Weekly Haul

Im heading back over to Dubai in Easter which I am so excited about. I love it out there and even though I've been out several times now, going back out is always exciting!! This time I intend to capture so many more memories in the form of both photos and videos. Anyway I thought I would share some of the items of clothing I have purchased ready to wear on the trip as well as some holiday essentials.

First stop was h&m where I literally wanted to buy everything in store, however I paced myself well and focused on summer tops, I grabbed a couple of lovely fitted 3/4 length sleeve tops, a long sleeve lace peplum top and a light denim shirt, my fave of the purchases. It's beautifully fitted and so soft. Denim shirts and lace are my current obsession at the moment!!

From primark I grabbed two pairs of sunglasses, you can never have enough sunglasses!!:)

From New Look, I made a couple of purchases, the first, a cropped red lace cami top which I can't wait to wear in the sunshine with a long black maxi dress and gold jewellery. The second purchase was a long sleeved black lace top which I love.

 I also popped into Mac to repurchase one of my favourite eyeshadows in Patina, a muted gold shade and also grabbed the colour sketch and romp. Then stocked on my favourite limited edition blush Stereo Rose which has just come back with their launch of Fantasy of Flowers collection.

This time around it's slightly lighter in shade than the original stereo rose but equally as pigmented and beautiful!! LOVE!!

Would you guys like an outfit of the day? What are your weekly purchases?

Lots of love xxxxxxxx

Review Nars Sheer Glow

I wanted to share my thoughts on the Nars Sheer Glow Foundation which I have been wearing daily now for the last couple of months. I know this product has been reviewed to death and talked about constantly in the beauty community and since purchasing, I can see why.

I was hesitant at first to purchase this foundation as I have oily skin, however after reading several reviews boasting of it's misleading name and somewhat matte appearance, I thought I would bite the bullet and give it a go. 

I found the foundation very easy to work with and apply it using a real techniques buffing brush. Despite its thick creamy texture, it feels light on the skin and provides a beautiful appearance. The coverage of the foundation is good and definitely buildable, I only wear concealer underneath the eyes to conceal dark circles, the foundation is all I need to cover the rest of the skin. I went for the shade Punjab which matched my skin tone pretty perfectly. I think the 'glow' name is definitely misleading as I think the finish is more of satin look and I feel that normal to combination skin tones should definitely give it a try. However I did need to powder this foundation with a light translucent powder and have to retouch the powder throughout the day as the oiliness began to show through after a couple of hours. 

It contains no spf so is perfect for a night out to guarantee no flashback in photographs.

As for the products packaging, it would be much easier and hygienic to apply if it came with a pump, although this can be purchased separately.

Despite the beautiful finish of the foundation and flawless appearance it provides to the skin, I think my oily skin would benefit from a more matte foundation.  Even so it's a beautiful foundation and one that I would definitely recommend giving a try if you haven't yet.

Wearing Nars Sheer Glow foundation, very lightly powdered through the t-zone.

Have any of you guys tried the Nars sheer glow? What were your thoughts? What are your holy grail foundations?

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Hair Styling with Hot Rollers

As my hair is really long, the only time I tend to style it is for nights out and even then I'm lazy so I like something quick and easy!!

Step up heated rollers!! I love them- so easy to use and great effect.

The ones I use are by Revlon and I have had them for years! I have tried some more modern babyliss ones however I don't like the ones that are material covered-anyone who uses rollers will know what I'm talking about ;)

Anyway I thought I would show you the finished results that the rollers create- if you would like a more in-depth tutorial let me know.  From the piccies I hope you can see the volume created not only at the roots but throughout the length of the hair and the beautiful curls it creates. I also have just purchased a new curling wand by Babyliss which I am loving and is able to actually curl the length of my ridiculously long hair.  Will post a review and pictures soon!!

What hair styling products do you love?

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This Weeks Most Loved no. 1

Thought I would share with you beauties the products that I have been constantly reaching for the most throughout this week. 

Skincare 

Clarins Water Purify One Setp Cleanser

I have been using this cleanser on a daily basis. I use the one with with mint essential oils-for combination or oily skin. This feels divine on the skin especially if you suffer from oily skin as I do. I use this at night as part of my deep cleansing routine or in the mornings if I'm on the go. This leaves my skin feeling clean and oil free but still nourished. It smells great too!!!

Clarins Multi Active Day Lotion

This leaves my skin feeling hydrated and has kept my skin so clear. I usually apply it in the mornings and leave it to soak into the skin for about 5 minutes before applying my foundation. It feels really light on the skin, not at all heavy or greasy and leaves my skin feeling beautifully nourished.

Haircare

Charles Worthington Volume and Bounce Thick and Full 3D Boosting Creme!!!

I recently picked this up as I have been using many of the products within this brand and have been really impressed so far so thought I would give it a go. My hair is really long, swooping all the way down to my legs so volume is always quite hard to achieve. However this has been giving me that extra dimension to my hair without weighing it down, so far I'm loving it!! If you haven't tried any of the range you should definitely give it a go!

Avon Advanced Techniques Moroccan Argan Oil

Again this oil is very light and doesn't leave the hair feeling greasy at all. A little goes a long way, with my hair I apply about 5 pumps, heat the product between my hands and distribute it along the ends of my hair avoiding the roots. I apply the product to towel dried hair and it leaves my hair feeling nourished and shiny.

Perfume

Jo Malone Grapefruit

I am fed up with the UK weather at the moment-constant rain and wind!! It's so horrible, so like many of us beauty junkies, I use products to lift me up a little and at the moment my perfume of choice is Jo Malone Grapefruit. When I first received a sample of this I didn't particularly like it but during the day I found myself growing to love the scent. I love citrus scents and this feels my head with thoughts of spring. 

Makeup

Nars Sheer Glow

I made the purchase and am glad to say I love it!! I resisted this purchase for ages as I have oily skin and was worried that it would quite literally slip off my skin however I love the finish and the 'glow' in the name, as mentioned on many blogs, is a little misleading. It provides good, buildable coverage too :) 

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light

Beautiful product, light and reflective on the skin, it really does provide that 'glow from within' effect. I will do a more indepth review of both this and the Sheer glow with photographs soon :)

MAC eyeshadows in patina, woodwinked and swiss chocolate

Top Row L-R Clarins Palette Colours
Bottom Row Woodwinked, Estee Lauder Amber Smoke, Mac Swiss Choc

Mac Teddy Eye Kohl Far Right

I have been wearing patina with woodwinked lightly dusted over the top for a more spring like look, sometimes adding a little of Estee Lauders antique bronze (limited edition) through the crease when on a night out. The  pigmentation as always is beautiful and these shades suit every eye colour. Mac swiss chocolate is one of my all time favourite shades, I love running it through the crease for a matte everyday eye. 

Clarins Essentials Eye Palette

I have been loving the dark shimmery brown and the natural matte peachy toned shade from this palette. 

Mac Teddy Eye Kohl

I have been wearing this beautiful shimmery brown just below my lashline and in the waterline as a lighter alternative to black. Beautiful colour and pay off.

Let me know your most loved products of the week 

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The Ever Growing Makeup and Skincare Wishlist 2014

As beauty addict and self-confessed shopaholic, I thought I would share my wish list of all things beauty and skincare (gulp!) One of my favourite things to do is compile lists of the latest skincare and makeup items as well as golden oldie products that are constantly raved about in the beauty world. All us beauty junkies do it right?? If you beauties have used any of the following products I would love to know what your thoughts were :) Any reviews and blogposts you have done please share below :) Also what products are on your current wish lists?

Makeup
Nars Sheer Glow

MAC soft and gentle
MAC eyeshadows to add to the constant growing collection
MAC pro emphasize highlighter
MAC light boost and radiant rose
MAC prolongwear eyeshadow

Bobbi Brown Eyeshadow beach

By Terry Hylauronic Powder

Kevin Aucoin Skin Enhancer

Ben Nye Banana Powder
YSL rouge volupte in no.13
Laura Mercier loose setting powder

Skincare

Clarins multi active serum & night cream
Clarins Toner 
Clarins Clay Mask

Caudilie Beauty Elixir
Clinique Cleansing Balm

Alpha H eye complex

Alpha H rejuvenating treatment

Think theres enough on there?? 

Palettes, Palettes and more Palettes

 

I am an avid eyeshadow collector, I wear it on a daily basis and like to mix it up on a weekly basis and like all girlies go dramatic for a full on night out :) Arabic makeup is one of my favourite looks-I love everything about it!! I thought I would give you a little overview of my eyeshadow palettes :) I will do a more in depth post on all my Mac palettes. Hope you enjoy :)





Original Naked Palette

First up is the well known and well loved in the beauty blogging world the original Naked palette. I love this palette and have used it for many years now-it's not the one I usually grab for on a daily basis, but the range of colours and pigmentation is great. As you can see from the pictures, for me the most used shades are Naked, a matte beige colour, great for use as a base, smog, a shimmery brown, toasted a beautiful rosey gold pink, hustle a taupe/purple shade and virgin, the lightest of the palette which I use along my brow bone for a highlighter. I must admit I never tend to wear smoky greys so for me gunmetal is never used although I have put it in my list of looks to try! All in all a handy palette to have.

Clarins Odyssey Eye palette

I remember seeing reviews on this palette just before its release and the beauty geek in me had it's release date programmed into my phone ready to snap up! I love it! The palette consists of 4 shades, the darkest a matte brown, a medium brown with slight shimmer, the lightest a shimmery white shade and the most attractive shade a bronzy shimmering gold. This for me is the ultimate pull which lead me to purchase the palette. The pigmentation is good and
The palette can take you from day to night easily, with its range of shades and the palette is lovely and compact so easy to take around. All of the shades ca be used dry or wet, I find with the gold shade, the real va-va-voom power is when used wet!

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess 2012

This palette is from their 2012 bronze goddess collection, something I'm always keen to try out! This is one of their beautiful powder gelee formations, beautiful colours that work wonderfully together with excellent pigmentation. This is the ultimate summer palette I feel they always get it spot on with this collection. Again the packaging is great, I always take this on holiday with me!






Mac Palette and 2 extra shadows

Next up the beloved Mac palette! My go to everyday palette-I love it! I will do a more in depth review of my Mac palette. My most used shades are Antiqued, Patina, Mulch, Swiss chocolate, bronze and woodwinked. The collection keeps growing as you can see but as with most Mac eyeshadows pigmentation, staying powder and shad selection is excellent.

Clarins 'The Essentials' Christmas Makeup Palette 2013

This limited edition palette again is beautiful, again filled with lucious shadows that can take you from day to night. The shades include some light highlighting shadows, through to dark shimmering shadows perfect for blending through the crease and wearing along the lower lash line. Again the pigmentation of all shadows does not disappoint. A great one to have in your collection if you can still get your hands on it!

I would love to see your collection of palettes!!

Lots of Love
     xxx

Beauty Favourites of 2013

I thought I would share with you the beauty products that I have discovered and relied on throughout the year. Hope you enjoy and Happy New Year to you all :) xxxxxx

Foundation  

By Terry Cover Expert

I discovered two beautiful foundations this year, the 1st being the By Terry Cover Expert Foundation that I have previously blogged about. After watching Ruth Crilly from amodelrecommends rave about it I was determined to make a purchase and it certainly didn't disappoint :) The coverage is amazing, yet not heavy in any way. The product feels as light as air and appears very natural on the skin. The scent is also heavenly if you have a love for anything rose scented as I do. I usually wear this on nights out as it contains no spf so flashbacks are a no no! It is a luxurious item and at £44 is quite an expensive purchase but I would definitely recommend it and will be purchasing again. I wear shade 9.

MUFE Matt Velvet Plus

The second discovery I made was the Makeup Forever Matt Velvet Plus foundation. I love this foundation! I have oily skin and this suits me perfectly. It is a good coverage foundation, described as and is buildable 

I have worm it throughout the summer and winter months, it does not feel at all cakey which I think is always the worry factor for anything advertised as a matte finish. I wear shade 

Concealer

Estee Lauder Double Wear 

My holy grail concealer has stuck with me throughout the entire year of 2013 and I don't think it will budge from my collection. It's excellent coverage, lasts well without feeling heavy and is quite light reflective. I use it under my eyes and to cover blemishes and the concealer applies well with both fingers and a brush. I wear the shade 02 Medium Light.

Powder

Rimmel Stay Matte Translucent Powder

I never really used a powder to set my makeup until this year which, for someone with oily skin is never a good look :/, especially when working long hours and in a busy environment. Step up the Rimmel Stay Matte translucent powder. I carry this stuff with me everywhere. It is very light on application and helps my makeup to stay in place throughout the day without looking cakey or feeling heavy. 

Blush

MAC Stereo Rose

MAC Stereo Rose Blush has been my everyday blush of the year and I can
not get enough of the stuff. Now I know this product is limited edition but it does come back quite frequently in different MAC collections. As soon as it makes another appearance I will be stocking up because I adore it. 

Highlighter

MAC Smooth Merge

Despite the fact that I love highlighters, I haven't overly worn one throughout the year of 2013. Throughout the winter the ne that I have been grabbing for the most has been the lightest shade of the MAC msf Smooth Merge. Again annoyingly this is limited edition but there are so many similar shades brought out within MAC mineralize skinfinishes. Next on my list is MAC soft and gently :) 

Mascara

Maybelline The Falsies

The mascara I have continued to repurchase this year is Maybelline the Falsies. I have been through tube after tube and have loved it. It is a nice drugstore purchase.  

Eyeliner

MAC Feline Kohl Pencil 

This never changes for me- MAC Feline kohl eyeliner! This is my holy grail eyeliner, I love it! It always stays put when worn on the waterline and is the blackest of black shades.

Brown Eyeliner-has to be MAC's Teddy, a shimmering dark brown. I wear this both underneath my waterline and love it.

Gel Liner-Clinique black gel liner- lasts for age, doesn't dry and so easy to apply.

Eyeshadow and palettes

MAC Palette

As always my trusty MAC palette has been the one I reach for on a daily basis. I have now began to fill my second pallette as I like to switch up my eyeshadow quite frequently. The main colours I have been wearing daily is Patina, Antiqued, Woodwinked and Bronze. 

Perfume

I have a slight perfume obsession which stretches far too much for my purse!! I have managed to keep it to two fragrances for the blog.

Jo Malone Earl Grey and Cucumber

Light and fresh I love this scent, the earl grey scent is very potent in the perfume but as the scent settles down the hints of cucumber come through and it smells delicious :)

Stella McCartney Summer Rose

This was limited edition but is not too disimilar to the original StellaMcCartney fragrance but the hint of rose is stronger. I love it fresh and floral, with hints of peony( I'm addicted to anything containing peony and rose-my favourite scents). 

Lots Of Love xx