Raytoria: December 2015

Lush Christmas Goodies

Hello blogger friends.

One of the presents I got from my lovely boyfriend was a big box of Christmas Lush bath goodies. Lush is by far one of my all time favourite places to shop. If I could bottle the smell of Lush and have it as a reed defuser in my home I would buy it. (...does this already exist?! I kinda hope it does.)

This lovely festive box contains 5 Christmassy bath bombs.

I've not used any of them yet, I just wanted to take a photo of each one and put what they are/what they do. This post is more like an unpacking and first impressions kinda thing.

Here are the 5 festive goodies I got in my box:

^ Peeping Santa -- Bubble Bar:
This one smells very strongly of strawberries, which I love. He reminds me a lot of those cute little strawberry santa's you see at parties.

^ Golden Wonder -- Bath Bomb/Fizzer:
How cute is this? It's very glittery on the outside, which i'm guessing makes for a glittery bath. There's a hint of turquoise running through it - apparently that's the colour the bath goes when it's fizzed. It has a very refreshing citrus scent. I'm looking forward to seeing the tiny stars it spills out when it's in the bath.

^ Cinders -- Bath Bomb
I'm keeping this little bath ballistic for New Years Day purely because of the popping candy! I've read reviews that say it's quite underwhelming so I think i'll mix this in with a bubble bath. Smells great though!

^ Dashing Santa -- Bath Bomb/Fizz bar
This little guy really does smell like Christmas in a bar. The orangey/citrus scent would've been a perfect for Christmas Eve.

^ Lord Of Misrule -- Bath Bomb
This one appeals to me the most!! I love the colour, the scent is so beautiful and it's the biggest one so i'm expecting something great. I feel this is one that'll make my skin feel great and think it'll make for a very relaxing bath time. Plus it's a crown, what's not to love?! ;)

So that's them all. I'm really excited to use them.

Which is your favourite?

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, by Unknown

Makeup, brush & skin care mini haul.

Hello blogger friends.

Today i'm doing a little blog about the things i've bought or received over Christmas -

mainly makeup and skin care bits and bobs :)

As you'll know from one of my wish-list posts, i've been lusting after some Real Techniques Bold Metals brushes for some time. I'm such a huge fan of their original collection, too. Well, I must've been very good this year as my amazing sister got me a set of both for Christmas! In fact, I loved them so much I popped out to Boots and picked up the triangle foundation brush to add to the collection.

Bold Metals:

• 300 Tapered Blush.

• 103 Angled Powder.

• 200 Oval Shadow.

• 101 Triangle Foundation.

Original Collection:

• Sculpting Brush.

• Fan Brush.

• Setting Brush.

I've recently just got into the swing of things when it comes to contouring/highlighting so the original collection especially will come in handy for that. The Bold Metals feel incredible in your hand. Obviously they're aimed at a more 'professional' level for M.u.A's but they are amazing if you want to apply your makeup properly. I love how perfectly weighted they are and they way they sit in your hand. (plus they're so shiny! I swear I was a magpie in a past life.)

While I was browsing Boots I also picked up a Maybelline Matte Maker powder in 'nude beige'.

In my last post I chatted about my new beautiful Charlotte Tilbury Magic foundation and that I feel I picked up a shade that's just a tad too dark. I've found that after applying some of this in a lighter beige helps to bring it down just slightly to match my natural skin colour. Plus it helps keep shine away.

Now i've always found my skin to be a tricky one. I'm lucky in one way as I very rarely get spots, maybe I get one or two every now and then. However, i'm prone to getting very dry patches on my cheeks as well as the rosacea/pinkness. Recently i've been trying to sort out my skin by drinking loads more water. I never drink water during the day, so i'm now on 2 full glasses a day and trying to increase +1 glass each week… though it's not going so well haha!!

I decided to change up my routine so I purchased some Botanics products:

• Botanics 'All Bright' Purifying Face Scrub.

• Botanics 'All Bright' Hydrating Night Cream.

I absolutely love the look of the face scrub and it smells divine. It contains "refining walnut shells" that buff away flaky, dry skin while the crushed apricot seeds sweep anyway any impurities. It also contains hibiscus, which naturally brightens the skin.

The night cream is something new i'm trying out. It also contains the skin brightening hibiscus and works overnight to boost moisture levels and leaving the skin nourished ready for the day's elements.

I'm excited to use both of them, so once I do i'll post a full review on each.

Lastly, I grabbed a 7th Heaven Peel-Off masque. Peel off masques are SO appealing to me because quite frankly I can't be bothered with the thick, messy clay masks you have to wash off.

I particularly like using these when my skins feeling a bit 'grubby' - usually after a long week of wearing full makeup everyday. The cucumber feels tingly/cooling on your skin and is very gentle. Sometimes I love putting these on after a hot bath when just chilling in the evenings.

Can't wait to try them all out!

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, by Unknown

In Beauty, Charlotte Tilbury

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation - First Impressions

In past blogs i've mentioned that the only foundation I can rely on is Clinique's redness solutions foundation. The skin on my face goes so pink whenever I'm in a warm place or have a sip of alcohol (I can literally take one tiny sip of wine and my face goes SO red, I look like i've been drinking all day!) It's so embarrassing. The redness solutions has treated me well this year, but with it being the only one I use I felt I wanted to try something different. I did LOOOOADS of research on foundation specifically to cover rosacea, I finally came across Charlotte Tilbury's Magic Foundation. I've seen many bloggers rave about CT's other makeup (we all know about Zoella's love for her Glastonberry lipstick) but not much on the Magic foundation! So I just jumped in and bought it. Eeep!

I don't mind splashing out a little when it comes to a good foundation, so the price didn't really upset me (I already pay £25 for my Clinique so an extra £4 something is fine.)

THE PURCHASE:

One of the things I hate doing is buying makeup online, especially foundation. I like being able to try different shades on my hand and making sure i'm buying the correct one. Fortunately, the Charlotte Tilbury website has a handy 'foundation finder' you can go through to help you find your perfect shade. I think I still managed to get a shade that's *slightly* too dark, but it seemed ok once on my skin (I think!) Here's what it looks like:

I'm absolutely made up with the way the product is delivered. I mean just LOOK how adorable this little box is! It comes with 3 free shades of the foundation, which I found great to check I definitely made the correct choice. Not sure if this is something they always do, but I also got 3 free samples of other products - nice touch.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:

The shade I got was #5, which as I said I think might be a tad darker than I'd normally choose. The consistency of this foundation is quite thick, which is to be expected seeing as it's a full coverage foundation (I like to build up more on my cheeks as they get the most flushed.)

I'm not sure if I like applying it with my Expert Face brush, so I might look into purchasing a different foundation brush, maybe even the Real Techniques 101 Triangle Foundation brush…?) But that's personal preference! Also, I kinda have a small issue with the scent - it's kinda like a biscuity smell, reminds me of false tan. Though I have sensitive skin so anything too perfumed would be a no-go anyway.

However, I do love how it feels, like I said it can feel thick but doesn't feel cakey, which is great as some full coverage foundations can feel cakey. Once it's on my face and settled it feels quite lightweight and comfortable. The biggest thing for me is that it covers the red marks and my skin looks really smoothed out and even.

OVERALL IMPRESSION:

I have to say, i'm pretty impressed. I love how it feels and looks on my skin, it covers the redness smoothly and doesn't look cakey. It can transfer off a little but I'm thinking once I get the hand of applying it properly with a different brush i'll get the hang of it.

- - - -

Here's couple of quick phone selfies after i've applied (will take another one on my DSLR when i've got more natural light to work with.) -- I think my skin looks really smooth and feels amazing. I'll also post a before and after at some point, probably be a separate blog once i've done all my prep before applying.