Currently Loving #1

Despite the amount of makeup I own, I tend to go through phases of graviting towards certain products. I'm not one to do 'monthly favourites' because I find that I don't discover enough new products within 4 weeks to validate one post. 2015 brings exciting adventures for me, but also a spending ban as I need to spend the next few months saving up as much as I can. I'm shopping my own collection and rediscovering old treasures and falling in love with some products all over again.

Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer: I never brought into the primer hype and didn't tend to invest in them. It wasn't until I jumped on the bandwagon and tried the Veil Mineral Primer I realised just how amazing this product really is. Redness of the skin is my biggest problem area, and this primer completely evens it out which cuts down the amount of tinted moisturiser I need to use. Amongst concealing redness this oil free primer combats signs of again by softening the skin, smoothing out pores, adding a youthful glow and prolonging your makeup. Trust me when I say this primer is a miracle worker, and worth every penny. I will repurchase this over and over again.

NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisteriser: I couldn't put into words how much I loved this tinted moisturiser. If you have been a reader for a while you will probably have seen me raving about this product constantly. It gives you a perfect looking complexion with the added bonus of skincare qualities. It has a lightweight consistency with the perfect coverage while hydrating your skin - when I wear this I get so many compliments on how fresh and dewy my skin looks! If you haven't tried this yet, I highly recommend it.

Hourglass Ambient Palette: Hourglass blushes really are worth the hype. I have never tried a blush that is formulated like the hourglass products. They are so silky and soft which make them blend into the skin seamlessly, leaving a natural looking flush to the cheeks. They have a subtle, finely milled shimmer which prevents the shades looking dull on the skin and adds a healthy looking glow. The marbled texture through the shades means you get the perfect ratio of pigmentation to shimmer, leaving you with the perfect complexion and youthful glow. 

MAC Velvet Teddy: Im sure you have all heard of this shade since Kylie Jenner revealed this is the secret behind her famous lips. I had been after Velvet Teddy for a while, and finally managed to get my hands on it recently. I have a very large MAC lipstick collection, but I didn't have many brown-nudes so this was a nice one to add to my growing stash. Velvet Teddy is an unusual shade to explain - Its a brown nude with a pinky/mauve undertone which makes this a great everyday shade. Being matte it has a pretty good staying power and luckily it isn't as drying as Ruby Woo, which makes it very wearable. 

Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow: Another cult favourite, but I had to mention this because I have been obsessed with this since Christmas. Charlotte Tilbury can do no wrong in my eyes, this is the perfect bronzing and highlighting palette. The formulation of the powders are so buttery and silky which makes blending stupidly simple. The bronze shade adds a healthy warmth to the skin, sculpting the contours of the face beautifully so slim and shape the face. The highlight shade is the perfect golden-champagne, adding a subtle radiance to the high points of the face which compliments the contour shade. Everything from this product screams perfection - from the rose gold packaging to the flawless application.

Lush Eau Roma Water: I think Lush aromatherapy waters don't get enough love from the blogosphere. Eau Roma Water is my favourite toning water, leaving my skin feeling hydrated and refreshed after every use. It has a combination of Rose Water and Lavender which helps calm redness and is gentle to the skin, leaving it soothed and hydrated. 

NARS Mie Kabuki Brush: I cannot say enough good things about this brush. It applies powder products beautifully to the skin as the dome shape helps deposit makeup evenly. It has a hand-spun black wisteria handle which adds a luxurious feel and texture to the brush while preserving it's Japanese heritage. 

Jo Malone Sea Salt and Wood Sage Cologne: I have been wearing this non stop since I purchased it back in October. I wrote a post on this body spray a few weeks ago which you can find here, and I still cannot get enough of it. Its a very easy fragrance to wear and I have been obsessed with it since day one.

NARS And God Created The Women Palette: I have been loving this palette lately, not only because its convenient, but the shades are also stunning. I have been gravitating towards a brown smokey eye a lot over the last few weeks, and this palette makes it easy to achieve. You get a mixture of matte and shimmery shades which all blend together seamlessly, leaving you with the ideal, effortless smokey eye every time. 

OCC Lip Tar Annika: I have found my ideal peachy nude lip with the shade Annika. OCC Liptars are incredible products because they last forever on the lips and they are very highly pigmented. Even after a night of cocktails and eating, my lip colour looks just as perfect as when I applied it. When you first apply the product it has a very slight menthol flavour which I find really refreshing. My favourite combination lately is to mix equal parts of Annika with Ophelia.

Real Techniques 201 Pointed Crease: I have been after a brush like this for ages. I wanted a crease brush that would allow a more precise application, and the 201 brush is perfect for this because its very sturdy. The brush feels very luxurious to use and the weighted, silver plated handle allows  for more control. 

 Another lengthy post and I apologise for that! If you managed to make it to the end let me know what products you have been loving lately. 

I Told Myself I Wouldn't Buy It

Some weeks my bloglovin feed is full of my favourite bloggers raving about the same products. To me, its very obvious when PR companies have sent out new products launches to be reviewed because every other blogger will write about that same product in the space of a few weeks. I think this is great because we get a good mix of views and opinions and we can decide for ourselves if its something we would like to spend (or splurge) our heard earned money on. 

Sometimes I come across a few products that I think are way to over hyped in the blogosphere/youtubeland and I tell myself 'I won't buy that' or 'I don't need that' or even 'Theres no way thats worth the money'. To often I say these things to myself and find myself purchasing said products and writing my own blog post about them... Just like this one. 

I had heard so much hype around the Smashbox Full Exposure Palette, but it never really crossed my mind to buy it, let alone swatch the shadows myself. This mainly comes down to the fact that I already own too many neutral eye palettes and I didn't think this would live up to the ones I already had in my collection. It wasn't until my sister told me to go and have a look at it when I realised how beautiful the eye shadows were. It has the perfect mix of cool and warm toned matte shades, the shimmer shadows were surprisingly pigmented and the formulas were smooth like butter - I even loved the free miniature mascara that came with the palette! I have worn this pretty much every day since I purchased it, the warm toned matte shadows are my go-to and the shimmer shades are perfect for an even look. I had never tried any Smashbox products before I picked up this palette and I am definitely going to try out some more from the brand as this has impressed me so much. 

The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders have been raved about non stop over the last few months. This was definitely one of the products I told myself I definitely would not purchase as they are pretty expensive, and I thought to myself is a powder really that good? I didn't give the powders that much thought until I came across (two of my favourites) Alix's & Rhian's youtube videos, where they both mentioned the Ambient Lighting powders. I was so intrigued the next day I went to Sephora and decided to take a look for myself. I flinched at the price tag when I realised that were $45 a pop, but I swatched the powders and I instantly knew I needed one of them. They are so soft in texture and leave a subtle, luminous glow on the skin. I decided to go for the Diffused light powder to brighten and highlight under my eyes and other areas of my face, and now I am a complete hourglass convert. They set my under eye concealer beautifully, it helps prevent creasing and helps brighten any dark areas on my face. I am waiting until I get back to the UK and land myself a job to try out the blushes and lip glosses after hearing rave reviews. 

I've recently found out that the brand doesn't test any of their products on animals, which is a huge plus for me as I am trying to move away from brands that do test on animals and find cruelty free alternatives. Even though this product is definitely on the pricey side, its completely worth it.  

Another cruelty free (and vegan) purchase, I had heard a lot about the Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil products, it wasn't so much I didn't want to try out the brand, it was mainly the fact they aren't easily accessible in the UK and I didn't want to pay for the shipping and customs on top of the $48 price tag! While I was inline at Sephora (buying the Smashbox palette funnily enough) I saw that they had a miniature version of the full size oil for sale at $16. It was the last one left, so I saw it as fate and decided to purchase it and try it out. Surely enough, on my next visit to Sephora I purchased the full sized, along with a few more Josie Maran products to try out. The Argon oil is a multipurpose oil that you can use on your skin, your hair, on dry cuticles - pretty much everywhere! I like to use this on my face in the morning as my daily moisturiser, as well on the ends of my hair when its wet. The idea of using an oil on my face was a weird concept as I assumed it would make my skin oily, but it quickly absorbs into my skin leaving it moisturised throughout the day and it doesn't effect my makeup application. I don't know how this is going to work on my skin during the summer, but in the winter has been perfect for fixing my awfully dry skin. 

This product not only works wonders for my skin, its 100% cruelty free, vegan and free from Parabens, GMOS, Sulfates, Synthetic nasties and all of that horrible stuff. There is a light version of the Argan Oil which I will probably end up using the summer as this may be a little heavy for the hotter months, but so far I have been loving this and it has been a real saviour for my skin after a harsh winter. 

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