February Favourites ’16

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Hello and long time no see my sweets! 🙂

February has flown by just as fast as January…scary to think how time really isn’t on our side huh? Anyway, forget whatever philosophical meaning this post might have because I’ve come to talk about the products I’ve been loving this month. I’ve talked a lot about my MAC lipsticks in my previous post so head on there (after reading this of course) if you want to know more about them, but my other love regarding lips this month has been the Maybelline Matte lip crayon. I got it in the nude colour and, for a matte lipstick, it really does glide on smoothly and feel creamy on the lips. I have to be careful with what kind of nudes I buy as I’m warm toned so not many suit me, but this colour is really flattering on my lips. Regarding make-up I’ve also been loving the Rimmel Stay Matte powder and Nivea tinted moisturiser. For something that’s supposed to be light coverage it really is amazing at concealing any imperfections and evening out discolouration. It’s a little darker for my skin tone but because it’s just a tinted moisturiser I can get away with it. The Rimmel Stay Matte powder is amazing too. Along with every other beauty blogger/vlogger that’s raved about this, I couldn’t recommend it more. It’s super cheap being around the £4 mark and is probably better than any high end powder you’ll ever come across.

I’m not going to talk too much about my skin care products as I’m saving that for next weeks post (just a little hint there for you!) but recently I’ve started a (proper) thorough skin care routine using all these products and my skin has never looked better. Using my instinct, each of these has obviously got to have played a little part in making my skin look more radiant and fresh. But I’ll save more of that for next week.

And finally onto my miscellaneous favourites. For the past 2 months I’ve been craving caramel chocolate. I have a very sweet tooth already but if anyone knows a phase it’s me cause I’ve been through one too many. I had this with cheesecake and this month it was caramel. My favourite, even beating the Cadbury’s caramel chocolates, is the Ritter Sport Caramel Biscuit chocolates. You can pick them up at Lidl and I kid you not these are the best chocolates you will ever have the pleasure of tasting. And yes, there are more flavours. Obviously this is my favourite one but my net two are the praline and plain milk chocolate ones (praline comes in a dark blue/navy packet and milk chocolate comes in a light blue packet). It’s a German chocolate brand that lives up to the German reputation of taste and prestigeness (if you can call that a word).

So as I was saying throughout February my caramel craving was at it’s peak. I munched through caramel shortbreads and McVities caramel digestives. But nearer to the end my sweet tooth still stayed strong but I started leaning more towards the chocolate orange front and this is why I’ve joined the gym…hurrah! Anyway a popular product already and probably doesn’t need anymore promotion but I’ve been really loving Terry’s chocolate orange since my Aunt and Uncle brought some Terry’s chocolate orange cake last week (it tastes as good as it sounds). And before I went to school on Friday I obviously had to pop into the local Spar and pick up some Club chocolate orange biscuits. Now if my sweet tooth could just crave to some vegetables that’d be great.

And last but by no means least, Harry Potter. I first started reading Harry Potter when I was about 12 years old and, well, once a Potterhead, always a Potterhead. I love J.K Rowling and everything she stands for and the message given in all the HP books never fails to make me think about life. The story itself is so well written and thought through and whenever I’m down I know I can just pick up a Harry Potter book and ending up sleeping with a smile on my face. This is maybe the 3rd/4th time I’ve read the book and it’s helped me through some difficult times in my life. It’s a book you’ll never good bored of so if you haven’t read it yet, get off this site and go get The Philosopher’s Stone now!

Thanks for reading~until next time my sweets! ❤

 x A x

MAC Lipstick Collection

 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Hey my sweets! I brought two new MAC lipsticks recently and thought I’d share with you my little collection (if you can call it that) so far.

I have 4 lip bullets and 2 ‘special’ ones. My favourite ones out of the 6 I have has got to be Creme In Your Coffee~it was my second MAC lipstick and the one I wear the most. It’s a very brown toned nude and so would suit warm toned and darker skin colours really well. My two recent buys~’Twig’ and ‘Mehr’~are really great and definitely suit me well (without that sounding too pretentious!). Anyway Twig is a browny/pinky toned nude and finishes more matte then sheen (even though it’s a satin finish)-it’s not drying at all when applied after lip balm which I like but I hate lipstick gathering on my mouth.

I first came across ‘Mehr’ when I saw my cousin wear it at her wedding. It’s a matte finish and a colour that was different to what I usually buy. It’s more pink than nude but surprisingly it went okay with my complexion. I love it a lot but ‘Twig’ just has that something extra about it which makes me like it that little bit more.

Here’s to praying my collection grows in the future because I love MAC lipsticks! I thought I’d talk about my top 3 instead of rambling on about each one in case you got bored, but if you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask!

Much love~until next time my sweets ❤

x A x

Brand Focus: MUA (MakeUp Academy)

 
  
  
  
   
  
  
  
  
  

 MUA Elysium Palette

MUA Heaven and Earth Palette

MUA Twelfth Night Limited Edition Palette

MUA lipstick in shade 11

Helloooo guys! Today I want to do a post talking all about a brand I’ve been loving for a long time and feel like obviously needs more hype around it, and that’s MUA (MakeUp Academy).

It’s sold at Superdrug and is so affordable and definitely worth a try if you’re able to get it. I also have a tinted lip balm from them but I haven’t tried that out properly so I didn’t want to include it in this.

First I’ll start with the eyeshadow palettes. I’m sure you’re familiar with the Elysium palette which I’ve talked about in my favourite eyeshadow palettes post so I won’t go on too much about it. At only £6 it’s definitely worth picking up and experimenting with the colours if you’re looking into buying the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette which it’s a dupe for. I love nearly all the shades (one of the shimmery pinks just doesn’t quite translate as nicely to my eyelids as it does when I swatch it!). The mattes are my favourite and definitely perfect for a neutral eye look if you’re not that much of an eyeshadow wearer. I also included the Twelfth Night palette in the same post so again, I won’t ramble on too much, but very good value for money. The colours are a mix of wearable and unusual so it’s perfect for doing lot’s of different looks with. My favourites from this palette are the semi-shimmery purple and copper shadows-they look really beautiful to do a heavy eye look with as a lid colour. And finally for the eyeshadows: the Heaven and Earth palette. I’ve heard a lot about this online and it was my first makeup product from MUA and first ever eyeshadow palette I brought (which I’m sure you can tell by the state of it). Apparently it’s a dupe for the original Naked palette by Urban Decay. I’ve definitely got my wear out of this, perhaps maybe £10-15 worth out of a £4 palette. Some of the colours need more packing onto the lid than others but it’s great for doing neutral, brown smokey eye looks with. Definitely a palette for beginners.

Onto the last two products now. I’ll start by saying they’re both absolutely gorgeous. The highlighter was only £4 and reminds me alot of the MAC Mineralize Skin Finishes-I guess MUA just love doing cheaper alternatives! I use a stippling brush to apply this highlighter to my cheeks and it’s perfect for giving that natural glow. Maybe not one to use for strobing (which I think you have to use a cream/liquid highlighter for anyway but don’t take my word on that) but it’s great to use in the day as it makes your skin look glowing and refreshing. The lipstick was only £1 (I know!!). I’ve worn it a couple of times and although the colour is beautiful, it only really last an hour or two on the lips before the colour really starts going. Now I’m not sure if it’s this lipstick, or if it’s my dry and very dehydrated lips because I find a lot of lipsticks I have do this, but it gathers up as it starts to dry which…well, isn’t an attractive look. A good try for £1 though because it’s not like anything major went down the drain!

What are your favourite MUA products if you’ve tried them? And what brand would you recommend for me try next so I can post about it?

Much love my sweets~until next time! ❤

x A x

Mini Beauty Haul

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

The Balm ‘Nude Tude’ palette

Soap and Glory The Perfect Ten Limited Edition eyeshadow palette

Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balm Winter Edition

Physicians Formula Happy Booster Bronzer 

Ciate Olivia Palermo lipstick in ‘Praline’

Loreal Star lipstick in ‘Barely Moka’

Hello my sweets! Today’s post is a mini beauty haul because even though there’s not much to show there’s a lot to show if you catch my drift.

The first item I want to start with is the ‘Nude Tude’ palette by The Balm. Can we first just appreciate how I got this for £14.99 (!!!!) from TkMaxx…that’s half the price of what it’s normally sold for in stores. Not to mention it also came with a sample size of primer?! I’m not entirely sure why TkMaxx were stocking it as it’s a very popular palette judging from the kind of things I’ve read about it online. And after actually taking these pictures I decided to try it out for myself and I’ve fallen in love. Not only are the shades so beautiful and wearable but they’re really buttery and blend so well, not to mention SO pigmented. My favourite shade is the cranberry called ‘sexy’ which works really well in intensifying the crease.

I haven’t actually tried the Soap&Glory palette yet and I actually got it on the boxing day sales but I don’t think I showed it to you. The colours look really wearable and it looks like it could be a dupe for the Naked 3 palette with all it’s rose and pink colours. The palette was a bargain at £8 down from £16.

I was so excited when I saw the Physicians Formula bronzer in TkMaxx (I think you can tell that shop is my holy grail at the moment for make-up) because you can’t get it in the UK. I first heard FleurDeForce talk about it in one of her favourites videos I think and so had to grab it when I saw it. It looks absolutely gorgeous with all the heart shapes engraved in it (perfect for Valentines Day!) and was super cheap at £3.99. I’m not sure how far I believe the claim that it boosts your mood but I guess I’ll have to get back to you guys on that!

Now we come across the lip products which I love talking about the most. I saw the set of 3 Maybelline Baby lips lip balms in Atkinsons (a discounted department store) and was very intrigued by the flavours as I’d never seen them in store before. I’ve still yet to try them out but they sound very yummy (I mean sugar cookie!!).

And last but not least the two lipsticks. I found the Ciate Olivia Palermo lipstick in surprise surprise Tkmaxx. Again I heard FleurDeForce talk about them in a video and when I saw the colour ‘Praline’ I fell in love. I haven’t tried it on my lips yet but upon swatching it it looks semi-matte and is a very nude-brown colour which is perfect for my skin colour. The RRP of this lipstick is £18 and I brought it for £5.99 so I’m definitely impressed with this bargain. Here’s to hoping I’ll love the lipstick just as much as the price! As for the L’Oreal lipstick, which I brought from TJ Hughes (another discount store), I’d never actually seen this collection of lipstick before. It’s not on their shelves in stores like Boots which makes me think it might’ve been old stock but that didn’t put me off! The colour is really beautiful. Upon looking at it I thought it would be a matte lipstick but it’s actually a really creamy, shiny texture. It’s a very subtle nude brown (more brown then nude) and is a very nice ‘your-lips-but-better’ colour. Really neutral and creamy, it’s perfect to wear for everyday and you’d really get more than your moneys worth out of the £2.99 price tag.

Thanks for reading my sweets~until next time! ❤

x A x