the start of a new beginning..

 I've recently picked up a few MAC eyeshadows and wanted to share the gorgeous, daily wearable shades with you today and also ask for a bit of advice on which ones I should purchase to extend my collection. I never really knew where to start and spent hours researching different shades, especially those suitable for blue eyes and blonde hair which I have. This brought me to the shade "all that glitters" the more golden shade I have pictured, and the shade "satin taupe" which is the darker, brown-grey shade which I wear almost every day. I love pairing these together, or on their own and find them very wearable and buildable.

Satin Taupe is described as a taupe shade *durr* with a high shimmer which reflects silver in some lights, its gorgeous to wear especially for a night out and a quick alternative to using a variety of different eyeshadows to create a smokey eye. I absolutely love this shade, its super soft and applies like a dream even without a primer, without any fallout. This was the first mac eyeshadow I purchased and would definitely buy again and again!

The second one I purchased was on a whim in the mac store when I was returning from a weekend in London with my boyfriend, but i'm oh so glad I did. I love this colour, although very daring and out of my comfort zone, all that glitters is great for those days I want to go all out with my makeup! It brightens my eyes, makes me look more awake and is a peachy rose gold shade when applied to the lid. I find I have to wear this one with eyeliner or I can look a bit odd, but I don't mind that. This colour also works great paired with a darker shade in the crease and outer V.

What MAC eyeshadows would you recommend me picking up?

Will you benefit from using Rollerlash?

Recently i've been loving Benefit's Roller Lash Mascara - and it's swiftly become my favourite mascara of all time. I honestly speak about this mascara to everyone who asks for a recommendation, I can definitely see myself repurchasing this numerous times, and whats better.. it's a much improved formula compared to they're real in my opinion!

First off is the packaging, whilst I love the silver tube of they're real I also love the packaging of this mascara, and feel as though they've been inspired by hair rollers when creating this mascara packaging! I love the pink lid and the font used too, and being pink its great for a girly makeup bag. The mascara wand in my opinion is much better than they're real - this one is smaller in size meaning I can get right into those little nippers in the corners and also providing curl, volume and length! This mascara really does work wonders for my lashes and god knows what i'd do without this mascara, as keeping up false lashes would cost a fortune.

The formula of the mascara is definitely lightweight in comparison to they're real and for that matter any other mascara's ive tried and means that even the thinnest of eyelashes can handle a few coats without feeling heavy which I love. Such a buildable mascara and you can definitely use that to your advantage when preparing for a night out on the town. Finally, I find this mascara sooooo much easier to remove than they're real - with Benefit having to bring out a remover for their previous mascara. This one comes off easily with makeup wipes, any micellar water or cleanser.. brilliant!

Benefit Roller Lash retails for £19.50 but definitely is worth the money and is available to buy here. Whats your favourite mascara?

Ocean Salt Face And Body Scrub

I have only really began using any lush products in the past 6 or 7 months, before that they were always raved about but I genuinely thought they just sold bath bombs - and i'm definitely more of a shower person. I headed down to London in March to celebrate my 18th birthday, and whilst there found myself browsing the stands of the lush store. My skin was going through a phase of being spot prone, and I needed something to calm it down. This is where I turned to the ocean salt face and body scrub, and well lets say.. I've never looked back.

The first thing that interested me was the scent, it definitely smells like ocean salt - with ingredients including lime, grapefruit and coconut. This product is an exfoliator - and when first opened there were little blue beads which sat at the top of the product, ready to be mixed in. I prefer to use this product in the shower, so water has got into my tub and changed the colour and consistency of the product slightly which doesn't bother me at all. I find actually, like this its much easier to apply! I also love the fact this is a self-preserving srcub, so doesn't need to sit all forgotten about in the fridge - I can easily keep it in my bathroom and use it daily.

It is recommended to wet your face before applying the scrub - the reason I apply this in the shower. You scrub in circular motions which allows for the exfoliating process to occur, leave for a few minutes (again, why I use it in the shower, during this time I shampoo and condition my hair) and then wash off with clean water. My skin feels so much better after using this scrub, and I genuinely have seen a difference in my face looking clearer and smoother, being less prone to spots and my redness is reduced. My skin is already very dry so when I felt this scrub I was a little nervous, but have great pleasure in saying this does not dry up my skin at all - so suitable for dry, normal, combination and oily skin.. whilst i've heard many say it works wonders for acne prone skin too!

This little pot of goodness retails on the lush website here at £7.75 for 120g (the size I have) or £13.95 for 250g. Do you have any favourites from Lush?

The body shop buys!

If you seen my post on Saturday, you will see that i've only recently started shopping at the body shop! (I know, crazy right!!) But when I made the order, I decided to pick up another treat for myself and also a gift to give to a close friend/family member over the Christmas period. 

I've just recently had my room redecorated, and I wanted something that would make it feel that little more homely. I find the Vanilla Brulee scent to be AMAZING. I love spraying this on my clothes as I walk out the door, or round my room as I enter. I've used this so much already and its showing barely any signs of use, so I know this is going to last me the longest time. The scent doesn't last for ages, which is the only downpoint I have about this product, but as its so cheap you don't mind spritzing it throughout the day. I love the glass bottles the sprays come in, they sit perfectly on my new dressing table and I can't wait to pick up a few more scents. The gift I chose was the red frosted cranberry set, and I thought whilst this was half price I couldn't find a better offer elsewhere. The packaging is even cute, and means that you don't necessarily need to wrap it, just place inside a gift bag and you're good to go. Inside you get a body butter, and also a shower gel which is a great gift idea for someone you know you need to buy for, but don't want to break the bank on a present. The body shop are doing great Christmas deals, so why don't you snap it up whilst you can get a discount? 

I couldn't be happier with my purchases, so I would definitely recommend that you head over to the body shop! I have been converted.. this could be extremely dangerous. x

Instablur...

I'm never normally one to shop at the body shop after thinking everything in there was so expensive. To be honest, I only really seen it as a shop for gifts for those that love pampering and never really looked into anything properly. I've read and watched some amazing reviews about the body shop instablur, which I decided to pick up on a Black Friday deal with 50% off.. but don't worry, theres currently 40% off everything in the body shop if you hurry!! I mainly heard of this product through Gabriella at velvetgh0st, and she raves about it. It is a primer, and it's main purpose is to maintain makeup throughout the day, applied directly underneath for a flawless base. I find this slightly pricey but I have to agree it does do its job. I normally go for primers that are are cream based as I find them easier to apply, but this a velvet touch almost gel consistency. I find this quite hard to spread on my face and therefore feel like I waste a bit more product, but overall I am pleased with the results that this product provides and would definitely repurchase in the future.  If your looking for a new primer I'd definitely read into this one, as I find it keeps my makeup on for at least 8 hours a day!

Santa Does Lush..

I finally went Christmas shopping and I feel a lot more organised!! I've probably spent way too much money, but hey its my first Christmas with a job so I finally do get to treat the special people in my life. I also picked up a couple of treats for myself, and one of them was this absolutely amazing Santa Cola Lip Scrub by LUSH.  I sadly don't live near a Lush so I don't own any of the lipscrubs already, but I had heard great things about this one and once entering the Lush shop I knew it needed to come home with me. The lipscrubs are priced at £5.50 which at first does seem expensive, but honestly they will last ages as you only need the smallest amount. The Santa lipscrub is Cola flavoured, and is a sugary scrub which you apply and massage onto the lips, leaving for a few moments before licking off (yes you can eat it!) and I can honestly say I can already see a difference. I've seen other bloggers recommend using the lipscrubs before applying lipstick as an exfoliater for dead skin (especially in the winter) and I would have to say I agree on that note.  This is sadly a limited edition product, but I have no doubts that this will last me a good while so i'm not too fussed, its also made me want to try the three other options, Mint Julips, Bubblegum and Popcorn! The Santa Lipscrub can be found on the Lush website, or in stores, and it's definitely worth it...