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.

January Beauty & Non-Beauty Favourites 2014

So it's the end of January and ergo the time to show you what things I've been loving this month. I thought that I'd mix it up a little bit between beauty things and a couple of random bits and bobs just to make it a bit more interesting. Without further ado, favourites please maestro!

Let's start with the beauty, because that's always the most interesting part. I'm sure you're all sick of hearing about the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette. Christmas morning, girls (and some men, I'm sure) ripped off the wrapping paper to uncover this beauty and undoubtedly wasted no time in trying it out. I can't say it was any different for me. My lovely parents splashed out a bit and bought it for me after a couple of hints dropped here and there by yours truly. 

Sadly, the picture doesn't do justice to just how pretty these shades are. I absolutely love love love the darkest shade 'blackheart', which I've sported on a couple of nights out. OTT in all of the right ways, I must admit! I also really love the shade 'strange', which is the lightest colour in the palette. It works well as a highlight or just to put all over the lid if you fancy a bit of a 'light-eye' makeup day, as I call it.

A bronzer boasted about by the masses is the next favourite of the month for me. Nars' 'Laguna' bronzer is just the right shade for my skin tone. I'm fairly fair skinned and after reading/watching the views of many bloggers about how it suited their skin tones, I thought I'd give it a go. Now, I've tried and tested a fair few bronzers over the past few years and I can safely say that none of them come close to the contouring genius of this one. To apply, I give my Real Techniques Blush Brush a whirl around in the powder and lightly brush the hollows of my cheeks. I've used this non-stop this month and I don't think it's going to be moving from my make-up bag anytime soon!

If you've read any of my older posts, you know that I rave on endlessly about The Body Shop and their Vitamin E Moisture Cream. I'm always applying it to set a base for my foundation to look after my skin as much as possible, so when I saw a little box of Body Shop goodies in TK-Maxx all centred around their Vitamin E range, I hastily made my way to the check-out. 

My skincare regime for the second half of 2013 was non-existant and I definitely noticed the difference as soon as I stopped taking care of it. I've been using this nightly for the past month and it's certainly made a difference. My spots (ew) have cleared up considerably and my face feels really smooth afterwards. The box of goodies also had a facial brush, which I use to apply the facial wash. I leave it on for roughly half a minute and then wash it off, dabbing my face with a towel afterwards. It's lovely! 

Another hyped about beauty product here. Half a year ago, I was nosing through the magazines in Tesco and found one that had a mini Benefit 'They're Real!' mascara, so I picked it up with the intention of trying it out. I'm one of those people that can't start a new mascara until I've completely used up my old one, so when my trusty Clinique 'High Impact Mascara' gave up the ghost, I gave this gem a go. Now, I'm definitely not the first to sing this baby's praises, but boy is it good. So good that I bought the full-sized version from Boots for a whopping £19.50. I must be mad, but I think it's worth it! 

Again, this isn't the first time I've mentioned this particular favourite of mine. Tanning? In January? I know, it's ridiculous. St. Tropez 'Gradual Tan' is an everyday body moisturiser that gives your skin a bit of a healthy sun kissed glow that I can't seem to get enough of. I don't use it every day, otherwise I'll look like I've just got back from Spain mid-July, but I have applied it a few times this month just to make it feel a little bit like Summer in the freezing cold! 

Perfume seems to have sneaked it's way into a tradition for me at Christmas. A new bottle of a different perfume is now a must that I'm not complaining about! The scent of choice was 'Daisy' by Marc Jacobs and it smells divine. I'm awful at describing scents, but if I had to put a label on it, it would be fresh and floral. Descriptive or what? The Eau So Fresh version is much lighter than the Eau De Parfum, which I like, but it still lasts for the whole day. I've found myself sniffing at my wrists in the middle of the evening, it lasts so long. No reapplying necessary!

Non-beauty favourites time! I've had my eye on this beautiful necklace for a very long time and I must say that this picture doesn't do it justice. To have a better look, click here to check it out on the Daisy website. I did a little bit more hint dropping and managed to have this stunning piece of neckwear as a birthday present from my mum and dad. This necklace has seen a fair few fun nights over the past month and I'm sure it'll be subjected to much more! The jewellery Daisy London sells is all so dainty and pretty, I really recommend you go and check them out. They even have a 15% off offer at the moment just in time for Valentines day. Might even treat myself to something! (Totally the point of Valentines Day. Treat yourself if nobody else does!)

Bit of a strange one, but lets roll with it. I've been loving this app to record all of my calories, track my weight loss and it also has a nifty way of letting you record the calories you lose from your exercise. I got into using this last year when I started seriously dieting and I've continued straight through to this year with vigour. Once I've recorded my daily calories and submitted my diary for the day, it even gives you a little prediction of what weight you could be in five weeks if you keep going. It's a nice little motivational tool that helps you keep on track with what you eat and stops you going over the top on snacks! 

Another love of mine this month has been my shoes that I bought off ebay last year in October. Whenever I go out for meals or for a drink with the girls in the evening, these have been my first choice of footwear. They're super comfortable and don't require you to tot around all evening! Easy to walk in is key when you're sipping on some wine (or something stronger!) and these fit the bill. They're a little battered (hence the lack of a close-up), so they aren't the most long-lasting of footwear but they certainly didn't break the bank. You get what you pay for, I suppose!

I hope that you enjoyed this post and you've gotten a bit of insight into some of my beauty and non-beauty favourites of the month. Comment below what some of your recent favourites have been so that I can make the excuse of sneaky purchases being for research purposes! On a side note, I've also been posting a lot more on Instagram since the start of this year- so follow me @dailybeaut if you fancy it!