Beauty | High End Makeup for Beginners

Have you ever wondered how life would've been if someone had given you a helping hand into the beauty world when you were a teenager? I have many days where I look back over old Facebook pictures and think to myself 'what the hell were you thinking?'. I struggled with getting to grips with the art of subtlety when it came to applying makeup for school and definitely had some difficulties with knowing what to buy. Liquid glittery eyeshadow sticks, thick black 'skunk' eyeliner and Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse 3 shades two dark for my skin are just three examples of my teenage makeup collection. These are also examples of where I could have done with so much help. After thinking this and also having a couple of people at work asking about what makeup is best to start off with, I've decided to do a 2-part series on 'Makeup for Beginners'. This post is all about High End makeup and my favourite high end staples that I think would be perfect for a beginner's makeup bag!

Giorgio Armani Fluid Master Primer | £35 | Link

Primer is something that I believe every girl should have within their makeup collection. For years I managed without primers but after trying them now, I think that they are such a staple. I've tried many since stumbling across them originally and now have a couple of favourites that I like to switch between every now and again. My all time favourite is most definitely the Fluid Master Primer from Giorgio Armani. I love the clear formula and the gel texture and have really seen a difference to the longevity of my foundations when I use this. For £35 it's up there with the high-end prices, but I think it's really worth the money and does last a long time.

Benefit Boiing Industrial Strength Concealer | £17.50 | Link

A lot of you may know that Benefit is one of my all time fave premium beauty brands. I own a lot of their products and adore 90% of them, one of those right at the top of my list is their Boiing 'industrial strength' concealer. I use shade 01 and like to apply this with a flat foundation brush to brush it over my problem areas - I only use this when I need to and not as an everyday staple but I think that this concealer would be the perfect one for somebody starting out. It's 'Industrial strength' label may be a little out there, but it does do a great job and has the staying power to rival such a name!

Clarins Everlasting Foundation+ | £27.50 | Link*

I've written a review on this foundation previously here; I absolutely love this foundation and even though I'm not a huge liquid foundation lover anymore, I know that a lot of people are and it's what a lot of people look for. This foundation is my favourite on the high-end spectrum; the formulation is gorgeous and the dewy finish to this look is brilliant. It's a really light weight foundation and I think this would be perfect for any first time makeup user.

Benefit Brow Zings | £24.50 | Link

Brows, Brows, Brows! I absolutely love working with my brows and really do think that they make my face. Now this product isn't necessarily a necessity in your start-up kit, but to me, it's one of the important ones. Brow Zings to me is my holy-grail brow product, I've tried lots in the past and still always find myself going back to my trusty Brow Zings. To me, this is the perfect brow kit and I love how the wax tints and sets the brows (sometimes this can be enough for me) and I also really like the powder colour too. The kit comes with a mini pair of tweezers, (which are really good) and also a mini angled brush and powder brush. The kit is compact and perfect for travel and has so far lasted me just over a year and it's still going! Definitely one to pick up!

Clarins Instant light Eye Perfecting Base | £22 | Link*

This product is a favourite of mine! I had only ever tried samples of eye primer before and never really thought much of it, but then again like with a normal foundation base primer, I have seen definite differences since using it. I think that an eye primer is a great purchase if you're going to be using more expensive eye-shadows as it does make a noticeable difference with the longevity and lasting power of your eyeshadow. This Clarins Eye Perfecting Base is my go-to and even though it's only 10ml lasts absolutely ages!

NARS Laguna Bronzing Powder | £27.50 | Link

This is a bronzer that had been on my wish list for a very long time and when I was given this for Christmas this year it took pride of place in my makeup collection. NARS Laguna is the perfect bronzer for me; I really love the shade of this bronzer and how well pigmented it it. It's really easy to apply and easy to build, rather than it being over-whelming from the get go. NARS is a brand that I love and trust and their powder formulas really are amazing. This would be a great bronzer for a first makeup collection.

Benefit Dandelion Blusher | £23.50 | Link

If I'm honest, blusher isn't always something that I reach for when applying my makeup of a morning. I have a natural pinky flush to my cheeks and as I usually use a powder foundation, my natural blush comes through easily and so there isn't really a need for me to apply anything else. However, when I do apply a blusher on top of a liquid foundation, Benefit box'o'blush's are my go-to and Dandelion is my favourite as it's a beautiful pale pink which is lovely for a fresh, natural look.

Benefit High Beam Highlighter | £19.50 | Link

Highlighters are very important to me and I think that using a high lighter is a great step within a makeup look. I love to apply this to my cheek bones, my forehead and also my nose and chin, I think it gives a lovely natural glow and really sets off the face. I've tried many highlighting products from powders to creams and liquids like this, but this one has been my favourite from the start and has continued to be my daily highlight product.

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette | £38 | Link

Naked palettes have had a massive hype around them since day one, they've had a lot of mixed reviews but over-all they're a cult beauty product and absolutely my favourites. The Naked 3 palette is a gorgeous rose gold and pinky palette that has 12 shades from a neutral beige, to a light shimmery pink, to a rose gold, to deep purpley-browns. I am in love with this palette and it is my favourite from the 3 in the UD collection. The Naked 3 is a perfect combination palette if you're starting out, it's got a lovely array of colours and shades for multiple looks and with such pigmented shades it's a great start out palette.

Bobbi Brown No Smudge Mascara | £19.50 | Link

Mascaras are an absolute in my makeup routine, I really cannot go without putting on a little Mascara  even if I'm not wearing a lot of makeup. I've tried a lot of mascaras and I've loved quite a few and I've hated quite a lot. I can be really fussy when it comes to Mascaras because it's something that I'm putting near my eyes, this Bobbi Brown Mascara is one of my favourites and like many of the other products in this post, it's one that I have kept going back to. There are a lot of other that I like and would recommend, but I just love how this one catches every lash as you brush and elongates it, making your lashes look bigger and fuller.

Charlotte Tilbury Sexy Sienna Matte Revolution Lipstick | £23 | Link

Once again I have recently reviewed this lipstick here, it's one that I picked up a couple of weeks ago when in London and I've absolutely fallen in love with it. I think that every girl should have a matte neutral lipstick in their collection and although I have quite a few of them, this is my favourite high-end one. Charlotte Tilbury is a well known makeup artist within the beauty industry and her highly coveted makeup range has made a massive splash in the market. I can't wait to try more of her products, but for now, I am in love with this Lipstick!

I've really enjoyed putting this post together and hope that it might help some of you - even if it's not for a makeup newbie, but for one of you wanting to try some new products? I understand that not everyone starting out with makeup may be able to afford all of these products, but don't worry, this is just a high-end list and I will be posting a 'drugstore', affordable starters guide too! I hope you enjoy! Let me know if you have any additions to this stash or if you'd change anything!

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Beauty | Alien Eau Extraordinaire Gold Shimmer Limited Edition*

I think when it comes to perfumes and fragrances you can say that I am an obsessive. I currently have 14 fragrances dotted around my bedroom that I use on a weekly basis and a couple more hidden away that I don't use as often and I think anybody would say that that is crazy amounts. Of course, addictions like this aren't really helped when you open your latest PR delivery and find out that it's a gorgeous bottle of  the latest Theirry Mugler perfume - someone really knows how to spoil a girl! The  newest addition to the 'Alien' fragrance range by Theirry Mugler is the Gold Shimmer Limited Edition, Alien Eau Extraordinaire*. Now can we please just take time out a second to look at this bottle and appreciate how beautiful this perfume really is? I mean come on, is this not just a girls dream in a bottle? As always the packaging of TM's latest product is top notch, with a super sleek moulded glass bottle and gold accents it really stands out on my dresser as the prettiest bottle by far! Especially with this gorgeous liquid on the inside - they've definitely got it right here with the gold shimmer. I'm not even kidding you, this perfume looks as cool in real life as it does in the photo above, it looks almost holographic which definitely fits the Alien vibes. 

As for the scent itself I actually really love it. I don't think I've ever tried this scent before, but I know that when I first got a taster of Angel (another scent in Theirry Mugler's range) I wasn't that much of a fan. This Gold Shimmer limited edition adds scents of Honey from the Tiare Flower and orange blossom to the original Alien scent, creating this musky floral perfume that is perfect for any woman and I adore it. As I've mentioned many times before, I'm pretty crappy as describing fragrances, but you'll just have to trust me on this one when I say that this smells pretty darn good. You can definitely pick out the hints of orange, but unlike some fruity perfumes, this is well masked by other floral smells so that it's not too overwhelming. It's a great feature and the longer I have this on, the more and more I fall in love with it. It smells grown up, but girly at the same time and I think that's what everyone wants in a fragrance, is it not?

You can pick up this unique and gorgeous perfume now at The Perfume shop here or The Fragrance shop here - at £50 for 60ml this is totally worth the hype! 

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Beauty | Topshop Beauty Haul

I can be a bit of a makeup snob. I've never really hid this or made a big deal of it, but I can be a bit snobby when it comes to cheap makeup against premium brands. For me, Topshop Beauty has always fallen somewhere in between. I've never quite known how to feel about it and for that reason I've never really dabbled into any more of their products (you may have seen a couple of lipstick purchases pop on my blog in the past). I love Topshop as a clothing store, but when they brought out their beauty range I was kind of sceptical. Whenever I walked into a store to look at the range it was always messy and people clearly hadn't cared when they were looking at it. I'd always found products to be opened and messed with and this is a turn off for me with anything (one of the main reasons why I don't often venture into Primark) and in this instance it had always been the same whenever I visited my local store. After reading quite a few good reviews about other Topshop Beauty products recently, I finally decided to go all out and give it a chance; all former thoughts aside I went a bit crazy and picked up quite a few products on my latest trip.

Lets talk Eyes. When I do my makeup my eyes are the things I like to focus on most. I love a good smokey bronzed eye and how it brings out my blue eyes and whilst in Topshop I spotted a couple of colours that really took my fancy. For normal everyday use, I really enjoy using browns that compliment each other so the first shadow that I picked out was 'Galaxy', a gorgeous copper-toned brown which I've found works really well in the crease of my eye. I also picked out 'Interstellar' in the same formula which is a slightly deeper (almost purple looking) brown which is perfect for an outer corner colour, I've used this to blend out my eye and give it the smokey finish that I love. For £5 these eye shadows are really great value and the formulation is lovely, I'd say they're a cream to powder shadow just for the way they feel to me, however on the website they are described as powder with a 'velvet touch'. The next shadow product that I picked up was a cream shadow in a golden bronze; I bought this in the sale and unfortunately cannot find this anywhere to link or properly describe to you. All I can say is that this is lovely and is really easy to apply with your finger (which normally I hate) and works brilliantly as a base to build on. Lastly for the eyes I picked up a standard brown Kohl liner. I've been trying to stray away from black recently as I think it's a bit too harsh for me and this Kohl is looking a lot better already, for £4 it's an absolute bargain too for how nice it is!

Topshop Highlight in Horizon took my heart in an instance and I bought it without thinking too much about the colouring against my skin. It's such a gorgeous champagne highlight (without it being a bronzer) however I think that right now, with my skin being so fair, it's not quite the right colour for me. It's a really lovely formula and has a great velvety feel to it and I'm really hoping that when I'm slightly more tanned in the summer that this works a little better for me. For £10 it hasn't broken the bank and so I'm not too bothered that it's not right for me, but it's a little disappointing that I'm going to have to wait a little longer to get some decent wear out of this. The next 'facey' product that I purchased was 'Brighten' , a liquid concealer in pen / brush form. I've never tried something like this before and I have to say I am still sceptical about what it does. I think for this product, I may have to do a 'watch this space' and come back to this one later on - who knows it could be in a 'favourites' or 'disappointing products', I'm just not sure how I feel about this at all!

The last two products that I picked up were of-the-moment purchases. An 'ooh i like that', quick, pick it up and pay for it before you realise what you've done. Yet again, I've purchased a nail polish - If you know me well, you'd know that I can never be bothered to paint my nails, yet here we are again, adding to my collection which is already a hundred strong. 'Port De Bra's is a muted lilac colour, which is really really pretty and I think that when I can be bothered to paint my nails, it'll look really nice. I love how Topshop nail polishes apply, they're nice and thick but are quick drying at the same time! Last but not least, I picked up a Lip Primer. Again, this isn't something that I would usually pick up, but with my lips being dryer than ever at the moment and my lipsticks applying differently because of that, I thought I'd give it a go. At £8, I think it's a bit steep for what it is, but i do find that it does moisturise my lips nicely and have seen a difference in the way my lipsticks apply. I'm gonna keep going with this one and hope that the results last out. 

Have you ever tried Topshop beauty products? Let me know what you think in the comments and any products you recommend I try!

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Lifestyle | Top 3 Blogging Babes

The most important thing about blogging is networking with other bloggers (or it is at least to me); I absolutely love joining in on Twitter chats and replying to comments / commenting on other blogs. I think it's a really important step, not only to get your blog more widely known but also to get friendly with other bloggers out there. I love reading other blogs and getting inspiration for new posts and also for new purchases! I'm a huge believer in sharing the love on blogs that you really like and so today I'm going to be sharing my top 3 bloggers with you. These ladies are my biggest inspiration and have been since day one. When I first started my blog back in 2013 these blogs were my favourite go-to sites and to this day, they're still bookmarks on my internet homepage!

Couture Girl. 

AKA. Kayleigh Johnson

Couture Girl is my all time favourite blog. I absolutely love her brand new layout and the general feel of her blog is just so laid back and relaxed. I first stumbled across Couture Girl a couple of months before I started my blog. Kayleigh has been a huge inspiration for me and BekyLou.com and I always pop back to have a good read every time I'm lacking a bit of motivation or just wanting a bit of a pick me up. Her writing style is beautiful and I often come away from reading Couture Girl having added something else to my wish list after perusing over her latest reviews or photos. Speaking of photos, the photography on Couture Girl is absolutely stunning and I have to admit I always get a tad envious of Kayleigh's creative side when it comes to her images. It's definitely something I strive to achieve when I'm taking my photos and working on my blog. I don't think there's anything that Kayleigh has done so far that I haven't loved and I can't wait to keep reading. 

Thumbelina Lillie.

AKA. Megan Lillie

This young beauty is such a doll. I am absolutely obsessed with her fashion style and how she manages to pack so much personality into her outfits. She's just so cute and it comes across completely in her writing and in her blog posts. I was first introduced to Megan's blog back in early 2014 (I believe) and this was due to getting chatting on a Twitter beauty bloggers chat. I instantly fell in love with her posts and with her quirky little Instagram posts. Megan is a huge fan of Vintage clothing and I love that I can live my vintage fantasies through her without making myself look silly (believe me I can not rock the looks like she can). Thumbelina Lillie is a great read and I'm so proud of all Megan has achieved over this last year. 

Birds Words.

AKA. Beth

Birds Words is a blog written by Bethany Jade and although she hasn't been posting as frequently over the last couple of months before Christmas, every post she has written has been great. Once again I love the photography on her blog and love how clean and chic the blog looks, peach and white is such a nice clean look. I've loved Beth for such a long time now and she's such a lovely person away from the blog also. I've had some lovely email conversations with her and really look forward to her next posts. Beth has been very influential on me with purchases over the last year and from testing the products myself after reading her reviews, I've come to notice that she is very honest and accurate within them. I love her!

These are just three lovely ladies whose blogs I love but there are many many more. I'd love to share them all with you, but for now I thought I'd share my top three. What are your favourite blogs? Do you think that interacting with other bloggers is an important part of blogging?

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Beauty | Tanning up for Summer with Cocoa Brown*

If you've been following me a while, you'll know that last year I reviewed about every tan going (well maybe not all of them, but a good fair few). I was never a girl to tan before last summer; I'm pale as anything and just used to embrace it, but now Spring is approaching fast again and soon Summer will be back and I do not want to be snow white for those months! Cocoa Brown Tan is a tan that I first tried last year when I received it in a goody bag at an event, I wrote my first impressions review on it (here) as a comparison against Vita Liberata and I was really really impressed with it (it completely blew VL out of the water). This year, the lovely ladies at Cocoa Brown have sent me a bottle to review again and I have to say, I'm definitely still sticking with my initial opinion!

Having friends that are avid tanners, I've heard some great things about Cocoa Brown from them and have also converted a few of them from more expensive brands myself. I absolutely love that Cocoa Brown is such an affordable tan - before we get into anything else, I think that this definitely needs to be mentioned. Most fake tans nowadays are really expensive, save the few cheaper brands which, well really aren't worth your money for the product that you get. In the past the price of a good fake tan has always put me off. I'm a girl who likes to spend, but I also know the value of money and won't waste it on something I don't really like. Cocoa Brown is perfect at an affordable £7.99 per bottle and it does last at least 2, maybe three rounds of tan.

The Cocoa Brown 1 Hour Tan* is a mousse tan, which I honestly prefer so much over lotions and sprays. I love how you can get a really even cover and it's easy to see where lines need to be blended. It effortlessly glides over the skin using the Pink Tanning Mitt* and doesn't feel too drying on the skin. In previous tans that I have tried I've always had to moisturise in advance of tanning; with Cocoa Brown, I don't feel that it's necessary as the mousse is quite moisturising itself. As you can see with my before and after photos above, the tan shows a lovely colour after after a couple hours wear and a shower off. I really like that this tan is low-maintenance - by that, I mean that with this tan, you really can pop it on an hour or two before you go out and quickly rinse it off before you leave the house! Personally, I left the tan on for 3 hours when I tried it this time. If I tan, I want to make the most of it and see a natural looking difference than just tanning a tiny bit. With this 1 hour tan, the guidelines are that 1 hour gives you a light glow, 2, a medium glow and 3 hours gives you a darker glow. I absolutely love this product and the fact that its not really like any other tan. It doesn't smell like normal tans (no biscuity scent here) it's lovely and fresh and it's not an over-night 'bed sheets need to be cleaned' nightmare as the tanning process is complete within hours and it dries really quickly, so no mess!

I would honestly recommend Cocoa Brown 1 Hour Tan to anyone. You can now pick up Cocoa Brown products in Tesco Stores in the UK and also in any Ricky's in NYC. Have you tried it? What are your thoughts?

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Beauty | Mother's Day Pampering with Clarins*

For Mother's day every year, I have to admit that I'm pretty bad and usually just get my Mum something small - If I'm completely honest, I usually completely forget all about it until days before! This year though, the lovely people at Clarins have sent some gorgeous goodies for my mamma to sample and my God does she love them! My Mum is the kind of lady to moisturise her face every morning after her shower and dab on a bit of makeup for the day ahead, but she's never really looked into taking more care of her skin than that. She's always invested more into me and my sister and I think it's about time she stops being so selfless and indulged in herself. For the last couple of weeks she's been experimenting with some of the pieces from the Clairns Mother's Day sets and I don't think  her skins ever felt this good to her! 

Clarins Double Serum* | £55 | Link

As I've mentioned above, my Mum's usual night-time routine is a splash of water to the face and a dollop of her favourite hight street moisturiser, so when I handed her the Double Serum by Clarins she was over the moon and started using it immediately. I'm not entirely sure what a 'serum' is supposed to do in all honesty, apart from the fact that you're not supposed to use it on skin too young, but Mum has definitely seen a hug difference in her skin since beginning to use it. Her face has been feeling so much more moisturised and rejuvenated since she's started applying this product and even though she jokes about feeling like it's taken ten years off of her skin, I know she does really think it's making a difference to her appearance. It definitely seems to be firming her face and reducing the visibility of any pesky wrinkles! She's absolutely fallen in love with this serum and I can't pry it away from her! Mum's occasionally forgotten to apply it on a late night recently and she's definitely let me know about it the next day; she doesn't feel as energised or bright and awake when she's missed a night of applying it and thinks that is most certainly the sign of a great product - noticing when you haven't used it! I'm so happy she's loving this Clarins Double Serum!

Clarins 'Eau Des Jardins' Treatment Fragrance* | £32 | Link

I've reviewed the Clarins 'Eau Des Jardins' Treatment Fragrance* before, so you can go and check that out if you'd like my opinion on it, but as for my Mum's thoughts, she absolutely adored it. For a fresh and clean fragranced start to her day, she now loves spritzing this before leaving the house for work. She's always been a fan of perfumes and usually I have gotten her various ones over the years, but she particularly likes the fresh and floral scent that this has. It keeps her feeling uplifted and ready for the day ahead. I think some fragrances can be to heavy or powerful for an all-day everyday scent but this one is perfect for that kind of thing! 

Clarins Eau Des Jardins Body Smoothing Body Cream* | £29 | Link

This gorgeous Body Cream is perfectly scented in the classic 'Eau Des Jardins' treatment fragrance, it's so smooth and conditioning and is the best 'wake-me-up' after a shower to soften up and re-moisturise the skin. Once again I've handed this over to my Mumma for safe keeping *safe using* as part of her Mother's day gift and she is absolutely in love with it! She's definitely one for her moisturisers and this is great addition to her ever-growing collection. 

I'm so happy my Mum is happy with all of these products and I cannot express my thanks to Clarins enough for sending these over for her. They're such great gifts and with some amazing gift sets available especially for Mother's Day (which you can pick up here) that incorporate some of these great products at discounted gift-set prices, you can't really go wrong. My Mum is delighted with the products and I know your Mum will be too! 

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Beauty | In Love with Lipsticks - Charlotte Tilbury and MAC Viva Glam Miley

If there's one thing that many of you will know about me, It's that I am a huge fan of lipsticks. MAC are my absolute favourites (that's probably pretty obvious when you look at my ever-growing MAC lippie collection here) but I've also started to branch out a bit into different brands. Lipstick to me is the finishing piece to a makeup look or outfit and it seems silly to say but I can feel a little bare without it. I mostly stick to nude lipsticks but every now and again I like to splash on a bit of colour and brighten up my look. Most recently I've purchased two new lipsticks, one from MAC (surprise surprise) and another from the much coveted Charlotte Tilbury.

When my lovely boyfriend took me to London back at the beginning of February we just happened to stumble across a little shop called Selfridges and of course I could not help myself and just had to go in. I beelined for Charlotte Tilbury and instantly attached myself to one of the sales assistants wanting to try on everything I could. In the end I came away with two products: Matte Revolution Sexy Sienna Lipstick (£23 here) and the Lip Cheat lip pencil in Pink Venus (£16 here). Both combined give such a sultry nude lip that could contest the kind of pout that Kylie Jenner throws about. I absolutely love the Lip Cheat lip liner as it gives the perfect coverage for a lip base and is also brilliant at re-shaping your lips and 'cheating' your way into a bolder look. It glides on effortlessly and covers any imperfections on your lips really well ready for your chosen lippie. I matched it with my Matte Revolution lipstick in Sexy Sienna and my god my lips looked so much fuller! The Matte Revolution lipsticks are the newest from Charlotte Tilbury and are all about giving the lips a lovely coverage with a bit of light trickery to make them appear much more voluptuous than they really are. I am obsessed with this combo and love how moisturising the lipstick and liner are regardless of the fact that they are matte!

MAC Viva Glam Miley (£15.50 here). I don't think there's anyone out there in the beauty blogging world that hasn't been anticipating this collaboration, has there? Before this was even announced I was wishing for the day to come that I got to own this bad boy. Viva Glam Miley is a Hot Pink lipstick with an 'Amplified' finish. Think hot pink limousine. This lipstick is truly Miley in one; out there but loveable at the same time and one that you can't help but try out (or listen to in Miley's case). The Amplified finish gives the lipstick a gorgeous creamy effect and glide effortlessly onto the lips - something that I've struggled with in the past with the likes of MAC's Viva Glam Nicki Minaj which is a Matte. Compared to Nicki's input to VG, I most certainly adore this lipstick more, I find the colour more wearable as well as easier to apply. Viva Glam Miley is the perfect lipstick to add a pop of colour to a monochrome outfit during the day as well as for making a statement on a night out. I've completely fallen in love and really really like that MAC have decided to give everything (less tax) made from the sales of this lipstick to a HIV/AIDS charity. Even more reason to give this one a go yourself - even if you don't particularly like Miley! 

I've been a bit obsessive with lipstick buying in the past and as I'm trying to slow down a bit and realise that a collection of 43 lipsticks really is a tad too extravagant, I'm so so happy that I brought these two beauties into my collection. What do you think? Would you pick these up? Have you tried Charlotte Tilbury before?

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Beauty | February Favourites

February has whizzed by for me; one second it was Starting and I was enjoying my Christmas present In London with my gorgeous boyfriend to see Les Miserables and all of a sudden, it's March  First. I'm quite happy that I've managed to skip the January blues and survive through the February spending ban but I can't help think that life really does go too quickly. Regardless of that, today is almost a week into March and I thought that after a longish break from blogging, it would be the perfect opportunity for me to show you some of my current favourite beauty products.

Benefit Watt's Up | £24.50 | Link

 I've been loving Benefit's High Beam  for a very long time now and have been lusting after a more golden toned highlight for a while - in fact I think it's been on two of my Wish lists now! I was generously given two Watt's Up highlighters for Christmas by two of my close friends and I really love the look that it gives my skin. It's an effortless golden glow without needing to be tanned or it being a sunny and humid day. I love to match this with my Michael Kors bronzer (also in this favourites post) and a shimmery brown eye as I think they set perfectly together for a night out. As I've got quite fair skin, it can be a challenge to bronze myself up nicely, but with even just using Watt's Up, I've noticed I can look subtly bronzed and highlighted all in one which is great for those days where I don't want to be wearing too much. 

Origins GinZing Energy Boosting Moisturiser | £23 | Link

I don't think there could be much more of a blogger obsessed product. I know it's obviously not going to be everybody's cup of tea, but I have definitely heard a lot of very positive things about this, so when it was given to me by my best friend Abbeeshawna for Christmas, I literally almost cried. If there's one thing I've wanted longer than anything else, it's the GinZing Moistuiser. I use this every evening after I've completed my cleanser and toner routine and it gives my face the best pick-me up immediately. My skin feels so refreshed and nourished within seconds and it feels so much better ending the day like it. The zesty orange fragrance is also gorgeous and definitely adds to the energy boosting features of the cream. 

Soap and Glory The Firminator | £12 | Link

I have become such a little fitness bunny these last couple of months and after reading a review on Bird's Words  about The Firminator from Soap and Glory, I thought I'd give it a go. After using it twice a day (as instructed on the bottle) on my thighs, bum and stomach, I've definitely started to notice a difference in how firm those body parts are. Of course, I've been doing regular exercise including running, bootcamp classes and Personal Training HIIT sessions, but along with those I really do think that this cream is making some kind of difference. I normally don't believe in the 'magic' creams that can get you into shape or perform bodily miracles, but I do feel like this is helping along with my toning mission! 

MAC 217 Brush | £19 | Link

The holy grail of all MAC brushes? After lusting for this brush for a good year and never wanting to pay the full price, I eventually caved and bought this during a 10% off promotion at Debenhams late last year. I avoided using it for quite some time, not wanting to blemish the perfect white bristles. Finally using it with my Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette, I fell in love with the brush and how soft it was. I find it so easy to apply with and have since bought a second one - Naughty! 

Michael Kors Bronzer in Flush | £34 | Link

I am absolutely in love with this bronzer. Trying Michael Kors makeup for me was a bit of a risk as I like to do my research before buying a product and this purchase was a total of-the-moment purchase whilst at Bicester Outlet Village. But let's be honest, which Beauty Blogger is really going to turn away from a £34 bronzer down to a total steal at £21 - the answer is definitely not me! As much as a risk as it was, I was certainly not disappointed. It's extremely different from the two matte bronzers that I own and I have completely fallen in love with the shimmer and 'flushed' tone of this MK one. It's my go-to when I want to look naturally bronzed and it's made me want to look into Michael Kors makeup products even more. 

MAC Velvet Teddy Lipstick | £15.50 | Link

The must-have Kylie Jenner Lip. The coveted (and very much still out of stock) Velvet Teddy has been on my 'I must have this list' for a couple of months now. I'm not always a massive fan of being the sheep and following the flock when it comes to the latest trends, but this colour has just been too beautiful to ignore. I've been so disappointed every time I've gone into a store or looked on line and this beauty has always been out of stock, but yet again the gorgeous Abbee comes to the rescue and tells me I can have hers. It didn't suit her skin tone and so she's passed it on to me to get more use out of. I love that girl to bits! I've finally been wearing this over the last couple of days and have been besotted with it, the shade is just the perfect dark nude for a smokey basic face and It's quickly becoming a favourite staple look. 

Clarins Everlasting Foundation* | £27 | Link

I recently reviewed this amazing Everlasting Foundation from Clarins in this blog post. I was generously sent this for review just after Christmas and having not been much of a liquid foundation fan beforehand, I've now found the perfect one to convert me into a lover again. I won't repeat too much on this post as I have previously explained all of the reasons why I love this, but let's just say that a liquid foundation and no breakouts within a solid week of use is definitely reason to give this such strong praise! 

What have your January Favourites been?

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