Hello you beauties!

Really can't believe it's 2017! In a few months time, it'll be the one year anniversary of my blog and I am honestly so excited for that day (there will be a very special post that day). If you've been a follower of this blog since that day, then thank you so much for the support and I hope that you enjoy the posts I'll be bringing you this year.

Today I'll be bringing you all my end of year favourites post. Usually I'd be writing a Monthly Favourites post but seeing as we are now in a new year, I thought it'd be best to reflect on the past year, beauty wise. Especially as this year has been so important for me.

So let's get started!

1. Sleek Solstice Highlight Palette
I never really loved highlighter until I bought this palette. I never really tried Sleek makeup until I made this purchase either and now I love it. The shades in this palette are so beautiful and the highlight is extremely intense and is great to add that special glow to any look.

2. Real Techniques Brushes
Before I bought these brushes, I only ever used to use the cheap makeup brushes that you can buy in the little sets from Argos, which were alright at first but I was desperate to own a real set of brushes. The Real Technique Brushes are all I could've ever asked for. They're so soft and such good quality and do such an amazing job at applying makeup. I couldn't recommend these highly enough and I have loved them so much over the past year.

3. Benefit Hoola Bronzer
Bronzer is one product I have always had problems with, as the only ones I have been able to afford recently seem to always make me look a little bit orange. But during the summer, I had the opportunity to try out a miniature version of this bronzer and honestly it is the most amazing makeup product I have ever used! It's not too hard and blends very easily.

4. Stila 'Eyes Are The Window' Eyeshadow palette
This is probably my favourite purchase of 2016. I saved up all my tips to buy this eyeshadow palette and it was definitely worth every penny. I got the 'Soul' palette and honestly these are shades that I use on an everyday basis, as they are the perfect nudes. They're so pigmented too and easy to blend, with a great mixture of matte and shimmer shades. All beauty lovers should have this palette as part of their collection.

5. Benefit Porefessional Primer
Yet another Benefit product. I really have loved Benefit this year. This primer is just perfect. It is really easy to use, is a great base and is great for the skin. I definitely would say that this primer is worth the price tag.

6. Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish
I have never really thought that much about buying more expensive skincare products until I heard about the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish. And this product has really done wonders for my skin this year! Not only does it make your skin look great, it also makes you feel great and extremely refreshed.

7. Princess Marcella Borghese Superiore State of the Art mascara

Such a long name but also such an amazing mascara. I got this in a Look Incredible box a few months ago and I use it pretty much every day. It makes your eyelashes look great - not just good, but great! They add volume and really curl your eyelashes and make them look really black. This is definitely my mascara of the year.

8. Makeup Revolution Redemption Eyeshadow palette

I got this palette on day 25 of my Makeup Revolution advent calendar and although it's only been just over a week since I had the change to use it, I love it so much already. It's only worth about £4 and so I was expecting it to be not very good. However, it shocked me. These shades are mainly shimmer shades which I love and the ones in this palette have amazing pigmentation, a lot better than I expected. 

9. MUA Blushers

These only cost £1 (so yes, I do own all of them!) and honestly I would be willing to pay more than that for these. They're so extremely pigmented and such great colours to use for any look. There's no fall out either, which is what you'd expect from such cheap products. I am glad to have added them to my makeup collection this past year.

It is strange. This time last year, my view on makeup was very different to how it is now. I did not really see the point in wearing it, and only wore it very rarely. Then something just changed, and now it is my biggest love in life. I couldn't possibly live without makeup in my life now and I could never imagine my life without this blog in it. 

I'll be back on Wednesday with another post for you all.

I hope you liked this post. If you did, be sure to subscribe/follow, comment and share with friends!

Byeeee!

Hello you beauties!

Today, the final day of 2016, is going to be a very different post to what I'm used to writing. It's going to be happy, but possibly sad too, as I reflect on the past year in terms of what has happened to me. I would love to hear about your 2016 and I hope it has been an amazing year for you all.

I would love to say that 2016 has been an amazing year for me, and while it has been better for me than 2015 was, I have to say 2016 still wasn't brilliant. I started the year feeling great.

For those of you who didn't know, I'm not in my third year of doing A Levels. Yes, I should've been in university now. But from September 2014 to July 2015 I attended a college that I absolutely hated. It made me feel so depressed being there. So I moved to a different college in September 2016 and being there has made me a lot happier. So in that sense, I have felt a lot happier in 2016 at college (despite the usual A Level stress).

My personal life is not really something that I usually talk about (I prefer to keep it all private) but now that I'm spending time looking back on my year, I don't see the harm in mentioning it for just this one post.

At the beginning of the year, I was in a relationship and a genuinely was very happy. But then we broke up and I was quite upset about it. I never really mentioned it before because we broke up quite early on in the year, before I started this blog. Me and the guy are still pretty good friends but it's a memory that I try my best to not remember.

I have also lost my best friend this year, but in losing that friend, I have made many new friends. Losing friends is never easy but sometimes they turn into the sort of person you hoped they would never become. And you realise you are better off without them in your life. I have learnt to be happy with the friends that I do have rather than focus too much on the past.

I have also been very ill this year, which is something I dread every day. I have a really really bad immune system, so when I get ill, I get really ill. What started off as a cold early this year turned into really bad tonsilitis... so bad that I ended up in hospital to have tests. So that definitely was NOT a highlight of my year.

However, despite all this negativity in my life, some great things have happened to. I am happy in my job, my family manage to make me smile everyday and I have so much to look forward to in 2017.

I have finally been offered places at 5 different universities to study English, which I am extremely excited for. I just now have to accept the offers at 2 of the universities, which is going to be so difficult as all of the universities I have offers from are amazing (Brighton, Chester, Nottingham, York and East Anglia). However, I am leaning towards Brighton and Chester as my firm and insurance choice at the moment (Brighton has always had a special place in my heart). I am looking forward to visiting Brighton in a couple of months with my mum.

Moving out is going to be a very strange experience but I know it is going to be the right thing for me. By the time I move out and go to university, I will be 20 and that definitely shows that it is time to move on and live in the big wide world on my own. I can't wait to explore a new city and be able to show people that I can look after myself.

I hope you all have a great new year and I can't wait to see what 2017 brings to us all.

Have an amazing night with whatever way you're celebrating and I will see you all in 2017!

I'll be back tomorrow with the first post of 2017 for you all.

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Byeeee!

Hello you beauties!

Being a massive Potterhead, my favourite time of the month now always is receiving this subscription box! It arrived earlier than I thought, as I wasn't expecting it to arrive until after Christmas, but it actually arrived on the 21st. However, with so many posts already planned for Blogmas, I have only just been able to bring this post to you all! So I'm sorry, but I hope you enjoy it!

The first item in the box is the t-shirt. We get one every month and I always love them. This month, I'm not the biggest fan. I like everything about it apart from the colour. It says "Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home" which I think is really cute. However, the t-shirt I got is a bright yellow which is not really a colour that I like to wear. I would've preferred the black one. But I'll still wear it and I still like it.

We also got an embroidered badge of the Hogwarts logo which is a lovely addition to the box but I don't really think I'd use it.

We also got a Hogwarts crest magnet in a neon colour (I got the neon orange one) which is cute and I can't wait to use it on my fridge.

We then got a Harry Potter mug (a plain white mug with a wool-y Harry Potter warmer for it) which is absolutely adorable and I can't wait to use it for my hot chocolates.

The print we got this month is a Newt Scamander one, and it is actually amazing! I can't wait to add it to my growing collection of Harry Potter prints on my wall. I will admit though, I still haven't had chance to watch 'Fantastic Beasts' yet and I feel like I'm missing out!

We also got a Hogwarts crest keyring (as you can probably tell, this month's theme was simply Hogwarts) which I think I'm going to use on my car keys once I finally pass my driving test.

The final two items are my favourite things in the whole box. Every month we always get items linked to our preferred choice of Hogwarts house, and each month I always choose Slytherin. This month these items were a beanie hat and smartphone gloves which are perfect for the colder weather. I am so excited to use them.

So, as per usual, I love this month's box. I really can't wait to see what the new year brings to the subscription box, and I am more excited than ever. I would love to know if any of you actually have this subscription box and your opinions of it.

I'll be back on Saturday (New Year's Eve!) for my final post of 2016! It's going to be a really special post, especially for me.

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Byeee!