favoutites #1

i'm super late with saying this but happy 2014 everyone! this is my first blog post of the year (oops), i can't believe i've not had a chance to write anything up yet and it's almost the end of january - i've been so busy with work and other things and i feel like this month is just going far too quick for my liking! i want to make 2014 the year i properly stick to uploading things to this blog. i feel like writing posts for this blog is a far more productive way to spend my free time than just scrolling through my tumblr and twitter feed, or worse - internet shopping (my downfall!) every time i'm on my mac. i'd love to get a decent blog post up either every week or every other week.

anyway, i thought i would maybe make the first blog post of the year an easy one, a recent favourites post of pretty much everything i've been loving throughout december and january! also apologies for the rubbishy iPhone pictures - i'm clever and have misplaced my proper camera's charger. what a good start to the year ey!

first things first, i am in love with these moomin pyjama leggings. they're super cosy, really comfortable and just so cute! i've been practically living in these and a big t shirt which i'll put straight on as soon as i get home from work. i can't remember how much they were but i know they were from primark so they were definitely cheap. :)

this little beauty balm by clarions is incredible stuff. it's a great base for makeup and smells lovely. it is quite expensive but i managed to snap this travel size bottle up on ebay for around a fiver. i like that only a tiny amount covers all of my face so i'm sure it'll last me quite a while!

my sister bought me fall out boy tickets for the end of march at newcastle metro radio arena and i couldn't be more excited! fall out boy were one of the bands i grew up listening too and ahhhh my inner emo can't wait to finally see them live after always wanting too.

my next favourite - these two cute little bracelets i picked up in the h&m sale at the beginning of the month. i love jewellery like this that can be dressed up or down, plus they are adjustable in size which is a god send for people like me who have stupidly small wrists. usually bracelets just fall straight over my wrist and hand and it annoys me so much but these ones can be made as small as you want. :) i think i only paid a couple of pounds for the pair.

oh my goodness l'oreal - i am in love with this foundation! i picked this up while i was in new york in october, however i only recently started to use it on a regular basis and now it is up there with my favourite foundations (it even beats a lot of my more 'high end' foundations!) it doesn't feel heavy on my skin at all but the coverage is still amazing, covering my super pink cheeks. plus this shade (light ivory) is perfect for my skin. and it lasts all day without needing to apply more.

obviously starbucks' festive drinks have been in my favourites this month. i am a sucker for a hazelnut hot chocolate but i also love the salted caramel hot chocolates and their caramel hot chocolates and vanilla hot chocolates. and yes, i do like hot chocolates...

this is a bit of a two in one picture. firstly i am a bit obsessed with wearing my hair in a fishtail plait. i remember when everyone first started doing these a few years back and my hair was too short to do them. :( i only just remembered about how much i love them a couple of weeks back and to my delight my hair was more than long enough to do one! i just love how easy and quick they are and that they look good no matter how messy you do them. perfect for people like myself who hate faffing around with their hair. i also adore this top i got in primark. i'm sure i paid around £8 for it which is amazing. it's so pretty and floral and i love the collar on it. it looks so nice with high waisted skinnies and a big cardigan.

a couple of skin care loves. liz earle cleanse and polish (who doesn't love this), if you haven't tried this already then GO BUY IT NOW. you will not regret it! this is my favourite way to remove my makeup at the end of the day. it's super creamy and thick and it smells beautiful. all you do is massage it over your face, then using a muslin cloth wrung out in hot water, wipe your makeup away in seconds and you're done! i love how my skin feels after using this too, i feel like i've gotten rid of every bit of makeup from my face and it also leaves my skin feeling soft and moisturised. another skin care love is the indeed labs hydraluron. this makes my skin feel so plump and healthy and gives me a lovely glow. it's products like this that dry skinned girls like myself love and should use every single day to get rid of flakey dry skin. 

now a bath melt by soap & glory. i was given this for christmas and i've almost finished the tub already! this stuff smells absolutely aaammaaaaazzzzziiiiing! it's such a relaxing, wind-down kinda smell which makes it perfect to use when i get in from a long day at work. it makes the water turn pink, creates lovely little bubbles, and makes the bath water feel so soft it feels like you're being given a giant water cuddle. 

last but definitely not least, my favourite body moisturiser has got to be dream cream by Lush. ohhh i can't even remember how long i've used this for, i always go too and from different body lotions, just because i like to try new things out, but i always come back to using dream cream. although it is kind of expensive, it's definitely worth it as one pot lasts absolutely ages and i also find that you can still feel that you've applied this hours and hours later, which is something i find doesn't often happen with other body moisturisers that just sort of sink in and that's it until you apply more. my skin feels so soft and lovely all day wearing this and it doesn't go sticky or anything like quite a lot of moisturiser can do when you apply them. it just rubs straight in to the skin but lasts all day/night and i couldn't rave about it any more!




FINALLY, other things i have also been loving but can't really photograph are:

music -
deaf havana
mumford and sons
taking back sunday
beyonce
brand new

books -
gone girl by gillian flynn
into the darkest corner by elizabeth haynes
a demon in my view by ruth rendell




what have you been loving this month?

xo

new york makeup haul

now if there's one thing i love it's buying new makeup, and where better to go buy some new products than when i was on holiday in new york last month!? the best thing? - everything is a lot cheaper over in america than the uk so i was a bit naughty and spent a crazy amount of money on stuff i would have usually picked up, looked at the price of, and put straight back down!! 

the first place i headed was MAC in Macy's. i spent so long umming and ahhing over which lipsticks to buy, and eventually narrowed it down to three colours. i got 'creme cup' - a repurchase. 'girl about town' - a sort of deep pink which looks crazy bright for someone like me (who likes to keep things neutral!) and 'captive' - an almost purple isn berry colour which i thought is the perfect way to add a little bit of colour to my ghosty face over the autumn/winter months.

whilst at MAC i also picked up a powder blusher in the shade 'tenderling' which is just a pale dusty pink, quite similar to my natural cheek colour. i also bought some mineralise skin finish natural in 'light' which i use to set my foundation. i've used this for a couple of years and i thought it would just be a good thing to repurchase in america where it was a little cheaper!

my next buys were my 'i kinda shouldn't have but did anyway' purchases. i went to sephora (love love love) and the first thing i got was the nars sheer glow foundation in the shade siberia. i also bought the foundation in the matte version too because reasons! in another trip to sephora i then treated myself to the laura mercier silk creme foundation aaaaannd my favourite thing i bought - the radiance primer which makes my foundation look a dream when i've applied it over the top of this primer. while i was waiting to be served i spotted the urban decay naked basics palette and thought it would be rude not to pick it up too. i love this palette, it's not often i find one that i'd actually wear every single colour from but the basics palette definitely does it for me.

i went in to ELF looking for some new makeup brushes as mine were in a sad sad state and it was definitely time to get some replacements. i love ELF brushes, my previous ones have lasted years and for how cheap they are i'd recommend them to anyone! i got a flat top brush which I've been using to apply powder to my face. i also got a little blush brush which is the perfect size for applying bronzer, blusher or to contour with. i did buy a fluffy concealer brush too but i forgot to photograph it. - fail! 

on the top picture of this post i've also shown the bourjois java rice powder. i didn't actually buy this in new york...i got it when i was back home in newcastle but i thought i'd include it in this post as it's the only makeup i've bought since i got back from my holiday and i felt mean leaving it out as i love it! it gives you such a nice glow without being too in your face obvious and you only need the smallest amount when you use it. 

are there any products you've recently bought that you're loving? or have you tried anything i've mentioned? leave me a comment and let me know. :)

xo

friday face

friday face - after using strobe cream from mac to give a dewy look to my face, i use my pro longwear foundation (in n18). i apply this with my real techniques expert face brush. i only recently bought this foundation and i think it's right up my street with it being long lasting and quite a medium, buildable coverage. i then apply some bronzer to contour my cheeks. today i went for mac's bronzer in 'golden' using real techniques' blush brush. this bronzer always looks way too dark and scary for someone as fair skinned as me but using the tiniest amount on a brush works wonders and gives me a great bit of colour. using the same brush i then apply my blusher, 'peaches' by mac. finally i dab a little bit of creme cup lipstick over my lips which gives the perfect pinky 'your lips but better' colour when pressed on to the lips rather than applied normally. last but not least i fill in my brows using sleeks brow kit in light using an angled brush. and voila! 

xo