5 New Make-up Favourites

As always I've been buying too much make-up this month. I decided to pick out 5 of my favourites and tell you guys why I've been loving them!

I love everything about this blush from Too Faced. Firsly, the scent is amazing! It's such a novelty having a blush that smells of peaches, it makes using it that bit more special. Another thing I love is how cute and unique the packaging is! I don't have any like this! And lastly, I love the colour and consistency. I love the deep peach shade and how perfect it is for summer! It's got a slight shimmer in it which I really like for a glowy look!

Another new favourite is the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer. This is my favourite concealer EVER. It's such a good product. The concealer has a really creamy consistency and it blends in so nicely. It's quite a high coverage concealer, so great for hiding blemishes. What I really like about this is that when I use it to hide my dark under eye circles it doesn't crease! I find it nearly impossible to find a concealer that doesn't do this! So so impressed with this product!

I'm really trying to add something new into my eye makeup routine. All I ever seem to do is a smokey eye, which I love, but I want to experiment a bit more! I picked up a purple eyeliner from Nyx to test out. I've been winging out my eyeliner firstly with black, and then tracing over the top line with the purple, and I really like it! The purple goes really well with my dark brown eyes. The only thing I'm not too keen on is the brush applicator, I usually prefer my eyeliners to have a precise pen tip!  

I heard great things about The Ordinary's High-Adherence Silicone Primer so I decided to give it a go. Primers are something I seem to be lacking in my collection, I always stick to my L'Oreal Lumi Magique base or my Smashbox Photo Finish primers! For £5 this primer is pretty good! It blurrs out and covers pores, and provides a lovely base for make-up. It's also super hydrating for the skin!

Lastly, I've been loving the Zoeva Rose Golden Eyeshadow palette. The colours are absolutely gorgeous! Each one apart from the the three matte shades have a rose gold hint to them. The shadows are all super creamy and blend like a dream. I like how there are just the right amount of light, medium, and dark shades to create a perfect smokey eye! My favourite shade has to be Reflective Elegance, It's the perfect rose gold shade with gold iridescence!

Stationary Haulin'

I love love love buying new stationary. Kikki K and Paperchase are my favourite shops to buy cute stationary from. I recently started a bullet journal and wanted some new pens to create it with. I found a pack of multi-coloured fine liners with animal print on from Paperchase. While I was in there I also found a little stamp set that I thought I could use in my journal. 

On a recent trip to Sainsburys I found a cute section of rose gold stationary, which of course I had to buy something from. I picked the little pot of Paperclips- which looks so cute on my desk! 

I also found a cute little Stationary Set in Wilko's for about £2 with a cute woodland animal design. Admittedly I only bought it for the bunny stamp (bunnies are my favourite). The set will come in super handy though!

When I visited London a few weeks ago I visited the Kikki K store in Covent Garden. I absolutely love their stationary, it's so original. I picked up a gold Sticker Pack for my journal, it has lots of words and symbols that can be used for a diary, but I thought they would look cute dotted around in the appropriate section of my journal.
From Kikki K I also purchased an Inspiration Kit from Kikki K. It's essentially a pack of motivational quotes on different sized and coloured cut outs. I love having this little quotes around my room, they make me happy, feel motivated, and reflective. 

Love, Amber xo

A Recent Drugstore Beauty Haul

Yes I know, another drugstore make up haul. Guilty. I just love buying new make up and trying new things out! Plus it was 3 for 2 on Barry M, haha.

I picked up a few beauty related things from Primark. There's such a huge hype around Primark make up at the moment that I thought I would test some out. I picked up a Ps Pro Blending brush for a couple of pounds for eyeshadow, highlighter, or a sharp contour. Surprisingly, I've actually really been liking this brush, it blends powder product really well.

I also picked up a Ps Insta Edit Perfecting Stick. This is essentially a primer. I don't really have a lot to say about this. It makes my make up last but it did make me a little shiny throughout the day!

Lastly from Primark, I picked up a face mask and some nose pore strips. The face mask was pretty rubbish, however, the nose pore strips worked really well! They actually drew some of the blackheads out, that could be visibly seen on the strips. The face mask was a watery black mask with sugar particles, but hey, you lose some you win some.

From Barry M I picked up the Chisel Cheeks Contour Kit. I never use the 3rd shade as it's way too dark for my skin, but the other two work really well for me. They blend really well. The contour shade is more on the brown side than the orange side, which I much prefer. The 1st shade subtly highlights the high points of your face.

I also purchased a Molten Metal Nail Varnish in the shade Copper Mine. This does need a good few coats, but it looks so glossy and shimmery when it's dried! The colour is a beautiful rose gold colour, my fave!

Finally from Barry M I picked up one of their Matte Me Up Lip Kits in the shade Go To. I thought this would be a good dupe for the Kylie K Lip Kits. The lip pencil is really nice, it goes on well and doesn't feel too drying. The lip paint I'm not too sure on. It feels so dry on my lips and the colour does not suit my skin tone at all. 

I picked up the Freedom Pro Studio Brush Bath's after seeing so many good reviews of it. It has a bit of a weird concept. You wet your brush and swirl it in the solid oil then wash it off. However, it works really well and removes every bit of make up from the brush. It's even better than my Mac brush cleanser!

Another thing I picked up was a Real Techniques Miracle Sculpting Sponge. I already have one of these, but theres nothing like using a new sponge to apply your foundation! I bought this especially for a night out so my base looked flawless! I love how you can use the sponge for anything with all the edges and sides it has.

Lastly, I picked up some Ardell Demi Wispies. These are my favourite false eyelashes ever. They look so dramatic and much more natural than most false eyelashes. They apply really well, and it doesn't feel like I'm wearing any when I wear these!

How I battled my anxiety with mindfulness and meditation

I've always been a nervous person who worries about everything. But last year something happened that spiraled my anxiety out of control. I had permanent chest pain, a bad stomach, and regular anxiety attacks. Along with some medication my doctor advised going to some counselling sessions. I found these really helpful and learnt some useful things. The main things it taught me was how important mindfulness and meditation can be in helping to reduce anxiety.

Being mindful means taking some time out and focusing on the present, how you feel, and your surroundings. It can become a way of life. Mindfulness has been scientifically proven to lower blood pressure, improve sleep, boost your immune system, and reduce anxiety. 

Mindfulness pulls the mind and body out of autopilot and help you to be in the current situation. 

It can help change how a person thinks and responds to negative situations, and it alters perspective on things. 

I've found certain things really help me to be mindful. The book 'Calm' by Michael Acton Smith is a lovely book to introduce someone to mindfulness. It has eight sections including, nature, work, sleep, travel, relationships, children, creativity, and food. Each section has exercises to help you be mindful in all areas of life. There are certain habits suggested and ways to adopt these habits. The exercises help you to appreciate the little things and really think about them.

Another thing that helps me to be mindful is having a stress spray or a pillow spray. I like to spray my Neom 'De-stress' spray on the go, to inhale and focus on when I'm feeling overwhelmed at work to help me focus on the now and relax me a little. Before bed I always use the This Works 'Deep Sleep Pillow Spray'. This also helps me to relax and focus on sleeping.

Meditation is similar to mindfulness. It focuses on your breathing and being in the present moment. While meditating, the mind is completely clear and relaxed. Body sensations are observed. I find the app Insight Timer really helpful for meditation. There are so many different meditations for different situations. I especially like using the sleep meditations after a night shift to help me relax and sleep.

I also have a three minute sand timer on my desk that I like to use when I've been sat at my desk working for long periods of time to bring me back to the present and just focus on my breathing for three minutes. It helps me feel a lot less stressed and focused afterwards.

A book that has quite a few useful meditations in is a book by Lonely Planet called '101 Ways to Live Well'. Along with meditation practices this book has little tips of ways to reduce stress in certain situations. There are even ways to cure hangovers and ways to take better lunch breaks.

Since being regularly mindful and meditating I haven't had a single panic attack, and I don't get any symptoms of high anxiety levels anymore. I've also been a much happier person and have noticed how much more I appreciate things now. I would highly recommend both :-)

Spring Clothing Haul

Spring is my favourite season of the year for fashion, I love all the pastel shades that come out and all the floral patterns. I can also finally start to wear dresses without tights which makes me happy! 

I love my blouses, I have so many of them but they are such timeless pieces! I love wearing them with leggings or tucked into paperbag trousers. I recently purchased three of them.

Blue Striped Blouse with Flounced Sleeves- H&M
White Cold Shoulder Top- here
Embroidered Shirt with Flowers- here -Zara do the prettiest blouses!

I also purchased two dresses and two pairs of bottoms. Topshop are killing it with their dresses at the moment! I love all the embroidery, fluted sleeves, and ruffles! Also, the pink trousers go so well with the white cold shoulder top!

Broderie Ruffle Dress- here
Embroidered Bardot Dress- here

Tie Waisted Tapered Trousers- here
Coral Pier Shorts- here

I've been loving wearing a neck scarf with off the shoulder tops at the moment, I think it really dresses an outfit up while keeping it fun! 
I've also been accessorizing with cute chokers to add something extra, which are in the first picture.

Large Polka Dot Scarf- here 
3 Pack of Chokers- Primark

Updated Morning Skincare Routine

I'm always trying new skincare products, so my morning and evening routine's change a lot. As the weather is getting slightly warmer I needed products that suit my combination skin. 

I've been using the L'Oreal Pure Clay Detox Face Wash for about a month now, and I really like it. A lot of people find that this is too drying for them, but this doesn't dry my skin out at all. It lathers up on the skin really well and washes off easily. I love the fact this is a clay face wash, I love a clay mask, but rarely have the time to apply one, so this is a much more convenient way of getting some of the cleansing benefits of a clay mask. This product is also such a bargain product at around £6.

Next I have been using a toner that I've been using for about 9 months now. I love this Ren Clarimatte Toner. This is for combination to oily skin, so great for me for summer. This is great at reducing the size of my pores around my nose while clearing them and this helps to reduce break outs. I really like to use a toning product with AHA's in to really exfoliate the skin. 

Following this I use The Ordinary's Hyaluronic Acid 2%. I won't bang on about this as I recently included this in a post here. This oil is bloody amazing though. I've always been skeptical about oils as my skin is fairly oily anyway. But this product sinks in so quick that it isn't noticeable after a minute or two. This is great at adding hydration into my skin.

   Next I've been applying my Cien Gold Cell Regenerating Day Cream. This cost me around £3.50 from Lidl and it is so so good. Cream's with gold in are becoming increasingly more popular, however, they have such a hefty price tag attached to them. This cream is nice and light for the day and sinks in really quickly on top of the hyaluronic acid. This feels lovely on the skin and has a very subtle clean scent.

Lastly, I use the Origins GinZing Eye Cream to brighten up my under eye circles. I've been using this cream for years and will always go back to it. It has a lovely subtle fresh orange scent which I like. It's so gentle on the eye area while de-puffing and adding brightness to the area. This is such a holy grail product for me!

April's Drugstore Haul

I love a good drugstore make up haul. Make up brings me so much joy!

Recently I purchased two items from MUA's new spring collection. The first thing I purchased was their 6 shade palette in 'rusted wonders'. The shades in the palette are BEAUTIFUL. These are the sort of shades I always wear so I know I will get loads of use out of this palette. The shades are really buttery and blend well. They are all extremely shimmery. The darker shades are extremely pigmented, but the lighter ones not so much. Anyhow, this palette was a bargain for £3.50!

The other item from MUA was the Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlight in 'ice sparkle'. This is such an unusual highlighter shade that I thought I would give it a go to add something different to my make up collection. This highlighter is so pretty, it adds a lovely shimmer, and doesn't look too blue on the skin at all. This was also a bargain at only £3. 

I also purchased two things from the NYX counter. The first was a pigment in the shade 'metallic velvet'. This is so so beautiful. The pigment is so rich with colour, A little goes a long way. This blends really well, and feels so light and soft. It's a brown toned purple with blue shimmer through. I definitely want more of these!

Along with this I purchased a NYX glitter in Bronze. This looks super pretty in the pot. However, I'm struggling to get it to actually stick to my eyelids or eyeshadow. I've tried different primers, a wet brush, on the bare lid, on top of eyeshadow, and I still can't get it to stick! If any one has any tips let me know!

I picked up the new Real Techniques Miracle Sculpting Sponge. This sponge is designed to create shadows and highlight features. I've actually only tried using this to apply foundation with, as I was in desperate need of a new sponge.I always purchase Real Techniques sponges as they last such a long time and are such a reasonable price. I'm looking forward to testing out all the other sides!

The last thing I got is an eyeliner. I actually purchased this from Amazon. The only place I could find a star eyeliner stamp! I wanted to add something new to my collection and thought this would be a fun idea! The eyeliner is surprisingly good considering this only cost me £2. It lasts all day, no smudging, and both the stamp and eyeliner come off really easily.

Swatches of the 6 shade MUA palette

L-R MUA highlight in Ice Sparkle, NYX pigment in Metallic Velvet.

Two new holy-grail skincare products

Two products recently became members of my holy grail products in my skincare routine. The first is The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid Serum. I first heard about this when Fleur De Force mentioned it in one of her monthly favourites videos. She compared it to some really high end serums for a tenth of the price. Hyaluronic Acid attracts water molecules. It's sole purpose is to provide hydration. It is an oil-free formula and so doesn't make my skin feel oily at all. I use a couple of drops of the acid after my evening cleanse and tone, and I then apply my night cream. The product sinks in SUPER quick and leaves my skin feeling so soft. I have really sensitive skin and this product hasn't irritated my skin at all. This product is an absolute bargain for £5.90. I will definitely be purchasing more products from The Ordinary in the near future. 

Another holy-grail product I have discovered recently is the Pixi + Caroline Hirons Double Cleanse. It really is as good as everyone is saying. After using my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish for three years straight I never thought I would discover another cleanser as good and as reasonably priced. I was so wrong. I love the concept of this product as I find it so much effort to double cleanse, and I often forget. With this product there is no forgetting. The solid cleansing oil is of the standard of the Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm, it works just as well. The cream removes all the final traces of make-up while providing some moisture. Again, this product didn't irritate my sensitive skin at all. The packaging is of a decent size, and because Caroline Hirons helped to create this you know that it's going to be all goodness for your skin.

New Benefit They're Real Releases

The new They're Real Double the Lip Lipsticks by Benefit really intrigued me, so when I went to London I decided to treat myself to one. Naturally I got talked into purchasing one of their new They're Real Duo Shadow Blenders as well.

I really like the concept of this range. Having duo products that do two things at once. I'm always looking for ways to save time on my makeup each morning, and I thought this was a good way to do so. The packaging of this new ranges is beautiful. I love the chic silver design, and how dramatic the packaging is for the eyeshadow duo's.

The Double the Lip Lipsticks are lip liners and lipsticks in one. This one comes in eight different shades. The majority of the shades are quite bright, which I wasn't a massive fan of, but I did find a beautiful pinky nude (naturally) called Lusty Rose to try. I've included a swatch below. This is a semi-matte lipstick which I love, it gives you the best of both worlds. While it's really long lasting, it's creamy and isn't drying at all. Considering the concept is kind of gimmicky, it works really well. The liner is slightly darker than the lipstick shade, giving the illusion of fuller lips. 

I also go talked into purchasing one of the Duo Shadow Blenders. These come in eight shades. When I asked the sales assistant how to use this product correctly she showed me on my eyes. She created such a lovely look with the sponge I was sold. This duo is in the shade Provocative Plum, not shades I have a lot of, but this duo is BEAUTIFUL. The idea is that the sponge is swiped across two times and then applied straight onto the lids with the darker shade in the crease. A little blending needs to be carried out after this, just to give a more natural look, but I love the way this shadow applies and looks.

Top- Benefit They're Real Double the Lip Lipstick in Lusty Rose
Bottom- Benefit They're Real Duo Shadow Blender in Provocative Plum (This picture doesn't do justice for the colours of the eyeshadow!)

February Favourites

February has been another good month for me. I haven't tried that many new products this month as I've been a little strapped for cash due to paying for my travelling trip in July! However, I've had a few things I have been consistently loving this month.

The first thing I have been loving is my pair of Mom jeans from Miss Selfridge. I'm so late on the bandwagon with Mom jeans, but I'm so glad I joined, as I absolutely love them! For some reason it took me a while to find the perfect pair, as the majority of jeans these days are ripped! Which is so annoying because the last thing I want in Winter is ripped jeans. These ones are mid wash jeans (they came out darker in picture), which is the colour I really wanted. I love rolling the leg of these up and wearing them with boots! You can get them here.

I have also been loving the Sleepy Body Lotion from Lush. This is such a lovely thick cream to apply after a relaxing bath before bed. It smells subtly of lavender, which helps with sleep. This has slight shimmer running through it, which adds a little something. As well as helping with sleep, this makes my skin feel lovely and soft in the morning. As it's a lotion it does take a while to sink into skin, but if you apply it before bed that's not a problem!

Another favourite for me this month has to be the NYX HD Finishing Powder, in Translucent. This powder is AMAZING. It makes every foundation I have look flawless. It makes my skin look airbrushed, and prevents me from becoming shiny all day. Which leads me onto another favourite-The Beau Belle Powder Brush. I absolutely love applying the powder with this brush. The brush is a good size for applying powder to my pea head. The brush is super soft and looks gorgeous with it's rose gold design. 

For easy and quick eyeshadow looks I have loved using the Max Factor Excess Shimmer Pot in Copper. I discussed this in my last post here, so I wont blab on about it! But this is such a lovely easy colour to wear, it's such a creamy formula that applies easily and doesn't crease all day.

My hair has been a bit dry this month, and needed some TLC. I've been loving using the Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Treatment for giving me healthier looking hair. I use this after conditioner, and leave it on for 3 minutes before washing out. This is such a good product. It leaves my hair feeling so so soft, shiny, and smelling amazing. It smells like creamy strawberry and mint, which I really like. This has become a once weekly holy grail product for me!

My last favourite of February has been the Kikki K Happiness Journal. This helps me focus on maintaining and improving my happiness each month. I love filling all the questionnaires out to put everything into perspective. I've definitely been the happiest I have been this year, and this book has helped me to maintain that, and be more mindful about my happiness. I discussed this book about more in a Kikki K post here.

I hope you all had a lovely February!

New Make-up Tries from the Drugstore

It's been quite a while since I have had a little splurge in Boots and Superdrug, so one drizzly weekend day a few weeks ago I decided to go on one. There have been a few new releases that have looked really good, so I decided to pick some of them up to try!

The first one was the L'Oreal False Lash Superstar X Fiber Mascara. I love the concept of this mascara. It's has a duo wand, one side for lengthening and defining the lashes, and the other contains small fibres to add volume to the lashes in a natural way. This mascara is amazing! It does everything you could want a mascara to do. It creates am amazing false lash look, without the hassle of them! You could use either wand alone to create a different look as well. The fibres are so natural, and make lashes look so full. At £10.99 for essentially two mascaras, I think this is a bargain.

Another new release was the L'Oreal Infallible Total Cover Concealer Palette. I've never had a concealer palette, and seeing as I was going through a bad skin phase I decided to try it. I apply the green shade to any redness, the purple to counteract my dark circles, and then I use a skin tone concealer on top of this. The green and purple shades are slightly tricky to blend, but the other three blend in really nicely. The palette provides really good coverage, and at £12.99 it's not too pricey.

Another amazing new release from L'Oreal is the Infallible Eye Paint. I picked up one in the shade Khaki. I thought I would try a slightly different colour to one that I would usually go for. This is a lovely olive colour with gold shimmer running throughout. The product itself is so pigmented, creamy, and blends so well.The colour lasts all day without creasing, and dries super quick. This is such a lovely colour for dark eyes! I want every shade in these! 

Carrying on with eyeshadows, I picked up a Max Factor Excess Shimmer pot in Copper. This is a lovely cream eyeshadow, similar to the maybelline colour tattoo's, but this one is much creamier, and feels nicer on the eyelids. This colour is a rose gold shade, which I really love. Such a go to shade! The shadow blends in so well, and has really good staying power!

A new release from Maybelline is the Brow Precise Fiber Filler. This has the same concept as the L'Oreal X Fiber mascara. This works so well at making brows look so full and fluffy, while keeping all the hairs in place. The wand of this one is slightly strange, and maybe slightly big, so you have to try and be quite steady and precise with it. Another new product I love however!

Another product from Maybelline is the Master Precise Skinny Gel Eyeliner. Admittedly, I had high hopes for this product as I've never really got on with gel eyeliners before. This is the only product that I found disappointing! It's basically a kohl eyeliner, but one that screws up. It wasn't very precise at all, and you cannot sharpen it either!

I also picked up a palette from MUA called Starry Night. This has got some bright colours in which I liked the look of for spring! I love the MUA palettes, they are such good value for money. They are fairly pigmented, and blend really well. I'm looking forward to trying this palette!

The last product I purchased was the Natural Collection Blush in Sugar Plum. This is a lovely brown toned blush. I only really like brown toned blushes as I find they suit my skin tone better than others. The powder blends well and gives a really natural shade to the cheeks. It was an absolute bargain at £1.99!

 Top- Bottom= Max Factor Excess Shimmer Shadow in Copper, L'Oreal Infallible eye paint in Khaki, Natural Collection Blush in Sugar Plum.

February Glossybox

This months Glossybox was Valentines day themed. The products are supposed to help you prep for a night out or in with your loved one. The box contained four full-size products this month.

My favourite product in this months box is the Ciate London Paint Pot in Fade to Greige. This is worth £9. It's a lovely Taupe shade that goes with everything. The polish dries quickly, and gives a lovely shiny look. I haven't tried a Ciate nail polish before, so this was a nice new discovery.

A Garnier Ultimate Blends Honey Treasures Strength Restorer Balm was also in this months box. It's a hair mask designed to rehydrate hair. This has got such a lovely scent, like honey. I kept this on for about five minutes, and wrapped my hair in a towel. After washing this out and drying my hair, it left my hair feeling lovely and soft. My hair felt really nourished and shiny. I've already purchased the full size of this!

The main product in the box was a Jeanne Arthes perfume in the scent L'Eau de Rose. This is worth £20. This is very floral scented, which isn't a scent I tend to wear as I prefer sweeter scents. It's quite heavily scented. I will probably give this one away! I always think giving someone a perfume is a risky business as everyone likes unique scents!

Another product I received was the La Theorie Des Volcans Noir Eternae Youth Potion face scrub mask. I have never tried a mask scrub before so this was another discovery.This one is worth £26, this makes the box such a bargain at only £10. The mask applies white and dries into a charcoal mask. The mask has a light clean scent, which I really like. It contains scrub particles that you massage in before letting the mask dry. I've used this twice now and I really like it. It draws all the impurities out and exfoliates the dead skin off at the same time.

Lastly, I received a MeMeMe Beat the Blues illuminator in Oyster Gold. This can be used as a highlighter or as an illuminator. I prefer to mix a small amount of this in my foundation to give my skin a nice looking glow. I find if I use it as a highlighter it doesn't blend in very well on top of the foundation. 

I liked this months box, but I wasn't wowed with the products. I'm hoping the next box will be more impressive!