On My Dressing Table

So technically this isn't a dressing table but who cares! I keep some of my most reached for things here and as I shared my favourite makeup brushes with you yesterday, I thought I'd share the rest today.

At the front I have my incense burner which was a present from my Sister all the way from Bali. In the empty Yankee Candle jar I keep my cotton wool pads and next to it all my favourite skincare products:

Origins Super Spot Remover Blemish Treatment Gel - I need this close to hand for emergencies!

Tarte Maracuja Oil - My favourite face oil

Kate Somerville Goat Milk Cream - The best moisturiser I have every used, perfect for combination/oily skin. I'm going to be devastated when this pot is finished.

Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner - I have decanted this into a spray travel bottle so I use less! This is a toner which contains fruit acids, these act like an exfoliator and get red of dead skin cells leaving my skin looking much brighter and smoother. I love this stuff.

Neal's Yard Rehydrating Rose Toner - A birthday present from my Sister, I like to use this after I have cleansed my skin. I love the rose smell and it feels very refreshing.

Hydraluron - Love this stuff, I apply a blob of this before my moisturiser.

Moroccanoil - I keep my Moroccanoil out as I use it every time I wash my hair. This would definitely be in my top 5, may even top 3 beauty items of all time! (So dramatic aren't I!)

Clarins Instant Eye Makeup Remover - I have used up all my L'oreal eye makeup remover and have now moved onto this. Although I really like the L'oreal one, its useless at removing waterproof mascara. This on the other hand is amazing and removes waterproof makeup like a dream.

Bioderma - After saying I wouldn't buy Bioderma again as the L'oreal Micellar water is just as good, my Sister bought me back 2 bottles from Paris (woohoo). I still love Bioderma, its just the L'oreal is cheaper and easier to get hold of.

Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray - My secret weapon on a night out and in the Summer, keeps your makeup on your sweaty little face!

At the back I have my empty Diptyque candle jar which has all the brushes and tools I use on a daily basis. Behind I have my Tru Blood pint glass with eye brushes and next to that I have a Kellogg's jug with more face brushes. Poking out the back are all my eyeliners and lipliners which don't get as much love since I gave up wearing eyeliner. 

On this shell dish which I got from Zara Home years ago, I keep the jewellery I wear most often. My beloved Great Frog skull ring, Marc Jacobs earrings and Deer Love necklace which I got in America. I also keep a spare hair tie and my favourite perfume, Bobbi Brown Almost Bare.

Lastly I have this Alice in Wonderland tin from Paul & Joe's Disney collection. Inside I keep all my hair bands and clips.

Trust me, it doesn't normally look as tidy as this!

Festive Red Nails

Part 2 of my festive reds is going to be all about the nails! Now normally when it comes to nails I like a cream finish, ain't nobody got time for spending 1 hour of their evening trying to remove glitter polish, but when it comes to Christmas you just have to embrace the glitter! 

Here are my picks of the best festive red nail colours.

Butter London Knees Up

This is pure Santa suit. When I saw this in Boots I think I actually gasped, this is the most beautiful, metallic red I have ever laid my beady little eyes on. I have this on my nails now and people have already remarked how festive the colour is, its a hit!

Available from Boots

OPI Big Apple Red

One of my all time favourite nail colours. I know this colour is a winner because 3 of my friends have also bought it. This is a classic, Monroe red. When I wear this at work I feel like I should be in an episode of Mad Men!

Available from Beauty Bay

OPI I'm Not Really A Waitress

This is one of OPI's iconic shades, Slightly darker than Knees Up but still with the metallic shimmer running through it and I just love the name of this colour!

Available from Look Fantastic

Butter London Chancer

Onto the glitters, get ready to grab a litre of nail polish remover and a pack of cotton wool pads! To be fair the 2 glitters I have chosen are micro glitters so they actually come off really easily, hence why I chose them! Chancer is a red micro glitter in a red base, opaque in 2 coats. 

Available from Look Fantastic

 OPI Underneath The Mistletoe

Like Chancer, this is another easy to remove glitter (woohoo). This is a magenta micro glitter in a red base, again opaque in 2 coats. This is from OPI's Mariah Carey Christmas collection which is full of festive colours! Available from ASOS

Festive Red Lips

Its time to get festive and what could be more festive than red lips and nails! Today I'm showing you my favourite festive red lips. 

There's a reason I'm starting with lips and that is because one of my picks is going to be back on MAC shelves from 5th December. If you missed out on RiRi Woo the first two times, this is your last chance to get it. Yes MAC are doing a third and final collection with Rihanna (I know!) so don't go paying those crazy eBay prices just yet. 

Left to right: Dolce and Gabanna Italian Monica, Kat Von D Foiled Love Adora, MAC Pro Long wear Lipglass Driven by Love, Topshop Velvet Lips Velveteen Ribbon, Revlon Lip Butter Candy Apple, Rimmel Kate Moss 107, MAC RiRi Woo

Dolce and Gabbana Italian Monica Lipstick - Inspired by the beautiful Monica Bellucci, this is a classic tomato red shade which would look gorgeous anytime of year. £25.50

Kat Von D Foiled Love Lipstick in Adora - Sorry, this is for all you lucky Americans with access to Sephora! You couldn't get much more Christmas-y than this metallic red. $19.00

MAC Pro Longwear Lipglass in Driven by Love - So this is one sticky bitch, but for a red this bright and shiny its a small price to pay. Perfect for the party season! £17.50

Topshop Velvet Lips in Velveteen Ribbon - Blurry picture alert! I'm going to do a full review on these, so wont say too much here but the end result is a beautiful rich, matte red. £10.00

Revlon Lip Butter in Candy Apple - For all you red lip scaredy cats, my favourite sheer option - £7.99

Rimmel Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick by Kate Moss in 107 - The darkest of all my festive picks and my current favourite. Incredible lasting power and pigmentation, you cant go wrong. £5.49

MAC RiRi Woo Lipstick - Three words, Worth The Hype. Remember 5th December is your last chance, make haste to the MAC counter! Or even better lie in bed refreshing your web browser on the MAC website!

November Favourites

Time for me to round up all my favourite beauty products from the month. 

Estee Lauder Double Wear Light Stay-in-Place Makeup

I've got 2 foundation favourites this month and they are both very different. I have loved the Estee Lauder Double Wear Light as its so long wearing, which is good for someone like me who doesn't touch up their makeup during the day. Full review here

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation

This is the only foundation that I have used up and bought another bottle, then used up and bought a 3rd bottle! I can easily say this is my all time favourite foundation. In contrast to my other foundation favourite this feels so light on the skin, I just love applying it. It gives a light to medium coverage, by the end of the day it definitely needs a helping hand but for all its other qualities I don't mind that.

Guerlain Terracotta Moisturising Bronzing Powder in 00 Makeup Artist

When I finally finished my Jouer bronzer I was bereft, I had one back up but not wanting to use that up straight away I reached for this old favourite. This was my bronzer of choice way back when I studied Beauty Therapy and I had done exactly the same thing, used one up didn't want to use my back up so continued down the bronzer lane. Pointless side story aside, I love that this is a light colour which just adds some warmth to my skin.

Estee Lauder Beach Metals Eyeshadow Trio

This has got some quite significant dents in it for only a months use. These eyeshadows are beautiful, buttery soft (no fall out though) and the perfect cranberry colours. You can see it in action here

Kevyn Aucoin The Celestial Glow in Candlelight

You are going to get bored with me jabbering on about this highlighter but honestly its amazing. Its not packed with glitter and shimmer, its really subtle and gives the most beautiful, natural highlight. Paying £34.50 for this did initially make me feel a bit sick but if you are using it everyday like me, then I'm sure you can justify the price! Full review here

Burberry Lip Cover in English Rose

Last years favourite is back. I cant/wont do your typical nude lips, concealer lips is just not my thing. This is my definition of a nude, think Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. This is another all time favourite of mine.

Rimmel Lasting Finish Matte Kate Moss Lipstick in 107

I have been just a wee bit obsessed with this lipstick this month. Its matte, its a deep dark red, it has amazing lasting power, whats not to love! I implore you to run to Boots now and buy it! You can see what it looks like on me here

Face of the Day with Maybelline Metallic Pomegranate Colour Tattoo

After loving my Charlotte Tilbury Vintage Vamp palette so much, I have turned into a bit of a purple eyeshadow fan. Maybelline's Colour Tattoo cream eyeshadows are the best cream eyeshadows on the high street. I love the shade On and On Bronze and since I'm on a purple kick I thought I would try one of their newest shades, Metallic Pomegranate.

If you are a neutral eyeshadow lover like myself, don't shy away from this. Although its incredibly pigmented, you can blend this out to a subtle purple smoky colour. No 80s throwbacks here! If you haven't tried any of the Maybelline Colour Tattoos yet and are a fan of cream eyeshadows, what are you waiting for....run to Boots now!

Face

Estee Lauder Double Wear Light Stay-in-Place Makeup - Full review here

Hourglass Hidden Corrective Concealer - I like using this creamy concealer as a highlight, especially under the eyes.

Guerlain Terracotta Moisturising Bronzing Powder in "00 Make up Artist"

MAC Mineralize Blush in "Gleeful" - Featured in my Autumn/Winter Blush Post

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder - This is definitely on its last legs! A great setting powder which wont break the bank.

Kevyn Aucoin The Celestial Powder in Candlelight - Since discovering this beauty and raving about it in this post I have used this highlighter every day since.

Eyes

Maybelline Colour Tattoo "Metallic Pomegranate"

Benefit They're Real Mascara - I'm currently short listing makeup products for my top 13 of 2013 and this mascara is definitely going to feature, I love it.

Hourglass Brow Sculpting Pencil in Soft Brunette - Reunited and it feels so good

Illamasqua Brow and Lash Gel

Lips

Jordana Lip Liner in Tawny - Jordana is a cheap as chips American drugstore beauty brand. I wish I had bought more of these lip liners as they are so creamy but long wearing. I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between this and a MAC lipliner.

Burberry Lip Cover in English Rose - I also featured this recently in my favourite Autumn/Winter Lipsticks post. My perfect 'nude' lipstick.

My Favourite Autumn/Winter Blushers

Fun fact for you all, its still Autumn here in the UK. Next time I hear the standard "you can really tell its Winter now" I am going to advise said comment maker that they are factually incorrect. 

I think it must be an English thing, but every time you walk into the office in the morning you feel obliged to comment on the weather. "Morning, chilly out there" "Morning, did you have to defrost your car this morning?" ahhh the joys of inane conversation. 

Onto the blush!

Physicians Formula Happy Booster Glow & Mood Boosting Blush in Warm - After searching what felt like all of North America to find this blush I finally found it in Rite Aid in LA. I don't just love it because it has little hearts all over it either! I love it for the warm red colour it gives my cheeks, that flush of colour is perfect for this time of year.

MAC Mineralize Blush in Gleeful - This is a really pretty dark rose shade with subtle shimmer. I do tend to reach for a lot of red toned blushers, so this colour makes a nice change. You do have to be careful though as its quite pigmented, use a light hand to apply this.

MAC Blush in The Perfect Cheek - If I made a top 5 blusher list this would definitely be up there. Sadly MAC have discontinued it but this is not a particularly unique colour and you can definitely find dupes for this. This is more of a pinky/brown and I reach for this when I don't really know what else to wear, or if I only want a subtle hint of colour.

NYX Blush in Red - NYX have a UK website where you can order from and I highly, highly recommend their blushers. For £6.00 they are a bargain and match MAC on quality and colour. They do such bright colours that you would normally only find from MAC or NARS for triple the price. If you are a blusher fiend like me check them out.

Estee Lauder Pure Colour Blush in Pink Ingenue - I have been loving Estee Lauder lately, they really do have some great products and I feel they are a brand that often gets overlooked. This blush is a beautiful dark pink colour that lasts all day. Out of all these blushers this definitely has the best wear time. I love the packaging of Estee Lauder, makes me feel like I'm Joan from Mad Men when I use it!

Enough blusher chat, back to filling those awkward silences with comments on the weather!

Estee Lauder Double Wear Light Stay-in-Place Makeup

Estee Lauder's Double Wear Light is without a doubt the best long wearing foundation I have tried. This stuff does not budge, my makeup looks the same as it did in the morning when I take it off at night. 

I have used Estee Lauder's Original Double Wear before and liked it, although the original is just as long wearing but extremely high coverage. You know when a foundation smells a bit like paint? I much prefer Double Wear Light, as it still has all the long wearing benefits but is much lighter in coverage. Double Wear Light gives a medium coverage and while it does a great job at covering redness your skin still shows through, so its not mask like.

I would highly, highly recommend this if you are looking for a long lasting foundation or suffer from particularly oily skin and struggle to keep your makeup on all day. Also a really good base for those Christmas parties that are coming up!

In the picture below the only face makeup I'm wearing is this and if you're interested I have this in the shade "Intensity 2.0". Actually that's one negative point on this foundation, not a very good shade range but if you can find one that matches you then its a worthy investment.

Available from Boots for £28.50