Boots Botanics | 100% Organic Facial Oil

Boots Botanics Facial Oil - £9.99 £4.99 (Link here)

Hey dolls! I've somehow lost my blogging mojo a bit over the last week - I haven't really felt up to posting anything new, but I promise I'm here to stay now! Being a bit of a self confessed skincare junkie, I'm constantly on the lookout for new products to try out. I have an oily skin type so anything which screams 'oil free' or 'deep cleansing' is a winner in my books. 'Why have you been using a straight up oil then?' I hear some of you ask. After doing some research, I found out that by using some kind of oil on an oily skin type, it actually eliminates excess oil (how many times did I just say the word oil?) around the T-zone. I was a bit apprehensive to say the least as I had visions of being an oil slick after using something like this, but I actually have to say I my skin has never looked and felt so great in a really long time. 

'This aromatic oil melts into lacklustre skin to lock in moisture for 8 hours while softening, conditioning, and helping to restore its natural glow. Use regularly to boost the performance of your daily skincare regime'

Whilst I was out shopping, I came across the Botanics range which is a collaboration between Boots and Kew Gardens in London. They offer 100% natural products which all smell absolutely amazing, not to mention all of the products were half price too. I'm not too keen on the packaging, which is odd as I usually really like sleek and simple designs. It's a matte glass bottle with a pipette applicator which isn't ideal if you're travelling anywhere but this is definitely made up for as it's definitely become a staple in my skincare routine. You can never overdo application as the pipette picks up the perfect amount to cover the entire face. It says to apply after cleansing and toning, and it literally melts into my skin; for that reason, I only tend to use it at night. 

I've gone a bit oil crazy at the moment. What's great about this is the fact that it's so multi purpose. You can use it on nails, hair, your body, just about anything. The smell is slightly nutty which of course is right up my street as anything with a shea butter/honey/almond scent has to be mine! I've been using this religiously every night for about three weeks now and I honestly have noticed a huge difference in my skin. It's alot softer, more supple and has calmed down uneven pigmentation in my cheeks. I don't suffer with dry skin at all, but if you were more on the dry side then I think this would be a real godsend. Once this finishes (which will be a long while as a little goes a long way) I'll definitely be repurchasing it, even at full price. Have you tried any facial oils? Have you tried anything from the Boots Botanics range? What did you think?

Sleek Blush in 'Suede' | Review

Sleek Blush in Suede - £4.49 (Link here)

Hey dolls! I've been really quiet in the beauty blogosphere for the past week. I haven't had the chance to just sit down and write as I've been so busy, but I promise I have loads of posts planned for the next couple of weeks or so. I took to the #bbloggers chat on Twitter on Wednesday evening, and shocked a few of you when I mentioned that I've never worn blush. I have no idea why, I just always skipped it and reached for my bronzer to sculpt and define my cheekbones instead. Over the past few weeks I've also been watching loads and loads of beauty hauls over on YouTube, and it shocked me just how many people named Sleek's 'Suede' as their go-to peach blush. With that being said, I decided to take the plunge and pick up one from Superdrug. I absolutely love Sleek make-up and swear by their 'Face Contour Kit', so was hoping the blush would impress me just as much. 

One thing that stood out for me was the packaging. It's a really sleek, matte black case with a slight rubber feeling to it (think Nars packaging) which is so compact and easy to pop in your make up bag on the go. It also has a full size mirror inside which you can never go wrong with. I have one little thing to pick on, and that's the fact it's quite hard to open. Just like the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette, it's really easy to either break your nail or dent the powder inside while opening it. For a drugstore product though it definitely ticks all the boxes packaging wise, and for the price I'm definitely not one to complain. 

What drew me to 'Suede' was the fact it was a really warm, tawny shade. Sleek say it's a blush that 'elicits a wintery mocha glow' which I think is bang on, and although were beginning to go into Spring, I think I could get wear out of this year round. I also love the fact that it's matte as I'm not really a fan of shimmer on my face apart from my brow bone. It's pretty versatile on what it can do too, as it can be used to contour with or used as a blush and applied to the apples of the cheeks. It provides a really warm and natural wash of colour without looking ashy against my skin tone which is definitely a pet peeve of mine when it comes to make up. Another thing which stood out for me was the pigmentation, not just with this blush but all Sleek products. For a drugstore product this is ridiculously pigmented yet buildable if you want a more defined finish on the cheeks. It blends so easily if you were to go in with contour, blush and bronzer and is silky soft to the touch without having any colour fall out. 

Overall, I cannot believe I haven't tried blush sooner - what was I thinking?! I'll definitely be picking up more from Sleek soon (I've got my eye on 'Life's A Peach) and once I get to grips with them properly, I see myself splurging on some high end ones too. Are there any blush phobics out there or just me?

Real Techniques | Core Collection

Real Techniques Core Collection - £21.99 (Link here)

Hey there dolls, I hope you're all well now were approaching the weekend! If you'd have asked me a year ago what my favourite make up brushes were, I honestly wouldn't have had a clue. But a year on, I can safely say that Real Techniques are by far the best I've come across in terms of price and quality, and I've built up quite the collection. One thing I had on my wishlist for what seemed like forever was the infamous 'Core Collection' brush set, and I finally bit the bullet and popped one into my basket at Boots two weeks ago. Since then I've been using them religiously everyday and I have no idea what I done without them, they really are amazing. I always think that using good quality brushes makes the world of difference to the appearance of my make up, and Real Techniques is a brand that never fails to impress me. I recently posted about my favourite tools by them (read the post here), but after discovering the Core Collection, I can safely say I've added a couple more to my favourites.

The Core Collection contains four brushes and a stand alone panoramic case - for a mere £21.99 it works out at just over £5.00 for each brush which is an abolute steal. All of the brushes are part of the base collection, colour coded by the gold toned alluminium handle and the label/name on the side. I love the look and feel of all the brushes from Real Techniques, they're so sleek and I think the colour coding system (gold for base, pink for finishing and purple for eyes) is such a nice touch. It's a bonus that all of the brushes are 100% cruelty free, synthetic and stand up to maintain storage space. The brushes in the Core Collection aren't available for individual sale, however I think you could easily get use out of each brush. The brushes included are;

• Detailer Brush - 'Precision cut to effortlessly conceal problem areas; or, use with lipstick for long lasting shape and definition'. Out of the four brushes, I haven't found that I reach for this as often. I like to blend my concealer using my usual foundation brush, but could see this being great for applying a darker lipstick if you were after a really defined lip.

• Pointed Foundation Brush - 'Use with liquid foundation to build custom coverage'. I'm pretty happy with my 'Expert Face Brush' for my foundation, however I've got some use out of this and I quite like it. It applies my Rimmel Wake Me Up with ease and gets into eye sockets and hard to reach areas but I won't be completely parting ways with my other trusty brush.

• Buffing Brush - 'Ideal for full coverage application of powder and mineral foundation'. This is the one item everyone gets most excited about! I'm yet to get into the mineral foundation hype, but when I do, this will be my go-to brush for application. The flat top makes it so easy to cover a larger area, and as the bristles are longer and wider than the Expert Face Brush, it's alot more flexible to work with.

• Contour Brush - 'Delicately applies highlighter to contour or create sheer, soft-focus finish'. This for me was the one I got most excited about, I love a bit of contour! It's a very similar shape to the Blush Brush, only smaller making it a breeze to really get in to the hollows of my cheeks.

Once again, Real Techniques hasn't disappointed me in the slightest. I think the Core Collection is a great investment to my make-up brush collection, although I'm now on the lookout for nicer ways to store them. They all wash like a dream too, and don't malt like some high end brushes (ahem, MAC I'm looking at you). I'm considering buying the starter set for eyes, so if any of you lovely ladies have any reviews on it pretty please let me know in the comments. Have you tried the Real Techniques Core Collection?

HD Brows Palette in 'Vamp' | Review

HD Eye & Brow Palette - £19.99 (Link here)

Hey Dolls! Unfortunately we have come to the end of the week once again - it always seems that Monday to Friday drags and once the weekend is here it's over in a flash! I hope you all had an amazing Mothers Day and treated your Mum like royalty. I treated my Mum to the tinted moisturiser by Laura Mercier and some bath oils so as you can imagine she was over the moon. We also went out for the biggest roast lunch ever, and I think it's safe to say I won't be eating for weeks now. If you read my blog regularly, you may know I went along to the Professional Beauty exhibition at ExCel a few weeks ago (read my blog post here) and managed to come back with bags and bags full to the brim of both new products to try and some all time favourites. I'm still finding myself trawling through them, but one of my favourite things I picked up was the legendary HD Brows Palette. If you haven't heard of 'HD Brows', it's a relatively new salon treatment which combines methods such as tinting, waxing and threading to achieve the ultimate high definition brow. The company also have a range of products on the market to keep them looking fresh for up to 5 weeks, and probably their most popular product is the brow palette.

I really like the packaging of the palette - a glossy black compact with the HD Brows logo on the front set out into four separate pans with a mirror on the inside and a little double ended brush makes it so easy to carry around for any touch ups throughout the day, not to mention it fits snugly in my make up bag. One of my pet peeves is getting products dirty in my make up bag, but because this isn't a felt material it's easily cleaned and ready for action. Because the show was offering trade prices, I nabbed this for £14.00 whereas the usual price is £20.00, so I definitely picked up a bargain! Alot of people will be put off the price of this bad boy, but it's definitely an investment as it lasts forever and the quality is amazing. I love the look of a well defined, dark brow so I went for the darkest option 'Vamp'. There are three colours available in these, each suited to your skin tone and hair colour so choosing a colour is relatively easy. I decided a few months ago that I much prefer powders to pencils when it comes to eyebrows, so this ticks the box perfectly. 

Clockwise from top left: Nude, Carbon, Dark Brown, Rich Brown

I've become a bit brow obsessed recently, and I have no idea why. This sought after palette hasn't disappointed me in the slightest, and it also doubles up as eyeshadow too, not that I need any more of those than I already do! I combine 'Carbon' and 'Dark Brown' for my brows, and use 'Nude' and 'Rich Brown' as an eyeshadow base. I don't honestly use the brush it comes with, purely because it's such a small size and I find it hard to work with. Instead, I use my Smashbox Angled Brow brush which does the job perfectly. The pans themselves are really good quality. They're extremely pigmented, set in place easily and above all, don't smudge throughout the day. I don't find any problem with colour fall out either which is a huge bonus, and a little goes a long way. I've gotten into eyebrow gels and waxes the last few months, so to set my brows and lock in the colour, I'll go over them with my GOSH 'Defining Brow Gel, and I find they really compliment eachother. 

Overall I'm really impressed with the HD Brows Palette. I definitely made the right choice colour wise, and it's nicely replaced my Benefit 'Browzings' palette. Once I hit pan with this I'll definitely be repurchasing it. Have you tried the HD Brows Palette?

MAC 'Lady Danger' Matte Lipstick | Review & Swatches

MAC Lady Danger Lipstick - £14.00 (Link here)

Hello Girls! I took myself along to Westfield in Stratford on Thursday and only intended to do a bit of window shopping and pick up some hairspray and a few toiletries; of course this didn't happen, and I ended up coming home with bags and bags full of stuff. I finally got my hands on my first YSL Rouge Volupte lipstick too which I'm so excited to share with you all soon, but one thing I had to show you all was the newest addition to my MAC lipstick collection, 'Lady Danger'. I've been on the lookout for a matte red for as long as I can remember, and after swiping this on the back of my hand it was love at first sight. 

I dipped my toes into the 'Matte' finish lipstick pond a few weeks ago when I purchased 'Please Me', and I really love the formula of these. It makes a lovely change from the usual Cremesheen finishes, and I don't find them to be drying either. Lady Danger dons the regular black bullet style MAC casing which I really like, along with the silver band around the tube. The colour itself is described as a fiery orange-red which is definitely accurate to me. Because it has orange undertones, I reckon this would suit people with all skin tones and I love the little pop of glamour it gives to my make-up. I personally think that red lipsticks look alot nicer when I use a lip liner. I used my MAC 'Redd' lip liner to do the job yesterday and the colours really complimented eachother without looking too obvious.

I wore this all day yesterday and was super impressed with its staying power. I did use my Lush Bubblegum lip scrub to prime my lips before I applied it, and it took me up until about 3pm before I needed a top up - I didn't use any Lipcote with it either! Although I love the finish of Matte lipsticks, they do have a tendancy to dry in the cracks of my lips, but this had a way of avoiding that. Over the course of the day, it turned to a slight sheen rather than point blank matte, which still looked lovely. I can quickly see this becoming yet another favourite, and I think it will be great in Summer too. I've got my eye on 'Morange' as my next purchase, which I'll definitely be sharing with you all!

Have you tried MAC's Lady Danger?

Barry M Gelly Hi Shine Polishes | Lychee & Dragonfruit

Barry M Gelly Hi Shine Nail Paint - £3.99 (Link here)

Hey there dolls! It's finally the end of the week so I'm definitely in high spirits. It seems that Spring is well and truly on its way and you know what that means - it's time to dig out the pastels and florals! Well, maybe not quite yet as the weather has other ideas, but the Barry M 'Gelly Hi Shine' range definitely says otherwise. I don't think you can ever go wrong with good old Barry M. They have such a large range of colours, and at £3.99 a pop where can you go wrong? I'm quite the nail polish whore and these two little beauties have been such a lovely addition to my ever growing collection. 

Gelly Hi Shine's have a very glossy finish, and as I've been donning matte nails over the past few months it was a gentle reminder as to how much I love gloss finishes. I was spoilt for choice in terms of colour, but after oomphing and aahing for several minutes I went for 'Lychee' and 'Dragon Fruit'. Lychee is a gorgeous muted beige which is super wearable and super versatile. I don't know about you, but I'm a huge fan of nude and brown nails, they go with any outfit you can think of. Barry M's 'Mushroom' has got to be one of my all time favourites, and I like to think of Lychee as its little sister - is that maybe a bit weird? Dragon Fruit is definitely a colour you can't go wrong with either, especially as Springtime is underway. I have an entire box of pink polishes, and these particular shades are the ones I most prefer. A candy pink which reminds me of Barbie, which isn't too in your face but still looks beautiful. 

I do find these to be that little bit gloopy when it comes to actually applying them, but having said that you can't become picky when you're paying under £4 for a product which will last a  hell of a long time. I always apply a base coat before a fresh pop of colour along with a top coat, so I never find that my nails chip anyway but the staying power of these is great too. Some polishes begin to fade and just look a bit unhappy after a few days, but these colours continue to look fresh with that just painted look. Sure, I still need two coats of both colours, but I don't expect a miracle - I haven't yet found a nail polish which I only need the one coat!

Have you tried the Barry M Gelly Hi Shine Nail Polishes?

Real Techniques | My Favourite Brushes

Left to Right: Powder Brush, Blush Brush, Expert Face Brush, Stippling Brush

Hey Dolls! Unless you've been living under a rock for the past year or so, you'd have heard of the legendary Real Techniques brushes that are sold in Boots and most recently Superdrug. These are so popular among the beauty blogging community and it's clear to see why as they're so great. I've built quite the collection over the last few months and thought that I'd share my favourites with you as I'd just cleaned them. Hoorah for freshly washed brushes!

The Powder Brush - I suffer with combination skin, so tend to get quite oily around my T-Zone. This makes me that bit more powder happy than other people but this brush works so well for me as it doesn't leave me looking chalky or patchy. I love the size of it, it coats my face with ease and picks up enough product at one time for me to work with not to mention it is ridiculously soft and feels unbelievable against the skin.

The Blush Brush - I may shock a few of you girls here, but I don't wear blusher. I never have and unless I find one I really like I probably never will. I'm much more of a bronzer type of girl and switched from my kabuki brush to this beauty. It's a relatively new purchase but it's been a staple when it comes to my foundation routine and applying bronzer. 

The Expert Face Brush - Out of my entire brush collection this is definitely my favourite! It's the newest addition to my little brush family and I'm completely head over heels in love with it! I recently bought the infamous Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation (which I'll definitely be reviewing in full sometime soon!) and it applies to the skin using this like a dream. It doesn't leave brush strokes and glides easily to cover problem areas so is perfect for more heavy foundations. 

The Stippling Brush - This was my first ever Real Techniques brush! I've said in the past I don't like BB Creams as they don't do anything for my skin, but on lazy days I'll wear tinted moisturiser instead of foundation. This brush applies it so well, and I also apply my primer using this brush too. I must admit this doesn't wash as well as my other brushes do, I have no idea why but it's still lovely to use!

MUA Undress Me Too Palette | Review & Swatches

Undress Me Too Palette - £4.00 (Link here)

Hello Ladies! Being a fan of a brown smokey eye for my everyday make up, I was so excited for MUA to launch their new palette, 'Undress Me Too'. I already own the infamous 'Undressed' palette, and this one is the follow up to it, but with new packaging and an introductory price. Just like the original being a Naked dupe, this is an amazing dupe for the Naked 2 palette by Urban Decay, and I thought I'd buy this to try out the shades before I splurge on the Naked 2 palette. Something fellow MUA fans may notice is the difference in packaging. Instead of the classic glossy black plastic casing, it's now matte white with a reflective logo on the front. I personally prefer this to the original, as it's nice and refreshing and something you can easily find in your make-up stash. I could hardly resist the mere £4 price tag either, it's every bloggers dream to find a good bargain. Something else which left me jumping for joy was the fact MUA have named their shades this time round, which makes it so much easier when naming colours and picking them out. Well done MUA! 

The pans themselves are arranged in colour order, from a pale matte champagne to a deep off-black matte. I love the arrangement of this palette. It makes it alot easier to make a colour choice and I personally think these all work together really well. Something I won't be using in this palette is the applicator. It's nothing against MUA but I'm happy using my Real Techniques shading brush to pat in the pigments and my Avon smudge brush to blend.

Naked - A matte pale champagne nude

Devotion - A shimmer medium toned gold beige

Shy - A pink toned nude matte

Fiery - A shimmer copper with pink undertones

Lavish - A matte chocolate brown

Dreamy - A shimmer deep brown with 

Tranquil - A shimmer alternative to 'Lavish'

Exposed - A shimmer grey, off silver

Reveal - An off pik pearl shade, perfect for highlighting

Wink - A shimmer off gold brown

Obsessed- Dark chocolate brown with hints of shimmer 

Corrupt - Dark matte black

Left to Right: Naked, Devotion, Shy, Fiery, Lavish, Dreamy

Left to Right: Tranquil, Exposed, Reveal, Wink, Obsessed, Corrupt
Sorry about my tangerine coloured arms! The setting on my camera makes me look really orange!

Something which impresses me every time with MUA is the product quality. All of them are unbelievably pigmented (apart from 'Naked' and 'Lavish') and the staying power is definitely above average. I use the MUA Pro Base primer on my eyelids everyday, so this may have something to do with it as I've noticed products from the same line have a way of complimenting eachother. I don't find that they crease or drop onto the skin, but admittedly you may need a few swipes for your desired colour pay off. Overall I am beyond impressed with this new addition to MUA. At such a small price tag I can definitely see it as a staple essential in my make up bag and I'm excited to see new product being launched soon. I've planned to do a post comparing the MUA Undressed palette and the Urban Decay Naked palette soon, so keep your eyes peeled! Have you tried the Undress Me Too palette?

Lush Haul | Skincare & Bath Bombs

Hey Dolls! Just like most other beauty fanatics, I can't get enough of Lush products. I can't think of one product I've tried and haven't loved, and it's an absolute bonus that they're made with 100% natural ingredients and aren't tested on animals. I was out shopping yesterday (shock horror) when the familiar scent of a Lush store came my way and I gave in. With the intention of only having a look around I didn't expect to come out with a full bag of products but hey, you can never go wrong with a Lush haul! Since having my face mapped by Dermalogica at the beginning of the week, it dawned on me that I needed a whole bunch of new skincare products and I thought what better place to start than at Lush?! Of course I sneaked a few cheeky bath bombs in there too because what trip would be complete without them?

Not only do I love the products from Lush but the staff in there are so lovely and helpful. They never pressure you into buying things and are always willing to answer any questions you have. For what they are, I think Lush have very reasonable prices. I picked all of this up for under £25, and I also found out about the '5 clean pot free face mask' offer which means I'll be back down there in no time as I have countless empty pots of product. As you may know if you read my blog, I'm very much into my skincare. I have so many products I don't know why I even picked up more to add to my collection. Skincare wise, I picked up the 'Cupcake', 'Oatfix' and 'Mask of Magnaminty' fresh face masks, the 'Tea tree Water' toner and the 'Grease Lightening' spot treatment. Both the 'Cupcake' and 'Mask of Magnaminty' face masks are re-purchases for me. I absolutely swear by them for keeping oily skin and blemishes at bay, and I religiously stock up whenever I run out or they pass their sell by date. I picked up the 'Tea Tree Water' after hearing about its antibacterial properties and its ability to eliminate oil around the T-Zone, and the 'Grease Lightning' spot treatment after hearing so many great things about it. As I mentioned previously, the staff in Lush are so unbelievably helpful. The woman in there told me that 'Grease Lightning' can also be used as a serum after cleansing and before moisturising. I've never included a serum in my skincare routine so this is definitely something I'll be getting back to you lovely lot about. Luckily I have pretty good skin but do get the occasional spot, so I'm almost excited for this to happen (dare I say it) to give this a bash. 

Who can resist a bit of Lush pampering at bath time? I've raved about how much I love their 'Sex Bomb' but I felt I needed to branch out a little more and try something different. Being faced with such an array of options, I was stuck for choice but eventually I went for 'The Comforter', 'Melting Marshmallow Moment' and the cheap as chips 'Ickle Baby Bot'. All of these carry the most amazing scents, and you really get your moneys worth as they've all been designed to break apart which means more bath bomb bubble baths! I particularly love the marshmallow one as the scent is absolutely to die for but am looking forward to giving the other two a go. Recently I've been suffering with sleepless nights, so I'm hoping the camomile in 'Ickle Baby Bot' can help me out. As for The Comforter', it's something very popular among the blogging community so I'm hoping it lives up to its expectations! As always, if anything impresses me I'll write a review in full. I can't get enough of Lush and I definitely feel another haul coming on soon as I spied alot of products I simply must try. What are your favourite Lush products?

Monthly Favourites | February

Hey there lovely ladies! Can you believe we're now in the third month of 2013? That's crazy! Time flies when you're having fun, and I've had a pretty busy month. The highlight of my February was the Professional Beauty exhibition (read my post here) and getting news through that I'll be spending a month in Australia with family at the end of the year which I'm of course super excited about. At the end of each month I love reading what everyone's been loving and also share with you lovely lot what have been my favourite products from the last 30 days (or 28 as were in February!).

Probably my favourite purchase of the year so far was the Urban Decay Naked Palette (read my review here). I still can't believe it took me so long to take the plunge, but it is most definitely my favourite make-up product out of my entire collection. The colours are so versatile and wearable for both day and night and ideal to create the perfect smokey eye. I don't want to bang on too long about this little beauty, so I'll move swiftly onwards. I also got my hands on the Solar Powder bronzer from Soap and Glory, which has meant I can save my MAC 'Give Me Sun' bronzer for special occasions or when I want to glam my face up a bit more than usual. It is a half matte and half shimmer block so leaves the skin with a gorgeous dewy finish on the cheekbones without being orange or going patchy throughout the day. I've also been obsessing over my newest Victoria's Secret lipstick. They've only just introduced these in-store and were previously only sold online, so I took advantage of the situation when I was last there and picked up several shades, my favourite being 'True'. It has a much lighter colour pay off than what it appears as, and the finish is amazing. It's so moisturising - think a MAC Cremesheen mixed with a lip butter and you get the idea.  I couldn't possibly have a monthly favourites post without mentioning some sort of Soap and Glory product! It just so happens that this month I've been loving two of their bath and skincare products, the 'Rich and Foamous' body wash and the 'Feel Good Factor' facial moisturiser. I have a huge thing for almond, vanilla and shea butter scents, and the body wash has all of these combined. I may review this product in full sometime soon, but until then all you need to know is this - it's amazing! I'm not a massive fan of the Sugar Crush products as I don't particularly like the scent, but this is a great alternative. The 'Feel Good Factor' is a lovely consistency, but don't worry I haven't parted ways with my 'For Daily Youth' moisturiser. I mix the two together to get the best of both worlds. Something I've been lusting over for as long as I can remember is the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush. This thing is a lifesaver! Out of all of my brushes, this is definitely my favourite. It applies foundation so easily without leaving brush lines, not to mention it washes like a dream too. No more malting brushes! I have an upcoming 'Favourite Make Up Brushes' post, so make sure you check back if you're interested.

What have been your favourite products in February?