BeautyBay Haul + Updated Z Palette

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BeautyBay had an offer for students going on last week so I had to take advantage!

Skincare ¦ The Ordinary

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If I had name my favourite skincare brands, The Ordinary would up there in the top 3. The Ordinary do affordable skincare products averaging around £5 for various skin issues. I personally have acne prone skin with scarring, so products aimed at blemished skin is what I go for. I’ve got a little collection now, so I thought I’d share what products I have from The Ordinary.

Perfume Collection

Today I thought I would share with you my current perfume collection. Some of these are ones I haven't used before and others are my repeat favourites.

Brands I Want To Try Out In 2018

I love trying out new beauty products and brands, so in 2018 I would like to try new brands whilst trying more from brands I have only had one product from.

The Best Skincare of 2017

I know it's late into January, but I still wanted to share my favourite skincare products of 2017!

The Best Make Up of 2017

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I know this comes really late into January but I wanted to share my 2017 make up favourites so much!

Skincare & Clothing Haul!

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I made a few new purchases in January and wanted to share them with you all. I got a few skincare bits from BeautyBay and some new clothing from Next and New Look.

What I Got For Christmas 2017!

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Hope you had a wonderful Christmas (or a great holiday if you don't celebrate)! Today I would like to share with you the presents I received for Christmas. As usual with these type of posts, I would just like to put a disclaimer that I am not trying to brag. I love reading/watching these and find it interesting so thought I would share too!

The Ordinary Lactic Acid 5% + HA 2%

After seeing lots of hype over The Ordinary and seeing lots of great reviews on BeautyBay, I decided to give The Ordinary Lactic Acid 5% + HA 2% a try.

The Body Shop Haul

I saw on VoucherCodes that there was an offer to get £50 worth of product for £25 from The Body Shop and I decided to take advantage of this.

ColourPop Liquid Lipsticks First Impressions

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A couple of months ago my friend was making her first ever ColourPop order and asked if I'd like to order anything. Of course, I said yes! These are my first ColourPop items and I decided to go for two very different liquid lipsticks.

Morning Skincare Routine

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I've always stuck to a strict skincare routine but in the past 3 months I've become even more interested in skincare products. Because of this my skin is the best it has ever been and I would like to sing these products' praises!

BeautyBay Haul

I have been experiencing a tough couple of weeks, so what else would I do other than give myself a little retail therapy?

July Favourites

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My July Favourites comes slightly late but I wanted to do a favourites post as I haven't done one in ages. Some months you don't feel there are products that you've really been loving but for July there are a few items for me.

Urban Decay 'Stark Naked' Comfort Matte Lipstick

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Yesterday was National Lipstick Day, so in honour of that I thought I would upload a lipstick review. I've had the Urban Decay 'Stark Naked' Comfort Matte Lipstick for many months now so it is about time!


With lipsticks, I like to have an easy nude colour that is quick and easy to put on when I am getting ready in a rush and don't have time to spend on perfecting my lipstick. After my favourite BareMinerals lipstick was discontinued, I needed to find the perfect new nude for this job. And this is what I chose. 

Make Up Wishlist

Bad times when there is lots of make up you want to buy but you need to save money! And then the list just keeps building up and up...Here are a few on my wishlist/radar:

Nip+Fab Mini Haul

I've never used Nip+Fab products before but have always heard good things about them. Recently I have been attempting to try new skincare products as it has become increasingly important to me to find a really good routine. Here are the two items that I chose to introduce myself to Nip+Fab:

The first item I picked up is the Nip+Fab Glycolic Fix Daily Cleansing Pads 60 Pack which was on offer on Boots. I have seen rave reviews about this so I was expecting it to be brilliant. These exfoliating pads are to be used daily. They're soaked in glycolic acid to re-texture and resurface the skin. With hyaluronic acid and blue daisy they're also supposed to be moisturising whilst revealing brighter and smoother looking skin.

I've only used it twice so far so I can't review it. Although, I can say listen to the recommendation of using SPF after using this. I didn't listen and came home with a sunburnt face! I'll postpone using these until my sunburn has gone.

Later after I bought these pads, I then bought the Nip+Fab Post Glycolic Fix Moisturiser SPF 30. This lightweight, oil-free moisturiser is recommended to use after any of the Glycolic products as it has SPF 30 in it to protect from UV rays. I bought this on offer at Superdrug and it only arrived today, as I write this, so I don't have an opinion on it. It claims to leave a matte finish, which is important to me, and calms the skin with witch hazel. It also says it uses Niacinamide to reduce visible pores so that should be interesting to see.

I've been looking for the perfect SPF moisturiser to take on holidays with me for years now. I have tried a few and none of them have been comfortable on my face and have always stung my eyes and my sensitive skin throughout the day. I am going on holiday next week and maybe in August so I have high hopes for this!

I am so far impressed with the products and feel encouraged to try out more of their products. A lot of their skincare products have pretty cool names like 'Dragon's Blood' which instantly intrigue me. Their new release of make up products also look good so I would be interested and trying a make up item. 

Look out for reviews on these items once I've given them a good go!

Gerard Cosmetics Hydra Matte 'Cher' Liquid Lipstick

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Sometime last year my friend and I were talking about Gerard Cosmetics and I mentioned that if I were to buy one of the liquid lipsticks, that I'd go for the shade 'Cher'. My wonderful friend remembered that and bought me it for Christmas! This is my first product from Gerard Cosmetics.

The range of Hydra Matte lipsticks, which you can guess from the name, claim to be a comfortable and nourishing formula whilst still being matte and long-lasting. The packaging looks luxurious with a gold cap and frosted glass, making it one of my favourite looking products. I absolutely love the frosted design! The shade 'Cher' is described as a 'Muted Purple'. 

I'll begin by saying that I absolutely adore the shade. It goes nicely with my purple hair and it surely is a unique colour in my collection. It applies rather easily with a little time to play around with before it dries completely matte. You're able to layer it up too to build up the colour and make it darker. The applicator is shorter than the Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks that I own but not too short to make it difficult to apply.

Lasting time I find fairly good. It it non-transferable, which makes it kiss-proof(!). This type of lip product I like to use when I'm wearing make up for a long duration as it doesn't come off as easy as say a lipstick. Eating dry snacks and drinking water is fine, it is just when I am eating a big meal that it comes off on the inner parts of my lips. However, it is easy to reapply and doesn't look patchy.

In conclusion, I really like this lipstick and the formula. I would happily buy more liquid lipsticks from Gerard Cosmetics as this one has become one of my favourites and will continue to use it regularly. 

Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Eyeshadow Palette

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My birthday was in April and I decided to gift the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance to myself as a treat. I have been lusting over the palette since it first made the rounds in blogs and YouTube, but I was put off at the price (£41.00). But let me tell you now, it was so, so worth it! 

The packaging is luxurious with a pink velvet lid and a long mirror on the inside. The shadows are a nice square shape; easy to dip your brush in to. The palette features 14 eyeshadow colours: 11 mattes and 3 metallics. It also comes with a double-ended brush which is actually nice and not one of those flimsy brushes some palettes come with.


Below is a close up of the eyeshadows. In addition I will also insert two swatch photos- the top row and the bottom row, left to right, as well as my opinions on each colour.

Top Row

• Tempera- (Matte, Beige). A lovely brightening colour which I like in my inner-corner.

• Golden Ochre- (Matte, Earth-Toned Yellow). A unique colour I've used as my lid base and an easy crease colour. I haven't seen this in other palettes.

• Vermeer- (Iridescent Shell Pink). Another favourite for an inner-corner highlight.

• Buon Fresco- (Matte Antique Lavender). My most used colour so far! An amazing lavender which I love all over my lid.

• Antique Bronze- (Metallic Sable). A deep colour that I've mostly used in my crease.

• Love Letter- (Matte, Raspberry). A beautiful colour which is unique to the palette.

• Cyprus Umber- (Matte, Dark Coffee). A nice, deep brown, good for the outer 'V' and crease.

Bottom Row

• Raw Sienna- (Matte, Neutral Amber). A neutral crease and transition shade.

• Burnt Orange- (Matte, Deep Orange). I love this colour as it is unique and goes well with Realgar.

• Primavera- (Metallic, Shimmery Gold Dust). This is an amazing inner-highlight that pops like nothing else! 

• Red Ochre- (Matte, Sienna Red). Truly stunning. A lid colour and crease colour.

• Venetian Red- (Matte, Crimson). I love the colour of this but don't find it to be as highly pigmented as the other colours, so needs building up.

• Warm Taupe- (Matte, Earthy Grey). I love this as a crease colour as it is super easy to blend which is perfect when you need to do your make up in a rush!

• Realgar- (Matte, Brick). Unique to my collection, oranges aren't praised enough.

The overall pigmentation of these shadows are insane! The only slight let down is Venetian Red, but it can be built up. I can't stress enough how velvety and smooth the eyeshadows feel when applying it which I haven't seen in other palettes that I've used. 

The only other issue is that you really do need to use shadow shields, or like me, a tissue under your eyes. The majority of the colours do have fall out that will smudge if you swipe it away. It may even be worth doing your eye make up before your base make up so you can remove any fall out with a make up wipe. This also means that little crumbs of shadow build up in the palette when you've put your brush in it, so I do recommend putting your brush back in to use those little crumbs on your eyes rather than leaving them in the palette to make a mess. This isn't really much of a problem but something to consider when using them.

In conclusion, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this palette and it is definitely my favourite in my collection! I use it every day so the amount I use it justifies the price of it. It has many unique shades and I love every colour. I've already recommended it to people and will continue to recommend it.

Lipstick Declutter!

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I have too many lipsticks! So the other day I decided to make myself go through them all and get rid of any I don't need anymore. I counted I had 29 lip products in total and my little basket was overfilling, so it was time to cull...

The photo above is a photo of my entire collection of lipsticks, liquid lipsticks, lip liners and the one lipgloss Juicy Shaker from Lancome. Here are a few of interest that will definitely be staying:

Urban Decay Comfort Matte 'Stark Naked' Lipstick- A creamy, matte, nude perfect for when you're running late and have to do your make up quickly.

Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick 'Lolita'- I have already nearly finished one. One of my favourites out of all my lipsticks as it's a beautiful nudey-brown colour.

Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani Lipstick 'Rock Steady'- A creamy, shiney red from the Gwen Stefani collection. I adore the packaging!

Kiko Milano Endless Love Lipstick 'Soft Marsala'- From their Valentine's Collection. The lipstick is in the shape of a heart! Although mine is slightly ruined by a terrible ex who decided he would "stamp" the heart on his face...How ironic.

Now on to the items that I decided to get rid of:

BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie 'Break Away' lipstick- This lipstick is discontinued and I am so gutted! These are the first lipsticks I've ever finished and were perfect for days where I needed to do my make up super quick. Also good for nights out because it wouldn't noticeably come off when drinking.

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick 'Dark Night Waterl-Oops!'- My second ever lipstick! It's a beautiful purple but it's so old now that it is 'wet', applies patchy and feathers immediately. It has to go!

BarryM Cosmetics Lipstick '37 Black'- Younger me wanted a black lipstick to rock. It is sooo patchy! I have the Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick 'Witches' now which is 10x better so this is going to go.

Rimmel Super Lustrous Lipstick (Colour Unknown)- The most terrible lipstick I've ever used. I recieved it in a Glossybox and it's so patchy and streaky that I won't even bother giving it to someone else. It looks like the 'concealer lips' trend from years ago on me so I am just not digging it.

Essence Liquid Lipstick 'Show Off'- The only item I can give away to someone. I got it in a Glossybox and the colour really isn't my style. I've given it to my sister Kelly who suits this colour far better.

So these are all the items I have gotten rid of. 6 may not seem that many but for me I am quite proud and now I have a bit more space in my lipstick organiser to add much nicer lipsticks in to!


*Since this post I have also managed to give away to my sister my Max Factor 'Cherry Kiss', true red lipstick. It is a nice lipstick but quite frankly I have too many red lipsticks and just don't get the use out of it. I am sure my sister will love it.



Thanks for reading!