#SBBC Day 12 | 17 Mirror Shine Lipsticks Review

I love to have some slightly sheerer and more glossier lipsticks in my collection, for the days when I just want a wash of colour, or for Sixth Form, because we are allowed to wear subtle makeup, and these lipsticks by 17 are perfect.

I have these in 2 shades 'Belle' & 'Beehive' . Belle on the right is a slightly deeper red colour, and I love this because my lips are naturally quite a scarlet colour so this really enhances my lip colour and adds more of a glossy effect to my lips. Beehive is also wonderful because it is great if, like me, you are not brave enough to wear a full on nude lipstick and just want something that is heading more to the nude side of the spectrum but is still very wearable.

The only slight issue I have with these lipsticks is that they melt so easily! Because they are more like a glossy lip balm you have to be very careful not to leave these anywhere near the sun because they will melt! You may be able to see that Belle in particular, is looking a little worse for wear.

Overall though for the £4.79 they retail for, they are very good value! They have now updated their packaging and they now come in a very sleek black tube, with a mirror that you can pull out that would be handy for on the go. It also looks like they have a few new shades which is great so I will definitely be picking up a few of the new ones.

Thanks for reading,

Do you like these?

#SBBC Day 11 | Bourjois Cream Blush Review

 When these first came out I didn't rush out to get them, entirely because at £7.99 I thought they were a bit expensive, and I didn't have much money at the time! Although I was lucky enough to win 2 shades in Kelsey Kate's giveaway : Healthy Glow & Rose Tender. And they are gorgeous.

They come in a little round compact that closes with a magnet, which is really cute and means that they are easier to open and close, and you don't have to faff around every time you want to use them.

Healthy Glow is a peach colour and looks perfect with a tan.It is a kind of apricot colour and I think it is gorgeous!

Next is Rose Tender, a deep rose colour which is perfect for wearing every day!

And here are the swatches.

These blushes have a gorgeous texture. They are smooth and creamy, but not at all greasy or oily and they blend so easily. They dry to a kind of powder finish, but it is more of a satin finish rather than matte, and looks very natural giving you a glow. You can build these up as much as you like, you can wear them sheer or very pigmented. I apply mine with my fingers and then blend using my Real Techniques Stippling Brush.

Just for a size comparison, here is the blush in comparison to my hand. 

I think that even though you don't get a huge amount of product, you only need a little bit and I think they will last a long time. Also the product is gorgeous, the texture, the colour, the fact it doesn't crease and its longevity. Even on my oily skin, with a primer, this stays on all day which is great, I definitely recommend these!

Thanks for reading

Do you think these are worth the hype?

#SBBC Day 10 | Beauty Pet Peeves

I am back to the normal schedule for #SBBC today and today's post is beauty pet peeves! I thought this would be a great post and I know that I will enjoy reading other people's posts to see what their beauty pet peeves are!

So onto my pet peeves:

• When a brand does "One Shade Fits All", they are always way too dark and go so orange!(I am looking at you L'Oreal Nude Magique, and a few others *cough* Helen E *cough*).
• People who wear 6 inches of foundation on their face, it is totally unnecessary and most of the time it makes them look way worse than before. I understand some people have things they want to cover up on their face, but by wearing this much makeup it only draws more attention to their face.
• FOUNDATION LINES. I am sorry, but no, wearing a foundation way to dark for you does not make you look tanned, it makes you look like an Oompa Lumpa, so unless that is the look you're going for, please don't!
• Not blended eyeshadow. When someone is wearing 2 or 3 shades of eyeshadow and there is a line between the two where they haven't blended, it is not a good look at all. 
• And finally, last but not least, spider lashes. I cannot stand it when people have really clumpy lashes, or fake eyelashes that are way too long for them, it really isn't a great look at all.

So those are my beauty pet peeves, what are yours? I really want to hear some of your beauty pet peeves!

Thanks for reading

Make sure you leave your pet peeves!

#SBBC Day 9 | Beauty Haul

Today I have a mini beauty haul, No7 was on 3 for 2 (skincare) and I needed to restock on my favourite cleanser and moisturiser so I thought it was the perfect time to do so! I also have included some fantastic giveaway prizes I won last week from the lovely Michelle over at Thou Shalt Not Covet.

So first up is my favourite moisturiser, No7 Beautiful Skin Day Cream for Normal/Oily Skin. I love this moisturiser because it hydrates my oily combination skin without making it shiny or greasy and is lovely and lightweight. I am nearly out of this so I repurchased it for £12.50. 

Next up on the 3 for 2 offer I picked up 2 bottles of my favourite cleanser. This is the only cleanser that I have ever repurchased, would you believe it? I have never repurchased a cleanser before but these 2 bottles will make up my 3rd and 4th repurchase! My skin absolutely loves this stuff and nothing else works for it, darn you skin for having expensive taste! This stuff is £9 a bottle.

Next is this gorgeous necklace from Zoe Jewel that I won in Michelle's giveaway, this is a gorgeous 'lava rock' necklace and I think that this would look so cute with loads of outfits! In the top picture this looks kind of blue, but it isn't, it is a dark slate grey colour.

And finally this MAC RiRi Bronzer/Blusher in 'Hibiscus Kiss'.  I am so happy to have won this in Michelle's giveaway! MAC is a brand that I absolutely love, but I have never tried one of their bronzers or blush, so I am very excited to try this. I am also super happy to have a limited edition product! Although it does mean if I love it I can't repurchase it :( It has it's positives and negatives!

Thankyou very much to the lovely Michelle for my beautiful giveaway prizes, I love them!

Thanks for reading,

#SBBC Day 8 | The Autumn Tag

This tag was created by Georgina from http://www.makeup-pixi3.com

I love Autumn, it is not too hot or too cold, and I love being able to wear onesies and snuggling up in Jumpers again. I also think everything is so pretty in Autumn with all the trees changing colour and everything. So I saw this tag circulating around and decided to do it for #SBBC Day 8 because I still haven't quite found the haircare routine for me yet as I am always changing products, so I thought I would write about something different today.

For Autumn, what is your...

Favourite thing about it?

Definitely cuddling up in a onesie/jumpers and reading a magazine with a hot drink in bed! I just love the colder months.

Favourite drink?

This is a hard one, but probably a ginger bread latte or hot chocolate, it's a hard one to pick between!

Favourite scent/candle?

My favourite scent for Autumn would be any one of the Yankee Candle Autumn scents really, I think they always come up with some good ones. But I especially love cinnamon candles in Autumn, and I would love to be able to try the B&BW candle in Leaves.

Best Lipstick?

My Revlon lipstick in 'Blushing Mauve' It is a sort of berry red raspberry colour and it looks perfect in Autumn because it blends in with the general colour scheme of the month, I also love MAC's 'Fanfare' in Autumn.

Go to Moisturiser?

I love the No7 Beautiful Skin moisturiser for Normal/Oily skin because it doesn't make my shiny or break out, but it gives me a good amount of moisture.

Go to colours for the eyes?

Deeper bronzes and browns, I am a massive fan of a neutral smokey eye in Autumn!

Favourite music or band/singer to listen to?

Ah this is really hard, I love so many bands and singers at the moment and I don't really have a specific band or singer that I go back to specifically for Autumn, although at the moment I have been loving John Newman and Tom Odell.

Favourite outfit to wear?

I love wearing leggings or skinny jeans, with my Uggs a slightly thinner jumper and a cable knit cardigan, so cosy and comfy!

Autumn treat?

I am going to treat myself to a Yankee Candle and some nice new boots, although I need to save again first as I have had a few too many clothing hauls recently.

Favourite place to be?

Inside! It is too cold for me to be outside, I love to be curled up in my bed or relaxing on the sofa with a book, and if it is cold enough a fire. I love fires, for some reason they just make me feel super relaxed and cosy.

Thankyou Georgina for this tag, it is a really lovely one!

I tag:

Marie-Louise

Becky

Linsay

#SBBC Day 7 || August Haircare Favourites

Hi Everyone! And welcome to the final instalment of my August Favourites : Haircare! So this month I have found some great hair products which have been working really well for me and my frizzy locks. So I recently got my hair chopped off into a shorter style for summer and I have been straightening it a lot more and these products have worked so well for me!

First up, my shampoo and conditioner. Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends, this smells gorgeous! Just like raspberries and it makes my hair feel very soft and smooth which I love. It also does a good job of keeping my hair oil free without being too drying.

Next are my two leave in conditioners, the Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends Split End Protection Cream(woah that was a mouthful!) and the Aussie Miracle Hair Insurance. My hair cannot go without these two products, the days I forget to use them it is as if someone has swapped my hair for straw! I definitely recommend both of these products, they are fantastic!

Next I have the Lee Stafford 'I Hate My Hair the Day It's Washed' which aims to Defluff, defrizz and deflyaway, which is literally everything I need! This is a solution spray that you spritz through your damp locks and it calms your frizz etc. down, and this makes my hair so much smoother and more manageable.

Then another Lee Stafford product, the Climate Control Serum, this again is great for defrizzing your hair and calming it down, whilst also protecting your hair from humidity that causes it to frizz up.

And the John Frieda Full Repair Deep Infusion* which is an oil for dry hair and this adds so much moisture to my hair, smooths it down and makes it look so much more shiny, I absolutely love it. 

This mask has been my savour this month! My hair was feeling awful from being on holiday and out in the sun all day and also straightening it a little more often than usual, but as soon as I put this on my hair my hair felt all lovely and silky again. This is basically a treatment which you put on for 5 minutes before applying your conditioner. It also has heat protectant in it which is awesome, although I always add my heat protectant aswell just for extra protection!

Last but not least, my TRESemme Keratin Smooth heat protectant which is my favourite heat protectant ever because it smooths my hair and makes it look so shiny! I wouldn't be without this, so if you're looking for a good heat protectant then I would definitely recommend this one.

Thanks for Reading,

What have been your haircare favourites this month?

Staple Items | #SBBC Day 6

I think that today's topic for #SBBC is a really good one. It is about staples that perhaps you wouldn't normally talk about or mention, so I decided to talk about cotton wool. Most of us use this every day and I have had a fair few experiences with awful cotton wool that just falls apart. (not just me?) So I decided to share my favourite with you!

They are these large square cotton pads from the baby section in Tesco. I love how large they are because it makes taking off your makeup so much easier, and instead of using loads of little cotton wool pads, you only need 1 of these if you use both sides, or maybe 2 depending on how much makeup you are wearing.

The great thing about these cotton pads are they are very thick and they don't just disintegrate, they stay held together for the whole makeup removal. They are also fantastic for removing nail polish because they don't fall apart and they are much stronger and better at removing glitter polish too.

You get 50 of these for £1.73 and they will last you ages because you only need to use one because of how good quality they are. You can buy them here

Fave & Fail Makeup Removers | #SBBC Day Five

Today's #SBBC topic is Faves and Fails Makeup Removers, but I decided to make this singular and talk about my favourite and least favourite way of removing makeup.

So my fail are baby wipes! I will only use these to remove makeup if I absolutely have to because they really don't remove your makeup! It is crazy because before getting into makeup remover I used to use baby wipes all the time, and because I could see makeup coming off onto the wipe I assumed it was taking off all my makeup, however, when I bought my Bioderma and saw just how much more was coming off and I have never looked back!

So following on from the fail is my fave! I love my Bioderma, I think this is the best makeup remover I have ever tried because it does a fantastic job at taking off all my makeup. I have not yet tried the L'Oreal alternative so when I finish my second bottle of this stuff I will try that, however although Bioderma is expensive it lasts ages. I bought 2 bottles of this in France and one bottle lasted me just short of a year(maybe about 8/9 months?), and I use this every day, so really it is fantastic value for money and it does the job.

Thanks for reading,

What are your makeup faves and fails?

Favourite Handcream | #SBBC Day Four

Today's topic for #SBBC is Favourite Handcream and I knew I would have to pick Soap & Glory's Hand Food. I am a bit of a hand cream addict and recently had to give away more than I care to count bottles of handcream because I realised I had way to many! But out of all the hand creams I have tried this has been a firm favourite of mine and I have continued to repurchase it again and again. I love to stock up on this at Christmas when they sell the bigger bottles with the pump dispensers because they are great value for money and last ages!

This stuff smells so lovely as does the rest of the Soap & Glory range and it does such a good job! I don't find this very greasy at all and it sinks into your hands pretty quickly. This also makes my hands feel so smooth and moisturised and I wouldn't be without it. My Gran suffers from really bad cracked skin on her hands and I bought her a bottle of this last Christmas and she swears by it, so I would definitely recommend this if you have very dry skin!

Thanks for reading,

What is your favourite handcream?

August Favourites 2013 || Skincare

Hello Everybody!

I am now doing my second installment of August favourites: Skincare! I love skincare and I think that a good skincare routine is a must if you want your makeup to look the best it possibly can. Anyone agree with me?

First up, the LUSH Eau Roma Toning water, this stuff is fantastic for calming redness in the skin and has really helped to even out my skintone. I also love this because it is really refreshing to spritz this over your face morning and evening.

Next is my all time favourite cleanser, my No7 Beautiful Skin cleanser! I don't think I have ever repurchased a cleanser because they always stop working for me, or I just didn't like them enough, but this is my 3rd bottle of the stuff, it always keeps my skin under control and keeps it looking fresh!

Next is the day cream to accompany the cleanser. This is fantastic if you have combination/oily skin like myself because it is nice and lightweight but really moisturises your skin without making it feel greasy or look shiny. This also has SPF15 in which is great, and you can purchase it with any £5 off No7 vouchers you have!

Next is my Baby Lips lipbalm which I picked up in Singapore, which is why the packaging and product is slightly different, I absolutely love this, and when my £10 voucher for Boots from Valued Opinions come, I will definitely be buying some of these!

I received this in a Glamour Magazine I believe, a little while ago, and I love it! This really hydrates under my eyes as I find that sometimes my under eyes can get really dry and I also feel like it has made the skin under my eyes much brighter!

This face brush from No7 is fantastic! I got this for my birthday and I don't know why I haven't reviewed this because I honestly wouldn't be without it! The great thing about this brush is it deeps cleanses, removes makeup fantastically and it makes your skin super smooth and even in skin tone!

Last but certainly not least, one of my favourite products this month. This body lotion has been my saviour this month, it helped with my sunburn on holiday and helped keep my skin super moisturised in the heat and is helping to prolong my tan too! This stuff smells amazing and sinks in super quick too, I absolutely love it!

Thanks for reading,

What have been your skincare favourites this month?

Cosmetics in my Hand Luggage | #SBBC Day Three

Hello and welcome to #SBBC Day Three! Today is what you take with you when you're travelling, so I decided to show you a few essentials that I take cosmetic wise, I don't take much but I take a few bits I can't be without on the plane.

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First up, hairbands! I always have these with me incase my hair is annoying me and I want to tie it up, or for when I arrive wherever I am going if it is too hot I can tie my hair up straight away.

Next is lipbalm, my lips always dry out really badly on the plane so I think I would die without lip balm to add some moisture back to them!

Along the same lines as lip balm I have eye cream, the skin around my eyes goes so dry and horrible on a plane and so I have to apply eye cream or else I get really itchy sore eyes.

I always carry Anti-bac with me because I like to use it before the plane meals and to freshen up a little bit, or if I spill a drink on me etc. it saves getting up to go to the toilets.

I also take a body moisturiser because my skin gets very dry on the plane and it makes me feel very uncomfortable, this also helps to freshen me up a bit when I have been on a very long flight.

I like to take a concealer because I don't know if it is just me that this happens to, but being on a plane I always tend to get a few breakouts, I think it is because of the air and how it is kind of unclean, so I like to take concealer with me! It is also useful for covering under eye bags when I am feeling like a zombie the other side.

I can never sleep on a plane and I get quite uncomfortable so I like to take a sleep balm to calm myself down a bit and to try and help me get a few winks of sleep.

Last but not least, deodorant, to freshen up on the plane, I hate going for a day without a shower!

So those are my travel, carry on essentials, what are yours? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!

Thanks for reading