Face of December with Burberry Lip Mist in Rosy Red

I can be a bit obsessive (that's the Scorpio in me), but sometimes I just get hooked on a certain makeup look and wear it all month long.

This was Decembers face.

Before Makeup

MAC Fix +

I like to spray some of this all over my face before I apply any makeup as I find it gives my foundation a more glowy finish.

Face

Primer

Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer Light

This doesn't do anything amazing for your skin. It doesn't give it any extra glow, or fill in any pores but it has to be the best primer I have found for keeping your makeup on your face, which is all you really need from a primer.

Foundation

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation mixed with NARS Illuminator in Copacabana

Magic is a full coverage foundation, definitely not something I would want to wear in Summer, but good for these winter months. It's more coverage than I usually like but I like the flawless finish and the fact that it stays put all day. I mix a blob of the NARS Illuminator to bring back some glow.

Corrector and Concealer

Bobbi Brown Corrector in 'Bisque' and Clarins Instant Concealer

I'm a bit addicted to the Bobbi Brown Corrector now, its just the bomb at covering under eye circles. This Clarins concealer is equally wonderful, I love the light consistency especially when you're using a heavy concealer. A little goes a long way and you could wear it alone for that #nomakeup look.

Powder

Rimmel Stay Matte Long Lasting Pressed Powder

This and Charlotte Tilbury's powder are my two favourites, but this costs £3.99.

Bronzer

Too Faced Dark Chocolate Soleil

Looks like chocolate, smells like chocolate, but it's a bronzer. I'm not complaining though as it's one of my favourites. Rich colour and a smooth formula, also works as the perfect warm toned brown eyeshadow.

Highlight

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in "Red Head"

The worst two words in a makeup lovers vocabulary, limited edition. This highlight is a blush and highlight in one and I just love the warm peachy colour. It reminds me of Bobbi Browns Shimmer Bricks but less obnoxious, sadly it was a limited edition release from many moons ago.

Setting Spray

Tony Moly Pocket Bunny Moist Mist

Completely unnecessary step, but c'mon who can say no to that packaging?

Eyes

Brows

Anastasia Brow Wiz in Caramel and Benefit Gimme Brow in Light/Medium

I love this Anastasia Brow Wiz, it's been a game changer for me and replaced my beloved Hourglass pencil. The Gimme Brow I'm just trying to use up.

Eyeshadow Primer

NARS Pro Prime Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base

The.best.eyeshadow.primer.the.end

Eyeshadow

MAC All That Glitters

Can you tell this is my all time favourite eyeshadow? The perfect everyday, all over lid colour. It's going to take all my might not to repurchase this when I finally finish it.

Mascara

Make Up For Ever Smoky Extravagant Mascara

Amazing, length, curl and volume, you need to try this.

Lips

Lipstick

Burberry Lip Mist in Rosy Red

I am particularly fond of a sheer red lipstick because it makes me feel like Liv Tyler. This is my favourite sheer red, so of course Burberry have discontinued it (hold me). These Lip Mists have now been replaced by the Sheer Kisses line, I haven't tried so can't compare. 

Nothing lasts forever hey.

My 15 Beauty Favourites of 2015

Whenever I do this post, I always miscount and forget a product and of course this year was no exception. It was only when I started typing this, that I realised I only had 14 products and had forgotten to photograph my beloved Colab dry shampoo…..fml

Yesterday I shared my Makeup Favourites for the year and today its the turn of my beauty favourites, because there is no way I could edit it down to 15 out of both categories.

1. Unite 7 Seconds Shampoo and Conditioner

I think I only tried this shampoo and conditioner for the first time in November but I instantly loved this combo. First of all it smells divine and the smell lingers in your hair, but more importantly it seems to give my hair that elusive Kate Middleton bounce. 

2. RapidLash

I have used RapidLash before so I knew it worked, but I got lazy and didn't repurchase. Earlier this year I kept getting serious eyelash envy from my friend Chloe. She had kept using RapidLash and her eyelashes were ridiculously long (bitch) so in September I purchased a new tube and started again.

I apply RapidLash once a day at night before I go to bed and after 6 weeks you start to notice a massive difference in the length of your lashes. My lashes now touch my eyebrows and I've had so many people asking me if I'm wearing eyelash extensions. I am vowing to keep using this now.

If you are thinking of buying RapidLash make sure you buy it from Amazon, it's less than £20.00, whereas in Boots it's sold for about £40.00!)

Before RapiLash

 After using RapidLash for 4 months

3. Clarins Radiance-Plus Golden Glow Booster for body

I don't fake tan, mainly because I am too lazy but also because I have had one too many fake tanning disasters. When we were discussing potential nominations for the beauty awards at work, my colleague Bridget recommended these. Bridget is one of those people that you can't help but bask in their beauty so of course I had to try them.

Rather than having to apply a separate fake tan, all you do is mix a few drops of this in with your normal body moisturiser. There's no fake tan smell, no streaks and no extra steps to your routine and I love the subtle colour this gives my skin. If you are a die hard tan fan this probably won't be enough for you, but if you just want to add a bit of colour to your corned beef arms, meet your new best friend. I have almost finished my second bottle and will definitely be repurchasing. 

4. Bobbi Brown Beach Perfume

If you want to know what I smelt like all year, this is it. From January to December I literally smelt like a summer holiday and I loved it.

5. Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge

I love this little orange sponge so much that I have somehow accumulated 4 of them! I much prefer this to the Beautyblender because of the flat side, in fact the flat side is the only side I use. I use this sponge to blend in my concealer and go over my foundation to get rid of any streaks of patchiness. 

6. Bumble and Bumble Don't Blow It Air Styler

I am notoriously lazy when it comes to my hair. I wash it at night, sleep on it wet and in the morning its dry. As I rarely heat style my hair I don't use that many hair products, but if ever a hair product was tailor made for me, this is it. 

This is designed to give air dried hair, texture and body without feeling like there is anything in it, and that's exactly what it does. After brushing my hair and applying Moroccanoil, I rub a blob of this throughout my whole hair and it just gives me exactly what I want, a natural 'wave'. 

7. Indeed Labs Hydraluron Moisture Jelly

I think I have gone through three pots of this moisturiser this year, so that has to be a good sign. I actually use this as a pre-moisturiser before my serum and main moisturiser. I just find it keeps my skin hydrated, I rarely suffer from dry patches and touch wood, so far my forehead is staying pretty line free. 

8. Eylure Fleur Loves Lashes

If you asked me to pick a favourite YouTuber/Beauty Blogger I would always say Fleur. I actually reviewed her entire Eylure collection on Cosmopolitan and can safely say, this is not a case of someone just slapping their name on a product. From the designs, to the packaging, everything about these lashes  is original. The Fleur Loves (closely followed by the individuals) are by far my favourite. I just love how three quarter lashes really give you that feline look and there really is nothing similar that's available in Boots or Superdrug.

 I always know if a product is good if I can convince my 'real life' friends to use it and I have now got my friend Chloe swearing by these too.

9. La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo +

I don't think I will ever not have this in my skincare regime. I swear that this saved my skin from some seriously spotty outbreaks and even though I don't need to use it religiously everyday, I always use it at least 3 times a week to keep those suckers at bay for good.

10. Zoeva Makeup Brushes

2015 was the year I tried Zoeva makeup brushes for the first time and they have easily become my favourite makeup brushes. My beloved Real Techniques Buffing Brush has now been replaced with the Zoeva Silk Finish Face Brush and the Petit Crease Brush was a revelation. The best brush sets in terms of quality and value. Plus who can say no to those copper handles.

11. Moroccanoil

Ahh Moroccanoil, the only product that has stayed in my yearly favourites since 2013. I have tried other oils and I know this has silicone in it, but I don't care because it really is the only oil that smooths the ends of my hair without leaving them feeling or looking greasy.

12. The Wet Brush

I never thought I'd see the day where I turned my back on my Tangle Teezer but I have, and it's so nice to use a hairbrush that doesn't fly out your hands every time you brush your hair. The Wet Brush just brushes my hair so much better than the Tangle Teezer. It gets to all that knots at the back of my head, whereas the Tangle Teezer only ever really brushed the surface. 

13. OPI Strength in Colour Tinted Nail Envy in 'Hawaiian Orchid'

2015 was the year that I officially fell out of love with nail polish. I used to love painting my nails bright colours and would paint my nails 4 times a week just for the pure joy of it. Now I hate bright colours on my nails and I'm sitting here with chipped nails that are in desperate need of painting. All those neutral colours that I used to think were so boring are now my new BFF's and this colour in particular by OPI has been a favourite. I just find the colour flattering on my skin tone and I love that its an opaque neutral, because there is nothing worse than streaky nail polish.

14. Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water

I genuinely don't understand why people still fork out for Bioderma when this micellar water costs about £4.00 and lasts forever. I also don't understand people who still use makeup wipes, but there you go!

15. Colab Dry Shampoo

Luckily I rave about this dry shampoo enough that I knew I would have a photo somewhere in my iPhoto. This is the dry shampoo that stopped me hating dry shampoo. It genuinely is sheer and invisible, and sometimes I even think my hair looks better with this in it. The only problem is that I end up using half a can every time. Oh and make sure you get the Sheer and Invisible version, because the Extreme Volume version is NOT THE ONE.

13 Beauty Favourites of 2013

14 Beauty Favourites of 2014

September, October and November Favourites

You know you've been a crap blogger when you have to combine three months of favourites into one post. I would just forgot about September and October, but they include some of my absolute faves *cough Charlotte Tilbury Walk of Shame lipstick cough*

November

Fleur de Force Cosmetic Bag £8.99

Typically, I don't use a makeup bag because I have so much of the stuff, I just keep it in drawers. But when I was on holiday I really enjoyed having less of a selection and just doing my makeup out of a makeup bag (if that makes any sense). 

Since coming back from holiday I have just carried on with this method and I love this bag so much because you can fit so much in it. Honestly its one of those Mary Poppins type bags, plus you can fit all your brushes in there without cramming them in. 

Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Palette £40.00

When it was announced that Gwen was releasing an eyeshadow palette with Urban Decay, I immediately thought it was going to be full of really bright, unwearable colours. So when I saw this palette for the first time, I actually squealed with joy. 

This is a warm toned, neutral lovers DREAM. I would go as far to say its better than any of the Naked palettes, because it has great all over the lid shades. You know, those one colour wonders that you just blend over your eyelid and they're good to go. I am in love, and my current favourites are 'Steady' and 'Zone'. 

I will say there is quite a bit of fall out when you use these shadows, but just tap your brush and you will be fine.

MAC All That Glitters Eyeshadow £13.00

As you can tell, this is one heavily loved eyeshadow. Easily my favourite ever MAC shadow, I have been wearing this religiously with 'Zone' from the Gwen palette in my crease.

Clarins Instant Concealer £18.28 (on offer)

I've had this for ages but for some reason, I just didn't want to use it. I'm glad I finally did because this is a beautiful concealer. It works equally well under the eyes and on redness and blemishes. Its not too thick, so doesn't crease or cake and its the best thing to have in your makeup bag when you are going straight out after work and have rubbed all your foundation off your nose (story of my life).

Burberry Lip Cover in English Rose £23.00

An oldie, but a goodie. This is actually my second tube of this lipstick, which says a lot for a lipstick addict like me. My kind of nude, I forgot just how much I loved this.

Unite 7 Seconds Range prices start at £16.90

I am obsessed with this haircare range for a multitude of reasons, but first let me address the smell. This stuff smells absolutely divine and it stays in your hair, to the point where I find myself sniffing my hair throughout the day. 

I also noticed I started to get more compliments on my hair and I wasn't do anything differently, apart from using this. It just seems to make my hair more bouncy and shiny. 

I have already finished the shampoo (sob sob) so I need to restock asap.

October

Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Walk of Shame £23.00

I wore this lipstick for my entire holiday, which was almost three weeks. I cannot put into words my love for this lipstick, I just can't. Honestly typing this up now, all I want to do is put it on my lips. Without a doubt my lipstick of the year. Charlotte I love you.

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder £3.99

Last year I used up a lot of pricey powders, and you know what, they ain't got nothing on this £3.99 Rimmel job. This is just the best pressed powder there is (apart from the Charlotte Tilbury one, but you know that is literally £30.00 more expensive).

Wet Brush (Midi Size) £8.50

I have been loyal to my Tangle Teezer for years, but I was kinda getting sick of it flying out of my hand and across my bedroom. I found this in the beauty cupboard at work and decided to give it a go, and I'm so glad I did. 

First of all, it's so nice to use a hairbrush with an actual handle for a change. This also gets through my hair a lot better than a Tangle Teezer and makes it look a lot sleeker. 

I honestly haven't touched my Tangle Teezer since.

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation (Warm Sand) £31.50

I only have the tiniest amount of this foundation left, and I'm going to be gutted when its all gone. It might be weird to say, but I love the colour of this foundation. We all know I love my warm tones and this has a very flattering yellow undertone, which really warms my complexion. This is very light, provides a medium coverage and delivers on its promise of looking like skin. 

RapidLash £18.28

This stuff genuinely works. I have been using it for a little over 3 months and my eyelashes have grown so much they now touch my eyebrows. Who knew that would make me so happy. 

Make sure you buy this from Amazon, unless you wanna pay £40.00 in Boots!

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer £25.00

My fellow bronzer addicts, you need to try this. The perfect warm toned bronzer, but be warned, a little goes a long way. I also ended up wearing this all month long as an eyeshadow.

Lancome Grandiose Mascara £20.83 on offer

The first time I used this mascara I thought it was shit, but I'm so glad I persevered because its actually amazing. This gives my lashes so much length and volume, plus it doesn't smudge or flake all day, which for me is a miracle. I would 100% repurchase this.

Sachajuan Ocean Mist Volume Shampoo and Conditioner £19.00

Excuse the dodgy picture, I actually finished these on holiday but took a picture so I could include them in my favourites post. I don't know whether it was the ridiculously soft water, or this shampoo and conditioner but my hair was #onfleek all holiday. Honestly, loads of volume and bounce, without me even using a hair dryer. I definitely need to try these in the UK to see if they work as well with our ridiculously hard water. 

September

Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm £32.30 on offer

I rely on balm cleansers to take off all my makeup in one go, mascara, lipstick, foundation the lot. This is a really luxurious cleanser, which transforms to an oil once you massage it into your skin. It removes all my makeup effortlessly and really is a joy to use. 

Shout out to the cloth that comes with it, much nicer than my bog standard flannel!

OGX Weightless Hydration Coconut Water Shampoo and Conditioner £6.99

I am an absolute sucker for any beauty product containing coconut, I think my goal in life is to smell like a tropical holiday. 

Not only do these smell amazing, but they also leave my hair feeling really clean. You know that kind of squeaky clean feeling, that anyone who suffers from greasy hair craves. 

Smashbox Brow Tech Gloss Stick in Brunette £16.50

I know a glossy brow sounds weird, but I actually really liked this pencil. I didn't find it overly glossy and I really liked how creamy the pencil was, as it meant I could fill my brows in really quickly. This does seem to be a bit of a love hate product though, as I gave one to my friend and she hated it :(

Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Walk of Shame £23.00

I did warn you I was obsessed with this lipstick.

Make Up Geek Foiled Eyeshadow in Grandstand $9.99

Not going to lie, I 100% bought this because Jaclyn Hill uses it. You can actually buy Make Up Geek from Beauty Bay now in the UK, but it looks like everything is sold out! I ordered from the Make Up Geek website and had no problems shipping to the UK.

These foiled shadows are INTENSE, but beautiful. If you like your shimmer, you are gonna love these.  I wear these alone, all over the lid, you don't need nothing else.

Too Faced Love Flush Long-Lasting Blush in Baby Love £25.00

The most adorable makeup packaging I have ever seen and my favourite kind of natural, browny pink blush colour. Its a no brainer.

And this is how organised I almost was in September…..this is all my September makeup faves on ma' face!

I will be a better beauty blogger I promise!

June Favourites

Oh my poor, neglected blog how I've missed you! I'm ashamed to say I haven't posted anything in over a month, but I have just been so busy with work.

 I have been getting to write more at work, which makes me so happy, but it just means when I finally get home there's not much time for anything else but showering and bed. 

I have missed blogging and raving about my latest lipstick obsession, so I am going to really try and get back on it this month.

I thought I would ease myself back in with a favourites posts because these are my favourite to write.

Ciate Olivia Palermo "Sundays"

I am officially old, I know that because I now like boring nude nail colours. Those pale pink, natural shades, which young me would have scoffed at in favour of a bright neon. Instead of fighting it, I'm embracing my sophisticated (aka boring) side and this new colour by Ciate has been my favourite this past month. 

The Olivia Palermo collection consists of three basic colours, a red, coral and nude. "Sundays is Olivia's off duty nude and its a pretty sheer pink, which makes your nails look healthy and polished. 

As much as I love this colour, at £17.00 this isn't cheap and its definitely not a unique colour. Nice to have but not an essential. 

Ciate £17.00

NUDESTIX Magnetic Eye Colour Pencil in "Angel"

My name is Laura and I have a cream eyeshadow pencil addiction, there I said it. I just can't help myself, they are so much easier and quicker than powder shadows, just colour your entire eyelid in and blend the edges. "Angel" is the perfect Victoria's Secret Angel colour, that shimmery highlighted peach, which makes your eyes look much more awake than they actually are.

Space NK £24.00

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in "Redhead"

Before I start, let me apologise because this was limited edition and is no longer available, but if you own it and have it lying in a drawer somewhere, dig it out!

I have already mentioned it so you might be able to tell, but I have been a bit obsessed with that whole Victoria's Secret bronzed and glowing makeup look this month.

Redhead is just the prettiest pinky/peach highlight which gives the most beautiful warm glow to your face. If I could melt this down and pour it over my whole body I would! 

Look Good Feel Better Blush Brush and Angled Contour Brush

I reviewed these brushes for work and loved them so much they made it into my everyday makeup bag.  Look Good Feel Better is a cancer support charity, helping women with the visible side effects of cancer treatment. My Mum had breast cancer last year, so this is something quite close to my heart. When she lost her hair she paid for the most amazing wig and I would pencil in her eyebrows and use eyeshadow to make it look like she still had eyelashes. Little tips and tricks like these might seem like nothing but they make a big difference to people's confidence.

These brushes are so, so soft, trust me I wouldn't use them if they were scratchy and because they are synthetic they blend cream products beautifully. I have been using the angled contour brush to apply my foundation and the blush brush to apply my cream bronzer.

If you are in the market for some new makeup brushes, I highly recommend checking these out.

Feel Unique £11.99 each

Clarins Radiance-Plus Golden Glow Booster for Body

I am not a fake tanner, ain't nobody got time for that. But I do want to look like I've just stepped off a beach 24/7 ala Jennifer Aniston. 

Bridget, the Digital Beauty Editor at Cosmo was raving about these drops and I didn't even realise she fake tanned, so when I spotted these in the beauty sale at work, I grabbed them. 

These drops are a revelation, you just mix a few in with whatever body moisturiser you are using and slap on. There is zero fake tan smell, the results are very subtle but buildable and it just leaves your skin looking a lot healthier (goodbye corned beef arms). 

I am addicted.

Boots £26.00

Bobbi Brown Beach Perfume

There is a recurring theme here, not only do I want to look like I've just stepped off a beach, I want to smell like I have as well. This would all be much easier if I lived in California, but I live in Croydon so we gotta improvise.

Bobbi Brown Almost Bare is my signature scent, yes, I have a signature scent ;) but Beach is my signature summer scent. As someone said, this smells like suncream. Suncream and the beach, I sit at my desk smelling like a Thomas Cook package holiday and I bloody love it.

Bobbi Brown £50.00

Urban Decay Sheer Revolution Lipstick in "Liar"

Believe it or not, this is my first Urban Decay lipstick and I can tell you now it won't be my last. This tiny nub is all I have left off this baby, I have gone through the entire bullet in just over a month! 

"Liar" is the perfect MLBB colour, and if you don't know what MLBB is we can't be friends (My lips but better). Its glossy but not in a, OMG my hair is stuck to my lips way, more in a my lips look so naturally full and plump way.

Debenhams £15.50

MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation

I used to hate this foundation and when I say hate, I really mean it. I tried it once and it looked so awful on me that I never used it again. I tried to sell it on eBay but the person who bought it never paid and I was so disgusted by it that I refused to let it sit with my other foundations and instead kept it in a drawer in the spare room. 

What changed my mind? Well my friend was doing a photoshoot for Cosmo and I came down to see her and her makeup looked amazing. Of course being the makeup obsessed freak that I am, I asked the artist what she used and there it was, my arch nemesis Studio Sculpt. So I begrudgingly tried it again and you know what, I love it.

Studio Sculpt has a medium to high coverage and because its a gel formula, it leaves the skin looking very dewy. If you have oily skin, avoid this like the plague because it will just sit on top of your skin, but if you have normal to dry skin this will give you a real luminous glow.

MAC £25.50

Charlotte Tilbury Beach Stick in "Formentera"

Yes, another beach related item but this is an essential part of my "this isn't makeup, I just stepped off the beach" look. 

I love how creamy these beach sticks are, they blend really easy but most importantly they don't disrupt your foundation. I can buff this into my cheeks and my foundation doesn't budge. But what I love most about this is the colour. This reddy brown gives the perfect sun kissed look, as the red tinge is a much more natural tan colour than orange. You can pretty much guarantee this will be on my cheeks, and temples for the rest of the summer.

Charlotte Tilbury £30.00

Wild

Deep down, underneath the 106 lipsticks I like to think I'm a bit of a hippy and love anything which involves anyone "finding themselves."  

Wild is based on the true story of Cheryl Strayed, who walked the Pacific Crest Trail from California to Washington alone, over 94 days.

One of the things I loved about the film was that Cheryl didn't just do the walk because of her recent break up, she did the walk for herself, to find herself again. If you identify with that feeling of losing your way in life, then I would really recommend giving this a watch.

Amazon £10.00

As I'm feeling in the mood to tap away on my keyboard, I thought I would include some of my favourite experiences this past month, because you know its not all about material things.

We celebrated my friend Chloe's birthday in Earlham Street Clubhouse in Covent Garden, with giant pizzas and red cups. A Yankophiles wet dream! Just take a look at their menu and tell me you're not drooling. 

Happy Birthday Cain :)

Can we just talk about Chris Pratt in Jurassic World. OMFG its like the man was built from my dreams and I can say this with no shame at all, I loved the film. Yes there are plot holes galore, but the nostalgia,  oh the nostalgia. Hearing that music again, I haven't been that excited in the cinema for a long time.

We said goodbye to my little brother who is football coaching in New Jersey for 6 months, living my dream life. 

And saving the best till last, I went to the Magic Mike XXL Premier and it was fucking epic.

Having loved Joe Manganiello since his True Blood days, I cannot tell you what a boner it gave me to see him in the flesh. 

In case you were in any doubt, the film has no plot line, its probably equally degrading to men and women alike but I fucking loved every minute. In that 1 hour and 55 minutes I got more sex than I'll probably get all year and I am happy about that.

Jada! All I could think about was her character in Scream 2.

The Cheeto sex god himself

Amber Heard giving me some serious hair envy

And before you think that I live this charmed life comprised of Channing Tatum feeding me pizza, I thought I should let you know that this month I also drove my car into a wall, cracked my laptop screen, shut my finger in a drawer and sweated A LOT in the heat wave.

Because social media doesn't tell the whole story ;)