Blush Beauty: December 2014

December Favourites

10:37:00 am

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My Everyday Winter Makeup Routine

4:50:00 pm

My everyday makeup look for the winter is pretty similar to that in the summer, however I do change up a few products and go for a slightly more dewy look. Just a quick warning that this is a pretty text heavy post and I'm sure that I've forgotten to mention something that I use! Anyway, onto the makeup.

Base - To begin, I apply a a thin layer of The Body Shop's 'Instablur Primer' using my fingers then leave it to set for a minute or so. I then apply the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealor to any blemishes, usually using my fingers, but sometimes using one of my concealor brushes that I purchased from Ebay (You can find a post on them here!), which were surprisingly really good quality and cost under £3 for a set of four!!. I have a few foundation favourites but the one that I've been using the most at the moment is the Revlon Colour Stay foundation in the shade 'natural beige'. I love the fact that this foundation is available in two slightly different formulas depending on your skin type as a lot of foundations only work for certain skin types meaning that you can sometimes feel limited on finding foundations that will work for you and your skin. I apply my foundation with a Real Techniques 'Buffing Brush' which I swear by and just like the other Real Technique brushes is very multi-purpose. Next I conceal under the eyes using the Soap and Glory 'Blur and Brighten' Concealor, using yet another Real Techniques 'Pointed Foundation Brush' and then set my foundation and concealor with Mac's 'Blot Powder'.

Blush, Bronze and Highlight - Next up is bronzing, I use The Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzer, which gives a very subtle bronze that is great for this time of year and also for people with pale skin, and apply it using The Real Technique Blush Brush. I use the highlighter from the Sleek Contour Kit and dust over the high points of my cheek and slightly down my nose and cupids bow. I then reach for either my trusty favourite blush which is the Mac Mineralise Blush in 'Dainty' and that I use all year round, or for one of the cream blushes from the Sleek Palette 'Californ.i.a'.

Eyes and Brows - I have been using my Urban Decay Naked 3 palette non-stop since I bought it so obviously had to mention it! I love the brush that comes with it so usually use that, otherwise I use some brushes from the Real Techniques Starter Set. I usually just grab whatever mascara comes to hand but at the moment I'm loving using the Maybelline The Colossal Volume Express Mascara after curling my lashes slightly. For my brows, I use the same product every day without fail and thats the Mac Eyeshadow in 'Omega' along with my Mac 266 brush.

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Blogmas

Asos Wishlist

12:30:00 pm

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Blogmas

Christmas Gift Guide: Even More Beauty

12:30:00 pm

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Tips: Gift Wrap Ideas

5:05:00 pm

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What I'm Watching: Tv Shows

12:30:00 pm

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Blogmas

The Body Shop Haul (Part 1) + First Impressions

9:31:00 pm

The Body Shop isn't a place that I've ever really bought from before, I have bought the odd piece here and there (I did buy a blusher a while back which I did a review on here!) but this month I just couldn't help myself. There were a few makeup items that I've had my eye on for a while now and when I found a code for 50% off after searching the internet I felt compelled to place an order.And yes that's 50% off and when you spend only £5, how amazing is this offer?! Here's a link to it for anyone else who can't resist a good bargain, I'm not sue how long this will be available for though.

Anyway, back to the products. First up is 'Instablur', an all in one five action perfecter, according to the tube. I heard about this through Gabby from 'VelvetGh0st', who has mentioned this product countless times as her favourite primer, so of course, I had to give it a try! I haven't used this yet but from a little squeeze of this on the back of my hand, I can see that it is a clear primer so would work for people of all skin tones. i'm really looking forward to trying this as I've never found a primer that I've really loved! Don't get me wrong, I like the Maybelline Baby Skin primer which I use most days, but I just don't love it.

The next product is one that I've wanted to try for a while now as I'm still quite new to the whole bronzing thing as I always thought that I was too pale for it! Haha. The Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder has featured in quite a few Youtube videos and blog reviews that I've seen lately and chose the shade based on other peoples skin tones compared to mine, risky I know but this is what I get for ordering online! This looks like it'll give off such a subtle bronze to the skin which is really good for this time of year.

This Tea Tree Body Wash is said to work to remove impurities and make skin look clearer which I'm definitely all for! I usually love the smell of tea tree but this particular tea tree product smells a little weird to me and I don't what it is that makes me think that, but that doesn't bother me too much as hopefully it will do what it says on the bottle! Another product from their tea tree range is the Blemish Fade Night Lotion which again is supposed to get rid of spots and from some of the reviews seems to help to fade acne scars.

I have ordered a few other bits and pieces but they haven't arrived yet so will have to do this haul in two parts!

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Blogmas

Tips: Winter Beauty

10:30:00 am

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Blogmas

The Christmas Tag

3:07:00 pm

As it's almost Christmas I though it would be a good idea to do the Christmas Tag as I love reading tags! I am so excited for Christmas, which I think I say in almost every post at the moment but I just love this time of year. I haven't done a tag post before but I decided to give it a go, and want to tag anyone else who fancies giving it a go!!

Photo from Pinterest

1. What is your favourite Christmas Movie/s?

There are so many Christmas movies that I love, and to narrow it down to just one is tricky! However, I do love Elf, its a classic and even after the amount of times that I've watched it, it still doesn't fail to make me laugh. A few of my other rated Christmas movies are Miracle on 34th Street, White Christmas and Unaccompanied Minors!

2. Do you open your presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?

Definitely on Christmas morning, I don't actually think that I know anyone who opens them on Christmas Eve.

3. Do you have a favourite Christmas memory?

I have so many but I'm sure this one will be pretty special as it's my younger sisters first Christmas!

4. Favourite festive food?

I think I have to go with a chocolate log as i cannot stand mince pies! Also, until about a week ago I thought there was mince meat in them, am I the only one?! Haha

5. Favourite Christmas gift?

Either my iPad or my speakers as they were huge surprises and I definitely wasn't executing them!

6. Favourite Christmas scent?

I'm not a high fan of Christmas scents as they usually contain cinnamon which I really don't like, so I tend to stay away from Christmas scented candles and prefer sweeter scents.

7. Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions?

My family usually get together in our pyjamas and watch Christmas films.

8. What tops your tree?

We seem to change it up each year so it'll either be a star or an angel and this year we are really late putting up our Christmas decorations so I'm not sure what it'll be this year yet!

9. As a kid what was the one (crazy, wild, extravagant) gift you always asked for but never received?

I'm sure it was something really silly like a horse or something, but I do remember asking my mum for a smart board (like the ones you have in school, did anyone else have these?!).

10. What's the best part about Christmas for you?

My favourite thing about Christmas is definitely spending time with the family, I just love how Christmas brings everyone together and we all have the best time! Also, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't love the presents and also seeing everyone else's faces when they open theirs.

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Blogmas

Christmas Gift Guide: Beauty

11:30:00 am

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Review: Sleek Blush 'By 3' Blush Palette in 'Californ.i.a'

11:00:00 am

I have already written a review on another of Sleeks 'By 3' palettes (which you can find here!) and like that one, loved 'Californ.i.a'. This was £9.99 from Superdrug which is absolutely amazing when you consider how much one blush costs from a more high end brand and even some high street brands!. Although this isn't a high end blush palette, the quality is still very good for the amount of money that you are paying. This palette unlike 'Pink Lemonade', has three cream blushes, which are all really smooth and blendable! I really like cream blushes as they give a much more dewy and natural flush to the cheeks which is great for days when you don't want too apply much makeup. As always from Sleek, the packaging is very simple and their usual black plastic compact and inside, has a reasonable sized mirror which can be really handy. I was a little surprised at the size of the palate as it was slightly smaller than I'd thought it would have been, but for the price you do get a lot of product so I shouldn't complain!

The first shade, Newport Peach, is a slightly more orange toned coral shade. It, like all of the shades, is very creamy and blends really well and gives a very natural glow to the cheeks.

The next shade is The Surf which is a very light peach shade that has an ever so slight shimmer to it. This is way to light too light for me to wear as a blusher but it can work as a highlight shade for the cheeks when applied lightly.

The shade OC is a lot more pink toned that the others and is probably my favourite of the three. As my most worn shade from the palette, I dot this on my cheek and blend using my Real Techniques expert face brush.

The quality of these cream blushes, for the very affordable price that they are, is so great! They have a strong pigmentation and are so easy to use and incorporate into your everyday makeup routine. I also love the fact the packaging is so compact as it makes it much better for fitting in your makeup bag and would be great to take with you when traveling, rather than taking a few separate blush shades.