Blogtober day 19: Sephora beauty

Recently, myself and the very beautiful Laura (laurapiekarski.blogspot.com) did a box swap of English and American products. To create more blog posts I've broken it up into sections and today is reviewing the Sephora beauty products! 

There were two very pretty coloured products that caught my eye, and I seriously have so much love for them! 

First up, the sephora highlight, contour and blush palette in light number 01. Everything you need in a small package. This is a brilliant product because not only the is the blush very pigmented, but the bronzer is an amazing colour to use as a contour and bronzer! I've also been using the highlighter as an eyeshadow on dull day.

Secondly, the lipstick, Sephora rouge shine in the number 14. This is the most moisturising lipstick I have every owned. It stays on for a fair few hours, and it great as a balm, bottom coat, or on its own. The thing about this lipstick is that it also works as an amazing season changing lipstick when it's sunny but windy and cold. 

I have used both of these products nearly every day since they arrived, and I cannot get enough them! 

Biggest thank you to Laura, and I hope your parcel arrives soon and you love it as much as I love mine 😘

Until next time lovelies x

Blogtober day two: Birthday haul

On Friday I turned 21: the legal age to drink in America. As I could already drink; being from the UK (legal age of 18), I decided to do something a little different. I went for a meal with my univeristy friends, spent a day in my favourite place: London, had a family tea afternoon, went for drinks with my university friends then had afternoon tea. All of these each happened on different days. So I thought I'd share a few pictures of what I got and how my 5-day birthday went! 

Product hauls to follow! x

Benefit review: They're Real Liner

This little beauty recently made it's way into my makeup bag, and I seriously will never take it out!

Being a huge fan of Benefit, the little deals like this make having new makeup that little bit more exciting. The last time I purchased the They're real mascara I got a free travel size, and then this time I was given the little box, it had a free liner and remover in it, The real steal all for £19.50, definitely a bargain for Benefit cosmetics!

I personally am not the biggest fan of eye liner. In fact you could say I really loath the pesky little products. But then I tried this Benefit they're real push-up liner and my whole perspective of eye liner changed! I know, I know, sounds a little dramatic, but i'm being 98% serious! This is only because I still prefer the natural look without liner, but if I was to ever wear a liner on a more important day, or a night out, this is the one I shall be reaching for.

It has the same design and packaging as the They're real mascara , the sleek black little box and the recommendations from previous customers on the side. The side of the box states that 91% of people said it was long lasting. I agree that it is long lasting, but it does smudge when you touch it, takes a really really long time to dry (then again maybe this is because i'm not used to wearing liners). 86% said it hugged the lash line. It definitely hugged the lash line! it was ridiculously easy to apply, and thats coming from someone who never wears these kinds of products. I would highly recommend this product to any first timers who want to try a liner, or even any body who is looking to try a new eye liner or make-up look! 

The applicator is really soft and flexible, making it easy to draw right above the lash line. The liner is gel, so glides on very softly and the shape of the pen makes it as easy to draw as is it to write your own name. 

The liner alone is £18.50 and available now in store and online.

Until next time lovelies x

July Wishlist

Along with every other blogger this month my usual monthly wish list includes one or two items I've spotted from the AW14 collection that is not yet available, so I apologise in advance and we can envy those who already own the items, lucky lucky people!

On a brighter note hey, hello, hi! It seems like forever since my last blog post, I plan them and time just flies by without my actually typing away and staring at a screen for hours! Little life update: I passed my second year of University, one step closer to becoming a primary school teacher!!! Cue celebrations.

Yeah, well anyway, back to July wish list, this one was a little hard. I'm in need of a few new pretty and petite dresses for my Summer, going into Autumn collection, but they are so impossible to find. It seems like every store has just forgotten up update their stock in the last month or so, then comes the first world issues of not having my size when I do find something worth splashing out for!

Firsty up is lovely little Topshop. My favourite place.

Leaf Print Overlay Crinkle Sundress, £38

Tapestry Print Sundress, £36

Flower Jacquard A-Line Skirt, £35

Next up, Miss Selfridge:

Then a little teaser of the Nars AW14 collection, I am so desperate for this little compact! 

Last but definitely not least is my Sephora basket, and all you Americans will have no idea how jealous I am that you live close to these stores! This basket will be full for a long time until I can justify spending an awful lot on shipping :( Seriously cannot wait to get my hands on a TARTE Lights, Camera, Splashes though! 

And i'm going to have to quickly dash off and get ready for dancing, so I shall leave you with a little delight that I recently purchased the Bumble and Bumble Surf Set from Boots for £18, and My next blog post will probably be a review of that set! 

Until next time, Lovelies x

May Favourite

I realise its the middle of June, and too late to do a May favourites, but keeping on top of the favourites game means blogging them very month right?

First item on my May favourite list is a book, and a very popular book at that! The Fault in our Stars is an extremely popular book for teens and young adults, based on a girl (Hazel-Grace) who is suffering a terminal illness, also known as Cancer. This novel is actually a breath-taking and emotional roller coaster for all readers, a love story, a life problem, a travelling experience and teenage life all crushed between a paperback cover. On a serious note though, if you have not read this, you ARE missing out, and you need to go to your local waterstones, WHSMITHS or book store and purchase it quickly! Side Note: I purchased mine for £2.99 from Sainsburys)

I started reading this last summer but never really got into it, then picked it up again a few weeks ago and became instantly hooked (also the little matter that i prefer to read books before watching the movies). Big high-five for John Green here!

Next up, the little pink trio of beauty products. And yes, a Benefit product is included (surprise, surprise). The Rimmel London Match Perfection blush is an old make up item that I came across when clearing through my dressing table, I was never a big fan of this, and the thin plastic case would always crack and I was scared of the product smashing and crumbling when I travelled. However, I've given it a second chance and it was the best choice I've made in a while. It includes three different shades of pink, and blended together give a little shimmer, and pink pop to the apples of your cheeks, definitely a 'must try' if you've never had this before.

Secondly, Barry M Gelly High Shine Nail Paint in the colour Rose Hip. I've never been one for Barry M until I tried this product, still not a fan of the normal nail polishes in this collection, but i'm a sucker for the Gelly High Shines! It literally stays on for so long, at least a good 7 days, no chips, no cracks, no smudges.

Lastly, Benefit colour Collection ultra-plush lip gloss in the shade A-Lister (Bubblegum Pink), this is just a perfect colour for the spring/summer little glowing bronzed tan everyone been catching from the little tiny bit of English weather this past few weeks.

And then the strange one, I suffer from migraines quite badly, and have for such a long time, but recently the doctors gave me a new medication to try and reduce these migraines. This is Propanolol, and seriously works wonders! All you migraine sufferers out there, try this little working wonder!

Until next time x

April favourites

Two days early, but who can go wrong with a favourites post! 

This months favourites include beauty, decor and even food!!

First up, I relieved a promo letter from yankee candle the week before Easter. This letter stated I was entitled to a FREE candle!! So myself and my mum went into Peter Jones. I chose a 'Beach Walk' scent, with a jar entitled 'Best Friend' for my best friends birthday this week, along with a 'Sweet Pea' scent my mum purchased! We were then given a free 'Loves Me, Loves Me Not', and I can honestly say I have lot this candle every day since!!its a perfect spring/summer scent, it really does smell like daisies!! We were also give a free car air freshner and a reward card (BONUS). 

My second favourite this month has been my new glasses! Marc by Marc Jacobs tortoise shell, with a small gold bird clipped into the side. My old glasses would always slip off my face so I never wore them, these however, I just cannot be parted with!

Easter treat this year was a dressing table, and what a beautiful dressing table it is. This is from Dunelm, and there was also 20% Easter discount! This made the dressing table only £119, and what better to cover it with then all my favourite benefit cosmetics.

Next up, my beauty favourites, including A-Lister benefit lipgloss, a beautifully perfect, hydrating and head turning spring colour, I cannot part with this! 

Refined finished benefit cleanser has worked wonders for my dry skin these last few weeks, and I seriously can't wait to buy the full product when student loan goes in (everyone has a cheeky little loan purchase). And finally Fake Up, the best concealer I have, and I think I will ever experience, it is definitely a product I will purchase over and over again. 

Last but certainly not least, a candy floss frappaccino, a vanilla cream with a few pumps of raspberry syrup, heaven in the mouth! 

Until next time lovelies x

Everyday make up for placement

In currently on placement in a primary school, and obviously make up can't be too heavy, including mascara. I usually don't wear a lot of make up anyway, but contouring and certain mascara make it look like a lot! So I'm doing this blog post just incase you were wondering how much make up was a suitable amount for placements/voluntary work/ or even a new job! 

My daily make up consists of a moisturiser, light (but brightening) foundation, low application mascara, pale natural coloured blush a highlighter for extra brightness (obviously a lot of this is benefit again, my favourite brand)!

Firstly I apply the moisturiser (as always), and u always use the neutrogena visibly clear pink grapefruit, usually around £5 in boots, but just after Christmas it was only £3.50 in superdrug so I made sure I stocked up in quite a few. Always as prepping the skin for make up it also clears the skin of blemishes and discolouration.  

Then the foundation, benefits hello flawless oxygen wow foundation. This definitely has to be the best foundation to use because it's brightening, and having hardly any sleep creates the biggest and unattractive dark circles under anyone's eyes. This definitely helps to bring colour back to your face and hide the circles, as well as being a light and fair application. 

The blusher, benefits dandelion, is a natural pink blush. With the weather being quite frosty and cold, this gives the perfect cheek glow, mixed with the benefits watts up high lighter rubbed on the top of the cheek bone. 

Bad gal mascara, because it's a light application with a large brush. This takes seconds to apply and still emphasises the eyes with colours. 

Lastly, Victoria's Secret coconut passion body mist for a sweet and long lasting scent to cover up the smell of play dough, paint and glue! 

Benefit 'Nice Package' Review

During November, Benefit Cosmetics produced an offer to create your own makeup kit, known as the 'Nice Package'. 

This handy asset to the website allows you to choose 3 makeup items, one for complexion (primers, foundations, powders), another for cheeks (tints, blushers, highlighters) and the last item would be for the eyes (concealer, eye shadow, mascara). After picking your 3 items, you then get to choose a free item including eye shadows, lipsticks or lip gloss, all of which are in the new Benefit collection. Then all of these chosen items would be packaged in a beautiful pick make up bag, wrapped in lots of girly pink tissue paper, and sent directly to your door for £62!

In the package I chose Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation, Watts Up highlighter, Fake Up concealer and a free Ultra Plush lipgloss.

The first item was Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation with SPF 25. This is a brightening foundation, and I have used it before this foundation before and I personally think it is amazing quality! The foundation is so soft and easy to apply, it comes in a pump bottle, and a small amount will cover the entire face. It is a thin foundation, with medium coverage when applied with fingers and only a light coverage when applied with a brush, but it builds up pretty easily if you want a thicker foundation, or by personal choice, I use the Stay Flawless 15-hour Primer under my foundation which makes the base a little thicker, and this keeps the foundation on for a very long time!

The next item in the kit was a Watts Up face highlighter which comes in only one shade, a beautiful champagne colour. This highlighter glides on the top of your cheek bone, brow bones, down the centre of the nose, and the upper bow of the lip either with the applicator or using your finger, and again blend with the sponge on the opposite end of the highlighter or use your finger.

It is a soft focus highlighter and can be put on top of makeup, or underneath, and either way create a stunning glow to the skin. This product works even if you are having a 'no make up' day, because it brings a glow to the face, applied on top of moisturiser,  and does not dry out the skin under your eyes.

 

The third item is a Fake Up concealer which is a hydrating crease controlling concealer in the colour medium (02). This concealer comes in 3 shades: light (01), medium (02) and dark (03). This concealer, along with Erase Paste are my two most favourite Benefit concealers! This concealer hydrates the skin for a very long period of time; it includes vitamin E that protects and repairs skin, and apple seed extracts which nourish, soften and protect skin as well as reducing dark circles over time. It's a very natural looking coverage even though the application is quite thick, which makes the product an absolute must have! Nothing is worse than having dark patchy areas on your face where concealed areas stand out.

The last product in the set was the free Ultra-Plush lipgloss that I chose in the colour A-Lister (bubblegum pink). It has a very smooth applicator and when applied is a pretty natural pink colour with a little kick. I'm not the biggest fan of lip glosses, especially in windy weather when all your hair blows around and sticks to your lips, but this lipgloss is far from sticky! It's smooth and soft and just feels like a moisturising lip balm.

I recommend Nice Package because the products are quite delightful, they all come in beautiful packaging and at only £62 it saves you a lot of money, each product is usually between £19.50-£25.50. I also chose the most expensive items for my package to make sure I got the most out of the offer, as well as products I have been eager to try!