January 2015 Favourites

I always feel that January is a time for new beginnings so I'm keen to try out new products, especially ones I got over Christmas, my birthday or in the sale. This past month I have been absolutely loving:

Soap & Glory Smoothie Star Deep Moisturising  Body Milk - This smells absolutely delicious! Along with this Sugar Crush is my joint favourite Soap and Glory range! It's got a gorgeous, almond-vanilla scent and packs in so much moisture into my skin. I really like the consistency of this body lotion, as it's not too thick, not too thin, but just right! I usually use it before bed and wake up with my skin still feeling super soft. If you haven't yet tried it, I highly you recommend you go and get your hands on some!

Urban Decay Vice 3 Palette - How amazing is this?! I am obsessed with this palette! I got this for my birthday in December and have not put this down since! It has such a great variety of colours, perfect for every occasion - day or night, and the formula is lovely to work with. I'm going to do a full review on this palette as I love it so much!

Kiko Smart Lipstick in 902 - This has been my go to lipstick over the last month. I've only got two of these as Kiko is relatively a new brand to me (due to a lack of stores in my home town!) and this is the first Kiko lipstick I've used and I am already very impressed. It has a great creamy formula so I'll definitely be getting another one as they're a great buy for the price. This one looks a peachy nude but when it's on it looks more of a pinky nude.

The Body Shop Shea Lip Butter - One of the best lip balms I've EVER used, it has been an absolute life saver in the harsh winter months as my lips have been so chapped until I started using this. It tastes amazing, smells amazing (like does everything from The Body Shop, lets be honest!) and feels lovely and nourishing on the lips. The only downside for me with this product is the fact that it's in a little pot so you pretty much have to use your finger to apply it so I don't like to use on the go, unless I've had the opportunity to wash my hands just before application (I could carry around a little brush with me but would probably end up losing it and then still have to resort to using my finger).

L'Oreal Colour Riche Le Vernis Glitter nail polish in 822 Bronze Parure - I posted about this last year when I first purchased it (you can see what the polish looks like here), it was one of my favourite polishes over the festive season, it is gorgeous, sparkly and lasts pretty well for a glitter nail polish.

Which products have you been loving over the past month?

Love You Long Time

 

Seeing as I missed the boat for favourite products of 2013, I thought I would do a round up of my favourite and most used product over the past 12 months or so. Many of these have been on the scene for years and years and will always have a prime spot in my makeup bag.

 

 

 

 

Miscellaneous products

 

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Cherry. Batiste is a trusty old friend, always there to save the day, especially when you’re having a bad hair day. Great for on the go kind of girls, perfect to freshen up your hair and give it a bit of a boost.

Soap and Glory Rich and Foamous Body wash. Smells amazing! This is perhaps one of the nicest body washes I have tried in a very long time. It lathers really well and smells like almonds, with a hint of vanilla.

Rimmel SunShimmer fake tan. Fake tan for me tends to be very ‘hit and miss’ and this has definitely been a hit. If applies fairly evenly and the colour selection is just perfect, definitely more bronze toned rather than orange. This particular one is in the shade Fair Matte but my all-time favourite is Light Shimmer.

 

Eyelure false lashes in 145. Eyelure lashes are some of my absolute favourite, so many styles to choose from and the glue is brilliant. MY favourite at the time usually alternate from 140 and 145, but for the majority of the past 12 months 145 seem to be taking the lead.

Calvin Klein Euphoria perfume. Amazing! Highly recommend you try it!

Jelly Pong Pong Blush brush. Purchased at the Clothes Show, many many years ago, this lovely brush finally made it into my make up bag, ready for everyday use. It is really soft and perfect for applying blusher evenly. 

Bath and Body Works hand sanitizer in Mojito. Cannot describe how lovely this smells! Gutted there isn’t a Bath and Body Works in the UK… I would probably be in one every day!

 Eyes and Lips

MUA Palette in Undressed. Priced at an absolute bargain price of £4, I initially did not expect much but was pleasantly surprised with the great colour pay off from all of the colours in this palette. This would be a perfect product for someone who is just starting out in make up and wants to expand their collection.

 Maybelline 24 hour colour tattoo in Turquoise forever. Beautiful colour intensity with amazing staying power (even without primer!).

Bare Minerals eye shadow in High style and snazzy. Absolutely amazing eye shadows wit brilliant staying power. These can be worn just as a mineral powder but I prefer to apply them slightly wet for an added boost of colour intensity.

 

MEMEME Eyesweep eyeliner pen. Perfect for drawing thin lines, especially in the inner corner of your eye. Would highly recommend! 

Soap and Glory Thick and Fast Mascara. Absolutely loved this in 2013. Having only really associated Soap and Glory with lotions and various bath and shower products, it was nice to expand my collection and try some of the cosmetics in the range.

Rimmel Colour Show Off Lipstick in 020 Shake up pink.  This is an oldie but goldie, such a pretty Barbie pink colour and lasts reasonably well.

Pomme Granate lip balm from H&M. This is an absolute gem! Bought on a whim one cold, cold evening in Boston, this lovely lip balm has saved by lips from the brutal American winds.

 

 

 

What's in my make up bag?

So for my first proper post I decided to reveal what's in my (main) make up bag, these are all of the products which I use daily. Pretty much all of these items can be purchased on the high street/at your local drug store. The two Victoria Secret products featured, I purchased in the US and have not seen them on sale at the VS in the UK unfortunately, but apart from that the rest should be easy to find. Enjoy!

Face

Maybelline Satin Liquid foundation in the shade 020 Cameo - one of my all time favourite foundations, provides a brilliant coverage and is really easy to apply.

Smashbox High Definition Healthy FX foundation in F0 Fair - provides a fairly light coverage (although I do prefer something a bit heavier).

L'Oreal Infallible 16 hours concealer in 01 Vanilla - have been using it for years and absolutely love it.

Garnier anti-dark circles roll-on in Fair - I don't really get dark circles but this product is lovely to brighten up the area around your eyes

Victoria Secret Luminous Blush duo in Starlet- A lovely medium pink blusher, not too bright, not too dark, just perfect. 


Eyes
 
MAC Mega Metal eyeshadow in Tweet Me - really sparkly and pretty

Bare escentuals eyecolor in the shades in 44073 High style and 44072 Snazzy - absolutely love these two, they're perfect for day and evening wear and blend really well.

Rimmel Exaggerate eyeliner in 001 Black - probably my favourite liquid liner of all time! Very well priced, easy to apply and very durable throughout the day.

Me Me Me Fat Cat lashes mascara - a big fan of this, genuinely gives your lashes a lot of volume.. just a shame it's running out.

Soap and Glory Thick and Fast super volume mascara in Black - have only been using this for a few weeks

L'Oreal Eye Designer crayon in 401 Black Grey (looks black when worn)

Victoria Secret Shimmer Fierce liner duo in Smoke & Mirrors - looks really pretty on, but I find it needs regular reaplication due to smudging

Miss Sporty eye liner in 002 - which I use for my eyebrows 
 

Lips

 As you can probably guess I like very similar shades of pink...

(in order of the swatches)

Rimmel Colour Show Off lipstick in the shade 020 Shake -up pink

Bobbi Brown rich lip colour lipstick in 13 Mod Pink

Sephora Lip Attitude lipstick in Star - really pretty and sparkly but the texture is quite rough due to sparkles in the actual product, but it is so nice that it's worth it!

L'Oreal Glam Shine Volumizer 6 hour gloss in 110 Addictive peach

Rimmel Vinyl Gloss in 440 Her Majesty



The make up bag itself is Bourjois Paris, which I purchased at the Clothes Show in Birmingham a couple of years ago :)