Maybelline Makes a Move

Hello everyone! 

I’ve never really been a massive Maybelline fan, I don’t know why, I guess beyond the Dream Matte Mousse nothing really caught my eye. I thought this should be rectified, as so many of you swear by their products! 

Maybelline have had a few new releases over the last couple of months, with mixed reviews. The original Baby Lips products were a big hit, so expanding the range seemed like the obvious thing to do next. Maybelline have released some of these teeny weeny balm and cream blush combos. There are 4 colours, but if I’m honest you really don’t need them all. The differences are really really subtle! I’m not dissing the products, the balm is wonderful on the lips, it feels like a much pricier treatment and does have some serious staying power for moisture, but the pigmentation is low. As a blush I’m not too much of a fan, it doesn’t last well. However, in the summer it will really come into it’s own, it is the perfect easy application of blush and balm on the move, ideal for a touch up post swim or beach day! I have the 01 Innocent Peach shade, the smell of peaches is really lovely and refreshing. 

Another new release is their Dream Blender aimed at easing the application of Dream Matte Mousse. Because I like to be a rebel I use mine to apply concealer instead of foundation. Yeah it does look a bit weird, it kind of reminds me of a temple in it’s shape, however, I quite like the handle. With the traditional blenders your fingers actually touch what you will be using to smooth in your foundation, and you end up with it everywhere! This way your fingers stay nice and clean. The shape of this is ideal for concealer as it has such a fine point you can be super precise, especially when smoothing over those pesky dark under-eye circles! 

My final Maybelline product is a concealer. I feel like the Super Stay 24hour concealer is a  bit of a cult product and I’m late to jump on the bandwagon yet again. I haven’t ever really been one of those people who holds much faith in concealer…I always thought it was a bit of wishful thinking. I have always preferred balancing with green tones and well-placed highlighters. However, I do like the concealer for under my eyes, it does help make me look more awake and alert, but for spots I’m not too sure. In case you were wondering I went for shade 2 light. It can dry out and leave you flaky, so I think I’ll try a different one for spots next time! 

Anyone have any good concealer suggestions? Or if you would like me to review a particular product let me know in the comments below :-) 

xoxo 

Chasing Away Chapped Lips

Hello everyone,

Whose life is a constant battle against chapped lips from November to April? Mine certainly is, I am so sensitive to the cold. I always delve deep into the realms of lip care at this time of year. I’m sure you were all getting sick of me commenting on this in various posts, so I thought I’d give it it’s very own post and be done with it. 

There is a plethora of lip comfort products out there, some work, some don’t and some just taste so good that they would work if you didn’t lick them off every 5 seconds! Here is my little guide to products that work for me and which are my top rated. 

First off let’s do the balms. I am a sucker for tinted lip balm and I have yet to find one as creamy as the Benefit Benebalm. I like to use the traditional red colour, but they have a whole set ranging from a rosy nude to a deep coral, something for everyone and all that. For me this is a routine buy every autumn. One which my Mam swears by and really got me into is the Clinique range of chubby lipsticks. I am using the colour Whoppin’ Watermelon at the minute, but to be honest I like all of them and buy a different colour every time. They don’t taste amazing, it’s just a standard lipstick flavour, but they do have brilliant colour pay off and feel very soothing on the lips. No matter how much I love the colour, there is a downside, it doesn't last very long and I find myself reapplying multiple times in the day, not ideal! For something more recent, Lush just brought out the gloss The Kiss in their Valentines Day range. I would class this as a balm rather than a gloss as it is quite faint in terms of colour and isn’t really a gloss texture. It feels quite grainy when you first apply it, but the balls soon melt into your lips as they warm up and it does taste amazing! This is one of the ones that gets licked off a lot...

Let's talk Oils and glosses. I chose my three top favourites for this one! I am deeply in love with the Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort products. I have the oil in 02 Raspberry (mmmm so yummy!) and the Eclat Minute natural lip perfecter in 01. These two are actually my top rated of all the products in this post, they are so soft and moisturising. Even though one is a gloss and one is an oil they feel very similar, but don't be alarmed they do have their differences. The Eclat Minute is more moisturising and the oil gives you instant protection from the elements. A good product to have by your bed is the L'Occitane shea butter lip balm, it has hardly any fragrance or flavour which is ideal to apply just before bed. It is quite sticky and feels very vaseline-like! It does have some serious moisturising effect though. 

Finally, those dreaded dip your fingers and get very sticky type products. Oh my God I used to hate these, all I could think of were the dirty fingers dipping in and out of the pots. Actually, even now I still always wash my hands before I use them, but some products are worth it. I love the Nivea Vanilla and Macadamia balm, it smells so tasty! It's quite a staple product and most people know and love it, but hey it's one of my favs so it's in the post. I adore this red balm by Lou Lesage, the colour I have is called Loved and that is how I feel about this. I love to rock a classic red lip, but I worry about using lipsticks that will dry out my lips. This is the perfect compromise, the colour pay off is lovely to wear by itself or to add over the top of a lipstick to give a little moisture if you really need that deep pop of colour. This product is a win win in my mind! 

I hope this has helped you find inspiration to make your lips feel the love! What is your top pick for lip care? Let me know in the comments below :-) 

xoxo

Luscious Valentines

Hello everyone, 

With Valentines Day on the approach shops have been amping up the publicity by releasing their Valentines Day collections. This means there is a sea of pink, purple and red colours with heart motifs agogo in town! Now I love Valentines Day as much as the next girl and love any excuse for romance and spoiling my man, or being spoilt by him… 

Lush always have exciting collections and I’m sure you all know how I feel about their fantastic moral stance. Their collection this year is particularly thrilling, come on, it features unicorns!! 

The Unicorn Horn bubble bar was so incredibly exciting when I spotted it, I couldn’t wait for Valentine’s day to use it. It is beautifully crafted like a pole on a merry go round. The swirls of pink, yellow and blue can’t help but put you in mind a carnival. Once crumbled it creates a lovely pale pink bath with myriad sparkly bubbles, bliss! The scent is delicate, but stays on your skin after bathing. The ylang ylang is particularly rejuvenating and after a long day on your feet makes you feel relaxed and ready for the next day. The only little downside, which I think is fab, but is less fab for poor Mr.Gingersnap is that it leaves you rather glittery…to the amusement of his friends! 

The Love Lamp bath bomb is quite unusual as it has small red hearts secreted inside it which come out at the product dissipates in the bath. It has the most gorgeous scent of chocolate orange, vanilla and orange oil, overall a very pleasant citrus scent. I haven’t tried this yet, as I’m saving it for the actual day, but it looks and smells fantastic. Perfect for pre-date pampering or a romantic date for two. 

I love the way the shower gel is called Prince Charming! Looking at I expected it to be a more rose or sweet scented product, but it actually smells of pomegranate, one of my favourite fruits. If you are worried about the grapefruit being overpowering, don’t be, it simply adds a more refreshing tang to the vanilla, cocoa and pomegranate combo. It is also fluorescent pink when on your skin, but do not fear it washes off a treat and smells heavenly! 

The Kiss lip gloss was what I was most excited about as my lips have been suffering so much with the winter. It is a lovely pastel pink colour and leaves an iridescent sheen on the lips. It’s not as smooth as I expected and is quite grainy until it melts on your lips a bit more. I was a little disappointed that it is more of a tinted balm than an actual gloss. However, it tastes really yummy, you definitely get the khalari melon and jojoba favour. 

Last, but not least is the Rose All The Way soap. It lathers up wonderfully and leaves your hands super silky. The scent is quite faint with just a hint of rose oil and syrup, which is perfect if you don’t want an overpowering blast of scent every time you wash your hands. 

There are two more Valentine’s products coming out and one that I didn’t try. I chose not to try the Kiss lip scrub as my lips are quite sensitive at the minute, but I think it would really help anyone with dry skin. There is a 1000 kisses perfume and a Lovebirds soap being made at this very moment, I think they come out on the 8th ad 5th of February :-) 

Are you guys excited about this year’s collections? Have any other products caught your eye? Let me know in the comments below :-) 

xoxo

January Favourites

Hello everyone, 

It’s the end of another month and I honestly cannot tell you where it has flown away to! People always say that January drags by and is a very blue month, I could not disagree more, this month is always super busy for me. As I have mentioned in a couple of my previous posts January can also be very exciting on the new releases front too. 

This is my first ever monthly favourites post so I was kind of nervous about what to put in it, but then I thought to myself “Hatts you are being ridiculous”. I’m just going to go with the flow and share the things I have been enjoying most over this cold and rainy January. 

Let’s start off with the beauty products. In my previous post I told y’all about the YSL gypsy opale palette so I’m not going to repeat all that, but it has definitely been one of my favourites. Since I started using it I have received so many compliments on my healthy, glowing skin. However, I don’t think those compliments have been aimed at my lips, let’s just say my lips and the harsh winter wind are not good bed fellows. This month I have been all about the lip comfort and have been really loving all things soft and moisture. My top products for lips have been the Clarins instant light lip comfort oil and my trusty Clinique chubby stick in 06 woppin' watermelon. Between the two of them, these products have been saving my lips from being a horrible chapped mess! I want to add a quick big up to my Urban Decay Naked 3 palette too for giving me some added colour and light. For a full review check out my post here. 

For general life and joy I have been loving my Sanctuary white lily and damask rose body wash, it is gorgeous and gives such a lovely hint of spring to my skin in the morning. I haven’t had much experience with Sanctuary products and I am excited to try out some of their other fragrances, so stay tuned! Macaroons have been a big feature this month as I have been gobbling them down like they’re going out of fashion. They are one of the many things I miss about no longer living in France, there is nothing like going to your local bakery in the morning to buy some fresh baked macaroons. I have been having to resort to supermarket ones here *sigh*. 

And last, but not least, to keep away the revision blues I have been treating myself to the occasional episode of 90210 on Netflix. I haven’t watched this since it first came out and I still love it just as much now! The Annie, Adrianna, Naomi and Silver drama is the perfect distraction and relaxation after a long revision day. To add a boost of colour to my kitchen I have also been loving fresh flowers, it is almost daffodil season after all! 

What have you been loving this month? Let me know in the comments below :-) 

xoxo

Limited Edition Goodies

Hello everyone, 

Recently I have been mildly obsessed (massive understatement) with all the new releases this month! I always think January is very exciting for beauty products as so many companies bring out their spring collections and new products for the new year…just in time for the next student loan instalment…not so good for my bank account honestly. 

The product I was most excited by is the YSL Gypsy Opale face palette. Wow oh wow is this palette gorgeous, pretty much as soon as it came out online I had to order one, luckily I had some money from babysitting so could justify the rather expensive £42.50! It came super fast in the post and the packaging is gorgeous. There is a standard gold YSL cardboard box with instructions/warnings etc. Inside is a small, black velvet pouch embossed with the YSL logo, very decadent looking I must say. 

How beautiful is this!?!

The slim gold palette has a marbled pink - fruschia cover and inside the marbled effect is continued. The different colours are laid out in wavy strips with more space being taken up by the blush and highlight, which is fab because they will be used the most! 

There are 4 “colours” - green, purple, pink and cream aimed to cover all the different requirements for “doing your face”. The green is best swept over areas of redness on your face, maybe where you have a bit of blemish or under the cheekbones in areas of rosacia. The purple is used as an anti-dullness colour and you can put it anywhere that you think your skin isn’t looking at it’s best. I like to sweep some under my cheekbones, down the creases beside my nose and across my forehead towards my hairline. The blush is a beautiful glossy colour, similar to the dandelion blush by Benefit. It is a sort of baby pink with a hint of sparkle, perfect for the rapidly approaching spring season. Finally, onto the highlighter, it is a rich toned cream that will suit all skin tones. It has quite a lot of dazzle to it so can be used sparingly to great effect. I find that it really lights up my complexion when swept under my eyes, down the very top of my cheekbones and over my brow bones. 

I have definitely fallen in love with this palette. I have taken to using it after I have put on my foundation and powder. However, the beauty of this palette is that it can be all you need, if you are in a hurry, or are going for a very light makeup look you can swirl all the colours together and dust them over your face for a natural, sunny style! My only niggle is that with the way I apply it, I require several different brushes, the initial application isn’t an on the move operation, but I do love having it in my makeup bag to quickly touch up my complexion over a long day. 

Another product I am excited about this month is less of a new release, but is also limited edition. It is the Clarins instant light lip comfort oil in 02 raspberry. As far as I know the original 01 honey flavour isn’t limited edition, thankfully, this product is a god send for my poor chapped lips. If you are like me and suffer from damaged and sore lips over the winter months then this is definitely for you! At £18 it is very affordable and a small amount goes a long way. I originally went into John Lewis in search of the honey oil, having heard nothing but rave reviews I thought it was a must try, but the raspberry had such a lovely scent I couldn’t resist. It has quite a strong scent, however, once on the lips the flavour is very subtle and I can instantly feel its nourishing powers. I have found myself reaching for it 3 or 4 times each day, the wide doe sponge applicator makes it so easy to apply on the go and isn't harsh on my lips. 

I have always been a lover of Clarins so it came as no surprise that I adore it, but I had never tried YSL before and was blown away by this palette. Sadly their other limited edition products include a luminous green mascara and an eyeshadow palette with more beautiful packaging than product…bit of a let down after the excitement of the gypsy opale! 

Have you guys tried any of these or do you have something better in your makeup arsenal? Let me know in the comments below :-) 

xoxo

Go To Autumn Lipsticks

Now that the autumn is officially here I can crack out my favourite autumnal lipsticks. Although it is sad that I am putting away my summer pinky nudes and corals, I am really excited for the berry tones and bold reds! 

My two favourite colours for autumn are red and purple, though I tend to lean more towards red at the end of autumn closer to the Christmas season. 

I adore this deep purple berry tone from Mac in satin Media A24, it is quite a matte colour and has fantastic colour payoff and staying power. If I put this on in the morning it will still be there in the evening no matter what I drink or eat, it only fades to a lighter purple, which I actually quite like. The only slight issue I have with this is that I won’t wear it everyday as it dries out my lips quite a bit, but that could just be because I am prone to dry lips this time of year…

Which is all the more reason to whip out the tinted lip balm! Benebalm is my go to for this time of year, it leaves a lovely glossy sheen to the lips and a faint red tint, it is less intense than the original Bene Tint from Benefit, but I love it for a day time look in the autumn. It is a great muted colour for university and leaves my lips soft and smooth. 

I have another favourite from Benefit and this is this wonderful Nice Knickers plum lipstick from an old range of theirs. I use this one sparingly as it is a discontinued line! Which is such a shame because it is a fabulously creamy lipstick with amazing colour payoff, however, it doesn’t have the best staying power from the creaminess. 

For reds I have two favourites for autumn and those are more from high street brands. The first is this lovely post box red from the Rimmel Kate Moss collection for Comic Relief in Red Nose Red 01. I picked this up last winter and I absolutely love it. The staying power isn’t as good, but the colour is so rich and deep that it makes up for it! 

The second is another red, but less deep and more vibrant than the Rimmel one. This one is L’Oreal color riche 297 in Red Passion and I actually prefer to apply it lightly with my finger, it gives a more relaxed feel to the red lipped classic look. I love to pair my red lipsticks with a tartan scarf, jeans, black suede boots and leather jacket. 

What are your favourite autumn lipsticks? Let me know in the comments below! 

xoxo