Glam New Years Eve Party Look

With New Years Eve coming up very soon, I decided to create a glam look as some makeup inspiration for the celebratory night. I love trying out new and different eyeshadow looks, even if they don't turn out how I imagined. I went for quite a simple yet pretty eye look - you could even add some glitter if you wanted to look even more glam.

What I Used:

Firstly, I applied my foundation from Revlon in the colour 'buff' and my Maybelline superstay 24 hour concealer in the colour 'light'. To set my foundation, I used my stay matte powder from Rimmel in the shade 'soft beige'. For my brows, I used my Maybelline master shape brow pencil. To set the hairs into place, I used my Maybelline brow drama sculpting mascara.

To prime my eyes, I used my NYX HD eyeshadow primer. On the outer part of my lid, I applied the shade 'darkside' from the Naked 3 palette as I was going for sort of a dark, grey, smoky colour. Next, I used the first shade on the second row of the eyes like angels palette from Makeup Revolution, (see the palette here), and applied it on the middle of my lid and blended it into the darker colour. Then, I used the last silver shade on the bottom row from the same palette from MUR to fill in the rest of my lid. Then, I blended it all in together.

I am still working on my blending skills, I'm definitely improving, I guess it just takes time. Also, it would be so much easier if the shades in this certain palette from Makeup Revolution had individual names (sigh).

I then applied my highlighter from Louise Young on my brow bone and on the inner corners of my eyes. I used my favourite pair of lashes, 'Fleur loves' and applied my lash sensational mascara afterwards to blend the lashes together. If you want natural looking but glam lashes, these are the ones. Finally, I put on eyeliner, lippy and set my face.

All the best for 2017!

A Cheaper Alternative to Urban Decays All Nighter Setting Spray?

There was a deal on in Boots at the time I bought this. I think it was something like if you get 3 for 2 on Maybelline cosmetics, you get a free setting spray. As I always do, I done the 3 for 2 deal and took the free setting spray, obvs.

I swear by my Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray, I wouldn't turn back to anything else. But as it was free, I really wanted to try this out and see if it did the job.

All you have to do is give it a good shake and simply spray it on your face after you've done your makeup. It does leave your face quite wet unlike UDs All Nighter, but it's okay after around ten seconds. Yes, this keeps my makeup in place all day but unfortunately it doesn't control my oily skin. Also, my makeup seems to look quite 'cakey' and bundle in certain places by the end of the day - usually where my pores are; around my nose and cheeks.

So, this could be a cheaper alternative to Urban Decays All Nighter as it still does the same job but it's just not as good. I'd probably use this if I was running a few errands whereas if I was working a nine hour shift, I'd stick with my holy grail All Nighter.

What drugstore setting sprays have you tried?

A Round Up of My 2016 Beauty Favourites

I have tried many beauty products throughout the year and many of them I have loved. I decided to round up my most favourite products of 2016 and let you know how they worked for me.

I bought the Urban Decay all nighter setting spray after my best friend let me use hers for a night out. Since that night, I haven't gone a day without using my setting spray - it really does work. If you haven't yet tried this out, seriously, where have you been? I don't know why I didn't buy this earlier. Next is my contour kit from Sleek, this is THE perfect shade for contouring if you have pale skin. The highlight is also beaut too! This little drugstore kit is so pleasing for just £6.99 - it lasts ages, it's easily blendable and the pigmentation is top-notch. Read a full review on this here.

I bought the fleur loves lashes from Boots back in July and I have loved them ever since. They're only half lashes but they look so natural and still give a 'full effect' look and they're so lightweight too, perfect for day and night. The PR team from Dr Botanicals actually sent me this body cream back in the Summer time to review. It smells beautiful, I don't think I'll ever fall out of love with this body cream - trust me, it's really worth the money. Read my review here. Obviously I had to include Garniers micellar water in this post. Can you believe that I never tried it beforehand? It has been such a popular beauty product for a number of years. I've finally jumped on the bandwagon, oh well better late than never, right?
 

Next up is the brush egg, this isn't a product but it's a very handy tool. It's excellent for deep cleaning makeup brushes, it's very quick and easy to use. Again, you can read a more in depth review here. If you're quite a frequent reader of my blog, you would know that I have only recently tried out and ended up loving the bubblegum lip scrub from Lush and the Shaaanxo palette. If you suffer with dry lips and you're looking for a gentle and affordable scrub, this is the one for you. Read more about it here.

I'm quite a new owner of the Shaaanxo palette and since swatching everything included in the palette, I have been in love. Everything about it is perfect. The shadows and lipsticks are so pigmented and every colour comes out how it looks in the palette. Read more about why I loved it here. Lastly is my body lift cellulite control cream from Clarins. I think near enough every woman has cellulite, it's not a bad thing. I don't have much of it but it's sometimes a little visible on the back of my legs. I really don't use this as often as I should because honestly, I cba.
But, it does work. It'll probably take longer to notice a difference if you have more of it. This product isn't cheap either so I'm glad it actually does something unlike other products.

What have been your top beauty favourites this year?

My Winter Makeup Staples

I don't know about you but I have certain favourite products that I use on a daily basis in the Winter months. I like to use a lip scrub in the Winter as I get really dry, chapped lips. I bought the bubblegum lip scrub from Lush back in the Summer. It smells amazing and it does the job. This is also fantastic to use before applying liquid lippies, we all know how they end up looking when you have dry lips, ay?

I also like to use a good ol' face wash to proper cleanse my skin. I particularly like this seaweed one from The Body Shop, it thoroughly cleanses my skin and it's gentle. As much as I love applying makeup, I like keeping my makeup quite neutral in the Winter due to my pale skin. Oh, does anyone else feel like they look much paler in the Winter? As you can see, this is one of my all time favourite nude palettes, the shadows are almost gone. They're lovely light neutral colours and they're also easy to blend.

Who doesn't love a red lip? I find that they're so much more flattering in the Winter months... especially with Christmas, New Years and the colder weather. My favourite proper bright red lippy has to be this one from Burberry, it's my Winter go-to lip product. Lastly, is obviously my holy grail setting spray from Urban Decay. This product is honestly worth every penny and if you haven't yet tried it, where have you been all this time? Even though I'd use this more in the warmer weather, it's also perfect for the colder months and shittier weather.

Garnier Anti-Ageing BB Cream Review

I've never really been fond of BB creams, they've never interested me at all. I've only recently started using the Garnier BB cream instead of using foundation on my 'lazy days'. It's quite a standard sized tube, you don't need a lot of product to cover your face. The box it comes in has all the information you need to know on the back of the box (always handy).

I bought the BB cream in the colour 'light' and believe it or not, it is the lightest colour they do. It's honestly not great for the palest of people as it has an orange tone to it. But, it's a very thick creamy product which applies evenly and easily. I'm not too keen on the smell but it's not terrible. It feels lighter on the face than foundation does. The anti-ageing side to it definitely works for me as it evens out the skin tone, hydrates and firms the skin. It also lasts near enough all day which is just what we need when we're having a minimal make-up day.

In the long run, I wouldn't recommend this BB cream to the pale bunch as you'd look like new recruits to Willy Wonkas Chocolate Factory. It also goes patchy and groups into different places on your face whilst applying make-up on top. Apart from those bad things, everything else is good - including the UV protection SPF 15, anti-ageing and how it applies.

Have you tried any of Garniers BB creams?