August Favourites 2014

It's the beginning of September, so that means it's August favourites time! This month I pretty much established an 'everyday make up routine' due to the fact that I found a palette of colours and finishes that worked well for me. So seeing as I've been using pretty much the same products on a daily basis, this meant that it was pretty simple to round up my favourite products from the month of August.

First things first, a rather overused and well-loved eyeliner pencil from Rimmel. This is the Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal pencil in the shade Nude. Nude eyeliners are simple but extremely effective when it comes to making the eyes appear more bright and wide awake. I've used this everyday this month and traded it in for my typical black eyeliner to adopt a fresher brighter complexion for the sunny months. This is ultra pigmented and honestly stays in place all day, I highly, highly recommend it! Next up is one of my all time favourite (and expensive) blushers I own. This little sleek, black package of beauty is the Le Blush Créme De Chanel in the shade 64 Inspiration. This gives a beautiful, natural flushed appearance to the cheeks with a satin finish that lasts and lasts all day, better than any other blush I've tried. The colour is build-able so wether you want a slight wash of colour or an intense pop to the cheeks, it's really up to you. Another product that I've used non-stop this month is the Dior Addict Gloss in the shade 257 Venus. This is just a really pretty pinky-nude with a shimmery, ultra-shine finish that looks beautiful with any make up look. This is my go-to lipgloss on a daily basis as it looks so natural but still very lovely. This next favourite is definitely my 'most loved' of the month and that is my MAC Pro Palette, I've been using at least one of the four shades in this palette everyday this month and I honestly can't get enough. My favourite eyeshadow combination that I've fallen in love with is the shade Naked Lunch washed over the lid with Mythology blended through the crease and then Nylon dotted onto my tear duct, all of which creates a simplistic but 'pretty in pink' smokey eye. Next up is a fragrance favourite,  this being Estée Lauder's Modern Muse - a repurchase of mine that I bought and loved all through A/W 2013 and used up way before the first signs of Summer. I then tried to dabble in some other perfumes that were more fitting for the S/S months but now the weather is cooling down and thicker coats and leather boots are making an appearance on the runway, I decided to repurchase this beautiful fragrance and have loved it even more. Last up is a revolutionary product when it comes to self-tan. Of course, it's by St Tropez, my favourite fake-tan brand and it's their Self Tanning Express Bronzing Mousse which is basically a beautifully bronzed self-tan in a bottle where you can choose the depth of colour depending on when you wash it off. You can let it develop for just an hour for a light wash of colour of three hours for a deep, dark bronzed glow that carries on developing for up to eight hours and the colour pay-off can last up to a week. If you love fake-tan then I seriously suggest splashing the cash on this one!

Let me know what you think in the comments.

What products have you been loving in the month of August? 

The Beauty 5-A-Day Tag

Today I'm bringing to my little blog my 'Beauty 5-A-Day'. 5 beauty products that I can't live without on a daily basis. Think the whole 'If you were stranded on a desert island what item would you take with you' but change one item to five and instead of life-saving components, it's just five fab items that I find to be 'vital' to my routine, much like your average 5-a-day. Now this isn't my typical everyday make up, this is basically just a quick rundown on all the products I would use to gain some normality to my face if ever I was limited to only five products (even thinking about this scares me slightly).

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation

First of all, I'd need the perfect base. Considering I would most likely sacrifice concealer, I'd need a foundation that offers enough coverage to still make my skin appear near enough flawless, well as good as it can look! I'd also prefer a foundation that gives a nice dewy glow to my skin as so to ensure that my overall complexion would appear more alive and healthy. 

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette
Can we all just quickly take a moment to appreciate how beautiful this little compact trio is. I guess this is a slight cheat product as it's kind of a 3-in-1 job. With a beautiful all over radiant setting powder, a lovely champagne highlight and a bronzed shimmer to add some colour to the complexion, this is without a doubt a definite product in my 5-a-day. Plus just looking at how beautiful it is makes me feel slightly emotional (sad I know!). 

Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush 
Once again, a slight cheat, 2-in-1 product but it's still really only one, right? A beautiful, sheer pink blush that can be added lightly for a quick pop of colour or built up more intensely for a bold, bright statement cheek. Plus, if you really want to get creative you can also dab a little bit of this pretty pink to the lips as so to save space for an whole extra product. Think Benefit's Cheek and Blush tints but  more affordable and maybe even better! 

Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade 
Now I'm the kind of girl that can't leave the house without my brows being groomed and filled or else I just look 'half finished'. This is a great, easy-to-use product that gives the perfect brows without the need of multiple other products. This is definitely my 'go-to' brow product and I really can't see that changing anytime soon. 

Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara
Finally, my make up never looks done without applying a few lashings of mascara. I haven't picked this one for any particular reason other than the fact that its cheap and cheerful as well as the unique shaped wand ensures that those lashes will be looking as curled as ever without the use of any extra tools.

So that's my 5-A-Day in a quick, straight to the point(ish) post. There's of course a million other products that I would love to use alongside these but then that would completely defy the point of this post. I would love for all you to do this tag so I can see what your five would be and maybe swap out some of mine for some of yours!

Let me know what you think in the comments.

What is your Beauty 5-A-Day? 

Beauty| Sleek Make Up Blush in Rose Gold with Swatches

Sleek Make Up is one of my all time favourite drugstore brands as except for the more then affordable price tag, the quality and packaging of each product resembles nothing less then something more high end. I've been swooning over Sleek's Blush By 3 palettes for a while now but have been hesitant to buy based on the fact that I had never tried one of their blushers before and well there seemed little point buying three if I ended up not agreeing with the formulas. Instead I opted to buy one of Sleek's Single Blush (£4.49) in the most popular shade Rose Gold a renowned dupe for Nars Orgasm blush.

 Firstly, I must mention that the name couldn't be any more spot on with this shade. A beautiful mid-toned pink with a warm gold shimmer running through the powder making a beautiful, illuminating flush of colour once applied to the cheeks. This truly is a beautiful blush shade and would be great all year around, an absolute bonus in my eyes. The forumla is beautiful with amazing pigmentation, buttery soft to touch and heaven to apply. There was still evidence of this colour on my cheeks a good six hours after application, not bad for a drugstore dupe. The packaging does nothing less then resemble the brand name, 'Sleek' by look and touch, with its matte black extrerior that makes up this petite, little rectangle that is no bigger by length then my ring finger. After giving this product a go, I can't wait to try out more of the blushers that Sleek has to offer. 

Let me know what you think in the comments.

What's your favourite drugstore blush? 

Beauty| Benefit Rockateur Boxed Blusher Review

Benefit's Rockateur Blush (£23.50) hit the market with a bang at the end of last Summer and even still the hype surrounding this little boxed blush seems to be ever-growing. I've been lusting after this product for a while but tried to tell myself that I didn't need it because I have 'plenty of other blushers' but my rational thoughts were quickly trumped by my shopaholic mind which screamed 'but you can never have too many' and I popped my card into the machine without a second thought. The first thing that attracted me to this product wasn't the bold, cheeky if ever-so-slightly garish packaging but actually the beautiful rose gold interior which really came as a blessing to my eyes. I love the geometric designs created in the actual product and the embossed Rock that really sets it aside visually from most other competitor blushers on the market. 

The product is a subtle two-toned, muted pink shade with subtle hints of shimmer laced through the powder. In the pan the shimmer can appear slightly overwhelming and I was slightly precarious on whether it would result in the 'disco ball effect'. Luckily the shimmer transferred in a very simple but beautiful way and instead I was left with beautiful rosy, glowing cheeks that deemed an added highlighter as unnecessary - a bonus that can't really be argued with.

The product lasted well once applied and I still found traces of the pinky glow on my cheeks a good six hours later. The pigmentation is reasonably good but the long lasting formula will ensure for less re-applications which therefore results in less product usage and so you can save those pennies for a few extra months!

Overall, I'm very impressed with this product and if I'm honest I really didn't expect anything less when it comes to Benefit. I'm glad I finally bit the bullet and bought it and I'm sure my bank balance will forgive me soon for setting it back by £23.50.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

What's your favourite blusher?

Fragrance| Limited Edition Esteé Lauder Bronze Goddess

Introducing the most perfect summer fragrance which has awarded a special place on my fragrance shelf and has tempted me on numerous occasion over the past few years to stock up on copious amounts of these limited edition bottles so I will never be without this gorgeous, gold packaged, Goddess. Esteé Lauder's Bronze Goddess 100ml (£47) truly is Summer in a bottle, with scents that remind me of sandy beaches, salty sea water and coconut sun cream. This fragrance radiates warmth making you feel heavenly bronzed a unique touch for a Summer fragrance. 

Esteé Lauder themselves state that this is the fragrance 'that worships every inch of you' and I really do agree. The fragrance is heavy but not overwhelming and applies more like a body spray that lasts all day giving off addictive bursts off fragrance that create a sense of nostalgia and is enough to win over even the biggest Summer Scrooge. 

The Bronze Goddess fragrance is concocted with various different ingredients which awaken the senses allowing them to be whisked away to a hot, Summers day. Picture this: The Warmth of the Sun  created with the likes of Amber, Sandalwood, Coconut Milk and a personal favourite of mine, Myrrh and that is really just to name a view. Then we have the Warmness of the Golden Sand best served between our toes and created with Lemon, Mandarin and Orange. And finally the Bronzed Skin that most woman crave in summer which is made up of a mixture of different floral scents including Jasmine, Lavender and Magnolia Petals. When all of this is wrapped up in a beautiful gold, reflective bottle, there really is little to no reason why everyone shouldn't have this in their collection ready for S/S. 

I can honestly say I loved it the first time I smelt it two years ago and it hasn't left my mind since until I finally bought it for this Summer.  For any of you that do want try it, you are certainly in for a treat. This fragrance is the ultimate womanly scent that everyone needs in their collection. Be quick though, as this scent is only around for a limited time only and if you don't snap it up quick you may find yourself having to wait a whole other year till next Summer, like my silly self, until you're finally reunited with it again. 

I hope you enjoyed this review.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

What's your favourite Summer fragrance? 

Beauty & Lifestyle| Shop The Stash!

The time of Lent is upon us and like many other hopefuls out there I've set myself a challenge that I have to obey until Easter finally comes as a blessing. Being an avid Cosmetics lover as well as a self-confessed shopaholic I thought it was time to pack in the pounds, put away the card and go on a dreaded spending ban. So far so good, yes I know it's only been a couple of weeks but usually by now I would of racked up a steep bill on FeelUnique or have my eye on a couple of (hundred) things on Cult Beauty, so to be honest I should be given a medal for my incredible willpower. 

As much as this spending ban has left a deep, dark void in my life it has also inspired me to suck it up and 'Shop My Stash'. As some of you may or may not know 'Shop My Stash' is a catchy, prettier if slightly simpler term for rediscovering your Cosmetic items that used to get a lot of love but have recently been pushed out of the limelight and have instead been MIA along with your missing bobby pins. I, for one, am very guilty at buying products that I don't necessarily need meaning a lot of my then current beauty favourite get easily forgotten about. That's why I thought it was time to rifle through my cosmetics drawers and the bottom of my bag, get together all my products and re-incooperate them back into my everyday routine. Then I felt it was an excellent idea to photograph said items and put them in a blog post so I could then inspire you to do the same! So here's my chosen few...

Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation

As many of you are probably aware, Estée Lauder Double Wear is my all time favourite foundation and I've found little competitors that have ever been able to steal the lime light. Yet, being a  shopaholic and cosmetics hoarder, I find it really hard to not to wonder astray and dabble in other neighbouring brands foundations (ahem Chanel) and admittedly, recently this little glass bottle of liquid heaven has undoubtedly been pushed out the picture. This has come to an end though and as I shop my stash I plan to get a hell of a lot more use out of this bottle and re-kindle my love with the almighty Double Wear. 

Benefit Watts Up Highlighter

Probably one of the first highlighters I owned, if not the first and as soon as I welcomed this into my cosmetic stash, it was most definitely love at first. Yet not long after my eyes were graced by the likes of Mac Mineralize Skin Finish in Soft and Gentle and Watts Up was soon forgotten about. Luckily I have rediscoverd this and upon using this I realised why I loved it in the first place. Being in a stick structure it can be hard to work with but with the help of a buffing brush it applies beautifully and gives me the healthy glow and slightly more prominent cheek bones that I crave. 

Soap & Glory Archery Brow Tint & Precision Shaping Pencil

A quick, easy eyebrow pencil with a sheer brown crayon and handy felt tip end, perfect for tinting your eyebrows a natural brown and filling in the gaps with ultimate precision. I loved the Archery Brow from Soap & Glory but being a lover of powders and pomade's it swiftly got pushed out of the lime light and ended up at the bottom of the pile with my 'two shades too dark' Rimmel eyebrow Pencil. Whilst I've been shopping my stash, I decided to give this another go and instantly fell in love with the clean, brushed up effect it created, a benefit I surely can not live without. 

Benefit Benetint

A Rose coloured stain perfect for a rosy-red cheek look or a 'your lips but better' tint on the mouth. The first Benefit product to ever have graced my cosmetic stash. I've had this for so many years and as you can quite plainly see from the picture, it's not too far off from being finished. Unfortunately, I was introduced to the delights of the Clarin's Mosaic blushers and pearlescent pink pans from the Accessorize range, therefore this little pot of red had taken second place and has not been used since Christmas...2012 (oops). That is going to change nevertheless and I'm excited to give this another go. Especially with the launch of Benefit's Lollitint,  a candy-coloured pink, perfect for the S\S season has flown onto the shelves and maybe, possibly, could end up in my makeup bag come Summer. 

Zara Woman Perfume

I can throw my hands up and admit I am a snob when it comes too a few things: Foundation, Skincare and of course Fragrance. Give me a decent smelling scent with a pretty bottle and a well known name and it will be mine. Luckily, this quality I possess was broken and I managed to find one of my all time favourite scents for a bargain price of £12 in Zara. Admittedly the first thing that really attracted to me to this perfume was the tiny glitter particles in the liquid, as you have probably guessed I have awfully bad Magpie like tendencies. Yet, the smell is light and sweet and completely unique to any of the other sweet smelling fragrances in my collection! I plan to give this a lot more use these brighter months and hopefully will finish the bottle come fall.

Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Pink Gold 

I have a number of these in my collection and one at a time they've all became a staple in my make up routine. Then entered the Naked 2, then the Naked 3 and finally my Mac pro palette and these drugstore babies soon sank to the back of my Muji drawers. Luckily, I stumbled upon this particular shade again whilst shopping my stash and found it to be a beautiful multi-purpose shadow, either in a wash all over the lid, a base for other pink-hued eyeshadows (ahem Naked 3) or a an ever so slightly subtle crease colour. Although it's pink toned, it's so easily wearable and with the slight shimmer, I'll definitely be sporting this on my lids on slightly more 'au natural' days especially when the sun is shining. 

Hope you enjoyed this post.

Have you Shopped Your Stash recently?