November Goals

With only two months left of 2016, it’s important to truly make the most of it. With two busy months ahead, it’s all about being productive and of course making up for those lost new years resolutions…what resolutions!? Here is what I am aiming to achieve this month:

• Start studying for exams and work in advance on upcoming assignments
• Get back onto Instagram!
• Have at least one Starbucks red cup, yup it’s red cup season!
• Go crazy for Black Friday! (in other words, buy the entire range at All Saints cause heart-eyed emojis!)
• Get the bulk of my Christmas shopping done (one present already accomplished!)

What are your goals for the month ahead?

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October Favourites

This month, I definitely got my makeup mojo back! I picked up a few new goodies this month as well as finding great gems within my stash. So without further ado, here is my favourite products of the month..

Starting with base, I have three base product loves. I mentioned this in my Becca post but I am loving the Becca Backlight Priming Perfector for under makeup. It adds the most gorgeous luminosity to the skin and it’s just a great starting base for applying foundation on to. In terms of one of my go-to foundation products I’ve been using lately, it comes from an old favourite; Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue. Again, another glow giver product that makes my skin look beautifully fresh and dewy! Love it! It has light coverage but applies beautifully and the finish is so worth it!

To finish off my base, I also have a concealer love. I’ve had the Mac Prep and Prime Highlighter Pen in Light Boost for a while now but after getting into the habit of using it daily I am obsessed! It adds just the right amount of coverage and the yellow toned shade works perfectly to lighten my under-eyes. It has also lasted me so long despite the small amount of product!

Another love this month has came from Kat Von D and surprisingly is an eyeliner! I say surprisingly as I haven’t been wearing eyeliner for such a long time however when I got my hands on the Tattoo Liner I was desperate to start giving it a go again! Whilst it will take a bit of time to gain some courage to wing it out, I am loving using this as it is super easy to use. The pen style liner has a brush tip which makes it easy to glide on the eye without pulling and tugging which makes it a dream for an eyeliner noob like me. Definitely the best eyeliner I’ve ever used, this will definitely be getting a full size purchase!

Of course I couldn’t have a favourites post without a lip product, right!? Naturally I have more than one in this post! The first is from Urban Decay and was mentioned in my UD lipstick dedicated post here. I have been obsessed with the shade Backtalk, a gorgeous cool toned nude mauve pink in a comfortable creamy matte formula. I can tell it will be a long term favourite of mine!

The second and last product of this round-up is from Mac and one of their Retro Matte liquid lipsticks in the shade Lady Be Good. I am a huge lover of liquid lipsticks but it took me a while to finally get my hands on one of these from Mac however a little price decrease gave me the perfect reason to try one out! They recieved a bit of stick for these in reviews for the formula however I have to say I have been so impressed. The formula is comfortable enough and doesn’t feel overly drying. The applicator is also one of the best I’ve tried as it’s pretty wide so fits the shape of your lips much better than the standard doe foot applicator. The shade is a peachy nude which is super pretty and wearable!

What have you been loving recently?

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October Favourites

It’s favourites time once again! I have been doing quite a lot of beauty spending in the last couple of months so I have been spending my time trying out a bunch of new products. This month I definitely was swayed by a lot of the newbies in my collection and have found some that I know I will love for a long time to come. As October settled in, I definitely got back into the whole Autumnal makeup look. I have been loving wearing darker lips and bold eye makeup, it’s without a doubt my favourite time of year. So without anymore rambling, here is my beauty favourites for the month of October, enjoy…

Blush is one of my favourite makeup products. I just love collecting different tones of blusher. In fact I’ve bought quite a few additions in the last month but my new addition from Nars has been proving to be a strong favourite. Nars Dolce Vita is the perfect blush for the Autumnal months. A gorgeous rosy pink shade that adds a bit of warmth and life to my pale skin. The formula of these are fab too, a little goes a long way and they last for ages.

As the month has went on I have actually been abandoning highlighter which is a little strange for me although my skin has been quite glowy recently and I am struggling for time in the morning for extra steps in my routine. Although when highlighter has been on the need list I have been reaching for the Seventeen Skin Wow Highlighter*, a gorgeous liquid pearl toned highlighter that adds a beautiful glow to the cheekbones. This actually reminds me of the Nars Illuminator in Copacobana but for a fraction of the price. Definitely a drugstore pick to check out!

Alongside the autumnal inspired makeup I also love dark nails. Those gorgeous berries and deep purples are my kinda shades and I would happily take them over a bright coral any day of the week. I have been loving Essie Bahama Mama, a gorgeous plum colour perfect for this time of year. Of course the formula of Essie is unbeatable and definitely worth the extra few pennies.

This month, I also finally picked up something from Bobbi Brown. Whilst I own one of their brushes I never properly tried anything from their makeup range but I finally changed that this month when I picked up the Bobbi Brown Corrector. I have been suffering from a bit of discolouration under the eyes and thought that this cult product would do the job. After popping to a counter I picked up the shade Extra Light Bisque which works wonders at hiding the blue tones from under my eyes. The formula is super creamy and blends beautifully, a product I know I will rely on for a long time to come!

Finally, what’s Autumn without a berry toned lip. My seasonal pick this year comes from Mac in the form of their Plumful lipstick. A gorgeous plum berry shade in Mac’s lustre finish which offers a sheer but buildable colour. This colour is quite different for me, it fits more into the pink/purple category rather than red so is pretty unique in my collection and it just looks super gorgeous. Love, love, love!

*pr sample

What have you been loving during October?

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October Playlist

Another month nearly gone by, another month full of new music to my ears. In terms of music, this month was pretty darn exciting. I mentioned briefly earlier in my Going Out Makeup Look post here that I went to see One Direction this month. Again I won’t go too much into it because I will be mentioning it again in my next post but it did mean that 1D were top of my list this month. More excitedly they gave us another little spoiler to their album with two new tracks; Infinity and Perfect which are both so good and have been blaring out my speakers for the whole month. Their support act Jamie Lawson also made my list after hearing his #1 track Wasn’t Expecting That which is just the most beautiful yet emotional song I have ever heard, totally worth a listen for a good cry! Two of my favourite bands came back onto the scene this month, the first being The 1975 with their new song Love Me which is incredible and so different to their usual sound but I am loving the funked up beat. Also 5SOS came back with a new album, whilst I haven’t fully gave the album a proper listen I am still loving a couple of their new songs. Also on my list include new songs from Little Mix, Adam Levine and of course the killer comeback tune Hello from Adele.

What have you been listening to this month? 

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My First Foray Into H&M Beauty

If I am honest I wasn’t really that excited or in fact even interested by the fact that H&M were launching a new beauty line. They had a smaller collection of beauty bits before that were pretty boring and looked cheap and I suppose I wasn’t expecting too much. Although after seeing the line in full I have to say I am totally digging this new collection by H&M and obviously had to pick up a couple of pieces! I have to say I am pretty impressed at the range and some of the packaging looks super chic especially those hexagon blushes! Although I limited myself to just two things from the range and thought I would give you my lowdown to my first taster of H&M Beauty.

They had an incredibly impressive range of eyeshadow products with cream eyeshadows, beautiful palettes and eye pencils. I went with one of the single eyeshadows or should I say High Impact Eye colours in the shade Robusta. When it comes to eyeshadow I always gravitate to my usual bronze-y and brown shades. The shade ‘Robusta’ is a gorgeous deep bronze-y gold shade. The shade can be worn lightly as a sheer wash of colour or built up to full colour in which it boasts impressive pigmentation. The formula blends easily on the lids and also lasts really well during the day. At £4.99 it’s a complete bargain and I will definitely need to try out more shades from the brand!

Next up surprisingly is a lip gloss. Now I say surprisingly because you may or may not be aware but I am not really a lip gloss fan. I don’t like the stickiness and it all just pretty much reminds me of being a little girl with a tube of thick gloopy gloss. Not pretty! Now when I went to buy this I actually thought I was buying a liquid lipstick and then soon realised my mistake as I tried this on back home and of course read the label… silly me! However I actually really like this. I picked up the shade Tuscan Blush which is a gorgeous rosy mauve colour that is a perfect everyday colour for the Autumnal months. Now the reason I really like this is that it isn’t like your average lip gloss, it boasts a high pigmented colour that lasts really well on the lips but also the formula isn’t overly sticky in any way, it feels super comfortable. I would definitely consider picking up another couple of gloss shades, I am without a doubt a lip gloss convert…

Have you tried H&M Beauty?

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The Autumn Beauty Edit

It really feels like Summer was a lifetime away now. The air is crisp and the mornings are dark. Autumn is officially here (and has been for like the last month..). Autumn is without a doubt my favourite season and one of the reasons I adore this time of year is due to the beauty. I am a huge lover of berry lips and bronze-y eyes, the perfect Autumnal duo. I always feel more myself when wearing my more fall reserved makeup as I am not the biggest fan of the creamy products of Summer and I always prefer something a little more deep or neutral than a coral lip. Today I thought I would share some of my favourite makeup picks for the season and the kind of products I sway for at this time of year.

For base, I love a good satin finish. I know that many people sway for a more matte complexion at this time of year but I do prefer to have a little glow. The Nars Sheer Glow foundation will forever remain one of my all time favourites for providing a flawless base. I like to wear a little more coverage at this time of year too and the Nars has a really great buildable coverage. In terms of concealing, it is my usual go to for blemishes; the Nars Creamy Radiant Concealer. Again it provides great coverage and doesn’t appear cakey or drying. For my under eyes I am still loving the Clarins Instant Concealer which is super lightweight and looks fresh on the skin.

To warm up the skin, I am still loving the Body Shop Honey Bronzer in fact I feel like this deserves holy grail status! Such a gorgeous shade for my pale complexion. For blush, I have been reaching for my new Nars Dolce Vita blush that I mentioned in my Fall Blush post here. It’s such a gorgeous rosy shade that again works really well with my skin tone. To add a little glow I’ve been opting for the Seventeen Skin Wow Highlighter* that offers a gorgeous fresh radiant look to the skin. Again I spoke more about this one here.

Moving onto eyes. For eyebrows it is of course my usual Benefit Gimme Brow. What would I do without it!? For eyeshadow, there is one palette that just screams Autumn. It is of course the Zoeva Cocoa Blend palette, the one I raved about a while back here. The warm toned shades are basically made with Autumn in mind and I can’t wait to start using this again. Definitely one of my favourite eyeshadow palettes! To finish the eyes, a few coats of my current favourite mascara; Benefit They’re Real.

To finish off my Autumnal look it’s all about the lips. This is the one thing I like to change up quite a lot during the Autumn months as I have so many seasonal appropriate shades that I am always looking forward to digging out. A newbie this season for me and one that I think will be a longtime favourite is Mac Plumful. A beautiful plum-y pink shade in a lustre finish that offers moisture but still gives great pigment.

*pr sample

What is your go-to makeup look for Autumn? 

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The Autumn Nails Edit

Without a doubt dark nails are my thing. I always get really excited for this time of year when it’s completely acceptable to start bringing out the deeper and darker shades. It’s not all dark plums and berries though as I do love the neutrals and all of those shades that feel super cosy and warm, if that makes any sense? In line with all my autumnal inspired posts I thought it was about time to share my favourite nail shades for this time of year.

The Neutrals 

Barry M Matte Nail Paint Caramel – Matte nails were never really much my thing but I was so obsessed with this matte range from Barry M a few years back. The collection had the best lineup of fall shades and the shade Caramel is one of my favourites. A beautiful beige nude colour, this shade goes with anything and looks super sophisticated.

Essie Sand Tropez – A new shade in my collection, this nude shade sits more as a grey-ish shade to Caramel, think greige. The sand hued shade fits as a perfect nude and you can always rely on the formula of Essie.

The Warm Browns 

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint Cocoa – The shade name really sums this colour up. Think a deep warm brown that conjuncts images of drinking hot chocolate by a roasting fire. Sheer Bliss. A very autumnal shade in another one of my favourite formulas, expect a great finish with this one.

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint Paprika – Same formula, another brown based shade but a different hue. Paprika is such a typical Autumn like colour. An orange-y brown reminiscent of pumpkins and Halloween. I mean just imagine wearing this shade with a Pumpkin Spiced Latte in hand, Autumn goals right there!

The Berries and Plums 

Essie Bahama Mama – Another newbie in my collection, this gorgeous plum purple-y shade is currently chipping it’s way off my nails as we speak. No need to worry though as this has been on my nails for a little too long now! The colour though is gorgeous and pretty different from anything I’ve already got. It falls more into the purple side of things rather than the usual red which I love. A new favourite of mine for sure.

Nails Inc Grosvenor Crescent – I picked up this shade as part of the Nails Inc A/W collection from last year although I actually haven’t tried this shade out yet but I can’t wait to get this on my nails! This is such a perfect Autumn shade, a deep plum-y aubergine shade that appears to be the darkest shade in my lineup. I love a good dark nail and I am currently loving Nails Inc so this one I know I will love!

Essie Shearling Darling – I only have a little mini of this shade but it is one I definitely recommend. A must have fall shade, the perfect deep burgundy that everyone needs in their collection for this time of year. This is definitely one of my favourites.

Barry M Matte Nail Paint Crush – Another one from the matte range, this shade lies more on the red spectrum and is a fail safe deep berry shade. Again I really like the formula of these and the matte finish is a little different than the usual glossy style.

The Winter Blues

Essie Parka Perfect – Since wearing nail polish for many years I’ve took my time in realising the shades I truly love. Grey-ish blues are definitely one of my favourites, pretty specific there I know! Parka Perfect is a gorgeous blue-y grey shade that is slick and looks polished but still offers something more unique than a simple nude.

Essie Maximillian Strasse Her – One of my favourites, a similar shade to Parka Perfect although this runs a little lighter and appears to have a slight green-ish hue running though it. I spoke fully about this shade here but it’s a colour I will forever be coming back to no matter what season.

What are your favourite nail shades for Autumn? 

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Five For Fall: Lipstick

If there is one thing to get excited about at this time of year it is without a doubt berry and red toned lips. You’ve seen my blush choices for the new season but now it’s time to look at some of my favourite lip picks for Autumn, all of which of course follow the typical plum/red/berry tones.

First up is the darkest in the bunch and one of the budget options from the drugstore. Revlon Black Cherry is an intense plum toned shade that was basically created for this time of year. Personally I actually find this shade a little too dark on it’s own but when applied on top of the Benefit Benebalm tinted lip balm the shade is much more wearable. This is actually my only lipstick from Revlon, in fact the only product I own from the brand but I definitely need to pick up some more as the formula is beautiful. Super creamy, the lipstick glides on smoothly on the lips and is a dream to wear.

Speaking of fabulous formulas, I am a huge fan of the Nars Lip Pencils, in fact I think they are one of the best lip products around. The formulas are everything you could want in a lipstick, super creamy and comfortable to wear but also well pigmented and long lasting on the lips. The shade Mandore was part of the limited edition collection last Winter although it appears to be still available. It is a gorgeous deep red shade that will not look out of place during the colder months.

The shade I will probably be getting the most wear out of during the Autumn months is one of the new additions to my collection, Mac Plumful. I mean come on what is a lip post without a Mac lipstick! With a change in season I basically had to head to Mac (it’s like a tradition obvs?) and I had one shade in particular in my mind that I just had to pick up. Plumful is an incredibly popular shade and as the name suggests is a beautiful plum-y pink colour that is completely different to anything in my collection. It is a lustre finish so has a balmy texture whilst the colour appears more on the sheerer side of things although I find Plumful to be rather buildable and can be worn as more of statement lip. This is a lipstick I know I will love for a long time to come.

Another new addition from Mac is from their matte range namely the shade D for Danger. I had originally planned to pick this up at the same time as Plumful although it was out of stock. Luckily for me though I spotted this online at the House of Fraser and was rather surprised to find it slightly cheaper at £14 rather than the usual £15.50. Whilst not much a saving it’s always nice to grab some sort of bargain especially on Mac. The shade is gorgeous and perfect for Autumn. A typical dark berry red shade with a comfortable but long lasting matte finish.

Lastly, I obviously had to mention the Fall classic. Rimmel Kate Moss 107, the perfect berry lip at an affordable price. This is actually a very similar shade to D for Danger that it could be considered as a dupe. Again this one has a matte finish and lasts well on the lips whilst still feeling comfortable.

What is your favourite lip product for Fall?

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Valentino RTW Fall 2015

Fashion Week is finally over. It does feel like such a long time with so many shows over the four cities. Before we say goodbye though it is time to look at one last show from Paris Fashion Week. This time it is in the form of Valentino a show that I always look forward to seeing. I really took to Valentino over the past while, they just seem to create such simplistic but beautiful clothing. This collection followed the same concept.

Now this show was a major talking point and you may be familiar with it already. It wasn’t about the fashion this time, eyes were focused on the appearance of two familiar faces at the end of the show. Zoolander actors Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller made an appearance in the show in full Zoolander character as they announced a sequel to the original film. The reception of the audience was incredible and definitely added a bit of fun into fashion week.

Nevertheless, this collection has other memorable factors that made this show a winner. There was a strong classic monochromatic style running through the show particularly at the start with black and white checkered and striped pieces as well as plain over-sized pieces. Knits and fur also made their way onto the runway as well as lace and leather details. Things started to get a bit brighter midway and towards the end with multi-colored prints featuring butterflies and flowers as well as the odd dragon (why not?). The show featured many beautiful embellished details and simplistic structured silhouettes. Another great collection for Valentino. *loud applause* Check out the rest of the collection here.

image sources: Style.com

What did you think of this show? What was your favourite show from Fashion Week?