November Favourites

This month I've been continuing to love most of the products I featured in last month's favourites post, obviously I didn't want to repeat myself so here are a few other things I've been loving!

I've been absolutely loving my Caudalie Grape Water (full review), as the weather gets colder, my skin gets dryer and this has been a great life saver. It's great if you need a boost of moisture over the top of makeup.

My absolute worst spot for winter dry skin is around my eyes, they start to feel sensative and uncomfortable and the Clarins Special Eye Contour Balm is the only eye cream that seems to nip it in the bud. I usually just use this as night but when my eyes are extra dry I use it in the day as well. 

A rushed morning where makeup was done in the car and mascara was forgotten lead to the purchase of Miss Sporty Fabulous Lash Xtra Black Lash Building Mascara, and I'm so glad because I love it. It's not the quickest to use but it's really buildable and gives great separation. Plus it's cheap as chips. (full review)

Avon Advance Techniques Nourishing Argan Oil Leave in Treatment has been used non stop since I bought it. It tames frizz and moisturises hair in one step. I use it pre blow dry or just on the ends as a touch up. (full review)

I've been continuing to love both my Avon 8 in 1 eye palette and MUA Undressed Palette this month, often being a bit bolder with a bronze or chocolate smokey eye. My Natural Collection Lipstick in Rose Bud has been a perfect partner to that, it pulls the whole look together really nicely without making it look over done. Definitely a 'my lips but better' type shade.

Last up is Avon Rare Gold Eau De Parfum, I bought this a few winters ago and everytime the weather gets colder I seem to pull it out and fall in love with it all over again. It's a very warm, rich grown up scent that smells much more expensive than it is! Keep your eyes peeled for a full review coming soon! 

What have you been loving this month?

Redken All Soft Supple Touch Review

This little gem, Redken All Soft Supple Touch has been my autumn/winter hair saviour. At times when the elements have been against me this has been well and truly on my side! 

Miserable weather over here usually consists of rain, drizzle or just a general dampness in the air. Which means my naturally curly hair frizzes up like crazy and resembles a dead animal on my head! That's where this wonderful product comes in, described as a softening cream-spray for dry/brittle hair, a few quick spritizes  smoothes out frizz and leaves a gentle wave behind instead, it's also really moisturising so it works a bit like a leave in conditioner as well. 

I often use it post hair serum, pre blow dry but mostly I use it for frizzy touch ups. When the weather is really bad this travels around with me in my handbag! On the rare occasions that I do wear my hair curly this works as a brilliant second day curl reviver. 

The only downside to this product? The pump spray seems to get clogged up quite often, which is really annoying! I've unclogged it with a pin a few times but when I'm in a rush I've had to resort to unscrewing the top, pouring a bit out, and working it into my hair with my hands, not ideal, but still a great product. 

Jen's Sleepover Makeup

There's nothing more fun on a girly sleepover than having a nose through your friend's makeup bag and giving makeovers, apart from  eating an extensive amount of chocolate and watching terrible movies of course!

To start with I smoothed Benefit Porefessional Primer all over Jen's skin with my fingers to create an even base and make the makeup last well (even though we weren't going anywhere) I then worked in MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation in NC15 with my trusty Real Techniques Buffing Brush, which left her skin looking absolutely flawless! We skipped concealer and went straight onto the fun bits, colour!

Using a Real Techniques Contour Brush I used the contour shade from the Sleek Contour Kit in Light to lightly accentuate Jen's cheekbones. This is such a great palette, we both own and love it, amazing really as we have such different skintones! Of course I had to be much more handed with it on Jen than myself. I then used a Real Techniques Stippling Brush to apply Revlon Photoready Cream Blusher in Flushed to the apples of cheeks and Benefit Highbeam to the tops of cheekbones, down the centre of the nose and above the cupid's bow. The light pink, pearlescent tones in this highlighter complemented Jen's skin perfectly! 


The main focus of the look was the eyes, we went for a soft neutral smoky look. I started by filling in Jen's brows with the Benefit Brows a go go kit and then adding the lightest shade (top left hand corner) from the MUA Undressed Palette under the brow bones and in the inner corners of the eyes. I then added the colour next to it all over the lid and blended out the edges with a Sephora Pro Blending Brush 27, next I used the bronze shade (bottom left) and worked that into the crease using the same brush, continuing to blend to make sure there were no harsh lines. I then added a really thin line of Clinique Quickliner for eyes in Black and smudged it across the top and bottom lash line for a softer look. Lashes were then curled and a generous amount of YSL Volume Effet Faux Cils Mascara was layered on, leaving Jen's already amazingly long and curly lashes look seriously stunning. This mascara is amazing, It's now been firmly placed onto my wish list!


To finish off the look we went for Clinique Almost Lipstick in Luscious Honey, it complemented the eyes perfectly while still being really subtle. Perfect! 

Highend Beauty Wishlist

Stila Convertible Colour in Poppy 

Moroccanoil Hair Repair & Moisture Trio

Clinique - Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector

Bioderma - Photoderm MAX Cream SPF50+ 

Nars - One Night Stand Palette 

Ren - Radiance Kit

Mac - Pro Longwear Concealer in NC35

Stila - Colour Me Glossy Lip Glaze Set

Highstreet/Drugstore Beauty Wishlist

Bourjois - Mineral Radiance Powder in 07 Hale

Botanics - Organic Facial Oil

Maybelline - Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Black

Sleek - Lip 4 Palette in Tease 

Una Brennan - Superfacialist Tea Flower Purifying Clay Mask

Real Techniques - Duo Fibre Collection

Yardley London - Peony Eau De Toilette 

Bourjois - Healthy Mix Serum Foundation in 58

Chanel Coco Body Cream Review

When it comes to all round luxury, no one does it quite like Chanel, they really bring it on all fronts, packaging, formulas, fragrances and colours. 

I was lucky enough to receive their Coco Body Cream as a gift a while ago and I absolutely love it. It really is the ultimate body cream, in fact think of it as a 2 in 1, fragrance and moisturiser. Just rubbing this stuff onto your hands and arms is enough to leave you with that lovely Coco fragrance all day. No perfume necessary. 

The cream itself is really rich and moisturising, you only need the tiniest amount and it leaves the skin with a beautifully subtle, dewy sheen. 

The fragrance to me is the ultimate winter scent, while I find the Eau De Parfum and even the Eau De Toilette versions of this scent to be too overpowering for my liking, I find this one to be perfect. It's a very rich, warm, grown up scent which has a musky powderiness about it while still being contemporary. If you generally tend to prefer light, fresh fragrances then this probably isn't for you. It's definitely a fragrance you could describe as heady. Here's what's in it,

Top Notes - Angelica, Mimosa, Frangipani and Mandarin

Heart Notes - Cascarilla, Orange Flower, Bulgarian Rose and Jasmine

Base Notes - Labdanum, Ambrette Seed, Opopanax, Benzoin, Tonka and Vanilla

Although I find it a bit too heavy most of the year, I absolutely  love it during the colder months. I've been using it for a few years now and I associate the scent with the coming of Christmas! 

NOTD #16

Today's NOTD is another Nails inc mini, this time in the shade Clerkenwell. It's a really dark, almost black green with a glossy cream finish. As I've said before I love Nails Inc polishes, the colours and formulas are great but these mini bottles are a bit fiddly to use! 

Revlon Colourstay Concealer Review

I seem to have accumulated quite the collection of concealers but the one I seem to reach for everyday is Revlon Colourstay Concealer in 06 Deep. Surprising considering most of my concealers are from high end brands. Unfortunately it doesn't come in a huge range of shades but I managed to find one that's perfect for me, just one shade lighter than my skin tone, it really brightens up the under eye area. It also works really well on blemishes, on no-foundation days, I dab it wherever I need it and quickly blend it in with my fingers, of course it works just as well over foundation.

It comes with a doe foot applicator which makes it really easy to use, and I find it never creases in the fine lines under my eyes, something that I often struggle with when it comes to concealers. It's also really creamy and blendable, and doesn't dry out the skin or cling to any dry patches. I'll definitely buy this concealer again and again!