Hello you beauties!

Disclaimer: If you don't want any of the contents of advent calendars to be ruined then I would advise you don't read this post

Last year, if you read my blogmas posts, you will know that I had the Makeup Revolution advent calendar and I actually really liked it (it definitely was worth the money). This year I won't be having a beauty advent calendar as I own so much makeup so the last thing I need to do is add more to my collection. However, I have looked into many of the beauty advent calendars that brands have on offer this year and have decided on which ones I would consider buying this year if I was to have one. I wanted to share all these with you.

If I had to choose my favourite calendar of this year then it definitely would be the Sleek one. At just £35 from Boots, I believe that it's great value for money as you get 24 items in this advent calendar and while most of them are the mini versions of products, I still think that this calendar is definitely worth more than £35. The range of products available in this calendar is outstanding and I am really excited to especially see one of their blushers and 3 eyeshadow palettes in there! The only problem is that this calendar seems so popular that it actually seems to have gone out of stock almost everywhere and even if I wanted one it doesn't look like I'd actually be able to get ahold of one.

I also like the look of the NYX advent calendar this year too. I was almost tempted to buy their calendar last year as I love that they had lip products and eyeshadows but it was way too expensive for me to afford at the time. This year their product is just lipsticks which I suppose is okay because my favourite thing about NYX are definitely their lip products. I don't think it's that bad a price at £50 either considering that a lot of their lip products are priced around £10 each. One thing that is stopping me from buying this calendar this year is just purely the fact that I feel like a lot of the shades in the calendar won't actually suit me and so I won't get much use out of most of the products.

The Charlotte Tilbury advent calendar is one I have always wanted to try as I've always been desperate to try out their products and the items in this years calendar seem amazing! With a mix of makeup and skincare, I really do believe that this calendar really lets you explore and discover the brand. The only problem is that this calendar is pricey (which obviously you expect from such a luxury brand as Charlotte Tilbury is) and there is no way I can afford £150 for one advent calendar.

BareMinerals has always been one of my favourite brands ever since I first started to use their products so the idea of a BareMinerals advent calendar is really appealing to me. Just being able to add another product of theirs to my collection every day just seems so exciting. There is such a variety of different beauty products in different shades in this calendar which makes it perfect for everyone. I just don't think I could afford £75 for one calendar right now...

Have you got a beauty advent calendar this year? Which one did you choose?

I'll be back next week with another post for you all.
Byeeee!

Hello you beauties!

It has been a while since I uploaded a beauty post and because it is my last post of August 2017, I thought it was only right to bring a beauty post to you about possibly the most important makeup item of summer - bronzers!

Everyone wants that golden, tan-like glow during the summer to make them look healthy and not seem too washed out in the sun. Other than using fake tan, I believe that bronzer is the best way to do this!

Now, if you've been reading my blog for a while now (and if you have then thank you) you will know that I've always struggled to find a bronzer that I love, but I have managed to find 3 that work just fine for me.

The one I use the most is definitely the Hoola bronzer by Benefit. I own the mini version but I feel like this is great value for money, at just £10.50. It's extremely pigmented which means you only have to use a little bit so even the mini one lasts ages. It's really easy to blend out too so if you do feel like you've applied a little bit too much, it's easily fixed. Even though they do have the Lite version for people with paler skin (like me), I feel like the original version is fine for paler people as long as you use a light hand and know how to blend well.

Another bronzer that I like to use is the Bourjois chocolate bronzer. This one is a lot lighter than the Hoola bronzer so is perfect for people who don't want much bronzer (just a natural glow) or for people with paler skin. This is slightly cheaper than the Hoola bronzer too, at just £7.99 so it's a great drugstore purchase. And it smells like chocolate too, which is a bonus.

The final bronzer that I like to use is the Makeup Revolution Vivid Baked Bronzer in the shade 'Golden Days'. It's not the best out of the 3, but for just £4 it definitely worth the money. It's very pigmented for the price and is easy to use. The only problem I've ever had with it is that sometimes it can go orange. But other than that I really do like this bronzer.

What bronzers do you like to use? What would you recommend I try next?

I'll be back next week with another post for you all.
Byeee!

Hello you beauties!

Even though I live in England and everyone knows that the weather isn't always the best, but there are times where it is warmer than usual. Sometimes I feel like foundations are too heavy for the warmer weather. So what should I do instead?

I've found that CC or BB creams are a better option for those warmer days. Whenever I wear foundation during the warmer hours, I often feel like my face is melting off and my foundation begins to irritate my skin and feel sticky. So I want something lighter for my skin that still offers coverage. And CC and BB creams definitely do that - although they don't offer as much coverage as foundations but they offer enough for it to still feel comfortable.

Admittedly I don't actually own that many CC and BB creams as when I find ones I like, I prefer to just stick to those as I use foundations for most of the year and don't want to spend a lot of money on products I do not use much.

My favourite CC cream is definitely the Max Factor CC Cream. It offers a great coverage and you can barely feel it on your skin, meaning it is perfect for when the weather is warmer. However, there are not many shades in the range - I think I only found 3, those being 'fair', 'medium' and 'dark'. I am a considerably pale person so I thought that the 'fair' shade would be the best for me but it is actually slightly too light for me and if I'm not careful then I feel like it washes me out. I have found though that if you use a bit of bronzer with this shade (unless of course you are an extremely pale person) then it's not too bad. The bonus is that it is actually quite moisturising and doesn't cling to the dry patches around my nose, which I love because I suffer from dry skin so I struggle to find foundations and creams that don't cling.

The only problem with this CC cream is the fact that I don't think it's that available in drug stores anymore. I know it is a product that was brought out a few years ago and the only place I have ever seen this is a B&M store (which is where I bought my bottle of it) and I think it is also available on the amazon website. If you do manage to get a one though they are a reasonable price - I'm pretty sure I bought mine for less than £5, which is definitely a great price as it lasts for a long time.

My favourite BB cream is the Garnier BB cream (or also known as a tinted moisturiser). This offers slightly less coverage than the Max Factor CC cream as it instead gives a more natural glow with a bit of extra colour to your skin. This is a product I would definitely recommend for those extremely hot days or those days where you're feeling confident about your skin.

Again, this cream only has a few shades (the same as the Max Factor cream) but because these are more of a tinted moisturiser it means that one shade can be suitable for a range of skin tones, at least in similar spectrums.

In contrast to the Max Factor CC cream, this BB cream is much more available in the drugstores - I bought mine from Tesco for around £5 but I know you can also buy it for around the same price at many other places such as Boots and Superdrug.

If I can, I will always use foundations as I do not like my skin and believe that foundations offer a much better coverage, but I will still use BB and CC creams where necessary.

Are there any BB and CC creams that you use and would recommend to other people? Let me know in the comments!

I'll be back next week with another post for you all.
Byeeee!

Hello you beauties!

Last week , my post told you about my favourite high end products, but I know that not everyone has that sort of budget, so I decided to tell you my favourite drugstore products too. I hope this again will be helpful for you all.

1. Rimmel Stay Matte Powder
This is the first powder I ever used and, to be honest, is the powder that I reach for 99% of the time. It's not great on the areas where I get dry skin as it dries my skin out even more, but helps to make the rest of my face look even more flawless. It is really cheap too and really easy to get hold of as it is available in basically every supermarket and drugstore there is.

2. MUA Blushers
I wasn't sure about the idea of the MUA brand when I first heard of it as it is so cheap I was worried it would break out my skin. However, when I saw these blushers for only £1, I just had to try them out. And now I own them all. They are incredibly pigmented and blend very easily. The shade range is not massive but its good enough for beginners.

3. I Heart Makeup Unicorns Heart Highlighter
I have wanted a rainbow highlighter ever since I learnt that they actually existed - especially as I am obsessed with highlighters. So when I saw this one for only £5, I knew I had to buy it. And I do not regret it. It is a very large box, considering that it is very cheap, and the pigmentation is better than expected - it is very intense and I tend to reach for this one more now than the Sleek Solstice palette, which I used to use all the time.

4. Soap and Glory Archery Brow Pencil
I suppose I could say that the part of my makeup routine that is my weakest has to be my brows, but I suppose hardly anyone actually enjoys this part. I always struggle to get them even, and often en up making them look too dark,. Then I started using this product by Soap and Glory. It is so easy to use - the product from the pencil just glides on but suits the shade I wanted perfectly. This is probably the best eyebrow pencil I have ever used, and it is only £10!

5. Essence Lipsticks
For those of you who don't know, Essence is a brand linked to the store Wilko, which is one that I visit regularly. I have loved this brand for quite a while, and have got myself a pretty big collection of their nail polishes already. I also love their really cheap lipsticks - they're not the best lipsticks I have ever used but are better than expected for the price. I have the shades 'Barely There' (which as you can guess is a nude shade) and 'Natural Beauty' (which is a 'your lips but better' pink shade). I would definitely recommend these lipsticks to anyone looking to add to their collection on a budget.

What are your favourite drugstore products?

I'll be back on Saturday 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.
Byeee!

Hello you beauties!

You all know that I love Makeup Revolution as a decent drugstore brand and so when they were having a sale on a while ago, I had to see what was going on and see if there were any good deals on. I think I went a little crazy in this sale and bought two massive eyeshadow palettes - with 144 shades in each palette! One contains only matte shades and one contains shimmer shades. And I swear by these palettes now.

I love the fact that there is such a massive range of shades within these palettes - you can literally make any look! Whether that be a smokey eye or a nude/natural look. Not only are there so many shades, these eyeshadows are extremely pigmented and very, very easy to blend. As there are so many shades, with the eyeshadow pans being bigger than you expect too, you won't be having to buy any more eyeshadow palettes for a while (unless you really want to of course)!

How much did it cost, I hear you ask? Only £10 for each palette! I know, I was very surprised too. Yes, they were half price but even at that price you don't expect as good quality as you actually get in this palette.

There are obviously some negatives to these palettes. One is that while these eyeshadows are quite pigmented for the price, they are (of course) not quite as pigmented as more expensive palettes can be. I would definitely choose a Stila or Too Faced palette over these ones if I had the money to, but they are great palettes if you're on a budget and/or are just starting out.

Also, the mirror included with the palettes are not great - they are incredibly tiny. I don't see much point in these mirrors as you have to hold the massive palette very close to you just so you can see, which is really awkward. Honestly, they just shouldn't have included it.

Overall I love these palettes a lot as I find them to be great value for money and offer all kinds of possibilities. If you can still get hold of these, please do so. It is worth it.

Have any of you tried either/both of these palettes out? If so, what are your opinions?

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

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

Hello you beauties!

Today I am bringing you something very rare on my blog - a review! This balm definitely deserves a post of its own on my blog as it is such an amazing product, although it was never actually intended to be a makeup product, but has now evolved to become a very popular primer.

There are many reasons why I like this primer. I think the main reason I love this product so much is because it is extremely affordable - these can easily be found in the drugstore. I'm sure I only paid around £2-£3 for mine and you get a reasonably sized bottle of it.

It also has a very strong scent to it, which is great if you like the smell (I know I do), but if you don't, then don't worry because the smell lasts for just a few seconds as you apply it - once it's all rubbed into your skin, you can't smell it at all. Obviously the smell is stronger the more of it you use, but another benefit of this product is that "a little goes a long way" - you only need to use the tiniest dot of it otherwise instead of being tacky and moisturising, it can make your skin real greasy instead.

However, there is one main negative to this product, this being the packaging. It is in a glass bottle which can be quite heavy, a lot heavier than usual bottles of primers. This can make the product hard to travel with and store (therefore I usually choose to travel with one of my smaller packaged primers instead, and store this one by standing it on top of my chest of drawers rather than in my makeup drawer). The packaging also has no pump which is very awkward as it is hard to control how much of the balm actually comes out of the bottle.

But overall, despite the awkward packaging, this product is amazing and definitely worth the hype. It makes an amazing primer and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for something affordable.

Have you tried out this primer? If so, what is your opinion about it?

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

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