Winter Skincare Essentials

Skincare is something I adore as much as my makeup collection yet I’ve not spoke so much about it on the blog. However with Winter making a strong appearance lately, I thought it was appropriate to share some of the products I’ve been relying on recently to help give my skin the moisture and hydration much needed in the cold weather!

Moisturiser – Origins GinZing and Origins High Potency Night-A-Mins

Moisturiser is obviously a must have at this time of year! However there is a few that have been particularly floating my boat recently! Both from Origins who fyi have amazing moisturisers, for day time, I have been loving their GinZing option as it is incredibly hydrating. Appropriately names ‘Energy boosting’, it essential is a boost of life with its coffee bean formulation. For night, I have been loving their night cream which is again refreshing on the skin without being too heavy.

Toner – Pixi Glow Tonic

To help ex-foliate my skin to get rid of any dry patches and to also help brighten my skin, I love this cult Pixi product. It is feels refreshing on the skin whilst doing its job of clearing and evening out of the skin.

Eye Cream – Kiehl’s Avocado Eye Cream 

My under eyes can get pretty dry and to combat it, I love this Kiehl’s eye cream. It is incredibly rich and creamy and offers an amazing boost of hydration for under the eyes. I couldn’t be without this, great for those who have dryness!

Facial Mist – The Body Shop Vitamin E Face Mist

With the heating on full blast, my skin can feel super parched and I just need something to quickly refresh my skin. That is where a good facial mist can come into play! There is so many available on the market but one of my favourites is this budget friendly option from the Body Shop which gives my skin a quick re-boost and spray of hydration!

Lip Balm/Oil – Clarins Lip Oil 

Lip Balm/oil is such a must at this time of year as I always seem to ger dry lips in the Winter time. I am obsessed with the Clarins Lip Oils as they are super hydrating on the lips without being overly sticky!

What are your Winter essentials?

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Things To Do This Christmas

This time of year is my favourite, not just because of the big day itself on the 25th but also the excitement of the run up til Christmas when there is just so much going on! Whilst I may not be concerned on all things festive just yet with exams on the horizon (just a few more days to go til its all over!!), I do love spending time doing Christmas-y things. So I have made a list of some of my favourite things to do around this time of year, both big and small to help get you in the festive spirit!

• Make a Christmas play-list with all your favourite Christmas songs (I personally cannot wait to do this!)
• Do some Christmas baking, mince pies or maybe some gingerbread men?
• Try out a Christmas drink from a coffee shop, I personally love the Starbucks Gingerbread Latte and Frappuccino!
• Tackle the Christmas shopping!
• Visit a Christmas market!
• Treat yourself to a limited edition holiday beauty product! (I love the Nars products!)
• Burn your favourite Christmas candle, I love The White Company Winter candle!
• Decorate your home!
• Stock up on Christmas Lush goodies (see my picks here!)
• Have a Christmas movie night!
• Get all the glitter out cause… IT’S CHRISTMAS!

What do you like to do at this time of year?

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December Goals

The last month of the year is officially here. December has begun which means advent (yum!), Christmas (obviously!) and of course the end of 2016 meaning one last month of goals before the new years resolutions, oh yes the dreaded resolutions! So for the last time in 2016, here is my monthly goals to end this year on a high (hopefully!)…

• Complete my instagram challenge (more on this here)
• Keep spending to a minimum (needed after Black Friday!) – until Boxing Day!
• Study hard and do my best during my exams
• Enjoy the Christmas period!

What do you want to achieve in the final month of 2016?

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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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Transitioning from Winter to Spring

I can’t be the only one looking forward to seeing Winter leave us behind. I am totally ready for Spring to come instead of having to bear with the cold and windy weather. With Spring on the near horizon, we are in that weird in-between season thing were the weather is feeling a bit mixed up lately with no idea of what season we are meant to be in. Although with the countdown on til Spring officially arrives, it is about time the preparation for the new season begins in all areas of our lives from our wardrobes to beauty to interiors. So here is a few tips to get you set up for the new season…

REARRANGE YOUR BEAUTY STASH 

With the cold of Winter leaving us, it is time to also leave behind the blankets of makeup we tend to adopt during the Winter months. I know that I for one always like to wear heavier foundations and always stick to powder formulations as well as deeper shades in my lip and cheek choices. Now with the sunnier days ahead, it is nice to change things up a bit by going back to cream formulations and much lighter bases as well as those brighter shades. Everyone’s beauty storage is different but it is the perfect time to simply change up what makeup will make your everyday wear stash. This could involve putting away your Winter beauty picks and bringing back out the more spring/summer appropriate products.

CLEAN OUT YOUR WARDROBE

I never miss an opportunity to talk about wardrobe de-cluttering. I may talk about it quite a lot but it really is very rewarding and there is no better time than present to give your wardrobe a good clean. Again I won’t ramble on too much as I spoke about it before here. Although the key at this time is to look through your Winter clothes and see what you haven’t worn over the season as this is a good indicator as to what should get thrown away or given to charity. You can always take the time to look through the Spring appropriate pieces and also decide if they are still up to your tastes and if there is any season essentials missing in your wardrobe.

ORGANISE YOUR NEW WARDROBE 

Once you have gave your wardrobe a good spring clean, it is always a good idea to give it a bit of a shuffle so your Spring clothes are accessible and keep your Winter clothes separate. Everyone’s wardrobe set-up is different but I have different drawers that keep aside my Spring/Summer pieces from my Autumn/Winter pieces. Another idea is to store your clothes away, some people may keep storage boxes for clothes and also put them under their bed. A fairly new concept for this is MakeSpace who are a company who basically pick up your clothes, store it and then bring it back to you once you need it. So this would be a great idea for anyone trying to find space to put their Winter clothes away instead of trying to find extra storage, basically a hoarder’s idea of heaven.

CHANGE UP YOUR HOME SURROUNDINGS 

Lastly, your own home environment could also do with a spring clean. In Winter it is pretty necessary to stock up on blankets and cushions as well as burning those Winter warming candles. In time for Spring, it is nice to update your surroundings a little. Changing your bedding is always a good idea by going for something a lot more fresh and light like opting for white or light sheets as well as storing away your thicker blankets for the colder months. It is also nice to change up your home fragrance so instead of burning cinnamon or winter like scents, it is nice to go for something more lighter and fresh, something like Diptyque Mimosa or Baies is a good option. Similarly, it is also a convenient time to swap your own personal fragrance option!

How do you prepare for a new season?

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Life Lately #2

Another month of 2016 coming to an end, crazy eh! February has been fairly quiet but busy at the same time (does that even make sense!?). I never really got up to anything too exciting but as usual life took over and I’ve been feeling rather overwhelmed with blogging, work and uni at the same time. I am kind of preparing myself to be hit with a ton of workload over the next month as uni deadlines are looming. Sigh. I am trying to be a lot more organised though and get on with the work much earlier so hopefully I won’t be suffering too much! In terms of blogging, I have to admit I have been feeling like I am in a bit of a rut lately. I have been trying to mix things up a little and move away from constant reviews after reviews although I am struggling for ideas and I always feel a little out of my comfort zone with some things. It’s difficult trying to add a little more creative edge to my posts when I don’t have a lot of time to work on them so hopefully this is something that I will conquer in the next while especially when I have more free time. Of course, if anyone has any feedback on what kind of posts you like then that would be much appreciated!

Anyway woes aside, I’ve been getting pretty organised this month. I am pretty sure I have mentioned before how I’ve been trying to downsize my wardrobe and basically de-clutter all my junk. I’ve really cut down the amount of unused clothes taking over my wardrobe which feels like such a relief and weight off my shoulders. I am also at the moment trying to rearrange how I organise all my clothes too and after watching a Lily Pebbles video I discovered a much better way to organise my t-shirts in my drawers. Using Marie Kondo’s method, my clothes now sit upright instead of stacked which means I can now see all my clothes in front of me rather than simply picking the first in the pile. After cleaning out one of my drawers I also made some room for my nail polish collection. I’ve always wanted it stored in my drawers so I am super happy to have it laid out like this. Hopefully over the next month I can do some more organising and get my wardrobe sorted! Can you tell I take pride in weird things?

My organising ways couldn’t come at a better time too as Spring is definitely on the horizon. I don’t know about anyone else but I am forever getting sick of the cold and rainy weather. The last week though has seen the sun come out and much lighter mornings and evenings too which has me super excited for the new season to begin! I can’t wait to start wearing lighter clothing and start on my Spring clothing wishlist! So hopefully next month there will be a lot of Spring stuff on the blog!

Catch up on February posts: Tartelette 2 palette review, Mac 90s nude lip edit, Skincare empties, Tips for on a budget, White chocolate chunk brownies recipe, Inside my Beauty sample box and How to overcome Winter blues.

How did you spend February?

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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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February Favourites

I don’t think I can quite believe that its March already! I think thats my starting line for every favourites posts but hey time goes fast! Anyway if you seen my favourites last month you may recall my lack of makeup but now since I’m back at uni and have some sort of life now I have been picking up a few newbies over the month and getting back to my usual makeup routine.

The Body Shop Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil – You may recall seeing this before in a review I did which you can check out here. I love this cleanser. Long are the days of removing my makeup with wipes and a damp cloth (extravagant, I know!). This cleanser is perfect, it removes every trace of my makeup and makes my skin feel fab as well as being a good affordable option at £10!

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Red Pepper – When it comes to liquid lipsticks I have always been put off. I don’t like the idea of putting something wet and sticky on my lips which is why I keep my lip-gloss use to a minimum and why I never really wanted to purchase this in the first place. As usual though due to phenomenal hype by so many bloggers I caved and bought it and I love it. It is super long lasting and is such a beautiful bright red which is great for daily wear.

Benefit Roller Lash – I apologize in advance if you are sick of hearing about this little gem which is Benefit’s new release. I don’t want to say too much as I may touch upon this one a little later but its probably one of the best mascaras I’ve ever used! It really does what it says on the tin!

ASOS earrings – Earrings are something I wear on a daily basis (oh the irony of not wearing any right now) and I always get sick of wearing the same basic boring earrings all the time until I seen what asos had to offer. I seen Suzie from Hello October mention these earrings in a haul and had to snap them up! They are just so different and I have had so many compliments on them, they are just fab and I have my eye on a few more from asos!

Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover – When it comes to nail polish removing its just no fun! I hate the tedious and boring job of having to remove nail polish that just wont budge. I heard a lot about this remover and picked it up and oh my has my life transformed! This really is magic, you simply stick your nail in the pot and give it a twist around and out it comes with no sign of nail polish, wow!

What have you been loving lately? 

 

Winter Blues

After finally scraping off the last of glitter polish that was well and truly glued to my nails over the festive period I was looking to wear something a little brighter on my nails to surpass the cold and miserable winter. I recently picked up a Essie polish in the shade Avenue Maintain which is such a beautiful light blue shade. Its different to anything I own, it’s darker than your sky or pastel blue shade and lighter than a bold cobalt hue. The Essie formulas are perfect and apply thickly so one coat is all that is needed.

What is your favourite nail shade for winter?