High end beauty: Hourglass Lipsticks

Let me just start of by saying, I love a bargain. When you find something cheap that you love - it's great, however when you find something you would have happily paid full price for but it's significantly discounted, that makes my day. Especially if it's lipstick(s).

Secondly, as a makeup lover I find it hard to save money. There is always something popping up that I wanted to buy. So with my holiday coming up (Dubai, hello Sephora!) I thought about going on a spending ban. Then lent came, and I thought, perfect I'll give up buying makeup for lent. Guess how long I lasted? 

3 weeks.

It's all because of these two beauties. 

Off I popped into TKMaxx one day after work, rummaging around the shelves spotting some excellent brands: Nars, Stila, TheBalm, Hourglass. Wait, Hourglass?! 

Hourglass is a brand I adore. With such a high end, cult beauty status I never expected to find it in TKMaxx. I have two of their powder palettes and some blushes, already but I've always wanted to try one of their Opaque Rouge lipsticks. However at £24 for such a diddy size, I've always been tempted but held off. So when I spotted one in Riviera, a beautiful orange red I grabbed it straight away for £14. Still quite expensive but after trying it out, the colour payoff is amazing and it lasts for hours, so it is definitely worth it.

Then I spotted some other Hourglass packaging and found this beautiful Femme Nude Stylo lipstick in Nude No5. I absolutely love the packaging for this, it's so luxurious and stunning. The colour is a perfect beige nude with a slightly glossy finish, the only issue with this lipstick is the scent. It smells like the cheap toy makeup I used to play with as a kid, but I'm sure I'll get used to it!

Left: Opaque Rouge in Riviera, Right: Femme Nude Stylo in No5 Nude

So there we have it. Two new beautiful lipsticks to the collection. 

Now this time, no more spending!

Libi xx

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MAC Lipstick Collection

I love lipstick. It's my most purchased beauty item ever and I can't even begin to tell you have many I have. It's a bit mental really. So when I say Mac lipsticks are the best of the lot. I really mean it. 

Mac lipsticks are the only lipsticks I've ever fully used up. Some colours I've used and repurchased and some I haven't. But the best thing about Mac I'd say, is that when you take into store 6 empty packaging (think foundation bottles, lipsticks, even eyeshadows) you get a free lipstick of your choice.

You may wonder why are these lipsticks so great? (you may not, but I'm going to tell you anyway!) For starters, they smell amazing. They have this lovely vanilla scent, that isn't too overpowering but like a lip balm almost. They also have loads of different textures, shades and collections. Some collections like Viva Glam are endorsed by celebrities and all proceeds go to charity.

I've probably been buying and collecting Mac lipsticks since I was about 16. I've had some unfortunate colour choices (Mac Myth - google it), lost some on nights out, given some away and had to throw some away due to makeup expiry dates but these are the ones in my collection now. I love looking at these kinds of posts as I'm always intrigued to see what other people have in their collections and also I like to see swatches. This is usually incase I want to know what a colour looks like on the lips and whether it would suit me, so I can then rush out to buy it should I like it!

Before I end with a crap tonne of pictures, my faves of the bunch are probably: Velvet Teddy, which isn't actually shown here as I'd lost it at the time of taking this pictures, Mehr and All fired up. Also don't judge my terrible lipstick application! Now on with the pictures...

 (R to L) The Red Shades: All Fired Up, Ruby Woo, Salon Rouge, Diva

(R to L) The Light Pinks: Dress It Up, Angel, Snob

(R to L) The Nudes: Lady Be Good, Mehr, Whirl

(R to L) The Bolds: Craving, Impassioned, Vegas Volt

Lady Be Good

Angel

Dress it Up

Mehr

Whirl

Snob

Vegas Volt

Impassioned

Craving

All Fired Up

Ruby Woo

Salon Rouge

Diva

Thanks for reading.

Do you have any recommendations of what Mac lipsticks I should try next?

Libi

xx

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Fleur de Force for Eylure - Review

Let's me just start by saying. This post has been long overdue, I bought these so long ago, but never got around to sharing my love for them!

Around September time, Youtuber and Blogger Fleur de Force teamed up with Eyelure to create her owned range of eyelashes. Now being a big fan of Eyelure's eyelashes anyway and an even bigger fan or Fleur, (she's even more lovely in person!) I just knew that I had to try some of these right away. And I did, when I bought them about 3 months ago! But after having used them a couple of times already I dug them out for their third use the other day and knew I had to review them!

The range consists of 4 different styles; 'Fleur Loves' a three-quarter length lash with a similar look to my other favourite lashes - the Ardell Demi Wispies, 'Simply Fleur' a natural daytime lash, 'Fleur & Fabulous' a more evening bold pair and 'Couture Fleur' a set of individual lashes. Knowing I wouldn't wear a bold lash and never having got on with individual lashes, I picked up the first two.

As for 'Fleur Loves', the concept of these intrigued me. I could be wrong, but I feel like I've never seen 3/4 lashes before. I thought this way I wouldn't feel like I was ruining the shape of the lashes trying to cut them down to my eye shape. They would probably be already the perfect length, and they are! I've worn this pair less than the other I own, just because they are a little bit more obvious that you are wearing false eyelashes. However they are equally as beautiful.

'Simply Fleur' is a beautiful every day eyelash. I don't personally wear false eyelashes every day but I know some people do. With these I think I look to have very natural looking eyelashes, almost like my own but longer. These may also be the most comfortable eyelashes I've ever worn. I tried them for a whole day recently and I forgot that I had them on at one point. 

As I'm not the most experience false eyelash wearer I still find them quite difficult to put on but if you do need a tip - definitely wait around a minute for you glue to dry tacky before trying to place them on. I used to try straight away and wondered why they never stuck down!

Wearinig Fleur de Force for Eyelure in 'Simply Fleur'

Overall I'm definitely impressed with this range so far and think I may have to pick up the third pair after all, even if it is just for really fancy occasions! When I first purchased these I thought they were limited edition, but fortunately they're permanent in Eyelure's range so I can continue to repurchase my favourites. The prices range from £5.25 to £6.95 and are available at Boots and FeelUnique.

Libi

xx

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New in at the drugstore - January

I don't know if I'm the only one, but I get more excited for new cheaper makeup releases than I am for high end ones. Probably because I know I can buy more things or maybe because I just love a bargain (thanks mum for that trait!). I just so happened to pop into town on my lunch break the other day and wandered in to Boots to pick up one thing and I ended up coming out with allsorts.

First up, new nail bits from Barry M. I always think Barry M do cheap nail polish so well, I especially love the Gelly Hi-Shine range. The colours are beautiful and they give such a glossy finish with great staying power. So when I spotted they had some new shades, I opted for an off-white cream colour called Cream Soda. I've always wanted an almost white nail polish, but this way it doesn't look as though I've covered my nails in Tipex. 

They were on an offer (2 for £6), so of course I had to buy something else! Recently I've been trying to grow my nails and strengthen them. However when they aren't painted I have a tendancy to bite or snap them. So the new Mani Mask range caught my eye, offering colour with a conditioning treatment built in. I picked up Birthday Suit a pinky nude colour.

Then on to Maybelline. I love new brow products. Even though they tend to be something I don't switch up very often, it's always nice to find something you like even better. I spotted this brow pencil in a chubby stick, then I saw the name and knew I had to buy it: Brow Drama Pomade Crayon. I thought it may be a cheaper and more accessible alternative to the Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade. The consistency seems lovely and really similar, but I think I may have to use it with a brush to get the same precision. When I've had a play around I may post a full comparison.

Now this may not be a very new product to Maybelline but the formulation was something that I have never spotted before. Maybelline Master Ink in Matte. In recent years I've used nothing but liquid eyeliner pencils, having had a terrible experience with a Bourjois Clubbing nibbed liquid eyeliner back in the day. But seeing Suzie from HelloOctober's perfect eyeliner in her videos made me really want to give it another chance and I thought Matte might be something a bit different.

Last but not least, a new foundation from Bourjois. Now Bourjois rank pretty high in the drugstore foundation category for me. I'd probably place them after Rimmel, as they just don't tend to have as much colour variety as some other brands. Just recently they released a new Matte foundation and even though everyone has been raving about it, I just knew that it would never work with my dry skin. Then I saw this one. A radiance and brightening promising formula. Seems more of a summer release with its SPF30, but I'm all for trying a new tinted moisturiser/BB cream now my skin is a bit clearer. So it went straight in to my basket!

Well that's all the things I've spotted and have picked up lately. Is there anything else I should try? Let me know in the comments.

Libi

xx

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Best of Beauty 2015

Happy New Year everyone! I cannot believe we are in 2016. I hope that you all had a fantastic Christmas and New Years (and general festive period). Also hoping I'm not the only one dreading going back to work, after what seems like a lifetime off! It's given me chance to chill and spend time with loved ones, but also do what I love best.. shopping, oh and eating.

I absolutely love reading these kind of posts because unlike a monthly favourites they tend to be products that people have loved for the whole year and dare I say it "holy grail" products. The ones I have here are my complete staples. So before I ramble too much here are some of my most loved products from 2015.

Best Primer
Primer isn't really a category I am particularly bothered about most of the time. I've tried a few but they all seem to dry my skin out without any real benefit. This all changed when I purchased the Seventeen Skin Wow Primer. Although I don't think it makes my makeup last much longer, it gives such a beautiful illuminating finish under foundation that I can't go without. I don't use it on an everyday basis, but just when I feel I need a bit more radiance. As for eye primers, Urban Decay's Primer Potion is the only one I've ever tried but it does the job brilliantly so I will continue to use and repurchase.

Best Foundation
You may not be surprised by this, given I did a whole post about it earlier in the year, but my top foundation has to be Nars Sheer Glow. I thought I had found a new favourite in the MUFE HD foundation, however I always come back to sheer glow. Another favourite for lighter makeup days is the Dr Jart+ Regenerating BB Cream. I never thought I'd be able to get on with a 'one colour suits all' type of product, but blended in this seems to match my quite light skin tone perfectly. It is also so hydrating and contains SPF so a great one for when you may not want to go bare faced on holiday.

Best Concealer
Both of these are products I have discovered in 2015 and absolutely love. For blemishes and general covering around the face it goes to Clarins Instant Concealer. Hydrating and the perfect colour for my skin tone, this covers without being too thick and the hefty tube will probably last me a lifetime. For highlighting under the eyes, I love Urban Decays Naked Skin, it's so brightening and I think I may have to get another shade for bad skin days as the coverage is just amazing.

Best Beauty Tool
Without a doubt it's got to be the Beauty Blender. Since buying this in America in April, I've probably used it every day, with the exception of using my hands a couple of times! It works with everything from BB creams to Concealer to Foundation. I've even heard of using it for powder, although I am yet to try that out. Definitely worth the price tag and worth the hype. P.s. Please excuse my dirty one, I need a new one.

Best Highlight
Like primer, highlight is one category where I have never felt the need to have a collection of different products. For the last 4 years I stuck with MAC's Soft & Gentle and used it till it's very last bit. Then came the release of Champagne Pop and I see a similar pattern occurring. It suits pale skin, it's beautiful, go buy it!

Best Bronzer + Contour
I've put these into the same category as they are very similar powders and come in one palette. They are Fawn and Java from the Anastasia Beverley Hills contour palette in light. I use Fawn to contour, it has such a grey undertone so it mimics a shadow underneath the cheekbone perfectly without looking muddy, and Java is just great to warm up the face. I like that I can keep them both together too.

Best Blusher
This was a late 2015 discovery. I've always stuck to MAC blushers as they've never done me wrong. However after watching so many of I Covet Thee and Hello October's Youtube videos, I knew I had to try out one of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushers. After owning some of the brand's powders and getting on with them so well I thought I'd give them a go. It was love! I've since bought the Ambient Lighting Edit so I could try a couple more colours.

Best Fragrance
Jo Malone's Nectarine Blossom & Honey. Beautiful scent, so classic and simple. The first 'Grown Up' type scent I've had for a while.

Best Single Eyeshadow
Possible my most worn eyeshadow of the year is Maybelline's Colour Tattoo in On and on bronze. Quick and simple, easy to blend too. Great for when you want to look like you've made a bit of effort when you actually haven't.

Best Eyeshadow Palette
I think this was my first beauty purchase of 2015 in Singapore on Jan 1st. It is the Marc Jacobs Lolita eyeshadow palette. A palette of beautiful nude shades in a variety of finishes that can be used on their own, or combined to make daytime and evening looks.

Best Eyeliner
This is a non mover from the last couple of years. An oldy but a goody in my opinion. Soap & Glory's Supercat liquid liner. I wear liquid eyeliner every day so I have been through so many of these over the years.

Best Mascara
Mascara for me is where I've always liked to branch out with different brands. I don't think I've ever bought the same mascara twice. Meaning I've probably tried most of the drugstore ones available. One of my faves, recommended by my Mum is Clinique's High Impact Mascara. She always has sample sizes of these hanging around as they are great for travelling and I've managed to go through quite a few (still never bought the full size though!). It is defining and lengthening, it doesn't smudge and is easy to remove so a winner in my books. Another contender to best mascara, as I couldn't choose just one, is Urban Decay's Perversion Mascara. Another sample size I received in the post! This is another great one with similar qualities to Clinique's offering. Although it may just give slightly blacker and more voluminous lashes.

Best Brow Product
Up until this year, I had used the same brow product daily and always had been complimented on my eyebrows. Then when in America this year I had to pick up Anastasia's Dipbrow Pomade, as everyone and their uncle were raving about it. It is definitely confusing to use at first, but once I got my technique down my eyebrows don't take that long to fill in in a morning. And they definitely look more natural. I probably haven't even used 1/3 of it in nearly a year.

Best Lipstick
My favourite budget lipsticks of the year are Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvets,.I keep collecting them and I now have four. They go on very precisely and last for a long time. The variety of colours is great, all the shades are lovely and they're only £8.99! On the higher end side of things, MAC wins and always has for me. I'm constantly building my collection and then Back-to-MAC-ing and coming back with even more new shades. They smell great and there are so many finishes and colours. My favourite colours of the year have to be Velvet Teddy and Mehr. Both are 2015 purchases.

Best Lipliner
Mac again. Suprise, suprise. This is the first year I've ever tried and got into using lip liners and they definitely prolong the lasting power of your lipstick and help give a bold lip that extra wow factor. The colours pictured are Ablaze, Spice and Soar.

New Things: October

So there's many advantages and disadvantages to working full time. But one advantage is spending more money on makeup. I mean, I don't need any more lipsticks, but do I buy them, of course I do. Most of my purchases are usually influenced by bloggers or youtubers and they go onto my little wish list for a while until eventually I give in and they come home with me!

First up is a lipstick (of course!) this is Mac All Fired Up from the Retro Matte range. This is a colour that I've wanted for about 2 years and always pick up and swatch in store. I've held off by thinking I didn't really need it, however when I got chance at a Back to Mac freebie it went straight in my basket. It's a beautiful combination of a bright pink and red, a good bold lip.

Also from Mac, a new brush for my collection. This is the Mac 266 Small Angle Brush. As you may have seen from my New York haul in March. All I've been using for my brows is the Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade and I've been using the same old thick cheap brush since I first started filling in my brows, so this was a sneeky little treat for myself. It has definitely improved the precision in which I apply product so hopefully no scouse brows in sight!

I've never seen so much hype about a concealer like I have for Urban Decay's Naked Skin. I've never really been fussy with my concealers as long as they cover. However, recently I've needed something to help brighten my under eyes. Due to my (desceivingly) pale skin tone, I've never really found anything to do this and help highlight my face. But this has completely done the trick, so much so I'm considering buying it in a slightly darker colour for the rest of my face.

Finally some cheeky Space Nk purchases. I'm not afraid to say going into store intimidates me slightly. The staff to customer ratio is a bit off and I always feel a little judged. So I tend to have an idea of what I want before I go in.

One of which was Emma Hardie's Amazing Face cleanser. I was stuck over this or the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel, but in the end this reigned triumphant for the fact it seemed to have a much creamier consistency for dry skin. This has been in my possession for just over a week and it is most definitely love. This has completely changed my skin for the better, it is no longer as dry and using it as a second cleanse has meant that my skin is much clearer!

The other purchase: one of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes in Dim Infusion. This is a beauty, cue the love heart eyes emoji! The colour is a beautiful coral with a lovely glow to it and no sparkle in sight. Due to it being a combination of a blush with one of the Ambient Lighting powders, it's ridiculously blendable and I love it that much that I may have made a cheeky order for the new Ambient Lighting Edit palette so I can try two more colours and one of the bronzers. What can I say Hourglass have just sucked me in.

Well then, I'm now a bit skint. At least I have lots of pretty things! Until next time..

Libi xx

My First Jo Malone Experience

Let's just start by saying I absolutely love perfume. I love that a memory can spark from a quick whiff of a certain scent and I'm not gonna lie and tell you that I didn't try use this to my advantage at University. Dousing myself in the stuff for revision then hoping I'd sit down in my exam and all the knowledge would flood in.

It's also something quite personal, which is why it surprises me that it's probably one of the most bought gifts ever. Not for myself however, I have a perfume collection comprising of two perfumes. Juicy Couture's original fragrance and this little beauty I picked up the other week.

Myself and Hutch decided to go for a little day out in Liverpool, we wandered around for a while and then I dragged Hutch into the Harvey Nichols Beauty Bazaar store to have a browse. After I stopped by at MAC, he fancied looking at Jo Malone.

Up until this point I had no idea he liked Jo Malone scents. I could just be very sexist, but I have always just associated the brand with women. It was not until I'd sprayed approximately 30 fragrances on myself, did I realise a lot of them were very unisex and quite musky, especially the Cologne Intense ones.

After taking so long to settle on my favourite, we went to the till armed with two 30ml bottles. Hutch chose Pomegranate Noir - one of Jo Malone's most popular fragrances and I chose Nectarine Blossom and Honey, one I had never heard many people talk about but loved how sweet it was.

The lovely lady serving us told us all about mixing different scents together to find a unique fragrance. For Hutch she suggested Pomegranate Noir combined with Wood Sage and Sea Salt, I can't begin to describe the end result but all I remember is it smelt divine. For myself, Nectarine Blossom and Honey combined with Blackberry and Bay. This was one of the scents I enjoyed anyway and toyed with purchasing. The combination of the two smelt like a Blackberry cocktail of some sort, I was tempted to buy the other on the spot but I resisted. It's now on my payday wish list.

After looking for some cologne samples but to no avail, we settled upon some lovely body wash samples so we could test our combined scents and layer them together for greater lasting power.

Overall, we had such great service in Jo Malone and as always their gift presentation and wrapping was so lovely. I'll definitely be back!

Have you tried Jo Malone before? What is your favourite scent? What would you like to try?

Libi xx

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector - Champagne Pop

I'm back! Sorry for the large gap in posts. I really didn't realise how long it would take me to settle in to full time employment and how much it would exhaust me. For anyone that doesn't know, I graduated university in July and moved back home to start a new job and join the big bad world. Every minute I've had spare I've wanted to go out for the day and make the most of my free time. However today I've been laying around in various positions recovering from my first half marathon yesterday (more details to come!) and decided I just needed to put up this post just incase this limited edition product is stopped being sold soon.

I first began watching Jaclyn Hill about a year ago and quickly became slightly obsessed. Her makeup is always flawless, she has such great sense of humour and is so easy to watch. She even coined the phrase "Highlight on fleek.". So when she announced she was bringing out a highlighter with Becca cosmetics, I knew I needed it there and then. I present to you Champagne Pop..

A really beautiful highlighter with a peachy gold undertone. I was initially quite scared at first that it was going to be quite warmed toned and therefore would look quite weird on my pale skin, but as she designed the product with her sister (also pale skinned) in mind it shows up beautifully.

I would say if you like a natural highlight, this is definitely not for you! Due to its ridiculously amazing pigmentation this would be what most people would use on a weekend or a night out. I would personally wear it during the day with a lighter hand as its just so lovely.

It has almost a cream to powder formula which means it doesn't feel drying and gives almost a blurring quality to the cheeks, whereas some other powder highlighters would just make your pores look larger and you would end up with big chunks of glitter all over your face!

At a price point of around £27 it's quite an expensive one, however it is definitely worth it. I find highlighters are not something I buy a lot of either, so they end up lasting for a long time.

The biggest downside to this beaut powder? It is limited edition and only being sold in the US through Sephora. Luckily I had a lovely friend who just happened to be making a cheeky order. If you are thinking of ordering some American goodies anyway, partner up with a friend, split the shipping and pop one of these into your basket!

Till next time..

Libi xx

New Things: Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette

All hail Urban Decay. They always know how to suck a girl in. They created the first Naked palette in 2010 and everyone rushed to buy it. It sold out everywhere. Since then they have to continued to churn out releases in the Naked range every year with beauty lovers highly anticipating their release.

I only have one Naked palette, Naked 2 which is probably a bit of shock to a lot of makeup lovers out there. However it had satisfied my eyeshadow needs and I hadn't felt the need to buy any of the others until Naked Smoky was released recently.

Like the other Naked palettes the colours are quite neutral but Naked Smoky has (you guessed it!), a few darker smoky colours. Now I've never been drawn to the classic silvers and blacks of a smokey eye but just recently I have really got into purple eyeshadows so Smolder in this palette is definitely my favourite along with the dark navy blue.

These eyeshadows are, like all Urban Decay eyeshadows, incredibly pigmented and buttery. The palette consists of 4 metallic, 4 satin and 4 matte shadows. I've provided swatches so you can see how the colours look when applied.

From left to right: High, Dirtysweet, Rador, Armour

 From left to right: Slanted, Dagger, Black Market, Smolder

From left to right: Password, Whiskey, Combust, Thirteen

The palette also comes with a double ended brush and a card to guide you through 4 different types of smoky eye. It retails for £38 (almost £3 per eyeshadow!) and is available now from Urban Decay Stockists - House of Fraser, UrbanDecay.com, FeelUnique etc.

This palette did not disappoint me and I have already got so much use out of it. A definite win again for Urban Decay. I'm sure this wont be the last Naked release!

Have you tried any of the Naked palettes? Will you be picking this one up?

Libi
xx

Top Five: Skincare Items

I love skincare. I’ve always been one to look after my skin, even from a young age. My mum always told me to cleanse, tone and moisturize, even before I’d started wearing makeup. So off I’d trot to my school sleepovers with my little Simple skincare pack. I don’t know whether it’s due to that, but I had impeccable skin all the way through school (even through my extremely heavy makeup phase!).

Nowadays I seem to have got all my teenage spots all in one go! My skin is rarely without a breakout and the years of heavy makeup have taken their toll. As a result I’ve been left with extremely dry skin. I’ve tried so many skincare products since I got into beauty. Some raved about by bloggers and some that I’ve tested alone. I’ve realized not only is my skin dry, but it is very sensitive and things that may work for someone else definitely didn’t work for me. So bare that in mind!

Any who, here is a rundown of my favourite skincare bits and bobs that seem to keep my skin relative spot and dry patch free..

REN Clarimatte Clarifying Toner

Even though I used a toner for so many years I did wonder what the point of them was. I basically used it after my makeup remover to see how much gunk was still on my face! After hearing on blogs that the “new” way to exfoliate was with acid toners I searched for a budget friendly option and came across this one. It basically helps to exfoliate and unclog pores to remove dead skin allowing the skin to renew. It definitely helps my skin look more glowing and helps to calm down redness and those pesky under the skin spots. One that I will always repurchase.

Clinique Naturally Gentle Eye MakeupRemover

This is my absolute favourite skincare/makeup removal I’ve ever found – no lie. To my knowledge there isn’t anything out there similar and in my opinion - that even compares to this. It’s pricey for an eye makeup remover at £17, but its creamy milky formula removes eye makeup so well, without having that oily residue that most other eye makeup removers have. It also lasts me a good 6 months, maybe more. I’ve tried a cheap olay version, (trying to save myself some money!) but it just wasn’t as good. Leading me to have repurchased this at least 5 times. Spot on.

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water

Cleansing waters changed my life, they helped me stop using makeup wipes and I now know my makeup is 100% off before I move on to doing other things. It started with Bioderma the French pharmacy brand. Although hard to track down I ordered one from Ebay in my first year of university and was amazed. Before I knew it they were popping up left, right and centre in Boots and I thought I’d try a cheaper alternative, this being it. It’s just fantastic at removing makeup and doesn’t dry my skin out.

Kiehls Ultra Facial Cream

Moisturizers are one of those areas where I’ve had the least luck. As I’ve mentioned my skin is so very dry, which is always surprising as I don’t have anything like Eczema. Up until finding this the other year I’ve probably tried over 20 moisturisers, oil and serums and all have either felt too light and I’ve still been left with very dry skin or have broken my out. This is a godsend in winter especially and again, another product I’ve repurchased a handful of times.

E45

Here comes the big one. The cheapest product of the bunch is E45. Being specially designed for those with dry skin this is a big favourite for me. I tend to use this at night when my skin gets flakey (I know, pretty gross) and by morning it looks nice and moisturized again. It can be used all over the body so also makes a great hand cream during the winter months!

That was a lot to take in. I’m still eyeing up potential cleansers to make it into my favourites, none have quite fit the bill. Let me know if you have any favourites you think I should try.

Thanks for reading,

Libi xx

New Things: Mac Lipsticks

From Left to Right: Ruby Woo, Craving and Diva.

I'm the first to admit it, I have a lipstick addiction. When I see an offer on something I was willing to pay full price for, it goes straight into my basket. 

After a long period of time not having any interest in stopping by a MAC counter, towards the end of university every time I went into town I was swatching away at their lipsticks. Each time I'd walk away wanting Diva - a matte dark vampy red shade. Fast forward a couple of weeks and I was still thinking about it, so I headed back into town and it came home with me.

Next thing I knew Student Money Saver were advertising a deal through wowcher - a £10 Fragrance Direct voucher for £5, it didn't sound like much but I spotted they stocked quite a few MAC products including two lipsticks I had on my list: Craving, a creamy berry pink and Ruby Woo, a popular matte bright red colour. They were already discounted in price at £13.75 instead of £15.50. I ended up purchasing two vouchers and got these two lovely lipsticks for £8.75 each which is a real bargain!

So after those lovely treats I definitely don't need any more lipsticks for a while! Although I probably will buy more.

Is there anything that you've treated yourself to lately? I'd love to hear in the comments!

Thanks for reading,

Libi xx