Monday: Finally getting my hands on a copy of Elle Magazine so that I can test out Benefit's Roller Lash mascara. Ive read so many amazing reviews, I really hope that it lives up to the hype!
Tuesday: Waking up early to a white winter wonderland. It felt so quiet and peaceful with everything covered in a blanket of fresh white snow. Then as the world woke up, I stood at my window eating cinnamon and maple porridge watching people shriek with glee as they hurled snowballs around and built mini Olaf's.
Wednesday: Getting a huge ASOS order. I ordered one pair of shoes and three dresses to try on as a potential wedding guest outfit. The dresses were a bargain in the sale, I'm torn between the nude and black version of this closet skater dress. I ordered these shoes in a size 2, I really love them but they're too big!
Thursday: Watching a little robin ruffle up its feathers in the snow whilst gobbling up birdseed that I left out, painting my nails with Essie Sole Mate and feeling so grateful to have my engagement ring back.
Friday: Writing a long shopping list that included the basics, valentines day cards, a yoga mat, candyfloss grapes and gifts for my brother. We're planning on spending the weekend with family eating homemade brownies and pizza to celebrate my brothers birthday! What made you happy this week?
I'm not quite ready for spring peaches and pinks yet, or to let go of plums, berries and reds but I have slowly started to add a few brighter tones to my lipsticks ready for spring.
I love wearing berry shades throughout winter and Revlon Balm Stain in Crush is great to wear as a pretty stain on your lips. I like dab a small amount of this on before rubbing it in with my finger to leave a subtle stain. This way it lets me hold on to berry shades without it looking too bold and autumnal.
I'm still reaching for wintry reds and I think L'Oreal Color Riche Exclusives Lipstick in Blake will continue to make an appearance on my lips all throughout the year as I love it so much. This lipstick is a flattering matte pure red that contains jojoba oil to keep lips feeling soft, it works so well with shimmery brown lids and lasts well on the lips. Bright fuchsia pinks are slowly creeping their way back into my make up bag, Revlon Lip Butter in Lollipop and Revlon Balm Stain in Lovesick are great for brightening the gloomy winter days and for transitioning into spring. Revlon Lip Butter in Lollipop is a bright fuchsia pink and Revlon Balm Stain in Lovesick is a slightly softer pink with a hint of purple. Lastly I've been gravitating towards softer pinks and MAC Please Me has been the perfect muted pink for the transition into spring. It's great to wear as a girly matte pink when you want to wear a bolder eye look. What lipsticks are you currently wearing?
Can you believe 1/12 of the year has already come and gone? Yep, January is over and I gotta say this year is already the best one yet! God is good and life is amazing! I have so much to be thankful for and I can't wait to see what the rest of the year has in store! This month, I had a TON of favorites I wanted to share with you but I narrowed it down to my top 10 for the month and they are...
Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara - This mascara has a tiny wand and bristles specifically made for your lower lashes! It doesn't smear or clump and really makes your eyes pop! Love it!
Maybelline master GLAZE by Face Studio in "Make A Mauve" - I've been loving this berry color cheek tint for the winter! I just put it high up on my cheekbones and blend with my fingers - looks incredibly natural and dewey on my fair skin.
MAC Mineral Blush in "Love Joy" - Absolutely GORGEOUS blush that I love using on my cheeks and for contouring at times because it's so pigmented and I love how it warms up my face. It has undertones of gold shimmer which just gives you an amazing radiant and glowy look.
Dorco Razors - Since I have sensitive skin, I love using men's razors. My dad told me about these when I was researching more affordable razor options like Dollar Shave Club. I HIGHLY recommend these! Found on Amazon, they are great quality razors for an INCREDIBLE price!
Spiced Apple Toddy Candle from Bath & Body Works - Holidays are over but that doesn't mean I'm ready to let them go! This smells like Christmas to me and I plan on burning it all throughout the winter!
Brown American Eagle Outfitters Combat Boots - I have been wanting a pair of combat boots FOREVER! These are amazing - super comfortable, affordable, easy to wear, and go with just about anything!
Inateck Grey Felt Macbook Case Sleeve Bag - So obsessed with with this! I think it just looks so grown up and classy! The price is also terrific especially for what looks and feels like such a high quality product! Also love that it has multiple pockets (I'll sometimes put both my iPad and phone it in as well as pens or memory cards) and the little pouch for chargers and cords is a cute bonus!
The Star Wars Graphic Novel - Based on the rough draft script by George Lucas, this is an entirely story than the one we all know and love. Incredibly fast moving with lots of action and interesting characters who, though their names may be familiar, are pretty different from their movie counterparts. Great read!
Jane the Virgin - Very underrated and charming show with a super likable and talented lead in Gina Rodriguez. Despite the telenovella-like storytelling, it is incredibly grounded with fleshed out characters that never seems like caricatures.
Imitation Game - Maybe not the best movie of the year, but one that I incredibly enjoyed. Tragic story of a brilliant and fascinating (count how many times I say that in my video) man with phenomenal performances - especially Benedict Cumberbath - probably his best screen acting to date.
To hear more about my favorites this month, don't forget to check out my video below!
January's gloomy, stormy days were spent packing away the festive decor and finishing off the Christmas chocolates in an attempt to start the new year a-fresh. A few of my lifestyle favourites included buying fresh pink tulips to brighten up the home, throwing my hair up with a velvet pink scrunchie and spending the evenings feeling young again by colouring in sheets of pages, playing 4 in a row hearts with Alex and enjoying hot blueberry and blackcurrant drinks. My favourite pink beauty products this month have been:
Sleek Blusher in Pixie Pink: Sleek blushers are my favourite highstreet blushers. The shade range is so pretty, they're highly pigmented, long lasting and you only need to use a small amount for great colour payoff. Sleek Pixie Pink is a vibrant pink blusher that's really brightening for the complexion and gives a pretty flush of pink to your cheeks.
Lush FUN Pink: I really enjoyed taking long baths this month and Lush always wins for me when it comes to exciting bath products. Lush Fun is a new discovery for me, you only need to crumble such a small amount of the bar under running water for a bath full of soft bubbles. It smells amazing, like sweets and vanilla with a hint of caramel and leaves my skin feeling really smooth.
Lush Snow Fairy: This sweet, candy pink shower gel is one of my favourite products from Lush. Snow Fairy contains skin softening seaweed and so is perfect to use during the cold winter months, it keeps your skin feeling silky soft and leaves a sweet lingering scent. I always try to stock up on Snow Fairy at Christmas to last me through the year. Lip Products: I love wearing a hint of colour on my lips and Korres lip butter in Quince has been keeping my lips moisturised this month whilst adding a tint of pink to my lips. I've also really enjoyed wearing Revlon Lip Butter in Sweet Tart which is a pretty, barbie pink that has really brightened up January's rainy days.
Real Techniques Stippling Brush: This duo-fiber brush makes applying cream blushers a dream, it picks up just the right amount of product and helps to blend blusher so seamlessly onto your skin.
Soap and Glory The Righteous Butter: Im pretty bad at remembering to moisturise my skin and so in January I kept a pot of this Soap and Glory body butter on my bedside table to make sure I moisturised. It contains shea butter, aloe vera and coconut oil and keeps my skin feeling soft and hydrated.
Essie A Cut Above: As you may have seen in my recent 'Whats in my bag' post, I've been carrying this chunky pink glitter with me for quick application on the go. It looks great either layered up on its own, over another colour or as an accent nail.
I decided to carry on with my colour favourites series this month as I really enjoyed writing them last year. I may not have enough new colour favourites to do them every month but hopefully I can continue posting them throughout the year! What were your favourite products this month?
I can't believe I've had this little space on the internet for four years now! For the past four years I've been so in love with blogging but It's only really been over the past year that I've been able to focus a lot more on my blog. Due to some health issues, I've been at home a lot more and so have really been able to put my all into my blog. I really am so grateful for blogging, the nice comments and the lovely community. I can't believe that collectively around 1,500 of you follow my beauty blog, it's so incredible to me and I really am truly grateful.
I've also spoken to so many lovely people through blogging, Stephanie was the first ever commenter on my blog and now I'm lucky enough to be able to contribute towards the beauty section of her amazing website, Chalk Kids.
I'm so grateful to have a kind boyfriend who sits there patiently with his stomach growling whilst I take a hundred photos of food before he can delve in, big french doors that give me great natural light for photos and for such a lovely community of bloggers who read and comment on my blog posts.
I've been thinking a lot recently whether to do a little 3 part blogging series on my blog but I'm not sure it's something that anyone would be interested in? Also, there are so many amazing blog guides and series out there at the moment, I've been particularly loving Michelle's blogging with daisybee series!
I'm off to celebrate my blog birthday with a big bowl of cinnamon caramel porridge and I might bake some of Hugh's Chocolate Chip Cookies (the best!) later in honour of the occasion!
During the winter my skin tends to lack radiance and can look quite dull, I try to incorporate brightening products into my make up and skincare routine to help to keep my skin looking fresh and dewy. I've found a few hero products that have really helped to keep my skin looking radiant and glowing throughout winter:
Sanctuary Therapists Secret Facial Oil: This 99% organic lightweight oil works miracles on my skin overnight. The mixture of hydrating, radiance boosting and soothing oils help to make my skin stay nourished, dewy and glowing, it's fast becoming one of my favourite skincare treats and has become a staple for me in my skincare routine.
Topshop Glow Highlighter in Polish: I love to dab a small amount of this creamy, iridescent highlighter onto the tops of my cheekbones, brow bone and on to my cupids bow for a radiant glow. It keeps my skin looking dewy and the pearl pink/peach tones help to really brighten up my complexion.
Topshop blushers: I own so many of these brightening, cream to powder blushers. I love the formula of these as they blend so seamlessly onto your skin as a cream before setting in place as a powder and the range of shades available are beautiful. My favourite shades from the range are Neon Rose (a beautiful pink pictured above) Head Over Heels (a bright coral) and Flush (a pink coral). They really help to keep your skin and make up looking fresh, I have my eye on Afternoon Tea next which looks like a pretty bright pink.
Seventeen Skin Wow Highlighting Primer: I love to mix this shimmery opalescent, pearl pink primer in with my foundation to help give my make up base an illuminated glow. It really helps to make your foundation look dewy and gives a boost to lacklustre skin.
Ren Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask: This mask is so great to use once a week to help to renew your complexion and to improve skintone, It leaves skin looking bright, smooth and clear. It contains natural fruit acids and has no parabens, petrolatum or silicone's.
Although I'm starting to get excited for spring, I'm still clutching on to the wintry reds, shimmery golds and frosty pastels. Since getting engaged, me and Alex have been enjoying going out more to celebrate and I've been wearing this make up look non stop on our date nights and days out.
On my eyes, I've been wearing a mixture of the rose and gold shades in Nars Alhambra, which is a beautiful eyeshadow duo that really brightens up the eye area. It's one of my favourite eyeshadow duo's and is great to take away with you travelling, see swatches here. I've also just recently repurchased my current favourite mascara, L'Oreal Miss Manga mascara which I apply after curling my lashes with my Shu Uemura eyelash curlers for long, fluttery lashes.
On my nails, I love wearing an ombre glitter accent finger and Essie Summit of Style is such a pretty bronze glitter that seems to work well with any dark nail polish.
Lastly, for highlighter, Topshop Glow highlighter in Polishis one of my all time favourites. There's something ethereal about the colour of this Topshop highlighter and it gives a such a beautiful luminescent glow. See me wearing it here.
