Monday 30 May 2016

NYX Lip Haul

NYX is a brand that's been around for a while now, but a lot of people seem to be raving about it recently. This is mainly due to how affordable but high quality their products are.  I'd never tried NYX before as there isn't a counter near me and I'd never thought to buy any of their products online. Recently, a lot of people seem to be really enjoying their soft matte lip creams so I thought it was about time I tried the brand out. I decided to purchase two of the soft matte lip creams, and while browsing through their products, I decided to also purchase a butter gloss and a lip liner. I then decided to turn this into a lip haul as I love reading haul posts but I've never done one before. I'll give you a quick overview of each product and my first opinions on them. Soft Matte Lip Cream in Milan -  I decided that I wanted to buy a lip cream in a pinky shade, as I don't own that many pink coloured lipsticks. That's why I decided to purchase Milan, as it was stated as being a mid-tone blue-toned pink. The shade is very pink- more that I thought it would be to be honest - and my first reaction was that I'd never wear it. It's a really gorgeous shade if you're a fan of pink lipsticks, but it's just a bit too bright for me. I feel like I'll end up trying to wear this over the coming months though, as it's a perfect shade for the summer.  This is definitely one to look for if you're wanting an affordable pink matte lipstick.Soft Matte Lip Cream in Cannes - When I was first looking through the shades, Cannes was the one that I really wanted.  It's stated as being a muted mauve shade, but actually has some brown undertones to it. It's still a pinky shade, but is darker than Milan so I feel like it's a pink colour I could wear and be able to pull off. I really like this colour as it's unlike any of the shades I already own. I do have to say, I really enjoy wearing the soft matte lip creams. They feel amazing on my lips and don't dry them out like some of the other matte lipsticks I own. They feel really creamy - as the name suggests - and the matte effect also looks gorgeous. I now understand what all the fuss was about surrounding these - they're definitely worth the buy. Butter Gloss in Creme Brûlée - I don't normally wear a lot of lip glosses so decided to try this one as it's so afforable. I really like the texture of this gloss as it's not too sticky on the lips and looks gorgeous over other lipsticks. I find that when I wear this, it feels like I'm not wearing anything at all which I love. Also, the shade of this one is gorgeous - it has a slight pink tone to it which looks perfect with other pinky toned lipsticks. This is definitely a great lipgloss if you're in the market for one - I'll definitely be using this a lot in the coming months. Lip Liner in Pink Cantaloupe -  I wanted to try out the NYX lip liners as I love liners but can be quite fussy about what ones I like and what ones I don't. I prefer the crayon ended liners compared to pencils, which is why I wanted to try this one out. I picked this shade as I don't have any light pink coloured ones - this one is a pinky peach shade. The colour is gorgeous but can flush me out slightly due to my pale skin. It's also stated as being waterproof which I'm excited to try out - I find a lot of my other liners don't last very long. I really like these liners, and am planning to purchase it in another shade very soon.Overall, I'm quite impressed with NYX as a brand considering I'd never tried it before.  The colours look slightly different in person to online, so I think the next time I plan on buying their products, I'll look for one of their drug store counters. I definitely recommend their lip products, and have also purchased their cream contour kit which I'm excited to try. I hope you've enjoyed reading my first ever haul post and I'm excited to hopefully post more in the future. Let me know if you've tried any of the products I've mentioned and what your opinions on them are. Thank you so much for reading my post, and I hope you all have a fab day!

See you guys soon x

Saturday 28 May 2016

Morphe 35D Palette: First Impressions

I absolutely love eyeshadows and had wanted to buy myself a Morphe palette for quite a while. The fact that they're so big, with 35 eyeshadows in the one palette, was a reason they had appealed to me so much and they're actually quite affordable. They also have such a variety of colours in the one pallete which I love. I had seen a lot of people really enjoying these so decided to finally buy one from Cult Beauty. Today I thought I would do a post on my first impressions of the palette, as I've never done a first impressions post before but really enjoy reading them. I'm really excited to finally try this and will post a review of it in the coming weeks.

Trying to decide which palette I wanted was actually really difficult. I'm not too fussy on shades, so it came down to what colours I already have a lot of and what ones would I want more of. I already own quite a lot of neutral shades so I decided to go for something different. I love smokey and dark eye makeup, so finally decided to go for the 35D palette as this contained a lot of darker shades, as well as some plum colours - which I actually dont own a lot of. 

I also decided to buy some of the Morphe brushes along with the palette as I wanted to find a new and affordable brush set. I went for the 6 piece deluxe contour set which contains an angled buffer, rounded buffer, pointed contour buffer, mini angled buffer, mini round buffer and a mini pointed contour. My first impressions of this set was how beautiful they were - they're a gorgeous white and silver colour with a purple ended brush. They look beautiful on my makeup table - I'm really excited to use these!

My first impressions of the palette when I recieved it was that the colours looked beautiful. It contains both matte and shimmering shades and has such a wide variety of colours for a variety of different looks. I also really like how sleek and simple the packaging is - it makes me feel like a makeup artist. It's also quite thin, so is easy to carry about with you.

Looking at the palette, I feel like I'll use the bottom two rows quite a lot, while the first three in the top row look like shades I'd use for my daily makeup.  I'm really excited to try the purple and blue shades as these are colours I don't wear as often. I already have so many combinations of shades in my head that I can't wait to try out. I feel like you could create dark, smokey eyes as well as summery/pinky looks. I'm also intrigued to see if I'll use the green shadows, as that's not a colour I've ever opted to use before.

This looks like a really beautiful palette that I'm so excited to try. I've never owned a palette with so many shadows in it, so I'm intrigued to see what ones I use - and also what ones I don't. I'll post a review of it in the coming weeks so keep your eyes peeled for that. Let me know if any of you guys have this palette and what your opinions of it are, or if you have another Morphe palette you think I should try. Thank you so much for reading this, I hope you all have a wonderful day!

See you guys soon x

Thursday 26 May 2016

Makeup Clear-out and Storage


Recently, I've purchased quite a lot of new makeup and beauty products and have found my makeup table has gotten pretty cluttered. I'm such a hoarder and find that I never throw out my used products as I just can't seem to part with them. Since it was my birthday on Monday, I also recieved quite a few bits and pieces from friends and family and realised it was finally time for a clearout. So I decided to set aside a few hours to sort through what I needed and what I didn't, and also went out and purchased some new storage items. I keep all the products I use daily on my makeup table and everything else is put into seperate drawers, but today's post I'll just show you all the products I have on the table.

Clearing out all my used or unwanted products was really hard - I felt like I couldn't get rid of some things, even when I never use them anymore. I realised how many empties I actually had in my collection, so I've put some aside for a possible product empties post in the near future. I also realised I had a ridiculous amount of lipsticks I never wear, and some I'd even forgotten about - I'm really bad for losing things at the bottom of the drawer for it never to be seen again (or at least until I do a clear out). I had a lot of finished lip balms and old makeup brushes to throw out, and got rid of a lot of packaging - I seem to love keeping my products in their original package, even when they get tatty and dirty (especially palettes). Even though I may have found it hard at first, it was such a relief getting rid of all the crap I don't need anymore - I ended up filling two carrier bags full of rubbish.

Regarding storage, I never really had much on my table itself - I just had my makeup bag and everything else was layed out on the table. I had always said I should go buy nice storage items to put everything in, but never really had the energy to. That was until I took a trip to IKEA and found some cute boxes (shown above) that matched the colour of the table. I actually found them in the bathroom section - the one I use for my brushes is designed to be a toothbrush holder. I didn't care though, as I thought they looked like really good quality and had enough volume to hold everything I needed. The one I'm using for the brushes is the DRAGAN toothbrush holder which only costs £4. The other boxes come in a set of three - one large box with two smaller boxes - and it's the DRAGAN 3 box set which costs £13.

I decided to use one of the smaller boxes to store some of my hair items - bobbles/hair ties, bobby pins and my foam rollers. I find that these go missing so easily or I find them scattered around my bedroom, so hopefully keeping them all in one box will help me out (emphasis on hopefully). I've used the other small box and the larger one to keep all the makeup I use daily so it's easier for me to use and find them when I'm getting ready. The dimensions of these boxes make my foundations and palettes, and all my other products, fit perfectly into them - I love it.

I find that I feel more productive when I see my makeup table looking more organised, and I hope I can keep it this way. Let me know what you guys use for storage on your makeup tables and if you have any tips for me on keeping mine organised. Thank you for reading this and I hope you all have a lovely day!


See you guys soon x

Wednesday 25 May 2016

My Daily Haircare Routine



Recently, I've found haircare to be a really important factor of my daily routine. I have relatively thin hair, so I tend to use products that give my hair thickness and volume. I've changed my hair routine quite a lot in the past few months but I feel I've finally found products that I really enjoy using. I thought my blog post today could be an overview of what I use in my daily haircare rountine and how I find using them. These won't be for everyone, but I've found that they've really been working for me and I just had to share them with you guys.

John Freida Luxurious Volume Touchably Full Shampoo for colour-treated hair - I had never used John Frieda hair products before until I found this shampoo and thought I'd give it a try. I have colour-treated hair myself so I always purchase shampoos that help to lock in the colour. I found that I saw a massive difference in my hair after using this shampoo for less than a week which I was thouroughly impressed with. It gives me volume and shape, and always leaves my hair looking shiny. It has also helped me with my dyed hair, and I find that my highlights have lasted much longer since I started using it.

John Frieda Luxurious Volume Touchably Full Conditioner - When I picked up the John Frieda shampoo, I decided to buy the conditioner with it. I condition my hair every second time I wash it and find this conditioner lasts me ages. This also adds volume and shape to my hair, along with the shampoo, and I find it has made a really big difference to my hair. I also find that it makes my hair feel very soft, which makes it easy to blow dry and brush through after I've washed it.

VO5 Heat Protect Styling Spray - After I've washed my hair, I spray some of this styling spray onto it before I blow dry it. This helps to protect my hair from the heated appliances I use and also gives my hair a shiny-looking finish. It also smells amazing! Just a few sprays of this brushed through your whole hair can make such a difference. I find this product works really well for me and helps to limit the damage my straighteners do to my hair - I've noticed a reduction in dead ends now.

John Frieda Luxurious Volume Blow Dry Lotion - I spray a few spritz of this blow dry lotion onto the roots of my hair before I blow dry it to give myself a little bit of extra volume. It says on the bottle it's for fine hair, so you may not need this if you already have thick hair, but I certainly do. I find this stuff to be amazing and it always leaves my hair big and bouncy when I dry it. I'm almost finished the little bottle I have of this so I'll definitely be repurchasing a bigger bottle very soon.

I use my Revlon hair dryer to blow dry my hair, and then use a couple of sprays of hairspray to hold in the volume - the current hairspray I'm using is the VO5 extra hold weather resistant hairspray. I really like this and find it's holds my hair really well considering my hair is so thin. It's also a great hairspray to use to hold in up-do's or curls.

Also, for the days my hair is looking a bit lifeless or dull, I use the Batiste original dry shampoo. I don't use this very often as I find it leaves my scalp quite dry, but it works wonders on my hair when I do. Just a few sprays of this into the roots of your hair, massaged through with your fingers and then brushed through your hair can leave your hair looking that bit fresher when you really need it to.

I hope you guys enjoyed reading this. Let me know if you use any of the products I've mentioned or if you have any suggestions on haircare products that can help me out with my thin hair.


See you guys soon x

Monday 23 May 2016

My Top 5 OPI Shades For Summer

I'm such a big fan of OPI nail polishes- I own well over 50 different shades and wear them religiously. I just find it to be such a reliable brand with good quality polish and they always have such a variety in the colours they sell. I honestly don't wear any other brand (oops). I know they can be quite pricey but they are definitely worth every penny, in my opinion. I thought I would do a post today on my favourite 5 shades for summer from my collection, which I feel like I'll be wearing as soon as the good weather kicks in. All the colours I've chosen are just regular shades,  as I'm not a fan of sparkly or glittery polishes as they're such a pain to try and get off. I'm also not the biggest fan of REALLY bright colours, so these ones seem to meet me half way.I also wanted to let you guys know that, as I'm posting this, it's my BIRTHDAY! WOO HOO!You're Such A Budapest - I do have to point out that a lot of the shades I've chosen are named after countries (lol). This shade is a light pastel purple colour that I feel is just perfect for the summer. It looks gorgeous with a tan and it also adds a bit of colour if you're wearing a white outfit. When worn it comes out quite thin, so a few coats of this is needed- I had to put on three coats to get the colour I wanted. Overall, it's such a beautiful light shade and just wearing it makes me feel so summery. 
Big Apple Red - Now I know that red isn't necessarily a summery shade- it's a colour I tend to wear all year round- but I think it still looks beautiful this time of year. I love a good red nail polish and this shade is definitely one of them. Red nails, in my opinion, just look so classy, and I tend to opt for this shade constantly during summer. Big Apple Red is the perfect choice for any of my fellow red nail lovers, and when applying this, I only needed to use one coat which I loved. I also find that this polish paired with a top coat can last days without chipping, which is a massive thumbs up for me.

Barefoot In Barcelona - Now I absolutely love this shade - it has to be one of my all time favourites from OPI. It's a pinky nude shade that I find goes with everything I wear. I know that this shade can look different on different skin types, but I absolutely love the way it looks on me. I also find that, the more coats I apply of this, the darker the colour goes. I normally apply one coat to give the light nude-y colour, but if you prefer a darker shade, you could apply two or three coats. Another perfect shade for summery days!

Can't Find My Czechbook - I absolutely love the name of this shade! This one is a lovely pastel blue colour that is just perfect for spring and summer time - it's the kind of shade I only really wear at this time of the year. It comes out beautifully onto your nails and only requires one coat as it's quite thick. It's a gorgeous colour for all ocassions and is another one that looks beautiful with a tan or paired with a white outfit. It's one of the only blue shades I seem to ever wear so this gets a massive thumbs up from me!

Just Lanai-ing Around - Now this shade is another one of my absolute favourites from OPI. This one is a beautiful mauve-y colour that definitely adds a bit of colour to your outfit. I love this sade of mauve, as I'm not much of a pastel/baby pink nail polish fan but always want to wear pink when it gets to summer time. To get to the colour I wanted, I only needed to apply two coats of this shade. This is a definite must for anyone who is like me and wants to wear colourful nail polishes without wearing ones that are too bright. One of my faves!

One thing I love about OPI is they're relatively quick nail polishes to dry. I had these painted and dried in less than 10 minutes!

I hope you guys enjoyed this post and it may help you choose the shades you'll be wearing this summer. If you guys are fans of OPI polishes like me, let me know any shades you're loving and any I should try out. Or, if any of you own these ones, let me know your opinions on them.

See you guys soon x



Saturday 21 May 2016

Kylie Jenner Lip Kit Review



When Kylie Jenner first released her lipkits, I was so desperate to try one. The hype around them was huge and I needed to see what all the fuss was about. I'm not her biggest fan to be honest, but the colours and swatches of the matte liquid lipsticks caused me to go into overdrive and desperately need one...or two. I am such a fan of matte lipsticks anyway, so they were just calling my name. I decided to buy Posie K and Dolce K as these where the coulours I thought looked the most wearable to me, but it was tough trying to decide which ones to purchase. They took a few weeks to come as I do live in Scotland and they're being shipped from America, so I wouldn't suggest buying these if you're in a rush for them. Kylie does know how to do packaging though, as they came in a beautiful lipkit inspired box with a cute little 'handwritten' note from Kylie herself. The packaging of the actual lipstick and liners themselves is beautiful too- I seriously love the lip design on the front. When I recieved these, I was so anxious to try them straight away... so I did.

I've had these for a few weeks now, so I can give you a full, rounded and honest review of one of the most hyped up lipsticks this year. 
Posie K - I chose Posie K as it's a dark magenta colour that just looked beautiful. I'm not normally a pink lipstick person, so I decided to challenge myself to wear this one. I have to say, the shade of this on my lips against my skin (which is very pale by the way) is just beautiful. It's not too dark so it would be perfect for summer, but its also dark enough that you could pair it with a smokey eye for a night out. I really like this shade compared to other pink lipsticks I've tried in the past, so I would really reccomend this for anyone who's loves a pink lippy. I have found though that I haven't wore this shade as much compared to Dolce K- I think I'm still a dark/nude shade lipstick lover at heart. But I feel, now that the better weather is creeping in, this shade might be appearing a bit more often.

Dolce K - This was the shade I wanted as soon as the lipkits were released. I love brown shades of lipstick, so this was a must for me. The shade of this lipstick on my lips is so beautiful- it's dark, but not so dark it makes my skin look ghostly white. It's also unlike any other brown shades I have which I love. The lip liner is also one of my favourites and I wear this constanly along with some of the other lipsticks I own. I find myself wearing this quite a lot as it can be worn so easily- a lot more than Posie K.

Overview - I have to say that these liners are so under appreciated. I love the texture of them and the staying power is ridiculously long- I find myself wearing the liners with other lipsticks I own quite frequently. They're a crayon style lip liner rather than a pencil which I've found I much prefer. They are both so easy to apply and it only takes one 'wand' full to cover my whole lips, and then drys in less than a minute. The shades are also both completely matte and look so aesthetically pleasing when they're dry. The staying power of these lipsticks are amazing- I find myself going the whole day without any of it coming off or smudging. The only downside is that this means at the end of the day, you find yourself scrubbing your lips to get it off. I have to say that I do find these lipsticks can be quite drying on my lips, which can be really irritating. I find myself licking my lips just to give them some moisture when I wear them. It is only after I've recently applied them though, and after a while, I forget I'm even wearing lipstick. Another thing about these lipkits is the price- they can be quite expensive. This is one of the main reasons I bought two at once and haven't repurchased, as the shipping fee is extremely high. I wouldn't recommend buying these if you're on a budget. 

Overall, I really like these lipsticks- the shades are gorgeous and stay on all day. For someone who doesn't wear liquid lipsticks a lot, I really like these ones. I just really have to moisturize my lips when I wear them.

Leave a comment if you've tried out the lipkits and let me know your opinion on them. And also what shades you love!

See you guys soon xx


Thursday 19 May 2016

My Current Favourites

I've been wanting to set up my own beauty blog for such a long time, but lacked the confidence to do so... that is, until now. I'm so excited to start sharing my reviews, tips and general chatter on some of the products I've been using and loving, or not so much. I'll also share any life lessons I learn along the way and any advice I can give on anxiety or starting university (of which I have quite a lot). I'm really excited to live and learn through this blog and I *hope* some of you will want to read what I have to say.

I thought my first ever post on my blog should be a current favourites post, so anyone reading this can learn a bit about me and the products and random things I'm loving right now. I do have to admit- I am a big Urban Decay and MAC fan, so you may find a lot of my posts involving their products (sorry). I love to try out new products, but there are also many things I pick up time and time again and can't seem to shift from, no matter how much I try. I do try to change up my daily make-up routine as often as I can, but I have relatively dry skin so have to be careful the products I use won't make this any worse.

Make-up

Seventeen High Drama Intense Liquid Eyeliner - I've been using this eyeliner for years now and I can't seem to find any other liquid eyeliner that works as well for me as this one. It's so affordable and easy to find, as there's a Seventeen counter in most Boots shops. I find it so easy to apply and it's very dark, so if you're like me and require your eyeliner to be jet black, this is definitely worth a try. It states that it lasts for up to 25 hours, and I find that, paired with my setting spray (which I'll come to soon), this does last for the whole day (I've never wore it for 25 hours straight though).

MAC Pro Longwear Foundation (NW15) - I was never a MAC foundation person until just recently. During a shopping trip to the MAC in House Of Fraser, I thought I would try them out, so picked up three different types of foundation. After trying them all out, I've found that the Pro Longwear foundation works best for me. I am quite pale, so I use shade NW15 which suits me perfectly, and I really enjoy the coverage this foundation provides. I've been wearing this most days since I purchased it and I really like the way in makes my skin look. As I said before, I have relatively dry skin, but I feel this hides this perfectly.

MAC matte Lipstick in Smoked Purple - I am a big fan of both matte shades and darker colours of lipstick, so I feel this shade was made for me. I love MAC lipsticks and find myself picking up a new shade every time I'm in, and I've owned Smoked Purple for quite a while now. I find myself wearing this constant, either as a statement lip when I go out, or toned down with a lighter shade for day to day life. I love the way it feels on my lip as it's not drying, and the shade looks beautiful - it does wear a lot darker than it looks though.

Urban Decay de-slick Makeup Setting Spray - I do have to say that this product has been a god send for me. I always found that if I put my makeup on in the morning, it would all have came off by 3 o'clock - but that has definitely changed. A couple of sprays of this over my makeup has genuinely helped it stay on all day - even through a long flight and a good crying session. It might be a bit pricier than some other setting sprays for the full bottle- I have the travel size one for travelling (duh) - but it's definitely worth the price!

Urban Decay Perversion Mascara - I only started wearing this mascara recently, but I already love it. It's the darkest mascara I've used which I love and it also gives length and volume without leaving your eylashes clumped together (which I know has happened at some point to all of us). It also doesn't lose it's effect, which I've found mascaras I've used in the past have done. My lashes still look as good today as the first day I tried this, even with me wearing this almost every day.

Skin Care

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream - I have to be very careful with skincare due to having such dry skin, so I decided to try this face cream after a lovely lady in Kiehl's helped me pick it out. It's very hydrating which is perfect for me and for anyone who suffers from dry skin, and I always find my skin to feel so much better after I use it. It's especially good for those cold days we experience in the UK so very often. I love this face cream and use it every day without fail- and have to say, I have seen a big difference in my skin since I started using it.

Random Favourites

Ariana Grande - As I'm writing this, Ariana's new album Dangerous Woman is due out tomorrow, and I do have to say, I love it so far. She has always been one of my favourites and is just amazing live (I seen her on her Honeymoon tour last year), so I have been patiently waiting for her third album to be released for a while now. All the songs I've heard from it so far have been amazing (Into You is my fave right now) and I'm so excited for it to be finally released.

Dance Moms - I do have to admit, Dance Moms is one of my guilty pleasures. I absolutely love this show- all the bickering, arguing and crying makes it hilarious while I am genuinely interested in dancing and the routines the girls perform every week. The main stars of the show, Maddie and Mackenzie, left the show recently, which I think will make the show completely different- but that won't stop me watching it.

Thank you for reading my first ever blog post, which I'm both very excited and nervous about. I hope you enjoyed it, and will come back to hear more of my reviews and general chit chat!


See you guys soon xx