August Favourites

I can't quite believe that I'm writing this post, I'm just in total shock that September is here already and I feel as though each passing day is a step into Autumn. When I woke up on Friday morning and it was still dark, I was like 'Oh My, summer is leaving us...boo'. It only felt like I was writing my July Faves the other day and now here I am sat wrapped up in my pajamas and slipper socks and writing about what I loved though the month of August. So without rambling on, here has whats made it onto my monthly favourites...

Batiste Dry Shampoo XXL Volume

When it comes to dry shampoo, Batiste is always a winner for me! When it comes to choosing which one, you'll more than likely find me opting for their tropical scented shampoo, as the smell just whisks me away to a tropical paradise! However on a bit of a whim I decided to pick up the XXl Volume one as my hair felt like it could do with a bit of a volume boost. I wasn't expecting too much of a difference or change with this one compared to the other Batiste Dry Shampoos, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised and impressed. The XXl version of this dry shampoo really does help to give your locks that extra bit of volume and boost that second day hair sometimes needs. I would definitely recommend picking this one up if you find that your hair looses it's volume pretty quickly. The scent of this dry shampoo is pretty light and refreshing too.

Rimmel Sun Shimmer Instant Tan

I am a little bit in love with this instant self tanner from Rimmel, I think its a fabulous product if your wanting a quick and easy tan. There have been quite a few times this month when I've needed that extra bit of glow last minute and to get that instant summer shine I've been using this product. I wont go into too much detail as I did a full review of this tanner the other day in my latest 'Bronze Me Beautiful' post.

LullaBellz Layla Rose Floral Crown & Hair Donut

As August is the ultimate summer month, I've found myself really experimenting with different hairstyles and going to for festival boho look when it comes to styling. These two hair styling items have been must when doing my hair last month and with them I was able to create some pretty adorable hairstyles. August saw me head down to Newquay for the Boardmasters surf/music festival and my blood orange floral crown from LullaBellz was my hairs no1 accessory, I absolutely love it - If you would like to see it on, you can see it featured in my review here.

I've also been wearing my hair in a messy bun throughout August as it's just such a quick and easy hairstyle and always looks great. As my hair lacks in volume and thickness a little, I'll always use a bit fat hair donuts to help create my messy bun look. I love hair donuts and really think every beauty babe who has medium to long hair needs one in their stash of hair things! If you would like to see how I create a messy boho bun using this hair donut, you can find my tutorial here.

MUA Sheer Finish Lip Gloss in Happy Days

I had to make a quick visit to Superdrug the other day and on the whim decided to pick up one of MUA's Sheer Finish Lip Glosses. I can't remember the last time that I picked up a lip gloss or even wore one on my lips - But Superdrug had a little MUA stand right by the tills, which I know are put there to purposely tempt me, and tempted me it did! Normally I'm a bit of a fuss pot when it comes to lip glosses, I don't like anything too sticky, too flavoured or too thick. This one from MUA in the shade Happy Days looked like a really pretty pink - and I'm such a sucker for pinks. As I've been wearing a lot of light baby pink lipsticks recently, I was looking for something fairly sheer but with a pink tint to pop over my favourite lippies. As you know MUA makeup is cheap as chips and for a £1.00 I wasn't expecting this to be an amazing lip gloss, but I've really enjoyed wearing this over the last few weeks. The lip gloss is a really pretty light pink and looks great over a pink lipstick for a full glossy lip. This lip gloss is a little too thick for my liking, but for some reason when I pop this on it makes my lips look a lot fuller. It's not too sticky when on and has a great sweetie scent to it.

Deborah Milano Shine Creator Lisptick Shade 8

Not only have I been loving wearing baby pinks on my lips, I always find myself drawn to hot bright fuchsia shades when it comes to lipstick. This Shine Creator Lipstick from Deborah Milano has been a go to lippie of mine during August as the colour is just so beautiful - It looks amazing on, is really pigmented and gives your lips a shiny glossy finish. I love the formula of the Shine Creator Lipsticks from Deborah Milano, think the Revlon Lip Butters but better! If you would like to read my review on this lipstick you can find it here.

So that ladies, pretty much wraps up what I've been loving last month. I would love to know what beauty items have made it on to your favourites and if any of yours match mine - Be sure to let me know in the comments below.

MUA Pro Mosaic Bronzer | Sunkissed Glow

Bronzer has always been a makeup essential for me, one which I apply everyday without fail; whether it's used for contouring or just adding an all over glow. Recently I took part in a Beauty Blogger Swap (post here) with the lovely Charlee from MyStringaling Blog and received the MUA Pro Bonzer in shade 2 Sunkissed Glow.

This Mua Bonzer is so pretty on the eye with the array of different shades, which have been put together in a Mosaic pattern; with shades ranging from dark bronzes, sandy highlights and pretty peaches. Some of the peach shades even have the odd hint of shimmer undertones too them which gives this bronzer that sunkissed  look. Whilst each mosaic section is probably a little on the small side to use as an individual bronzer, they are small enough to use as eyeshadow. When you mix all the shades together with your brush, the most gorgeous bronze shade is created, one which would suit all skin tones, even those with fair skin. 

The MUA bronzer has a matte finish to it and is extremely pigmented,especially when built up on your brush. With just one light sweep across the bonzer will give you a light, gorgeous sunkissed glow, which is perfect for an all over look. Not only does this bronzer work well at giving you a little colour, but will look lovely and work fabulously as a contour. It's the peach shades within this bronzer that are the ones that make this one a little extra special as they create a lovely warm glow to the overall shade, making the name of this bronzer 'Sunkissed Glow' is very fitting.

As we all know and love MUA make makeup really affordable and this is another product which has a small price but great quiality. I find the staying time of this bronzer last your whole makeup wearing day, as long as you use a good foundation and primer. I tend to top up just  the once on my lunch break and it will carry me though till the end of the day.

Not only is the  Mosaic Bronzer affordable, but when using it, I find that it blends really well into the skin and has a pleasant smell to it. Overall I just love how pretty it looks and as I am one who normally opts for a darker bronzer, its lovely having this warm peachy one added to my collection. You can purchase Sukissed Glow from the MUA website here.

Beauty Swap

Hi girls, a little while ago Beauty Bloggers Unite (blog link here) announced on Twitter that they were looking for bloggers who wanted to participate in a Beauty Blogger Swap! As this is something I've always wanted to do as a blogger, I jumped at the chance to get involved and filled out all my info upon their blog. In no time at all Beauty Bloggers Unite paired me with the lovely Charlee over at Mystingaling blog and we both agreed on a budget of £13.00 to spend and we decided to just choose products that we thought the other would like, basing our decisions on the content of our blogs.

First of all, for those of you thinking about getting involved in a swap or get the chance too, I would definitely recommend you doing it as I literally had so much fun buying all my goodies for Charlee. It was like buying Christmas presents all over again! I always find that there is something so satisfying about buying things for other people and knowing that I was buying bits and bobs for another beauty blogger was lovely. I can only imagine this is because we both have the same passion about beauty and the whole time while picking out things I was thinking and asking myself questions such as 'will Charlee like this?, will it suit her skin tone?, does she like pink as much as me?' For me this was all part of the fun of the beauty swap, any excuse to buy makeup for myself or for another has to be top of the list of 'fun things to do'. 

So once sending my bits and bobs off in the post, the next part of the swap was me receiving my beauty bits from Charlee. It was lovely because we both managed to get our swaps on the same day! Big thanks to Mr. postman and Royal Mail! I was overwhelmed with how much effort Charlee put into her swap  for me, as I felt each gift was chosen with a lot of thought and it was clear to see that she had taken a lot of time to read my blog and have a look at what I liked, what suited me etc. I can honestly say I love each item and loved the surprise factor of it all!

So the final part of the swap, and is a must for any beauty blogger taking part in a swap has to be the blog post that follows up showing all the things that have been given. So below beauties you can see all the things that was sent to me from Charlee. Please be warned this is fairly picture heavy!

MUA Profesional Mosaic Bronzer 

I've heard a lot about this MUA Bronzer in the beauty blogger world, but have never gotten my hands on it just becasuse my Superdrug is poor and doesnt sell much MUA bits. I am so happy to have this in my collection and finally try it out.

NYC (New York Colour) Blue Eyelashes 

As you beauties know, I have been a little obsessed with falsies at the moment, and I adore these blue tinted lashes from NYC. I think that the tinted blue lashes at the end make these a little different and very wearable. I think these would look fabulous on a night out.

Cherry Carmex 

I am sure all of your beauty bloggers have gotten your hands on a pot of Carmex at some point n our lives and the cherry one has always been my favourite. I know this will be getting a lot of use, especially as we enter the colder months.

Garnier Skin Naturals Self Heating Sauna Mask

I love a good old pamper session and think that this Garnier one will be perfect for my skin, as it's suited for oily to combination skin. I shall have to let you beauties know how I get along with this one.

The Beauty Parlour Mattifying Papers 

Since I started blogging, I've heard a lot about these magical mattiifying papers which will remove any excess oil from the skin. Throughout the day I am always reapplying powder to get rid of any shine, so I'm really interested to see how these work and if they work.

Barry M Nail Paint in Chameleon Lilac

Charlee sure knows that I love my nail polish and I'm so excited that she popped this one in the swap as this is a colour I wouldn't have chosen myself. Not only is no ordinary nail polish, but its one that changes colour when you apply a top coat....amazing! This will definitely be featured in a future NOTD post.

So that's everything and I love all my bits. I shall be sure to do mini reviews on each of the items for you beauties, and let you know how I get on. I would also love it if you would take the time to have a look at Charlee's blog

Mystringaling

Not only will you find fabulous beauty blog content, but you will also get to see a post on the bits that I bought for her. 

Lots of Love

MUA (Makeup Academy) Blush Shade 5

Hi girls! One makeup item that I simply adore has to be blush, so much so that I think it has to be one of my most favourite makeup items to apply and I tend to buy more blushers than I do pretty lipsticks! Shockingly I've never got my hands on any of the MUA blushers and I've heard nothing but amazing things about them in the beauty blogger world. So when I popped into my local Superdrug the other day I decided to part with my £1.00 and purchase one of the new blushers that MUA have just released into their blush range. 

I picked the blush that is in Shade 5 and I have to say the colour of this blush is right up my street and its become my go too blush! My camera has not quite picked up the true colour of this MUA blush, so I'll try my best to explain to you how it really appears. This blush is the most beautiful coral, pink peachy colour and has slight golden shimmer undertones to it. The shimmer however is so fine that it's very subtle once applied to your cheeks and this could easily be worn day or night. 

What I love about this blush it's that for £1.00 it's so pigmented and blends very easily when applying it. There is no fear of having those awful blush lines where it wont blend in nicely which we all know is never a good look! The MUA blush has a slight chalky feel to it, but it once its on your cheeks, it feels like a good quality blush. As for staying power; I wasn't expecting great things because of the price, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to find that four hours after application, the blush it was still where I applied it and only needed a slight touch up. 

MUA have six different shades in their blush collection and I would say that this one is more suited to medium skin tones. But having said that, this blush is very buildable and for those of you with fairer skin, I think that this would still be perfect for you, if you used a light hand when applying it.

Overall I love this blush and love the way it looks on my skin and for the price you can't go wrong. I'm tempted to go back into Superdrug and buy other five shades of blush in the collection. For those thinking about getting this blush you can order it from the MUA website here

   

What do you think beauties? Have you tried this blush yet? Let me know your thoughts.

Lots of Love

I Just Love A Pretty Eyeshadow | MUA

I don't think I've met one person in the blogging world who doesn't love MUA, they have something to suit everyone tastes and are by far the most affordable makeup around that have a great quality and finish to them. Ages ago I picked an MUA's eyeshadow which we all know retail at £1, being a blogger I kept it away,unused so I could keep it picture ready for a blog post, but I never got that post up till now.

The colour that I picked up was in Shade 4-Pearl, which has to be the most beautiful iridescent duo chrome shade that has pops of pink and purple tones to it

Ive heard that this shade of eyeshadow is supposed to be a great dupe for Mac's famous Stars N Rockets. I happened to be in Mac over the weekend and swatched this, only to find that there is hardly any difference between the two shadows; So I would defiantly save your pennies and opt for the MUA shadow if your wanting this shade.

As beautiful as the colour is, it can be a little daunting to some, especially for those of you who are like me and stick to your neutrals. However the eyeshadow does apply quite sheer on first application, so you can use a light hand for a subtle look. For those of you who are a bit more daring the MUA eyeshadow is very buildable and you can create a really strong and striking look with this. 

As the summer draws closer, I think this shadow will be a perfect match for those hazy summer evenings or would be amazing come festival season placed under the lower lash line. 

Overall I think this eyeshadow is perfect for creating unique looks and seeing as its such a shimmery shadow, it feels really smooth to the touch, blends well and is a great colour to have in your collection and for a £1 you can't go wrong!

Snow Queen Makeup

Hello my beauties, if your in the U.K then you will know all about the downpour of snow we had last night and today it was like Narnia outside. I for one love the snow, so like a big kid I had to the urge to build a snowman, trudge around and hear the sound of my steps go creek creek as I walked in the fresh bits that no-one else had stepped in. 

When I got back inside, I was in snow fever mode and decided to a Snow Queen makeup look. It's ever so pretty but a little over the top for a Sunday afternoon you could say! But I have no intention of going out again so I can feel free to be a Snow Queen all day. 

Products I used Left to Right:

Front Cover Moon Dance | Front Cover Periwinkle | MUA Shade 4-Pearl

 Hope you enjoy this look my lovelies and I would love to know how you dealt with today's snow. If you didn't have any snow, then just tell me about your Sunday! 

MUA Lipstick | Lipgloss

Hello my lovelies, Spring is defiantly on it's way and by no way am I meaning the weather and all the usual familiarities that come along with it. But in many shops the sales are being shadowed by all the new Spring trends. Many of which I am loving right now. There is so much pink around right now ranging from hot pink to pretty pastel pinks. 

I am seeing so much that I like in the shops right now that all I want top do is splurge on new items of clothing. Unfortunately it is January and along with it comes the blues of having no money to spend on all these lovely things. However I do want to be on trend and the most affordable way of me getting into the pink vibe is to wear a lovely pink lip. No, a pink lip might now equal to that lovely dress I've seen in Top Shop or the gorgeous heels from River Island, but it certainly brightens up my day. 

I have been experimenting with a few brands with different shades. But the one which I have been wearing all week and has to be the most affordable in my collection which is MUA Lipstick in Shade 7 and MUA Lipgloss in Shade 5. At a total of £1 each you can't go wrong, it makes me happy and my bank balance happy. The products might not have the most appeasing packaging in the world of beauty, but its not bad either. Quality of the product is the most important thing and the colour that you see is the colour which transfers on to the lips. The lipstick is creamy and smooth whilst the lipgloss smells just like vanilla cupcakes (yummy!). 

 MUA Lipstick in shade 7 | MUA Lipgloss in shade 5

  MUA Lipstick in shade 7

 (I was wondering if someone could tell me if the bottom part of these lipsticks come off? Mine completely stays put, but I've heard and seen on blogs that this can detach and you have a bit of extra lip product. Maybe mine is broken) 

 MUA Lipstick Shade 7 swatch 

 MUA Lipstick shade 7

 MUA Lipgloss shade 5

 MUA Lipgloss shade 5 ( how pretty are the iridescent sparkles?)

MUA Lipgloss shade 5 over MUA Lipstick shade 7

These two products look great together, they are not the brightest of pinks, but defiantly a wearable daytime pink. I am thinking of getting more of the MUA lip products but I literally have the smallest Superdrug ever and consequently the MUA counter is tiny, so I will need to order of the website. Its always hard to tell what colours look like on a web page but I would love to know what your recommended favourites are. If any of you are wanting to try out these shades you can order them here. 

Have a great weekend beauty babes