Taking You Through My Skincare Routine

By now I'm sure you're all well aware of my love for skincare - seriously, give me a cup of tea and a box of products and I will chat to you about them for hours. More recently I've been favouring a more laid back approach to my routine, missing out a few steps that aren't always necessary and using just a handful of products that I know work for me. Also, as we're now in the coldest part of the year I'm having to deal with a complete lack of moisture - dry skin people, ya feel me, so I've had to pick products that are basically the equivalent of dipping my head in a bucket of water every five minutes!

My Most Used Products in September

It feels like only yesterday I was writing a post and titling it 'August Favourites' but here we are a whole month later (and then some actually..) with September's round up! This marks the third to last instalment before we'll be saying hello to January again, and is mostly made up of the very last scraps of Summer in my beauty routine including a bright coral lipstick that screams sunshine and a fragrance that reminds me of holidays from this year. Enjoy!

August Favourites

One more month down and one step closer to The Big C in December - I know we're all thinking it by now! August has seen the end of Summer, Autumnal fashion hitting the shops and most importantly, a host of new beauty favourites for me to chat about! I've definitely made some exciting discoveries this month, from a foundation that I can't stop raving about to a hair care combo that I'm prepared to promote to Holy Grail status - they're just that good. Enjoy!

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation: An Exciting New Launch

Back in July - which seems like absolutely years ago now, I headed to London for the afternoon for the launch of Charlotte Tilbury's new Magic Foundation*. You may have caught a few snippets on Instagram (I also vlogged the day too which you can see here), but I wanted to wait until the product had actally launched to really spill the beans on just how good this is. Believe me, it's been a hard one to keep in!

Make Up Haul & First Impressions

I think we all know the drill by now - I got spendy in the make up aisles and have a pile of goodies to show for it! Instead of a usual chatty haul however, I decided to try out the products I picked up and give you my first impressions of them as we go! Basically, the title of this video should have been 'watch me play with make up' and I have to say, I was pretty impressed with how well everything lived up to my expectations..

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Summer Bronze Smokey Eye

There's nothing I love more than a bronzey gold eye product, and when one comes along with a formula as good as the Charlotte Tilbury Eyes To Mesmerise (previously seen in this month's favourites, can you tell I'm having a bit of a moment with these?) there isn't much I can do to stop myself incorporating it into every make up look in my roster. A light wash over the lid for everyday, smudged into the lash line for a colourful take on liner and probably my favourite of all.. packing on as much as possible for an all out smokey eye, which when paired with fresh skin and a light hand on the blusher/bronzer has become one of my go-to Summer looks of the moment!

May Favourites & Exciting Announcement!

Hello June! Although my brain is still questioning why the Christmas tree isn't up we've managed to make it halfway through the year already and into my favourite month - Birthday bias, of course! Not only am I turning 23 (eek!) but I've got some incredibly exciting things coming up over the next few weeks and you'll be coming along with me for all of them! Stay tuned to the end of this video to find out why.. Oh the mystery.

Boots Beaty Haul & First Impressions

It's pretty much a guarantee that I'll be making a big splurge in Boots around this time of year. The Sun comes out, blossoms are on the trees and drugstore brands start dropping their Spring releases which never fail to catch my eye. Cue a haul! This one comes with a bit of twist as I throw just about everything I bought straight onto my face and share my first impressions with you, including a new foundation love, a mascara that I was less than impressed with and a few interesting dupes for some higher end favourites!

This Week: Charlotte Tilbury X Norman Parkinson

Last week I definitely had one of those surreal 'pinch me' moments when I found myself not only sitting in the same room as a handful of blogging babes that I've been reading and looking up to for years - but also, at the head of a perfectly decorated table, Charlotte Tilbury. It's days like this that really have me thanking my lucky stars that my blog has come from posting pictures of Subway cookies and Friends quotes to something that has allowed me to meet one of me absolute idols.

Minimal Make Up Routine

I feel like I owe my skin a bit of a break after the festive season. Not only did I go all out on the full coverage foundations, party looks and glitter but I also consumed way too much dairy - aka the five Terry's Chocolate Oranges and entire family sized cheese board I polished off over Christmas and it's really taken it's toll. Since December I've barely worn make up at all unless I'm venturing out the house and even then it's just been a very simple routine of minimal but glow boosting products that have been giving my skin a well deserved breather.

Cheating The Marc Jacobs SS15 Look

I haven't been keeping up with LFW as throughly as I would have liked, although my Instagram feed is just about full to the brim with it I think I've pretty much got the highlights down. As much as I love the beauty and elegance of the clothes, it's the make up that I find myself most drawn to - ethereal dewy skin and bold lip looks always being a favourite, of course, but there was one look this year hailing from the Marc Jacobs SS15 show during New York Fashion Week that I found the most intriguing.

The models wore absolutely no make up, none at all, just a glow enhancing layer of moisturiser massaged into the skin by the NARS make up artists. Dark circles were fully embraced, shine encouraged and although they did admit to covering up a blemish or two the skin looked completely bare. A bold choice (especially when paired with the dark bobbed wigs to complete the look), but it just seemed to work.

Now I'm no model and certainly don't have the skin of one, so I started thinking about how I could cheat my way to a no make up look while still sneaking in a few necessary products. The key to this look turned out to be Make Up Forever Full Cover Concealer, which when patted onto a good layer of moisturiser - I went for the Garnier Miracle Skin Cream to add a slight tint and a much needed boost of warmth to my pasty skin, tones down any redness, uneven patches and of course keeps the blemishes at bay.

As for embracing the dark circles, I'm still not quite there yet but did forgo the use of my beloved Bobbi Brown Corrector and stuck to just concealer. For the finishing touches I curled my lashes, added a lick of Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara whose large fibre brush makes light work of creating the whispy, barely there look when used sparingly and finally filled in any sparse areas of my brows with the thin nibbed Soap & Glory Archery Brow Pencil.

I did toy with the idea of leaving my lip completely bare, but decided to even them up slightly using Charlotte Tilbury's Lip Cheat Pencil in Pink Venus, patted on top of my lips after a good application of Nuxe Reve de Miel Lip Balm (see the full post on this little trick here).

Are you a fan of the barely there look?

Images 2 & 3 Via: NARS Cosmetics

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Cheating Perfect Lips

Despite being a well documented lipstick fan there are sometimes days when I just don't feel like wearing anything - mostly when either my make up is taking a turn for the minimal side or if I know I'm about to tuck into a massive burger without a single regard for elegance and would rather not have it smeared all over my chin.

Unfortunately not being blessed with perfectly even lips I often feel like I'm going bare when theres a zero product situation, but I've recently found that a combination of lip balm and liner - in particular the NUXE Reve de Miel offering and the Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Pink Venus, to be the perfect way to correct my wonky lips and add a touch of colour. The lip pencil is one of those Holy Grail 'my lips but better' shades and blends into the balm to give a sheer wash of pink that, thanks to the matte finish of both products, imitates that natural texture of my lips perfectly. The waxy formula also sticks around for hours while the balm keeps everything hydrated for a simple but polished pout, giving the illusion that you're wearing nothing at all.

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