Current favourites

It's been ages and ages since I did my last favourites post so here we are with a new set of favourites! I surprise myself with these posts because I'm not normally one of those people who changes products or gets attached to new things regularly but it seems I do..hm who knew it, maybe I'm not sure of a creature of habit.

First is the beauty type products which I've been loving! If you've seen my recent make-up haul post (its here if you haven't read it!) I spoke about the Rimmel London Stay Matte Primer, since then I have fallen in love with it, bit weird I know. But in the past few weeks I've been wearing just powder during the day instead of a liquid just because I've been super busy and I often found I was reapplying through the day and getting shiny, but I've found using this as a base for makeup has really helped and I'm finding I don't have to reapply powder and if I do its normally mid afternoon. Highly recommend it!

At christmas I got a tonne of beauty products and things and I'm still slowly working my way through them and finding new things I like. Recently I've been loving No7's Beautiful Skin, Cleansing lotion. I have pretty sensitive skin and find a lot of products I can't use but this is hypo-allergenic and very gentle on the skin. I'm also prone to breakouts and this hasn't brought any on which is even better! I tend to use the lotion at night to remove make-up and it works so well! It's gentle on skin and can remove all my make-up pretty much instantly with a wipe of cotton wool after applying it, and you only need a little bit to so my guess is it'll probably last me a while! I know you can get it at boots, usually on 3 for 2 or some other fabulous promotion.

 Finallllly make-up wise is the Maybelline New York, Master Precise liquid eyeliner. I never wear eyeliner, only ever to fill in gaps when I'm wearing eyelashes, but I bought this in the hope I could teach myself to apply it properly and try something new with my make-up. So far, so good! It's easy to use, really soft, almost like a fine liner and sits in place really well. It was around £6 or £7 if I remember correctly so I'm pretty happy about this little purchase. (If anyone has tips on applying eyeliner easily let me know!)

My next favourite is my favourite purchase I've made in a couple of months! This lovely statement, yet subtle necklace. I bought this from New Look, and was only £5.99. It's great for wearing with a cami for a dressy occasion or a casual occasion. I really really like it! It's also not heavy or noisy to wear...if that makes sense. 

Finallly, slightly random but still one of my favourite things at the minute! My diary. With a busy few months coming up with exams and birthdays and trips and work and god know what else this has been my best friend recently. I know its late in the year to be raving about a diary but honestly I recommend buying one if you're as disorganised as I can be sometimes. It just lets me know/plan where I should be and what I should be doing, even with my revision. It also lets me plan college work, trips and life in general which is brilliant for me. I'm just really enjoying being organised. (It also means I can collect my lego stickers somewhere from when I babysit, which is the best part of course...)

Thanks for reading, I love doing posts like this:-)!

@littleblogx

smilingwontkillyou

Make-up Haul

Over the past few weeks I've been purchasing some new make-up and I wanted to share them, maybe even share a few reviews.

Most of these are quite neutral colours which is always handy to have, especially when you're a minimal sort of make up gal like myself. 

This is especially true for me when I'm choosing eye shadows!

Both shades can be found here; 24hr Color Tattoo

Both shades can be found here; Clinique Chubby Stick Shadow Tint

I purchased the first two which are the Maybelline New York, 24hr Color Tattoo, gel-cream eye shadows in 40-Permanent Taupe and 35-On and on Bronze. I absolutely love creamy textured eye shadows compared to the traditional powdered ones, so these are perfect for me! However, the Permanent Taupe one is a nice colour but I found it didn't match how it looked in the pot and was quite dark when on;  But I still quite like it! It doesn't crease and even after a day of college and running about doing errands still looks fresh and well placed, so I highly recommend these!
The On and on Bronze colour I picked up last week as part of three for two make-up at Tesco (The best and worst thing that could ever happen! Good for grabbing some lovely new products but also bad for the dent left in my bank account!) and I'm yet to try it. However, a close friend of mine wears this one quite often and it lasts all day and is a lovely neutral colour, which can be worn with everything. In all honesty I wanted to try this one as an attempt to find a cheaper version of Benefits R.S.V.P.  (which I spoke about here; current-favorites), but its not even similar in colour but should make for a good neutral replacement none the less! 

The second two eye shadows, which I am LOVING are Clinique's Chubby stick, shadow tint in 01-Bountiful Beige and 07-Pink & Plenty. These were a gift from my mum when she came home from holiday, in Lanzarote the lucky devil! I absolutely love the colours, they're quite natural so can be worn with pretty much everything and Pink & Plenty is really summery as well! They're so easy to apply; almost like a lipstick for your eyes, which makes them easy to apply without mistakes, which for someone as clumsy as me is brilliant!

So for the price I recommend these and I can't wait to purchase some more colours in the future. 

Now,  I've never been sure about lipstick and what colours suite me best so I've always stuck to pinks and my two newest additions to my make-up bag are no exception. However, these two are slightly more vibrant than I've ever bought before. 

Left 6-Sugar Pink
Right 8-Sweet Tart 

Top is 8-Sweet Tart, bottom is 6-Sugar Pink

I bought Collection 2000's Volume sensation in 6-Sugar Pink and Collection 2000's Lasting colour 8-Sweet Tart. These were relatively cheap, and at superdrug were buy one get one half price when I purchased these two(which helped A LOT because I couldn't decide which colour I liked more, so bought them both, hey why not!). But they're really vibrant and are long lasting, even more so if you use a primer before hand. But I quite like these, they're not really everyday colours but are super for nights out and occasions. 

I have always used Clinique's even better skin if I was wearing liquid foundation, and I've never really tried or bought anything else. On a day to day basis I prefer to wear just powder and concealer. 

Left Rimmel London BB Cream Matte
Middle Stay Matte Primer
Right Pro Base Fixing Mist

 However after trying the Rimmel London BB Cream, Beauty Balm, Matte I had to purchase it(I had a little sample of it, which I tried and was quite impressed with, plus I wasn't allergic to it!) Then when I went to buy it at Tesco they had a three for two offer on(as previously mentioned) which made the purchase even better! I bought the BB cream itself, in light and the Rimmel London Stay Matte Primer. The primer has the texture a lot like a moisturiser but sinks into the skin really quickly. The bottle says it can be used alone, under make-up or over make-up which means it's pretty versatile. It does work quite well under make-up as a base for the BB cream and does keep the skin looking fresh for the best part of the day!

 The BB cream is a good colour, easy to blend and does match my skin pretty well, however if it's not rubbed in properly it can look slightly orange. It sits well on the skin though and does last a reasonable part of the day. So I'm pretty happy with this purchase and have worn it everyday since purchasing it last week! 

Left Stay Matte Primer
Right Rimmel London BB Cream Matte

The last thing I wanted to share was the MUA Pro-base fixing mist, which I've pretty much spoke in every post I've ever written about make-up, ooops. But this was a re-buy of a product I really like! You just spray it over your make-up to set it for the day. As far as I'm aware it works pretty well for me, put that could just be my mind playing tricks, but hey I think it works pretty well! 

So there you are; thanks for reading and hope this was helpful/interesting :-)

P.S. I need some help; I'm looking for an everyday lipstick/gloss and a really good liquid eyeliner, so if anyone's got any recommendations let me know in the comments/twitter(which is below!) Thank you lovelies! 

@littleblogx

smilingwontkillyou

Current favorites

It's been a while since I've shared my favourite items with you all! This time I've got quite a few favourites, well the last few months I've had a bit of money saved to treat myself with more than I normally do, lucky me!

The Mortal Instruments, City of Bones DVD. During summer last year a close friend recommended reading The Mortal Instruments series, by Cassandra Clare(in fairness I'm still reading it...) which I absolutely fell IN LOVE with. They're absolutely amazing, so I recommended reading those! I was then told that they were making the first book of the series into a film, which was possibly the greatest thing I'd ever heard. The film is amazing, although its not a completely accurate translation of book to film it's still amazingly close! Since pre-ordering the film and it arriving I've probably watched it at least 3 times a week...obsessive I know but it's SO good.

The manual of mess and mistakes, Keri Smith. The 'mess' journal is part of the Wreck this Journal family. This was a gift for my 18th birthday. I've only recently started using it properly and I'm loving using it. In the same way as the wreck this journal it gives instructions on each page, but this one is aimed more at just making a mess and not worrying about the outcome. It's just really fun, especially after a crappy day!

Animal crossing for 3DS and 3DS. As childish as it sounds I've re-fallen in love with the Nintendo DS and Animal Crossing. Ever since the new animal crossing came out I've been dying to buy it, but of course life and its necessity for money got in the way, which meant I've had to wait. I also had to buy a whole new console as I had the Nintendo DSI which the game doesn't play on (Nice game plan Nintendo, really considerate), it was quite a bit of money I needed spair. But honestly the wait has been worth it. I've not put it down for the past month or so whenever I get the chance. Defiantly worth buying/playing, even if it did cost around £125 for the console and game!

Make-up and beauty wise I've been loving quite a few things recently.

No7, lash adapt mascara. This was given to me by my mum just after Christmas and I've fallen in love with it. It makes my eyelashes super long and volumised. Its wand is a perfect texture which means there's less clumps, which is always a winner.

 Collection, Lasting perfection, ultimate wear concealer, in Medium number 3. I've never been much of a liquid make up wearer, but just recently I've began to look like the walking dead all the time as I'm always tired. So I thought hey why not try some concealer. This is the only one, in fairness I've given a full try, others I try for a day and decide I don't like them. But this one is pretty good, it was around £4.50 I think, which is pretty reasonable and I think it was a pretty good purchase really, its got a long lasting coverage and matches to skin colour quite well. So I'm quite happy with it, well I must be considering I've had it on everyday for nearly 2 weeks now(I don't normally stick to make-up that well.)

Ted baker body spray. This was part of a gift set which I received as a present for Christmas. It smells absolutely gorgeous. It's hard to describe but is really sophisticated and grown up...if that makes sense. It's nice for both during the day and for formal occasions. The only problem is now it's nearly empty and I can't find it any shops or even online :-(!

Well done for the slightly out of focus photo hannah...doing it so much justice

 Benefit's world famous neutrals eye shadow palette. This was a bit of an impulse buy for me. When I was out shopping just after Christmas I came across the palette and loved the colours, I've always heard such good things about Benefit products but had never tried them. The palette was £23.50 and honestly it was a well spent £23.50 I think. All the colours are neutral(obviously...) but they're subtle enough to wear everyday and even to dress up for nights out. I've really fallen in love with one of the crease less cream shadows called R.S.V.P. It's so natural, stays in place all day and sits well with pretty much any outfit. I love it!

So that's my current favourites for you all! Hope you enjoyed reading. I love doing these types of posts!

@HanMcFly
smilingwontkillyou

New beauty things

As one of those girls who doesn't wear make up much, I also don't tend to buy a lot of it either, and if I do then its normally all at once. A week or so ago I purchased these four beauties. All four as it happens were on my recent 'Beauty wishlist' so I was very happy to make these purchases! 

After hearing so much about them all, and returning to a good old favourite I thought I'd treat myself! And so far I'm loving them all! 

MUA, Pro-base fixing mist- Living in England where its always windy, cold and raining its been great to try it(before our real winter arrives and I'm left with running make-up everyday!) and it honestly does work. I only wear powder normally but its been so good at keeping it in place when I do wear make up. I've never really counted or noticed exactly how long it holds it in place but its definitely still in place by the end of a college day!

Rimmel London, Stay Matte, Shade 003- I used to wear this a few years ago and rebuying it has been such a good idea of mine! I've fallen back in love with it!

H&M make-up brushes- The two brushes together only cost me around £8 and they are pretty good brushes! They give really even application and don't malt, which is always a plus! 

There you are, my mini beauty haul, type spending spree! Thanks for reading!

@HanMcFly

smilingwontkillyou

What's in my make-up bag- Travel

In the past few weeks I've spent quite a few nights away from home, which means I've had to do a lot of light packing for travelling! So I thought I'd do a whats in my travel make-up bag; like my whats in my make up bag post last week.

I always pack my make up and beauty stuff in my little Primark make-up bag which I got as a gift a few weeks. Although it looks really small its actually a really handy size! When I travel and am away from home I tend not to use all the make up or beauty products I would at home. I've been taking John Freida, Luxurious volume shampoo with me everywhere recently; I want to get rid of it because its not the best thing I've ever bought but it was a little on the expensive side so I want to use it! I always take Colgate toothpaste with me, a selection of bobbles and the obligatory hair pin and of course plasters! Last minute I always drop my two favourite mascaras, Maybelline New York, The Colossal Volum' Express and The Falsies Volume Express!

I also pack my blusher brush, Clinique Stay Matte powder, blusher and Collection 2000 lipstick because you never know when you might need a full face of make up! Plus I have more time when I'm away so I more than likely will put the effort in and put some make-up on!

I'm a massive fan of 'minis' and I always take these two with me, especially these past few weeks; Lush Snow Fairy shower gel and Soap and Glory The Righteous butter, body moisturizer. The both smell AMAZING!

Thanks for reading!

@HanMcFly

smilingwontkillyou

What's in my make-up bag

Whilst brain storming ideas for my blog I thought about doing a post about my 'make-up bag', which isn't actually a bag but hey who cares. So I thought i'd let you all in on my little beauty bag(well box).

As i've said hundreds of time on this blog before I'm not a massive make up wearer because I'm usually busy, working or too lazy to put it on, but I don't half have a lot of stuff in my box!

My box is very unorganized and filled with things which I use regularly and things which I hardly ever use. The box itself is from a soap and glory gift set I received at Christmas, but I kept it because its a very good storage size; I'm all for reusing and saving the planet! 

I have very sensitive skin so wearing foundation and powder is tricky for me because it either make me red and puffy or brings my skin out in rashes and awful spot breakouts. When I do wear liquid foundation I use Clinique even better make up, SPF 15 in 02 Fair for liquid foundation, which was £24. Powder wise I use Clinique Stay-matte sheer pressed powder, oil-free in 101 invisible matte, which was £23. I wear the liquid foundation very rarely but I use the powder most days and although its supposedly invisible I find that it gives my skin a natural look and smoothness. 

My blush and brush collection is very minimal. I tend not to use blusher but if I do its one of these three, which are all pretty similar colours.  My two brushes are both the same brand and were reasonable at about £4 each. I do find that the foundation brush gets misshaped and unusable really easily though. I rally want to purchase some better blushers and brushes!

I clearly only buy mascara in a yellow or purple container. My absolute favourite mascaras are the Maybelline New York, The Colossal Volum' Express and The Falsies Volum' Express mascaras. Both give completely different volume, and both have different shaped wands. I'm just a massive Maybelline New York mascara lover!! The Volume Lash mascara from George at ASDA is my spare mascara which I tend to put in my bag for college or emergencies. It was really cheap yet gives great volume! The last purple mascara on the right is yet to be tried! 

My lips collection in my box is rather lacking. On the left is my Avon colour lipstick in Pink, and next to that is my Collection 2000, C2000 True Glossy 6 which is my absolute favourite! Being a massive fan of The Body Shop and their Born Lippy range its obligatory to keep my strawberry lip balm in there, obviously!

With being one of those people who on-off diet and go through stages of health kicks I always have a stash of vitamins and 'healthy' things. I love Berocca and find it quite refreshing yet energizing! I also take Evening Primrose Oil for hormones and my skin and is definitely one of the best tablets to take! Its also brilliant to put on healing scars! And of course no make up bag/box is complete without a stash of Beechams cold and flue, all in one tablets! 

Obviously there's some other random objects in my box like the Simple, kind to skin eye makeup correction pen, which I have mixed opinions about; its a good product but if you're like me and make a lot of mistakes with your makeup it doesn't stay clean and in great working condition for long. A whole collection of bobbles and bobby pins; as all girls know they are a must! My tweezers, The Body Shop strawberry body butter, nail file, 'Let 'em grow' nail varnish', Clearasil cream and an Avon concealer for oily skin. 

It's a pretty full box! Thanks for reading!

@HanMcFly

smilingwontkillyou