Naked Basics Eye Shadow

Urban Decay Naked Basics Eye Shadow

I've always loved the look of the Naked Basics set that Urban Decay but I could never quite justify the cost. Especially considering I have a huge set of eye shadows already, I had every shadow colour I could think of so even in my mind I couldn't justify it. 

However when I was in America recently I spotted the basics version in Sephora, it ended up in my basket ooooops! They did put it beside the till so it was beyond my powers to resist it.

I have to say I've really enjoyed using it and I've found myself using eye shadow every day since I returned home from holiday. Normally I wouldn't wear it daily but I'm loving the natural look that this set gives. I will be trying to layer it up more for evenings out as well. With Christmas coming it means glitter eyes Yahooooo! so layering may need to wait!

xxx

Deals!

Just a quick one!

I have just stocked up my much loved Avon mascara. LOVE the super volume from supershock - best one in my book! It is currently half price on the website AND a free eyeliner! I was so impressed I wanted to share with you all as soon as possible.

Pretty good use of a fiver (plus P+P) as far as I'm concerned!

Happy shopping!

November Faves

I can't believe we are at the beginning of December! How did that happen? I've had a few things this month that I've been loving. Here's my Nov Faves:

Avene Water Spray

I've been loving this whist I have been on holiday and travelling. I had heard lots of good reviews so I bought the mini bottle for the plane and a big bottle for beside the pool. I really liked using this and I will make sure I have this on planes from now on. It's so nice and refreshing when your skin is super dry. I also used this over the top of my mineral foundation since it looked quite dry, I really liked the dewy look that it gave. I think I'll keep this as a back up when my skin is looking dry this winter.

Elemis Pro Radiance Illuminating Flash Balm

I've been using this on top of my normal moisturiser as a primer. It feels great on my skin and it seamed to do a great job under my tinted foundation. It will be good to see how well this works undee my normal mineral foundation. I think it's quite light as a moisturiser on its own but I love it as a primer. 

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser

I got this in one of my birch boxes. I'm totally hooked on my mac mineral foundation so I wasn't sure if I would like this, however I have been loving this. It's got enough coverage for me at the moment... my normally crazy skin is much better after using my Clarisonic brush daily!! Anyway, back to the point. This is really the only tinted moisturiser that I've enjoyed using, it looked very natural on. I'll be using it as part of my more chilled out make up, normally my Sunday face. I'm sure I'll be ordering the full version of this.

Elemis Frangipani Oil

This has to be my absolute favourite this months. I've been using this on my dried out skin and it works a treat. I love the smell which hangs around all day, it's quite a strong smell so I could see why people wouldn't like it but I would  reccomendations giving it a shot. It's solid in the bottle and turns to oil when popped into warm water, on a practical note makes for easy no leak storage & short trips away!! 

Instain Blush

Another Birch Box  treat that has been great, I'll be buying the full size of this for sure. It's a blush stain which applies well when I use my blusher brush. A great natural flush which lasts for hours!!

Have you used any of you used these? What do you think? 

Xxx

My Indian Summer

I've had a lovely last burst of sunshine this year, we headed off to Florida for some last sunshine before Christmas starts in ernist. It has been lovely AND I've been using all of my summery make up again. One thing that I always use when I'm on holiday is the Ultrasun lotions, they are FAB. With my Scottish skin it's so easy to get burnt so I slather them on, especially my face.... No wrinkles please!

They last all day so it makes it much easier not to get burnt and you don't have to carry them around with you.

I am LOVING the shimmer formula... Perhaps unsurprisingly! Who wouldn't want to be covered in glitter all day and sparkle on the sun lounger!!!! It might be a bit full on for some people as there's quite a lot if shimmer. It is also good for spotting which bits you've missed, which can be quite easy with the other formulas.

I got my last set off lotions on a QVC daily deal, I normally pick them up at the airport but the deal was much cheaper. I will be looking on QVC before my next holiday, they seam to have good sets on offer on the website.


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Autumn Update!

It's been a busy few weeks for me, although not all beauty I thought I'd give you a wee update of what I have been up to... all summarised as a pretty collage! I love these photo collages I use them all the time.

We moved house (which is the picture in the top right). Do you like our hall decoration? It's obviously only a tiny part of our house but I love the little flying birds and I love our heart shaped blackboard on our new grey walls. Makes me happy when I walk in the door!!

 So we've spent the last few weeks unpacking and getting settled in, it's starting to look like home. I have been loving  candels, they just make our flat seam like home so quickly.  Plus, feels cozy with the autumnal weather.  The Jo Malone English pear candle smells amazing and fills the house with the lush smell so quickly. Expensive but worth it ( thankfully ours was a present!!). We've also just been given an Earl Grey candle, I'm intrigued to smell it once I get it burning!! 

One  of my friends got married and I had the great job of being a bridesmaid... Aren't her flowers beautiful? We all had white roses which I thought was quite unusual and looked great against our emerald green dresses. Was a great day in a really beautiful location, great Scottish views over the countryside. 

On the beauty side of things I've had a  French manicure on my nails recently and really enjoying them, I always forget how nice it is and so worth the effort. It's very classic look but I have to say its so easy to wear and match too. Whenever I have a colour I seam to end up clashing with my outfit!!  Currently wearing pink with red nails.... 

Hero Products

If anyone ever asks me what my absolute must have skin care products are, this is the answer:

Elemis SOS Emergency Cream & Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream. I have  the type of skin that seams to react around once per week to something or other. I swear sometimes it just does it for no reason. These are always my go to products to solve the problem!

Elemis SOS Cream has been a staple in my make up drawer for the last year or so. I started using it after  it was recommended for my break outs during an Elemis facial. It's not cheap but for me it's worth every penny. Plus, I normally buy it on QVC so you get a few mini testers along side the actual cream, makes it seam more affordable....

Although it was recommended for breakouts I think this covers a lot more than just that, it really soothes my skin. I use this every time my skin starts to freak out. Sometimes that means days on end when I just replace my normal moisturisers for this.   I can slather this on and know that my skin won't react to it leaving it nicely smoothed and moisturised.

The consistency is really balmy, which I wouldn't normally like but for some reason I like this. Maybe because it feels very luxurious & I can still put my make up over the top of it.  You only need a little bit, once its warmed up in your hands it goes quite a long way and it normally sorts out what ever mini drama my skin is having!

8 hour cream is also AMAZING. I use this for everything, really everything! dry skin, cuticles, lip balm, rashes, dry eyelids, eyelashes....

I know that my use of it is perhaps a little OTT but I LOVE it and it's sooo good for try patches of skin. I always keep a tube at work and at home. I've also got this cute little tin to go in my handbag - I picked it up at duty free when I was last in the airport. Much better than decanting it myself!

Getting organised!

 I finally admitted it, my make up collection has become in controllable. In the past friends would pop round and visit my make up drawer, questioning why anyone needed so many eyeshadows, lipgloss etc! Well it's just normal isn't it?? NO! Apparently most people can leave Boots without another addition to their makeup collection ..... Who knew! I blame my magpie eye for anything glittery, I just can't leave it alone!

Anyway, back to the point. Last time I looked in my drawer I had to admit there was A LOT going on and it was time to get it organised. After lots of looking online and scouring other blogs I still didn't have a solution. Until my weekly visit to Lidl, they are currently selling stackable food containers which are the perfect size for my make up!

I love them, and even went back to get more. I am now the proud owner of an organised make up collection.


I've split out my make up by eyeshadows, eyeliners, lipsticks, lip glosses & powders. I've put my everyday make up in the top of one of the boxes to save time each morning. Doesn't it look great!

Whilst i'm at it, I thought you might like to know about my current daily essentials. Here you go!

 Mac Mineral Foundation

 I have used this for around a year now, I'm a huge fan of mineral foundations. My skin is very temperamental however it's never reacted to mineral foundation powder. Horray!!! even when my skin is freaking out I don't mind putting this on (yes I know that's probably a bad thing!). It does require a little more effort than normal foundation, I think it's worth it, it leaves my skin looking fresh and not greasy.

Mac Concealer

Nothing glam about this wee product, however it does the job & I use this every day to cover up any redness that the foundation doesn't cover. I sometimes mix this with a little of the Benefit Highbeam for a little highlighting or for using this near my eyes.

Benefit Highbeam & Benetint

These two products have been a constant part of my make up collection since I was around 17.... oh man that's 10 years! well that's serious commitment to a product! Well as i'm sure you can guess I love these two. I don't use them every day but I use them a lot. I love Benetint on my lips, I think this gives a healthy red lip teamed with some lip-gloss...without looking over done. I particularly like this look when I've got a lot of eye make-up going on. Highbeam is a great multitasker. I'm always mixing it with other products to give a little sheen. I'm really paranoid about looking shiny, so I tend to use this lightly or mixed with another product. It also makes a great eyeshadow. 

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick

This is another long term love for me, great thing these bricks last for such a long time. I tend to use this for nights out to give an extra glow or for a bit of eyeshadow on a daily basis. These are perfect for holidays as they cover the eyeshadow and highlighter in one go, meaning less to pack... and more room for SHOES!

Benefit Dallas Bronzer

I put this on with the Bobbi Brown bronzer brush which gives a very natural sun kissed look. I aim to hit all the areas that the sunshine hits, forehead, nose and cheeks. For a really natural look sometimes, when I'm being lazy. I wear this with some concealer and a slick of Mascara.

Bobbi Brown Blusher

 This is my daily blusher which  I LOVE. It looks like a scary colour in the tub however it does looks great on. When I first saw it it freeked out but the lady at Bobbi Brown insisted it would look great on my pale skin... she was right. I sometimes build it up to give a proper POP of blusher, most of the time though a sweep is enough to keep it looking natural.

What's your go to product?

Avon Super Shock Mascara - My review

I am obsessed with long eyelashes, I think a good mascara makes all the difference. I've even been thinking about trying out some of the long lasting false eyelashes, can't work out if they will annoy me or not. I'm scared I'm going to pick them off and have no lashes left, I mean I almost have to restrain myself not to pick off my shellac never mind something on my eyes!

Anyways in my on going eyelash survey one of my friends came up trumps! She had amazingly long lashes & it turned out she was using the Avon super shock mascara (which she kindley bought me one off). 

 

 I don't think I have ever used Avon before so was quite interested to see how it turned out. 

The first time I used it it wasn't as good as expected, however after a few days it really came ino it's own. Now I am LOVING It. It gives really long looking lashes with out any clumping - the dream! I hate hate hate when mascaras all clump up, particularly since I love wearing a few layers to make my lashes look super long.  I've worn this for work and layered it up for nights out too and it hasn't yet clumped my lashes together. It's my new 'go to' mascara.

Elemis face wipes

Hello!

I've been using Elemis face wipes recently, when I'm feeling lazy! When I saw these Superdrug I couldn't leave them behind. I normally have cheapy wipes to hand for when I need to remove my makeup quickly or if it's been a  very late night!!! The Elemis brand had the same effect that it normally has on me... I must have them. At around £5 per pack they are a lot cheaper than normal Elemis products, even if they are a double my normal wipes.

 

I do feel guilt when I use face wipes, plus I pay the price for skiving my skin routine a couple of days later. However, I love anything Elemis and hopefully this means they are a little better for my skin and I won't pay the price of lazy days.

So far so good, I've used these a few times before the gym to remove my makeup and they do the job and I like the smell too.

The Elemis skin fresh range appears to be aimed at teens to twenties so I'm not really in their target market for this produc but the range is defenetly attractive, with cleansers for less than 12 quid. I think I'll be having a look at the ingredients in the cleansers, if they are as good as the standard Elemis products (which I doubt) it might be time to try them out too.

Barry M Splurge!

As you can see I had a Barry M splurge. I am quite proud of myself leaving with just four varnishes, I did have at least three other Barry M glitter polishes in my hands. No one, not even me, needs six types of new glitter nail varnish in one day.  Anyways, I bought Amethyst Glitter, Pink Sapphire Glitter & Yellow Tone Glitter.

I rate Barry M varnishes, I used to be an OPI girl although Barry M is definitely up there in terms of good quality varnish & pretty cheap too. I find it lasts really well on my nails.  Glitter nail varnish look great at this time of year, never mind saving them for Christmas time, it catches the light beautifully when the sun is out.... as I'm a little magpie this makes glitter varnishes a must have for me.

I've currently got an aqua green polish topped with the gold glitter on my toes and I LOVE it. I spent my entire body balance class (a little bit like yoga) staring at my amazing glittery toes. Although my decision to wear flip-flops in rainy Scotland was a little optimistic.  I really like the larger chunks of glitter in the gold polish, hopefully it will come off a little easier than normal glitter nail varnish. Has anyone found that?

I will keep you updated on how the other glitters look on, the pink glitter has little confetti style bits in it. I'm intrigued how this will look once its on my nails. The blue glitter, well that was just so shiny that I couldn't leave it in the shop.

I also picked up this little baby on my shopping trip today. I've not used any of the Gelly nail varnishes yet. I'm totally addicted to Shellac on my fingers & I'm hopeful that this will have the same shine if I use it on my toes. I'm looking forward to trying this out, the colour 'grapefruit' is super bright, I think it will pop against my (fake) tan.

Hello

Hello!

Well this is my very first post, all very exciting!  I'm a product and beauty addict. As well as being a beauty addict I'm now well and truly addicted to blogs, after reading so many great beauty blogs I thought it would be nice to add my tuppence worth to the blogging world & stop pesterng my friends and family with all of my beauty chat.

I'm really looking forward to sharing all of my beauty finds with you. I'm sure I'll also have a little bit of lifestyle blogging & some of my shoe finds (my first love!) .

Here goes....