November Favourites

I have been in such a routine with my beauty products recently that I haven’t been trying too many new products or changing much up. However with Winter making an appearance lately I have been changing a couple of products in my skincare routine that I have been enjoying. So here is what I’ve been loving this month…

Starting briefly with makeup which surprisingly is in the minority this time around! I only have two makeup picks, although really one… If you follow me on Instagram then you may have seen my recent Too Faced purchase. I had some Debenhams points to use up and I had wanted to get my hands on the Too Faced Sweethearts bronzer for far too long so felt like the perfect opportunity! Shaped like a heart, Too Faced standard pretty packaging, it has two halves of a lighter and darker bronze-y shade in a shimmery baked formula. It reminds me slightly of the Hourglass bronzers but a fraction of the price and a much lighter shade. The shimmer is also not too over the top and just the right amount. It has great pigmentation and creates such a lovely sculpting effect on the skin which I love.

To apply my Too Faced Bronzer,  I have been enjoying using my new Eco Tools Blending and Bronzing brush. I picked this up from Love Me Beauty as part of their subscription service. This is actually the first time I’ve tried Eco Tools brushes but I am already loving this brush. It works perfectly with the bronzer in that it is the perfect size and works great when applying.

Moving on to skin-body care products, my skin has felt so dehydrated lately that I’ve been looking to nourish and hydrate my skin so I have changed up a couple of products in my routine. Now and again, I’ve been opting for the Emma Hardie Cleansing balm as my second cleanse as it is super nourishing on the skin. It is such a great option for Winter skin and now I am desperate to get my hands on more cleansing balms! Another skincare product I’ve changed up is my moisturiser, again there has been times when my skin has been craving more hydration and the Origins GinZing Energy Boosting Moisturiser is the perfect product for dehydrated skin. I mentioned this on my repurchase list post, it is such a great moisturiser and I definitely need to pick up the full size!

Lastly, I have been loving the Snow Fairy body conditioner from Lush which I mentioned in my post here. I am such a fan of the original Snow Fairy scent that I knew I would love this. It is much more subtle but has such a gorgeous luxurious texture that is just perfect for this time of year!

Have you tried any of these products?

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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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November Favourites

Since I started doing monthly favourites I don’t think I have ever had as many favourites in the one month. I picked up quite a few new bits and bobs for my beauty drawers over the past couple of months so I’ve been basically been wearing a whole new face this month and I am loving everything I’ve picked up. There is a couple of totally expected favourites that I spoke about in the last couple of weeks and a few others that I have been waiting to share with you all, so without further ado here is my November favourites…

Going to get the most obvious one of out the way first, the most gorgeous palette I’ve ever seen, the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit (check my full review here). Since I got this I have been using it every day and I just adore it. All of the powders are such great quality and beautifully finely milled so don’t look to heavy or overdone. My two favourites from the palette that I have been using the most is Diffused Light, one of the Ambient Lighting Powders which is a gorgeous pale yellow toned powder that I use to set my makeup all over and Mood Exposure, a gorgeous mauve plum blush. Speaking of Mood Exposure, another one of my favourites is a complete dupe for the mauve shade, Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in Lavish Mauve is total steal at a fraction of the price. I had been eying this one up for a while and I am so glad I got it as it is so gorgeous and such a bargain!

Another bargain blush I fell head over heels for is the Illamasqua Cream Blush in Zygomatic. After a little trip to my local TK Maxx I found this on one of the shelves at a bargain £4.99! The blush is actually still sold and isn’t discontinued so I definitely got a great deal there! I am not really one for cream blushes but I really like this. It applies beautifully with a stippling blush and has a gorgeous soft natural rosy pink hue that adds a little flush of colour to the cheeks.

After my rave review of the L’Oreal Infallible Matte Foundation how would I not mention it! This is without a doubt the best drugstore foundation I’ve ever used. This is pretty much the only base I’ve been reaching for during the month, it applies beautifully without a cakey or drying feeling despite being a matte finish. It has great coverage and is pretty lightweight too, I couldn’t ask for anything more!

I have heard so many people rave about the Lush Comforter and when I heard about their new shower cream I had to get my hands on it asap. It has the most dreamiest scent of blackberries which feels so warm and cosy. It has lasted me quite a while too despite being the small version of the bottle and whilst I absolutely adore Lush Snow Fairy I am slightly favoring this at the minute!

Lastly, I had a handful of lip product faves this month that I have to mention. Two of which surprisingly were lip glosses! Yep you heard me right, I am typically not a fan of gloss formulas but I may have been swayed by two products this month. The first being from H&M which I spoke about here, Tuscan Blush is a lovely mauve my lips but better shade and the other being from Fleur de Force’s makeup line and is her lip gloss in the shade Starry Starry Night which is a gorgeous deep pink berry shade perfect for this time of year. Both formulas are pretty similar, they are both quite thick in consistency but don’t feel overly sticky with a high pigment finish. They are great alternatives to my usual lipstick choices and I have even ordered another shade from the Fleur de Force line which I cannot wait to give a try!

I was also totally hyped to see the arrival of NYX to the UK this month. I pretty much couldn’t deal with all the praise from the US gals about how good the matte lip creams were so I was pretty darn happy to see they are much more available in the UK now! I picked up two lip creams but the one I’ve been wearing all month long is Stockholm, a gorgeous pink nude shade that is so perfect for everyday wear. Finally, my last lip fave comes from Bobbi Brown in the form of their Art Stick in the shade Bright Raspberry. I had been eyeing this up for so long and with some House of Fraser rewards points to use I had to make the purchase. It’s kinda like the lipstick version of the Fleur de Force lipgloss, a gorgeous fuchsia plum-y shade which adds a twist on the usual deep pink with a bit of purple tones in the mix. A gorgeous shade with a fab formula, I need more!

What did you love during the month of November?

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Monthly Roundup: November

Just one more day until we will reach the final month of the year… how scary! November has been another busy month in terms of work and shopping, usual really! Things at uni are beginning to quiet down which is a big relief for me so I can finally feel a bit more organised again and get excited for the festive season! The pressure has really been on with blogging over the last couple of months as well as I’ve just had hardly any time so I am looking forward to a bit of free time again and I just need some early mornings for photo taking cause blog photography has been a nightmare recently with the gloomy days! Anyway enough of the oh so negative chat, I hope everyone survived Black Friday! It is safe to say November was another spendy month for me! I picked up a couple of things on offer and some holiday sets which I will be talking about on the blog a bit later on but my star buy of the month obviously had to be the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit which I spoke about here. I am well and truly obsessed! I mean just look at, it’s so beautiful! Speaking of shopping, I also went back to the mother-ship for the first time in ages, Space NK! Oh yeeesss! It was just so nice browsing the aisles of such dreamy skincare and makeup products and I made a couple of purchases that will be making there way round here soon!

Also over the month I grew a strong bond with Urban Outfitters. I cannot even remember how many times I have found my self popping in store for a look or a little online browse but I just became so obsessed this month and I totally just want everything in that store especially their amazing home stuff which is super gorgeous! I also got a little crazy this month with magazines. I have a whole stack of magazines waiting to be read that I picked up over the month (mostly due to hella good freebies!). Its been a while since I picked up a good magazine so obviously I made up for that this month but I do have a big reading list ahead!

As you can tell my month was very spendy! As Christmas time has rolled in, I am trying to cut back quite a bit to save money for presents so budgeting is definitely something I am trying to get used to! I was thinking of doing a spending ban (me I know, what a laugh!) but I will maybe delay that for just now! I have been putting money aside to save up which makes me feel so much more happier, I don’t know I just feel better knowing I have much restricted funds to spend! My Christmas shopping is getting there and not many presents left to buy but I really do love buying presents, anyone else? Although I can’t wait until I’ve done all my shopping and I can just sit back wrapping presents with the fire on and a candle burning. Ahh December feels!

Catch up on November posts: Urban Decay Smoky Palette, When you need a little TLC, Autumnal Eyes, End of Year Goals and My favourite drugstore foundation.

What did you get up to during the month of November?

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November Playlist

Time for another monthly mix-tape and this month was pretty exciting music wise as there was quite a few new album releases that got me jamming all month long. 5 Seconds of Summer released their new album at the start of the month and I’ve been loving it. I still love their first album but this may have topped it! Some of my favourites from the album are Jet Black Heart, Castaway and The Girl who Cried Wolf. I also have tickets to see them again next year which is super exciting stuff and I can’t wait to hear them play some of their newer songs. Another amazing album release was of course from my favourites; One Direction with their new album Made in the AM which has basically been all I have listened to since it came out. It’s without a doubt their best album yet and there is so many songs on the album well worth a lot of praise. I could pretty much list the whole album as my favourite tracks but if I had to be strict then I would name my top 3 (currently!) as If I Could Fly, Walking in the Wind and Wolves. So whilst those two albums pretty much dominated my entire month, I also have to give mention to Justin Bieber’s ‘Sorry’ which I can’t stop hearing on the radio and also Not on Drugs by Tove Lo which is another catchy one.

What have you been listening to this month?

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November Playlist

Its time to reflect on my fave tunes from November. And tragically this month there has only been one album I’ve has on repeat. Yup. It can only be One Direction. Their new album ‘Four’ was released this month and me being ‘slightly’ obsessed with them got me a tad excited for the new release and its still on my daily traveling playlist, repeat after repeat. The album is the perfect continuation from their previous ones and has a more mature and less boyband pop sound to it. My fave tracks have to be 18 (written by the fab Ed Sheeran), Ready to Run and Fools Gold.. I love them all though 🙂 And I’m loving the video for ‘Night Changes’..

 

November Favourites

Its that time of the month again to round up my favourites! I am struggling to believe its December already! Where has time gone!? My Blog has snow! How exciting!!! Anyway I have a few makeup and hair products I’ve been loving this month..

MAC Breezy – You may remember this from my blog post not too long ago. I bought this blush in need want of a plum toned autumnal blush and I love this so much. Its the perfect shade and can be built up or used as a light sweep of colour.

Benefit Benebalm – And another familiar product you may have seen here. This lip balm is so nourishing and moisturizing, its perfect. If you are a fan of the Maybelline baby-lips you will love these, they are so much better!

Fudge Urban Miracle Ends – This product really is what it says – Miracle ends. I have really frizzy and curly hair and the ends just get really puffy and frizzy and its horrible. Ever since I started using this my ends are wonders. It smooths my hair and prevents frizz.

Nars Mandore Satin Lip Pencil – Yet again another one I’ve mentioned before. This is my first Nars lip pencil and boy are they raved about! This is part of the limited edition holiday collection and its such a perfect dark red shade. The lip pencil glides on so smoothly and has such a nice glossy finish.