December Favourites

Happy New Year!

I have finally narrowed down my 14 favourite makeup and beauty products of 2014 but before I reveal all, I thought I would share my favourites for the month of December.

Some of these items I haven't had for very long at all but I have been wearing them everyday and I am completely smitten with them, so of course they had to be included!

Physicians Formula Happy Booster Glow and Mood Boosting Blush in Natural

I think this was included in last months favourites as well but this and MAC's The Perfect Cheek are the only two blushes I have been wearing consistently. 

Kevyn Aucoin The Celestial Powder in Candlelight

Spoiler, this will be in my 2014 favourites as it is one of my all time favourite makeup discoveries. The most beautiful but subtle highlight.

Bobbi Brown Sparkle Eyeshadow in Cement

If you want to see what this looks like on the eyes, I used it in my second NYE makeup inspiration post. This is what I like to call grown up glitter and it actually looks like more of a gloss than a glitter once its applied to the lid.

Sally Hansen Nail Polish in 'Pennies for Heaven'

I have worn this rose gold polish on my nails pretty much all month long and the best thing is, it only cost me £1.50 from a catalogue clearance shop! BOOM.

Charlotte Tilbury Fallen Angel Eyeshadow Palette

Probably the most beautiful piece of makeup I own, even the outer packaging is engraved with hand drawn gold stars! I have one other Charlotte Tilbury palette, The Vintage Vamp and the quality of Fallen Angel is just as good. This palette is limited edition so if you have your eyes on it, grab it while you can! 

MAC Rose Pigment

Texture wise, this isn't the best MAC pigment but if you can bear with the chunky texture, you will be rewarded with a beautiful golden pink. I like to wear this with MAC's Tan pigment over the top, together they make the perfect rose gold colour.

Guerlain Maxi Shine Lip gloss in '467 Cherry Swing'

I'm not normally a lip gloss girl, but this sparkly cherry red gloss has changed all that this month. This feels lovely on the lips, not sticky and very moisturising. If like me, you aren't a lip gloss girl, this formula could convert you and if you are a lip gloss, fan then you would love these.

Burberry Lip Definer in 'Brick Red'

This was one of my Christmas presents and its already one of my favourite reds. You can see what it looks like on, in this post.

Dior Star Foundation

I have mentioned before that this foundation is a grower, not a shower. This gives medium coverage but leaves a very natural, skin like finish. 

Cheryl Lashes by Eylure in 'Sexy Senorita'

These lashes are beauts and they actually look quite natural on the eyes. You can see me wearing them in this post and I have already bought a replacement pair! I am not a Cheryl fan but these new line of lashes all look really good, I have my eye on Girls Night next.

December was a fun but exhausting month and I am thoroughly enjoying my Christmas break! As well as my beauty favourites, I thought I would share a few of my highlights from the month.

The first being the Cosmopolitan Ultimate Women Awards. This was my first time attending the awards since starting my new job and it was such an amazing experience. To see the result of everyone's hard work was so inspiring and made me so proud to be a part of the Cosmo team.

Highlight of the night, McBusted!

Me and my friends had a lovely pre Christmas get together, where we all exchanged our Secret Santa presents and then had one too many in the pub! 

Best Secret Santa present of all time?

And finally Christmas! My favourite time of year, I am sad that its almost over but already looking forward to next year! I had a pretty quiet Christmas at home with my family. Many, many pigs in blankets were consumed but to balance it all out I have had lots of long country walks! I don't think its exactly an even balance though ;)

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year. I'm avoiding all the New Year, New Me bull s*** for now! 

New In

Time for a round up of a few new products I have acquired recently, all in the name of research of course!

Chanel Illusion D'Ombre in New Moon

This was a complete impulse purchase. I was absent mindedly browsing the Chanel counter and just happened to stick my finger in this little pot of joy. When I saw the amazing sparkle that occurred, I knew it was fate and our paths had always been destined to cross ;) Chanel's Illusion D'Ombre's are cream eyeshadows with a mousse like consistency. They have great lasting power and pack some serious sparkle, in fact this swatch really doesn't do New Moon justice. This was my eyeshadow of choice for my Sister's hen do last weekend and I think I need to arrange another night out, just so I can wear it again! Side note, the name New Moon stuck a chord with me, by far the best film in the Twilight Saga, don't you agree ;)

Maybelline Electro Baby Lips

I love me some Baby Lips and when I saw these in Superdrug I did a little squeal of excitement. I first discovered these electro shades when I was in America last year but for one reason or another I didn't pick one up and now they have finally made their way across the pond.

I have the shades Strike a Rose and Pink Shock. They are the exact same formula as the regular Baby Lips, but the colours are much brighter and stronger. If you are a tinted lip balm fan like myself, you gon' need these!

Left to right: Strike a Rose, Pink Shock

Charlotte Tilbury Beach Stick in Formentera

For some reason I have a bit of a magpie tendency with any makeup product that is labelled multi-use, so of course my ears pricked up when I heard about Charlotte Tilbury's new beach sticks.

Similar to the NARS Multiples, these sticks can be used all over the face/body, lips, eyes, wherever the hell you want. I was going to skip these but this shade, Formentera is the perfect summer colour. 

A natural tan is not orange, its much more red based (think sunburn), Formentera is a reddy brown which when swiped across your nose, cheeks and forehead, will make you look like you have just come back from a week's holiday. I am so excited to use this! 

Guerlain Terracotta Joli Teint (shade Clair)

I have my Sister to blame for this purchase. She bought this foundation and has been raving about it ever since. My Sister is pretty hard to please when it comes to makeup, so I knew it must be good. 

Guerlain promise that this foundation will give you a sun kissed healthy glow whilst not looking like you are wearing makeup, sounds like the perfect foundation for Summer!

I have been using this for a few days now and was initially quite surprised at the light coverage. I was originally applying this with my usual foundation brush, however I think this foundation looks and works so much better when you apply it with your fingers. Like I said, this is quite a light coverage and a separate concealer is needed but I have to say that once applied with my fingers, it really does give my skin a healthy tanned glow but looks incredibly natural. 

Maybelline Colour Show Bleached Neons Nail Polish in Tropink

Summer is the time of year when neon nail polish is fully acceptable. From the months of May to September my toe nails are painted neon yellow and I have no shame in that. However I love the idea of these more pastel toned neons by Maybelline. I opted for the Barbie pink colour, depending how I get on with this I might have to go back and get the coral colour too!

Essie Nail Polish Lilacism

This is a classic Essie shade and I don't know whats taken me so long to try it, but it is officially my favourite pastel purple colour out there. When compared to similar lilac shades by Barry M and Topshop, this is more blue toned and personally I think a little more unique looking. I painted my nails with this straight away and its definitely up there in my top 10 all time nail polishes (I feel a blog post coming on!)

NARS Pure Matte Lipstick in Bangkok

If you have read any of my recent blog posts, you might know I have developed an obsession with the NARS matte lipstick in Montego Bay. As that hasn't left my lips for the last month, I figured it was time to try a different shade. After a bit of googling, I opted for Bangkok. The fact that Christina Hendricks has worn this shade, may have been a key factor in my decision! Bangkok is much lighter than Montego Bay and is more of a blue toned pink. Its very natural looking and would look amazing with a smoky eye. I have a Face of the Day with this coming up next!

Now repeat after me, I wont buy anymore makeup, I wont buy anymore makeup.......

New In

I have been a bad beauty blogger recently and tried lots of new, pretty things, but not shared any of them on here! I thought the easiest way to rectify this, would be to smush all these products into one massive post and as I am very much a visual person, I have included a bonus Face of the Day wearing these beauties!

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water

I just ran out of my last bottle of Bioderma and my lovely friend Chloe recommended this as an alternative. I do love the L'oreal Micellar Water but the Garnier one is double the size and about half the price (as Kevin Bacon would say, no brainer). I do have a theory that all Micella Waters are essentially the same and the Garnier version works a treat. The only thing I have noticed is, that it doesn't remove mascara as quickly but I really cant complain.

If you have never tried using Micellar Water to remove your makeup before, I highly recommend giving it a go. I really struggle to use face wipes, as they make my face and eyes sting and leave my face looking red and blotchy. Micellar Water's are so gentle and remove all my makeup with no stinging at all!

Models Own Polish for Tans in Beach Bag

Models Own released a line of neon nail polishes which are designed to "instantly highlight golden skin". FYI, there is no crazy new formula here, they are just neon nail polishes. 

Beach Bag is a pale neon coral colour. I do love the colour and have no doubt it would really emphasise a tan, but I was not impressed with the formula of this polish. It was very thick and gloopy, like all neons it drys matte so you need a top coat, but I noticed after a few days my nails were looking matte again and my top coat had almost disappeared. 

In summary lovely colour, crappy formula.

Clinique Chubby Stick in Whooping Watermelon

I am very late to the Chubby Stick bandwagon, but my friend Nat had the most amazing lipstick on and when I asked her what it was, she told me it was one of these. That particular shade was Heftiest Hibiscus, which I feel needs its own dedicated post and since then I have added Whooping Watermelon to the collection (even the lady on the Clinique counter chuckled at the name). This is a very sheer pink,  which just adds a little something, something to your everyday makeup.

L'oreal Miss Manga Mascara in Waterproof

I really loved L'oreal's Miss Manga mascara so when I heard they were releasing it in a waterproof formula, I practically ran to Boots. I have done a full review of this mascara here and the waterproof formula is just as good.

Anastasia DipBrow Pomade in Chocolate

When it comes to brows I stick to what I like (yes I am talking about my beloved Hourglass pencil) however these new DipBrow's by Anastasia intrigued me and I wanted to give them a try. 

These are little pots of tinted brow mousse, which claim to be waterproof and smudge proof. You need to apply this with a brush to your brows, a brush isn't included but any angled brush will do (I have been using the MAC 263). 

If you are someone that likes a really defined brow, you will love this stuff as you can really sculpt some serious brows with it. For me this is a bit of a faff to do on a daily basis but I have enjoyed using it for nights out, to give my brows a bit more drama. The only thing that is a bit rubbish is the shade range. There are 5 shades available, ranging from blonde to ebony, but there isn't a light brown. I opted for Chocolate but ideally would have preferred a slightly lighter colour. 

These are available exclusively in the UK from Cult Beauty.

Kate Somerville Goat Milk Cream

I have my Mum to thank for getting this baby back in my life. Sadly you can only get this in the US but if you are heading that way, or are lucky enough to live there, then you need to try this moisturiser. Its hydrating, light and helps keep my skin clear from blemishes. Love it!

Dior Diorskin Nude Shimmer Instant Illuminating Powder in Rose 001

This was what I would consider a "naughty purchase". I really didn't need it, but it was just too pretty to leave! This is like a more pigmented version of my beloved Milani powder and gives a pretty pink, highlighted glow to your cheeks. I can already tell this is going to me my go to blusher for the next few months.

Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons Tailor Made Bronzing Powder in Naturel Brunettes 03

Another guilty purchase but one I have been resisting for a long time! Guerlain Bronzers are the ultimate luxury but they are also some of the most natural looking bronzers available. I love how this has 4 different colours which you can either pick and choose from, or blend together. There are 6 different shades available and Guerlain have made it easy for you to find your perfect shade by naming them by different hair colours. 

I regret nothing!

Bobbi Brown Tinted Lip Balm in Pink Raspberry

I have a lip balm addiction and these limited edition balms were calling me. I love how they are in the traditional lip balm tube but just slightly sleeker and sturdier. These are surprisingly pigmented and give you the same colour as a sheer lipstick would. Pink Raspberry is a very me colour, a natural pink toned nude. These feel really lovely and moisturising on the lips, my only complaint would be that the colour doesn't last long enough. Overall though, I would really recommend these and it looks like they are already selling out fast!

Don't say I don't deliver on my promises ;) because here I am, wearing it all. There are definitely some products in here which I know will become my new staples, particularly the Dior blush, Guerlain bronzer and Bobbi Brown lip balm!

Foundation: Shiseido Sun Protection Liquid Foundation mixed with Nars Illuminator in Copacabana

Concealer: Hourglass Hidden Corrective Concealer and Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage

Bronzer: Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons Tailor Made Bronzer in Naturel Brunettes

Blusher: Dior Nude Shimmer Instant Illuminating Powder in Rose

Powder: Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot

Eyebrows: Anastasia DipBrow Pomade in Chocolate

Eyes: MAC Tan Pigment and L'oreal Miss Manga Waterproof Mascara

Lips: Bobbi Brown Tinted Lip Balm in Pink Raspberry

Face of the Day with Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

I am still running behind on my Face of the Day posts! This was a quick, natural look, with a few coral tones thrown in for good measure now its Spring. 

Face

Primer

Smashbox Photo Finish More Than Primer Blemish Control

Full review here

Foundation

MAC Face & Body in N3 mixed with NARS Copacabana Illuminator

I really recommend mixing some form of highlighter/illuminator in with your foundation. It gives you beautiful, natural glowing skin.

Concealer

Estee Lauder Double Wear Brush On Glow BB Highlighter in 2W

I have been really enjoying using this under eye concealer. Its got a good amount of coverage and the lasting power is really good. I do wish I had got this in maybe one shade lighter though.

Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in SC3

I'm on a bit of a mission at the moment to use this up, as Ive probably had it for 4 years at least! This is the best spot concealer known to man!

Bronzer 

Guerlain Terracotta Moisturising Bronzing Powder in 00 Makeup Artist

A really, really lovely natural, matte bronzer. If you are looking for a new bronzer and don't mind splashing a bit more cash then check our Guerlain.

Powder

MAC Prep & Prime CC Colour Correcting Compact in Neutralize

Full review here

Blush 

Milani Illuminating Face Powder in Amber Nectar

There are no words for how much I friggin' love these Illuminating Face Powders by Milani!

Eyes

Eyeshadow 

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

I always forget that I own this palette but every now and then I remember and dig it out. As the name suggests, this is a very basic eyeshadow palette with 6 everyday matte neutrals. For this look I kept the eyes very simple and just used W.O.S all over the lid, with Naked 2 and Faint in the crease.

Mascara

Benefit They're Real Mascara

This is the perfect mascara for when you want a natural but defined eye look. This doesn't give crazy volume like it suggests but defines each and every one of your lashes. 

Eyebrows

Benefit Gimme Brow in Light/Medium

It genuinely pains me to say I like this, due to the ridiculously extravagant price Benefit are charging for  3g of product. But I do love that I can use this on its own, without a pencil to fill in my brows.

Lips

Lipstick 

Revlon Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya

Remember my Revlon Lip Butter obsession?! I know its Spring when they come out again! Juicy Papaya is one of my favourites, a very pretty, subtle coral. 

Face of the Day with MAC Pro Longwear Lipglass in Whoops!

I am a bit late posting this Face of the Day, as this is actually from a weeks ago but ssshhh. 

I have been catching up on Mad Men recently and have developed an obsession with 70's home decor and coral coloured makeup, I have a problem!

Face

Primer

Smashbox Photo Finish More Than Primer Blemish Control

A fabulous primer for prolonging the wear of your makeup but does not live up to its blemish control claims. 

Foundation

MAC Face & Body Foundation in N3 mixed with NARS Copacabana Illuminator 

You may be getting a bit bored of me banging on about this combination but I just cant get enough! In fact my Face & Body is now running pretty low, so you will see a change of foundation soon.

Concealer

Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in SC3

One of my all time favourite makeup products, this baby will cover anything.

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Vanilla

I'm going to be honest here, I just don't understand the hype with this concealer. Don't get me wrong, its not a bad concealer but I've tried better. Collection's Lasting Perfection covers better, MAC's Light Boost highlights better. This is just somewhere in the middle, maybe I'm missing something but for me this is distinctly average.

Powder

MAC Prep & Prime CC Compact in Neutralize

I did a full review on this powder yesterday. In summary, not great!

Bronzer

Guerlain Terracotta Moisturing Bronzing Powder in 00 Makeup Artist

If you are a bronzer fanatic and you have never tried a Guerlain bronzer, than you truly are missing out. Beautiful, matte and natural looking, you really cant go wrong.

Blush

Milani Illuminating Face Powder in Amber Nectar

Just like my foundation combination, I cant stop using these blushers...beautiful!

Eyes

Eyeshadow

Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Shadow Stick in Golden Pink

I forgot how beautiful this cream eyeshadow by Bobbi Brown is. If you like All That Glitters eyeshadow by MAC, then you need to try this. Plus the formula is amazing, no creasing and lasts all day without a primer.

MAC Pro Longwear Eyeshadow in One to Watch

This is one of my old obsessions. Two years ago I worn this eyeshadow pretty much every day, paired with a sheer red lip. I dug it out again and was reminded of why I used to love it so much. Its the perfect warm, grungy brown. Blend this all over your lid and underneath your lower lash line, pair with mascara and your good to go.

Mascara

Maybelline Big Eyes Mascara

While this mascara did grow on me, I wouldnt recommend it. There are better Maybelline mascaras and when you get one of these little fibers in your eye its genuinely horrific.

Eyebrows

Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil in Soft Brunette

Standard

Maybelline Brow Drama in Medium Brown

Good brow gel, stupid brush.

Lips

Lipgloss

MAC Pro Longwear Lipglass in Whoops!

This is a bright coral lip gloss but if you hate sticky lip gloss then walk away now ladies. 

MAC's Pro Longwear glosses are notoriously sticky but hey that's what keeps them on your lips for so long!