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.

• 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!

Hello my fellow Blogees!

Seeing as we are coming up to the end of February,

I thought i'd share the items i've seen throughout the month that have made it to my wishlist. 

01. Urban Decay Naked Basics 2.

I have all 3 of the Naked palettes and Naked2 is by far my absolute favourite. I'm such a sucker for a nude/neutral eye during the day and at night I like to smoke it up a bit. So when I saw this palette I was made up. They are all pretty much matte, which makes it better. (I don't mind a shimmer but I love mattes.)

02. Real Techniques Bold Metals brushes.

Oo lala. These brushes are divine. I saw them the other week in Boots for the first time after watching the launch video. They look so amazing but with the price tag I doubt i'll be able to afford them for a while (but one can wish!)

03. The Badass Blog Planner by Sarah Morgan.

Seeing as i've only been blogging since the end of 2014, I really want to step up my game. I want to be able to set myself some blogging goals and work out a way to make my content more enjoyable for readers - so I hope this book would be able  to help (This is top of my birthday gift list haha)

04. Seventeen Skin Wow Primer (3 way highlighter). 

I've been looking for a primer for a few months now and never came across anything I really liked. I decided to take a look at what Seventeen had on offer as I have & love their Brows That! Brow Kit. The great thing about this is that it's also a highlighter - I can mix it with my foundation or just use it on my face to highlight certain areas. 

05. Rimmel Natural Bronzer ('Sun Bronze').

At the moment i've just been doubling up my contour kit as a bronzer but I would really like one to use solely as a bronzer. I'm not keen at all on shimmers or glittery bronzers and all the ones i've bought in the past have shimmered far too much. I'm after something that looks more matte and i've read reviews saying this is great - plus it's cheap!

06. Rimmel Lasting Finish lipstick (214 'Firecracker').

I'm a little obsessed with Rimmel lasting finish! The colour is amazing, though I tend to keep buying the deep plumb/red colours and would love to get a nice pink. I'm not a fan of nude lips or bright/light pink so I really struggle finding a good pink. From what i've seen online, colour 214 is a perfect balance between light and deep pink, so next time i'm in Boots I might give this a try!! 

- - - - - - - 

If anyone knows of any better alternatives or a perfect pink colour lipstick they could recommend i'd be so grateful :) 

01. Urban Decay "All Nighter" - Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray

02. Real Techniques Core Collection

03. Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primers (x3)

04. Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipsticks

05. Tangle Teezer brush

06. ELF Studio Lip Exfoliator 

- - - 

01. URBAN DECAY "ALL NIGHTER" MAKEUP SETTING SPRAY.

I struggle so badly when makeup sweats off my face, especially during a wedding or photo shoot (I get very warm, very quickly) I've been looking all over for a good setting spray, and I love the look of this one.

02. REAL TECHNIQUES CORE COLLECTION BRUSHES.

*Swoon* Real Techniques brushes are my absolute favourite. I already have the Expert Face Brush and would love to add to my face brush collection with these little beauties. 

03. URBAN DECAY EYESHADOW PRIMERS - ORIGINAL, SIN & EDEN.

When I got my Naked Palette 2 it came with a small selection of tester eyeshadow primers. They are the BEST primers I have ever used and I need to stock up now my little testers have run out.

04. MAYBELLINE COLOUR SENSATIONAL LIPSTICKS - PINKS/REDS.

I already own the Hollywood Red and it's such a lovely, rich colour. It also feels amazing on my lips, so a few more of these in the other pink/red shades will be fabulous.

05. TANGLE TEEZER BRUSH.

How do I not already own one of these? My hair can get ridiculously tangled and knotted, especially when i've had too much dry shampoo in it. I've seen reviews about this little brush and it's now up there  on my wishlist.

06. E.L.F. STUDIO LIP EXFOLIATOR.

Exfoliating your lips is something i've never thought of being part of my skin care routine. The most I've ever done is whack on a load of vaseline or lip balm. I actually saw about exfoliating on a makeup segment during This Morning and since then i've always wanted one. This one from ELF looks brilliant, but never seems to be in stock! 

- - - 

Has anybody got any of these they can recommend? Or is there any alternatives that are better? 

HAPPY 2015! I hope everyone enjoyed their celebrations!

My sister and I decided one day that seeing as we share each others clothes and makeup all the time that it would be a good idea to turn the spare room in the house into a dressing room! This way we could pool all our 'going out' and casual day clothes, makeup and hair stuff all together in one place. To be honest, I think it's the best idea we have ever had!

Since moving to our new house in April we haven't given the room much thought - by that I mean we concentrated on getting our bedrooms sorted and cosy first before we did anything to that room. So basically it got left to just 'be'. The other day after looking at all the new makeup and things we have bought over Christmas, plus the addition of the new up-cycled jars for my brushes, my sister had an idea to add some new furnishings to the room and basically spruce the place up a bit.

This meant a little trip to Ikea - and after what felt like HOURS walking round the place (was really only 1 hour, but we got so excited and cut through the section we needed, so had to come back round on ourselves!) we finally came out with a Billy bookcase and a new chair! 

What do you think? I absolutely love it :) The real task now - keep it tidy!

Lately i've been looking through my very small collection of brushes and kept telling myself i'd buy a few little pots to store them in. My mum then suggested up-cycling some old jam jars we had collected into pretty pots.

All i've done here is found some pink ribbon I already had lying round in a drawer and just simply tied it round the tops. Super easy, look really cute and I didn't have to buy anything.

^ Clinique Redness Solutions Foundation:

I have always had issues finding a good foundation that suits my skin tone. The other issue I have with my skin is pink/red blotches. Whenever I go out  for tea or just to the pub with my friends, if it's a warm place my face always gets really red - and alcohol makes it worse. Usually just my cheeks, chin and nose. It doesn't cause any discomfort but I feel really embarrassed when it does and it really affects my self confidence.

One day when I was out shopping, my mum suggested I try asking the ladies at the Clinique counter what they could suggest as most foundations just didn't help my skin. I was shown the entire redness solution range they offered and they even sat with me and applied it all on my face for me!

I LOVE this foundation. No more blushing or flushing worries. The shade I use is 03 - 'calming ivory', which matches my skin perfectly. I doubt i'll ever use another foundation now i've discovered this. 

^ Sleek MakeUp Face Form - Contouring and Blush Palette:

This is something i've been looking at for a LONGGG time. I've seen a few YouTube videos of people raving over the Sleek MakeUp range so popped down to Boots to check them out. I own a eyeshadow pallet of theirs and found the colours to be AMAZING - very pigmented and bright and so easy to blend. At the moment I just always use a bronzer, but I hate the shimmery feeling on my cheeks. 

At the moment i've only used this once but I love it. The highlighter is perfect for under my eyebrows as well as above my my cheek bones. This shade is in light as I felt it fitted my skin tone more, plus I like to be able to build up on a dark colour more than just sticking it on dark and hoping for the best. Once I get to use it more i'll be able to get a better idea, but from first impressions i'm very happy. 

 ^ Real Techniques Expert Face Brush:

I've always had a love-hate relationship with foundation brushes. A few years ago I always just used my hands to blend it into my face, but since visiting the Clinique counter and getting my redness solutions makeup have I converted to brushes. The lady on the Clinique counter was the one who told me to try using brushes as my fingers might be too heavy and contributing to the red skin on my face *shrugs* i'm not entirely sure how true that was, but I still prefer a brush to fingers.

Anyway - since then I always used flat brushes (the ones that look like paint brushes) but i've gone off them. It always felt like I was literally painting the foundation onto my face, instead of blending it. 

This brush is flawless. I know you see it all over the place now, but I understand now. The foundation now feels light on my skin and I don't have that weird 'cakey' feeling that I got with flat brushes. This is my new favourite brush. :)