The Best Christmas Cracker Ever

Over the Christmas period my Uncle gave Me and my Mum a giant Christmas Cracker, one that we both had to share, when we pulled it open we were greeted with many luxury skincare samples !!!!! The brands that we got were Lancôme, Estee Lauder, Clarins, Prada, Kiehl's, Roc, Dermalogica, Origins, Guerlain and Elizabeth Arden. So it was an amazing Christmas Cracker for a beauty and skincare lover.

 

 

In the cracker included Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair serum, Prada lip tints, Kiehl's Ultra Overnight Hydrating Masque, Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream, YSL Forever Light Creator Serum, Three Advanced Genifique Creams from Lancôme and also included many more brands and their famous skincare products. 

 

 

In the photos I also had to include my favourite Star Wars Tin that I also got for Christmas, I hope that you enjoyed this post.

Best Makeup in 2014

As 2014 is now finished and we welcome 2015 it is time to look back on my favourite makeup of 2014. In 2014 I found many new products that I absolutely love, now its time to show you them.

Best Multi- Tasking Foundation is Mac Face and Body, this is a great foundation as it can provide light to medium coverage leaving the skin with a dewy finish. It stays on all day and can last trough anything, Mac have a great colour range so anyone can have this foundation.
Best High street Foundation is L'Oreal True Match, for me this is one of the best foundations on the high street as it provides medium coverage but can be buildable to high coverage. The true match range also has a great colour range and also a great price.
Best Primer is Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser, as it can help you to achieve a flawless base that can last all day, as it erases all visible pores. As this was probably one of the first high street primers I think Maybelline did a great job.
Best Concealer is Benefit Boi-ing, I have grown to like this concealer as it can help you to cover anything and has a great staying power. The only trouble is if you do not powder were you have applied it, it will slip and slide all over your face through out the day.
Best Powder is Mac Studio Fix Powder Foundation, I have loved this powder now for what seems like years, as it can help set your makeup in place and also provide a matte finish. As this specific powder is a powder foundation you can wear it alone or on top of a foundation for a higher coverage.
Best Eyebrow Product is ELF Studio Eyebrow Kit, this product is quite a recent purchase and since I have got it I have used it everyday. It comes with a powder to help fill in any bald spots, then also comes with a colour wax to help set the powder in place and to also help fill them in more. For £3.50 I say it is amazing.Best Single Eye shadow is Essence 3D in Irresistible Vanilla Latte, this has by far been my favourite eye shadow of 2014, as I was looking for a champagne eye shadow and came across this. The pigmentation of this shadow for the price you pay is outstanding and  the colour provides the perfect amount of shimmer and is not too chunky. This eye shadow is perfect for minimal makeup days.

Best Cream Eye shadows are Mac paint pot in Constructivist and Maybelline Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze, this year I have really come to like cream eye shadows and I could not choose between these two, as they both have amazing colour pigmentation and amazing staying power. Constructivist is a beautiful deep brown and On and On Bronze is an amazing warm golden brown .
Best Eye shadow palette is Urban Decay Naked 2, this has definitely been my most used palette of 2014 as you can create so many looks ranging from neutral or dark and smoky. On top of the fact you can create so many looks with one palette, the eye shadows are richly pigmented, creamy and easy to blend this palette is definitely worth the money.
Best Mascara is Mac Zoom Lash, a mascara that has the perfect sized wand to help you create long and volumised eye lashes this mascara also has amazing staying power and will not come off easily. This mascara is definitely going to be a re-purchase in 2015.
Best Blushes are Essence Silky Touch Blush in Babydoll and Physicians Formula Happy Booster in Rose, this was really hard for me as I really love blushes I firstly chose the Essence Blush as it was a shade I loved for ages as it provides you with the perfect colour and also has amazing pigmentation. I next had to chose the Happy Booster blush as it provides you with different tones of pink and the perfect amount of shimmer, perfect for creating a healthy flush of colour.
Best Highlighter is Soap and Glory Glow All Out, a highlighter that I have only recently got the highlighter is a light peachy pink shade with a slight shimmer running through it. Perfect for giving the face some glow.
Best Bronzer is Soap and Glory Solar Powder, ever since Vivianna from Vivianna Does Makeup spoke about this I knew I had to get my hands on it. I can see why she loves it as the product is split in two with one side being a light bronzy peach shade, for when you want a slight bronzed look and on the other side a medium matte brown for when you want a more noticeable bronzed look. You can use each side individually or swirl both colours together.
Best Tinted Lip Balms are Maybelline Baby Lips, these are really a great product from the high street as they have a range of different colours and finishes, whilst caring for your lips these are definitely a must buy from the high street.
Best Lip Balm is Carmex, this is definitely the best lip balm as it really nourishes the lips leaving them soft and hydrated.

I hope that you enjoyed seeing my makeup favourites for 2014, hopefully you can share your makeup favourites for 2014.

Glitter Christmas Nails

Glitter and Christmas go hand in hand and there is no better way to wear a bit of glitter than on your nails. Now that college is finished for Christmas I thought go for it. 

For the nail polishes I used Ciate nail polish in tickle my fancy, which is a beautiful deep blue with a tint on green. Then for the exciting part the glitter I used Barry M nail paint in Gold Glitter,  I intended to use Ciate Sequin in Miss Mistletoe but thought it would look a bit too much on all of my nails and it was a bit difficult to use as it was pure sequins !!!!

Autumn/Winter Staple

As we are now in winter and only a week until Christmas, the makeup trend among bloggers throughout this time of year has always been berry lips. Whether it be a gloss, stain or lipstick it is now a winter favourite. I thought I would give it a go and tried Revlon Just Bitten Kissable balm stain in the colour 005 Crush. A stain that is not like your typical stain as it is not drying on your lips, and will still be on your lips whether you eat, drink or lick your lips.

 

 

 

 When deciding on what makeup to pair with these berry lips I chose to keep the eyes simple by using MAC All that Glitters eye shadow and a tiny bity of Brun, also by MAC, in the crease of the eyes for definition. Also for the eyes I wanted to create long fluttery eye lashes so I used a combination of W7 Absolute Lashes and Collection Lengthening Mascaras. Then for the face I used MAC Eternal Sun prolong wear blush, around the perimeter of my face to add some warmth to the look.

Clothes Show Live 2014 Haul

Last Saturday I went to the Clothes Show Live for the first time and came away thinking that it was amazing, as you could get bargains in both makeup and clothes. We also attended the fashion show and thought it was amazing I took some photos throughout the show which will be included at the bottom of this post. 

 

From the makeup brand W7 a brand that I have only seen on Amazon I decided to go for their deal 5 items for £10. Quite a few of the items I got were dupes from Benefit so I could compare to the original product. I got the Absolute Lashes mascara which looks a lot like the Benefit Their Real mascara, but doesn't have the safe effect of your eyelashes as it doesn't give you a lot of length and volume, I also found when using it that the plastic wand can be quite harsh when using it. I also got the dupes of High Beam and Lollitint, and they are a hint of Tahiti and Night glow, these are okay for the price but you need to use a patting motion to help build up the colour. I also got the  perfection primer which does leave the pores minimised, but can sometimes move your foundation around and leave funny marks. The last product I got was the Naked Nudes eye shadow palette, a palette that remind me of the Urban Decay naked basics palette.

 

A great deal that was going on was to get 10 mini Ciate nail polishes for £10 (bargain), so me and my mum decided to get 5 each and we chose. Can't it be kinky, miss mistletoe, can can, topcoat, hopscotch, cloud nine, Christmas tree caviar, tickle my fancy, and two boudoir.

 

The next stand was Barry M that had a goodie bag for £10 and came with so many goodies, it came with six nail polishes all of different variety. It also came with 2 dazzle dust in 77 and 8. Next it came with two super soft eye crayons in 1 and 10. Then a metallic liquid eye liner in a light pink shade that will look great in the inner corners of the eyes or an ally over lid colour. Lastly it came with the loud mouth lip colour in tell tale.

 

The bargain that I was mostly pleased with was old season Topshop rings that usually cost £6 but at this specific stand were only £1 !!! So I decided to pick up 4 different varieties

 

 

The last things I brought were three Carmex lip balms for £5, as we got Platinum tickets we got a free show bag that came with the Freederm Daily Complex moisturiser that I have used nightly and I love. Lastly it came with the Collection Lengthening Mascara.  

 

Favourite photos from Australia

 As I took sooo many photos whilst on holiday in Australia I thought I would share with you some of my favourites and where they were taken.

 Everywhere we went the views were amazing

The first time I went to Priceline in Brisbane

When I first got my watch and could not stop looking at it !

We of course had to have a Starbucks on Surfers Paradise  

Two of my favourite selfies with my Mum and Dad

Back in my favourite city in the world .. Sydney !!!!! 

 One of my favourite outfits for dinner, when we went to the Hard Rock Café in Darling Harbour

Looking out over Sydney in my favourite t-shirt and hat 

Hope you enjoyed this blog post, and on Saturday for the first time I am going to the Clothes Show live at the NEC in Birmingham !!!. I will complete a post about the day and will also be showing you what I got.

Current Favourites

As I haven't done a monthly favourites in a while I thought I would share with you what I am loving at the moment in beauty and non beauty.

Beauty Favourites:

 

For beauty favourites I first start off with the ELF eyebrow kit a mini kit that contains a coloured wax to help fill in any bald spots in your eyebrows, and a powder to help set them in place. This kit is great for £3.50 as it can help anyone to achieve full defined looking eyebrows.

Next is MAC zoom waterfast lash a mascara that I absolutely love at the moment, as it gives you long volumized  eyelashes, as it is also waterproof it stays on all day long, but puts up quite a fight when trying to remove it.

My next favourite is also from MAC and it is the prolong wear blush in the colour eternal sun, a shade that I love to give some more colour to the perimeter of my face, it can also be used as a blush to warm up any complexion.

My last beauty favourite was an unlikely find in Bondi Beach, I first saw this on the Sephora website and instantly wanted to try it. It is the Smiths Rosebud lip slave, a beautiful balm that smells amazing and gives lips a slight tint and also beautifully shiny that is not sticky.

 

Non Beauty Favourites

 

For Non Beauty favourites I start off with the Twinings Salted Caramel Green Tea, a perfect tea for anyone that finds green tea too bland but loves the combination of salty sweet salted caramel. It is perfect for a change to your regular tea, I love it in a rather large mug.

Next for beauty favourites is a pair of slippers that I wear all the time when at home, they are from UGG in a moccasins style they are from a UGG brand that can only be found in Australia. As they are filled with sheep fur they are soo comfy and keep your feet nice and warm perfect for winter time.

My last non beauty favourite is my most exciting and it is my last 16th present which I got in Australia from my Mum and Dad. It is a Michael Kors Rose Gold watch with a Cobalt Blue face. it is so beautiful and I am so happy I finally have one. I wear it all the time and goes perfectly with any outfit.