February Favourites

Vagabond Dioon Ankle Boots

This month I decided to buy to the Vagabond Dioon Ankle Boots as a 'getting into uni' present to myself. They were extremely pricey but I'd been lusting after them for so long, like I'd be sitting on my laptop with the Urban Outfitters website open in another tab so I could just keep looking at them. Sad but true. Luckily I had a 20% off code so they were £72 rather than £90. I was saving money really. Anyway I absolutely love them, they're the kind of boot that will work all year round and make any outfit feel instantly cooler. I love the extra bit of height they give me and I just think they're a classic black boot. 

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge

I bought this forever ago and used it about once, wasn't crazy about it and it got pushed to the bottom of a pot of brushes. Then when dry skin-gate hit me this month I randomly decided to give it another try. And oh em gee it's incredible. It makes foundation go on so beautifully. It looks natural and dewy and more flawless than with any brush I've ever used. I'm using it for both foundation and concealer and I'm so happy I decided to give this another try.

 Maybelline Lash Sensational Lash Multiplying Mascara
Unfortunately I haven't been blessed with amazing eyelashes and no amount of mascara will change that but I've been really enjoying using this one this month, I'm actually on to my second bottle (?) already. It's not that it makes my eyelashes super long or super thick but I don't absolutely hate the task of putting it on of a morning. It's not holy grail but I'm going to keep using it for now since it's well priced and a good mascara. I also really like the packaging. So much classier than the usually garish Maybelline packaging.

Illasmasqua Eyebrow Cake in Thunder 
or Illamasqua Multi Facet Palette in Semblance
I bought this palette in the Illamasqua sale for £13.50 and the standout product for me (aside from the Hollow Cream Pigment which I have and use everyday and also comes in the palette) is the Eyebrow Cake in Thunder in the right corner. It looks like it would be way too much of a warm brown for my eyebrows but it actually comes out more more ashy than in the pan. I've been using an angled brush to put this through the brows then using my Soap & Glory Pencil for more precision around the edges but they go amazingly together and I think my eyebrows are looking pretty good at the moment (but you never really know until you look back in a couple of months and wonder what you were thinking).

Not too many favourites this month but I'm still loving everything I was loving in January so you can check them out here. Thanks for stopping by, lots of love,

Review: Superdrug Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser

Superdrug Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser

If you read my not-so favourable review of the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel you'll know that I mentioned a new cleanser that was a fraction of the price and was serving me much better. The cleanser in question was this Superdrug cleanser which comes in at £4.99. I bought it because it's for normal to dry skin and I was suffering with really dry skin (stop going on about it already) so I thought I'd give it a try since I was desperate. It comes out as a thick creamy texture which you massage on to dry skin then take off with a warm cloth. It smells like sun cream which isn't a big deal but might be worth mentioning. Since using this my dryness problem has seemingly disappeared. My skin is much smoother and foundation is going on like it used to. I don't tend to get big blemishes or anything like that so I can't comment on how it works for acne or spots but I have noticed how much less red my skin is. Usually after cleansing my skin is quite red especially on the cheeks however when I remove this with a hot flannel or muslin cloth it looks much more evenly toned and not angry in anyway which is something I'm really pleased about. I use this morning and night and I'm so happy with the results especially considering how cheap it is. You also get a lot in the tube so it's even better value for money. There are a few more products in this range which I would like to try, they all come in under the £5 mark I think which is amazing. 

Have you tried anything from this range? Let me know in the comments!

Lots of love, 

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Look of the Month: February

Hello everyone and welcome to my first 'look of the month'. I play around with my daily makeup quite a lot so I'll often stumble across a look I really like and I'll repeat it a few times before getting bored and trying something else. This months most regular look has been a lightly smudged eyeliner with the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Nude-ist which is without a doubt my most worn lipstick at the moment, it's so easy to throw on and goes with so many different looks. I started with Nars Sheer Glow in Gobi (not a good shade for me but wharevs) swiftly followed by the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Vanilla which has been a god send with my dry skin this month. Eyebrows are the usual Soap & Glory Archery 2 in 1 Pencil and Brush. I primed my eyes with the Mac Paint Pot in Soft Ochre and then put W.O.S from the Naked Basics Palette all over the lid to make it look clean and fresh. I then put the tiniest bit of Naked 2 and Faint through the crease and the outer corners to give a bit of definition but I wanted most of the focus to be on the eyeliner which I did using the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner (somehow not dried out even though I got it in August 2014). I then used the shade Crave from Naked Basics over the liner and just above to make it more smudged and less perfect. I've also taken to putting a bit of eyeshadow on the inner corners to make the eyes more feline looking. I finished the eyes by adding a tonne of Maybelline's Lash Sensational mascara which I really like. My cheeks were the usual routine of the Illasmasqua Cream Pigment in Hollow followed by a touch of Nars Laguna then another new product from the drugstore, the Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in Seductive Pink. My favourite way to use this is to have it quite high up on my cheekbones rather than on the apple of my cheeks. My favourite thing about this look is that the eyes are so neutral you can wear any lipstick and it won't look over the top. However I really love the clean eyes/ pink lip combo. I think it's really fresh and pretty. Sorry the photo doesn't really show much of the makeup but it's apparently impossible to take a decent photo of my face. Oh well. 

Thanks for stopping by! Lots of love, 

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Disappointing Product: Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel

Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel

I don't often talk about skincare on my blog for the reason that it's so subjective. Everyone's skin is different so something that works for me may not work for someone else therefore I'm always wary of recommending something too highly. However when you hear something praised repeatedly but you don't feel the same it's hard not to have your say. The Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel has received so much hype from bloggers big and small and, needing a replacement cleanser after running out of my Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm, I decided to give it a try. I used it for a really long time and unfortunately I was left really disappointed. It did absolutely nothing for my skin at first but I continued to use it anyway. About a month ago however things started to go badly wrong. My skin felt so tight and dry after using it and no amount of serums, moisturisers or masks seemed to help the situation. I usually have oily skin so when I've got visibly dry, flaky patches on my cheeks you know something in my skincare routine isn't working. My foundation was going on so horribly and it was starting to get me down as when my skin doesn't look good I feel like the rest of my makeup looks bad too. One thing I will say about this product is that it lasts forever. I thought I'd at least use it until it ran out but no. It just keeps going. So you do get a lot in the bottle but it's expensive and in my opinion not worth the money. I've since switched to a £4 cleanser and I'm so much happier with it (blogpost to come). However, like I said, skincare is so subjective so while this is some people's holy grail cleanser it really didn't work so me. Let me know in the comments if you've tried this and what you thought of it :) Lots of love,

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Repurchase: Essie Bordeaux

Essie Bordeaux

 Over the winter months I become dark red nail varnish obsessed, usually going for colours such as Revlon's Vixen and Essie's Wicked. Around December time I picked up Bordeaux by Essie after hearing it raved about by many bloggers and since then this is the only colour I have been sporting on my nails. It's the perfect deep wine colour beating all others to become my favourite burgundy shade. I've used it so much that I'm now struggling to get the brush to reach the product. Consequently I've had to buy a new one, making it the first nail varnish I have ever repurchased. Every time I go to paint my nails I think I should probably use something else but I can never resist this shade. Sadly there's no photo of it on my nails due to my un-photographable man hands but there is one on my instagram. 

Things may change in the warmer months when the brighter colours make an appearance but for now I want this permanently tattooed on my nails. Have you tried this shade? Let me know in the comments :) Lots of love, 

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Zara Basic City Bag

Zara Basic City Bag

It dawned on me recently that I didn't own a decent sized black bag which seemed ridiculous considering the majority of my wardrobe is black. Thus began the quest. Obviously once I had the idea in my head I couldn't find anything that I liked or fitted what I had in mind, even after trawling through the likes of Asos and Topshop. Zara, however, always seem to have gorgeous bags at really reasonable prices. I have had many bags from there in the past so it should have been the first place I looked.

The Basic City Bag (£29.99) is exactly what I was looking for. It is simple but not boring because of the double flap detail and the inverted 'v' at the front. It's not too big but has enough room for all my daily essentials (and more) and the two pockets at the front are really handy (as well as a zip pocket on the inside). It isn't overly laden with gold hardware either which is nice as it makes more of a feature of the small ball on the front. 

I think £29.99 is a really reasonable price for a bag like this because of how often I use it (i.e everyday). I've definitely already got my moneys worth with this one. If you're in the market for a new bag I definitely recommend checking out the Zara website!

Thanks for stopping by and hopefully see you soon!

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How I use Nuxe Reve de Miel Lip Balm

Nuxe Reve de Miel Lip Balm

 A bit of a beauty blogger favourite comes in the form of the Nuxe Reve de Miel Lip balm which I willingly jumped on the band wagon of. It has a very thick consistency and is matte, which is unusual for a lip balm which tend to leave a slight gloss to the lips. I find this product can be used in a few different ways. 

The first way, and the way I hear most people talking about, is using it as an overnight balm because of it's thick, moisturising nature. It sits on the lips for a long time so lasts all night. However this isn't my favourite use for this lip balm. One way I do like to use it is to put a generous layer on whilst I'm putting my makeup on. Then once I'm done with my makeup I use a tissue to wipe the product off my lips. Not only does this get rid of any foundation or concealer that got on your lips during makeup application it also rids the lips of any dryness so applying lipstick is much nicer. My favourite way to use this product however is to dab the lightest layer over the top of matte lipstick. Because the lip balm is matte it doesn't change the look or the formula of the lipstick. It makes matte lipstick much less drying on the lips but doesn't compromise the longevity of the lipstick. I pretty much only wear matte lipstick and using this trick means I can wear it for work and not worry about getting dry lips. 

Let me know in the comments if you have any other ways of using this product :)

Thanks for stopping by! Lots of love, 

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