Beauty | Clarins Aquatic Treasures Summer Collection*

I think a lot of you will know that I am a huge Clarins fan. I absolutely adore their products and their new Aquatic Treasures Summer Collection is no exception to that fact! With Summer approaching, Clarins' new collection is perfect for those hot, humid days and is just absolutely beautiful too. Summer is the time for light, waterproof makeup and Clarins has definitely delivered on that basis here.

Clarins Limited Edition Aquatic Treasures Summer Bronzing Compact* | £30 | Link

This gorgeous bronzing compact is perfect for a summer tan; with a blend of four matte shades this palette is the perfect companion for a summer glow. Perfect for all skin tones due to the four shades (ranging from beige to terracotta) Clarins have got it spot on once again. I've been using the top two shades mostly as these are lighter toned and blend really nicely into my pale skin, however when I have applied a fake tan, the bottom two work perfectly to enhance my contour. I apply this just as I would any other bronzer, under my cheek bones and in the hollows of my cheeks and a quick dusting on my temples and under my chin for a chiselled look. I've been really impressed by the formula of this bronzer and love how soft and creamy the powder is; it's got a great lasting power and has quickly become my favourite bronzer, even beating my coveted Nars Laguna! I also adore the packaging for this product and the embossed marine motif on the powder itself, it's such a cute extra!

Clarins Limited Edition Ombre Iridescent Shadow* | £19 | Link

For me, Clarins singular eye shadows have to be a go-to. I was kindly sent some neutral shades last year and they have been an every day staple ever since. The cream to powder formulation is spot on and they are so well pigmented that it's difficult not to love them. For their new Summer 2015 collection they have released two new Iridescent shades in fitting with the aquatic theme and they definitely live up to the mark. I was sent Aquatic Grey* to try out, a lovely blue-grey with an (you guessed it) iridescent finish to it. It's a gorgeous colour to use in the outer corner of your eye for a bold look or equally perfect to blend lightly into the crease to add to a smokey eye. I'm loving this shade and am eager to get hold of the other in the collection 'Aquatic Rose'.

Clarins Truly Waterproof Mascara* | £21.50 | Link

Waterproof Mascara is a love-hate thing with me, I hate that it's difficult to get off, but I usually love the results that it gives to the lashes, In this case, Clarins have won me over with their Truly Waterproof Mascara in that it's a lot easier than most to get off. I'll admit, I do still wake up some mornings with flecks of it left on (usually in the corners of my eyes), however the majority of it has gone, which is almost unheard of for me and waterproof mascara. It gives a really great length and adds a lot of volume to my (already quite long) lashes. With a mascara, I always look for the most natural, yet enhanced finish with a mascara and I think this Truly Waterproof edition fro Clarins is up there with some of my favourites now. I'm not a fan of the clumpy, over-worked look and there's definitely none of this with this beautiful product.

Clarins Fix Makeup* | £23 | Link

To me, this is the best thing for the summer. I am always needing something to set my makeup in the summer months; no matter how waterproof or 'sweat resistant' makeup claims to be nowadays, a good primer and setting spray is always needed. Usually - and I'm not ashamed to say it - I set my makeup with a hairspray. Not my best idea health wise probably, but it really does work, so finding a setting spray that cools you and is a lot better for you and sets your makeup, is always a goal for me. Fix Makeup is such a lovely cooling spray that supposedly sets your makeup for the day. I don't think I've yet used this on a day hot enough to trial it properly, but at the moment I'm loving using it just as I've finished my makeup to give it a helping hand. I think I'll probably start carrying this with me on the hotter days as it is such a lovely cooling spray that doesn't ruin your makeup like a normal spritz of water does! The only thing I think that I'm not too keen on with this product is the packaging, it's a gorgeous pink frosted glass bottle which is really pretty to stand on your dressing table, however for someone like me wanting to travel around with it in my handbag, I think a plastic bottle would be a little more practical.

I am always really impressed when Clarins brings out new collections and this Summer Aquatic Treasures collection is no different to that. I'm always eager to see what else they're bringing out and cannot wait for their next collection. Have you ever tried Clarins before? What pieces are you most interested in trying? Let me know in the comments below!

INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN' 

Fashion | The Perfect Evening Bodycon with Blue Vanilla*

If there's one thing that I struggle with when it comes to fashion, it's finding that perfect evening dress. I often look at my friends when we're going out for drinks or out to a club and I sometimes feel a little out of place with what I'm wearing. I haven't yet found that perfect evening wear, suitable for drinks or a fully fledged night out on the town; that was until this beautiful number dropped onto my doorstep. This dress is the Josie 3/4 Sleeve Monochrome Bodycon dress* from Blue Vanilla,  a company that before this week, I hadn't really heard much of. Instantly, I fell in love and am actually looking forward to planning a night out soon just so that I can wear this (not something that you'd normally hear me say). Blue Vanilla are an online British clothing label that bring the latest fashion trends to fashion-conscious girls like me and this Josie dress is perfectly up my street!

The 3/4 sleeves are perfect for me as although I work out a lot and am happy with the way I look, my arms are something that I like to keep under-wraps as much as I can. The crazy pattern is something else that I absolutely love along with the tight 'shaping' material used, they both really help to 'suck in' that unwanted bit of belly that always has to show in dresses like this! It's such a flattering dress with a lovely design and I absolutely love the fact that this dress makes me look taller (no idea how, but it does). Have you ever heard of Blue Vanilla before? You can find this Josie dress here at a bargain £15 in the sale and the rest of their collection here!

Many thanks to Etail PR for sending this dress across to me for review*

INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN' 

Beauty | Enhanced Skincare with Magnitone*

Over the last couple of months I've been interested in dabbling into the world of electronic cleansing devices, I mean my cleansers alone are great but sometimes I think my skin is just a bit too stubborn for a general cleanse nowadays. I've seen a lot of reviews about different products recently and began wondering if it was something that I should start using within my skincare routine. So with this in mind, I've recently been trialling the Magnitone Lucid, a daily facial cleansing and exfoliation brush. I was very kindly sent the Magnitone Lucid in Plush Pink* to trial and I don't think there's ever going to be a day where I would willingly go back to not using it now. It's definitely become a big part of my daily routine and I don't really feel like my skin is 100% cleansed until I've used this now.

I want to first talk about the design, I absolutely love the little device and cannot get over how perfectly simple it is. Even though I may work in IT, I love it when tech is so simple and when you definitely don't need much of a brain to use one (totally me when I've woken up in the morning), Magnitone have got the simplicity of this device down to a T with a single button. Press once for a deep cleanse or twice for a more sensitive one. It's a sweet little hand held device with a detachable head and  a magnetised charging port that makes it 101% waterproof (it's great for in the shower and bath too).  I love how the charging port is magnetic - it makes such a difference to how portable this product is and really makes me feel safe when using it. Probably not the best terminology I've ever used, but it's definitely a big thing for me as I'm always scared of electrocuting myself! Having it this way means no holes or 'exposed insides' peeping out for water to get into. Such a brilliant idea! 

After using this for almost a month now I have to say I've never been happier with my skin. I've been using this twice a day and whilst trialling have used it with three of my favourite cleansers; Out of them all my favourite to use with my Magnitone Lucid is my new Ren Evercalm Gentle Cleansing Milk. I first splash my face with water and then pump my cleanser onto the brush head, dabbing it in with my fingers and using the excess cleanser to dot around my face. I then quickly run hot water over my cleansing brush and tap the 'on' button twice to start the sensitive mode. For the first week of trialling this product I did use the Deep Cleanse mode, however for my skin (as it's quite sensitive anyway) I found that it caused dry patches under my nose and on my chin. The Sensitive mode has been so much more kind to my skin and I've been loving the results since. Magnitone Lucid has a minute cycle and automatically stops working after this time; with a beep at 20 second intervals it is also able to notify you to move around your face (both cheeks, nose and chin and then forehead). With 10,000 pulsed oscillations per minute, it definitely digs in deep, no matter which mode you have it on and gives your skin the well deserved clean it needs. I've noticed a huge difference in my skin since starting to use this and 3 weeks in my face is feeling so much more fresh and alive than before. Clear skin is a big thing for me and so seeing such great results from this, I can't recommend it more. I haven't had any massive spots since beginning my trial and with only a few pesky ones appearing around that time of the month, I'm overall really really impressed. 

The Magnitone Lucid comes in four colours: Plush Pink, Aqua Green, Sunshine Yellow and Dazzling Blue, it's use of Electromagnetic Technology really sees this product excel and for £69.99 (one of the cheaper electronic cleansing brushes on the market) you can't really go wrong. My friend Gemma always tells me that you should always divide the price of something by the amount of times you plan to use it. In her case she's usually talking about an expensive pair of shoes, but I think it also works in favour of the Magnitone Lucid too; I've had so much use out of this already and it's only lasted me one charge cycle so far! I'm excited to see how my skin fares after longer use!

You can pick up the Magnitone Lucid in any of the above mentioned colours here or the Pixie Lott Limited edition version here. 

INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN' 

Beauty | High Street Makeup for Beginners

When I was first dabbling into the world of makeup (yanno, after the dreadful 'Dream Matte Mouse' and liquid eye shadow days) when I first properly hit the high street with my friends to pick out my new makeup staples, I found a couple of 'classic' brands that to this day are my go-to's with low budget makeup purchases. These brands, although they have changed over the years (some for the best), are ones that I will push any newbie towards when they're looking to fill their newly purchased makeup bags. I know most of you loved my recent 'High End Makeup for Beginners' post and so I hope you'll be happy to find a 'High Street Makeup for beginners' post below!

Maybelline Baby Skin Primer | £7.99 | Link

Primer is something that you don't have to buy, however for me, it's the first step in my morning makeup routine as it sets the face for a flawless makeup day and keeps your makeup staying for longer. I personally have some great high-end primer favourites, but when it comes to high-street, Baby Face by Maybelline is the one I go for. Before I purchased this it had been one that I had heard a lot about and read a lot of mixed reviews but I personally quite like it as it reminds me of some of my high-end faves. I love that it's clear and also that it makes my skin feel flawless instantly.

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer | £4.19 | Link

This was the first concealer that I ever purchased. It was my go-to through my teenage years and through the early makeup days. This has been a coveted fave of most beauty bloggers around and for a good reason, this has such amazing powers! It covers up blemishes and redness so well and it lasts really well throughout the day. I don't quite know what else to say about this product, it's just great and for £4.19  a tube, you can't really go wrong with it.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation | £9.99 | Link

I honestly love this foundation. I know that nowadays I'm more of a powder foundation kinda gal, however when I do pick up a liquid beauty, this is one of the faves within my stash. I really think that this Healthy Mix foundation is such a great dupe for Nars Sheer Glow foundation and at a fraction of the price, this definitely has to be the best for a high-street start up kit. It gives such a dewy finish but isn't too oily and is great for any skin type. I've actually stopped purchasing the NARS Sheer Glow foundation in favour of this as it is pretty much the same (in my eyes) and only costs me a third of the NARS price tag. For a starter in the makeup world, Bourjois have got it all with this foundation.

Barry M Brow Kit | £5.99 | Link

You may know that brows are my one of my favourite facial features; I am always making sure that my brows are on point and one way that I do that is with my fave brow products! You'll all know that Benefit have my heart when it comes to brow products, but when I first started out, Barry  M was the star of the show. At a steal of £5.99 this brow kit (which comes with a pair of tweezers and a double ended angled / powder brush just like Benefit's) is a great dupe of Brow Zings. I really love that it comes with the wax and brown powder to set and shape my brows but what really sets it above the rest of the high street kits is the addition of the highlight powder. I love this little extra touch; it's perfect for finishing off a look and making my brows pop! Definitely a recommendation for anyone here. The one thing I would mention is that the brow powder is quite dark within this palette, so as much as it really works for me, I'd make sure it works for you first!

Bourjois Delice De Poudre Bronzer | £7.99 | Link

Now when it comes to bronzing powders, I am a bit partial to the more expensive brands, Benefit and NARS are my favourite, however when it comes to budget beauty, I am a sucker for the Bourjois Delice De Poudre. I absolutely love the colour of this bronzer and although it looks a little orange in the packaging (what bronzer doesn't) it applies really nicely and is great for first-time bronzers. The colour pay off is lovely, yet doesn't come across too strong, which is brilliant for when you're starting out and want a light glow, not to look like you're cheeks have been tango'd!

Zoeva Luxe Colour Blusher | £6.95 | Link

I bought this Zoeva blush a couple of months back when buying a friends birthday present (obviously I just couldn't resist buying one for myself), at £6.95, I thought this would be great for my first Zoeva product. I'd heard a lot about their makeup brushes before and was thouroughly impressed with this blush once I'd tried it. I got a light pink shade (not sure on the name - sorry) but it's absolutely lovely and applies really well. Once again, like the bronzer, this is lovely for a subtle colour without it being too overpowering from the start; it's lovely to build up and stays all day.

Sleek Makeup Precious Metals Highlighting Palette | £9.99 | Link

Sleek is a brand that I love for high street makeup. They've stormed into the market and really impressed over that last year or so and I am in love with this new Precious Metals Highlighting Palette. It contains 4 cream highlights in different shades and one powder and I think that this is the perfect palette for a beginner! Contouring and highlighting can be difficult to get to grips with at first (where do I highlight? What colour is best?) but with this palette, I think you're definitely sorted with the colour range and each shade is really easy to blend to ensure no ghastly mistakes are made.

Barry M Natural Glow 2 Shadow and Primer Palette | £6.49 | Link

I was pleasantly surprised when I first picked this bad boy up; I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to eye shadows and often struggle finding a decent palette that is on the cheaper side. I can never find well pigmented shadows that last as long as the powders with the hefty price tags. However, saying that, this £6.49 (what?!) palette from Barry M has impressed me quite some bit. I really love the colour range within this palette and to my surprise, I've actually found that the shadows are quite well pigmented. They last quite a long time (I wouldn't say all day, but with some primer, it's up there) and it's a really great palette for a neutral smokey eye. The perfect palette for someone getting into their eye makeup!

Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara | £6.99 | Link

This has been my old go-to mascara since I started wearing makeup. This is my all-time favourite drug store mascara and I don't think I could quite rave about this enough. Scandaleyes gives such a full, volumised look and it feels so light on the eyes. I think you can go quite wrong with this ad apply too much, but for someone starting out and wanting big lashes for minimal effort and minimal money, this is the way to go!


Topshop Lipstick in Nevada | £8 | Link

I don't know if you've seen, but recently I posted about my latest Topshop Beauty haul, Topshop's makeup section has been catching my eye more and more recently. Lips by Topshop are one of my favourites for low budget beauty and Nevada is the best of the bunch as a gorgeous nude lip. They're really creamy and last so long on the lips even without a primer! I'd always recommend Topshop lipsticks and a nude like this is perfect for any start up collection as it's really basic and works with almost all looks.

I really hope that this post is as useful to most of you as my 'High End' makeup for beginners post was - again I've really enjoyed writing this post! I hope this is a much more affordable starters kit for you and that it will sway some of you away from spending too many of your pennies! I know I can spend quite a bit myself, but we all need some budget buys to keep us above the debt line every once and a while!

INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN' 

Beauty | Feeling Naturally Tanned with Sunkissed*

Fake Tan. Two words that I usually shy away from as much as I can, but this year, I'm starting to love fake tanning more and more. If you haven't realised, lately I've become extremely obsessed with my fitness and I really love the effect that fake tan gives me as my abs are starting to develop (yes, that's right my abs are finally coming through!). I look more defined and it does make me feel so much more confident. My tan of choice this time around has been Sunkissed 1 Hour Rapid Tan Mousse* and I must say, when Jordan was applying this to me (yep, my boyfriend is my personal tanner) we were both a little scared at what the end result would be. This tan is a mousse and let me tell you, this definitely goes a long long way! When a small squirt of mousse is applied it appears very dark and is so creamy that it equally covers a lot of skin - I think one squirt managed my whole stomach and only two for my back (obviously with a bit more for blending). Trusting the brand that I'd be a lovely colour and Jordan to make sure I was streak-free we liberally applied the tan.

An hour and a half later (Sunday Roast stood in between me and a shower, but who's going to pass up on a roast?) I got in the shower and washed off the excess tan. When I emerged, I was really disappointed as to me, it looked as if all of my tan had been removed by the water. I threw on some comfies and within about half an hour I noticed my tan had re-appeared - okay, well not literally, the tan had obviously kept developing after my shower. I then looked a gorgeous natural tan and I cannot tell you how happy I was! I have been so impressed by this Sunkissed fake tan and at £4.99 it's kind of a little unbelievable how good it actually is. I reviewed Sunkissed Instant tan here last Summer and   as much as I really liked that tan, this new Rapid Tan Mousse has got to be my favourite by far. I really love this tan and it has made me want to tan more often! You can pick it up here.

INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN' 

Fashion | Monochrome fit for Summer

When it comes to fashion I kind of stick to what I know; I'm not usually one to stray away from the basics and what I feel comfortable in. This year, one of my New Years resolutions was to start thinking outside of the box when it came to what I'm wearing. I feel like I'm still stuck in my teenager ways and now that I'm almost 21 (?!?!) and work in an office, I want to feel more grown up and 'sophisticated'. With saying that, it can be quite hard in the summer months to find something that fits this genre for me, however with the help of a little bravery and Owners of Style, I think I've found one of my favourite outfits for this Summer!

This outfit is way out of my comfort zone. It's really bright and summery and of course, the well reached for 'grown up' look, but at the same time, perfect for working in an office in the British summer! The white Joni Jeans (Topshop) really scare me and I've got to be feeling extra brave to wear them - White is a no-go when you're as clumsy as me! But I love how they look so bright and classy along with my dark grey H&M ribbed high neck crop top. I think what really finishes this look off though is my Adela Cardigan* from Owners of Style. I love the leather-look sleeves against the soft knit body and how well it ties my outfit together, it looks gorgeous on and the waterfall open front really gives off a casual finish to a polished look.

Owners of Style are a web-based fashion retailer; started by a Mum of 2 in 2014, they strive to create fashion at affordable prices, understanding the day to day struggles that mothers and other busy ladies have to deal with when it comes to finding cheaper alternatives to the celebrity styles, but keeping up to date with the latest fashions. They have some great pieces on their website at such good prices, meaning you can look good without breaking the bank! This Adela Cardigan comes in two colours and is currently in the Sale at a steal of £9.99! 

Let me know what great buys you find on their site and tell me in the comments below! 

What other styles do you love for Summer?

INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN' 

Beauty | My First False Lash Experience with Lash Boutique*

As an avid lover of beauty and fashion I've often been told that it's a little bit shocking that I have never worn false eye lashes. I naturally have quite long eye lashes and so I've never really seen the point on buying myself false ones. I've loved the look of designs before and loved the look on friends and family, but for me I just didn't think I needed them. Of course I think a lot of it was also not wanting to get them terribly wrong and look like an absolute tit! I'm not great with hand-eye coordination and so I guess a massive part of me never trying them before has also got to do with being nervous of not being able to apply them after spending money on them! However, when I was recently contacted by Lash Boutique, I decided that now was the time that I become a fully-fledged beauty obsessive and give lashes a go!

I was very generously sent 4 different sets of lashes to try out (Gracie, Lou Lou, Hannah and Chloe*) and I have to say for the first couple of days I didn't even touch them, scared of even attempting to put them on! Being a newbie is difficult, you never know where to start! Finally Jordan agreed to help me apply them and I couldn't believe how simple it was and how much I was worried about messing up something so simple! I applied (well Jordan applied) the Lou Lou lashes to me and I absolutely loved them! To try them out I just applied them for a normal day, but I can see these being a perfect pair for a night out too. They are so lightweight and after initially putting them on I finally got used to them and I couldn't even tell that I was wearing them. I absolutely loved that these also came with Lash Boutique's own black lash glue - yes black! I've never heard of lash glue being black before but I honestly think that this is such a good idea - it was easily concealable with bit of liquid eyeliner and with a flick of mascara I couldn't really see that they were all that false.

I have to say, my mind has totally been changed by these Lash Boutique Lou Lou Lashes* and I really do love them - I've got them stashed away ready for my next night out for sure. I love how dramatic they look but also how natural they seem at the same time. They really make a difference with my night out makeup and I do feel so much more confident with them on! Have you tried many false lashes brands before? You can pick up Lash Boutique lashes here for just £5.49 a pair!!

INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN' 

Beauty | Kiss Cosmetics Brand Launch

A couple of months back I was contacted by a new brand called Kiss Cosmetics; they were planning towards their brand launch and were enlisting the helping hand of some bloggers for the big reveal. Kiss Cosmetics are a brand new UK based, colour focused makeup brand that will be initially centring their sole launch focus on their vibrant and affordable quality lip products. For the last couple of months a group of bloggers (including myself) that had been chosen to give feedback on the brands ideas have been commenting on a private Facebook group and giving opinions on what type of products we like to see. I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this process and am happy to see that with this finalised lip product, the people with the power behind KC have listened to our comments. It's always a really nice touch when a brand works together with their target audience to create an all round loved product and I can't thank them enough for getting in touch with me on this launch.

I was generously sent one of their new 'KISStick' lipsticks in the shade 'Seductive Damson'*. KISStick is a range that consists of 10 highly pigmented lipsticks 'for the wild'; guaranteed to WOW, they are lipsticks for the daring beauty lovers, but are also targeted to the 'not so daring' among us too! Seductive Damson is a gorgeous medium toned, deep purple (which basically means it's a mix between a cool and warm shade) and at first I was really scared to give it a go. They definitely managed to pull off the 'WOW' response that they were aiming for with this KISStick and have also managed to target the 'not so daring' side of me with this colour. I'm the kind of girl that usually beelines for the nudes and pinks with occasionally a few bright reds so when it comes to daring colours, I'm not usually the girl for it. This purple however, has completely turned me! The formulation is so lovely and creamy to apply  and has such an amazing lasting power. I really love this lipstick and I actually can't believe that a start out brand has been able to convert me to a purple lipstick lover! It works so well with my skin tone and hair colour and I cannot wait to get my hands on some more shades! Can we also please talk about this packaging? It's gorgeous and so simple - I also really love that you get a glimpse of the true shade at the bottom!

I'm very excited for KISS Cosmetics to launch on week beginning April 20th! 

Make sure you keep an eye on the website here - this gorgeous lipstick along with other shades in the KISStick range will be available at such an affordable price of £7! Let me know what you think and if you're going to try this new brand out! Don't you just love it when a new beauty company launches?!

INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN' 

Competition | Caribou Cosmetics, Zoeva & Pixi

I don't think that I can explain how incredibly thankful I am for the past 4 months. BekyLou.com has grown so incredibly and I wouldn't be at this stage without all of you following me and my beauty and fashion ramblings! To say a humongous thank you to all 1500 of you that are following me I've decided to put together a little giveaway! This time around I've wanted it to be something that I know you'll all appreciate and will be widely loved by many of you and not just specific to a few!

The prize this time around includes:

 Caribou Cosmetics Long Lasting Collection Makup Brushes

  Pixi Mesmerising Mineral Palette

Pixi Beauty Bronzer and Kabuki 

Two Zoeva Lip Crayons

You may have seen a review of the Caribou Long Lasting Collection Makeup brushes on my blog earlier this week here, I actually have my own collection and loved them so much that I purchased another especially for this giveaway. I love these brushes so much and couldn't leave them out of this selection of goodies! I'm also a massive fan of the Zoeva Lip crayons and have a few myself, so because of that I've purchased two new ones for you lovely lot as they are some of my favourites! Pixi is a brand that I've actually never tried but heard great things about and so I've purchased the two products that I liked the look of the most and thought I'd give these away too! 

How to Enter | Terms and Conditions

• You Must complete all mandatory entries in the Rafflecopter below
• All tweet entries must include all original words from the Rafflecopter tweet
• All spam entries / fake accounts will be deleted
• For entries that require information for validation must have information or your entry will be deleted
• You may enter as many times as you would like on the comments, tweets and other once a day  entry options
• Winner will be picked randomly through the Rafflecopter app and emailed for their details.
• The Winner has 48 hours to reply to my initial email or another winner will be picked.
• This is UK only - Sorry!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN' 

Beauty | Makeup Brushes for a Cause

As a lover of all things makeup and as a self-proclaimed obsessive when it comes to buying makeup and accessories, I don't think it'll come as much of a surprise when I say that I've bought some more makeup brushes. I think this brings my total now to around 70+ and although these new ones are gorgeous, I am a little bit disgraced with myself for having so many now. Somebody please stop me!\

I first stumbled across Caribou makeup brushes after they followed me on Twitter a couple of months back and at first I was just happy to have another brand following me but then my makeup brush obsessive inner child just had to explore their site! I was so impressed with the look of the brushes but with a top price of £229 for their Long Lasting Brush Collection (reviewed in this post) I wasn't able to justify the money at all and had to leave the site without making a purchase - cry! However, skip forward a couple of months and I noticed that Caribou were having a sale and this beautiful set had dramatically dropped to only £29! I dropped the company an email and found out that Caribou are currently selling their brush collections so cheap to try and reach their goal of planting 10,000 trees before Earth Day. What I didn't know about Caribou Cosmetics is that they are totally aware of environmental issues around the world and are a brand driven by a couple that have a passion for helping the damage caused by deforestation within rain forests after experiencing it first hand a couple of years ago. For every Caribou brush purchased, they are investing in helping with the changes needed through replanting trees and integrating farming and animals to the same spaces. I think this is such an amazing cause and I'm so proud as a a beauty lover to see that there are independent brands out there trying to make a difference.  At £29 you really cannot say no to this set and if it helps a cause too, I'm all over it! But If I still haven't sold you just yet, take a look at my review below! You can learn more about their Vision here!

The Long Lasting Brush Collection | RRP: £229 - Currently: £29 | Link

The Long Lasting Brush Collection contains 12 brushes and comes with this gorgeous leather rolling pouch which is perfect for travel and just looks so professional! I really really love this pouch and love that this collection comes with it, I think it's such a great piece and the individual brush compartments and flip down protection cover just make it so much more practical too. When it comes to the brushes I am so impressed with the quality, it's expected with expensive brushes, but you don't always get it and I have to say that I don't quite know how they're managing to sell this set so cheaply at the moment. I am in love!

The Set includes 4 big brushes, a dual-fibre powder brush, dual-fibre blusher brush, dual-fibre precision contour brush and a foundation brush. The Dual-Fibre Powder brush is a lovely size; I often find that powder brushes can be too large and it can be off-putting as I don't think that overly large powder brushes are much good for my little head, but this one is a gorgeous size and has swiftly become my go-to for my powder foundations. The Dual-Fibre blusher and precision contour brushes are ones that I've already had the most use out of, being a huge love of blush and bronzer I now use these brushes on a daily basis and they give such a nice finish. They pick up product really well and don't hang on to it like some other brushes can which saves on product loss. The foundation brush isn't something that I would usually use due to the fact that I don't usually wear liquid foundation, but again it is really soft and unusually for a flat foundation brush it's also quite flexible so I'm sure I'll be able to find another use for it soon!

From left to right, the above photo shows the collection's smaller brushes. I'm a huge fan of eye makeup and so I can never get enough of eye brushes! The first brush is Lash brush / Spoole, Personally I've been using this for keeping my brows in check, but for using this on friends, I'd give it a scrub up and use it for Mascara (as to not spread germs of course).The second brush in the above photo is the Dual-Fibre Angled Brow Brush, I am all about the brows and this brush is perfect for shaping with my beloved brow powder. I love angled brushes for brows as they're perfect for shaping and creating slick lines for a strong eyebrow. Brush number three is a bullet tip eye smudger, not something that I've tried before and in all honestly it's not something that I can claim I know what to do with, but I'm sure it'll come in handy some day! The Precision Eye Liner brush is the fourth in the line up and this is perfect for gel eyeliner and getting that perfect line, I've wanted to dabble in the realms of gel eyeliner and now I've got this brush, I think it's about time I did.

I'm going to be honest with you now, out of the next four brushes, I'm not entirely sure which is which according to the website's list, however I know that one of them is definitely either a Dual-Fibre Concealer brush, Dual-Fibre All Over Eye Brush, Dual-Fibre Eye Blending brush or a lip brush. I'm guessing that brush number 6 in the above line up is the lip brush, something that I have been needing for a while. I'm not always the most skilled when it comes to applying bold coloured lipsticks and so a lip brush is perfect for me to get it 100% right first time! Again for the conceal brush, I'd probably use this for something else. I tend to use a bigger foundation brush for my concealer and so I would personally use this brush as a base shadow brush, perfect for compacting shadow onto my eye lids. I love the fluffy Eye blending brush (I think I know which one this is) as it's not too dissimilar to my MAC 217 brush and applies shadow wonderfully along my crease, the same with the All over Eye brush (I think) as it's great for a base colour.

I love these brushes and really like the ethics behind the company. Caribou Cosmetics also have two other collections in their sale at the moment, you can check out the Longest Lasting Face Collection here for £24 and the Longest Lasting Eye Brush Collection here for £19. Keep an eye out on my blog soon for my next big giveaway which will be including this gorgeous Long Lasting Brush Collection!

INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN' 

Lifestyle | March Favourites

I cannot believe that another month has been and gone. I swear yesterday it was Christmas and now we've rolled around to April Fools day and my baby sister's 19th birthday! March has been a funny one for me, I had to unfortunately take a bit of time off of work to just get me back to me and even though it was a lovely break, it shouldn't have been needed and threw me out a little bit. Who knew contraception could have such a massive impact on your life in negative ways? However, I'm back on track now though (minus having a mini car accident and having to fork out almost a grand to get it fixed)  and am really looking forward to (finally) seeing a change in the weather and getting my summer on! Here are some of my favourites through March!

Victoria Secret's Pure Seduction Fragrance Mist | £10.99 | Link

Now I'm afraid that for this one I couldn't find a direct link to a VS website - unfortunately they currently don't have a UK website and so I had to link you to Amazon, but I think it's a bit cheaper on there anyway! I have absolutely fallen in love with this body mist since buying it at Christmas when up in Leeds and I cannot describe to you how amazing it smells (sorry!). It's honestly such a gorgeous sweet scent; it kind of smells like a melon and floral mix which sounds a bit odd, but believe me it is gorgeous! I bought three fragrance mists in total (I think they were on a 3 for £25 offer) and this one is by far my favourite. It's really light and not too over powering, perfect for a pick me up or a long lasting spritz in the morning! Although it has quite a steep price tag for what it is, I'd definitely recommend this over a lot of expensive perfumes any day!

Invisibobble Crystal Clear | £4.28 | Link

I think most of you will know that my hair is incredibly long; I think that at the moment it currently falls to the bottom of my back / top of my bum and I hate for it to be cut or broken. I can be incredibly protective over my hair and spend lots of money each month restoring it to it's natural healthy state. Because my hair is quite long it's quite difficult to style of a morning for work and so I usually end up slinging it into a ponytail or a messy bun, this month I have found my Invisibobble to be an absolute life saver. It is so easy to use and stretches lots with great grip to ensure that my hair is kept in it's style all day long, especially when I'm at the gym, it's brilliant at keep my hair up and out of the way! For £4.28 some people think that these can be quite expensive, but for a pack of three I think this is such a great price. They haven't broken on me yet (no matter how much I stretch them) and my hair has broken so much less since using them!

365 Blog Topic Ideas by Dana Fox | £10.99 | Link

I've mentioned this a little in my next post, but basically this book is perfect for a blogger like me who sometimes gets completely stuck for blog post ideas. This book is written by fellow blogger Dana Fox (AKA Wonderforest) and it has 365 pages of blog topic ideas that are there to influence our creative brains and to help us think of new blog posts. It's written in single phrases (sometimes even single words) to give us the nudge that we need to think of something new to write - I managed to flick through and look at the same page 3 times and think of 4 separate different ideas! Although it's aimed more so at lifestyle bloggers, as a beauty blogger myself, I've found it really helpful!

London Retro Highgate Sunglasses* | £95 | Link

Now that the sun is slowly starting to show itself I've been getting a whole lot more use out of my gorgeous London Retro Highgate Sunglasses. I first reviewed these here, so make sure you catch up on what I wrote in my original review, but I really have been loving these more this month. The classic black look is perfect for my every day work looks and also go really well with a more girly, spring time look for the weekend. For a black pair of sunglasses this is unusual and I really think that London Retro have gotten the style SO right with these!

Topshop Eyeshadows | £5 | Link

Since posting my first Topshop Beauty review here, I've been playing around with the two eye shadows I purchased a lot more. I have been absolutely loving Galaxy and Interstellar in the month of March and have been wearing them almost religiously on a daily basis. I first use Galaxy with my MAC 217 along my crease and then press Interstellar into the outer corners of my eyes with my Real Techniques Shading brush. It's such a lovely smokey eye and perfect for work - even better for a night out  with a little more intensity, some black eyeliner and my fave mascara!

Quickmax Eyelash and Eyebrow Growth Serum* | £49 | Link 

Quickmax is a liquid eyelash and eyebrow serum that comes with a thin applicator brush to apply to the brows and lash line like you would any eyeliner / brow product. I've tried this product over the last few weeks, applying it to my upper lash line every night before I go to bed. I was a little sceptical at first having tried products like this before, but I have definitely seen a difference in the length of my lashes since using this. Within around two weeks I noticed my lashes had become fuller and a little longer than they were before and I was really impressed! I'd definitely recommend this, especially since the bottle seems to be everlasting! I've used this for about a month now and still have way over 3/4 of the bottle full. My next step is to try this on filling out my brows - I can't wait to see the results from this!

Batiste Eden Dry Shampoo* | £3.99 | Link

As always Batiste is still an ongoing favourite of mine! I've tried many dry shampoo's in the past but I've always found myself going back to Batiste. Eden is the new fragranced dry shampoo from my favourite brand, it's a really light and uplifting scent and perfect for the spring time. This latest addition to the range is a mixture of Melon and honeysuckle scents and is part of their new formulation for a longer lasting scent and freshness. Eden is only available within Superdrug stores at the moment so keep an eye out where you can because I definitely think this has over taken Cherry as my new favourite scent!

Heaven Skincare - Orange Flower Cell Hydrogel* | £19 | Link

I was recently sent this 'Hydrogel' and honestly I didn't know what it was when I first received it, but after doing a little research I found out that this was a toner that did 'much more'. As suggested by the Heaven Skincare website, I started using this as my evening toner and then as my morning primer and with it's anti-aeging and cell-renewal properties I have really noticed a difference in my skin since using this. I've began using this daily on a cotton pad and sadly am now running out (cry) but I really have enjoyed using this (and no, not just because I was sent this for review), I've seen a dramatic difference within the reduction of my spot scars and have felt my skin tone up a little (if that's even possible). I really have been loving this Hydrogel and am ready to place a second order for it! It's nice to have found a product that is a 2-in-1 that actually seems to be working for me.

I know a lot of this months favourites have been sent to me for review, but you know me, if I really don't like something, I'm not afraid to speak my mind. These products are in my monthly favourites because I really do love them and they have been my favourites from this past month! What have your march favourites been? Let me know in the comments or link me to your monthly favourites so that I can get my wish lists built!

INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN'