TOP 10 CHRISTMAS MOVIES

It's not Christmas until you watch a Christmas film ...

I know it is officially Christmas, when I have watched the Christmas film Elf - my all-time favourite Christmas film. There is just something about snuggling under a blanket, drinking hot chocolate, with the Christmas lights on and watching a Christmas film to help get you in the festive mood. This is the time of year when all the classics are shown on TV and with it only being 9 days until Christmas (how has 2018 flown by so quickly?), I thought I would share with you my top 10 Christmas movies of all time; these are the classics that I watch every single year without a doubt. In fact, I am watching Elf as I am writing this blog post!

I found it really difficult to narrow down my top 10 Christmas movies, but after some thinking it was obvious as these are the films that I watch time and time again every single year. I have not put these movies in a particular order as they are all my favourites, but of course I have an all-time favourite - which I have written about first.

TESTING WET N WILD MAKEUP

CAN SUCH AN AFFORDABLE BRAND REALLY BE THAT GOOD?

One brand that I have heard so much about is Wet N Wild - if you live in the United States then this is a drugstore brand that you have probably heard about and maybe have used. However, if you live in the UK, then you may not be aware of such a brand or you may have heard about it but never been able to try it. That is because Wet N Wild has never been sold in the UK ... until now!

Yes, that is right, Wet N Wild is now being sold on Beauty Bay and I was so excited. I have seen so many US Bloggers and YouTubers talking about Wet N Wild makeup and I have never been able to try any of the products because it is not easily available to be shipped to the UK. This is such an affordable brand where most of the products retail between £3 and £7. But, I wanted to know whether such an affordable brand can really be any good. So, of course a couple of weeks ago I went onto the Beauty Bay website and bought a few products to try out, so that I can see whether this is a brand that I will be buying from again.

I can see how Wet N Wild is so affordable as the packaging is very simple and not over the top like other brands - which is something that I really like because makeup should be about how the product performs, not what it looks like. The packaging is just plastic, which is clear and black so you can easily see what the products are and what shade you are picking up. I wish the packaging was slightly nicer but it means that the prices are more affordable which is more important. Now, that I have quickly mentioned what the packaging is like, let's discuss the products ...

Wet N Wild can be purchased from Wet N Wild, Beauty Bay and Ulta.

HOW I HAVE BEEN DECLUTTERING THIS SUMMER?

MY GOALS THAT I HAD SET FOR SUMMER!

Everyone has probably heard of having a spring clean? I had a major one in April and it helped me so much to really declutter my life, so I am now of the opinion that I need to have a declutter every few months for each season - hence my summer spring clean.

I feel like when January comes around, I am always so motivated and passionate about making new goals and I stick to them for the following few months. However, I always end up not sticking to these goals or lack the motivation, so there is no reason why you cannot set new goals throughout the year. Life will always throw hurdles and challenges your way and it is always good to set new goals throughout the year as your priorities will change. I constantly am trying to re-motivate myself every few months to stick to certain goals and one of the best ways to motivate myself is to have a huge clear out and really prioritise what is important to me. If you follow me on Instagram then you might have seen in my stories that I have been having major decluttering sessions. Summer is almost over so this might hopefully inspire you to set new goals for the autumn/fall months. 

I have mentioned on my social media, for the last few months, that I really wanted to change the layout of my blog and not just focus on beauty and makeup! I really feel that when I started my blog that I included more lifestyle posts and recently I have seemed to stick to beauty - as that it what I thought people wanted to see more of. But, now I want to write more fashion, lifestyle and travel posts, whilst still writing beauty reviews and talking about new releases. I really want to make this blog amazing and that is something that I am truly motivated about.

So let's now talk about how I decluttered over the last few months and maybe this can inspire you on how you can declutter for autumn ...

ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS NORVINA EYESHADOW PALETTE

IS IT ANOTHER MODERN RENAISSANCE OR SUBCULTURE?

If you look back at my blog over the last year then you will notice that whenever a new Anastasia Beverly Hills eyeshadow palette is released, I will purchase it and then review it. I have all of the latest ABH palettes besides the Prism palette that came out during the Christmas period last year ... however I do own the other three Modern Renaissance, Subculture and Soft Glam! So, when I saw that ABH were bringing out a new palette called Norvina, I signed up to the waitlist on BeautyBay and purchased it the day after it was released. I have had mixed feelings towards ABH eyeshadow palettes in the past; I am a huge fan of the Modern Renaissance and Soft Glam palette but Subculture was a palette that didn't work as well (unless you were living under a rock last autumn, then you will be well aware of the controversy that surrounded that palette).

At first, I wasn't sure whether I was going to buy the Norvina palette as it is not a palette that usually fits my criteria of being full of either neutral shades or warm-toned peach and coral shades. A purple palette is not something that I would naturally gravitate towards ... in fact it is something that I would usually skip altogether. However, something just made me want to buy it as I loved the fact that there was a row of shimmers and a row of mattes and I wanted to buy a palette that was a bit more out of my comfort zone ... especially as I am not planning on buying another palette for a few months (as I own so many that I barely use). I was really hoping that this would fall under the Modern Renaissance expectation in regards to formula rather than the Subculture! And there is only one way to see ... and that is by trying it out and giving you my honest first impressions! 

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina eyeshadow palette retails for £43 or $42 from Anastasia Beverly Hills, Beauty Bay, Ulta and Sephora.

ZOELLA BEAUTY - SPLASH BOTANICS RANGE

A SPLASH OF BOTANICS IN MY BATHROOM!

Recently, I have been posting so much about makeup that I wanted to change it up and talk about bath products. I find that bath products are something that I don't buy lots of because I don't have room to store loads of different shower gels and bath products. However, when I saw that Zoella Beauty had released a summer range I wanted to try it out and see if there were any products that caught my eye ... and of course there were!

Zoella is a blogger and YouTuber, who has been around for years, I remember starting to watch her when I was in High School. Now, I wouldn't say that I watch her videos as much as I use to when I was younger but I do every now and again finding myself clicking on one of her videos and I have been a fan of some of her Zoella Beauty products in the past. I have not tried every single range or product that Zoella has brought out in the past (although I try to buy a couple of pieces from each collection) and I absolutely love the Bath Latte. But, when I saw her new summer range in my local Superdrug I picked up a few products that really caught my eye. I did not buy the whole range as I knew I would not use everything, but I will link the whole range at the bottom of the post, if you want to look at everything in the collection! This is limited edition, so I don't know how long it will remain in stock online or in stores but it has been out a while now!

The packaging of Zoella's beauty products are just always incredible and just look perfect on the side of the bath or displayed on a shelf. The Splash Botanics range definitely fits into that look where it just looks so pretty displayed in the bathroom. This range has been out a while now but I just had to review it as they look so stunning and smell amazing! Zoella seems to have made the packaging slightly more grown up but has still kept some products looking more quirky in the way they look - like one of the products looks like a milk carton. I love the tropical print that she has used and they all look stunning in my bathroom - or they could even fit in well in my spare room/beauty room as that has a tropical theme in it too. Plus these products are just so INSTA worthy!

The Zoella Splash Botanics range is available to purchase from Superdrug, FeelUnique and Ulta.

SOPH X REVOLUTION EXTRA SPICE PALETTE AND LIPSTICKS

THIS NEW COLLECTION IS EXTRA SPICY!

I have been a huge fan of Revolution (also known as Makeup Revolution) over the last few years ... in fact I have even written a whole post dedicated to this brand where I tested Makeup Revolution. There were some hits and misses in this collective first impression post, but in general I love the brand. Revolution is an affordable makeup brand that creates amazing makeup that is often an exact of close dupe to other high-end makeup brands. They are available to purchase on Revolution Beauty, Superdrug and Ulta.

Over the last few months, Revolution have really stepped up their game. They are constantly bringing out new products and the quality of those products have been improved so much since I remember buying them a few years ago. Also, Revolution are coming out with some amazing collaborations at the moment with a lot of beauty YouTubers ...

One YouTuber that I absolutely love is Sophdoesnails, who is a beauty YouTuber and she reviews products as well as coming up with some amazing makeup tutorials (that are so easy to follow). She also creates multiple videos for  Revolution's YouTube channel, so it was only a matter of time before she came out with a collaboration. Soph originally came out with an eyeshadow and highlighter palette last Autumn, which I purchased but never got round to reviewing (although I am happy to review them as they are still able to be purchased online and in stores). At the beginning of June, Soph announced that she had been working on bringing out a second collaboration with Revolution. She was bringing out a new eyeshadow palette that was considered the older sister to the original palette and three lipsticks in a variety of nude shades. So, of course I had to buy the whole collection and review it on my blog to give you all my first impressions of what I really think about these products ...

The second collaboration between Sophdoesnails and Revolution is available to be purchased from Revolution Beauty, Superdrug and Ulta. Unfortunately the second collaboration are not on Ulta at the moment, but the first collaboration is available, however Revolution Beauty do ship internationally.

A LITTLE BEAUTY BAY HAUL

WHAT I HAVE RECENTLY PURCHASED FROM BEAUTY BAY ... 

If you have been reading my blog for a while, then you may have noticed that whenever I link some beauty products in my posts, I will often give you a link to the website Beauty Bay (only if you can buy it from them)! Beauty Bay has been a website that I have been purchasing from for the last couple of years and over the years I have made countless orders ranging from buying expensive palettes to cheaper foundations. But, I have never done a haul on this blog where I show you what I have purchased lately, in terms of makeup. This is the best way to keep you up to date with what I have been buying lately, as well as being able to give mini reviews about each product; so you don't have to wait ages for me to do a full post on them.

Beauty Bay is an official stockist of a whole range of makeup brands; from Anastasia Beverly Hills to The Ordinary. They also stock a lot of brands that we cannot easily get in the UK like Jeffree Star Cosmetics and L.A. Girl. They also receive limited edition pieces (so a product has sold out on the official brand's website then definitely check out Beauty Bay a couple of weeks later). I absolutely love the range of products that they sell and I mainly go on to buy Anastasia Beverly Hills because it is so much easier for me to buy from there as I know the delivery schedule. Plus talking about delivery, Beauty Bay is amazing! I purchased all of my products at 10am and it was dispatched at 3pm (that same day) and was delivered to my house the very next day ... you cannot complain about that service.

So, last week, I decided to have a look on the Beauty Bay website because I hadn't made a purchase from them in a couple of months and I was in need of stocking up on some products I had run out of. I was also looking to see if they had the newest eyeshadow palette from Anastasia Beverly Hills (but they didn't), although you can sign up for when they have it here. So, I was browsing the website and noticed that they were having a discount on all Morphe Cosmetics products. Beauty Bay is no longer going to stock Morphe so they have reduced all of their products and at the time of me purchasing they were giving away a free 35 eyeshadow Morphe palette if you spent over £95. So, of course I had to spend £95 to get that free palette and it was very easy to do. So keep reading to find out what I got from Beauty Bay ...

MY MOST USED EYESHADOW PALETTE OF ALL TIME!

THE ONLY PALETTE I HAVE EVER HIT PAN IN!

When it comes to makeup I have a lot in my collection - if you have been following my blog for the last few years then you will probably know that I have a complete obsession with eyeshadow palettes. I have so many in my collection that I don't hit pan in any of them. In fact most people will never hit pan on an eyeshadow palette, unless they only use one palette every single day. So if you own multiple palettes, like me, in your collection then the likelihood of hitting pan on any of the shadows is highly unlikely. When it comes to my makeup collection there are not many products that I have every run out of; obviously I have run out of some products like foundations and concealers but the only powder products I have hit pan on are the Charlotte Tilbury Air Brush Flawless Finish pressed powder, Benefit Hoola Lite bronzer and the Too Faced Sweet Peach eyeshadow palette. Let's just put it this way, if I hit pan on a product it means that it is one of my most-used and one of my all-time favourites. And that is where we are kicking things off with me talking about this beautiful eyeshadow palette ...

Too Faced is a brand that I have loved using for the last couple of years and I have mentioned them multiple times on my blog - from reviewing palettes to collections. So, it came as a surprise when I was looking for a review of the Sweet Peach palette and realised I have never reviewed it (although I think it was briefly mentioned in a mini review series I did last year). Therefore, I think it is the perfect time to finally review this palette, once and for all, because it has been out for a couple of years and is probably the palette that I have reached for the most in the last year and a bit. I don't own another palette that I have hit pan on yet, so this palette must be pretty special. In fact, it is the only palette that I have ever repurchased - although there are other eyeshadow palettes that I will 100% repurchase if I ever hit pan on or when they expire.

I often find that once I have reviewed a product on my blog, I never mention it again which is why I want to go back into doing monthly favourites so you can see what products I truly loved for that month. However, because it is not the end of the month, I thought why not do a whole review on it, as this is a palette I have been reaching for a lot this month. Keep on reading to find out why this palette is so well-loved in my collection ...

The Sweet Peach palette retails for £39 from Debenhams, Cult Beauty, Sephora and Too Faced.

A REVIEW OF THE GLAMGLOW WATERBURST HYDRATED GLOW MOISTURISER

A NEW MOISTURISER THAT FEELS LIKE WATER ON THE SKIN!

It seems too good to be true; can there really be a moisturiser that gives plenty of hydration to the skin and feels invisible when applied. Well if that sounds like it would tick a few of your moisturiser boxes then this will be your dream moisturiser that is fairly affordable and is perfect for anyone who suffers from dry skin or needs an extra burst of hydration in the mornings and evenings. Earlier this year, Glamglow released a brand new moisturiser called the Waterburst Hydrated Glow moisturiser and I have been obsessed with it ever since I purchased it, a couple of months ago - I love it so much that I knew I had to write a whole review of it for all of you as I know there will be some of you who suffer from dry skin like me and need a solution that really works! 

I have been obsessed with Glamglow for the last year and a half - I am a particular fan of their Gravitymud face mask and that is a vital step in my weekly skincare routine. It is safe to say that I love their masks and have been using them for a long time now but I did not realise that they had other skincare products out on the market. So of course, when I saw that they had released a new moisturiser that was focused on providing hydration to the skin, I knew I needed to buy it. I didn't buy it straight away as I wanted to use up the moisturiser that I was using at the time. So, in the beginning of May I took the plunge and decided to buy the Glamglow Waterburst moisturiser. I will always be a fan of the Tatcha Water Cream and that will probably remain as mu number one moisturiser but I cannot get Tatcha over in the UK and it costs a lot of money to have it shipped from the US, so I wanted to find an alternative that was more affordable and works just as well. I believe that the Glamglow Waterburst moisturiser is a strong contended fro being just as good as the Tatcha Water Cream and is a fraction of the price. So let me explain why I love this new moisturiser so much ...

The Glamglow Waterburst Hydrated Glow Moisturiser retails for £39 from Debenhams and FeelUnique and $49 from Glamglow and Sephora.

THIS EYESHADOW PALETTE IS JUST PEACHY!

A NEW MATTE PALETTE FULL OF PEACHES!

Too Faced is a brand that I have loved for the last few years that I have been writing this blog. I would say that this is one of my favourite brands just in terms of the different collections that they bring out so often. I will admit that I have not loved every product that I have tried from this brand (which was evident in my last post that I uploaded last week) but there are some products from them that will forever be my holy grail products. 

I try not to write two blog posts in a row that are about the same brand or the same collection but I have broken my rule and decided that I wanted this blog post to follow on from my last one where I reviewed four products from the Peaches & Cream collection that Too Faced released in the US last summer and in the UK a couple of weeks ago. This is one of the newest collections for Too Faced and in it they have two eyeshadow palettes, a setting powder, blushers, bronzers, highlighter, setting spray, foundation and many more products. I said in my last post that I would be writing a whole post dedicated to the Just Peachy Mattes eyeshadow palette; because we all know that I cannot resist buying and reviewing palettes. There were two eyeshadow palettes to choose from (the Just Peachy and the White Peach) but I went with the Just Peachy palette as it is full of warm caramels, peaches and chocolate browns that are all in a matte finish. What more screams Vicki Louise than this palette!

This palette retails for £33 from Debenhams, Sephora and Too Faced.

A LOOK AT THE TOO FACED PEACHES & CREAM COLLECTION

THE TOO FACED PEACHES AND CREAM COLLECTION HAS FINALLY COME TO THE UK!

When Too Faced created the Sweet Peach palette, it was an absolute hit for me and is the only palette that I have hit pan on; I loved it so much that I bought the same palette as a spare in case I did hit pan in some of my favourite shades or if it was going to be discontinued. So, of course when they announced they were bringing out a Peaches and Cream collection out last summer, I was patiently trying to find blog reviews that would mention when the collection would be in the UK! Of course, it has only I launched on Debenhams this month and I decided to purchase a few pieces the day that the collection launched. Now, the collection was available from the Too Faced store in Carnaby Street, London or online at Sephora and Too Faced. However, I am not in London that much, at the moment, and I didn't want to have to pay tax and customs on a few pieces as that can sometimes double my end total. I patiently waited and finally I have some pieces in my hands.  I have been waiting almost eight months to buy this collection, so I was hoping that it would be amazing!

The whole collection has not launched on the Debenhams website, although I do believe they are only missing the lipsticks (so it is not a huge deal as I have too many lipsticks already that I barely wear). I only wanted to buy a few pieces from this collection, as it is quite expensive, and I wanted to get products that I knew I would use time and time again and they wouldn't just go in a drawer and only be used a few times. That's why I thought I would buy items that you would probably also be interested in buying that are staples in every makeup bag! I did want to buy the foundation as well as I have heard some good reviews about it but the shade selection on the Debenhams website didn't seem to show a shade that I could match to my skin. I think the foundation is definitely something you have to swatch in a store, and I do know that this collection has been released in a few Debenhams stores in some major cities. This collection is all about the mattes and achieving that matte makeup look, which is something that I am not usually a fan of but I am interested to see how this works with my skin type and what the end result looks like. Plus I am always a fan of any products that will give a soft blurred focus!

The Too Faced Peaches & Cream collection is available from Debenhams, Sephora and Too Faced.

IS THE DYSON SUPERSONIC HAIRDRYER THE BEST ON THE MARKET?

CAN A £299.99 HAIRDRYER REALLY BE THE BEST ON THE MARKET?

One product that I have been meaning to review for over a year is the Dyson Supersonic hairdryer. This is a product that I have been using for the last year and never found the right time to mention it on my blog, until now. I feel like this is a product that everyone cannot stop talking about as it is so innovative and unique in comparison to other hairdryers on the market. Plus no-one seems to have gotten bored of mentioning this hairdryer in blog posts and YouTube videos. This is one of the most talked about electrical hair products in the beauty community and so many people have one now; so I thought it was time to finally share my opinion on this standout hairdryer!

I first saw this hairdryer being talked about in all the magazines as it was a brand new product that looked nothing like any other hairdryer I had ever seen before. I was definitely intrigued to try this product, but the hefty price tag attached was definitely something that made this more of a considered purchase. I didn't know how one of the leading brands in vacuum cleaners could transition so seamlessly into the beauty market, but they somehow did it and they have made an amazing hairdryer that is loved by so many. I purchased my Dyson Supersonic hairdryer in February of 2017 and I now definitely know how this hairdryer works with my hair and have really researched how this product works! I am sure that most of you will have heard about this hairdryer at some point (whether it is on TV, in YouTube videos, reading blog posts or in magazines). I feel like so many questions arose when this hairdryer first came out: how did they think of this concept? how does it work? how long did it take to design this hairdryer? and what made them want to move into the beauty industry, that is so different from what they are well-known for?

There is no denying that this is one of the hottest and coolest looking hairdryers on the market. The design is what instantly attracted me to buying this hairdryer, plus the glowing reviews on every website, and I am so glad that I made the decision to buy it. I am not surprised that so many people have purchased this hairdryer as it is so innovative and is one of the most talked about hairdryers in the beauty electronic market. I'm sure this has been on so many people's wish lists, Birthday and Christmas lists. Now only is this such a cool-looking product, it is also the epitome of luxury. Even though this is so sleek and luxurious, there is also a hefty price tag placed upon it - so can a hairdryer really be worth £299.99? Well have a read below for my review of the Dyson Supersonic hairdryer!

The Dyson Supersonic hairdryer is available for £299.99 from multiple retailers, including Boots, John Lewis and QVC. 

A CONTOUR PALETTE FIT FOR A PRINCESS?

A REVIEW OF TARTE'S PARK AVE PRINCESS CHISEL CONTOUR PALETTE

I am currently writing this blog post outside in the garden enjoying the sunshine (finally it is warm in the UK) and what better product to review that a contour palette that can help achieve that bronzed Goddess look that I always want in the warmer months. Tarte is a brand that I have a mixed feeling about; there are some products that I really love and then there are products that I don't use that often. Plus, Tarte have definitely gone through some controversy over the last couple of months over their shade selection for some products but when I saw this contour palette I was really excited to try it out as it looked like a palette that can be used by all skin tones, from the photos posted.

When it comes to contour, I am still a bit of a novice and I must admit that I tend to use bronzer more than contours as a lot of contour products can look muddy or dirty on me and that is definitely not a look that I am usually going for. However, when I saw that Tarte had released a Park Ave Princess contour palette at the end of last year, I knew I wanted to try it as I had heard so much about the Park Ave Princess bronzer. I also saw from the photo that it looked like there were some shades that would be perfect to use as a bronzer as well as a contour shade. This palette was just everything that I was looking for as I knew I could use it as a bronzer, contour and as an eyeshadow palette. I have read multiple reviews about this palette first, before I purchased it, and there were some mixed reviews about this product and I must admit that I do agree with some concerns surrounding this product which I will explain later on in the post.

Tarte is a brand that is not easy to purchase from in the UK; you either have to buy directly from the Tarte website or from QVC. This palette is available from both websites and it retails for £40 from Tarte and £33 from QVC. I decided to but this palette from QVC as you do get a brush included in the price which is also a great brush to have in my collection.

TESTING MAKEUP REVOLUTION - A FULL FACE OF MAKEUP

TESTING A FULL FACE OF MAKEUP REVOLUTION PRODUCTS!

Makeup Revolution is probably a brand that you will have probably heard of at some point in the last few years. Either you will have seen it in your local Superdrug in the UK or in Ulta in the US or you will have seen a lot of beauty bloggers and YouTubers reviewing these products. This brand is all about creating great products at affordable drugstore prices with most products retailing for under £10. Now when I think of this brand I immediately think of the amount of dupes they have created of high-end makeup like Tarte, Kat Von D and Urban Decay but for the fraction of the original price. However, they are coming out with new products all the time that are not always dupes and most of the products in their collection are amazing quality. Time and time again, Makeup Revolution are bringing out new products  that are loved by so many people; one of these products was the Conceal & Define Concealer which was loved by so many in the beauty community! 

I have loved this brand since I started my blog in 2015 and there are so many great products that I use in my everyday makeup routine. There are so many products in their range from eyeshadow palettes to foundations and they seem to just keep expanding their collection. Recently they have started getting into more face products and have released a new foundation and concealer in the last couple of months - which I was super excited about trying. Even though this is an affordable brand, where concealers are only £4, the quality of their products are usually amazing. However, there are some products that do not perform as well as I had hoped but that is the case with any brand (you are not always going to love every single product in a collection). But, this does not mean that I do not love the brand as a whole as I have found that most products are such great quality. In the past I have found the packaging of Makeup Revolution to be pretty boring but they have definitely stepped up their packaging in the last year and their packaging has definitely improved but still remained affordable. Makeup Revolution has also recently brought out a new Revolution Pro range which I am excited to try out in the future and maybe review on here as well!

I am trying to include more drugstore brands on my blog and I knew that Makeup Revolution was a brand that I had to include. I have mentioned this brand a couple of times in past blog posts but I wanted to include another post that was fully dedicated to this brand. At first, I did not know what I should do and then I realised that Makeup Revolution now has a product for every step in your makeup routine - including brow products, eyeshadows, concealers and mascaras. So I decided that the best way to showcase this brand is by showing you how you can create a full face of makeup with this one brand and write mini reviews of each product mentioned. Some of the products mentioned are products that I have been using for months and some are brand new to my collection and will be more of a first impression review. Out of the whole Makeup Revolution collection, the only products I have not tested for this blog post are any of their beauty tools (like brushes and sponges) but I might review them in the future. In total this whole face of makeup will only cost £84.50 and that includes every product needed to create a full face of makeup (which I think is a bargain). Obviously this will be even cheaper if you don't buy every single product as not everyone will use two products on their brows or use two types of eyeshadows, but I wanted to test out as many products as I possibly could. At the end I am going to give my honest opinion of what products I think are worth purchasing and what products did not perform that well on me! 

I just want to say that just because a product does not work for me doesn't mean that it won't work for you and there are sometimes batch inconsistencies and products perform differently on everyone as noone has the same skin tone or skin type. So please don't be offended if I say I dislike a product that you absolutely love and I am glad that it works for you!

Makeup Revolution is available from Superdrug and Revolution Beauty. You can also now purchase Makeup Revolution from Ulta if you live in America! All products linked will be from the Revolution Beauty website as they do ship internationally!

MY THOUGHTS ON THE TARTE SHAPE TAPE HYDRATING FOUNDATION ...

WHAT I REALLY THINK ABOUT THIS FOUNDATION!

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last year or so, then you will know that one of Tarte's cult makeup products is the Tarte Shape Tape concealer. This is the concealer that is raved about in so many blog posts and YouTube videos and is a firm favourite amongst a lot of beauty bloggers. I have been using Tarte Shape Tape for the last 8 months and I have been loving it and using it pretty much every single day since I got it (the Makeup Revolution concealer is similar but there are a few differences). Since using this concealer I have been wanting Tarte to bring out an accompanying foundation, so when I saw the news that Tarte would be releasing a Shape Tape foundation I was pretty excited. 

Now, if you follow beauty news you will probably know that so many people were excited about this launch however that excitement turned into anger amongst a lot of people. This was over the shade selection that had been used for this foundation - when it was first released there were only 15 shades (and most of them were predominantly for people with fair to light skin tones). I believe when it was first released there were only two shades that were specifically dark enough for anyone with a deep complexion, which is not right at all, especially when you think Fenty Beauty managed to bring out 40 shades in their first launch. Tarte have added another 3 shades to their foundation line but there is definitely a lot more shades that can be added and I hope they add more very quickly. I do not agree with the shade range of this foundation and brands definitely need to include a majority of shades with different undertones as not everyone has the exact same skin tone! Unfortunately this is not the only brand who has brought out a limited shade range, however there are so many brands out there that do cater to 40 or 50 shade ranges which is great!

I have now addressed the controversy surrounding this foundation and I now want to focus on the product itself. I do feel like Tarte didn't handle the launch of the foundation and I do not condone the shade selection but I was interested in trying this foundation out for myself.

I wasn't going to buy this foundation until more shades had been released, but I noticed that QVC were selling this foundation for an amazing price along with four other products from Tarte (including an eyeshadow palette, beauty sponge, mascara, lipstick and makeup bag) so I wanted to get it and because I have it I thought I should review it for you all and tell you whether this foundation is worth having in your collection. I am only going to be reviewing the foundation in this post, but if you are interested in me reviewing the whole QVC Tarte 5-piece collection then let me know. The Tarte Shape Tape foundation comes in two finishes; matte and hydrating. Of course I had to get the hydrating foundation as I do suffer with some dry areas on my face and I don't get on with some matte foundations - although some matte foundations can look good on me. I have so many foundations in my makeup collection that I truly love (both from drugstore and high-end brands), so I wanted to see if this foundation would be one of my new favourites, because I do love the concealer so much. I have never tried a Tarte foundation before and I have heard mixed reviews about their foundations. My Mum has even tried a Tarte foundation in the past and she did not like the way you had to apply it as it was more of a dropper, which was difficult to get to grips with. But, I want to see if this foundation is any good ...

The Hydrating Shape Tape Foundation and the Matte Shape Tape Foundation both sell for £35 or you can buy a set of Tarte beauty products from QVC for £70.

BENEFIT BAD GIRL BANG MASCARA

IS IT WORTH THE HYPE AND PRICE?

Mascara is one of those products that I am always trying to find the perfect one! And I don't think there is such a thing as a perfect mascara. I recently reviewed the Urban Decay Troublemaker Mascara and even though I loved it, I did find that it didn't give me as much volume as I was hoping for - it is definitely more of a lengthening mascara. So, when I saw in February that Benefit were releasing a brand new mascara called Bad Girl Bang that offered volume and longevity, I knew that I wanted to try it out. I have been a massive fan of Benefit mascaras in the past; I remember They're Real was one of my first high-end mascara that I tried out and now Roller Lash is one of my favourites as well. However, I don't find that either of these mascaras give me that much volume so was hoping that this new mascara would offer me that added volume that I desire for my lashes. 

I love mascara and I never feel like my makeup is complete until I have added a layer of mascara or false lashes! It just gives me that added confidence and I always feel like it makes me look more awake - there are times I have done my eye makeup and absolutely hated it and then loved it once I have applied some mascara. For me, a mascara is a mascara and I feel like it is pretty hard to get a mascara wrong - although there have been some that I have just not liked because of the formula or the wand. But generally, most mascaras are pretty good whether they are from a high-end brand or a drugstore. 

I heard a lot of buzz about this mascara when it was first released and saw so many people posting photos of the mascara but I haven't seen or read many reviews of this product. Although I have seen some people talk about it in some first impressions videos but they did not really mention much about it. This mascara claims to do a lot - not only does it say that it will give more volume, but it lengthens, is lightweight and stays on for 36 hours. That is a lot for one mascara to claim to do and I do have some thoughts about these claims. As I have said previously, I have long and full lashes anyway, so I find that most mascaras will make my lashes look great - therefore that is something to consider but I will say if I saw an improvement in the length and volume of my lashes even if it is only a slight difference.

The Benefit Bad Girl Bang Mascara is available from Benefit, Debenhams and Sephora for £21.50.

ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS SOFT GLAM PALETTE

IS IT A HIT OR A MISS?

Anastasia Beverly Hills is probably one of my favourite makeup brands of all time - there are not many products that I purchase from them that I do not like. Anastasia really knows how to make beautiful eyeshadows and I have recently been trying some of their single eyeshadows, but for me there is nothing better than her eyeshadow palettes - even if there have been a few hits and misses in the collection! Modern Renaissance is a palette that I have been loving for the last year and a half and is probably one of the best eyeshadow palettes I have ever tried. Then we had Subculture which was a bit of a miss for most people - I didn't mind the palette but it is quite difficult to blend the shadows and it is not a palette that I reach for that often. Next came Prism, which I never bought because the shades did not draw me in and I didn't need to add another palette to my collection at the time. However, meet the newest palette to the family and that is Soft Glam!

After Subculture I wasn't sure if I was going to buy another palette from Anastasia Beverly Hills as I was worried that the formula would be the same and as much as I did like the finished result that I got with the Subculture palette, it really isn't for someone who does their makeup quick or is new to makeup. I don't want to spend an hour trying to blend out my eyeshadow. However, I first saw photos of this palette on Instagram that had been leaked back in January and I knew this was a palette that I needed in my collection. Not only did this palette look like something that I would use on a daily basis but I had heard that Anastasia Beverly Hills had reverted back to their original formula. I took a screenshot of the photo and set a reminder of when this palette was being released (that is how much I wanted to get my hands on it)! And you know me, I usually wait a couple of months to buy a palette from ABH but this time I got it pretty quickly after the launch date!

This is a stunning palette full of warm-toned natural shades that can be worn during the day and then transformed into an evening look pretty easily. I have not read many reviews of this palette or watched many tutorials including it as I didn't want to have my opinion to be influenced by anyone else. I have been using this palette for the last few days and have created some looks with this palette and I am excited to review this palette and tell you whether this is as good as Modern Renaissance or whether it is a miss like Subculture.

The Soft Glam palette retails for the same price as the other eyeshadow palettes from Anastasia Beverly Hills. You can get your hands on this palette for £43 or $42 from Anastasia Beverly Hills, BeautyBay, Cult Beauty and Sephora.

THREE HOURGLASS PRODUCTS YOU NEED IN YOUR LIFE

THREE HOURGLASS PRODUCTS THAT ARE WORTH BUYING

When I was first starting out with my blog and watching the likes of Fleur De Force and Tanya Burr, I would always watch their YouTube Sephora hauls and makeup tutorials and see them using these beautiful products from brands like Hourglass. Seeing as though I was a 19 year-old University student, there was no chance that I would be able to afford any products from such a high-end brand (I remember it took me two months just to get enough money to buy an Urban Decay palette). So, a £30 blusher was pretty much out of the question! After saving up my Birthday money and setting aside a small portion of my student money each month, I was finally able to purchase the Ambient Lighting Edit palette (which I am still obsessed with to this day). Now as I have gotten older I have been able to buy a few more pieces from Hourglass!

Hourglass is a brand that is ridiculously expensive and yes the packaging is stunning - plus it looks amazing on any dressing table - but I was never convinced that it was truly worth the huge price tag. I will admit I have not purchased loads of products from this brand because it is expensive and there are other products, from other brands, that I am desperate to try out for myself and review on this blog. However, I do have a few products and some I purchased myself and others were Christmas gifts from family and friends, but I have managed to pick a few of my must-have items that I absolutely love to use all the time.

Choosing three products was not very difficult as I probably only have six Hourglass products in my collection (it would have been a lot harder to choose just three if it was Anastasia Beverly Hills or Urban Decay). But, I have picked three products that I truly believe are worth the price tag and they are products that I truly love and some I have even repurchased. Like with any brand I have tried some products that just did not work for me but I feel like these three products will work no matter what skin type you fall under - whether you are oily, dry, normal or combination.

HOW TO BUILD A CUSTOM EYESHADOW PALETTE YOU WILL USE TIME AND TIME AGAIN

BUILDING A DREAM CUSTOM EYESHADOW PALETTE DOESN'T HAVE TO BE DIFFICULT

I think it is pretty clear that I have an obsession with makeup; in particular eyeshadow palettes. Even though I already own too many I am always going to keep growing my palette collection because I love eyeshadows. However, I own quite a few eyeshadow palettes that have eyeshadows in them that I have never even used once (either because they are shades that I do not gravitate towards or I just don't ever use them). Usually I will always use the neutral and warm-tones shadows in a palette and then other shades that are brighter are rarely touched. So, a year ago I decide to invest in a custom eyeshadow palette. One that I knew I would wear every shade on a daily basis. 

Custom eyeshadow palettes are definitely an investment piece in any makeup collection. Depending on the size of the palette you choose, a custom palette can cost anywhere from £40 to £200 and sometimes more. I know that I can easily buy an eyeshadow palette from Urban Decay or Too Faced for £40 but there are usually multiple shades that are not shades that I would wear and for me a custom eyeshadow palette made a lot of sense. I will always gravitate towards my custom eyeshadow palette on a more daily basis because I know that every shade in there are shades that I love and have chosen specifically for me that suit my skin tone, eye colour and even hair colour. Don't get me wrong, I still love my pre-made eyeshadow palettes and still use them constantly, but my custom eyeshadow palette is amazing for when I just want to create a simple everyday look and I am feeling a bit stuck on a makeup look. It is also great for travelling as I know I love every single shade and I can create so many different looks with this one palette.

Creating a custom palette can be quite difficult especially if you don't know what kind of palette you want to create - do you want it to be full of warm-toned shades, cool-toned shades, bright colours or neutral colours? Also you have to think about what brand of palette you want to buy and the size, what eyeshadow singles you are going to buy, what shades and how you will arrange the shadows to make it suited for you. So I thought I would share with you my tips for creating your dream eyeshadow palette as well as sharing my own!

IS THIS THE BEST CONCEALER EVER? MAKEUP REVOLUTION CONCEAL & DEFINE

A DUPE FOR TARTE'S SHAPE TAPE CONCEALER?

In my Best of Beauty 2017 post I included a lot of makeup products that I absolutely loved in 2017; but one product that stood out and I have continuously used for the last four months is the Tarte Shape Tape concealer. I never thought that there would be a concealer that would come anywhere close to Tarte's concealer, but I may have been proven wrong. The Tarte concealer is my holy grail concealer, but when I saw that Makeup Revolution had brought out a new concealer called the Conceal & Define, I was very excited because it looks identical to Tarte's Shape Tape and is a fraction of the price. You will have probably seen this concealer in so many beauty blog posts and included in many YouTube reviews and tutorials, as this concealer has taken the beauty community by storm and has become a new favourite for many!

Makeup Revolution is not a brand that I have really spoken about, in depth, on this blog - even though I have used this brand since I started this blog in 2015. I really love this brand and they are so affordable, plus they often have dupes for high-end products (in some cases they are even better than the original). Of course, there are some products that I am not a massive fan of but there are a lot of products that I love and use frequently. Like I said, Makeup Revolution is a brand that is so affordable (with an eyeshadow palette costing between £4 and £12). If you are in the UK, you can buy the range from Superdrug or TAM Beauty and if you are in the US you can buy some Makeup Revolution products from ULTA.

Earlier this year, Makeup Revolution launched their new Conceal & Define range; with 18 shades to choose from. Not only have they considered a wide variety of skin tones (although they can definitely add more shades in the future) but they have also made sure to pay attention to different undertones. As soon as I watched and read some reviews on these concealers, I went straight to my local Superdrug store and purchased some of the shades, however they didn't have every shade in stock so I also purchased a couple of shades online. They were almost sold out in my local Superdrug so it might be easier to order online - but I would recommend going into a store and swatching the tester first as the shades don't necessarily go from the fairest shade to the deepest (because of the different undertones). I did purchase five shades from this collection because I also wanted to use these as cream contour products as well as to conceal and brighten. 

The Conceal & Define concealers retail for £4 from Superdrug and TAM Beauty and $7 from ULTA.

VALENTINE'S DAY GIFT GUIDE FOR HIM

WHAT TO BUY YOUR LOVED ONE FOR VALENTINE'S DAY OR TO JUST TREAT YOURSELF?

With Valentine's Day just round the corner, I thought it was the right time to upload my Valentine's Day Gift Guide! I am someone who is not really a fan of Valentine's Day as I believe that we should treat our loved ones all year round but Valentine's Day is a big day for so many and I wanted to share with you all my favourite items that I think would make great gifts for your loved ones or if you are single, like me, this Valentine's Day then it is a great excuse to treat yourself to something you really want and this might help to give you some ideas. 

I have everything in this Gift Guide, that I think is the perfect gift for that special someone in your life - whether that is a boyfriend, husband, partner, father, grandfather or just a friend! Valentine's Day does not just have to be about treating your partner but why not treat everyone who means something to you! I have included a mixture of affordable and more high-end items so there is something for everyone's budget! There are watches, jewellery, fashion, cologne and so much more (so there is something for everyone)!

VALENTINE'S DAY GIFT GUIDE FOR HER

WHAT TO BUY YOUR LOVED ONE FOR VALENTINE'S DAY OR TO JUST TREAT YOURSELF? 

With Valentine's Day just round the corner, I thought it was the right time to upload my Valentine's Day Gift Guide! I am someone who is not really a fan of Valentine's Day as I believe that we should treat our loved ones all year round but Valentine's Day is a big day for so many and I wanted to share with you all my favourite items that I think would make great gifts for your loved ones or if you are single, like me, this Valentine's Day then it is a great excuse to treat yourself to something you really want and this might help to give you some ideas. 

I have everything in this Gift Guide, that I think is the perfect gift for that special someone in your life - whether that is a girlfriend, wife, partner, mother, grandmother or just a friend! Valentine's Day does not just have to be about treating your partner but why not treat everyone who means something to you! I have included a mixture of affordable and more high-end items so there is something for everyone's budget! There is beauty, handbags, fashion, homeware and so much more (there will be something for everyone)!

THERE'S A NEW TROUBLEMAKER IN MY COLLECTION?

A TROUBLE PROOF MASCARA?

My makeup routine is never complete without applying a coat of mascara to my lashes; if I don't have mascara on I do not feel myself and I usually only like a makeup look once I have applied mascara. There have been times when I have hated my eye makeup and as soon as I applied a coat of mascara I absolutely loved the look. Besides concealer, mascara is the one product that I have to wear everyday as it just makes me feel more confident (I don't know why!). This is the one product that I have been wearing pretty much every single day since I was 14, so of course I have tried a lot of mascaras in my time. I have tested mascaras from the drugstore and from high-end brands and have had several love affairs over the years: one of my favourites was the Maybelline The Falsies and recently I have become obsessed with the Bobbi Brown Eye Opening Mascara. But when I heard that Urban Decay was releasing a new mascara in the Autumn of last year I had to pick one up!

Now, I am very late in reviewing this product as I believe this came out in October of last year but at the time I had quite a few mascaras open and didn't want to open this one until I had used some up - so now is that time to finally review it. I am not someone who wears false lashes regularly as I am very lucky to have long lashes that do often look like false lashes when I wear mascara; so when I saw a lot of bloggers and YouTubers saying that this make their lashes look like false lashes I was excited to try it out. So, I now introduce you to the Urban Decay Troublemaker Mascara ...

This mascara has a lot of claims surrounding it that it is meant to do to the lashes and I was really intrigued whether this mascara could do everything it claims to do. It promises to give lashes 13.7x more volume, as well as being a lengthening mascara. Urban Decay have also said that their unique and specially designed brush applicator separates the lashes as it grabs onto them - whilst coating each lash evenly as well as gently curling each lash at the same time. Basically this mascara does everything that we want in a mascara but does it perform as well as it says it does. I will say that I do have long and thick lashes, so every mascara will look like it has lengthened my lashes and added volume (so maybe consider that when reading this review).

The Urban Decay Troublemaker mascara is available from many retail stores including Urban Decay, Debenhams and Sephora for £19.50.

BEST OF BEAUTY 2017

WHAT I HAVE BEEN LOVING IN 2017!

Makeup has always been a passion of mine, and that passion is what led me to create this blog almost three years ago. Over the last three years I have added more makeup to my collection and even though I have so much makeup already, I still managed to add even more to it last year. I feel like 2017 was one of the best years for new product releases, new beauty brands and new collaborations. So, of course last year I went a bit mad buying new makeup as well as being gifted some products, especially from family around my Birthday and Christmas. This means that I tried and tested a lot of new and older makeup products last year - and discovered some amazing pieces that I want to share with you.

As I do own quite a large makeup collection (I promise I do give some products away to friends and family, as well as donating some makeup) and because I tested so many products last year I really struggled to condense a list of my favourite makeup products that I thought were the best of beauty in 2017. When I first started making my list, I had over 90 products that I wanted to share with you. But, I have managed to narrow down my list of favourite products from 2017 to just over 50 (which is still a large amount of products and that means this post is going to be very long). I know this is a lot to include in one post but I wanted to give quite a few options and these are all products that I absolutely loved using in 2017. However, if you want a more condensed version then at the end of January, I am going to do a makeup tutorial on this blog that is going to include my top products from each category in this post that I considered to be my standout products from 2017!

To make this post easier to read, I have put each product into different categories including primers, foundations, eyeshadows, mascaras and lips etc. This is just to make it easier to follow and you can then pick and choose what categories you want to read the most as I know not everyone wears primers or eyeshadows. I have tried to include products from both the drugstore and from high-end brands and some of the drugstore products are dupes for the high-end version. 2017 was a great year for makeup, with the introduction of new beauty brands like Fenty Beauty to some amazing collaborations with YouTubers and celebrities. 

I also want to include a quick disclaimer; Just because these products have been included in my 2017 favourites, it does not mean that these products will be everyone's favourite and some of them might have even been a disappointment for you. Makeup is completely unique to everyone and what works well for me, may not work in the same way for you. Everyone has different skin types, problem areas and makeup works differently on everyone. 

Every product I have included in this Best of Beauty 2017 are products that I have loved and used constantly in the last year and I will definitely carry on using them in 2018 as well. Not all of these products were released in 2017, and some of the products I have been using for years but they are all products that I have been obsessed with in 2017 and I cannot wait to share them with you. Now let me show you the products that I have been loving throughout 2017 ...