Smashbox Photo Finish Primer

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer £25.00 

If I was to pick one holy grail item in my makeup bag it would be without a doubt the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer. I know that this much hyped about primer is loved by many, but I was a little late at jumping on the bandwagon to try it. It came into my life this summer and its been an every day stable in my makeup routine since, I actually love this product so much, I don't know why it's taken me this long to blog about it. 

The beginning of this year was the year that I started introducing primers into my makeup routine, and whilst I saw the difference they made in the application of my makeup and they way they made my skin look pretty flawless, I never found one that managed to make my makeup last all day - Until I tried the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer that is...

I had always heard so many amazing things about this primer, but if I'm honest I was a little put off by the £25.00 price tag and I didn't know if paying that much for a primer would be worth it, but I can tell you its probably the best £25.00 I'ver ever spent, this primer is that good.

I am someone who has always had to re-touch my makeup constantly thoughout the day, and I often find that my skin is prone to getting oily especially around my nose and cheeks, which always causes my makeup to slip and slide though the day, and I'm sure many of you are nodding your heads agreeing with me because its just so annoying. Whilst a good powder has always come to the recuse, it can be a lot of faff and I've always wanted to find that perfect product that just keeps my makeup put. I have no idea how it does it, but the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer is that dream product for my skin that really does keep my makeup put, makes my skin look even and flawless and sometimes I don't need any powder touch ups at all, it's seriously makes me go WOW.

The Smashbox Primer is a clear gel that has a silicone feel to it, and you only need the smallest of blobs to cover your face evenly, it this just glides on to your skin so easily - It has a really velvety feel to it and it makes the perfect base for your foundation. I have to say at this stage I don't really notice a huge difference in my skin, other than it feels very soft and it makes my skin tone look a little more even. However it makes applying your foundation or any other base makeup you might use so easy, and blending and working your foundation into the skin becomes effortless.

The real noticable change I noticed using this primer, is that it really does keep my makeup in place pretty much for the whole day. During the summer I had a cheerleading event in London where I was dancing for hours in a parade, I used this primer and my makeup was still perfect, even though it was hot, humid, raining and I was rather sweaty though all the dancing (totally gross I know), but it just gives you an idea at how well this primer is and how well it works for me. It's like it somehow tells the oils in my skin to hold off and puts this barrier up between my skin and foundation. 

I know this primer will be forever in my makeup bag, and if there is one essential beauty product that I could recommend to you, this would be it. If you have a similar skin type to me, I would definitely invest. Smashbox also have such a good range of primers to work for different skin types and I know there is one for minimising pores, I've not tried any of this but I can imagine they are just as good. As for longevity, like I mentioned I bought this in the summer, use it every day and I still have a lot of product left, which I'm amazed at - Your £25.00 really does go a long way.

I totally love this product! I would love to know if your a fan of this Photo Finish Primer from Smashbox and if you've tried any other primers that work just as well - Please let me know in the comments below.

Lots of Love

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Bows And Boots

Anetta Blouse - Poppy Lux || Shorts - River Island || Bowler Hat - H&M || Ankle Boots - River Island || Bow Belt - River Island 

 Recently I have been pairing this gorgeous Anetta Blouse from Poppy Lux with everything, and as it's a little oversized it makes it a really wearable and versatile piece in my wardrobe. Today I've paired it with my textured beige high waisted shorts, tucked in and added a cute little bow belt to compliment the bow on the blouse.  I don't know why but whenever I wear a sheer blouse with a bow accent tucked into some cute high waisted shorts or skater skirt, I can't help but feel that I should be in the cast of Gossip Girl (how amazing would that be?). I absolutely love this outfit, and this pretty blouse has become such a statement piece in my wardrobe, it goes with everything. 

I would love to know whats your favourite way to style an oversized blouse and what your thoughts are on my outfit, let me know in the comments below.

Lots of Love

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Organic Surge Christmas Blogger Bundle

You guys must know by now that I am a huge fan of beauty brand Organic Surge, I've yet to try a product that I dislike and everything I have used has been used up pretty quickly - If you've not tried any of their skincare products yet, your missing out. So you can only imagine my excitement when their Christmas Blogger Bundle was released - Making the perfect little present for any beauty obsessed girl like myself. There are four products included in the bundle, all which have been much hyped by us bloggers. As I had never tried any of these Organic Surge treats yet, I was super excited to give them ago.

Overnight Sensation Night Cream*

As much as applying a good night cream is important and an essential part of my bedtime routine, I have to say I have struggled in the past to find the perfect one for my skin type. I find most overnight creams are really heavy duty and make my oil-prone skin go a little crazy, especially the following day where I find myself desperately tying to prevent my makeup sliding off my face. This little problem has always resulted in me leaving night creams well alone, and sticking to a heavy day moisturiser for night time. However this 'Overnight Sensation Night Cream' has really impressed me and I don't find it to be too heavy on my skin. Enriched with intensive and natural moisturisers - Aloe Vera and Shea Butter, this cream leaves my skin feeling hydrated but without leaving a greasy sticky feeling on my face. It does take a little while to work it into my skin, but once left on for a few minutes, it absorbs pretty quickly and my skin always looks bright in the morning. I can't use this every evening as it is a little bit too much for my skin to handle, but used a few times a week is just enough to give my skin that extra bit of nourishment that it needs.

Anti Ageing Brightening Hot Cloth Cleanser*

I'm at an age where I'm no longer put off or against using any Anti-Ageing products on my skin - After all I think it's better to look after your skin as much as possible and prevent any ageing as much as I can. My favourite way to cleanse at the end of the day is using hot cloth cleansers and I always find that it's a such a relaxing beauty treat at the end of the day. Organic Surge really do have a winning formula with their hot cloth cleanser as it really does leave my skin feeling lovely. I love the way this cleanser gets rid of dirt and any grime on your skin with ease and melts away any leftover makeup that my micellar water has failed to remove. Not only does it do an amazing job, but it's beautifully scented with orange and geranium blended into its formula. I am loving using this and its done great on any pesky outbreaks on my skin, which is always a huge plus.

Spiced Lilly Foaming Bath

It is that time of year where the bath is almost ran every night in my apartment, just because I can't cope with the cold and there is no better feeling of having a hot bath to warm yourself up and get you in the mood to hibernate for the rest of the evening. I love my bath products and this 'Spiced Lilly Foaming Bath' makes the perfect bath time treat. This bubble bath has a real festive feel to it with it's spicy floral scent and really gets me in the mood for all things Christmasy.

Gardeners Hand Cream*

A good hand cream is a handbag essential, especially for this time of year with all the cold weather. This 'Gardeners Hand Cream' has made it's way into my bag and I've been using it non stop since receiving it. This hand cream is made to use before your hard days work, setting your hands up for the rest of the day as opposed to repairing your hands after a long day at work. Although I've just been applying it as when my hands are feeling dry. This hand cream is ever so lightly scented with lime, basil and rosemary and for such an intensive cream it absorbs into my skin very quickly, which is great as I'm always on the go and hate waiting for hand cream to dry.

So that's everything in the Organic Surge Christmas Blogger Bundle, which I think will make the most amazing christmas prezzie, or as a stocking filler. If your thinking about treating someone special or yourself to these beautiful beauty treats, you can purchase all four items from the Organic Surge website here for £35.50. 

Lots of Love

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October Favourites

It feels like forever since I last posted a monthly favourites post up on my blog. As much as I love tying out new products, I also love using what works for me and I think over the last few months I've been sticking to those holy grail items that have appeared or mentioned on my blog countless of times and therefore theres been no need to get up a monthly favourites post. However I found that during October I came across so many new favourites that I thought it was only right to share them with you, and I think you'll agree there are some good ones featured. 

Bourjous 123 Perfect CC Cream

When BB creams were released I tried, tested and felt so let down by them as I found that they never really did anything for me and there was so much hype surrounding them. So when CC creams came about, I was pretty quick to turn a blind eye and ignore all the excitement and hype surrounding them too. I had seen so many rave reviews about the Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream and I don't know what came over me the other week in Boots, but I decided on a whim to pick one up and Oh My Gosh - Best purchase ever. I have fallen in love with this CC cream and everything about it. I love how bright it makes my skin look, it feels really lightweight and I look like I'm having a really good skin day every time that I wear this - It's amazing. 

Bourjois Colour Edition 24 Cream To Powder Eye Shadow - 'Marron Givre'

You may have seen a recent post on my my blog for my love for these cream to powder eye shadows from Bourjois a little while ago (incase you missed it, you can find it here). These amazing eye shadow pots make doing eye makeup so easy, I especially have been loving the new shade Bourjois have released for the party season which is 'Marron Givre' which is a gorgeous warm chocolate brown shade, perfect for dusting over the eyes, or creating a smokey eye. 

Mac 'Cranberry'

Another eye shadow which I have been loving this Autumn and without a doubt has to be the perfect autumnal shade for your eyes has to be Mac's 'Cranberry'. This deep toned berry red shade is so gorgeous on and really gives your makeup look a warm wintery look. I adore this shade, if you would like to see how it looks on, take a look at my full review here.

Percy & Reed Dry Conditioner 

I've always loved using Percy & Reed products in my hair, so I was pretty excited when I received this dry conditioner in one of the 'Love Me Beauty' boxes. I had never heard of or used a dry conditioner before so really had no idea what to expect with this product. However I've been reaching for it non stop and it really does make such a difference to the way my hair feels. Having long hair means the ends can often feel and get really dry - On those mornings where my locks are feeling a bit tatty I'll spray some of this into the ends, not only does it smell incredible but my hair feels super soft in an instant. This is such a great quick fix and I love it.

Rimmel Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick by Kate Moss 107

This classic lipstick is not a new favourite, but it's a product that I've fallen back in love with now autumn/winter is here. Last year I wore this sultry berry red lipstick non stop, and it's all I seem to be reaching for again at the moment. I love how this lipstick looks and feels on and I think that this will forever be a favourite of mine.

So that's everything for my favourites this month, I would love to know what you've been loving and if any of your beauty favourites match mine.

Lots of Love

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Angel Addiction With Thierry Mugler

Thierry Mugler are celebrating their Angel perfume, a gorgeous perfume that takes me back to my teen years and is still a firm favourite in my perfume collection. To celebrate the Thierry Mugler team have invited me to join in on their campaign 'Angel Addiction' and have asked me to share my addictions with you - Past, present and future.

The first addiction, which I think is a pretty obvious one for me given my Blog name, is of course my obsession with anything that sparkles or glitters. From a young age and throughout my life I seem to be like a little magpie and am drawn to anything that glistens or shimmers in the light. Who can blame a girl for not loving a bit of sparkle.

Which brings me onto another addiction - I love the summer and the sunshine. Summer has to be my favourite time of year and for some reason I always find that the best memories that have been made are during these sunnier months. I think I will be addicted to summer and its glorious sun now and forever to come.

Being a beauty girl at heart, my next addiction has to be makeup, pink lipstick in particular is a huge weakness of mine. I own far too many lipsticks and every time I pop into Boots I cannot resist picking up one or two and taking it home. My addiction for lipstick is on another level, seriously sometimes when I'm bored, I'll go to my lipstick collection, pop the lid of each one and look at the pretty shades and colours - This maybe a sad thing to admit, but what can I say, I'm addicted.

Another current addiction, is my love for cheerleading, my cheer family (cheerios) and all the fun, glitz and exciting opportunities that come my way though cheer. Every cheer practice and training session brings me so much happiness and when I'm with my cheer girls I probably spend as much time laughing as I do stunting.

An addiction that comes along with cheerleading has to be the cheer uniform, and I'm not talking about short skirts and crop tops - I'm talking big beautiful cheer bows. Being a cheerleader for sometime now means I've got quite the collection of bows and as every cheerleader will tell you, the bigger the bow the better. Who doesn't love a big bow in their hair!

As for future addictions, I'm really not sure what it will be in life that has me hooked on something in five or ten years time. But right now, my biggest addiction is loving life itself, having good times, smiling, laughing, making memories and making each day count - I have a feeling that whatever I'm addicted too will bring me as much sparkle as my past and present addictions.

I would love to know what your addictions are and if any of yours match mine? Let me know in the comments below, and be sure to get involved in the Thierry Mugler campaign by following Thierry Mugler on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and share your addictions using #angeladdiction. 

Lots of Love

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Bourjois 1 Seconde Ultra Black Mascara

Bourjois 1 Seconde Mascara Ultra Black* £9.99

When it comes to mascara, I think it's fair to say that its the one beauty item in our makeup bag that is always changing around. With so many mascaras to choose from, and with it being the one cosmetic that we can't really swatch or try out in the shops before we take it home, it can be really hard to find 'that perfect mascara'. I think I was quite lucky, as around two years ago I picked up the 'L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes' and it soon became my all time favourite mascara; Since then I've been pretty loyal to this one mascara. However Bourjous have changed things up in my makeup routine recently and I've now fallen in love with a new mascara - The Volume 1 Seconde Mascara (in ultra black). 

As some of you may know, I was kindly invited down to the Bourjois press event in London a few weeks ago to take a look at the new makeup that will get us ready for the party season, and I was able to take one of these 1 Seconde Mascara's home with me as part of the amazing goodie bag that I received. Well I can honestly say that this mascara has changed everything and I think I've found my new holy grail mascara - It's that good.

For me the perfect mascara has to give my lashes plenty of volume, have the perfect wand for application - Nothing too big and clumsy and I can't be dealing with the really skinny wands either. I like quite a bristly brush, and one that coats my lashes evenly. The actual mascara also has to be wet, but not so wet that it it takes ages to dry and could easily smear everywhere. The Volume 1 Seconde Mascara does all of this and more and just makes my lashes look beautiful. 

I love the unique wand of the Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara, you might be able to see from the pictures that it has it's usual straight bristles running though the wand, but also has these tiny spherical balls in-between the bristles. This magic wand makes applying the mascara so easy, coating each lash as I turn the wand and most importantly doesn't leave any clumps behind. 

For those of you who are already fans of the 1 Seconde Mascara may notice that this one comes in a black shiny casing, instead of it's usual shiny silver one, and this is because Bourjous have just released the 'Ultra Black' one just in time for the party season. I don't know if it's just me but I love it when a brand offers the darker version of black in its makeup products - For some reason that 'Extra Black' shade really does make a huge difference and adds so much more drama and intensity to your eyes, which I love.  

I really can't fault this mascara, and I know as soon as I've run out, I'll be stocking up on some more. If your looking for mega volumised lashes and a mascara that gives that flash lash effect but without the falsies then I really recommend giving this one ago.

Lots of Love

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Bourjois Colour Edition 24H Cream To Powder Eye Shadow

Bourjois Colour Edition 24H Cream To Powder Eye Shadow* Flocon D'or' & 'Marron Givre'

I have to say it was love at first swatch when I first tried out these two gorgeous new shades of the Bourjois Colour Edition 24H Cream to Powder eye shadows at the Bourjois press event the other week. Since that first swatch my love for these beautiful shadows has grown and I've been reaching for them everyday, I absolutely love them. 

Whenever I see shadows that come in a little pot and have a cream like formula, I always think they are going to be like Mac Paint Pots or have the texture of the Maybelline Colour Tattoos, however not having tried these little pots of shadow from Bourjois before, I was a little taken back at just how different these are. These shadows feel just like a cream shadow to the touch, but as soon as you start to apply this on your lids, this cream like formula blends out just like a regular eyeshadow would. I was actually so amazed, the formula is not sticky at all, applies really evenly and blends like a dream. Not only do they look amazing on, but they are so long lasting, make a great stand alone eye shadow or fabulous paired with your regular shadows. 

Applied with either your fingers or a brush, these cream to powder shadows look amazing once on. I found that I much preferred to use a brush for application as I found it to give a really even coverage and you can get more precise with your blending.

The two new shades which have been added to the collection for the up and coming party season are 'Flocon D'or' a beautiful pearly white shade that has pretty flecks or gold glitter and shimmer running though it. I love how this shade glitters, but it's not grainy or chunky at all, it just applies smoothly on. The second shade is 'Marron Givre' a warm chocolate brown shade which has a slight frosty finish  with an added bit of sparkle. 

These two shades work great on their own, or paired together. I've been using 'Flocon D'or' as an all over base for my eye shadow and as a highlight (it looks stunning on the inner corners of your eye and under your brow bone); Whilst 'Marron Givre' looks beautiful swept over your lid and blended out to your crease if your wanting to create a quick fuss free smokey eye. 

These two Colour Edition 24H Cream to Powder Eye Shadow's have quickly become a firm favourite of mine and would make a great edition to your makeup bag, especially with Christmas just around the corner. If you've tried these shadows from Bourjois, then I would love to hear your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below.

Lots of Love

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