Cranberry Festive Face Mask by Lush

Even though each individual has a very different skin type, one thing that most of us have in common is the struggle to keep our skin moisturised and nourished throughout the cold and frosty months of Winter. An oily t-zone is something I battle with daily, but the Winter annoyingly welcomes flakey and dry cheeks which are quite frankly a pain in the bum!

In order to combat this, I've been using the new Cranberry Festive Face Mask by Lush. £6.75.

I'll begin by pointing out the least most important aspect of this product. It is pink! There is something great about layering a baby pink product all over the face. It smells lovely too!

Moving away from pretty colours and scents, this face mask has a bitty and cool consistency that soothes the skin and gently exfoliates. The product description highlights that the mask contains a mixture of argan oil and rose clay, which creates an almost matte finish upon removal, and I have to agree. It looks as though you have applied a mattifying primer but the skin feels like silk.

The face mask also has brightening, nourishing and moisturising capabilities. The product has the ability to brighten your complexion and brings the skin to life. 

As a student, I spend a lot of time on public transport on my way to university and walking along busy roads. The antioxidant cranberries and argan oil protects your skin from the environment and puts the moisture back into the skin that tends to be taken away throughout the season.

Have you tried the Lush Cranberry mask? I'm sure you'll enjoy it too!

Impressive Bargain Beauty

I've come to the realisation that I am a student. And as much as it pains me to say it, I can't always afford to buy beauty from the higher end of the spectrum. *sigh*. I have also come to realise that it costs a lot of money to be clean! Goodbye £44.50, I hope Superdrug treats you well.

But in terms of saving the pennies on cheaper beauty brands, that's OK! Because here in the UK we have amazing beauty products from the drugstore that are fantastic dupes for some of the luxury products on the market.

Sleek is a brand that I have never shown too much interest in and I am not entirely sure why. For a drugstore brand, Sleek have an impressive colour palette, which is a significant quality to have in the beauty industry. Furthermore, the product range is great and almost everyone has a good thing to say about it. Especially with regards to the eyeshadow, blush and contour palettes. As someone who loves a bit of contour, the latter appealed to me and I decided to purchase the Face Form Contouring and Blush Palette in Medium - £9.99. 

I am so impressed with this in more ways than one. Firstly, the packaging is 'sleek', efficient and petite enough to carry around in your bag and most importantly contains a huge mirror. 

Secondly, the content of the palette is extremely impressive. It comes with a matte sculpting shade, a luminous highlighter and a 'bronzey' shimmery blush shade. I am yet to try the blush, but the blend ability of the contour powder was lovely and the highlighter added a subtle luminosity to my cheeks. Both powder's complimented my tanned skin-tone beautifully. I think my mum may be receiving the Light version in her stocking this year.

It is safe to say that my contour was on point last night for the fireworks!

The second product that managed to weave it's way into my basket was the Matte Me - Ultra Smooth Matte Lip Cream in Fandango Purple - £4.99. The fact that it is a liquid lipstick may have had something to do with it.

I am completely obsessed with the colour of this product. This fuchsia purple is so pretty and complimentary. Pinky tones almost always never suit me, but I have finally found one that does. 

Starting with the Negative Nancy verdict, the only major downfall about the Matte Me lip creams is the applicator. It made it quite difficult and uncomfortable to apply because it has a lack of softness. Furthermore, it has a rather odd and unnecessarily long shape.

I didn't find the formula of the product too drying. I could feel it slightly after the application but it wasn't a significant amount. Additionally, I found the staying power to be pretty damn good, but I did have to top up once throughout the night. But in the grand scheme of things, that is not a huge burden. I find myself doing that with almost every lip product that I use. And you cannot argue with £4.99!

Here is a cheeky selfie of me with my new purchases on:

See what I mean about the colour?

Is there anything that you are loving from Sleek at the moment that I may want to know about?

The Eyeshadow For Early Winter Mornings

A pink ribbon in honour of Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Here's my secret to looking extra beautiful in the morning. And it doesn't involve setting your alarms to go off 30 minutes earlier...

Move over On and On Bronze. I have a new favourite shade from the Maybelline NY Colour 24HR Tattoo by EyeStudio range.

I'm trying my best to experiment with my eyeshadow and go beyond reaching for the golds, browns and bronze shades. Which is something I can't help but do naturally. Metallic Pomegranate is a deep  burgundy shade with an odd yet flattering tinge of rust running through it. I've been counting on this  product to encourage a sweet and subtle transition into Winter when it comes to my eye make-up.

I love a good cream eyeshadow as they're a great product to use for beginners, busy women or for people that just can't be bothered but want to look some what presentable. (i.e me before university.) And they're a dream to use. I almost think that it's impossible to make a cream eyeshadow look bad.

I've been wearing Metallic Pomegranate daily and on it's own. With a dab of my finger, some blending with the help of a fluffy brush and lashings of mascara, my eyes are done within seconds. And it looks decent!

The warmth of this beautiful cream is what i'm most drawn to. Nothing beats wearing a sultry smokey eye with your scarf half way up your face and having a stroll through the crisp Winter air. It makes Monday morning's a wee bit more bearable.

What I admire about this particular range of cream shadows is that they really are great value for money. £4.99 can no way be argued with. They have an impressive staying power and the texture isn't at all drying. As with most cream eyeshadows, they can be used as a base product to prime the lids but I think that they look lovely on their own.

I do plan on buying more. From time to time I wander into Boots to have a nose but the crowd around the Maybelline shelves is always either too overwhelming or there aren't enough testers on show. First world problems, hey.

Have you tried the Maybelline 24HR Tattoo Gel Creams yet? If not, WHY?

Sensational?

When it comes to drugstore mascara's, I never usually stray far from Seventeen's Falsieye HD! in Blackest Black. However, when I saw this pretty pearly pink Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara on the shelves of Boots I decided to pick it up and give it a whirl. Admittedly, before writing this post I realised that I picked up the waterproof version, oops. But i'll go ahead and give you my thoughts.

I was apprehensive on whether to buy this as I haven't been majorly blown away by a Maybelline mascara for yonks, but after a few weeks of experimenting, I have come to my final verdict.

The mascara is presented to you in your typical Maybelline oval-ly packaging. (That word definitely isn't in the Oxford Dictionary.) I am a fan of the design but I equally find it to be quite bulky. Nevertheless you can't miss it in your make-up bag.

The benefits:

• Lengthening
• Thickening
• Adds volume
• Affordable and Accessible at £7.99

The not so beneficial factors:

• I'm the type of girl that likes to build up mascara but not to an excessive extent. Only a couple of coats. When it comes to Lash Sensational, I find it extremely difficult to built the product up without feeling like my lashes are going to rip out.
• Adding onto the latter point, it can look and almost feel very clumpy. Clumpy mascara is a huge problem for me! 
• A couple of weeks down the line and the product is already drying up. 
• Definitely not suitable for under the eyes. But then again, I find it difficult to find any mascara that doesn't transfer below my lower lash line.
• REALLY difficult to remove. That obviously comes with the 'waterproof' territory but this is really hard to take off and puts me off wanting to use it. 

Do I sound like too much of a Negative Nancy?

It may come as a surprise but I do honestly really like this mascara. It does all of the things I want it to do, it's affordable and I love Maybelline as a brand. The only mascara I like to splash my cash on is Benefit's Roller Lash but apart from that i'm a drugstore gal all the way. Will I repurchase? Probably. Just not the waterproof version!

Have you tried Maybelline's Lash Sensational?

The Estée Lauder Haul

Welcome to my first Estée Lauder Haul and a very image heavy post!

It has been a long time coming but i've finally purchased Estée Lauder's Double Wear foundation, and conveniently from Boots as you have got to keep wracking up those points! Christmas is very much just around the corner after all.

I've never purchased anything from Estée Lauder before and the service was wonderful. It's always nice to hear that you have lovely skin and that the foundation and lipstick looks gorgeous on you. It makes it much easier to hand over your cash and say to yourself 'Go on then, take my money.' I was also given a very generous gift bag at the check out as a reward for spending. *Happy dance*

When it comes to Winter beauty I think, flawless base and dark bold lips. And I think that I've hit the nail on the head with these two.

Here's the haul:

1. Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Make Up SPF 10 in Cashew 

This product definitely does what it says on the tin. Stays-in-place! I almost have to do a triple cleanse to make sure that my face is free of it at the end of the day. Regardless of the effort you have to put in to take it off, it's a fabulous product. Initially, I was reluctant to buy this because of how full coverage it is. I'm not into the whole cake face thing, or even worse feeling like your base is wearing you. But I have been pleasantly surprised and so far, so good. 

2. Pure Color Envy Sculpting Lipstick Matte in Desirous

The launch of these lipsticks have sparked a lot of joy for me. I've always known that Estée Lauder have some of the best skincare on the market and some great make-up products. But I've also had the impression that their target market is aimed more towards the mature side. Until the gorgeous Kendall Jenner became the new face and they came out with these beautiful matte lipsticks. I think that I could happily spend a lot of money on all of them. The shade Desirous is my new favourite Autumn/Winter shade. The sales advisor on the counter at Boots claimed that these lipstick's don't require a lip liner. Because Desirous is an extremely dark shade, I prefer to pair it with a lip liner but there is a substantial amount of staying power there and The Pure Color Envy's are an extremely comfortable wear. 

My purchases were rewarded with a gift bag filled with cute little miniatures, decent sized samples and a lipstick:

1. Take It Away Make-up Remover Lotion
2. Daywear (Love) 
3. Modern Muse Perfume
4. Doublewear Foundation
5. Advanced Night Repair
6. Pure Color Lasting Lipstick CREME 17 Rose Tea

Best gift bag ever!

I can't wait to experiment with all the goodies. Do you have any Estée Lauder favourites?

For The Khaki Lovers

My love for Khaki doesn't stop at clothing. I had been on the look out for the perfect army green eyeliner for a while and the hunt came to an end when I walked into MAC the other day and discovered Forever Green. I'm a brown-eyed girl, therefore technically I should be reaching for the purples to flatter my eye colour (Permaplum, a gorgeous purple Powerpoint Eye Pencil is on my wish-list.), but i'm counting on this gem to spice up my make-up throughout the winter.

Coloured eye pencils can be quite frightening, but this is such a wearable shade and not at all offensive so i've been wearing it daily. On Nights out, to lectures, out shopping and even to the gym. (Come on girls, I know at least some of you wear make-up to the gym!) The description claims this product to have a metallic shimmer with a matte finish, which it 100% does but it looks flattering.

I'm a big fan of the formula when it comes to the MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil's. They have a buttery and easy to blend texture, meaning minimal tugging of the eye. So far I have been wearing this sultry green on my waterline to dare I say it, add a 'pop' of colour to my make-up. However, my next experiment is to apply it all over the lid, which I can imagine to look rather beautiful.

Colour doesn't just have to be for the warmer months of the year.

Have you been Forever Green-ed? 

Currently...

Unfortunately I haven't been doing any make-up shopping recently, or any shopping at all for that matter which is making me ever so sad. I'm going through that awkward stage where I can't bring myself to spending any more money on pretty summery things as I go back to the; grey, wet and downright miserable Manchester soon. But I'm in Dubai! A place of shopping galore and ultimate luxury, and I just so happen to be staying a 10 minute walk away from The Dubai Mall. I can hear the fancy fountains as I type this and see the sun beaming off of the Burj Khalifa. #Beaut

As blatant as this may seem, I need a trip to Sephora. The Sephora in The Dubai Mall has got to be the most hectic store that I have been to in the Middle East. You almost begin to panic in there. But i'm going to brave it and hopefully come out with some goodies. My wish-list is as follows:

1. A new UD Naked Weightless Concealer. I'm jumping on the bandwagon by stating that this is the best concealer I have ever used, but I still have my eye on the NARS Creamy Concealer. I just feel like i'm getting a lot of bang for my buck with Urban Decay.

2. Laura from Buy Now Blog Later recently published a post on her blog dedicated to Urban Decay's 'Riff' eyeshadow. I plan on having a quick swatch and buying it right there and then. It looks like the perfect crease shade. (Doesn't the word crease sound weird?)

3. My BeautyBlender suffered a tragic injury. What I thought was a gentle massage resulted in the tip almost ripping off. It's still a useable tool and I've tried to substitute it for the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge but I am a tad bias when it comes to my pretty pink BeautyBlender. I plan on accumulating up to ten of them by Christmas. They're amazeballs!

4. I'm having a 'Shall I, shan't I?' moment with the By Terry Ombre Blackstar in Misty Rock. Beautiful shade, dreamy creamy texture, gut wrenching price tag. I'm a firm lover of cream eyeshadows, especially those that come in stick form. But with brands such as Kiko offering the same product range for more than three quarters of the price, I can't bring myself to spending so much. I will, however, continue to swatch and swatch until I give in. Which I probably will, eventually.

5. NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser is on the list. I'm still yet to try a tinted moisturiser that totally floats my boat and i've watched YouTube video after YouTube video on this product. So far, i've gathered that it offers a good amount of coverage for a tinted moisturiser, evens out skin tone, adds radiance and you can slap it on with your fingers if you're in a rush. That is everything I need and want in a base product at 8am to prepare me for my day at University.

6. All of the Kat Von D things. Kat Von D Beauty has landed in Dubai and I want everything from the contour kit to the liners and the liquid lipsticks.

Which beauty products have you feasted your eyes on lately?