March Favourites

Yet another month has come and gone so it's time to share with you what products I've been enjoying in March. I've really enjoyed this month, I love that the weather's started to get warmer, I loved spending Easter weekend with my family and having a relaxing couple weeks off work! As we've been slowly creeping into Spring, I have been using more products that help give me a healthy glow and a fresh-faced look. I love creating these kinds of makeup looks so quite a few of those products have found themselves in my monthly favourites!

Vera Wang Princess Eau de Toilette | LINK
As we go into the Spring I like to swap up my perfume to something sweeter and fresh. The one I've been reaching for most days is Vera Wang's Princess, known for being a sweet girly scent that's perfect for this time of year! This has been a staple perfume in my collection for many years now and it's always one I repurchase over and over again. This fruity, floral perfume is really lovely and I always seem to get compliments when I wear it!

BareMinerals Bare Skin Pure Brightening Serum Foundation in '03 Bare Linen' | LINK
A few weeks ago I picked up a little sample of this foundation and since then I've been using it nearly everyday. I love the lightweight consistency and that it really doesn't feel like I'm wearing any makeup at all! I decided to go for it and purchase a full size bottle rather than the Bare Skin kit that I featured in my latest wishlist post as I love how this foundation looks with my Expert Face brush and Stila powder, so thought it was worth saving a bit of money. I think this will be a great foundation for Summer as it's brightening, has SPF 20 and is super light on the skin.

Makeup Revolution Focus & Fix Eyebrow Kit in 'Medium Dark' | LINK | Review
I've really been enjoying the Focus & Fix Eyebrow Kit from Makeup Revolution and it's taken a firm spot in my everyday makeup routine. This is a great product to create fuller, natural looking eyebrows that last all day. It's also much cheaper than many brow products on the high street and I think it's completely worth trying out if you're looking for a new brow product!

Danial Sandler Brow Groomer Brush | LINK
For years now I've been using those small disposable mascara wands to brush out my brows, but after a few weeks they just end up breaking. I thought I would pick up something more durable whilst placing an order with Escentual and decided to try the one from Daniel Sandler. This little comb is super light weight and has sturdy bristles that work really well at combing and neatening up my brows!

Bourjois Happy Light Luminous Serum Primer | LINK
One of my final favourites from this month is the Bourjois Happy Light primer. I love products that illuminate my skin and I've found this has been nice addition to my routine that helps achieves this. I think it works better if you actually mix the product into your foundation rather than applying it to your skin, as this gives you more of a glow. I will be reviewing this very soon, so keep an eye out if you want to know more!

So these are a selection of products I've been loving recently! I hope you enjoyed today's post and I would love to hear what beauty products you've been using this month.

What have you been loving in March?

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Spring Beauty Haul

Since getting back into blogging a couple weeks ago, I have been pretty obsessed with looking up new products to try out. My last blog post was a Spring Beauty Wishlist with a selection of the beauty products that I've been wanting to get my hands on and try. Since making that post I have been on a bit of a spending spree and have allowed my self to pick up a few new lovely additions to my makeup collection! I have actually got a few more orders on their way (I need to stop spending haha!) but I thought I would show you some of the pieces I've picked up recently from Boots and Look Fantastic!

Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Matte-Lip Crayons | £3.50 each | LINK

I am a huge fan of Soap & Glory makeup, so whenever I spot something new I have to get it! Their Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Crayons are amazing and when I saw their new Matte-Lip shades I couldn't help but pick some up - especially as they were 3 for 2! The shades I chose were: Fire Cracker which is a very bright, bold orange, Chocoberry which is a lovely deep berry shade and Pretty Muted which is a pretty mid pink shade - all of which have a matte finish. I feel like these are 3 shades that I would get a lot of wear out of, especially Chocoberry as I'm sure this will look lovely in the Autumn too! I will definitely review these lovely lippies on my blog soon.

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in 1 Fair | £4.19 | LINK
This is a staple in my makeup collection so whenever I pop into Boots and see it's on offer I always have to pick one up as the lightest shade is always sold out! I think I even persuaded the girl that served me to go and pick one up as she asked whether it was good or not (I had to stop myself going all "beauty blogger" on her haha!). If you want to read more on this product check out my review of it here!

Collection Sheer Loose Powder in Translucent 2 | £2.99 | LINK

This was a bit of an impulse buy as I used to use this powder years ago and remembered it was one of my favourite products. The Collection Sheer Loose Powder contains silk, Vitamin E and UV protectors so I thought it would be a nice addition to my collection. Loose powders are also lovely for Summer as they're much lighter and natural looking on the skin compared to a pressed powder. So far I'm not really loving it as it seems to settle into my pores throughout the day, but I think I need to test it out with different foundations/ brushes and see how it wears with them!

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge | £5.99 | LINK
Beauty sponges seem to be really big with bloggers at the moment so I thought I would pick one up and give it ago. They seem to give a really natural finish when you apply foundation and I thought this would be great for this time of year when you want to create those fresh-faced makeup looks! I haven't tried mine out yet but I'll definitely let you know how I get one with it. I love Real Techniques brushes so I'm sure this will be just as good.

Real Techniques Bold Metals Spring Essentials Set | £30.00 | LINK

So I finally got my hands on some more of the Bold Metals brushes from Real Techniques! If you saw my latest wishlist post then you would know I've been lusting after this set from Look Fantastic. As it was only £30 (with an extra 20% off, so just £24!) I thought I would treat myself and place an order. In the set there is: the Angled Powder Brush, Tapered Blush Brush and the Oval Shadow Brush and they are all so beautiful! I've been using all 3 every time I apply my makeup and have really enjoyed using them. I will also do a post on these beautiful brushes soon and give you my thoughts and opinions on them!

I hope you've enjoyed today's haul post! I get so excited when I have some new products to try out and I will definitely share my thoughts on them with you all very soon. Let me know if you've posted any hauls recently as they're my favourite posts to read!

Have you bought any beauty products recently?

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Spring Beauty Wishlist

 All images sourced from their respective websites

 Hi everyone, I hope you're all having a lovely start to your Easter weekend! I can't believe how warm it is as well today, Summer is definitely on its way and I'm not complaining! Today I thought I would share with you a few products that I have been lusting after for quite a while. Since getting back into blogging I've felt like I need to try everything and have got my love for makeup back! Some of these products have probably been out for quite some time but I've been after some new products to add to my collection as I've really wanted to start expanding on the products I use.

1. Stila Eyes Are The Window Shadow Palette in Soul | £30.00 | LINK

Where would a wishlist be without some king of neutral eyeshadow palette? This lovely Stila palette contains 12 beautiful natural eyeshadows that would be perfect for everyday wear. I already own the Stila In The Light palette which has some similar shades but I think this palette would be a lovely addition to my collection. Plus Stila eye shadows are amazing quality so I will definitely be investing in this some time soon.

2. BareMinerals Bare Skin Kit | £29.00 | LINK
You may have seen in my recent Everyday Makeup Bag post that I've been trying out a sample of the BareMinerals Bare Skin foundation for the past week or so. So far I have really enjoyed using it on a day to day basis. It's very different to any other foundation I've tried before as it's so light in consistency yet still offers good coverage. I'm thinking of trying out the Bare Skin kit that contains a 15ml bottle of the foundation, the Perfecting Face Brush and a small sample of the Perfecting Veil powder. I'm hoping this kit will help me get a better idea as to whether I like this foundation plus it's a great way to try out the powder as well!

3. Nars Sheer Glow Foundation | £31.00 | LINK
I've been on a real foundation hunt recently (hence why I've been trying the Bare Skin foundation) and another pricey addition that's on my list is the Nars Sheer Glow. This product is a real cult classic among many bloggers and I would love to give this a try and see whether it lives up to the hype! I'm really into my dewy foundations with medium coverage, so I'm thinking this will be up my street!

4. Freedom Audacious 3 Eyeshadow Palette | £4.00 | LINK
A cheaper alternative to the Stila palette mentioned before is this one from Freedom. I haven't tried any Freedom makeup products before but whilst having a read through some blogs this palette really caught my eye! Again it has a lovely range of neutral shades including shimmers and mattes. For £4 I may just pick this up on my next trip to Superdrug as it's super cheap and looks beautiful!

5. Sleek Solstice Highlighter Palette | £10.00 | LINK
As we roll into the Summer time, I'm a big fan of creating radiant and glowy makeup looks so I've been on the hunt to try some new highlighters. I've looked at the Hourglass highlighters and, as pretty as they are, they're a bit out of my budget. Whilst I was having a look around I came across the Solstice Highlighter palette from Sleek. I'm not sure whether this is new but I've never spotted it in any of my local Superdrugs. It looks stunning with a real mix of highlighter shades and tones.

6. Revlon Colorstay Foundation for Normal/ Dry Skin | £12.99 | LINK
Another classic foundation on my list is the Revlon Colorstay Foundation. This is meant to have a much higher coverage than foundations I'm used to however there are days when my skin is not at its best and I do need a bit more coverage. I like how this is formulated to different skin types and that the dry skin version has more of a satin finish which is what I prefer.

7. Real Techniques Bold Metals Spring Essentials Set | £30.00 | LINK
Real Techniques brushes are one of my holy grail makeup products. Pretty much every face brush I use for my makeup is Real techniques as they're so affordable and great quality. When the Bold Metals collection came out I think every blogger, including myself, were in awe as to how pretty they were - rose gold brushes? Who could resist! But along with that there was a much higher price tag that I couldn't really justify. The other day I spotted on Look Fantastic that this set of 2 face brushes and 1 eye brush was just £30 which I thought wasn't too bad. I will definitely be ordering these beautiful brushes so I can finally try out the Bold Metals collection!

8. Maybelline Color Tattoo Concentrated Crayon | LINK
I'm a massive fan of the Maybelline Color Tattoos and when I heard they were bringing out a new range, I was very excited! The selection of shades are beautiful and I think these will be great for Summer to create quick and simple eye looks. Correct me if I'm wrong in saying this, but I don't believe these are available just yet in the UK. I've heard their release date is Spring time so I'm hoping it will be pretty soon!

So these are a few products I've had my eye on recently. Please let me know if you've tried any of these as I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on them! I hope that you all have a lovely Easter and that you eat plenty of chocolate eggs! I'm going to be celebrating by having a huge roast dinner with all my family on Sunday, so I'm really excited for that!
Let me know what you're all getting up to this weekend in the comments below.

What beauty products are currently on your wishlist?

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Summer Ready Skin

I don't know about you, but once Summer starts rolling round I always seem to take much better care of my skin and try to stick to some kind of body care routine. I'm very good at keeping up my skin care routine all year long, but for my actual body I kind of neglect using products on an everyday basis during the colder months. It's most likely because during the Winter it's so easy to cover up with jumpers and thick tights that really, it doesn't overly matter if you do forget to slap on a bit of body butter in the morning!

But now that it's starting to get slightly warmer, I think it's always good to put together a simple yet effective body care routine just to get you back into the swing of things and prepare yourself (and the world) for starting to show a bit more skin! The main areas I like to focus on are my arms and legs as I love wearing little cami tops and skirts when it's warm, so these are the selection of products I've been using recently to start preparing my skin for the Summer!

My body care routine starts whilst I'm in the shower and one of the first products I will use is an exfoliator. The one I've been loving recently is the Soap & Glory Smoothie Star Breakfast Scrub (£8.00 LINK). This stuff smells incredible, if you love sweet, rich scents then this will be right up your street! This sugar scrub helps buff away dry skin and with the added shea butter leaves your skin feeling lovely and soft, plus smelling amazing. I will use this around twice a week as it's a fairly rough body scrub, definitely not something you'll want to use everyday!

Next, if I'm shaving my legs, I will reach for my Soap & Glory Whipped Clean Shower Butter (£7.00 LINK) which is a body wash and in-shower body butter in one. I don't really use this as a body wash but as a replacement for shaving gel as it lathers up really well and leaves my skin feeling super smooth! If you also don't have much time in the mornings, this would be amazing to apply at the end of your shower to leave your skin feeling soft all over. Again, like all Soap & Glory bath products, it has a beautifully rich scent that smells good enough to eat!

My final in-shower step is to use a skin softening body wash. I've been using the Nivea Diamond Touch Cream Shower Oil (£1.99 LINK) everyday for the past few months and have been really loving it! It has a beautiful, creamy floral scent that really lingers on the skin long after a shower. It also lathers up into lots of luxurious little bubbles that leave my skin feeling soft and clean.

Once out of the shower I immediately apply some form of body lotion/ oil. My absolute favourite body product to use during the Summer is The Body Shop Brazil Nut Beautifying Oil (£10.00 LINK). This dry oil sinks into the skin really quickly and leaves no oily residue behind, meaning you can get dressed straight away! I also love the super sweet scent of this product as it instantly reminds me of being on holiday last year! This is also a great product to use if you have just shaved your legs as it doesn't irritate the skin like a normal fragranced body lotion would. 

If I'm after something a bit thicker that will really help hydrate my skin then I will reach for my Soap & Glory Smoothie Star Body Milk (£10.00 LINK). This is a great product to use if you have used both the scrub and body wash in the shower as it really helps ties all those amazing sweet scents together. As this is much thicker than my oil I will use this around 2/3 times a week to help moisturise my skin and leave it feeling amazingly soft.

So this is my super simple guide to getting Summer ready skin! With just 5 products all from the high street this little routine is affordable, easy to use and works really well. I know we're still a few weeks off from actually being able to bare a bit more skin, but it's always good to prepare so that when it is finally warm enough you can go bare-legged without having to worry!

What products do you use to get your skin Summer ready?

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What's In My Everday Makeup Bag

 Even though I like swapping up my makeup on a regular basis, I'll be honest and say that on a day to day basis I do tend to stick to the same products. Over the past couple weeks I've been keeping all my everyday makeup products in a small makeup bag on my dressing table purely so it's easier to get ready in the mornings and I know everything's in one place. In this time I've been using my favourite products plus a few new products that I have been testing out, so I thought I would show you all what makeup I've been wearing recently.

Soap & Glory Feel Good Factor Translucent BB Cream Review
Bourjois Happy Light Luminous Serum Primer
Benefit Porefessional
Bareminerals Bare Skin Foundation (sample size)
Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer Review
Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer
Benefit Fine One One Review
Benefit Hoola Bronzer (deluxe sample size)
Makeup Revolution Focus & Fix Eyebrow Shaping Kit Review
Soap & Glory Archery
Maybelline Brow Drama
Soap & Glory Smolder Khol Eyeliner
Seventeen Eye Shadow Trio in Barely There
Benefit Roller Lash Mascara Review

I've recently been testing out the Bareminerals Bare Skin foundation after popping into Boots and getting a small sample. This is a very light weight foundation that has buildable coverage yet offers a skin like finish that is natural and healthy looking. I'm still unsure whether I like this foundation yet as I do like the natural finish however as it's lightweight, the wear time isn't amazing. I'm hoping it will be a nice product for the Summer and I'm thinking of trying the Bare Skin kit that includes this foundation, the brush designed for this product plus the Bare Skin Perfecting Veil powder. Let me know if you've tried this foundation as I would love to hear your thoughts on it!

I've also been testing out the Bourjois Happy Light Luminous Serum Primer as I love products that help give my skin a healthy glow during the Spring and Summer months. So far I am liking this product because of it's lovely formula and the fact it smells amazing! I will definitely review this for you within the next few weeks so do keep an eye out for that!

Another product that's impressed me recently is the little Seventeen Eye Shadow Trio in Barely There which contains some lovely everyday shimmery shades. I've had this in my collection for a while but it's only been within the past few weeks that I keep reaching for it as the colours all work so well together. As always I've also been sticking to a few favourites such as the Collection concealer, Roller Lash mascara and the Porefessional. I feel like these will always be staple products in my everyday makeup routine as they work so well for me.

What products have you been using on a daily basis?

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Makeup Revolution Focus & Fix Eyebrow Shaping Kit

Makeup Revolution Focus & Fix Eyebrow Shaping Kit in Medium Dark | £2.50 | LINK

Eek - it's been a while guys! I can't believe it was just over 5 months ago that I published my last blog post and since then we've had Christmas, the New Year and now we're approaching Easter. So I must say sorry for my long absence from my blog (yet again) but also a big hello and a massive thank you to anyone that's still around!

During my long break from my blog I haven't actually been trying many new products. That's probably a reason why I haven't had much motivation to blog as I feel like I'm just talking about the same old stuff over and over again. But something hit me the other day and I just felt like going on a little makeup shopping spree and seeing what products were on the high street for me to try out. With the added bonus of a little time off work, I just felt like taking some photographs and sharing my thoughts on some products with you guys - so here I am!

Despite being a huge lover of high street makeup, I've never actually got around to trying anything from the much loved brand Makeup Revolution - I know, I know, it's crazy! However I was having a little wander round Superdrug when their Focus & Fix Eyebrow Kit caught my eye. As I was running out of my much loved Archery pencil from Soap & Glory I thought I'd give it a try as the £2.50 price tag made it sound too good to leave behind. I picked up the shade Medium Dark as I do have dark brunette hair, but within this palette you do get 3 different shades to choose from, so it would definitely suit a range of skin and hair colours.

In this little eyebrow palette there are 3 good size powders to either choose from or mix together to create the perfect brow colour. The top left shade is the lightest of the bunch and I would say should suit a lighter brunette maybe verging on darker blondes. The top right shade is the one I've been using and is a mid-tone brown that I find suits my brows perfectly. The bottom left shade is the darkest and would be great for those with very dark hair. I've really enjoyed using these powders as the pigmentation is strong but not overpowering enough to give you bold brows in one sweep. It's very buildable and can easily give you a natural look with a small amount or can be built up to create a stronger looking brow.

The Focus & Fix kit also comes with a clear wax that is used to set and smooth out your brows after the powder has been applied, or used on its own for a more natural effect. This wax is good however doesn't last amazingly well throughout the day. I found it kept my brows in place for 2-3 hours but after that the effect had worn off and I did have a few stray hairs sticking up in places I didn't want them to!

Also with this kit you do get a mini angled brush which you can use to apply the powder or wax, plus a pair of tiny tweezers for on the go plucking. I haven't actually used this brush yet but that's because I have a full sized angled brush from Bloom Cosmetics that I always use for applying powder to my brows. However I would happily use this little one if I were to forget the brush or wanted to top up on the go. The little tweezers also aren't too bad considering the price of the whole kit. Obviously I wouldn't use them on a daily basis but they would be great for traveling when you need to sort out those few stray hairs.

Swatched in order of palette: top left, top right & bottom left | Above I have used top right powder & clear wax

I have been really impressed with this eyebrow kit and it will definitely be making its way into my everyday makeup bag! The powder product itself lasts really well during the day and I never feel the need to touch it up. The only thing I'm not overly keen on is the clear wax that comes with it, however I will just swap this with my much loved Maybelline brow gel as that's great at keeping my brows in place all day.

I do like to change my brow products up, from pencils to powders or just brow gels, but there's always something about powders that keeps me coming back to them. I like the natural finish that they give and that the product in general usually lasts me much longer than any pencil would.

Let me know if you've used this product before and how you've got on with it! If you haven't what is your favourite brow product to use? I'm always on the hunt to try out something new! Thanks for reading guys and I will hopefully talk to you all again soon!

Have you tried the Focus & Fix brow kit from Makeup Revolution?

What's your favourite product from the Makeup Revolution range?

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Soap & Glory Lid Stuff in What's Nude

Soap & Glory Lid Stuff in What's Nude | £10.00 | LINK

Nude eye shadow palettes are one of my biggest makeup weaknesses. Despite owning a bunch of different ones that all contain very similar shades and colours, I can't restrain myself from buying more! There's something so simple and classic about a neutral eye palette that makes it very easy to justify buying them. As I'm not a big lover of bold colours on my eyes, I just love to have a range of neutral shades to work from.

Today I thought I would share my thoughts on a great little eye shadow quad from Soap & Glory - possibly my favourite makeup/ beauty brand on the high street! This is the Lid Stuff eye shadow quad in What's Nude which contains 4 lovely neutral eye shadow shades.

The Soap & Glory Lid Stuff eye shadow quads come in a small square shaped plastic palette which is sturdy and great for travelling. This little palette doesn't come with a brush or a mirror, however these would have only made it more bulky and expensive so it doesn't bother me that much - plus I like to use my own brushes anyway! You get 4 great sized eye shadows and in the What's Nude palette they are all very pretty nude/ neutral shades with 3 being matte and the other a more satin like finish.

The 4 shades in this palette are: Vanilla which is a matte light off white shade which is great for subtle highlighting, Pink T which is a matte nude colour which is perfect for creating a flawless looking base, Mudhoney which is a matte medium brown shade and finally Aubersheen which is a satin finish brown.

All of these shades work really well together (especially all of the matte shades) to create a lovely everyday brown smoky eye. As Aubersheen is the only satin finish in the palette, this is also nice to pop into the crease of your eye look to add a different finish and to deepen the look up to make it more of an evening smoky eye. With this being said, this is a great day to night palette as the matte shades can be used for your day time look and then Aubersheen can be added for when you want to make your makeup extra smoky and glam!

I'm honestly so impressed with the quality of this palette. With most high street matte eye shadows I always find the pigmentation is quite poor and the staying power very lacking. But, as you can see from the swatches, these Soap & Glory shadows are super pigmented and last amazingly well on the eyes. They also apply and blend out really smoothly plus they don't look heavy and chalky despite being a matte finish. As Aubersheen has that satin finish it is also very pigmented and looks amazing in the crease.

I think this palette is amazing value for money as each eye shadow only works out at £2.50 each and you can get so much wear out of all of the shades. This is one of those palettes you can just pop in your makeup bag for a weekend away and know you're sorted for your eye makeup - you could even use Mudhoney as a shadow eye liner or as brow shade too if you have darker hair!

If you want something a bit different from nude shades this palette also comes in a smoky eye set called Smokey Dokey and a brighter set called Off The Wallflowers, both very pretty but unfortunately not colours that I wear very often! However I would highly recommend you trying out this amazing little eye shadow palette next time you're in Boots. This is definitely a staple product for anyone's makeup collection!

Have you tried the Soap & Glory Lid Stuff eye shadow palettes?

What's your favourite everyday eye shadow palette?

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Christmas Home Haul

Christmas is literally my favourite time of year; I love the cold, dark evenings, being able to burn candles all day long and of course the whole festive feeling of the next couple months. With this, I love decorating my room with Christmas decor and over the past couple of weeks I've picked up a few bits and pieces. It probably seems a bit early buying Christmas decorations already, but I always find that they sell out really quickly so it's good to stock up when you see bits you like!

Little Dears Duvet Set | £12.00 (double) | LINK

Every year I like to treat myself to some new Christmas bedding. I usually go for a set from Primark as they're always so cheap but I've actually found that Asda also do some lovely designs at similar prices! I spotted this cute deer and little girl duvet set on the Asda website and knew straight away I had to get it - it's so sweet! As you only use Christmas bedding for such a short time every year, you don't want to be spending loads of money on a duvet set, but I think £12 for a double is amazing and there are so many designs to choose from.

Red Deer Cushion | £7.00 | LINK

To go with my new bedding I also picked up the matching cushion that goes with it. I bought one of these cushions last year as well so I thought they would make my bed look really nice and Christmasy. This cushion has a lovely velvet finish and of course has the cute fawn print on the front. There's also a smaller one with a similar pattern, but I thought I would restrain myself so that my bedding wasn't "deer overload"!

Fawn Ornament | £4.00

The final Christmas item I picked up from Asda was a little fawn ornament and again, it matches my lovely new bedding! I love the look of this ornament as it's so vintage and retro looking and it's just a nice way to add a bit of character to your room. If you see this little fella I would definitely say pick him up because I had a bit of trouble finding him as he was always sold out!

White Polar Bear Ornament | £4.00 | LINK

Another cheap place to pick up some lovely Christmas decorations is Wilko's. I usually get my wrapping paper and ribbons from there as they're really good value for money and they have some lovely designs to choose from. I picked up this cute polar bear ornament as I loved the simplicity of it and thought it would look lovely sitting by my window. You can also get a range of sizes and positions of these polar bears which would make a lovely statement piece above your fireplace!

Polar Bear Tree Decorations | £1.50 each | LINK

Me and my mum went a bit "polar bear mad" in Wilko's as I also picked up some smaller tree decorations that would look lovely on the tree (obviously) or just hanging around the house. I love white decorations for the Christmas tree and thought these little bears would just look super cute!

 Yankee Candle Christmas Cookie Tea Lights | £6.75 | LINK

I can't seem to go shopping recently without picking up some form of candle - it's becoming a slight obsession! I had a Boots voucher that gave me 25% off a gift item so I decided to pick up some little Yankee Candle tea lights in Christmas Cookie which is one of my favourite Christmas scents! I haven't tried the Yankee tea lights before but I thought they would be nice to give my room a quick burst of fragrance. If you love sweet Christmasy scents then you should definitely try out the Christmas Cookie a try!

Yankee Candle Cranberry Ice Medium Jar | £18.99 | LINK

The final thing I picked up was a medium jar of the Cranberry Ice scent from Yankee Candle. This is a different kind of scent to Christmas Cookie as it's very fresh and fruity but still super Christmasy at the same time. I've wanted to get this lovely scent in a jar form as I go through so many sampler sizes of it. Luckily I spotted that this fragrance was 25% off in the Yankee shop (however this jar is 33% off online!) so I was super happy about that! I find that the medium jars last me ages so they're definitely worth investing into, especially if it's a scent that you love!

That's everything Christmas related that I've bought recently! I can't wait to start decorating my room, it feels such a shame keeping all these lovely things cooped up in bags! I've decided that I'm going to go all out and start decorating at the beginning of November as I'm just too excited! Be sure to give me a follow on Instagram (@amiehaffenden) as I'm bound to be snapping pictures of these Christmas pieces in action.

 Have you bought any Christmas home decor recently?

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Collection Illuminating Touch Foundation

Collection Illuminating Touch Foundation | £5.99 | LINK

Hello everyone! I just want to say sorry for not blogging for a couple of weeks, I've been super busy and haven't had a chance to sit down and type! However I did finally get my brand new laptop at the weekend - yay! Which finally means I can easily blog and edit photos whenever I please rather than waiting hours for my laptop to start up and getting my photo editor to finally start working (honestly it was the bane of my life!).

I thought I would share my thoughts on a new foundation that I have been trying out for the past couple weeks. Collection is a brand that I find has some real beauty gems - the obvious one being their Lasting Perfection Concealer. On a recent shopping trip I spotted the new Illuminating Touch Foundation for just a mere £3.99 and thought I would give it a try. I have quite dry skin so I'm always on the hunt to find cheap products that can give me that healthy dewy glow back to my skin.

The first thing that struck my about this foundation was the really lovely packaging. The Collection Illuminating Touch Foundation comes in a sleek mattified glass bottle which you wouldn't really expect for a foundation that you paid just under £4 for! I also love the fact that is has a good sturdy pump that feels really good quality - plus pumps are great for making sure you don't use too much product in one go.

The shade that I picked up was Ivory 2 which is the second lightest shade in the range. I'll be honest and say the colour selection wasn't that great from the shop that I bought mine from as Ivory 2 seemed to be the lightest shade they offered. As I do have quite pale skin I was sceptical as to whether this shade would match me well, but I'm glad to say it does and that I think the lightest shade would be far too light for me! This is great that there is a very light shade (Porcelain) available as I am aware that many fair skinned girls find it hard to match a foundation to their skin colour.

The product itself is much thicker than I thought it would be. If you have tried Rimmel's Match Perfection Foundation then that's the sort of consistency that I thought that it would be like. Despite being a thicker formula the foundation is still very light on the skin yet offers a nice light to medium coverage that is definitely build-able. I like my foundations to look like "my skin but better" rather than super heavy and thick and I find that this one does offer that lovely natural look that I love!

The staying power of this foundation is quite good but towards the end of the day I can definitely see that I need a bit of a touch up as it can start to wear off. I would say this is more of a day time foundation as the coverage is quite light and it does give you that lovely dewy finish. I have been very impressed with how well this foundation lasts, considering it's currently on offer for just £3.99 it's very good value for money!

So far I've been really enjoying using this foundation and will definitely continue using it. I'm not sure whether I would repurchase this again (maybe if I found it on another offer) as I do enjoy using my Rimmel foundations more, but it was nice to swap things up and try something new. If you are on the hunt for a nice everyday foundation then definitely give this try whist it's on offer!

Have you tried the new Collection Illuminating Touch Foundation?
What's your favourite foundation?

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Everyday Favourite Lipsticks

We're currently in a very awkward stage of the year where the weather is pretty much every season in just one day. In the mornings it seems like an obvious choice that a jumper is the best way to go, but by mid-afternoon you're highly regretting that choice and envy anyone you see wearing a Summer dress! I find this also seems to go with makeup as during the Winter months I love rocking a bold vampy lip but because we haven't quite reached that chilly stage just yet, I feel a bit OTT wearing one everyday. This has lead to me hunting through my lipstick collection for some perfect "in-between season" lipsticks that give me that lovely Autumnal colour yet still have a slight Summery edge to them!

I've picked out 5 of my most used lipsticks that I've been reaching for recently. I've noticed I tend to stick to a more glossy finish as there's only 1 matte lipstick in my selection. However this definitely changes when we're fully into the Winter months, so I'll probably do a favourite matte lipsticks post soon!

Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie | LINK | Review

 This is such an oldie but definitely one of my favourite ranges of lip products. The Revlon Lip Butters are super smooth and nourishing plus give you a lovely hint of colour. I've been reaching for the shade Berry Smoothie a lot recently as it gives a slight berry colour to my lips. As it's not an intense colour, it still gives that Autumnal berry shade but as it's more of a tint and has a glossy finish, it still looks really pretty on sunny days!

Soap & Glory Gloss Stick in Pink Punch | LINK

From an old product to a new one, these little Gloss Sticks by Soap & Glory are some of my newest additions to my makeup collection. Out of the 3 I have Pink Punch is the shade I've been reaching for the most as it's the most pigmented out of the selection I own. Even though this is quite a bright pink shade and would look amazing during the Summer, I still think it's easy to pull off at this time of the year. Again these have an amazing smooth formula and their compact size makes them perfect to throw in your handbag!

Bourjois Lip Crayon in Sweet Macchiato | LINK

I pretty much own nearly every shade of the Bourjois Lip Crayons so it was kind of hard not to include a couple of them! The first shade I've been using a lot is Sweet Macchiato which is a brown toned red/ nude which is super easy to wear everyday. Obviously brown toned nudes have been really in this year and this is a really easy way to pull off the trend with minimal effort.

Bourjois Lip Crayon in Plum Russian | LINK | Review

The other shade that's a firm favourite for me is Plum Russian. This is more of a vampy plum shade that's lovely for both day and night as it's easy to build up the colour. Even though it's quite a dark shade, the glossiness of the lip crayons make this a great transitional colour to wear at this time of the year. With their amazing hydrating formula and even SPF, these are a great lip product to have all year round!

Maybelline Color Drama Lipstick in Keep It Classy | LINK | Review

 My final lipstick in this post is probably the most "Autumny" shade out of the bunch! Keep It Classy from Maybelline's Color Drama Lipstick range is a gorgeous deep toned berry shade that has a matte finish. This little pencil form lipstick offers a tonne of colour, pigmentation and staying power and is definitely a range of lipsticks that I'd highly recommend! I will probably keep using this well into the Winter time, but even now I think this is a lovely shade to wear if you do feel like wearing a darker Autumn shade!

So these are a few of the lipsticks that I keep reaching for during this transitional time into Autumn. I would love to hear what lipsticks you have been wearing recently and whether you've tried any of these products before!

What are your current favourite lipsticks?

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Superdrug Coconut Oil

Superdrug Coconut Oil For Hair & Skin | £2.29

Coconut oil is well known for being an amazing multi-purpose product that can be used for a huge range of things, from hair, beauty and even cooking. As coconut oil is lightweight yet still really nourishing, it's a perfect addition to anyone's hair or body care routine. I recently picked up a tub of the Superdrug Coconut Oil, which is specifically designed for your hair and skin, as it was half price and I wanted to see how well it actually works! I've been testing it out for a few weeks and I thought I would share my thoughts on this super affordable wonder product.

 This coconut oil comes in a solid form that starts to melt as it comes into contact with your skin. What's great about this product is that you only need a tiny amount and a little really does go a long way! Even though the tub that I bought was the smaller of the 2 available from Superdrug, I can see that this will last me a very long time due to how little you need to use.

So the first way that I tried out the Superdrug coconut oil was by using it as a hair and scalp mask. All you have to do is simply massage the oil into your dry scalp and the lengths of your hair and leave it in for a few hours (or overnight if your hair is very dry!). After washing the oil out my hair is left feeling really soft and nourished and because it's lightweight it doesn't leave any oily residue in my hair. I would personally use the oil like this once every couple weeks as my hair is very fine, but someone with thicker or longer hair could definitely use it more! This oil is also great to use on wet hair after washing it to use as a leave in conditioner. I find this really helps smooth down my hair and leaves it feeling really soft.

I've also found that this coconut oil is really great for your skin as it melts straight into your skin as you massage it in. As it's really nourishing the oil is lovely to use on drier areas like your elbows, knees, hands and especially your feet - just pop some cosy socks on overnight and you have super soft feet in the morning! Again because it's a lightweight oil it doesn't leave your skin feeling greasy just really soft and supple!

This is a really great product and I love how affordable it is, especially as it's currently half price in Superdrug. I'd highly recommend this coconut oil so if you haven't tried it already definitely pick it up on your next Superdrug trip!

Have you tried coconut oil in your beauty routine before?
Let me know what else you use it for in the comments! 

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