Christmas Gifting: Ghost Fragrance Bauble

Christmas is around the corner! Hopefully you aren't in panic buying mode, but if you are perhaps this post could be a helpful steer. This week's offering is a fragrance encased in a bauble! I've seen these advertised in a few Christmas gift magazines from the likes of Boots, Superdrug and Feel Unique. Firstly they look adorable! The bauble itself could be reused and up-cycled with glitter, figurines, feathers or anything else for a tree decoration next year.

Secondly, this is the perfect stocking filler or small present to accompany another gift you already have for someone. I've never tried any fragrances from Ghost, so these seem like a perfect way to do so. The bottle is more than your average teeny sample size, but smaller than the smallest bottle available at fragrance counters. They have a few scents in this format for Christmas, but they have been selling out quickly every time they're restocked online, so keep a sharp eye on the lookout for them in stores and online! I will not list the price here just in case the recipient of the ones I've bought read the blog!

Christmas Gifting: Tarte Palette

I know, ANOTHER palette! I bought this at the beginning of November on the Sephora website, they have a fantastic range of products usually only available in the US. They are based in the US, but it can be worthwhile shopping with them for cheaper prices, fairly reasonable international shipping and NO extra import fees, hurrah!

This is Tarte's Christmas offering. A huge bundle including 24 eyeshadows, a 'Lights, camera action' mascara (RRP. $21), a dual ended eyeshadow brush AND an additional travel friendly palette which includes 6 more eyeshadows, a bronzer and an 'Amazonian Clay 12 hour blush' (RRP. $28). All of this is available for $59 or £39 for a fantastic range of make-up. The brand prides itself on being eco-friendly and cruelty-free. All of their products have been formulated without parabens, mineral oil, phlthalates, triclosan, sodium lauryl sulphate and gluten, basically no nasty ingredients!

The collection is presented in a beautifully sequined box. I really love the range of matte, satin and shimmer eyeshadows in this palette. The eyshadows have seasonal names, my favourites include "Yule Be Surprised", "Peach on Earth" and "Under the Mistle-Taupe". This would be a great gift for any make-up lover, or anyone starting out with make-up as the set includes such a great range of products. For anyone not wanting to pruchase form a US site, Tarte cosmetics are also available on QVC's website.

Christmas Gifting: Tanya Burr Candy Glam

This week is the first of a few Christmas gifting posts. I'm starting with the beautiful 'Candy Glam' Christmas palette from Tanya Burr beauty. If you didn't already know, Tanya Burr is one of THE most successful British beauty bloggers/vloggers, you can currently see her gracing the cover of Glamour UK magazine (a peek of which can be seen in the top photo). I've tried a few of the lipglosses from her range and have loved the quality of them!

This palette once again has not disappointed. Within it's gorgeous packaging which echoes the colour scheme of the rest of her range, you'll find 9 gorgeous Autumnal/Winter eyeshadows, a neutral lipgloss, bronzer and blush. I can't wait to experiment with the eyeshadows, particularly the cranberry shade 'Plumberry' which will be perfect for Christmas day or Christmas party make up looks. There are some lovely shimmery highlight shades as well as smokey tones to create dramatic stand out eye make up looks. I'd recommend using 'Snowflake' under the brow bone for a pop of highlight, and 'Starry Night' in the inner corner of the eye for some added shimmer to open up the eyes.

Much like the rest of her range, this palette is really affordable for the amount of products you get for £10. This palette provides a perfect variety if you want to try out the brand for the first time. Be sure to keep an eye out for this, it has already been incredibly popular! Tanya Burr Beauty is available at Feel Unique and also on the Superdrug website and selected Superdrug stores.

Lips As Red As The Rose

Colours swatched (L-R): Blake's Pure Red, Liya's delicate Rose, Eva's Nude, J-Lo's Nude, Julianne's Nude and Doutzen's Nude.

It seems as if this year I've become more interested in lip products, probably due to the surge in lip products being released by various brands in 2015. Thankfully for the beginners out there like myself, L'oreal has produced a line of 'Colour Riche Collection Exclusive' lipsticks in nudes, reds and now pinks to suit a variety of skin tones. Their campaign for this line is headed by a lineup of gorgeous celebrities including Blake Lively, JLo, Eva Longoria, Helen Mirren and Julianne Moore.

The colours are gorgeous and include tones across the spectrum, from subtler tones to bolder colours for those feeling more daring. I feel particularly lost when it comes to red lipsticks to suit my skin tone, so I chose a red with the signature of the lovely lady with the closest skin tone to my own. The reds are a matte formula, the nude colours have some shimmer to them and are slightly glossy and the pink that I picked up is also of a matte finish. The colour swatched on the far right is very light, but it looks gorgeous under the light!

I really love the black and gold packaging with each of the ladies' signatures scrawled across the front of each bullet. The packaging and quality of these lipsticks makes them look like they'd be from a higher end brand. The formula is really comfortable on the lips. For the matte shades I'd suggest exfoliating and moisturising before application to avoid a dried out, cracked lip appearance. These lipsticks are available in stores for £6.99 each. I already have my eye on a couple more shades!

That's The Spot

If you are fortunate enough to only get the occasional 'life ruiner' spot emerge on your face, I have found an incredible product for you. I used to have very bad acne across my cheeks and chin. After trying various drugstore products and prescribed lotions from my GP, I was referred to a dermatologist for some more heavy duty remedies.

Fortunately those days are over now that the spots are being kept at bay from taking Cileste. However, I do get the odd under the surface, super painful spots that threaten to break through the skin and linger around for days. Nothing I did could hide them, so I went on the hunt to find a product to combat these (little) blighters. That's when I came across the Vichy Normaderm Hyaluspot, a handy little product to whip out when a blemish emerges. It's a lovely cooling gel formula to be used as an on the spot treatment rather than an all over blemish treatment. As soon as a spot is on the horizon I whip this out, squeeze out a small amount and apply the gel directly to the spot from the tube. It's not an instant solution, but I have found that these spots disappear by the next day or in at least 2 days time which is SO much better than having those under the skin, enormous feeling spots lingering around for almost a week! At £10.50 for a tube it might seem expensive, but for a super targeting product I think it's fairly reasonable. You only need to use a small amount! This product is available in some Boots stores and on their website, or you can find it on the Feel Unique website.

Has anyone else tried any products from Vichy? If so let me know your thoughts on them!

Seasonal Foundation

As the weather starts changing I find it's necessary for me to change up my skin care routine as well as my foundation. Over the Summer I started using a powder foundation by Tarte, something I'd absolutely recommend if you want a light but buildable coverage. I'd definitely use this if I was going away to find some Winter sun!

For the Autumn I was planning on returning to one of my favourite foundations, that being the Maybelline Better Skin foundation. However, my normal shade was too dark and when I headed into Superdrug I realised I was already wearing the lightest shade available in the range. Pale skin problems! I actually love have pale skin, I do like having a bit of colour on my legs in the Summer but I am perfectly happy being naturally fair. The only issue is finding make up products light enough for my skin tone! I decided to look at what else was available for oily to combination skin in a medium/heavier coverage. After spending a couple of years in the brutally cold city of Durham, I've started getting dry skin around my forehead and eyebrows. A powder foundation is definitely not suitable for this as it would cling to any dry spots.

For the first time ever (!) I decided to pick up a foundation from Rimmel. I have quite a few eye products from the brand but I've never tried a foundation from them. I went for the Lasting Finish 25hour foundation in the shade porcelain. This one has more coverage, but there is also a lighter version available if you don't want anything too heavy. So far I'm really impressed with this product! It feels quite expensive, it's very creamy and nice to apply, which is possibly due to the 'comfort serum' in the formula. I found this SO easy to blend, I had no visible brush marks and it's very easy to create a smooth finish with it. The colour match for me is perfect and I've found myself blotting my T-zone less than I did when I used the Maybelline Better Skin foundation. A massive thumbs up from me on this one! Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 hour foundation is available for £7.99 from Boots and Superdrug.

New On The Block

"So you're starting a beauty blog, aren't there hundreds of those now?" it's true, the blogosphere is buzzing with beauty blogs. It seemed as if last year beauty bloggers really had their moment, so many British bloggers have gone on to be successful with book deals and their own beauty ranges. It may seem like beauty and health care has been thoroughly covered by bloggers.

So where do I fit in? I'm certainly not claiming to be the most knowledgeable person when it comes to make-up and body care products. Like everyone I have had my share of make up faux pas over the years. In the past couple of years I feel like I've really started to experiment more and actually enjoy using make-up. In my late teenage years I was bullied and put on over 2 stone in a month. I lost a lot of confidence and lost all enthusiasm I had for fashion. Again, I wasn't the most fashionable person but I certainly enjoyed mixing up my style and actually enjoyed shopping. Now at the age of 22 I am far less enthusiastic and often would rather stay away from the shops and the dreaded changing rooms. Over the years my love of clothes was replaced by shoes as lets face it that size isn't going to change now! And of course now I've gained confidence with make up too.

I'd never say that anyone needs to wear make up. I choose to wear make up because it gives me a bit more confidence, I like what I see staring back at me and it just helps me to stand taller. However, you will find me make up free any chance I get because giving the skin a break is pretty important. Plus, Sundays are made for comfy clothes, slicked back hair and bare faced beauty.

This blog is where I will share any beauty tips and advice I have. I'll also be reviewing products I use every day as well as any products I've picked up to try out. I will never trick people into buying products they really don't need. I love multi-use products as they save some money and make things easier! It can be so frustrating to be lured in by glossy adverts promising and claiming everything, only to find that the products fall short. So allow me to do the legwork and scour out the beauties and the beasts in the beauty world!

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Aligned In The Stars

It was only a few months ago when I came across Fleur De Force, somehow she was completely off my radar but was very much on that of every other beauty blogger. After creating a successful beauty blog and Youtube channel in her university days she has since gone on to publish a book on all things beauty with some blogging tips thrown in too. This year has been incredibly successful for her, she has launched an amazing range of false eyelashes with popular brand Eyelure. Just when we thought she couldn't do any more with this knock-out of a year, she has come out with her own line of beauty products, the dream for anyone that has a love of make-up! I quickly snapped up a few pieces from her line on the Feel Unique website. As I have a lot of neutral brown toned eyeshadows I decided to go for the purple toned quad. The colours (swatched below) are super pigmented and quite creamy rather than powdery. The quad includes three shimmery tones and one matte colour to create a beautiful eye look.

I also chose a couple of the lip glosses out of the six available from the range. I opted for a natural pink tone ('Seeing Stars') and a coral colour ('Starlight'). The colours look slightly intimidating in their tubes (!) but they come out lighter and are buildable for those who want a bolder lip look. They are super glossy but don't feel tacky or sticky on the lips and the glosses have a sweet vanilla scent, something to avoid if you don't like sweet smells or have a reaction to scented products. All of the products in the range are named after Fleur's love of all things stars and related to space.

 Swatches of the lip glosses (L-R) in colours: 'Seeing Stars' and 'Starlight'