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! 

Boots 3 for 2 Recommendations

I have been reviewing a lot of American beauty products recently so I thought it was time to give good old Boots some love. It also happens to be 3 for 2 time, so everyone's a winner!

Here are my recommendations for you to throw in your basket:

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush £9.99 - I can honestly say that Real Techniques are my favourite brushes for foundation. The Buffing Brush is my number 1 but as you can only buy it in the Core Collection for £21.99, I am recommending my second favourite, the Expert Face Brush. Buffs in your foundation effortlessly with no streaks, which I always get from traditional foundation brushes.

Eylure Individual Lashes £4.95 - I rarely wear false lashes these days, since people have started putting them on their car headlights it has put me right off! For my birthday I thought I would dip my toe back into the murky fake eyelash waters and it was a surprisingly pleasant experience. I used these individual lashes because I wanted a more natural effect and they were so easy to apply. I just put about 5/6 of the short ones on the outer corner of my eyes and bobs your uncle. I loved that they added volume without looking like I should be on Geordie Shore.

L'oreal Gentle Eye Makeup Remover £3.49 - You know how much I love my L'oreal Micellar Water and now I am being wooed by their eye makeup remover! This doesn't irritate my eyes at all and removes my eye make up easily. Only thing is, its not very good with waterproof mascara!

Rimmel Salon Pro by Kate Nail Polish in Punk Rock £4.49 - I love this dark, dirty grey colour. Makes me feel like a rock star in possibly the smallest way possible!

Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Paint in Rich Russet £4.99 - This could be a contender for Maybellines Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze. Apply this all round your eyes just like my
Olsen twins post.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Plum Luck £6.99 - This is a recent purchase which was a surprise love! I was partaking in the 3 for 2 and picked this up as my freebie on a bit of a whim. I'm not normally a massive purple fan but this colour actually comes out much darker on the nails and you only really see the purple in the light.

Maybelline The Eraser Eye Concealer £7.99 - I love the name of this, so American. I already think Maybelline's Dream Lumi touch concealer is fab and the Eraser hasn't let me down. It has a good level of coverage and brightening plus I really like the sponge tip applicator.

Revlon Lip Butter in Red Velvet £7.99 - How I do not own every lip butter known to man is a mystery to me. Red Velvet is the newest to my addition to my collection. A sheer, dark red which is perfect for this time of year.

Rimmel Kate Matte Lipstick in 107 £5.49 - This lipstick was in my October Favourites and it is my current obsession. I don't know if its the weather but I have developed a bit of an obsession with deep, dark red lipsticks and 107 is beautiful. Make sure you blot this, to stop it smudging.

Happy shopping!

Sunday Manicure

I'm not a fan of Sunday traditions, roast dinners and The Antiques Roadshow, followed by cheese and crackers. Its all a bit depressing, although I am partial to a bit of Countryfile, hello Matt Baker ;)

I do have my own Sunday tradition though, which is the manicure. I change my nail polish all the time (every 2-3 days) but on a Sunday I go the whole hog. Nail painting is an art and badly painted nails are my biggest pet peeve. I studied Beauty Therapy and learning how to paint nails was the best thing about that year! 

Follow my step by step manicure and never flood your cuticles again!

First up, gather your equipment. You will need:

Cotton wool - Pads are the best

Nail Polish Remover

4 Sided Nail Buffer

Nail File

Cuticle Remover

Orange Stick

Base Coat

Nail Polish - Any colour!

Top Coat

Cuticle Oil

1. Remove your nail polish - The most obvious step, but I know some people (Chloe) are guilty of painting over their chipped polish! This will also prep your nails and remove the natural oils from your nails, which will extend the wear of your polish. My favourite nail polish remover is the Zoya Remove +

 2. Cuticle time - Cuticles are a pain, if yours are overgrown your nail polish wont go on smoothly and it will shorten the length of your nail bed. I like the Sally Hansen Gel Cuticle Remover, apply a small amount to each of your nails and leave on for around 2 minutes. After 2 minutes use an orange stick to push back the cuticle and remove the excess.

3. Repeat step 1 - After using the cuticle gel make sure you go over each nail again with nail polish remover, just a quick swipe is needed! This will remove the excess gel and make your nail polish last longer. Its like applying foundation, if you apply your foundation immediately after you've moisturised it wont last as long. Same applies to your nails, make sure they are prepped!

4. File - Choose your preferred shape, if you have short, chubby fingers like me, go for an oval shape it will make your fingers appear longer!

5. Buff - My nail buffer is my secret weapon and will make your nail polish last all week. I always use the Models Own buffer which you can buy from Boots. The buffer has 4 sides, side 1 is a really rubbish file which I never use, so I start with step 2. buff, followed by step 3. smooth and step 4. shine.
Not only does buffing your nails make your polish last longer, it also helps reduce ridges in your nails and if you have stained your nails it will help take the stain out.

 6. Base - You must, must, must use a base coat. Think of it like a primer, smoothing out the surface of your nail making your polish apply evenly. It also prevents staining and increases your polish wear. Any base coat will do, I'm currently using this OPI Natural Nail Base Coat which I really like, I would also recommend the Essie Nourish Me base coat. If you have bad ridges in your nails use a ridge filling base coat, these are thicker and will fill in the ridges.

7. Paint - I'm currently having a Buffy Summers season 1 moment and loving white nail polish. OPI Alpine Snow is my favourite white but I only have it in this diddy bottle and its basically all gone now :'( Always do 2 coats, I very, very rarely do three coats. Paint in three stripes, one in the middle and 2 either side. Remember you are painting your nails, not your cuticles or skin. The more you practise the better you will get!

8. Shine - Top coat, please don't skip it! It makes all the difference and adds shine. Its like the perfect sandwich, base coat, 2 coats of polish and top coat. The top coat seals everything in and is the final step in increasing your polish wear time. The only top coat I use is the Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat. A life changing product, my nails are dry within 5 minutes. I would never be without this!





9. Oil -  Cuticle oil stops your cuticles becoming dry and ragged. I love Solar Oil but have just finished my bottle so picked this Almond Nail and Cuticle Oil up from The Body Shop. It comes in a handy clicky pen, so you can chuck it in your bag and apply it anytime.

Taaa Daaaaa!

And not a flooded cuticle in sight!

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips "Glitz Bitz"

I was really excited to see that the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips are finally launching in the UK. They have been out in America for a while and I have been eager to try them!

I feel I should confess straight away that I hate nail wraps with a passion. They were definitely one of the biggest beauty disappointments for me, as the patterns and designs are beautiful but the wraps themselves are useless. They never stick to your nails properly, they always peel off at the edge and its the most uncomfortable feeling. I think I lasted half a day before ripping them off.

Now whats exciting about the Sally Hansen strips is that they aren't wraps, they are actual strips of real nail polish, if you don't believe me smell them (they stink of nail polish!). They actually stick to your nail and look pretty good. There's definitely some pros and cons which I will go into, but overall for my first attempt at using them I was really impressed.

These are what the strips look like and you can get various different designs. These gold glitter ones are called "Glitz Bitz". You get 16 strips in a pack and they come in a variety of different shapes and sizes to fit each nail. The trickiest part is finding a strip to fit every one of your nails, there wasn't a shape that really fitted my pinky nail and generally you will have to make do, as nails come in all shapes and sizes and Sally can't cater for everyone.

Before you apply the strips you need to make sure your nails are clean, wipe them over with nail polish remover (even if you don't have any nail polish on) this will remove the natural oils from your nail, making the strips stick better and last longer. In the pack you also get a mini orange stick to push back your cuticles and a mini nail buffer. I would recommend buffing your nails too, as again it will help the strips to stick. Once you have done that and selected what strip you are using on each nail you can begin to apply them.

The strips come on a clear adhesive backing, peel off this backing and place on your nail. Be careful as once its on your nail its difficult to move it. Once you are happy with the positioning, press down and smooth out the nail strip with your fingers. Make sure you press firmly to ensure there are no bumps or air pockets.

Then push the strip slightly over and around the tip of your nail and file off the excess. Now this is the bit with normal nail wraps that never works, but because these are so thin and made of real nail polish I found this bit really easy and I have no rough edges or peeling on my nail tips at all.

I would definitely try these again, however at £7.99 a pack they are quite expensive and as you only get 16 strips in a pack you can only use them once before needing another pack, especially as the ones that are left over tend to be the ones that don't fit any of your nails particularly well. I think they would be great for accent nails and that way your pack will stretch a bit further and you can play around with different designs .

They are really easy to use and once you've done a couple of nails you will be on a roll. For me the biggest cons are just the sizing of the strips and also although they are very thin, they are slightly raised around the nail bed area and I have found myself picking at them. I doubt most people would even notice this though, as I do have a habit of picking off my nail polish when bored, stressed or anxious.

Overall these are really fun to try and I am excited to see what other designs they bring out. I think they would be great for special occasions, my nails are screaming Christmas right now. If like me you have been put off by nail wraps in the past, try these out I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

You can pick these up in larger Boots stores (I found mine in Boots in Bromley) or Boots online for £7.99

(See what I mean about my pinky nail!)