Bloggers Secret Santa!

Hey everyone! Ages ago now I signed up to be a part of the #BBloggersSecretSanta run by Tamsyn-Elizabeth of peachpowxo and Gemma of SlightGem. I was given Jules from LippyLikes to buy for, so if you'd like to see what I bought her check out her post here! 

Anyway, my presents came this week and I found out that Dash from ModeLily was my secret Santa and I thought i'd share with you what I got.

 First up were these beautiful brocade effect nail varnishes from Maybelline in the colours Rosy Rosettes, Woven Skyline and Foil Flash. I'm so excited to try all of these, they're perfect for the festive season. I've already used Foil Flash as a top coat over Barry M's Lychee and it looks great, so I can't wait to try these out both on their own and over other colours too. I think i'm going to wear Rosy Rosettes on Christmas Day!

 The next things I received were these products from Sanctuary Spa. I received a Foaming Bath Soak, a Body Wash and a Body Scrub. These smell great and the sizes of the bottles are perfect for travelling, which is convenient as i'm going to Paris in January so I can definitely take these with me!

The final thing I received was this cute Paperchase diary with an adorable owl design! I like keeping a diary in my uni bag so that I can write in any group meeting times or deadlines, so this will definitely come in handy next year.

I'd like to thank Dash so much for my presents, I really appreciate them.

Have you taken part in any secret Santas this year?

Elemis FreshSkin Skin Glow Exfoliating Face Wash

Hey lovelies! I have a quick review for you today on a product that i've been using a lot recently. This face wash actually came in my goody bag from the South West Bloggers Meet last month, so i've had a few weeks to try it out and I thought i'd let you know what I think of it. The Elemis FreshSkin range is perfect for me, as it's specially formulated for people in their teens and twenties.

It contains little jojoba beads, so when you massage the product into your skin you can feel it thoroughly cleansing your face and really clearing away any dirt or dry skin. However, obviously the nature of such a deep clean can often be quite harsh on your skin, so it's great that this product also contains mandarin and aniseed to help "soften and condition" the skin. Also, I always follow up with a moisturiser. In the winter my skin is at it's driest, so can look quite dull and so using a scrub like this is really essential to try and inject some radiance back into it.

To be honest i'm not overly keen on the smell of this product. There is definitely a slight cherry scent as it contains cherry powder, but it just smells a bit odd in my opinion. However, on the whole it's a great product and the smell doesn't linger on my skin at all so I don't really mind.

This face wash retails for £12, which is a little pricey but I can already tell that this 100ml tube is going to last me ages. I'm not 100% sure at this stage if I would repurchase it, as there are some great cheaper scrubs on the market and i'm a poor student (boohoo), but if you're looking to splurge on a decent face scrub i'd definitely recommend this one.

For more information on this product you can check it out on the Elemis website.

RiRi ♥ MAC Lipsticks in Pleasure Bomb & RiRi Woo

MAC's RiRi Hearts Holiday collection was launched on the UK MAC website on Tuesday 10th December. I fell in love with these lipsticks weeks ago when I first saw the press release photos and luckily I was able to purchase them both online, which was a miracle considering Pleasure Bomb sold out in about ten minutes! The packaging is beautiful, the traditional MAC lipstick bullet has been transformed from the classic black into a festive pearlescent white, with rose gold detailing. "RiRi ♥ MAC" is scrawled across the lid of the tube and "RiRi" is engraved into the actual product itself, so this would be great for Rihanna fans! 

The first lipstick  I bought is in the colour Pleasure Bomb, which is a bright fuchsia shade. Girl About Town, also from MAC, is fuchsia and it's one of my all-time favourite lipsticks, so I knew i'd get a lot of wear out of this one. It has a matte formula, so I was a little concerned as I have quite dry lips at the moment, but I tried this out with a layer of Vaseline underneath and it felt fine.

The second is RiRi Woo. RiRi Woo has been released numerous times now and as this is Rihanna's last collaboration with MAC I thought it was about time I got my hands on it! I have wanted a red MAC lipstick for a while and this one is a deep, classic red with cool undertones. It is a slight variation on MAC's coveted "Ruby Woo" lipstick, but this one has a retro matte formula, meaning it can be drying, but has great staying power. 

There was another lipstick shade released in this collection, Bad Girl RiRi, but it is a brownish taupe nude and I didn't think it would suit my skintone, so I passed on that one. I'm so happy that I managed to get these lipsticks as not only is the packaging to die for, they're amazingly pigmented and i'm really excited to start wearing them.

Unfortunately these lipsticks, as well as the rest of the collection, sold out online extremely quickly, but you might still be able to pick these up at MAC counters or at a MAC store.

Did you manage to pick up anything from the collection?

My Christmas List!

1- RiRi Hearts MAC Lipsticks in Pleasure Bomb and Riri Woo 

Available at MAC counters and maccosmetics.co.uk

I never really get excited about MAC limited edition collections but these two lipsticks from Rihanna's final collection with MAC look absolutely beautiful. They're released in England on the 10th December but they are sure to sell out fast so fingers crossed i'm able to get my hands on them.

2- NAKED 3 Palette by Urban Decay

Available from Urban Decay

I got the original NAKED palette almost a year ago now and I still use it daily. I wasn't overly keen on the colour selection in the NAKED 2, but the colours in this third palette look so pretty, feminine and girly and I really love the rose gold packaging. Urban Decay still haven't really released much information as to the UK release dates etc, but i'm going to Paris in January so i'm hoping i'll be able to pick it up from Sephora.

3- Riding Boots in Black & Brown

Available from Target

I love my Chelsea boots, but i'd love a pair of slightly longer boots to wear with skinny jeans and leggings and i've been eyeing up these boots from Target which are very reasonably priced and look really classy. However, Target don't ship to the UK so i'll have to try and find an alternative :(

4-Miss Dior Eau de Parfum

Available from John Lewis

I got a sample of this perfume last year in Vogue and immediately fell in love with it. My boyfriend bought me a bottle in May and i've nearly used it all up so i'd love to get a new one as I really do think it could be "my scent"! I'm not even going to attempt to describe it as i'm hopeless at that kind of thing, but if you get a chance to smell it at a perfume counter i'd definitely recommend it! It's amazing.

5-Tote Bag

Available from ASOS

My bags are all getting a bit worn out due to the weight of my university books (English student woes...), so I could really do with a new one. Obviously I wouldn't say no to a Mulberry, but this is a little more realistic. Typically I tend to veer towards brown bags as I think they go well with a lot of outfits. It looks a lot more expensive than it really is and I think it's a stylish but practical everyday bag.

6- Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 Camera in Pink

Available from Urban Outfitters

I've wanted a Polaroid style camera for years and this one creates little instagram style photos which I think would look lovely hung up on my bedroom wall at uni or in a scrapbook. AND IT'S PINK!

7- Lorde Pure Heroine Album

Available from Play.com

I've been listening to this album on Spotify and YouTube non-stop recently. It's really rare for me to actually like every single song on an album but with this one I do. The songs are quite relaxing so it's great to listen to whilst doing uni work and a lot of the lyrics are really clever. 

What will you be asking for this year?

Snow Ball!

On Saturday 30th December my university had its annual Snow Ball. I've been super busy with deadlines recently and haven't posted much, so I thought it would be nice to do a little post on what I wore and how I did my hair and make-up! Sorry about the horrendous quality of some of these photos, they were all taken on various iPhones so they aren't great!

I actually had a bit of a nightmare with my dress, I originally ordered this one from Missguided, but it didn't fit and I had to send it back. I then ordered one from ASOS, but realised i'd need a stick on bra to wear with it so ordered one from eBay. About two weeks later my bra still hadn't turned up, trust me to find the dodgy eBay sellers! So, the day before I had to order this one from ASOS and prayed it would arrive in time, which luckily it did.

I curled my hair using a regular curling wand, but instead of using the clamp I simply wrapped strands around it to give a more natural looking curl. I used L'Oréal Elnett Satin Extra Strength Hairspray to keep them in place and I was really impressed with how well it worked, my curls still looked great the next morning! I then twisted the front strands of my hair back and secured them with my American Apparel bow.

I painted my nails using one of the new limited edition Barry M nail paints from Superdrug. For some reason it doesn't seem to have a name other than "E", but as you can see it's a beautiful pink glitter polish. I used a clear base coat, two coats of the polish and then topped it off with a clear topcoat and I really love the effect.

For make-up I didn't do anything too adventurous. I stuck to my regular face routine, then used some shimmery shades (Sin all over the lid, Sidecar on the outer corner & Toasted in the crease) from my Urban Decay Naked 1 palette to complement the colour of my dress.

Products used: NARS Sheer Glow foundation in Mont Blanc, Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Light 2, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light Plus, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle, NYX Powder Blush in Natural, NYX Matte Finish Setting Spray, NARS Laguna Bronzer, Chella Highlighter Pencil in Ivory Lace, Maybelline One by One  Volum' Express Mascara, Urban Decay Primer Potion (depotted, in the MAC eyeshadow pot), Collection Colour Lash Mascara in Clear and Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in #85 Secret.

Here are some photos from the night...

I hope you liked this post, it's a little more personal than I usually do but as I haven't posted in a while I thought it would be a nice way of keeping you all updated with what i've been up to! I'm coming towards the end of term so hopefully over the holidays I'll have time to post more regularly.

See you soon xxx

November Birchbox Review

This month's Birchbox is all about icons. In the little letter from the Birchbox team it says "we're getting our motivation from the icons that help us to be the best possible versions of ourselves". Other than a cute little postcard of beauty related quotes from people like Audrey Hepburn, i'm not really sure how "iconic"this box is, but i'm happy with the products I received nonetheless so i'm going to share them with you!

Laura Mercier Long Lash Mascara (Full Size RRP £18.50)-"This innovative stretch formula is smudge-free and lengthens lashes for a wide-eyed, fluttery look."

Weleda Replenishing Oat Shampoo (Full Size RRP £8.95)-"This gentle shampoo contains nourishing organic jojoba oil to smooth, reduce breakage and improve suppleness."

Molton Brown Ylang-Ylang Body Wash (Full Size RRP £18.00)- "Newly reformulated, deliciously scented body wash from this British heritage brand."

Chella Highlighter Pencil (Full Size RRP £15.95)- "Brighten and add glow to areas you wish to accentuate, i.e. brow bone, cheekbones and inner corners of eye."

English Laundry Signature For Her Eau de Parfum (Full Size RRP from £16)- "A divine delicate fragrance with elegant notes of quince, jasmine petals and musk."

Pukka Herbs Selection Of Teas (RRP £2.29)- "Try these delicious teas; Three Cinnamon, Elderberry & Echinacea and Earl Grey."

Birchbox  Pencil Sharpener (RRP £3)- "Caters to small and large pencils for precise, perfect application."

I can't really say too much about these products yet as I only received them yesterday, but this has been another great box in my opinion and i'm particularly pleased with the Laura Mercier mascara, which I used today and loved! I'm also intrigued by the Weleda shampoo as my hair could do with some nourishment as it's been quite dry lately. Finally, the extra goodie thrown in by Birchbox, the pencil sharpener, is so handy! I've been using a regular pencil sharpener for far too long and i'm glad i've finally got one specifically made for eyeliners/lipliners etc.

For more information about Birchbox you can visit their website here.
Do you subscribe to Birchbox?  What did you get in yours this month?

100+ Followers Benefit Giveaway! [CLOSED]

Hey lovelies,

I recently reached 100 followers on Bloglovin' and as a little thank you for your support i'm running a giveaway! I didn't want to just give away a MAC lipstick as I know a lot of bloggers have been doing this recently, but I also wanted to get something that would suit a lot of people.

So, up for grabs is the Benefit Easiest Nudes Ever kit, which contains two creaseless cream shadows and four longwear powder shadows, all in beautiful, natural, everyday shades, as well as helpful tips and tricks for creating eye looks. For more information on this lovely palette you can check it out on the Benefit website here.

This is a lovely kit and i'm actually quite jealous that I can't keep it for myself!
If you'd like to enter, simply fill out the rafflecopter below.

Please note: Unfortunately due to postage costs this competition is only open to UK residents.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Maybelline Dream Touch Blush Review

Hello again!

Today i'm going to be talking about a product that i've been using quite a lot lately and it's the Dream Touch Blush from Maybelline. Mine is in the shade Plum (#07), although the name of the blush isn't actually written anywhere on the packaging, only the number, so I had to find this out online which was a bit odd!
 

I assumed that as part of the "Dream" line, these blushes would be similar in texture to the famous Dream Matte Mousse, but I was very much mistaken. This is a cream blush, with quite a firm texture, which melts into the skin on application and blends really easily, giving a really natural finish. This said, I have tried using this with brushes also (the MAC 168 & 187 to be precise) and I find this gives me an equally natural looking finish. Personally I prefer using a brush as when you're working with your fingers it's slightly harder to build up the product evenly.

The colour itself is lovely, it's a very pinky plum shade with little particles of glitter in. Don't be alarmed however, the glitter isn't really visible on the skin and instead creates a slightly dewy look. The colour selection isn't great, there are only four shades, but I would love to try out more, particularly Peach (#02) which looks beautiful from photos i've seen online!

The little glass pot reminds me of the MAC paint pots and feels very high-end, which is great considering these blushes retail for a very reasonable £6.49.

I'm surprised that I like this product so much as i've never really found cream blushes overly appealing, but this blush gives such a pretty, natural looking flush that it's been perfect as part of my everyday makeup routine for university and work. 

You can buy these blushes from Superdrug and Boots in the UK, although for some reason they refer to them as "Dream Soft Blush"?

Have you tried any of these blushes?