December Beauty Favourites

L'Occitane En Provence Hand Cream

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Skin Protectant 

L'Oreal True Match Foundation in Ivory

Benefit Porefessional Primer

Bourjois Liner Feutre Eyeliner Pen

The very cold winter has well and truly had a negative effect on my skin this year. My lips have been exceptionally chapped, my hands bone dry, my skin dry and flaky and my makeup has developed a disappearing act. 

Every year there are a handful of products I reach for to help me through the frosty months and the king of them all is the Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Skin Protectant. This stuff saves my lips every time, a small amount on my lips left overnight works miracles. I have very very dry lips and a tendency to chew on them, so this makes sure I get the moisture I need and also helps with the healing of all those chew marks. 

My hands are another area that need a little TLC over winter. I cannot stand the feeling of dry hands and I've been keeping this Jasmine scented L'Occitane hand cream on my desk at all times. It soaks in super quickly so I can keep typing and working away without the usual greasy hands. 

As for my makeup, my foundation has been an absolute nightmare due to my dry and uneven skin. I wrote a review of the Benefit Porefessional a couple of months ago and I wasn't that impressed. In the summer, this did nothing but make my face feel dry and tight, but oddly enough, it works wonders in the winter. I notice a massive difference using this under my current favourite foundation, the L'Oreal True Match. The two together help to achieve a flawless base that covers my many imperfections and allows my makeup to stay in place for much longer. 

The final beauty favourite of the month is the Bourjois Liner Feutre Eyeliner pen. I can't even begin to describe how much I love these things. I recently saw them on offer in Superdrug and I ended up buying 3 different ones! They are so easy to use, don't drag on the eyelid and have amazing pigmentation. 

What beauty products have you been loving in December? Anything new in your collection that you think will become a firm favourite? 

5 Skin Care Products To Pamper Winter Skin

When winter rolls around we always start to look for the best skincare products to breath life back into our skin. The harsh, winter wind can strip your skin of all it's moisture, so it's important to make sure your products are as moisturising as possible. 

There are various beauty products out there that claim to inject moisture back into the skin, but here are a few I like to use to pamper myself during the colder winters. 

If you're at a loss as to what products are best for you, natural skin care is always a great place to start. Lush and Origins are two of my favourite natural skin care brands and I always turn to them for an emergency moisture hit. The Origins Drink Me Up Overnight Mask has quickly become a winter essential, when applied before bed it can work miracles whilst you sleep. In the morning you'll wake up with plump, moisturised skin. The Lush Dream Cream is an all over body moisturiser that, I again, like to use before bed time. It can be a little sticky, which is why I like to apply a thin layer before putting my pyjamas on. Both work wonders overnight and your guaranteed to wake up with healthier looking skin.

Another natural skin care brand, The Body Shop, has some amazing products for healthy skin. In the winter I like to switch from a milk cleanser to a more robust balm cleanser. The one I'm currently using is The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter. I find that cleansing balms have the right oils in them to really add some added moisture to my skin during the colder months. 

When I need that last shot of moisture before leaving the house, I like to use the Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream and the Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Skin Protectant. The Origins eye cream freshens up my eyes and makes sure that the delicate skin is well and truly cared for. As for The 8 Hour Skin Protectant, it is my essential lip product, it's what I reach for when the cold has well and truly ravaged my lips. One layer of this left over night will insure you wake up with healthy moisturised lips. 

What are your winter skincare essentials? Do you suffer with very dry skin in the colder weather? 

Top 5 Gifts Under £15: For Her

1. Burt's Bees Tips To Toes Gift Set

2. Lush Golden Wonder Gift Set

3. Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Gift Set

4. Models Own HyperGel Polish Gift Set

5. The Body Shop Almond Handy Manicure Set

Buying for other people can be extremely tricky, especially if you don't know them like the back of your hand. That's why I've picked out a few gems, all for under £15 and all amazing gifts for the women in your life. 

When you're really stuck for gift ideas, it's always best to go down the beauty route. Everyone loves a good moisturiser, bubble bath or nail polish. The rule of thumb for me is, if it smells nice, it's a nice gift. That's why Lush is always a go to store when I'm looking to buy the females in my family a gift. Luckily for me, the women in my family (and there's a lot of them) all love a bit of Lush. This year I've got my eye on the Lush Golden Wonder Gift Set as the Golden Wonder bath bomb is one of my all time favourites. You can't go wrong with a fancy bath bomb and a multi-purpose bit of play-doh.  

If the thought of heading into Lush at Christmas makes you shudder with fear, don't worry, there's other options. The first set that really caught my eye was The Body Shop manicure sets. They come in a bunch of different types including the Almond hand cream and the Hemp hand cream, both of which are amazing. You get a full size, 100ml hand cream, a mini nail buffer, nail file and some nail clippers. Everything you could need for soft and well groomed hands. 

If you fancy a bit more luxury, then the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream set is great for someone who wants to give Elizabeth Arden products a test drive. In this set you get to try out the cult Eight Hour daily moisturiser, the skin protectant (which I swear by) and the hand cream. All amazing products in miniature size, perfect for throwing in your handbag. 

Another amazing set is the Burt's Bees Tips & Toes set. I've only recently been trying out a few more of Burt's Bees skincare products, but I'm really impressed with what I've used so far. You get a whole host of different products in this set, ranging from two hand creams, foot cream, hand salve, lip balm and cuticle cream. So many products to try from a really great and natural company. 

Finally, for all those beauty junkies, there's the Models Own gift set. This is great if you have a friend or family member who is nail polish crazy. There are so many different shades and every single one is a vibrant and beautiful colour. These are hyper gel polishes which means that not only will they have amazing shine, but they'll also have great staying power. 

Do you have difficulty buying for the women on your Christmas lists? What's your go to female present? 

5 Ways to warm up your winter makeup

It's well known that the lack of sun during the cold, winter months makes our complexions a little paler. If, like me, you're already paler than snow no matter the time of year, it can be beneficial to use products to warm up your skintone. 

Use a good bronzer. Bronzer doesn't just have to be for those summer months, I use bronzer all year round to add a bit of colour to my skin. I love the The Body Shop Honey Bronzer and the Benefit Hoola Bronzer to add a warmer tone to my cheeks and temple, they are also great for a light contour. 

Crack out the berry red blushers. I don't have that many, but the ones I do have tend to get a hammering during the winter. I always use them sparingly so that I don't look like I just ran a 3 minute mile, but they are great for adding a winter flush. 

Plumb lips. I like to stick to fairly neutral colours the majority of the time, but these past few months I've been really loving muted plumb shades. I find that the warmness of the plumb tone adds a bit more of a natural colour to the lips without being too overpowering. 

Warm toned eyeshadows. Of course cold and warm tones look good depending on your skin tone, but I can assure you there will be warm tones out there to suit everyone. My personal favourites are rich browns and golds, as I find no matter what my hair colour (it changes fairly often) they always make my eyes pop. 

Push aside the black and grab the brown mascara and eyeliner. Changing from the usual black mascara and eyeliner can help to not only soften your look, but also add a little more warmth to the eyes. 

Do you attempt to warm up your complexion during winter? What steps do you take to assure glowing winter skin?

How To Maintain Red Hair

A long, long time ago I made the very poor decision to bleach my hair. I quickly realised that my skintone and the white blonde did not work well together, at all. You could see every red pigmentation in my face, every spot and every dark circle. I went to the hairdresser and she suggested I go red before trying any other colour as it could potentially turn my hair green. So I did, I went for an auburn colour and I immediately fell in love. I looked so much healthier and my hair didn't look as dry and frizzy. 

Since then I've come to realise that red hair is the hardest to maintain and can be a bit of a pain to keep looking fresh and healthy. If you're thinking of going red, or if you've already taken the plunge and need a bit of advice, take a look at these top tips to maintain red hair. 

Keep your hair moisturised and healthy. This might seem like a given for any hair type, but the more moisturised and healthy your hair is, the better the colour will be. It's always a good idea to keep heat styling to a minimum, or if you have to heat style like I do (without it my hair will literally do nothing) make sure you're using a good heat protectant. 

Use a good colour protecting shampoo. My personal favourite is the Tresemme Colour Revitalise Shampoo and Conditioner. I've tested out a lot of colour specific shampoos and this is the only one I could see a noticeable difference with. My colour lasted for a good few weeks longer than usual when I was washing my hair with Tresemme. 

Wash as little as possible. You'll notice that after you've had your hair coloured the colour will still be washing out of your hair, even after 2-3 washes. If you want that colour to last as long as possible, try and wash as little as possible, this will also stop your hair from drying out from over-washing. 

Colour top ups. Make sure you're getting your colour topped up every 6-8 weeks to keep it looking its best. My hair grows relatively slowly so sometimes I can last up to 10 weeks without a top up on the roots, but after about 6 weeks I do notice it has faded and looks a little dull. 

Have you had any experience with red hair? Thinking of taking the plunge and joining the red headed army? 

Fragrance Direct #FDXmasParty

Last night I had the pleasure of being invited to Fragrance Direct's Xmas party at All Star Lanes in Manchester. This was the first, professional event I've ever been to and I have to say, it'll be pretty hard to top it. 

I've never been to All Star Lanes, but I've wandered past a fair few times when I've been lost trying to get back to the train station. We were set up in a private room with a free bar, amazing food and two bowling lanes just for us. Unfortunately I'd pulled a muscle in my shoulder (who said exercise was good for you) so I didn't get chance to showcase my terrible bowling skills. 

The food Fragrance Direct provided was absolutely amazing, they had mini burgers,  hotdogs in batter, which I wasn't really sure what it was but it tasted good, and of course the delicious cupcakes. I took full advantage of the free bar and ordered my self one of the best chocolate milkshakes I have ever had in my life, I might even go as far as saying it was on parr with Ed's Easy Diner milkshakes. They also had special Fragrance Direct crackers dotted about the room, which each contained a L'Oreal Nail Polish and a sample sized Dolce by Dolce & Gabbana perfume. Definitely better cracker prizes then those cellophane moving fish or mini tape measures you usually get. 

Set up in the middle of the room was a table filled with a few of Fragrance Direct's Christmas gift sets and we were all invited to take a good sniff at the gorgeous perfumes on offer. My friend Cat and I took a particular liking to the YSL Black Opium and the set included a handy travel size version. Its predecessor, the YSL Opium set included a similar travel size version and a beautiful black velvet bag to keep everything stashed away in, which I completely fell in love with. 

The event was truly amazing and I had a great time, as well as coming home with a very generous goodie bag stuffed with awesome products. I can't wait to try the Fashionista eyeshadows and that amazing Ciate nail polish! 

A massive thank you to fragrance Direct for inviting me and hosting an amazing party. You can check out their awesome gift sets over on http://www.fragrancedirect.co.uk/

p.s. Here's the complete list of what was in my amazing goodie bag:

Ciate Caviar Manicure Kit

Schwarzkopf got2b Volumising Hairspray

Sample size Prada Candy Perfume

Sample Size Valentino Uomo Aftershave 

Technic Electric Beauty Eyeliner Pen

CK Lipstick in Eros

L'Oreal Caresse Lipstick in Candy & Cherie

Essie Top Coat in As Gold As It Gets

Paco Rabanne Lady Million Eau My Gold Perfume sample

Fashionista Eyeshadows in Stylish and Exclusive Collection

W7 Duo Blusher in 04

Fashionista Double Take Long-Wear Lipstick in Aubergine

New In: Skincare, Makeup & Hair

Whilst out getting some much needed Christmas shopping, I may have stumbled into Boots and The Body Shop and my debit card may have fallen out and into the card machine. I can't seem to buy presents for other people without buying something for myself, but I needed at least half of these things (so that's ok, right?). 

As I write this I'm waiting to head out and get my hair coloured and cut for the first time in forever. I used to get a bright red colour done at the hairdressers every 6-8 weeks, but then I became a student and the funds went a little downhill. Now I'm back in the working world and I want to get a bit more fun with my hair colour. However, with bright colour comes much responsibility, so I picked up one of my favourite hair masks, the Charles Worthington Melting Balm. This stuff is truly amazing and since I haven't had a cut for a while, my hair is in much need of some TLC.

Whilst perusing down the hair isle I picked up a small bottle of the Toni & Guy Sea Salt Texturising Spray. With my hair being a bit shorter these days, I find that I turn to the messy look a lot in times of need. I've been wanting to try a sea salt spray for a while so thought I'd give Toni & Guy a shot.  

It was 3 for 2 in Boots so I spent an extremely long time having a look for something else to add to my shopping basket. Finally I settled on a Sleek Eau La La Liner in Venom. I seem to be collecting a lot of lip liners recently and I find the Sleek liners really buttery and pigmented, so I can't wait to give this a good test run. 

Finally I picked up the Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter after hearing nothing but good reviews about it. I've recently run out of my Neutrogena Grapefruit wash and I had a lovely O2 code for The Body Shop, so I thought I'd finally pick it up. 

I'm now on a bit of a spending ban till payday but with my birthday coming up and half my Christmas presents already bought, I'm hoping to do a bit more 'me' shopping. 

Have you bought anything shiny and new recently? Do you have trouble shopping for other people without spending money on yourself? 

Current Base Favourites

I like to have a few options when it comes to bases, as my skin changes from day to day. At the moment I have extremely oily patches with extremely dry patches, not the easiest skin type to match to a foundation. These past couple of weeks I've been pairing the YSL Fusion Ink Foundation with the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer and they have become a match made in heaven. 

On those days when I'm rushing out the door, I always reach for the NARS concealer, apply it to my blemishes and redness and I'm done. The shade Chantilly matches my winter skin tone so well it blends like a dream and eliminates further need for coverage. The formula is creamy (hence the name) and doesn't feel too heavy, especially under the eyes. You can get a little carried away though so I always make sure I apply it little by little so it doesn't end up looking cakey. 

On the days when I have a little more time to prepare my face, I like to have a bit more coverage just to get that flawless looking skin. When I first got a sample of the YSL Fusion Foundation I did worry how it would hold up on the drier areas of my skin. The finish is a semi-matte/satin finish so I was a little wary of it clinging to any dry patches. However, I've been very impressed at how well it evens everything out, it works just as well on my oily t-zone as it does on my dry cheeks and nose. 

The two together make the perfect team and give me the exact coverage and finish that I want out of my base. I honestly don't know what I'd do without them. 

Have you found the perfect match between concealer and foundation yet? Do you sometimes use your concealer on its own like I do?

October Favourites

October is over and we have stepped into my birthday month, yey! There hasn't been all that much going on over October, mostly working and making awesome Halloween videos for you all (you're welcome ;D). Nearing the end of the month I did manage to land a 3 month internship starting at the end of November, so from now until then, I'm going to be a blog photography machine and get all my posts done and scheduled ready for that time. 

I also went ahead and treated myself to a shiny new Sony A5000 compact camera for vlogging. I'm planning on doing Vlogmas this year (weekly vlogs, not daily ones) and I wanted a good quality compact that could shoot in 1080p. I've done a test vlog, you can watch it here, and I have to say I'm very impressed with the quality. It's a little on the heavy side but you can change the lenses, which as a film graduate is very exciting to me. There's loads of features as it's pretty much a small SLR, which makes it perfect if you're looking for a camera for blogging. 

Other than my shiny new camera there's also been a few makeup bits I've been loving. I finally went and purchased the full size of the YSL Fusion Ink foundation after my sample ran out. I wont blab on about this too much as I've already done a full review raving my backside off about this. It is a beautiful foundation though and if you haven't tried it I would suggest picking up a sample. 

Another new item in the makeup bag is the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet lip lacquer in Nude-ist! I picked this up when it was on offer and I didn't know what to expect of it. I was very surprised when I applied it and fell in love with the formula. It glides on, lasts for hours and the pigmentation is amazing, I'll definitely be getting more shades in these. 

Then there are some old favourites, the Seventeen Doll'd Up mascara and the Barry M Liquid Eyeliner. The Doll'd Up mascara is one I always go back to as it's super cheap but gives amazing separation and length. I love the size of the wand as it fits my tiny eyes perfectly, so there's limited eyelid smudges. The Barry M Liquid Eyeliner seems to be lasting me forever and I always keep it in my makeup bag for when my eyeliner pens run out. The brush is easy to use and it doesn't smudge, plus it lasts all day and is super pigmented. 

Finally, there's stripes. I'm obsessed with stripes at the moment and I have so many striped pieces on my 'to buy' list you could be forgiven in thinking I was an old fashioned sailor. There's something so flattering about horizontal stripes on a baggy shirt or dress that I just love. With being extremely un-body confident, if that's even a word, I love anything that will help me to look a little slimmer and more stylish. 

Let me know in the comments what you've been loving this October and if anything particularly exciting has happened that you just want to tell the world about! 

The Halloween Trilogy Parts 2 & 3: DIY Decorations & Wolf Makeup Tutorial

Today marks the last of the Halloween trilogy videos to go live and I've really enjoyed putting these three videos together. It's the first time I've ever really pre-planned a set of videos in detail and although it was stressful, it was worth it.

I struggled trying to think of what I could be this Halloween that would be cheap and cheerful, then I found my Spirithood lurking in the back of my wardrobe. I then did a little Pinterest research and voila! The wolf makeup was born.

If I'm ever going to do an SFX makeup look, I can't use any face paint as I'm allergic, my face blows up like a balloon. That means that this wolf look is completely created with just makeup items you might have in your makeup bag.

If you haven't checked out part 2 of this trilogy then you can head on over to my YouTube channel and watch how I make some cool DIY Halloween decorations. They're both great videos if you are doing Halloween on a budget this year, so make sure you check out the whole trilogy for a spooky, yet budget friendly Halloween.

Happy Halloween everyone!

YSL Fusion Ink Foundation Review

The YSL Fusion Ink foundation was released over the summer and I was right there, front and centre to get my hand on a little sample. Since then I've been scraping away at that little plastic bottle, trying to get every last drop. 

I've never been one to splash out on foundations but this was one I knew I needed in my collection at all times, despite the hefty £30.50 price tag. Not only is the packaging beautiful to look at, but it's a nice size and weight, not too bulky and easy to hold. 

It doesn't come with a pump, instead it comes with a little spatula, similar to that given to you with the sample but much, much bigger. Some people will really hate the spatula application but I love it! I always find that I can never get the right amount when I use a pump, it's either too much or not enough. Then when they don't have a pump you always get too much or you slip and it goes everywhere. The little spatula allows me to apply just the right amount, however it could be argued that it isn't the most hygienic method of application. 

The finish is a satin finish, it's not completely matte but also isn't a glowy foundation. It adds a sense of luminosity without being too shiny and is thin enough to let your natural skin shine through. It melts away as you blend it out and feels a lot like water on the skin without being overly runny. It also gives amazing coverage (light/medium), manages to cover all of my discolouration and blemishes and lasts all day.

I can rave about this product until the cows come home, but at the end of the day it all comes down to what your skin likes. I've known a fair amount of people who, like me, are completely in love with this product, but I also know people who didn't get on with it. I have combination/oily skin, my dry patches are very dry and my oily areas are very oily and this product seems to balance them out perfectly. For me, this is definitely one of my holy grail foundations (high praise indeed!).

Have you tried the YSL Fusion Ink foundation? What are your thoughts on it? Love it or hate it?

You can see the YSL Fusion Ink in action, in my GRWM: Work Makeup video or you can purchase it right here (UK) or here (US)

I Love Autumn TAG

As I've been very busy filming and editing my Halloween trilogy videos (going live from the 29th Oct!) I thought I'd just sit down and do a nice chilled out chatty video for you. This tag was created by the awesome Helen Melonlady and because I'm a sucker for a seasonal tag video, I thought I'd give it a bash. 

Autumn is by far my favourite time of year and according to this video, it all comes down to the hot chocolate choices. So give it a watch and remember to let me know in the comments, what things you love the most about autumn!

The Autumn/Winter Nail Edit

As I'm not really a bright polish kind of girl, I don't tend to wear that much nail polish through the summer months. However, as soon as September hits I'm pulling out the dark shades and it's not just berry colours I adore, navy and black are also big winners. 

There are a handful, despite having a ridiculous amount of polishes, that I keep going back to for my autumn polish fix. The main one being a Seventeen polish in Midnight Sapphire. I've had this for longer than I care to remember and it's pretty cheap and cheerful. There's just something about the richness and depth of this navy polish that always gets compliments and has me completely in love with it. Joining the navy wagon is the OPI polish in Russian Navy, it's a tad darker than the Seventeen as it's almost black but has a gorgeous iridescent. 

Then there's the berry shades, what would autumn and winter be like without the berry shades donning our lips and nails. Two of my all time favourites are the Rimmel Polish in Desire, which is my go to Christmas shades due to it's slightly more red tone. Then there's the Essie polish in Bahama Mama, a beautiful raspberry shade that will look good on just about anyone. 

To top all these lovely polishes off, I sometimes like to add a coat of OPI Matte Coat. I especially like this paired with the OPI Russian Navy polish, but it works with pretty much every polish I own. In winter I do love to go a bit more matte with my makeup and this little addition has transformed my nail polish collection, now one polish has two different finishes!

Which nail polishes in your collection are your 'go to' autumn/winter polishes? Have you given a matte top coat a whirl yet? 

GRWM: Everyday Work Makeup

First of all, a big SORRY for being MIA this week. I've been lying on the sofa dying of the flu so I've been a little un productive in all aspects of life. To get me back into the swing of things I thought I'd do a little post about my new video that just went live.

These past couple of months I've had a pretty solid makeup routine for work. I work in retail so it's important to not go OTT with the makeup. I like to keep it simple and classic and I've been loving a nice cat eye with natural eyes and lips. Once you've got the eyeliner pen down it's surprisingly quick and easy to do.

So go ahead and give it a little watch if you want to see how I do my makeup before running out of the door to get to work! Once again, sorry for the absence, regularly program will continue from Wednesday!

A/W 14' Beauty Wishlist

Now that autumn is just around the corner, I've been thinking more and more about products that need to be purchased for me to survive the colder months. The main change that I notice is that my skin dries up like the desert, so I have to make sure that I have an army of moisturising products to tackle it. There is also the odd bit of makeup that catches my eye, usually something I've been looking at for a while and as my birthday is coming up, it's always good to have have a little treat lined up. 

1. Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow - So many people have been raving about Charlotte Tilbury products, but because of the large price tag I haven't been able to give any a good testing. The Bronze & Glow however, caught my eye when the collection was first released. I have heard so many great things about the highlighter and the bronzer looks like it could be a good shade for the paler skinned (I need a lot more colour in the winter).

2. Aesop Parsley Seed Facial Cleansing Masque - Recently on Twitter I asked for face mask suggestions that could give me a good deep clean, this is the pick that came out on top. So many people recommended this to me and it was recently featured in one of my favourite YouTubers favourites videos, so I knew it was something I needed to test out. I suffer with blemish prone skin so I wanted something that could clean deep deep down but without reacting with my very sensitive skin, this sounds like the mask that could tick all the boxes. 

3. Korres Wild Rose 24-H Moisturising Brightening Cream - I'm currently in the market for a richer moisturiser to really tackle the colder weather. At the moment I'm using the Simple Rich Moisturiser but as my skin gets drier it doesn't do the same job. The packaging for the Korres Brightening Cream caught my eye initially and after a bit of research I decided I needed to give it a test out. 

4. Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum - This is another product that everyone raves about. I've been wanting to try this for so long now but I've been trying to get through the foundations I already have. The reason I want to try the serum and not the foundation is that the serum feels a bit more gel like and moisturising. Even though the lightest shade of this is always sold out in my local Superdrug and Boots, I think I'll be on a hunt for it in the next couple of weeks. 

5. Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Milk - I fell in love with the Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm and when I found out they did it in a cleansing milk I knew I had to try it. The Take The Day Off range is absolutely amazing at removing stubborn makeup and it really feels like it's cleaning deep deep down. I find cleansing milks to be a lot better for dry skin as they don't strip out the oils like foaming cleansers have a habit of doing. Whether the cleansing milk will be quite as good as the balm is something that I'm prepared to find out for myself. 

6. Vaseline Spray & Go Essential Moisture - After using the Cocoa Butter Spray & Go, it quickly became a holy-grail product for winter. The Spray & Go moisturisers soak in super quickly, lightly fragrance the skin and give you a softly moisturised feeling. It's perfect for the lazy people like myself and I may go a bit mad and get a few different bottles so that I've tested every formula out. 

Let me know in the comments below what you always re-purchase in preparation for the winter months and what products you have your eye on to test out this year!

Rimmel Wonderfull Mascara Review

Let me start by giving you a brief history of me and Rimmel mascaras... I hate them. Generally, as a rule of thumb, Rimmel mascaras just never bowl me over. I've tried many in the past and every single one have been dry, clumpy and the packaging way too big. Then one day on a mooch around Boots I decided I needed a new mascara, I avoided the Rimmel stand until I saw the word offer and wandered over. 

Because this was a relatively new product when I bought it, Boots were offering a discounted price of £4.99 instead of the usual £7.99. I'd heard of  the Rimmel Wonderfull mascara before and how it uses an infusion of Argan Oil to keep your lashes nourished and allow a light and fluttery feel. I've been promised things by Rimmel mascaras before, so even though I decided to give this a go, I wasn't hopeful about the results. 

The packaging is a very appealing, mirrored copper colour and miraculously Rimmel have kept it to a reasonable amount of chunk. It doesn't feel heavy in the hand and it fits in my makeup bag nicely. The wand is also a decent size, I've found Rimmel's wands to be way too big for my tiny eyes in the past, but this one is a great medium size with flexible bristles, which really grab every lash and gives a great fluttery effect. 

The formula is as promised, light and smooth. Instead of going on a but clumpy and making my lashes feel dry and crispy, the Wonderfull mascara really gives them a light coating, which feels smooth and super comfortable to wear. It really seperates the lashes giving you a decent amount of volume and great length. 

Finally a mascara from Rimmel that delivers on its promises, one that actually works and is a pleasure to wear. Rimmel is one of my all time favourite drugstore brands so I've always felt a little guilty that I hated their mascaras as much as I did, now I can finally say I love a Rimmel mascara. 

Have any of you tried the Wonderfull mascara yet? What do you think of Rimmel mascaras in general? 

The Autumn Makeup Change Over

Can you believe that we are already half way through September? The leaves are already starting to turn brown and cover the roads and I am very excited. Autumn (or Fall depending on your geographical location) is my favourite time of year, not only is it my birthday but it means I can wear cozy jumpers, drink lots of salted caramel hot chocolates and go mad buying chunky boots. 

Autumn also means that you can finally fish out those berry shades and plaster them all over your face without judgement. Usually around this time I take a good hard look at what I've squashed into my makeup bag and have a much needed change over. Some things stay the same, mostly bases as I'm pale all year round, but there are some major change ups that happen every September. 

The first thing I do is change over the eyeshadows in my MAC quad. Over the summer I will usually stick some neutral, matte shades in, that are perfect for a bright and natural summer look. Once the colder weather starts setting in, it's time to crack out the coppers and reds. My all time favourite autumn shadows are Cranberry and Sketch so they make the cut every time autumn rolls around. This year I've also decided to have a bit of Woodwinked in there as well as a Brule, as it's a great base no matter what the season. 

Other than the quad change I like to use darker more vampy lipsticks, my most used being MAC's Hang-Up. Hang-Up is a deep berry red in the Cremesheen formula so it's super moisturising and amazingly pigmented, one of my absolute favourites. I've also got a few Rimmel lipsticks that get taken out, Dark Night Water-loops! being the most popular. 

I'm not one for following trends either in fashion or beauty, but the berry trend that appears every year is one I always get on board with. I love a bit of an edge to my look no matter what the weather, but autumn just makes it even more acceptable for me to really explore the slightly gothic look my very pale skin offers me. Are you one for the dark vamp look around autumn/fall? Or do you like to keep it neutral and fresh all year round?