Mid Week Haul

So this week i've spent a fair bit of money online shopping and on the highstreet, so I though i'd share my purchases here with you!

Firstly on my shopping haul is two Yankee Candles. I picked up Lake Sunset & Fireside Treats. As you can see from the photos i've only burned Lake Sunset so far, but even without burning I can smell how amazing Fireside Treats is - hence why i'm saving that one to burn second! 

I am burning them both in my bedroom, but they are both lovely scents for the whole home. Fireside Treats is super sweet & Lake Sunset is very fresh. 

Next up I made a tiny MAC order, of my Primer & MAC's Matte Lipstick in Velvet Teddy. 

I was due a long awaited eye test and I finally got round to it. I replaced my black Ted Baker Glasses, for a brown pair of Michael Kors. I am loving them and I find brown goes with so much more than my black pair! However, annoyingly Michael Kors have stopped provided a case for their glasses (ridiculous when they cost so much!) so I was given this gorgeous one by Dolce & Gabbana. 

From Toyshop I brought a grey cropped jumper, a grey tunic and this classic denim skirt. I love the collars on both these jumpers as I think they are very warm and stylish at the moment! They look great with any coat or jacket. I have had my eye on this skirt forever, and finally took the plunge! I think its a nice alternative to jeans and very flattering. 

Again from Toyshop I also picked up this over sized denim shirt. (as you can tell I was wearing it when I took these photos!)  This is a petite size 4, so as you can tell it's super oversized! I love the look of this, especially with a gold necklace.

I love a good smelling room, hence the amount candles I buy! So I was excited to try out the new Zoella Reed Diffuser. Its super strong, but not in a sickly way. I think this is definitely going to be my new bedroom scent!

A shopping trip wouldn't be right without a trip to LUSH. Especially now their christmas pieces are in! I picked up only a few things i've never had before. I brought 'Pop in the Bath', 'Butterbear' & 'Candy Mountain'. I cannot wait to try these beauties out!

LUSH also gave me two freebies! *yay*, as this never happens to me! They gave me 'Serendipity Soap' & 'Coal Face'. Both which can be used on the face & body. I'm also super excited to try these ones out as i've never used any face products from LUSH!

I brought the Superdrug Limited Edition Vanilla Fudge Mask this week. MY GOD. The smell of this is incredible, absolutely to die for! It's self heating which is super relaxing. I also find you get 2 uses out of this, which makes it a bargain at 99p.

Lastly I brought 2 new make up brushes this week. Both Real Techniques, I brought the Face Sculpt and the Setting brush. 

I absolutely love the colour of these brushes. I really trust Real Techniques, and have many of their brushes. I plan on using the Face Sculpt for my foundation & the Setting for setting my concealer under my eyes.

Holly x

Night Out Makeup

So as I wrote a post on what products I use on a night out, I thought id do another including pictures of how the make up actually looks! I had another night out, so the make up is pretty much the same with a few extra products!

ps, I took these photos simply as selfies on my iPhone 5s (we all do it!) with no purpose to write this post, hence the poorer camera quality & the fact I haven't posed to actually show the make up well!

Firstly I started on my base which I prepped my skin with Origins Gin Zing Moisturiser. I then used MAC Prep + Prime Skin Finish Primer to give a super smooth base & to help my make up last all night long!

For foundation I used a Real Techniques Buffing Brush to apply MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation in the shade NW15, along with MAC Select Cover Up Concealer in NW20.

Coming back to my base later, I then moved onto my eye make up where I applied MACs Paintpot in Painterly as a base, and then used my Naked Basic Palette by Urban Decay. Applying the shades Foxy and W.O.S all over my lid. I then used the Venus shade as a highlight under my brow. I then used a Real Techniques duo fibre eye brush to apply Hoola Bronzer by Benefit into the crease for a natural shading. Again from Naked Basics, I applied the shade Naked 2 through the centre to edge of my lid. I then went in with the darkest brown called Faint into the very corner. 

I then filled in my brows using the Benefit Brow Zing in Light, focusing mainly on the bridge & end of my brow for the most definition. 

Back to my base, I then applied MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in the shade NC20, in a triangle shape under my eye, and on the bridge of my nose to create light. I blended this in with the Zoeva Face Shape Brush & the Zoeva Concealer Brush in smaller areas around my nose and eyes. 

I then set my base with my favourite powder, MAC Studio Fix in NW15, which always makes sure my make up lasts all night. 

I then used Benefit Hoola across my whole forehead, my nose, cheeks & chin for a natural bronze. I then took my Collection Contour Palette & used the dark shade to contour my cheek bones, top of my temples and down the side of my nose.

I didn't use any blush for this look, but used lots of MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Lightscapade which I am obsessed with at the moment!

I then used MAC Vanilla Pigment in the very corner of my eye to make them pop! Finishing the eyes with my trusty Maybelline Sensational Lash Mascara & Seventeen Tattoo Me Eyeliner in Raven Black. Once my mascara had dried I applied some individual lashes from Eyelure. 

To complete my look I spritzed MAC's FIX + and I was ready for the night to begin! 

Holly x

Muji Storage

So I joined the Muji Acrylic Storage hype. Now I don't have a huge make up collection, and most of my make up is kept within drawers of my dressing table. But I wanted a cool way to store my everyday make up, without all being squashed in my make up bag!

When I brought the storage, I knew I wanted to put it on a drawer on my dressing table. I measured up and measured against the website dynamics and decided I would get the smaller of the storage. (even though I have plenty of space, I'm sure I could have brought the bigger)

I knew how much I wanted to store, and decided on buying two of the small sets of 2 drawers. They are designed to be stacked, so you can continue your collection as your make up collection grows!

Muji do smaller containers to go on the top to store items like lipstick, but they are not designed for lipstick (if that makes sense?!) I knew I wanted an actual lipstick holder so I picked this one up from eBay, which fits perfectly. I've mainly stored MAC & my YSL lipsticks here, with a few of my favourite drug store ones too.

In the top draw I have stocked some MAC Lipglosses, along with a Bobbi Brown & Tanya Burr. I've kept random little things here, like highlights and my favourite primer, MAC Prep + Prime. 

In the next i've stored some powders products, like blush, contour and highlights. 

As I brought the smaller storage, I couldn't fit in my big Naked palettes, so i've stored smaller eyeshadow palettes, like quads in this draw.

Lastly, my collection of different foundations I use. I couldn't fit my Chanel foundation in the same drawer, so I put in a couple of drug store concealers in this one too!

Now I know its not huge, but like I said most of my makeup is in drawers or my make up bag! But I hope this post helped you to see how you can use the Muji storage. I have linked where to buy them throughout!

Holly x 

September Favourites

Welcome back to another monthly favourites!

Septembers monthly favourites is a little bigger than previous months, with lots of new exciting things i've been loving this month. 

The first 2 items i've been loving this month are the new Jimmy Choo fragrance in Blossom. To start, my god just look at the bottle - it's absolutely gorgeous! I'm a huge fan of the original Jimmy Choo perfume, but this new bottle puts the original to shame! It's a very subtle and fruity fragrance, and its absolutely lovely. 

The next beauty product i've been loving is YSL's lipstick in the shade FILLLLL. It's the first YSL lipstick i've ever had, and its quality is second to none. Its very hydrating and the colour is very flattering. Although not a very 'obvious' colour, it's by far my favourite in my collection. Again not to mention the packaging - impeccable!

Next this month i've found myself picking up a lot of face masks as my face has been quite dry! My favourite are Superdrug's own. They work very well with my skin and make it feel gorgeous afterwards.

This month I finally picked up a Tanya Burr lipgloss. I've been wanting to try them since they came out originally, but my local Superdrug only ever had dark colours in stock - not my thing. Now with the release of Tanya's new stock, I finally got my hands on 'I Find Nemo', which is the shade i've been desperate for.

Firstly, the packaging is lovely. It feels super light, but the design and colours are very sophisticated and feminine. As for the product, as we all know lip glosses can be a horrible thing. Often sticky and slimey, Tanya has completely put all other glosses to shame. Its formula is very pigmented and very, very long lasting. For a lipgloss, there is no stickiness to the product at all, only enough to allow it to stick to the lips. 

Would highly recommend!

I've always been a huge fan of Batiste Dry Shampoo, but after I was finding white powdered footprints throughout the house from the residue, I needed to find an invisible dry shampoo.

This one from COLAB does just that. It is invisible and very refreshing to the hair. I have it in the scent New York, which is lovely.

My only downside with this is the price. For a product that isn't a well known brand, a hefty £4 I felt is pretty steep.

I have been loving using Johnson's baby oil on my skin when it is wet, then patting dry afterwards. I saw this on Naomi Smart's channel, and it really does work. My skin has been feeling very soft and it leaves no sticky residue to the skin.

As mentioned in my Getting Ready For a Night Out blog post, I recently used Tanya Burr's Everyday Flutter Lashes, which I picked up for a bargain £1.50 in my local Superdrug. Now being in the clearance basket, I presumed they were un popular, and probably not very good. But because of the price, I thought I would be optimistic and give them a whirl. 

And I am very glad I did! They are half lashes, just for the end of your lash line. I have extremely long natural lashes, so I don't like to wear a full strip, otherwise it looks too heavy. These are great and very natural. They add lots of fluttery lashes and really open my eyes.

To ensure I keep my lips nice and hydrated, i've been using Lanolips 101 Ointment. I've always loved Elizabeth Arden's 8 Hour Cream for my lips & this is a very similar formula, at a fraction of the price. At around £10, this product is amazing. I apply every night before bed, and when I wake up its as if all the dead skin comes away from my lips. I'd say this is even better than the 8 hour cream.

When I saw these on Boux Avenue, I just had to have them! These slippers were £16, and fully filled with fur. They are so comfortable and I have lived in them ever since I have had them.

Since my skin is currently tanned, i've been trying to maintain the tan and make it last as best I can. I've been loving Vaseline Cocoa Radiant moisturiser. I use the cream when I have more time to apply, and the spray is great for dressing in the morning when i'm in a rush to get to University or work. 

                                                                      

Lastly in this months favourites, is a little MAC product. I brought MAC Prep  + Prime Transparent Powder whilst I was on holiday. I've loved MAC Studio Fix Powder since the first day I started using MAC, but on holiday I caught a deep suntan and my powder was just making me look paler!

I didn't want to waste money on a darker Studio Fix, that as soon as my tan faded in a few weeks, would be no use to me anymore.

So transparent sounded perfect, as it'll go on any skin tone I change too. I was optimistic, as I love how thick and full coverage Studio Fix is. However, I was extreamly pleasantly surprised. This is an absolute beauty of a product and the perfect one to end my favourites on. It's super light, yet very build able and doesn't move (which I was worried about!), I also much prefer the shiny packaging of the Prep + Prime Collection!

Holly x `

`

How I Get Ready For A Night Out

So I recently went on a night out, (acting like its not a regular thing, what can I say?! I'm a Uni student!) and as I had plenty of time to get ready, I thought i'd take some photos in the process!

Firstly I always start of my getting ready with fixing my hair with rollers. I'll put them all over my head, with the largest on the top where I want the most volume. I currently use the Laurens Way Sleep in Rollers, and a set from Superdrug. 

I then always run a bath. I used the Intergalactic bath bomb I recently brought from Lush.

Which looked amazing I must say, look at the glitter!

Whilst the bath is running I'll pop on a face mask and cake my hair in hairspray to set the rollers. I used the Tropical Peel Off facemask by Superdrug, and my go to hairspray is always Urban Fudge Ice Raspberry and Vanilla. I've loved this for years, it is super light, with incredible hold and a beautiful scent!

When I get out the bath, I smother myself if Johnson's Baby Oil whilst I'm wet, I then pat myself dry with a towel. As I was going out, I used a richer moisturiser afterwards to make sure my skin was super smooth. I love Zoella's Candy Cream Body Lotion.

Then its my favourite time. Make Up!

For my night out I wore :

♥ Laura Gellar Speckle Primer

♥ MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NW20

♥ Hoola Benefit Bronzer

♥ Bobbi Brown Blush in Maui

♥ MAC Studio Fix Powder in NC20

♥ MAC Lipstick in Mehr 

♥ Benefit Browzings in Light

♥ Maybeline Brow Drama in Medium Brown 

♥ MAC Bronzing Powder in Golden

♥ MAC Select Cover Up Concealer in NW20

♥ MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NC20

♥ MAC Lip Liner in Spice

♥ Tanya Burr Eyelashes in Everyday Flutter

♥ Eyelure Individual Lashes 

♥ Maybeline Sensational Lash Mascara 

♥ MAC Pigment in Naked 

♥ Naked 2 Palette by Urban Decay

♥ MAC Mineralise Skin Finish in Soft and Gentle 

♥ Seventeen Tattoo Me Eyeliner in Raven Black

Then I simply took out my rollers, chose my outfit and popped in a few clip in extensions. I didn't take photos of this part as I used hardly any products! Let me know what you love to do before a night out!

♥