Lets be honest, how many of us love going to a wedding or special occasion because it gives you a chance to crack out the make up you reserve for such occasions...

When thinking about my make up for the wedding we attended last weekend, my go to foundation is Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation. It was my foundation of choice for my wedding day after reading a lot of reviews and is always my go to if I know I am going to be wearing my foundation all day and night. It also photographs amazingly well.
I saw an advert pop up on my Facebook a couple of days before the wedding for a free 10 day sample of double wear and since I was going to the day before the wedding I figured I would get matched and pick up a sample since I had heard that sometimes during your pregnancy your skin pigmentation can change...
I went to the Estee Lauder Counter at my local debenhams and got chatting to the lovely lady who chatted to me not only about the double wear but also the newest in the double wear family, the double wear light. I decided to give the double wear light a go which offers a sheer to medium coverage which is buildable and is available in 10 shades - not quite the 50 offered by the double wear original however the wonderful lady on the counter soon took to trying the different shades on my face to find the perfect match. After trying a few shades, we decided on intensity 3.0 and away I came with my 10 day sample. Straight away I was impressed with how the sample felt on my skin so decided to give it a go for the wedding. I'll do a better review when I've used my 10 day sample properly.

You may remember if you read my goals for 2018 post back in January that one of the things I wanted to focus on this year was a better skincare routine.

Little late to the ol' band wagon - but heck, its still only the first week in February! January seems to have flown by in the blink of an eye? Weren't we just dancing round to the chimes of Big Ben like 5 minutes ago??

January has been a funny month, your still in the come down from Christmas, the sales are EVERYWHERE and your longing for the spring to hurry it’s ass up and make an apperence (seriously I am SO done with winter now)

Its strange isn't it... Foundation is one of those things that most of us use on a daily basis but its one thing we all put on in different ways.

For the last few years while I have been blogging I have shared with you a breakdown of my favourite gifts out there. Today I wanted to share with you my favourite pick of the gifts for beauty lovers!

1. Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot - £29.50 - Benefit 
2. Real Techniques Nic's Picks - £29 - Feel Unique
3. No7 The best of Beauty Collection - £40 - Boots
4. Nars Digital World Lip Pencils - £32 - Space NK 
5. Elizabeth Arden Block Buster - £60 - Very.co.uk
6. Origins Mini's Gift Set - £35 - Debenhams 
7. Molton Brown Stocking Filling - £39 - John Lewis 
8. Beautiful Inside and Out Beauty Case - £9.95 - Not on the high street
9. Babyliss Curl Secret - £99.99 - Argos
10. Smashbox on the rocks palette - £29 - Smashbox

Once again there are some fab beauty picks out there! I love this set from Benefit and the Nars Lip Pencils are a real bargain! I can defiantly recommend the Babyliss curl secret too! It is fab!

So its that time once again... First of all where did February go? Wasn't I just celebrating my birthday like 2 minutes ago??

And so, with that I thought I would share with you my February Favourites. I have been trying a couple of new products over the past couple of weeks and the past few months and a few have firmly make themselves into my favourites :)


Can we just take a moment to appreciate the beautifulness that is this palette! I think I have worn this pretty much every day since I got it just before christmas! These colours are absolutely stunning! Unlike the other palettes this one contains beautiful purple and rose gold shades. It is so wearable but can be smoked for a night time look too!


This was a product I picked up just after it was released this month. I am a massive fan of the Benefit Hello Oxygen foundation as you know, and when I spotted this new No 7 offering out on the shelves of Boots I figured I would give it a go. The thing I love about the Benefit one is that although it is really light and a little bit goes a long way, it has great coverage so I wanted to see how this one measured up to it. This foundation in my opinion is a great dupe of the Benefit one. Available in 14 shades as part of the No7 match made service it has a great coverage for such a light and 'thin' fountain.

 This is a bit of an odd one to include in a favourites video considering I have only worn it for about a week in the month. Well I did my nails in the first picture with the Rimmel Gold Top Coat Glitter a couple of weeks ago and it rekindled my love for it. I had it in my Boots Advent Calendar at christmas but it was a mini one so when I went to Nottingham last week I picked up a full sized one. The nails on the right are the ones I did last night and I used the Nails inc as a base coat for my Cath Kidston inspired nails so technically I suppose you could say I used it twice in February. This is such a nice neutral shade.

Ok girls lets talk foundation. I don't know about anyone else but I seem to be in a constant battle to find the perfect shade of foundation. That was until No7 launched their Match Made Service in 2012 (you can read my review here).

I know a lot of people rave about a lot of the high street brand foundations such as the Rimmel wake me up and match perfection or Bourjois healthy mix and I have dabbled with a couple of these myself but I don't know what it is, no matter how much I swatch them,  I can never seem to find the perfect match. My mum is simple to match - 9 times out of 10 she can pick up the lightest shade that a brand does and it will be perfect but I just can't seem to do it!

This is what draws me towards high end foundations, or slightly higher end than normal "high street" brands. I find it easier to find a shade if someone else is matching it for me! Since first experiencing the No7 match made service way back in 2012 I have gone back to them time and time again. I have been matched several times, in both winter and summer and have found the perfect match every time.  I also had a similar experience when I was matched at the Benefit counter and the lady took the time to both remove my base make up - which lets face it is crucial if your trying to find the perfect match as what is the point of trying to match on top of what your currently wearing - and then she went on to try a couple of different shades eventually finding the perfect one.

Now for me - I know there are foundations you can pick up on the high street around £7 but when your foundation makes up the base of your face and make up, I honestly don't mind paying a bit more to get the perfect match.

I went over to the No7 counter a couple of weeks ago, drawn in by their new offering of the No7 Stay Perfect Superlight Foundation. I have tried quite a few of the foundations over time, I use the Stay Perfect one for a night out as it has slightly more coverage, I use the powder foundation in the Summer or holiday for minimal coverage. I have also used the Instant Radiance and the Essentially natural ones.
I went to the No7 counter and decided to take a look at their new offerings. Now often I find that super light foundations don't offer a great amount of coverage but I was willing to give it a go.

I got the lady on the counter to use the machine to match my skin again and was given the shade Cool Beige. I swatched on the back of my hand and decided to pick it up - I also picked up one of their primers at the same time to make the most of the buy one get one half price offer.

I have been using this foundation for about 2 weeks now which I know the grand scheme of things is not a long time to get a proper test about a product or not the usual amount of time I would come on here to rave about a product but I am TOTALLY in love with this foundation. I was not sure about the Super Light aspect of this but figured if it did not have a good coverage I would save it for the summer. However I used it on a Sunday for a simple day look and was so impressed with the coverage I wore it for work the next day, then the next day and I haven't used anything else since. Considering this is a super light foundation the coverage is brilliant. The consistency of this foundation reminds me of the Benefit Hello Flawless one which I love. It is very runny and a little bit goes a long way and blends beautifully into the skin.

The Stay Perfect super light foundation is £14.50 and is available from No7 counters now. I can see this foundation being very popular over the spring and summer months.

Have you tried this foundation??



{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252 {\fonttbl\f0\fnil\fcharset0 ArialMT;} {\colortbl;\red255\green255\blue255;\red51\green51\blue51;\red255\green255\blue255;} \deftab720 \pard\pardeftab720\sl360\partightenfactor0 \f0\fs26 \cf2 \cb3 \expnd0\expndtw0\kerning0 \outl0\strokewidth0 \strokec2 }

Ok ladies! Week 5 of British Blogger Selection - lets talk Skincare...

Now I am not going to lie. Over the years I have dabbled in and out of a LOT of different skin care products! I can not tell you the amount of scrubs and washes I have brought on a whim that have sat on the shelf in the bathroom for months before eventually making their way to the bin..

Nowadays I try to stick to brands I know and love... I know what my skin likes and what likes my skin and I go with it! That said however I love to also try new products but i try to be a bit more restrained with them now!

Recently I have become a MASSIVE fan of Clinique's 3 step routine - well I say a massive fan - I love Steps 1 and 2 but I cant say I am a fan of the moisturiser (the smell reminds me of play do) and I have been using this religiously that since I picked it up when I was in Birmingham and I can defiantly see me using this for a long time coming - I have already purchased a big one of the Liquid Soap and am saving the little one to take away with me.

My eye cream of choice at the moment comes from Clinique too. I also love the Benefit eye cream too!   I like the applicator on this one which is cooling when you put it on your eyes.

Now when it comes to moisturiser this is where I waver. I wouldnt say that I am ever loyal to a brand when it comes to moisturise. Over recent months I have been using the Botanics ones - Day and Night Cream which I picked up when they were on offer in Boots. I also love the No7 Beautiful Skin moisturiser which I tend to pick up when they have the £5 offer on No7 skincare.

My current make up remover of choice is the Lush 9 - 5 cleansing lotion which I have been using over the past couple of months. I really love this cleansing lotion -  I would defiantly say it is up there with the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish.

Over the past couple of days too I have recently started using the Hydraluron serum and I have to say so far so good - this is one I will defiantly keep you posted on as I give it a longer test.

First of all Happy December!!! Can you believe it is only 24 days until Christmas! Woooo!

This weeks British Blogger Selection is all about make up and the topic is what is you favourite make up brand and why?
Now you now me, I love to try different things and different brands and if you have followed this blog a while, you will know that I dont tend to stay loyal to any particular make up brand. To be honest I think it would be quite hard to pinpoint 1 brand that I was completely in love with 100% of their products. There are some brands out there, I love their foundations or blushes but their mascaras or eyeshadows are not as good or others that do amazing lip products. Thats why I tend to use quite a few different brands. Heres my pick of my favourites.




 Ive blogged about the mineral perfection powder foundation a couple of times this year. It seems to have been a staple in my make up bag during the hot summer we had and used it in the hope it was a bit of a dupe for Bare Minerals foundations. The Essentially natural foundation is one I brought and was colour matched too. I like No 7 foundations because they offer the colour match service as I always struggle to match a foundation to myself. The bronzer has been one of my make up bag staples for a long time. I used to love it when it was in the previous style/packaging and is great for sweeping across for a simple look.


 I know for a fact I have mentioned both of these product. I love love love the 24H colour tattoo's. I have extended my collection since I took this photo. I love the formula of them, the colours are great and they really do last all day. They look fab on their own or teamed up with other eye shadows. I love the Master drama pencils too - the colour give off on them is fantastic and again they last all day! I love to team these up with just a neutral eye shadow.

 Rimmel is another brand I have a great love of and have been a fan for many years. I find that it is a great high street brand which has a lot of fantastic products in their range. I have a lot of love for many Rimmel products but apparently this is the only I have ever taken a picture of.
I absolutely love this concealer and is my go to concealer which I always grab but I have so many Rimmel which I love. I am a massive fan (as I know many other beauty bloggers are) of the Stay Matte powder which is the best powder I have ever used and no matter which other ones I try, this is always the one I go back to. I also love their lip products! I have gone through a massive love affair with the Acropalips and have recently brought one of their Kate Moss lipsticks to try.

Any those are some of my favourite make up brands. There are a lot of brands which I like 1 or 2 products of but these 4 brands are ones which I love a lot of their products!

What is your favourite make up brand??

Ok, I'll admit it! When I think about the lead up to christmas there are 2 things I look forward to; seeing the coca cola advert on TV and the Boots Christmas catalogue being released. Sad I now but come on hands up, who agrees??? When I think about Christmas and Christmas Shopping, you have to admit that Boots pretty much nail it. They have such a wide range of products available and with their epic 3 for 2 offer, you cant at least do some of your shopping in there.

2013 is another great year for Boots, in fact I would go out as to say it is better than last year. They have a lot of new brands on their shelf this year as well as welcoming back some of the old favourites. Last year I did feel like some of the brands offerings were a bit meh and there was a lot of the same kind of thing from brands that to me didnt seem to sell well. Not this year - well done boots you have done it again! *claps*

• No7 Eye Appeal Eye Shadow Palette - £10
• Vintage Perpetual Calendar - £10 
• Lee Stafford Polka Straight kit - £10 
• Dual Arcade Gaming iPhone Dock - £15
• Sanctuary Facial in a Box - £20 
• No7 Skincare collection - £35
• Soap and Glory once upon a lime - £18 
• Running Kit -  £12 
• Rosies Pantry Jam Making Kit - £12
• Trendz Glitter iPhone 5 case - £10 

Ok, so look outside, I know technically now it is probably more like Winter but its a bit of a tradition to share with you my favourite nail colours from the season! You know how much I love nail polish and so here are my top picks for Autumn/winter 2013 - Usually when I do these posts I stick to my top 10 but I thought hey, its only 4 weeks until christmas so a little early present for you! I am treating you to my Top 18 polishes instead! (Be warned I am hopeless at describing polishes)

 This has been one of my newest additions to my collection and is part of the Fall duo which Essie currently has on offer. I think it was around £12.99. I really love this colour. It is a beautiful dark raspberry purple colour! Great for Winter!

 This colour is absolutely GORGEOUS! It is the perfect colour for the party season. The best way to describe it is probably a rose gold colour. It catches the light beautifully.

 This is the other shade available in the Essie Fall Duo - This is a gorgeous grey/brown colour which I absolutely love.

 This is one I picked up when I was subscribed to Glossy box. It isnt a shade I reach for very often but I love teaming it with other colours, like over the top of a darker red at this time of year to glitter it up a bit. I think if memory serves me correctly these polishes are around the £14 mark which I wouldnt pay as the bottle is quite small and when you consider other high end brands such as OPI are not that much I am sure you could find a similar colour in another brand.

 This is one of my go to glitter polishes and has been a firm favourite of mine for a long time. Its name 'disco ball' serves it perfectly as that is exactly what it looks like when it is on your finger. It has small flecks of Blue and Purple as well as silver which means it goes perfectly with lots of different colours.

 To me this is the perfect red colour. When you think of double decker bus or phone box in London red, its like Rimmel has bottled that in a this bottle. This is just the perfect red shade without being too far on the orange or pinky part of the spectrum.

 Small chucks of gold goodness packed into a beautiful polish - Barry M sure now how to do a good glitter polish and this one is no exception! I love Barry M polishes and when you think of the quality and the price - you really cant go wrong! This one is perfect for teaming over the top of your favourite colour for a quick flash of sparkle.

 You cant do christmas without a bit of gold polish and if you have read my blog a while you will know that this is my all time favourite gold nail polish! To me this really is like gold in a bottle! It does take a few coats to get completely opaque but it is definately worth it when you do.

Again this one has had a lot of press on my blog over the years. This is my favourite all time glitter polish! I think this is probably one of the few polishes that I have had to repurchase! It is perfect for christmas time because it is just so darn glittery!! If you are looking for some serious glitter to bling up your nails over the festive period then this is defiantly the one to go for!

This is a shade I picked up in this months Glamour magazine (which I assume is still on sale) - £2 for a nails inc polish - certainly cant complain. Again with the gold - silver is another must have polish for the festive season. I always think silver (and gold) seem to be quite hard to get right in a nail polish but nails inc seem to have nailed it here (haha see what i did there)

Another favourite from Barry M. I know this is a well loved Autumn winter shade across the blogging community (as you can see my bottle is a little worn). This shade always gets me compliments when I wear it on my nails. It is the perfect raspberry colour which is brilliant for the cold months!

Not a colour you usually see knocking around at Christmas time but I wanted to include this blue polish from OPI because there seems to be a lot of Navy party wear knocking about on the high street at the moment and this would go perfectly with a little navy dress. The swatch here is one coat but it goes darker if you add another coat.

This is my most recent nail polish purchase that I picked up from TK Max (seriously in love with that place for beauty bargains) I swatched this and wanted to include it because the colour is gorgeous for christmas time when there always seems to be a lot of purple knocking around. The liquid sand effect makes the polish a bit grainy - as I havent worn it on my fingers yet I cant really pass comment but I love the colour!

This along with the Rimmel one is my favourite red - this being my slightly darker more glittery favourite. The picture really does do this one justice as it has a really gorgeous ever so slight glittery shimmer in it without being glittery - if that makes sense.

The swatch of this actually does not do anything for this at all. This is more of a dusky pink colour rather than the brighter colour it looks here. Perfect for wearing with those autumn nudes and pinks.

And that sums up my top colours for Autumn/Winter 2013. Which of these are your favourites? Any you will be rushing out to pick up??