The Spring Essentials - My Top Beauty Picks

Whenever I think of spring beauty essentials, pretty pinks, soft smokey eyes and dewy skin always come to mind. For me theres something really refreshing about the change of the seasons and the start of spring starts that countdown to summer. I think generally everyones moods uplift a little this time of year. One thing that really allows me to embrace the change of the seasons is changing up my makeup a little bit. So today I've brought a few of my favourite beauty bits together which I think will be perfect for spring and are an essential in any makeup bag.

L'Oreal True Match Foundation

One of the first things that gets switched up in my makeup bag this time of year has to be foundation. During the colder wintery months I like something with a little more coverage. But spring time is all about that fresh glowly dewy skin. I love it when your skin has that 'I'm not wearing any makeup' makeup look, if you know what I mean. Whilst there are loads of amazing medium to light coverage foundations available, I love reaching for the L'Oreal True Match Foundation. I have combination skin and the light foundations have a tendency to melt off my skin very quickly, so I find the True Match gives my skin that natural skin look but still gives me the coverage that I need.

Bourjois Smokey Stories Palette - Over Rose 

No matter what the season I love a smokey eye, but like I mentioned before, for me spring daytime looks are all about soft colours and minimal makeup. This quad eyeshadow palette from Bourjois is perfect for spring. In this palette you get the perfect standard light pink highlight colour, a gorgeous dusty pink shade, a warm dark chocolate shade and a glittery shimmery pink in the centre. These pink toned shadows create such a pretty eye look for spring and the quad allows me to create so many different looks. Another lovely thing about this palette is that each shadow is very pigmented, blends well and has great staying power - Definitely an essential in my makeup bag.

Mac Lipstick - Honeylove

Mac's Honeylove is my most recent Mac purchase and a lipstick that has been on the top of my wish list for some time. As you know I've got a thing for nudes at the moment, and whilst I'm still loving the likes of Velvet Teddy and Brave, I was after something a little bit lighter for spring and Honeylove is that perfect shade. I find it to be a light toned nude which has a slight pink tint to it, so it does't wash my lips out in any way. It's matte formula is in no way drying and last hours on my lips. This lipstick not only looks really fresh and neutral for spring, but it also looks amazing paired with a lip gloss. I have a full review coming up on this lipstick very soon, so be sure to keep a look out for it. 

Smashbox Always Sharp Waterproof Kohl Liner

This eyeliner from Smashbox has become a bit of a staple in my makeup bag ever since I received it, but now it's spring I know I'm going to be reaching for it even more. Around this time of year I don't like to wear anything too heavy or dramatic on my eyes and love a more softer eye look. Kohl liners are not only great for creating that perfect smokey eye look, but I love the way that you can blend them out for a much more softer look. This one from Smashbox is really amazing, it's long lasting, sets pretty quickly and it sharpens itself every time you twist the lid off to use it - Which is a huge bonus as I can never find a sharpener when my pencils go blunt. 

Bourjois Little Round Pot Cream Blush - #03 Rose Tender 

It's the time of year where I say a big hello to cream blushers and my favourite ones have to be the Bourjois Little Round Pots. My most reached for cream blush has to be in the shade Rose Tender as its gorgeous and gives your skin most beautiful and natural rosy cheeked look. I am just loving this pale pinks for spring and this blush really helps to achieve a gorgeous spring look 

Yves Rocher La Parfum Comme Une Evidence 

Not only do I want to change up my makeup look for the new season, I like to change up my fragrance too. Recently I've been loving this beautiful sweet scented floral perfume from Yves Rocher. This perfume is really light and has a lovely rose scent to it making it the perfect daytime fragrance for spring. Whenever I wear this, I get so many compliments and it's always great to hear that you smell nice. Not only does this perfume smell great, but the bottle is absolutely stunning too and I love the pump that disperses the perfume. It's a spring time winner. 

As you can see there are a lot of pink in this post but I really love ditching the darker colours that come with winter and swapping them with pink toned shades that really warm up and brighten up my complexion. I would love to know what beauty essentials are working their way into your makeup bag this spring. If any of your picks match mine let me know in the comments below.

Lots of Love

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January Favourites

I don't know about anyone else but I love the January favourites posts that crop up on everyones blogs, usually because throughout Jan were all trying and testing out the beauty products that we all got for Christmas - So normally there are some good finds and it's pretty fun to see the mini reviews of the makeup items that have been on our wish lists for ages. Last month I was loving loads of the new beauty bits that I received and everything featured in this post is a new favourite of mine. 

Mac Velvet Teddy

This lipstick has been on mine and every other beauty bloggers wish list for the longest of time. For months I would keep checking the Mac website alongside all the other beauty sites to see if it was back in stock, with no such luck. Until the other week that is. It was during one of the midweek beauty blogger chats and I was told that Mac had it back in stock! I wasted no time in heading over to the Mac site, popped one in my basket and ordered it right away. It arrived a few days later, and no joke its all I've worn since. I am in love with Velvet Teddy and I can totally see what all the fuss is about. It's such a gorgeous shade and looks great on. We all know that this is the lipstick Kylie Jenner uses, and I can totally see why - Paired with the right lipliner this lipstick creates that beautiful natural and fuller looking lip. I love it and have become a little obsessed with it.

Makeup Revolution Live For Today

At the beginning of the month Makeup Revolutions I Heart Makeup lipstick in the shade 'Live For Today' was the colour I was constantly wearing. Why? Because I found it to be a rather close dupe for Velvet Teddy. You see I was not exaggerating when I said just how much I wanted that lipstick in my life. At only £2.99 'Live For Today' is such a perfect dupe. It is a little bit warmer and darker in shade and it does have a slight shimmer, but with a little powder dusted over the top of your lips, you can achieve the perfect Kylie Jenner lip. If you would like to see how this looks on, head over to my post 'Nude Lips' post here.

No7 Precision Lipliner Blush

I don't think it's possible that the 'nineties' lip would work as well as it does without the use of a lip liner. During my lunch time break I accidentally stumbled into Boots - As you do! And in the clearance section found the No7 Precision Lipliner in Blush. Perfectly sealed I couldn't see why it was on the shelf, selling for only a £1.00? Especially as Boot's still sell it at full price. At that price it would have been rude to not buy one, and more so because it's the lipliner shade I had been looking for! Mac's Soar is another one of those products that have been on my wish list for sometime, and I thought that this lipliner looked pretty similar and would make a good dupe. The lipliner is this really pretty dusty pink shade that works perfectly with all the nude lipstick I've been wearing. I find that the pink tones in this liner just makes my lips look fuller and a little less washed out when I apply my favourite nudes. Not only is the colour amazing, but its really long lasting, has great wear and feels really creamy on your lips. It's amazing.

Smashbox Always Sharp Waterproof Kohl Liner

Smashbox are quickly on their way to becoming one of my favourite high end brands. I keep being drawn to their products and each time I try one, I've never been disappointed. I received the Always Sharp Waterproof Kohl Liner in one of the beauty gift sets I received for Christmas, and I've pretty much used it every day since and LOVE it. Firstly I love this liner so much (and the clue here is really in the name) this eyeliner sharpens it's self, which is amazing. Every time you twist the cap off, it sharpens the liner, always leaving a nice tip which is great for lining your peepers perfectly. Not only is application great, but the intensity of this liner is perfect to create a dramatic smokey eye, it also blends beautifully and stays put until you try and scrub it off at the end of the day. With it being waterproof, removing it can be a little tricky, but I love the way this looks, so it's well worth it.

Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer

You guys must know just how much I love and adore the original Smashbox Photo Finish Primer - I swear by it, but for Christmas I received some little samples of the other primers Smashbox have to offer and have fallen in love with the hydrating one. Out of all the primers in the world, this is the one that I would never purchase myself and would probably avoid, just because my skin can be a little prone to oiliness, especially around my t-zone. However I thought seeing as it was in my collection, I'd give it ago and see how well it worked on my skin. Turns out I love it and it totally surprised me. I won't go into too much detail as I have a full review coming up on this very soon - But I loved the way that this hydrated my skin instantly and it still worked brilliantly at keeping my makeup in place all day.

Cocoa Brown Gentle Bronze

To help myself feel a little bit better about the colder weather, I've started tanning regularly again. I'm determined to have not let those January blues get the better of me, and as they say, life is better with a tan. Not wanting to go all out and doing that long and intense process of tanning once a week, I've been using the Cocoa Brown Gentle Bronze to slowly build up my tan. This is the best gradual tanner that I've used by far and I love the colour that this moisturiser develops into. I reviewed this on my blog earlier this week, so if you want to find out why I love it so much you can read my review here.

So thats everything that made it's way into my favourites this month, I would love to know what products you've been loving? Also I'm planning on scheduling my posts a little bit more on my blog because as of late I think my blog posts have been a bit here there and everywhere. I'm thinking of posting three times a week - On a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. So be sure to check back on Wednesday for the next instalment on Miss Sunshine & Sparkle.

Lots of Love

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