Merry Christmas, fellow Beauty lovers!

I just wanted to post a quick little message to you all on this lovely festive day just to wish all of you that celebrate this holiday a very Merry Christmas! Also, to those of you that don't tend to celebrate Christmas, I hope you're enjoying everything that's on the television and eating lots of goodies!

I'm super excited for the New Year, as I'm hoping to start up my YouTube channel- which I'm hoping you all might have a gander at in the future. Anyway, enough about that!

What did you get for Christmas? 

Lots of love

x

Trip to Paris!

Recently I went on a little trip to Paris, as I'd always wanted to go to see the amazing sights that such a beautiful city has to offer. The weather was less-than-perfect, I must say. If you plan on going to Paris, try not to go towards the end of November- the rain is not to be desired, especially if you're planning on taking a picture of the Eiffel Tower! Thankfully, as the day wore on, the rain subsided and we managed to get a good ol' look at the beast.

•

•

•

It was a tiresome day, speed-walking around Paris so that we could get back to the ship on time. We did manage to see all of the main sights though. We even had enough time to venture up to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower- which was magnificent. If I ever go again, then I'll definitely take the long trip up to the top! Another thing that I managed to get done was to go on the Metro (essentially the French version of the Underground that we have in the UK), which was entertaining to say the least. We saw a man do a puppet show for the little kids sat behind us, which was very cute.

Paris fascinated me in only a way that London has before. I've always loved cities and I'm planning on one day moving to either London or Cardiff- whichever the most affordable! I hope that you don't mind that this isn't at all beauty/fashion related.

Leave a comment below if you've ever been or would one day love to go to Paris, or if not- why? 

My MAC Make-up Collection

I love make-up, that's a given. One brand that everyone always jabbers on about is MAC, the expensive brand that makes absolutely stunning make-up that even got it's name into a song (Unpretty ring any bells?). Now, I tend to spend whatever money I receive on makeup or skincare- and most of the time it's saved up to buy that one item that I've been drooling over since I laid eyes on it. That sort of item? You can bet it's from MAC. 

I am and always will be a sucker for MAC Cosmetics. The lipsticks, the foundations, the blushes! I could spend a day in Debenhams at the MAC counter looking at all of the lovely goodies that they have on offer- though I wouldn't recommend it as some of the MAC's I've been to don't have the most welcoming staff members, tut tut. Despite the odd looks you can get, it's all worth it to spend your money on that one item you've been lusting after. 

Over the past year I've started purchasing MAC products and although I've not got that many, I still thought it would be nice to show you the bits that I've collected.

•

Products above (from left to right)- MAC Lipstick in Ruby Woo, MAC Blush in Fleur Power, MAC Lipstick in Impassioned, MAC Concealer shade NC15, MAC Studio Fix Foundation in NC15, MAC Lipstick in Pink Plaid and MAC Lipstick in Ravishing.

Everyone has their own favourite type of cosmetic. I would say that mine has to be lipsticks- though it does have a tendency to chop and change occasionally. I just think that MAC do such a huge range of shades and they offer so many different finishes to choose from that it's hard not to hand over £14 for one lipstick that'll give you so much happiness. I think my obsession is a tad ridiculous- but at least I've not blown all of my money on them. Yet. I always make sure that I don't have a similar colour in my collection before forking out so much money for a lipstick and so far, I've gotten my hands on four completely different colours. 

Ravishing

Ravishing, the lipstick to the right, is a cremesheen finish, meaning that it's very moisturising for the lips but still is very pigmented, although slightly glossy. This is a lovely colour, but is probably my least favourite of the four I own. I just think that it doesn't look as nice on my fairly pale skin as I'd hoped- but if you're fairly tanned/dark skinned, I think that this lipstick would look absolutely lovely. 

Ruby Woo

The lipstick next to Ravishing is Ruby Woo- my absolute favourite out of the four lipsticks. I'm definitely a bright red-lip kind of girl. I love how it gives a sultry finish to your make-up, just making it look slightly more sophisticated. Being a matte finish, it isn't very moisturising at all, so I always tend to put a bit of lip balm on and let that set into my lips before putting on this lipstick. My only problem with this lipstick is that I sometimes find it very hard to apply, it tends to be very dry and rough to put onto the lips. I don't know if I've just got a strange rogue lipstick as I've not heard anyone else point this out and my other matte lipstick doesn't tend to do this either. Frustrating!

Pink Plaid

Pink Plaid is completely different to the previous two when it comes to colour. It's a very sweet colour, just topping off a make-up look and doesn't tend to stand out, so it's ideal if you're trying to go for a simple look. This is also a matte finish, which isn't at all like Ruby Woo's finish, even though they're both classed as 'matte'. How strange! This was my first MAC lipstick and I absolutely love it! Highly recommended, I must say.

Impassioned

The final lipstick I have from MAC is Impassioned. This is my most recent lipstick purchase after I saw Zoella's MAC Lipstick Collection video and fell in love with the colour that she had on her lips, which she mentioned was this one. It's extremely bright, which I love, and it isn't too shiny on the lips (I'm not a fan of shine!). The finish is Amplified Creme, which I thought was a pretty darn cool name for a finish. Pretty sure that it just means 'super bright', which suits me!

Studio Fix Fluid Foundation, SPF 15

This was my first ever purchase from MAC. I was in desperate need of a foundation that could be tested to match my skin tone. I went into Nottingham and hunted down the MAC store, getting one of the ladies that worked there to match the correct foundation to my skin. She asked me if I'd prefer a dewy or matte finish foundation- so I picked matte, not completely knowing if I'd love it or not. I'm super glad I did, because this foundation made my skin look radiant. Yes, radiant. My shade is NC15, which I believe is the second lightest shade they do- which shows how pale I really am! I've repurchased this foundation since my first bottle because I love it that much- it's definitely my go-to! It's medium-full coverage, which I definitely need- doesn't need much building up either! When I first got it, it smelt considerably like Baileys. Just a heads up. 

Studio Finish Concealer, SPF 35

I've never quite understood those that have said to go for a shade of concealer two shades lighter than your foundation. I just thought that it would look silly, having light patches in your foundation over spots/bags that you're trying to cover, so going against those that say that, I went for NC15- the same shade as my foundation. I'm glad that I did, because I still find that this concealer appears much lighter than my foundation for some reason. I do love this concealer though, I have no faults with it. I don't tend to use a brush with it as it's not a liquid concealer and it would be difficult to get it out of the pot, so I just dab my finger into it and then put it onto my skin where I feel like I need more coverage. I think that this is one of my favourite concealers that I've ever tried.

Fleur Power Powder Blush

I got this blush as a gift from my Mum, who took me to MAC and let me choose one thing that I'd like- to which I hurriedly rushed over to the blushes and drooled heavily for a little while. After about ten minutes, I decided on this peachy-pink toned Satin finish blush. I use this blush pretty much daily, that's how much I adore it. MAC blushes are very expensive and most of the time have dupes, one that I've found for this blush is an MUA blush in Shade 5. I will be doing a comparison of these two blushes in a future blog post, so check out for that. (Once written it will be linked here.)

So, that is it for all of my MAC products. I hope that you've found this post interesting. What MAC products do you own? or if you'd like to see any other collections of make-up brands that I have, feel free to comment below. 

Have a great day!

Make-Up Brush Collection

Ever since my fascination with beauty products began, I've branded myself as 'the girl who needs more brushes'. I think that I've got more of an addiction to the brushes than I do with the makeup itself! Admittedly, my collection of brushes isn't a huge one, as it mainly consists of Real Technique brushes- but they are exceptional at what they do.

The brushes that I own from the collections available are the Core Collection (reviewed here), the Powder brush, the Stippling brush and the Shading brush. I also have a cheeky EcoTools foundation brush thrown in too. Now, being a girl that wears her make-up whenever she goes outside means that my brushes get dirty pretty fast, so I need to try and make sure that I wash them at least once a week (a painfully endurance-testing task, I can tell you!). Most of the time it only gets done once a fortnight, but I always need to make sure that I have a day ahead where I don't have to wear make-up, otherwise the washing needs to be done as soon as my make-up has been applied and then left until just before I do my make-up the next day! Ah, planning ahead.

•

Out of all of my brushes, the three that I use the most have to be my Stippling brush, my Buffing Brush (part of the Core Collection) and my Shading brush. 

Stippling Brush

Once applying moisturiser, I tend to squirt some of my Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15 (Shade NC15, if you happened to be wondering) onto the back of my hand and then dipping my Stippling brush into the foundation, I swirl the brush onto my skin and make sure that it's covering all of my face, pushing it into places that I think need extra coverage. 

Buffing Brush

Once I've applied my foundation with my Stippling brush, I'm left with an awful lot of lines on my face which I definitely want to get rid of- which is where the Buffing brush comes in! I just buff the foundation into my skin in circles, building it up if more coverage is necessary. Some people tend to just apply their foundation with this brush rather than using the Stippling brush too, but I find that the foundation tends to sit on my skin if I solely use the Buffing brush by itself. I've gone into quite a bit of detail about this brush already in the review, so check that out if you want to know why I recommend it.

Shading Brush

The thing that I lack the most of when it comes to make-up would be eye shadow brushes. I know, it's terrible. Recently I purchased the Urban Decay Naked Palette, but the brush that came with it seemed to scratch my skin and it was just very uncomfortable to use- so I had to purchase one that was soft and still good at what it's meant to do. I didn't feel like splashing out on a brush, so I went for another Real Techniques brush. It does the job nicely, leaving me with pretty well-applied eye shadow daily. The only problem I have with this brush (and it's entirely because I only have one eye shadow brush) is that it gets dirty much quicker than the rest of my brushes- but it's one of the easiest to wash, so every cloud!

Overall, I love Real Techniques as a brand- all of their brushes that I've tried out are impeccably soft and they do their job amazingly well. If I ever leave the house with unappealing makeup, I can't blame my tools! If you would like to see what I think about the rest of my brushes that I haven't yet reviewed, drop a comment below and I'll get around to it as soon as!

Have a great day!

Cookies, yes please!

For those of you that haven't heard my constant moping about how unwell I feel- be prepared to hear a lot of it today. Not a beauty post, as per say, but it's nice to have a change! When I get colds, I always know that Christmas is coming. It sounds strange, but last year I had a cold over the Christmas Holidays- so now, flu is related to my favourite time of the year. And, to quote DailyGrace, you know what that means! Christmas is definitely the time for baking lovely treats and to not really care about how much weight you gain. So, as a result- this weekend has been absolutely devoted to baking lovely treats for me to devour in my self-pity. Besides, I think I should jump on the Christmas Bandwagon! If Boots can start putting out Christmas shelves, I can start singing jolly tunes and spending my weekends watching TV and eating!

I know it's bad. I shouldn't get myself into one of those 'Why bother dieting' ruts, especially with a gym membership- but when you feel ill, who doesn't want to cuddle watching Jeremy Kyle and eating tasty chocolate chip cookies? So, on Friday evening, left completely to my own devices, I made a batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies- half white chocolate and half milk chocolate.

•

 

It's okay to be naughty sometimes, but I think as soon as my cold has subsided, I'll definitely be getting back into a strict gym router! 

Hope you're all having a lovely day and that you avoid any sort of illness for the longest of times- but if you do, make cookies, wrap up warm and think of Christmas! Also, if you're wondering- Christmas is 93 days away. Who's excited? 

Cardiff Haul!

Well, it has been a while, hasn't it? Since my last post I've juggled going to school with working super hard to earn some money for that wishlist I mentioned a while ago! As promised, I went shopping in Cardiff and got a huge amount of stuff to show you guys, so I think I'll just get straight into it- you've suffered enough banter-orientated posts! Just as a heads up, this is only a beauty and jewellery haul. I did get a couple of fashion items, but only basics!

Above you can see a multitude of bits and bobs. I managed to chuck a few nail varnishes into my basket, namely Barry M's Pink Flamingo and Matt White, that Matte Top Coat I always go on about from H&M and two nail polishes from Models Own (my first ever Models Own purchase, as a matter of fact)- Balearic Cool and Beach Party (the orange one everyone mentions!). As it has been I while since I endulged myself in Cardiff, I have managed to try on every single on of these nail varnishes and I must say, I loved each and every one. My favourite has to be Beach Party, mainly because it's been my turn-around point since disliking orange to loving it completely and utterly. It's a shame darker colours are coming in now, due to the groggy weather and the change in season!

Other items that you can see include two Body Shop products- a Grapefruit Scented Body Butter and a Mango Lip Butter. The Body Butter has been the first thing I reach for after having a nice shower, making me smell all sweet for the day. This scent might not be for everyone- it certainly grew on me, mainly because I remember going into the Body Shop a while back and smelling it and I did put it down rather quickly in distaste but now, I own it. Funny how things change! The Lip Butter has been a new resident of my school bag, believe it or not. If I'm having a day where I can't be bothered with lippy, I chuck some of this on and walk around sniffing my lips all day! I'm a strange sight, I tell you.

You see the white compact with little gray stars on it? That's my new highlighter from Topshop. Cost me £10 and it's a new holy grail product of mine. I used to be the sort of person that wanted a completely matte make-up look, but recently all I want is a glowy face! Not easy to do when your only foundation is excessively matte! So this baby makes me shine like the sun. What an oddly vain metaphor!

You might know that I'm infatuated with crosses. I don't think I go a day without wearing an item of clothing or jewellery that doesn't have the infamous cross symbol. So, without little apprehension, when I was having a gander at New Looks 'Buy One Get One Free' offer, I snapped this little cross ring up in a jiffy. It was only £2.50 and you'll soon find out that I got it for free anyhow!

The other item that I got from New Look can be seen much more clearly here. See those little golden skulls with small crosses dangling from them? Those cost £2.99 and allowed me to get the cross ring free. New Look might not be as on-trend as Topshop when it comes to clothing, but you've got to love their cheap fashionable jewellery!

Whilst in Superdrug, along with the Barry M nail varnishes, I picked up some Accessorize make-up. Now, I've never really shopped in Accessorize itself, but I'd seen Pixiwoo's Drugstore Haul and they had shown these adorable products! They had also mentioned the pigmentation was decent and they resembled the Mac baked blushes! I know you can't see them properly, but I'll be doing a review on them shortly so you'll be able to see them in much more detail and you'll know my opinion on them too! 

Remember how I always go on about how my skin needs a primer and the cheapest one that I've found is from MUA for £4? I picked that up again and in three weeks, I've almost ran out completely. I love love love this product! I won't go on about it any more though- you'll all be sick of it, I'm sure!

The same time I purchased my highlighter, I also picked up a couple of jewellery items that were on sale at the time. I had a bit of a skull-overload whilst in Cardiff and I saw these and swooned. This silver bracelet was only £2.50 and the earrings were £2. Need I say more?

I was weak. I saw Urban Outfitters and I ran in. I'd never shopped in Urban Outfitters before, but I knew they did the most gorgeous on-trend jewellery and I needed some, pronto. I picked up a pair of Hamsa Hand earrings for £6 and some teenie tiny cross earrings for £6. I think that the cross earrings are perfect for my second lobe piercing, mainly because they look super nice there and they don't look silly!

Whilst in the Body Shop, I had a bit of a Mango overload and bought a body mist too- another school bag essential. The main perfume that I use is my Chanel Chance, but I don't really want to use all of that at school and I definitely don't want to carry it around in my bag! So, this does the job nicely. Makes me positively stink of mangoes, but who doesn't love that smell? I've not had any complaints, anyhow!

And finally, I treated myself to a couple more Real Techniques brushes. The Powder Brush (the huge one to the right) is absolutely perfect for applying powder to finish your makeup and it's so unbelievable soft that I don't know how I lived without it. I also got a Stippling Brush just for a bit of variation from the Buffing Brush I use all the time. It takes a bit of getting used to, but it's definitely a good brush!

Okay, so I've been away a little too long. Forgive me- school has just been hectic! But I promise, I'm definitely going to start writing more posts again. Make sure you follow this blog if you've not already! Look out for my next post- spoiler, it's something to do with my bag! You might find out what's in it!

My Gym Essentials!

Going to the gym is a very taxing thing and doesn't really give you many rewards immediately, but it's important if you want to be healthy, slimmer and better and sport. Sadly, I'm one of those people that eat the regular amount and still put on weight- so I joined the gym. It's very difficult to stay motivated because it is definitely one of those things that you can get really tired of if you aren't seeing much difference in your body or health. So, I thought, why not make a post on things that you should take with you to make the gym a little bit easier and speed the hour or so up? So that's exactly what I'm going to do.
 

Okay, so it's no secret. The majority of us whilst at the gym, sweat most profusely. Sweating, whilst completely normal, is still really off-putting and makes you self-conscious! I always take a small towel with me that I can use to dab my face if I'm finding that it's covered in unwanted beads of perspiration and interrupting my running. It also feels nice if you've got dry skin so that nothing is interfering with your running and you don't have water pouring off you, making you look like a fountain!
 

 

  I always take a bottle of water with me to the gym. It's important to make sure you're hydrated when you're exercising because you lose so much of your bodies fluid when you sweat, so taking a bottle of water and drinking throughout your exercise regime is key. I make sure that when I get water bottles, the lid is easy to lift off- you don't want to be running and then realizing you need a drink so you're struggling trying to unscrew the lid to take a sip! Having a flip off lid means that you don't have to struggle and you don't have to stop to have a drink, so you don't lose focus!
 

 

This is a two-in-one deal. I always take my iPhone because I can access 3G- which means that I can access the internet whilst out and about, so I don't have to connect to wifi. Some gym's do have free wifi for their customers- so make sure you ask! This is useful because you'll be able to read blog posts, watch videos and do everything that you normally do on the internet- just via your phone! Also, if you don't have 3G/Wifi available, you can listen to music on your phone/ipod and play games (if you're cycling!) which makes the time that you're at the gym for go a lot quicker! Headphones are essential for me, as my gym has a choice of television programs you can watch whilst you're working out- so I just plug those in and watch the program whilst I'm running or cycling etc. They're also useful if you just want to listen to your music on your phone/ipod. Also, if you don't fancy wearing a watch to the gym, your phone/ipod can show you the time- so if you're leaving at a specific time, you won't get caught up in working out and you'll remember.
 
So, a bit of a strange post today. I hope that you enjoyed reading! Don't forget to follow this blog if you want to read more! Thanks for reading!

Recent Empties!

It's reached that time where I've collected a few tubs and tubes of products that I've completely used up over the past few months. Empties have been a huge craze in the beauty world recently, as they're a little bit more informative of products that people perhaps don't recommend and ones that they swear by, so I thought that I'd share with you the products I've collected up. I've only managed to get five bits together and most of them I've shared with you before, but I thought it would be good to go over them again to see if my opinions have changed or if there are products that I might try in replace of these.
 

From left to right, Clinique High Impact Mascara, Benefit Total Moisturizer, Dove Go Fresh Deodorant, Mua Primer and Scrub 'Em & Leave 'Em by Soap & Glory.

 

Clinique High Impact Mascara is a product that I've raved about in almost every single post. I'm definitely a mascara junkie- I can't go out without my lashes being coated in the stuff. If you want a mascara that doesn't give you clumps, increases the length of your lashes and makes them look long and lovely then this is the mascara you should purchase. I got this mascara in a pack of three two years ago and only recently just got into it and after three months, this had gotten a little bit unusable, so I've treated myself by opening the second one. 

 

See this? It's a sample that I got last christmas of Benefit's Total Moisture. I absolutely love the smell of this stuff, but when I saw that it was £26.50, I had to make do with the sample. If you read my post with my too-huge-for-comfort wishlist, you'll have noticed that this was on it. I'm determined to purchase the fullsize product, but for now I've got to make do with my non-scented Boots Essentials Moisturiser. Poor me! But soon to be poor purse!

 

 

A bit of a strange one, but relevant none-the-less! I love this deodorant mainly because it smells lovely and makes you feel fresh, if you know what I mean. This is a very hydrating deodorant that I will definitely be repurchasing in the future. I think mine is lime-scented, which is lovely because I'm a sucker for sour!  

 

 

You guys know how much I love this product. I need this on my skin before I put any sort of make-up on otherwise I just feel it's all melting off! When I realized that this had ran out, I started putting moisturizer on to replace this and it's doing a pretty solid job. I've been having a nose at different products that I could use, so once I've found one that might be better than this, I'll purchase it and give it a little review to let you all know. I've wrote in a little bit more detail about this product here.

 

 

Finally, the last product that I have to show you is my much-raved-about Scrub 'Em and Leave 'Em by Soap & Glory which I've wrote a detailed post about here that you can read. I love the smell of this product and I've already repurchased it, that's how much I love it. Definitely recommended. If you fancy treating yourself to a new body scrub, try out this one. If you love smelling sweet and flowery, definitely give this ago. I love coming out of the shower smelling of this because all I want to do is smell myself for the rest of the day- I do look strange when I'm sniffing my skin for the rest of the day!  

Thank you very much for reading today's post! See you all tomorrow!

Review | Montagne Jeunesse Face Masks

Hello everyone! Today's blog post is going to be all about some face masks that I've been loving for quite some time, which I'm sure you would've heard of or seen around and about before. The masks in question are the Montagne Jeunesse Masque's. You might assume from the name that they couldn't possibly be produced in Britain, the name sounds so different and exotic! You'd be wrong. On the bottom of the packaging, it says "Caringly made in the UK by Montagne Jeunesse, Swansea", Swansea being a city in South Wales (where I was born). What I don't quite understand is the French writing all over the packet- how strange. Anyhow, I've been using these masks for quite some time- usually being the source of entertainment at sleepovers, but more recently being used to relax from the stress of school work or to just sort my skin out when spots have taken over.

These masks come in a variety of forms, Peel Offs, Self Heating, Non-Drying (which I've never tried) and Muds.

 I've used Peel Off masks by this company in the past and if I recall, my messy application of the product caused quite a lot of it to go into my hair (boy, that was difficult to remove.) and took quite a long time for me to peel off each individual piece of mask because it refused to stick together. When applying the mask, you can't really tell what you're doing as it's a clear sticky substance that you're putting on your face- so I suggest doing it in front of a mirror with a deep look of concentration on your face, a very attractive look I can assure you. Also, it makes you look like you've been sweating solely through your facial pores, so if you did use this product, use it alone! I don't typically tend to buy the peel off masks anymore, because I didn't really feel them doing anything to my skin and I found them more of a pain than a form of relaxation. After use, I see a slight improvement in the softness of my skin but that was all really, which can also be achieved by exfoliating the skin- so not really worth the effort, I must say. Peel Off masks are available in the scents cucumber (both sachet and tottle), passion fruit (both sachet and tottle), lemon zest (sachet form), green tea (sachet form) and tropical (tottle form).

When buying these masks, I didn't really go by what form they're in as much as I go by the scent that they're in- which leads me to the Self Heating masks. Now- I've never put anything on my face that makes it go unbelievably hot before, so hot that it begins to feel uncomfortable and occasionally boarders on painful. But saying this, it does feel like it's doing something to your skin- be it good or bad, it's doing something. I used the orange chocolate form of this mask the other day whilst I was having a bit of a pampering session and it's safe to say that I wasn't expecting to have a hot face for the five minutes it's required to leave the mask on for. Bit silly really, it does say 'leave on for 5 minutes to experience the immediate warming effect' in the instructions. Completely my fault. Once quietly suffering for five minutes (as I didn't want anyone to see me looking as unattractive as I did), I removed the mask with gusto and rinsed my face with ice cold water to see my skin literally glowing from the effect the mask gave. I'd never seen it looking as healthy as it did- and it felt so unbelievably soft! Now, it does say on the sachet to use twice a week- I don't think that I'm going to live by it, but I think it's definitely going to be a regular purchase from now on and will play a key role in my weekly pampers! These masks are available in the scents Red Hot Earth (sachet), Fudge (sachet), Spices (tottle) and Orange Chocolate (sachet).

Finally, as I've never used the non-drying mask that Montagne Jaunesse has to offer, this brings me to the Mud masks. I love these. I've always loved these. You apply the mask with your fingers all over your face (avoiding lips and around the eyes) and you just wait 10-15 minutes for it to go completely dry and hard all over your face. I think it's really cool, to be honest- just to see your face turn (pretty quickly) into a clay-looking thing. You don't feel the effect on your skin like you do with the Self Heating masks, but you can certainly feel the mask hardening on your face. When I use these, I feel like I shouldn't really move my face once it's began drying, just in case it interferes with the whole hardening process- but it is oddly satisfying. When removing this mask (just rinsing with lukewarm water) my skin feels revitalized and fresh, making it also very soft to touch. Overall, very effective indeed. This form of mask if available in Strawberry (tottle and sachet), Dead Sea (tottle and sachet), Rose (sachet), White Chocolate (sachet), Fruit Smoothie (sachet), Dark Chocolate (tottle), Normal Chocolate (sachet), Olive (sachet), Lavender & Jasmine (sachet) and Aloe Vera (sachet).

These masks are available in tonnes of shops in the UK. Tesco, Wilkinsons, Bodycare, Boots, Superdrug etc. Many big retailers stock these for around the £1. Wilkinsons is where I normally purchase them as they sometimes have a buy one get one free offer- and they're always 99p anyway.

Montagne Jaunesse are currently running a competition for folk to 'rename the baby', which is referring to the company name as they've noticed that people struggle to remember the name because it's just too complicated and difficult to pronounce. Enter that competition here. Also, follow the company on twitter!

I hope you've enjoyed today's post! Have a lovely day and don't forget to check back here or follow for more daily posts on beauty, fashion and the like.

August Glossybox!

I'm completely new to this Glossybox concept, only having signed up at the very beginning of this month. I think that Glossybox is a lovely idea, the whole 'six beauty surprises' just grabs me and makes me want to subscribe. I've always been on the verge of subscribing but never really built up the courage to bite the bullet and spend the monthly £10, but I decided that I should just go for it and here we are! My August Glossybox!

As you can see, there are six products within my glossybox, along with some fancy-looking black crinkled paper and a little card that tells you about all the different products. This months box is deemed the 'International Superstars' box. On the back of the card, it mentions that they've selected brands that are well known in the UK along with some others that have cult status in other countries that you might not have heard of before- definitely the case for me! I'd only heard of Lipcote before, the others were a complete mystery to me!

From left to right, Alessandro Pro White, Lipcote, Vera Valenti L'ombre a Paupiere Margarita, Glossybox Lipstick in Glossy Pink, DHC Deep Cleansing Oil and All For Eve Eve's Balm.

I'd never heard of Alessandro before, nor had I ever used a brightening nail polish. When I first saw this in the box, I was excited to see if this product actually works, because my nails can sometimes look a bit dull and dry. The card with the product information says that this product has an optically brightening effect on the nails- which sounded good to me! I used this product that same day on one of my nails to compare it to another and I must say, it did look considerably healthier and brighter than the one that wasn't coated in the stuff. Definitely recommended if you aren't someone that constantly wears nail varnish and wants pretty nails! This product is usually £7.85 for a 10ml bottle. The product is considerably smaller than the packaging it comes in- so it's a waste in materials and gives you the sense that you're getting more for your money, when really you're just getting a big bottle and a little bit of product. Misleading? Yes. Willing to put aside my differences for how good this product is? Double yes.

Can we all take a second to appreciate how gorgeous this product looks? Lipcote (according to Glossybox's leaflet) is 'the original lipstick sealer and the secret of long lasting, feather fade and water resistant lipstick'- thank you Glossybox, I couldn't have put it better myself. Basically, once you've puckered up and put your lipstick on, you slap this on top and you've sealed your lipstick on for the rest of the day. Easier said than done, I hasten to add. The product has an overpowering smell (which is the smell I was greeted by when I opened my box. It stank the place up!) and a nail-varnish like applicator brush. I was quite confused by this, because I'm meant to be putting this on my lips. Without a mirror, I attempted to swipe this across my lips to no avail. I then proceeded to do this in front of a mirror rather sloppily. The brush seems to pick up a little too much product for my liking, but once I'd blotted it off a little, I left it for the rest of the day. Thankfully, my lipstick stayed on all day with no smudging at all! I was very impressed with the product itself, but the application process was something I didn't appreciate too much! This normally costs £3.99, which is pretty cheap considering. Next time, make it easier to apply, Lipcote! I'll leave you to decide whether you pronounce it like lip-coat or lipcoté!

  
 Maybe not the most professional looking eyeshadow palette, but the colours look absolutely lovely, don't they? Especially those greens! It'd be hard to find colours like that normally! Well, those were exactly my thoughts when I studied this product. I thought that it definitely wasn't my favourite product in the box, but if the eyeshadows are as good as they look then perhaps it's a gem in disguise! Sadly, I was proved wrong. I swatched each colour individually and I wasn't impressed. The pigmentation of each eyeshadow wasn't as strong as I hoped they'd be and overall I'm not going to be repurchasing this anytime soon. This brand went over my head completely, having never heard of it before- and I hope I don't come across it again in a Glossybox! I suppose I'm being a little harsh, but I don't think I'm going to be getting much use out of this. The colours are lovely to look at, but that's about it. The palette is usually £3.85, so if you're really enthusiastic to buy this, there you go.

Glossy Pink is the colour I was treated to from Glossybox. According to the leaflet, it's a professional beauty lipstick for soft and glamorous lips with a luminous, long-lasting colour. I can definitely vouch for the long-lasting part. I swatched this lipstick when I was taking photos but didn't manage to be able to take a good enough photo to show the colour completely and the swatch has still not come off my hand! So, that says a lot. I wore this out a few days ago when I went shopping and it didn't budge from my lips the whole day- no Lipcote needed for this lipstick, ladies! I'm unsure of the colour range that was available, but I'm more than happy with the one I received- definitely something I would pick out of a range of colours! I love this lipstick.  It's completely unscented, so that's a bonus if you're someone that hates having a smell directly under your nose the entire day! This lipstick is usually £9.50, so this needs to be sold in shops somewhere. Please?

This is the product that I know absolutely nothing about and I'm far too scared to use it on my skin. I know, you're probably thinking- well Katie, Glossybox is all about trying new products out! Especially skin ones! This product is a deep cleansing oil. I have oily skin. I don't think that this product is going to do me any favours! For those of you without oily skin, all I've noted with this product is that it has no smell, is comes out yellow on the hand and rubbing it into the skin leaves it very oily. Definitely not going to attempt using this! The leaflet tells us 'this revolutionary water-soluble cleanser is better than any other make-up remover you've ever tried' which I can't agree or disagree with because I'm not going to be trying it. I will, however, be giving it to my friend so that she can give me some feedback on it. I received a 30ml sample, but the product is usually £18.50 for a 200ml bottle. Something to try if you have a dry skin type!

Finally, this product could have been one of three things. Some got the marvelous imPRESS nails, others got a perfume sample and I received a lip balm. Safe to say I wasn't ecstatic with this, but I digress. After using the product, I actually really enjoyed it. It was the same as any other balm I'd used previously and came with a nifty little mirror- but the difference is, is that this is for charity. This product is usually £4.95 which I would usually complain is too expensive for a balm when you can pick up vaseline for £1.00 in Boots, but this is for Charity and I'd be more than happy to pay it if I knew it was going to a good cause.

So, that was my August Glossybox. I hope that you've already received yours so you didn't ruin the surprise when you read this post! Thank you for reading. Please leave suggestions and comments down below!

Update | Busy Few Days!

Hey everyone, I thought that today I could give you a little update as to what's going to be happening over the next few days. I'm going to be super busy the next few days. Whilst I'm doing these things, I want to spend time with my family and just have a good time, instead of thinking about having to write a blog post whenever I can squeeze them in. So! I came up with a plan. I've wrote seven blog posts in advance to be uploaded over the next week, so all I'll have to do is upload them daily. I hope that you can all understand that I want to spend time with my family- but you're still getting content, which is the only thing that matters, really!

I'll be going to Cardiff on one of the next few days, on a huge shopping spree- so look forward to seeing some of the goodies that I picked up in a blog post when the week is over! Another thing that I'll be doing is celebrating my Granddad's birthday, who I'm sure won't mind me saying, is celebrating his 77th birthday this year. I'm really looking forward to seeing everybody over the next few days and having a fabulous time! I'm sure the diet will be put on hold, though!

As far as blog-related things go, I've been toying with the idea of making an almost-daily update channel, but I'd actually have to get some readers that'd be interested first! So I think that will remain a distant plan. Another thing that I've been thinking of is to have a bit of a follow spree on Blogger of loads of beauty blogs that I'd find interesting to read, so if you think I'd be interested in your blog- feel free to comment or tweet me @dailybeaut.

Another thing that I'd like to mention is that I'm going to be starting 6th form when I go back to school at the very end of August, which is exciting! I'm actually looking forward to going back to school- but I've just got to finish all of my induction work before hand, otherwise I might not get there! Also, more exciting news is that I'll be getting my exam results on the 23rd this month, so I'll probably give you an update on those once I've found out what they are!

And finally, the only remaining news is in early November, I'm going to be going on a cruise on the Queen Mary to places like Bruges and Guernsey for a few days, so I'll be writing blog posts before and just uploading them every day. I'm super excited!

So, I hope you have a fabulous few days! Don't forget that posts are still going up, they've just been pre-written, but no worries- everything'll be back to normal in a few days time when everything dies down. See you soon!

Car Safety Workshop!

Last night I attended a Woman's Workshop all to do with car safety, so that my mother and I could find out a little bit more about what do to if you're in a bit of a sticky situation when your car breaks down, if you need to change a tyre etc. The reason that they chose to make this even a Woman's only event is largely because they realized that sometimes women can feel intimidated by men that appear to know all of this car-malarkey whereas I personally couldn't pick a flat tyre out of a line-up!

Whilst at this event, there was a stall from a local beauty salon that were showing people how to curl hair using hair straighteners. My mother and I had a nice chat with Jan, a woman who owns the salon along with her daughter, and it turns out that they recently took part in an episode of Don't Tell The Bride! This'll be airing sometime in September, so I'll be sure to make another post when I've watched the episode saying 'I've spoken to that lady!'. The salon offers a range of beauty therapies, such as hot-shell massages and chocolate face masks (yummy!) and is based in Leicester.

After we had watched the hair demonstration and treated ourselves to some nibbles, we got to watch a presentation all about what we should do if we ever do find ourselves in scary, intimidating situations whilst we're out and about in our cars. An example that we were given was the anagram 'Flower', which stands for Fuel, Lights, Oil, Water, Electric, and Rubber- which reminds us of everything that we should check to do with our car to make sure that everything will (hopefully!) go smoothly on our journeys.

Now, onto something a little more beauty-orientated. We received a lovely goody bag from the lovely ladies at the salon, Volkswagon, Next and also Rainbows the charity organisation. I thought that I'd share with you what we received in the bag.

Firstly, we received a lovely perfume from Next which smells absolutely lovely. Think autumn scents with a hint of musk! The main thing that I loved about this was the bottle, which is an adorable heart-shaped bottle with a stunning regal-looking lid to it. I was very impressed with this perfume and the bag in general!

Secondly, the bag contained a large cinnamon-scented candle. Cinnamon isn't normally a scent I would go for, but I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that the smell wasn't too overpowering so it can just go on if I want a little bit of luminosity in a room. This is what made the bag so heavy!

We were also given a keyring and a pen from the car dealership, which always comes in handy! The keyring will be going on my set of car-keys next year and the pen will be residing in my bag. I'll look so classy getting out my Volkswagon pen when I need to write something down! The envy of all pen-lovers, I bet!

Another thing that was included, which I'll never say no to, was a flapjack with a yoghurt base. Nothing much to say about it, except that it was a whopping 495 calories that I'll never get back! Recommended for the taste-buds but not for the stomach! As it was devoured, sadly you've got no picture to stare at- which is great for the diet, just not mine!
 
Finally, we were given some leaflets that had lots of details about car servicing, the Rainbows Charity Organisation and also some discounts on paint jobs for a new car. All in all, a pretty successful event and a lovely little goody bag for us all to gawk over! I really did enjoy my evening and I definitely recommend it if there's one near you anytime soon. It was very informative and made you think about what you should do if you were ever faced with an unwanted situation! As I'm currently learning to drive, it's definitely something that I wanted to go to so that I'd be a bit more aware of dangers that I might face and how to overcome them.
 
So it wasn't completely a beauty-focused post, but it's interesting none-the-less! Keep your eyes out for an informative post tomorrow. Nothing serious! Thank you very much for reading. If you have any suggestions on posts that I could write in the future, please leave a comment below or tweet me @Dailybeaut. See you all tomorrow!

Tag | Most Worn Things This Summer!

Hello everyone! Another tag today- but something that you might have seen running the beauty video's circuit recently (Olympics reference!). It's the 'Most Worn Things This Summer' tag, which I've absolutely loved watching and I do find really interesting. This might not be your bag, especially if you've been suffering the weather in the UK like I have and you just wanted to sling on a jumper instead of some shorts! The weather can make you quite fed up and not as enthusiastic to do your makeup or dress up, but I've managed to get out and about when we did have those few days of hot weather and I also went on holiday, so I have gotten a little bit of use of my more summer-y items! On with the tag!

1. Nail Polish 

My absolutely most-worn nail polish this summer has been Blue Moon by Barry M (spoken about here), which is an absolutely lovely pastel blue colour. Love it!

2. Hair Product

I'm far too lazy with my hair than what I should be! I've been using my Pantene Pro V Aqua Light Shampoo, which I do use all year-round and isn't just a summer thing, but I don't really use much else on my hair! 

3. Bag 

My most worn bag has been my black studded bag that I cheekily purchased off an eBay shop. I absolutely love it! I do have to mend the strap a little bit, which is a pain! I shouldn't have taken it to that festival.

4. Shoes

My most worn shoes this summer have been my brown brogues that I got about a year ago from Peacocks. They're too comfortable to not wear all the time! I've got a very prominent tan line on my feet from them, though!

5. Clothing Item 

My most worn clothing item this summer (when we actually had sun) has been my white blazer from Topshop, which I absolutely adore. It's such a nice fit and is very comfortable! 

6. Accessory 

My most worn accessory this summer has been my hamsa hand necklace from Kukee - I love it!

7. Foundation 

I only ever use my MAC Studio Fix Foundation because it gives me just the amount of coverage that I need.

8. Bronzer and/or Blush

I've only really worn my MAC Fleur Power this Summer because it's such a lovely coral colour, definitely recommended!

9. Lip Product 

My most worn lip product has been Collection's Matte Lipcream in CandyFloss. It's a dupe for NYX Matte Lip Creams, but doesn't offer the range of colour like NYX do. I've wrote a review of the Collection's Lipcream here. 

10. Mascara

I'm not going to go on about this much because I think it's featured in every post that I've ever wrote. Clinique's High Intensity Mascara. That's all.

11. Eyeshadow 

I've been wearing colours from my Sleek Storm Palette recently, which are highly pigmented. I might right a review my Sleek Palette's soon. 

12. Fragrance

I've been wearing my Chance perfume by Chanel relentlessly this summer- it's so lovely and floral, if you like those things in a fragrance, then you should try that out. It's amazing!

Well, that's all for today's post! I hope that you've enjoyed reading today. Pretty soon I'm going to start phasing out my long introductions because they can be a little tiring to read- so I'll just start with the post and then put a little bit of an ending paragraph with things that are included normally in the first paragraph. Anyway- I'll stop rambling! Thank you for reading today's post and please follow this blog if you'd fancy reading more. Bye everyone!

Tag | Make-up and Skincare!

Hello lovelies! Today has been pretty hectic and I swear I haven't been getting enough sleep. The humidity recently has been unbearable here in the UK and combined with multiple mosquito bites doesn't put me in the best of moods, but I'm willing to work through it to write today's post. I actually wrote a post earlier today, published it and for some reason it didn't upload. I'm quite distraught, to be honest with you. Taking time out of my day to write a post that just varnished off the face of the earth is very disheartening and doesn't really improve my mood at all.
Anyway, putting all that nonsense behind me, I'll write today's blog post. Today I'm going to do a nice tag on skincare and beauty. I'm not completely sure who made this tag, but I think it's absolutely lovely and a lot more suitable for a beauty blog rather than questions about myself. So, let's get started.

SKINCARE

-How many times do you wash your face daily?

I wash my face twice a day. Once in the morning (not with 100% focus, I mainly just do it to wake myself up for a busy day!) and then again in the evening, making sure I cleanse, exfoliate etc.

 
-What skin type do you have? (dry,oily,combo)

I have an oily T-zone, but if I exfoliate too much it gets dry, so I make sure to only do it every other day. So, perhaps combination? It's very confusing.

 
-What is your current facial wash?

I just use Boots' Essentials Facial Cleanser, which does the job. I've not really invested a lot in facial wash- I'm more of a make-up remover and exfoliate girl.

 
-What brand do you use?

I use Boots Essentials.

 
-Is it really important to moisturize? 

I think it is quite important to moisturize, mainly because it can either help with keeping your make-up on, or keeping your skin soft and healthy.

 

-How often do you moisturize your face?

Every morning and every evening.

 
-What moisturizer do you use?

I alternate between Boots' Essentials and Benefit's Total Moisture.

 
-Do you use sunscreen?

I do if the sun is out, which is rare in the UK. I also make sure to have SPF in my foundation and concealer, just in case I'm out and about, the sun is shining and I've not got any sun tan lotion to hand.

 
-What is your favorite skincare line?

That's a hard one. I love Bioderma's line and also Clinique (even though some of their products do tend to break me out! Not what you look for in a skin-care brand!)

 
-Do you have regular facial treatments?

Never. I've never had one, but I'm hoping on getting one the next time I go away on holiday.

 
-Do you have freckles?

I have very light freckles on my cheeks and nose when the sun comes out, but apart from that they're unseen.

 
-Do you spray water on your face during summer?

I do! I recently got a water spray from boots because I get very hot and sticky when it's sunny.

 
-What do you use for cleansing your face?

I use Bioderma's Make-up Remover and then Boots' Essentials Facial Cleanser.

 
-One skincare routine that is a MUST for you?

You mean what I do? I remove my makeup, cleanse, exfoliate and moisturize.

 
-Why do you think we should take care of our skin?

I think it's very important that you should take care of your skin, mainly in the sun as if it's not completely protected, you could be at a high risk of getting skin cancer. It's also important to take care of your skin so that you have minimal wrinkles when you age and also it just feels nice to have soft, healthy-looking and feeling skin.

MAKE-UP

-What foundation do you use?

I use Mac's Studio Fix Fluid SPF15 in NC15.

 
-How about concealer?

I use Mac's Studio Fix Concealer SPF35 in NC15, too!

 
-Do you know your undertone color?

I have quite pink undertones, which is never good! It just means that I have to have full coverage of foundation otherwise I look all red and blotchy!

 
-What do you think of fake eyelashes?

I've never really tried fake eyelashes myself, but I really want to start wearing them when I go out. I think I'm going to buy a cheap pair soon to see what they feel like and if I'll be able to get used to the application of them and if I'd be able to wear them on my eyes!

 
-Did you know that you are suppose to change your mascara every 3 months?

I do indeed! If it still works, I do tend to keep using them though. Bad example, I know!

 
-What brand of mascara do you use?

I use Clinique's High Intensity Mascara.

 
-Sephora or Ulta?

I've never tried/been to either of them because I live in the UK.

 
-Do you have a MAC Pro-card?

Not yet. I have to ask in my local MAC store, though. It's only available in the US and Canada online, so I have to ask in store. What a pain!

 
-What makeup tools do you use in make up application?

My real techniques core collection is all I use to do my basics. Otherwise, I use my fingers!

 
-Do you use make-up base/primer for the eyes? 

 I don't actually. I apply my face primer to my eyelids, so it works there too!

 
-For the face? 

 I do! I alternate between Boots' Moisturiser and MUA's Facial Primer.

 
-What is your favorite highlight powder?

Definitely the one from Topshop. I love it!

 
-What is your favorite eyeshadow (color or shade)? 

I'm definitely a neutrals fan, definitely! Browns all the way! 

 
-Do you line your eyes? 

 I do occasionally.

 
-Do you use pencil or liquid eyeliner? 

 I use liquid above my eyes and pencil (if I'm going for a more striking look) along my waterline.

 
-How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner pencil?

 Never! I mastered the Kohl years ago. I was even the envy of my friends, being able to apply it with just one hand!

 
-What do you think of pigment eyeshadows? 

 I think they look very scary! I don't own any myself, so I'll be very cautious if I ever fancy making a purchase of some!

 
-Do you use mineral makeup?

I don't really use mineral makeup that much.

 
-What is your favorite lipstick? 

Pink Plaid by MAC is my favourite lipstick I own, but I'm absolutely in awe of Dior Addict's Lipstick in Diorkiss. Divine! 

 
-How about lipgloss? 

 I'm not a lipgloss kinda' gal', to be truthful.

 
-What blush on do you use? 

 Fleur Power by MAC, mostly.

 
-Do you buy your makeup on ebay? 

 I've never bought makeup off ebay, mainly because you don't really know if you're buying fake items or not. I never want to risk it, so I'll stick to saving up and buying from the store!

 
-Do you like drugstore makeup?

I love drugstore makeup. Cheap and cheerful is something I live by!

Thank you for reading today's post! I'm glad that it's finally up! If you fancy, leave a comment below on posts that you might like to see in the future. I'm also looking for ideas for my first ever Youtube video- so any tips and tricks with that would be greatly appreciated! See you tomorrow!