NYX Arrival! What I Bought...

Oh my oh my, I'm so excited about this post! NYX has recently arrived in the UK and let me tell you, I didn't even know about it until my sister informed me. So, I headed to my closest Boots store and must have been standing at the counter for about forty minutes admiring the products. Obviously, I couldn't buy everything I fell in love with as I'm not a billionaire, oh how I wish I was.

I was in desperate need of a new eyebrow pencil as I was on the verge of having no pencil left. I usually stick by my New Cid Cosmetics I-groom pencil but paying the price at £19.50 and then paying for delivery and waiting for it, I thought I'd try a new product and boy am I glad I did! At just £8, NYX Sculpt & Highlight Brow Contour (Vanilla/Taupe) does the exact same job as my New Cid pencil and it's the exact same colour! I find that Sculpt & Highlight is more creamy and a little easier to apply. The highlighter is stunning too, it's not too 'white' or too shimmery.

After running out of my fave eye primer a few weeks back, I just picked it up without thinking twice. I'm absolutely thrilled with this primer! It makes your eyeshadow look brighter and lasts all day/night which is what everyone needs. It's a nice creamy consistency and very lightweight and easy to apply. For only £5.50, this HD primer is worth it!

Okay, so I didn't have a clue what lip product to buy, there was so many I had my eye on. I was also looking for the lingerie lipsticks but they weren't there so I'll have to try another store in my city another time. I came across this matte lipstick in 'Whipped Caviar' for £6.50 and it's such an admirable colour that would suit everybody. I love the texture, it's soft and creamy to apply and it doesn't make your lips look or feel dry which you can sometimes get from other matte lipsticks, which is a huge no from me. And because it doesn't look or feel dry, it still has an amazing matte finish which I love. It's long lasting and it doesn't come off or smudge when you eat or drink. I'm definitely going to buy some more of these!

Neutrogena Blackhead Eliminating Cleanser Review

Is there actually anyone out there without those super annoying blackheads? If that's you, please tell me your secret! Although, if you don't have those little black bumps then you probably wouldn't be reading this. I have been trying to get rid of my unwanted blackheads for years but nothing ever works! I came across this affordable product in Boots and heard that Neutrogena was a very good brand so I thought I'd give it a go.

You can use this as a 1 week blackhead-fighting solution by massaging the product onto your face and then wash it off, twice a day for a week. Or, you can use this as a mask by doing it once a week by smoothing on a thin layer of product, allow it to dry for 5 minutes and then wash it off. I chose to do the 1 week blackhead-fighting solution as I thought it would be more effective than the mask.

The product itself smells really nice, like all other Neutrogena products. The first day I used it, I found that the product was a little rough on my face whilst massaging it in but I ended up getting used to it after the second day. Honestly, it felt like sandpaper. My face felt incredibly smooth after washing it off, which is a must! My blackheads did fade a little bit after about five days, but there isn't a huge change. I must say that my blackheads are quite stubborn and hard to get rid of. For me, this product didn't do what I wanted it to so I'll have to invest in a stronger product.

Have you tried this? Did it work for you?

Get Ready With Me: Clubbing

I don't go 'out' or clubbing every weekend like every other eighteen year old does. But when I do, I love to get ready, what girl doesn't? I take hours to get ready which often leads to me being late (it's a normal thing, for me anyway). I usually tan the day before as it's just easier for me. After giving my face a good cleanse, I then move on to my skin care and makeup. I usually wear a dress or a playsuit when I go clubbing but as it's a freezing night, I decided to wear my disco leggings with a cute crop top with matching heels.

Have a lovely weekend x

(Sorry about all the mess in the background, I got a new wardrobe)

Products Used

Face/Skin:

Cocoa Brown 1 Hour Mousse Tan - here

Simple Toner - here

Simple Light Moisturiser - here

Maybelline Baby Skin Pore Eraser - here

Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid Foundation (Ivory) - here

Maybelline Cover Stick Thick Concealer (Ivory) - here

Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder (Warm Beige) - here

Collection Contour Kit Highlight & Sculpt - here

Soap & Glory Love at First Blush - here

Hair:

Tresemme Heat Protector - here

BaByliss Heated Rollers - here

Tresemme Max the Volume Hairspray - here

Eyes:

Makeup Revolution Stay Don't Stray Eye Primer - here

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette (Liar & Darkside) - here

Soap & Glory Supercat Liner - here

Vintage Cosmetics Lashes (Kitty) - here

Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara - here

Louise Young Highlighter - here

New Cid Cosmetics I-Groom Pencil - here

Lips:

L'Oréal Lip Liner (Bois de Rose) - here

Topshop Lipstick (Lovestruck) - here

Outfit

White Crop Top from Hollister - here

Black Disco Leggings from Quiz - here

White Crossover Heels from New Look - here

Cocoa Brown Tan Review

I have wanted to try out this tan for ages so I was super pleased when I had finally got my hands on it. This was the first mousse tan that I've used as all my other fake tans I own are liquid. After using this, I feel like I use more product as a mousse than a liquid tan. Cocoa Brown is meant to give you a gradual tan within one hour or you can wait up to three hours depending on how dark you like your tan.

Around 20 minutes of waiting, I looked in the mirror and instantly thought 'wow'. I loved the colour, it wasn't too dark or too pale or the dreaded orange. As it's the first time I've tried Cocoa Brown and I'm insanely pale, I didn't know how dark I was going to be if I waited three hours. So, I only waited one hour and then rinsed it off in the shower. After getting out of the shower, I wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be. The colour faded and I wasn't glowing as much. Although, the next day you could tell that I had a tan and that I wasn't as pale as I usually am. Maybe next time, I could wait two or three hours before rinsing it off.

Whilst developing, it smells a little biscuity but it's not that horrible biscuit smell that people hate. In fact, I quite like the smell. The tan dries very quickly which can be both a pro and a con. The pros are that you don't have to walk around the house naked waiting for it to dry, and that you don't feel dampish like some tans make you feel. The cons are that you have to concentrate whilst applying it and be super speedy rubbing it in. I found that this tan was completely streak free, which is always a good thing!

Overall, I love the colour, it smells good, I 100% recommend this product to pale people and it's great for sensitive skin.

5 Beauty Hacks | Do they work?

After looking at beauty hacks whilst scrolling through Pinterest and watching videos on YouTube, I decided to try out some of the ones that interested me to see if they actually work. So, I thought I'd share with you how I got on with the hacks. Who doesn't love a few great beauty tips?

1. RE-WETTING YOUR MASCARA

I've known this hack for years and I have been doing it for years. Don't you just hate when your mascara goes dry and makes your lashes look clumpy? Just add some eye drops into your mascara (unless the mascara is around three months old, chuck it out!). It's as easy as that.

2. RED LIPSTICK TO HIDE DARK CIRCLES

What you're meant to do with this hack is, apply your foundation as usual and put red lipstick under your eyes to hide your dark circles and then you apply your concealer on top of the red lipstick. Let me tell you that it was a long process, I had to apply two coats of concealer to cover it. It did work but it made the underneath of my eye look plumper and looked more of a pinky concealer whereas, on my left eye, my concealer was much more brighter.

3. HASHTAG SMOKY EYE

This is meant to be an easier way of doing a smoky eye. I just simply drew on a hashtag with my thin eye brush and blended it out. It was very easy to do, I think this hack would be great for beginners!

4. TAPE TO CLEAN MAKEUP BRUSHES

I was quite unsure on whether this one would work or not so I thought why not grab the sellotape and try it out. All you do is sweep your makeup brush across the sticky side of the tape to give your brushes a quick clean. It does work but I'd rather clean them properly. I suppose this is good for when you want to have a nice makeup day and you want to get rid of the build-up of previous colour.

5. TAPE CONTOURING

I've only seen one person do this hack and it looked really fun to do. What you do is put tape above where your contour would be and a bit of tape underneath. It does work but I think I could contour quicker without the use of tape. Again, this hack would be great for beginners!

Do you know of any beauty hacks that you'd like to share?

Product Empties

As if I've stored empty products in my room for this post, but I love reading these type of posts so I thought, why not do one myself? I'm going to let you know what my opinion is on each of these products, my likes and dislikes and whether I'd buy them again or not.

Soap & Glory Speed Plump Moisturiser - I was a little weary about this product when I first got it as I have sensitive skin. I usually use a hydrating moisturiser from Simple but I thought that I'd give this a go. I'm so happy I gave this product a chance as it's so much better than I thought it would be. It's a very light moisturiser which makes my skin soft and feel instantly refreshed and hydrated. If you love scented products, you will love this! It smells fruity but it's not overpowering.

No7 Makeup Brush Cleanser - I bought this a few months ago. This is great for giving your makeup brushes a quick cleanse if you can't be bothered to deep clean them. I wasn't expecting to run out of the product so quickly, you obviously need enough product to give your brushes a good clean. I probably won't be buying this again, just because I ran out of the product so quick. I'll have to try another brand and see if I have the same problem.

Soap & Glory Feel Good Factor BB Cream - As you can see, I've squeezed this as much as I possibly could. I had never tried bb cream before until I got this, I don't know why. Who doesn't want primer, moisturiser and SPF all in one? Feel good factor does everything it's meant to apart from leaving little areas around my jawline dry and flaky (which was super annoying, by the way). It makes my makeup last all day and it hides my oily skin. I'd definitely buy this again.

Makeup Revolution Oil Control Fixing Spray - I've mentioned this product a few times on my blog. After everyone was all hyped up about Makeup Revolutions fixing spray, I decided to buy one myself. Due to my oily skin, I decided to not buy the original fixing spray, but to buy the new fixing spray - oil control. This is fantastic as a fixing spray itself but honestly, it doesn't control my oily skin at all. I might as well have bought the original fixing spray.

New Cid Cosmetics I-Groom Pencil - This is my go-to eyebrow product. It lasts me so long. This is my second eyebrow pencil since my first one in December 2014, impressive right? The colour isn't too dark or too light which is perfect for me.

Festival Season | The Essentials

Festival season is here so I wanted to start this month off by putting together my nine festival essentials. To be honest with you, I don't really go to that many festivals but for the ones I have been to, these items have come in handy.

1. Sunglasses - When you look around at a festival, you will notice that almost everyone is wearing sunglasses. I instantly fell in love with these super pretty ones from Coconut Lane, look at them! For 20% off, use my discount code at the checkout - megselizabeth20.

2. Plasters - I carry a few plasters in my bag everyday anyway, you'll never know when you or someone else will need one. I really like these particular fabric ones, I find that they last so much longer than normal ones and they're waterproof too which is fab for when the British weather decides to change.

3. Bumbag - Bumbags are so handy, you can eat, drink and use the toilet so much easier. I spotted this Aztec patterned one from Select Fashion the other day for only £7.99, bargain!

4. Tissues - This one's obvious really, tissues are just handy in general.

5. Hand Sanitiser - After using the loos and before eating, it's just quick and easy to rub in your hands. I love that it smells of strawberry laces too.

6. Dry Shampoo - If you're camping, you'll most probably want this to freshen up your locks.

7. Hairbands and Hairgrips - Again, you never know when you'll need a hairband or some grips. Your friends may also ask you to borrow some too.

8. Phone Charger Case - These things are fantastic when you're out and about and need to put some charge in your phone. These are cheap enough to buy from ebay and there's lots of colours to choose from. You'll thank me for this.

9. Compact Mirror - It's small and can fit in your pocket or bumbags, hence the word 'compact'. I found this cute little one from Debenhams which is currently in the sale, win.

There you have it, my nine top essentials for festivals. What are yours?