Can you believe this is the first favourites post I have posted in... ahem, a while (the start of this year to be precise!) and I have a million and one products to rave about...

Mac Face & Body Foundation in N1

Originally bought as a 'prom picture' foundation, I have grown to love my little bottle of F&B and its beautiful light and dewy coverage! It is the perfect tone for my skin, not too orange or too pink, and leaves me glowing... although not in a bad way like I've just run for the bus; always a good thing in my books!

Avon Super Shock Gel Liners in Black and Bronze

The black version of this eyeliner has been a much raved about product in the blogging community because of it's amazing opaque, 'stay in the waterline forever' talents! I too am a sucker for a long lasting jet black liner, and have also fallen for the bronzey-er version of this, which is perfect for smudging along the lash line, but not quite as opaque in the waterline.

L'oreal Volume Million Lashes Mascara

I actually received this for my birthday this year (February) but decided to save opening it until May this year, as punishment for being a total mascara whore and accidentally having about 7 on the go at once! However when I did eventually succumb to opening this mascara, I was more than a little disappointed. It had a wet formula which did not hold the curl at all in my stupidly straight lashes, the brush was so pointed it scraped my eyelids and it smelled of flowers and fields... a complete no-go for a hayfever sufferer! However, after a couple of months of being opened, the mascara has dried up slightly and now gives me lovely, dark black lashes in a couple of swipes each morning!

Batiste XXL Volume Big & Bouncy Dry Shampoo

This little gem really is just volume in a bottle, with added hair refreshing features thrown in! Not only do you get a massive bottle that revives limp and lifeless hair, but this also is my new favourite, quick and easy route to big, voluminous hair. The only downside I find to this product is the 'grey' tint it can leave you with if not rubbed in correctly, and I would love to see the colour ranges (Blonde, Brunette and Redhead) come out with a volumising aspect added too them!

NYX Megashine Lipgloss in Smokey Look

This is officially my favourite lipgloss in the world, hands down! I am by no means a 'lipgloss girl', preferring to stick to my trusty lipsticks for everyday wear, but upon discovering this gloss I was partially converted! It is not sticky, gloopy, heavy or overly glittery, it smells like sweets and it is the warmest coral colour, which looks perfect paired with Mac's Shy Girl Lipstick! I need more of these NYX lipglosses in my life!

Urban Decay Half Baked Eyeshadow

The UD Naked Palette is forever in my favourite products but this particular golden eyeshadow is my absolute perfect colour. I wear this with every eyeshadow combination I wear, whether its pressed into the inner corner, under my eyes or just patted over the lid, its looks simply gorgeous, and is the perfect texture for blending... what more could you ask of an eyeshadow?!

So that's my round up of all things amazing this month, what where your favourites of July?!

battle of bourjois.

As part of Bourjois' summer offerings in their new collection, they released a new bronzer, in addition to their infamous 'Chocolate Bronzer' which is now a cult product in the beauty world, and one of my go-to bronzers. I own both the bronzing products from Bourjois and this is how the Délice de Soleil (new) and Délice de Poudre (chocolate) bronzers measure up!

Délice de Soleil on the left, Délice de Poudre on the right

The two powders have extremely different packaging, the chocolate using a cardboard, magnetised box and the new bronzer in plastic packaging, with an extremely useful built in mirror which swivels 360 degrees and even a mini brush!

Both bronzers are creamy and soft, and contain some slight shimmer, which I find translates more onto the skin in the new 'Délice de Soleil' bronzer. However this product is more orange toned than the chocolate bronzer, and slightly lighter. I find that it is easier to build up the beautiful bronze colour in the newer bronzer, although I do find in both bronzers that the products develop a film over them (probably a product of using dirty makeup brushes in them... whoops) which need to be scratched away to achieve full pigmentation.

In terms of price, the chocolate bronzer pips in at £2 lower than the newer addition, at £6.99 rather than £8.99, although the Délice de Soleil does include an SPF of 15; an essential addition during the summer months!

Overall, the bronzers are similar but if I were to pick a favourite it would have to be the newest addition 'Délice de Soleil' because the colour it gives is so natural and flattering on my skintone, and the mirror inside is so handy! I do adore the chocolate bronzer and it will forever hold a place in my heart with its beautiful chocolate smelling goodness, but the packaging is sadly slightly lacking in convenience!

I hope this helped if anyone is struggling to pick a bronzer from the Bourjois line, and happy bronzing!

cream blush obsession!

Lately, the one and only type of product that is allowed to colour my cheeks this summer has been cream blush, no matter the weather. Cream blush is my ultimate makeup weakness... as well as lipsticks and eyeshadows, ahem. I don't know what it is about the standard cream blush that makes it so superior to the bland and boring powder version. Maybe it's the dewy finish? The soft texture? Or maybe its the amazing pigmentation of colour in just one dab and then blend blend blend? But whatever the reason, cream blush is a daily necessity for me and I will not go without...

clockwise from top- Topshop Cream Blush in Head Over Heels; MAC Cream Colour Base in Hush; Topshop Cream Blush in Neon Rose; NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Rose Petal

Topshop Cream Blush in Head Over Heels & Neon Rose

Head Over Heels is the most beautiful, natural and buildable colour in blush that I own, and is an everyday staple for me in my makeup kit. Similarly, Neon Rose is also a beautiful colour although its excessive brightness means that I only pull it out of my collection on a daring day! The Topshop Cream Blushes dry to a powder finish so are not as dewy as others on the market however they last forever and look great with lip balm on the lips!

MAC Cream Colour Base in Hush

This is the perfect highlighter/subtle cheek colour on its own or can be layered with other blushes to give it a little more umph. I have already posted about this particular cream here and I am still very much in love with it.

NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Rose Petal

By far my favourite in my little cream blush collection, this has the perfect consistency for glowing, dewy cheeks and looks amazing on the cheeks everyday. Its blends perfectly, lasts ages and I cannot fault it! I am desperate to get more of these NYX Cream Blushes!

right to left- NYX; Topshop HOH; Topshop NR; MAC

There are a million and one more cream blushes that I still need to buy, such as MAC Something Special and NYX Glow, but hopefully they will all come in good time!

Whats your favourite cream blush!?

working girl.

Blazer - H&M; Shirt - Primark; Skirt - H&M

As some of you may know, for the past few months (starting frantically on the eve of my 16th birthday) I have been searching high and low for a job. I was sick of having to beg my parents for money when I ran out and I wanted my own source of income so I could work towards buying myself all of the things I could only ever dream of buying; a laptop, TV, iPhone and a car to name but a few... with maybe a few sneaky makeup purchases thrown in too, of course!

This being said, the job market is completely and utterly deserted at the moment, with jobs only popping up every few weeks and rejection letter after rejection letter coming into my inbox daily. I was about to give up in vain and accept that I was to become a hermit with no money for the rest of my life, when I finally got an email from Boots inviting me along to an 'assessment'.

In actual fact it was less of an assessment and more of a little chat and giggle with the lovely lady who interviewed me, which was a relief as previously I had been rehearsing answers to the dreaded interview question 'What can you bring to the store?'... to which my only answer was 'I am completely, 100% obsessed with all of your stock.'

Thankfully I got the job- hooray!- and I am now nervously awaiting my first day which should be next weekend. Boots has always been the place I've been desperate to work at since I was little, and I was over the moon at just getting an interview! I wore the little ensemble above to the interview, trying to exude the 'I'm a confident business woman' vibe and failing miserably! I randomly decided to wear my hair straight for the first time in about 2 years in an effort to look smart and I was surprised at how long it had grown. I'm not a huge fan of straight hair on me as I feel my hair is always in need of a little extra umph and volume, however on this occasion I did actually like my straight hair, and felt very sophisticated wearing uber-subtle makeup and swishing my poker straight hair into Boots!

I hope you have all had a lovely week, and if there are any fellow job hunters out there- good luck!

 

makeup collection&storage

This post is completely, 100% devoted to my makeup collection, and it is quite possibly the most exciting post to me that I have ever done, sad but true.

I have been building up my makeup collection over about 3 years, and although is it by no means as large as some other giant collections, I am actually weirdly proud of all my makeup! Generally, I buy all my products myself (with exceptions on birthdays etc.) and this post is aimed to show my readers my collection, not to brag about what I have!

I have organised all my makeup into different sections using two large 4-drawed towers from ASDA...

Makeup Tower 1

I also store hair bands, clips, keys and perfumes on top of it.

Makeup Tower 2

Down the side I store palettes and magazines.

Blushes/Bronzers/Highlighters

Lipsticks/Balms/Glosses

Eyeliners/Mascaras/Things too big to go anywhere else!

Foundations/Concealers/Powders/Primer

'Everyday Makeup'

Things I use all the time.

Small Eye Palettes/Single Shadows/Pigments/Liners/Primers

Miscellaneous Lashes/Tools/Old Cases

Products I Never Use

Face Brushes/Eye Brushes

Both stored in old cups and in rice to keep them standing up!

I hope you liked this little insight into my makeup obsession! If you have any questions about particular products or want more detailed categorised collection posts feel free to comment below!:)

  

abandoned.

Top, Belt, Tights & all Jewellery - Primark; Skirt & Jacket - H&M

This is another little outfit I wore out to dinner for a friend's birthday a few weeks ago, I am ever so slightly obsessed with this navy skirt from H&M; it just goes with everything!

The pictures above were taken by my big sister, in our little 'photoshoot' in which she got a little too keen and began attempting to take photos from above, below and just about everywhere else. My sister has abandoned me to go off on a 2 week holiday to Ayia Napa, so I am now an only child for the next 10 days. On the bright side I have full access to her closet while shes away, win!

Here's a little snap of my beautiful, big sister as punishment for her deserting me...

Isn't she a cutie? she's going to kill me...mwahaha.

In other news, who else is over excited about the new series of One Tree Hill... obsessed? Me? Definitely!

I've also been feeling lately that too many of my posts these days have my mug all over them; not to self- post less pictures of me haha!

prom night!

The apparent 'biggest day of a girl's life except her wedding day'; Prom, was last Thursday, and although I don't buy into the great importance of Prom, it was an exceptionally good night! I've never been one to gush and dream about Prom, so while all my friends had been envisaging their outfits since Year 7, I only really got excited a few weeks prior to the event. Although my expectations weren't that high considering it was organised by school, I was pleasantly surprised as the venue was absolutely bloody beautiful, and after a minor mishap with a very late limo driver, the night was amazing!

UD Naked Palette; ELF Mineral Eyeshadow in Elegant & Confidant; Maybelline Gel Liner; Girls Aloud Kimberly Lashes; MAC Face & Body; Topshop Cream Blush in Head Over Heels; MAC Hue

I absolutely fell in love with my dress and it was actually the first dress I tried on in a tiny boutique in London (can't remember it's name!) so I figured it was meant to be mine! I also used my Babyliss Curling Wand to create these curls and brushed them out a little before I left, pining up some of the hair at the back with the help of my trusty Got2B Powder'ful!

Of course I had an uber spray tan a couple days before to banish my pale skin, and although I felt a little blotchy and orange on the day I have completely fallen in love with being tan, and am now on the search for an amazing self tanner!

The night was filled with food, a million pictures, gushing over how beautiful everyone was and way too much dancing; lots of fist pumping, a la Jersey Shore!

With prom being over also brings with it the official end to Year 11, which makes me so sad! Some of the people in my year wont be returning to 6th form so a lot of people I might never see again! Its a scary feeling when you realise time is going past way too fast and we only have 2 years left of being at my school until I have to leave and fend for myself in the big wide world...

But anyway, Prom is over and it is officially Summer!