The Gloss Over

I love a good lip gloss. I think they're a great way to add a splash of effortless colour to your face, without having to worry about getting pigment on your teeth, feathering or smudging. I bloomin' well love them.

My usual go-to comes in the form of the Clinique Superbalm Moisturising Lipgloss in the shade Current. It's a darkened cranberry that translates as a not too dramatic lick of colour that brightens my olive complexion. It's my go to 'I can't actually be arsed to think about what I'm slapping on my face today' lip option.

Lately, however, I've been pushing it aside for the Maybelline Colour Sensational Shine Gloss in the beautifully vibrant shade of Glorious Grapefruit. This is a punchy, pinky orangey coral and it is awesome. This with a little bit of a tanned glow and minimal eyes is just lovely. The formula is creamy but not sticky, it smells great and has pretty decent wear time. The best part? It's a mere £6.12. One to add to the beauty bags, I think...

They See Me Haulin'...

Every now and then, I believe that it is absolutely essential to take one day out of your week and dedicate it to going for a good ol' fashioned shop with one of your girlfriends. And that is exactly how I spent my Monday. We went cruising through the aisles of our local Boots, Superdrug and err... Waitrose on a mission. The damage? Not too bad, all things considered. Here's the round up of what I grabbed.

Seventeen Stay Time Concealer - I picked this up on a whim as a replacement for my Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer, which has sadly come to an end, and d'you know what? It's actually pretty good. It's a liquid formula somewhat reminiscent of the infamous Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer, but much less cakey and a much better colour. I've only used this once so far so I can't speak for it's 'up to 18 hour' claim, but I am really impressed with the texture.

Seventeen Phwoarr Paint Heavy Duty Under Eye Concealer - Can you tell I'm on the search for a good concealer? Boots currently have their 3-for-2 offer on, so I also picked up this little pot of goodness for my under eye area. It's a very creamy formula, somewhat reminiscent of the Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer/Corrector, with a salmony hue to counteract darkness. I've tried the Corrector before and was a big fan of it, but the colour was off for me, so I know I'll get on with this quite well. It needs setting, or it will crease from what I have experienced so far... But, dare I say it, I think we're onto a winner.

Seventeen Eyeshadow Trio in the shade Enraged - I know, I know. More eyeshadow. Again. But trust me, this is a good'un. I've owned this before and absolutely loved it, but it smashed. It's an A Model Recommends enabled purchase and it's just really darn pretty. A very shimmery selection of a peachy pink, a golden champagne and a chocolate bronze. All the shimmaaaah.

B. B Enegergised Eye Cream - I grabbed this in a bid to replace my Eysilix Instant Eye Rescue and it's actually quite nice. Puffiness is my biggest issue, especially around that time of the month, and this promises to tackle this with some pretty convincing ingredients to back it up. I'll report back on this one...

Rimmel London Salon Pro Nail Laquer in the shade 115 Happily Evie After - The only way I can accurately describe this colour is to say that it looks like a Sex on the Beach cocktail when it's all been mixed together. Apologies. It's a pinky orangey red that rocks. It's currently residing on my toes and I bloomin' love it. It's a formula I've used before and it's a firm favourite. Summer in a bottle.

L'Oréal Paris Colour Riche Nail Laquer in the shade Pistachio Drage - Pistachio ice cream in a bottle. It's a very pretty light green that I shall be rocking throughout this spring at a bargain-alicious price.

The Month // February

February has been quite a big month for me. I accepted the fact that I was on the wrong course at Uni, transferred from said course and moved back home, knowing that I would not be returning to Uni until September, when I will be starting a new degree from scratch. I moved in with the Boyfriend with a day's notice, went back to work full time and have blogged pretty consistently, something I have wanted to do for a very, very long time.

Naturally, I got through all of this with a little help from my somewhat extravagant cosmetics collection. I'm only human. As such, my favourite products of this month include stress-induced blemish busters, anything that makes me look less tired and a good, old fashioned hot bath. Let's get started.

La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo+ - I've already mentioned this product on the blog and sung its praises. It really is a brilliant reformulation of the cult classic product. It's more hydrating than the original, works wonders with hormonal/stress related breakouts and smells pretty good too. I still find it to be a bit too drying when used consistently for weeks on end, so I now just slap it on the acne patches on my cheeks and chin then pop on some moisturiser over the top.

REN Clearcalm 3 Clarifying Clay Cleanser - An all-time favourite of mine, great for when my skin is freaking out. I'd recommend this for anyone, but it can be drying when used over a long period of time. Saying this, it is great for calming my skin down when it's having a bit of a paddy.

Aurelia Miracle Cleanser - I've been using this towards the back end of this month to counteract the dryness brought on by the two products listed above. Combination skin, how I love thee. It's a great cleanser that both clarifies and moisturises. A definite repurchase to be.

Kiehl's Skin Rescuer Stress-Minimizing Daily Hydrator - I've had a bit of an off-and-on-again relationship with this moisturiser. I tried a sample of it, loved it, bought it, wasn't wowed by it, left it alone for a while, fell back in love with it. It's great at reducing redness and smoothing over dry spots. A good all rounder in my opinion.

Percy & Reed Finishing Polish - AKA a good hair day in a tube. I love it.

NARS NARSisst Eyeshadow Palette - A 15 pan palette of perfection. I am so happy that I bought this and use it most days. It's just an awesome selection of shades that gets me from work during the day and evening, to going out for a drink at 1 in the morning when I finish. If you see one and aren't put off by the price tag, get it. You won't regret it. 

Super Beauty Ginger and Pear Shower and Bath Gel - (Not pictured) A great smelling shower gel that makes a regular bath into a super awesome bubble bath that is absolutely bargain-alicious.

Paring Back

I have a confession to make. I'm something of a hoarder when it comes to my beauty stash. I'm getting better and am slightly obsessed with the idea of a 'five product face', but there is something so satisfying in seeing your makeup collection grow. To me, it feels like I'm documenting my changing tastes.

From now on, however, I'm on a bit of mission to pare everything back a little bit. Whether it was seeing how much (out of date) makeup I had stored away in my old bedroom at my parent's house, or the Boyfriend's non-stop teasing, or the fact that my colleagues at work know me as 'the one who's into her makeup', something has pushed me try and collate my collection a little bit.

When it comes to skincare, I'm pretty on the ball. I know what works for me, I know what doesn't. If it doesn't work, it's out pretty quickly. With makeup, on the other hand, I'm always determined to try and make things work for me, even when it's a pretty hopeless situation. From here on it, I'm implementing a 'one in, one out' policy. How long it will last for, however, I cannot guarantee... I give it a week. 

The Wish List

For the most part, I'm pretty happy with my collection. There's nothing that I feel I absolutely need and I don't think there are too many massive gaps. This being said, I am a beauty junkie. In layman's terms, this means that there is always something else that would 'complete' my collection (pfft as if...). So, here it is. My Wish List as it stands, in all its expensive, expensive glory.

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette - It's simple, it's chic, it's easy. And sadly, it is not in my possession. It didn't tempt me to begin with, but the more time passes, the more I want it...

Caudalie Vinosauce SOS Thirst Quenching Serum - AKA skincare crack. This is one of the few products that just works well for my skin and always calms it down when it's going a bit cray. It's not the cheapest, however it is a priority (as much as skincare can be...), so hopefully it won't be too long until it sits in my skin box!

Young Frankk Sunrise Charm Hammered Brass Necklace via Anomie - Since Chelsea of Chelsea Wears opened up her online shop, I've pretty much stalked it 24/7. It's awesome. There's nothing I don't actually want, but I particularly drawn to this shapely neck adornment by Young Frankk. I do love me a semi-circle. Might as well start sending subtle hints to the Boyfriend now and you never know, I might get lucky come Christmas...

Pentax K-500 - So this isn't strictly a beauty product, but I really really want a camera. I am currently using my iPhone 4 (which the boyfriend accurately calls 'the potato') to take photos for the blog, which isn't exactly ideal. I've heard this is a good entry level DSLR. At £350, however, it ain't cheap. Someday...

NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils in the shade... Well, all of them please - I'm obsessed with these. I've had the shade Belle du Jour for over a year (it was a Chelsea Wears enabled purchase, thinking about it) and have always loved the formula. I did also buy it in the shade Red Square but unfortunately it went missing when I moved last month (very long story - to cut it short, I've changed degrees so am back in Hampshire until September) but I'm on a mission. Gotta catch 'em all... Or something like that.

Muji Acrylic Storage - I already have four Muji drawers in action at present, but in all honesty, it's not enough. Another couple of the big draws in which to store my palettes would be amazing.

So there it is, my current wishlist. What are you saving your pennies for at the moment?

The Drugstore Eyeshadow that Rocks.

First of all, when I use the term 'drugstore', I do so unwillingly, but Boots and Superdrug just don't sound as catchy in the title. I'm not a big fan of that particular term in British English... Grammar nerdiness aside, it's not that often that I find a gem in the aisles of my local stores, if I'm being perfectly honest. Most of the time, I go to Boots, look at the French skincare stand, swatch some lipsticks and walk away. It's mostly where I go if I want to experiment with my look a little bit, without the risk of spending an absolute fortune and being disappointed. This was one of those times.

I'd heard about the Rimmel Glam'eyes HD 5 Colour Eyeshadow in the shade 002 Brixton Brown  on various blogs and thought it looked like a surprisingly nice selection of colours. I wasn't really that interested, however, as I'd just ordered my NARSissist Eyeshadow Palette and, let's face it, the last thing I need is more eyeshadow. But... When I popped into Boots to have a play around and felt the textures of this little palette, I was actually quite impressed. They're certainly not the best shadows I've used, but they're far from the worst. The lightest colour is probably the weakest, as it isn't quite as finely milled as the others, but all five are surprisingly blendable and lend themselves to a very flexible range of looks.

You can go for a straight up, simple, neutral smokey eye, or amp up the drama with the beautiful red shade. It looks incredibly difficult to wear when swatched (one of the reasons as to why I'm not very keen on swatches), but it really vamps everything up to another level, especially on green eyes.

My preferred way of using this palette is over the Rimel Scandaleyes Eyeshadow Sticks in the shades Bulletproof Beige and Bad Girl Bronze, as these have a similar undertone. I then take the cooler toned mid-brown shade and place it all over the lid with a fluffy brush, place the bright red on the centre of my lid, smoke it out with the reddened brown, then finish with the darkest shade as a liner. In the daytime, I use the champagne colour as a brown and inner corner highlight, to add a little bit more brightness. This is great for creating a slightly grunge-y, but also polished look.

It may not be a 'must-have', but it's a welcome addition to my stash. The colours, most notably the red shade, are unique enough to validate this purchase and the textures are really good for a 'drugstore' purchase. 

The 'Until We Meet Again' Line-Up

Products. 90% of the time, I use them, I chuck them, I don't look back. Sometimes, however, something special happens when I slap one on my face (to use the technical term...), and it gets earmarked for a repurchase. Great for the complexion, horrendous for my bank balance. More often than not, such products tend to run out at the exact same time, leading to a rather lengthy payday wish list. Le cry. So, without further ado, here we are: the 'Until We Meet Again' line-up.

Indeed Labs Eysilix Instant Eye Rescue - This is hands down the best eye cream I have used to date. I'm not saying it's HG - puffy eyes were still a big issue around that time of the month - but it was a great product that helped alleviate my under-eye darkness. Apart from my acne and scarring, this is my biggest issue and finding something that actually helps is much easier said than done, in my experience.  I'm not sure I'd pay the full £24.99 for it again, but next time I see it on offer in the aisles of Boots, it's mine.

Lush Mask of Magnaminty - Yes, I'm talking about this mask again, but I'll keep this short and sweet. I've used it, I will repurchase it. Always.

Pixi Glow Tonic - The ultra-hyped toner that actually sort of works. I didn't use this religiously and didn't really see the effects I was hoping for, but this was a pretty decent chemical exfoliant and I definitely saw an improvement in overall skin clarity whilst using it. I won't rush out to buy another bottle, but next time I'm in London town, I'll be sure to pop by the Pixi store...

Moroccanoil Treatment - One of the absolute staples in my routine. I'm not kidding when I say that I don't think I could cope without it. This is great for if your hair is on the ever-so-slightly unruly side and although it will set you £30 down, the big 100ml bottles do last absolutely ages so it's money well spent.

Benefit Hoola Bronzing Powder - A cult classic, and in my opinion, understandably so. On my olive-y skin, this matt bronzer works well to both contour and add warmth to my face. I've got NARS Bronzing Powder in the shade Laguna to keep me going in the mean time, so whilst I won't rush out to repurchase it, it's definitely on the cards.

Laura Mercier Mineral Powder Mineral Powder SPF 15 in the shade Real Sand - For a long time, this was my go-to foundation for a relatively fuss-free base. It's sat unloved for a while, but actually, I've managed to work my way through it over the last couple of years. It's a very fool-proof product that I reach for when I want a touch more coverage/lasting power. At the moment, I'm not desperate as a friend has just given me the MAC Studio Fix Powder, which has a nice amount of coverage, but this will definitely be a repurchase at some point.

Laura Mercier Secret Camoflaugue Concealer in the shade SC4 - This has been my main concealer for a pretty long time now, and even though this was almost unusable on account of being too dark for me, it's safe to say goodbye to this one (even if it's not for long...)

So, in the meantime, I need help... Any budget eye cream or concealer recommendations out there?

The Sunday Triple Threat Facial

Like many a beauty blogger, I just love me a good face mask. There's nothing better than having an excuse to be completely self-indulgent for 10 minutes and knowing that you're doing your skin some favours. Nothing. So the prospect of three consecutive face masks, as proposed by Anna of Vivianna Does Makeup, sounded absolutely dreamy.

Into the bathroom I went, slapped the products on and enjoyed a pretty darn good bath in the process... My masks of choice were three of my current favourites: Lush Mask of Magnaminty, REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask and Origins Drink Up 10 Minute Mask to Quench the Skin's Thirst. Not only did my face smell amazing for 30 minutes (even the boyfriend agreed...), my skin was actually looking pretty darn good this morning.

I've already raved about the Lush mask as it's one of my all time favourite skin care products, but when used with the REN offering, magic happened. To be perfectly honest, I could have stopped here, but a hit of hydration never goes amiss with my combo complexion. The Origins mask left my skin looking and feeling nicely plumped up and ready for a good night's kip. Now that's what I call a Sunday.