04.02.2016: Beauty Bits I've Been Loving

With Christmas passing quickly and the new-releases of January flashing by, it's pretty easy to get caught up in a whirl with all of the new beauty bits you can acquire. I've managed to whittle these down into five things that I can honestly say I'm glad to have in my collection, and quite ridiculously have no idea how I dealt without. (Of course, this is an over-reaction. I could've done without spending the money but they were just so gosh darn pretty.) So, without further ado, I present to you the five things that I've accumulated over the past month or two and really freaking liked.

Told you they were pretty. Left: Viva Glam Ariana Grande, Right: Honeylove.

Is it a little more justifiable now? Every girl buys MAC, potentially because we flock like sheep towards anything that a pretty-lipped girl recommends. Nine times out of ten, she'll be speaking about the newest nude shade from MAC, or a pink that she believes offers the perfect 'her lips but better' tint. She'll be right. I'm not one to shy away from a lipstick, and matte finishes from MAC are my absolute favourite. So what if they leave your lips feeling like you're stranded in the Sahara? You'll look gorgeous battling the sand dunes.

Ariana Grande's shade is something completely different for me. I've tried to achieve this colour before, when purchasing Rebel (also from MAC) but sadly the satin finish left it looking too light for my taste. So when I saw Ariana rocking this colour in the ads on the side of my screen, I knew that it could be the one. It was matte, dark as hell and the packaging was pink so I was sold. Safe to say that I've been wearing this on my bolder days.

Honeylove is a repurchase for me- after a particularly heavy birthday rendezvous, my beloved lipstick was lost forever. So I bit the bullet and paid a stonking £15.50 for the privilege of having my fave nude back. Lighter than Velvet Teddy, but still matte. It's my go-to lippy to just shove on before I whiz to somewhere last minute.

Gwen Stefani x Urban Decay Blush Palette.

I am a peachy blush girl through and through. I've never gotten on with pinks- probably because I want to stray away from my naturally red-faced-ness. I can't remember where I first saw someone talking about this, but when I did, I couldn't have clicked onto the UD website quick enough. Turns out I was way too early and had to wait another week or so for it to actually be released (a painstaking week of debating whether or not I could actually afford to buy it). Eventually, I persuaded my boyfriend to buy it for me as a belated birthday present and voila. Although, I have to say that I wasn't impressed when we ordered it online and then two days later Debenhams had it in store. Luckily it arrived the day after- but still.

Anywho, my favourite shades have to be OC (furthest away on the bottom row) and Lo-Fi (the closest on the bottom row).  OC is a lovely matte peachy blush that makes me feel like it's the middle of summer as I'm battling against the January winds. Lo-Fi I'm using as an alternative to NARS Laguna bronzer, as it's more matte. I am very excited to try out Angel, too (furthest away on the top row) which is a shimmery, iridescent peach. I'll let you know if it's a third fave.

Don't worry, I bought this one myself. Gwen Stefani x Urban Decay Eyeshadow Palette.

A month before the blush palette, I caved and picked this beauty up. Look at all the neutral shades. Let's just ignore the 'slightly' garish Harajuku & Danger shades that are going on all up in that- they might be useful at Halloween or something. There are loads of pretty colours to choose from, so I've narrowed it down to my top five shades: Stark, Anaheim, Zone, Punk and Blonde.

Just a little outline of how I use these shades on the eye: I've been using Stark (bang slap in the middle) all over the lid with either Anaheim (to the left of Stark) or Zone (to the right of Stark) in the crease for an everyday neutral easy eye. When I want to make it a little darker, I put a little dab of Punk (furthest away on the top row) in the outer V of the eye. Finally, I finish up with using Blonde (top left) under the arch of the eyebrow, right on the brow-bone, to act as a highlight.

Photographing mascara is so difficult to do nicely. Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara. 

Last but not least, this mascara. This mascara. It was totally an impulse buy, I'll admit. Everyone had been raving about it and I was bored of my L'Oréal False Lash Wings mascara, so I forked out £19 of my own hard-earned wonga and bought it. I'm glad I did, but I still wince at the price for 'black stuff that make my eyelashes more pronounced'.

It does make them a lot more pronounced. I've been sick recently, so I've not managed to do anything to my face other than put this mascara on my lashes and wipe my nose. Good for the skin, bad for the people that get to see my face. Either way, my lashes looked long and full. Score.

Let me know what you thought of the bits I've mentioned, has this swayed you on delving into your purse and buying them or completely turned you off?

More on me being sick, to round this post off. It's just a cold, but honestly I am very much over it. I'm currently sitting in my room, feeling very sorry for myself. I have a lecture to head off to in a minute and I'm really not feeling it, but alas, I will attend for the sake of my education. Another blog post to come in the next day or so.