nude but I love it, it goes really well with any make-up look and it's just the easiest lipstick to just throw on and complete a makeup look. Again the formula is so creamy and lovely to apply, this one though since it isn't matte I do find that you have to reapply a few times throughout the day but that doesn't bother me at all. the last L'oreal lipstick is the L'oreal Color Riche in 640 Erotique, I'm not quite sure what to describe this shade as, it's sort of a darker nude with I tinge of brown in it but then there's something else which I'm not sure what it is but there's something else. This is like the Blake's Red, it's a matte which isn't too drying, but you do have to reapply a couple times throughout the day since I find this one fades quicker than Blake's Red although I think that's probably more to do with the fact I'm a lot more careful when wearing a red lip because I'd rather not have it smudged all over my face whereas with a nude you wouldn't be able to tell. The next lipstick I have been loving is the Nars Audacious in Barbara, this was he first more expensive lipstick that wasn't a Mac one so it was really nice to try something a little bit different so I wanted to get a shade that wasn't like any I already had but also one that was really wearable as an everyday shade as well and I think I chose well considering I only had the Internet to research colours and swatches. It's a matte nude colour with sort of greyish undertones, it looks a lot different on the lips than it does in the bullet and swatches but it is still a really lovely shade. It's also matte which means it is a little bit more drying but I find its still quite creamy and easy to apply. I also love the packaging I think it's very sleek and I love that it's magnetic as well, I think it's really satisfying when it clicks shut. The Rimmel Kate 107 has been my favourite reddish berry shade this year, it was my go to throughout Autumn, it is so creamy and it feels so light on the lips that I don't feel that I have lipstick on, it almost feels like a lip balm. The Rimmel Kate 03 lipstick is the second Rimmel Kate lipstick I have loved this year, it's a lovely nude which is only slightly different to the other nudes I have mentioned but I thought I'd put it in because it's one I have worn regularly throughout the year, I definitely think you need a shade like this in your lipstick collection, it's just so easy to wear and looks great with all make-up looks. The last lipstick I have loved this year is Mac Twig, I got this in duty free when I went on holiday in August, I was toying between this and another which I can't remember the name of but I am so glad I got this one, it is sort of along the same lines as Velvet Teddy which I also do want but at the same time don't want purely because of the hype around this and the 'you only wear this because Kylie Jenner wear it' sort of vibe. I love this lipstick though, the shade is lovely and wearable, it's a dark nude brownish-pink colour and it's not matte although it is creamy although not a cremesheen, it's a satin. Again this looks great with most eye make-up looks and is definitely one you should try if you are looking for a new Mac lipstick.

What's been your favourite lipstick in 2015?

(if you see this I realise I labelled the L'oreal lipstick in '670 erotique' incorrectly, it is actually 640 but I couldn't be bothered to re-edit the photo so yes it's wrong I do realise)