Huge 2016 Beauty Wishlist | Halfway Through My 8 Month Ban!

Hello everyone, I hope you’re doing very well! Today marks 126 days since I started my ‘no buying makeup challenge’ and I am kind of in shock myself! To read about this challenge if you are new to my blog, click HERE. To get this far makes me so proud and honestly I am not exaggerating when I say this challenge has been life changing for me. Saving money properly for the first time ever and then being able to pay for my car insurance independenly and even putting in a good amount of cash for a new sparkly laptop (more on that in the update post tomorrow) felt SO good! I don’t earn a tonne of money as I only work around 8-12 hours a week and running a car is pretty bank-balance draining as it is. However by stopping spontaneously buying makeup left, right and centre I have managed to save a decent amount AND really use up all the stuff I already own which is wondefully satisfying. 

So as it has been exactly four months since I have not purchased any makeup, we are at the half way point now! My challenge ends on the 25th of May (my 21st birthday) and if I make it that far without buying makeup I’m treating myself to a Sephora haul yaaaaay! There are always makeup items that I really want to check out, partly because I’m always reading blogs and partly thanks to YouTube, so I thought it would be fun to write up a wishlist post. I managed to miss out a couple of things in my picture down below, but never mind I’ll mention everything that I can think of (with links too of course). 

By the way, these are all things I would LIKE to get in the next year but I probably won’t be adding it all to my stash. We’ll see how much makeup I use up too ^_^

Sephora

So starting off with Sephora, I really want to get my hands on Becca’s Champagne pop which I have a feeling will still be in-stock, as its making them so much money! The gorgeous highlighter created by Jacqueline Hill looks stunning on so many different skin tones and I would love to add a Becca highlight to my stash. Before I pick that up from Sephora though I will be checking Cult beauty who sometimes have it in stock.  I have wanted to get the Tarte Blush in Exposed it looks like a beautiful everyday shade and I cannot wait to try the amazonian clay formula! Sticking with Tarte I’m excited to pick up their CC Corrector which looks ideal for banishing the dark tones under my eyes. I love my Rimmel one (reviewed here) but to find more of a peachy tone would be awesome! Finally from Tarte, my heart is set on the Tartlet in Bloom eyeshadow palette, the colours look stunning and I have enjoyed the formula of Tarte shadows in the past so I am excited to pick that up! I totally forgot to add this brand, but I definitely want to pick up the Marc Jacobs Re(marc)able Full Cover Foundation it looks right up my alley for more of a special event, as its light weight on the skin but provides a solid full coverage according to reviews. AND of course the Sephora beauty insider birthday gift this year is a mini Marc Jacobs makeup item, so I am super excited for that! Finally I definitely want to pick up some of Kat Von D's liquid lipsticks, I just haven't quite decided which shades yet. 

Debenhams

I want some much from this department store, oh so much. Starting off with the MUFE Pro Bronze Fusion this was in SO many YouTuber’s 2015 beauty favourites and the unique texture and how beautifully natural it looks has landed it on this list! I also love the look of the MUFE Ultra HD concealers which come as both concealers and correctors - exciting stuff! I want to be able to swatch these in person first, so in the summer at some point I’ll be making a trip to Oxford street and figuring out my shades. I love how you can purchase Too Faced from Debenhams now, so on my list is the shadow insurance eye primer, hangover face primer and the love flush long-lasting blushers..I actually kind of want the palette which is available on the TooFaced website so if that’s available in the summer time I’ll be picking that up! The smaller sized pans and the wide range of colours are really appealing. 

Selfridges/ Hourglass

Starting off with Charlotte Tilbury, I have wanted to pick up the Light Wonder foundation for the longest time and looking back, I regret purchasing the concealer over that base back in the summer! Light wonder ticks so many of my boxes, its light weight, dewy on the skin and the colour match is great from the swatch. Plus it contains 40ml over the standard 30 so I think it’s worth the money! I can’t wait to purchase the lip cheat in Iconic nude as it’s a shade I envision myself wearing on a daily basis. The one area of makeup that I’m pretty stingy with are lipsticks, I own hardly any that cost over £10 but this year I’d love to add one of the matte revolution lipsticks to my stash. Moving on to my all time favourite brand, NARS, I have quite a few things on my wishlist! Starting with the NARS All day luminous weightless foundation which has intrigued me for quite some time, but since I was (and still am) so obsessed with Sheer Glow I didn’t feel like picking it up in 2015. This year however I really want to try it out, along with the brand new NARS Velvet matte Skin Tint which isn’t even out yet, but it sounds DEVINE! I own the tinted moisturiser and I only really like using it during the summer time because it is SUPER dewy. This new tint has more coverage as is apparently between a dewy and matte finish, it sounds like absolute perfection! This year I will also hopefully be picking up the NARS Audacious Lipstick in Barbara, it is the shade that has always caught my eye and I have heard so many wonderful things about this line! The Velvet Matte Lip Pencils are a line I would like more of, the formula is so comfortable yet long-lasting on the lips, in particular I want Dolce Vita. Finally in this catergory, I only really want ONE thing from Hourglass and that is their Mood Exposure Blush, the lovely Jasmine (blog here) raves about it all the time and she has the perfect taste in blush tones, so I am sold! 

U.K Drugstore + U.S Drugstore

As you can see the majority of things I want to try are higher end, as i’ll be saving money before purchasing I like to reward myself with higher-end items because the quality 9/10 times speak for itself. However there are a couple of things that I would like to try this year from boots, with the Soap&Glory Kick Ass powder at the top of my list. The yellow tone looks great for brightening the under-eyes and although i adore my Kat Von D shade, I only use that on special occasions because I’m so afraid of running out! I also want to try the Soap and Glory Once Heck Of A Blot primer since my skin has definitely become more normal/combo and I would like to have a bit of oil control around the nose (this is all so new to me!). I also really want to see if the Seventeen stay time concealer comes in my shade as I’ve heard so many good things about it. I will also be doing another beauty joint haul because I love me some U.S drugstore makeup. I need to stock up on a few wet’n’wild lipsticks and I also want to purchase one of the beautiful Milani rose blushers. The L.A Girl Endless lipliners are also on my wishlist because I have heard so many good things! And finally I’ll be stocking up on the L.A Girl Pro Concealer in Creamy Beige because it is soo good for under the eyes and really brightening too. It’s a staple in my cream highlight and contour routine!

OTHER

So I’m going to group the other things into my last category because I have written a LOT already! I really want to add a Morphe eyeshadow palette to my stash this year, of course i’ll be after the 35O but as it’s usually out of stock (i'm on the waitlist but knowing my luck it'll be in and out of stock before May). I don’t mind really, I just want to try one of their palettes as I’ve heard a lot of good things! I also want to pick up the Zoeva cocoa blends eyeshadow palette because it is STUNNING, the shade selection is right up my street and getting this over the 35O would kind of satisfy my cravings y’know? I will definitely be replacing at least one of my beauty blenders  this year and I’ve heard the black one is better than the others, so i’m going for that. I know I have a bunch of eyeshadows as it is, but I simply HAVE to get some Makeup Geek Shadows from beautybay for my Z palette, because there are so many I have wanted for the longest time. I also want to pick up some liquid lipsticks from the brands Stila, Dose of Colours, Girlactik, Anastasia Beverly Hills and Colourpop. Half of those are U.S brands so I’m planning on using a courier service again which’ll package a bunch of them together and calculate taxes and shipping there and then. I have a few YouTubers who I’m going to turn to when I go through this process and of course I will be blogging about it when the time comes! and FINALLY last but not least, I would love to get a Zoeva brush set this year, mainly one of the eye ones. I have lusted over these for the longest time, and I am seriously lacking in the decent eye brushes which is a shame since I have so many eyeshadow palettes.  

THATS A LOOOONG WISHLIST RIGHT THERE! See if I had not been on this ban at least half of these products would be in my stash and my bank balance would hate me. Lets be honest, none of this is stuff I NEED so it would be awesome if I could try out some of these in 2016 but I don't aspire to get every single thing here! I think I'm over the whole 'blowing most of your wage on makeup and then not being able to buy much else' phase and I find it much more rewarding thinking about a purchase for a while, before splashing out. 

I also want to have a one-in-one-out system with my bases after my challenge is over because I hate hoarding so many foundations/TMs when I only have one face AND they all have expiration date! This'll mean that there will be more base reviews on my blog because I really want to try some new stuff in May. YAAAY for making the halfway point, and heres to the remaining 4 *chinks glass filled with your favourite beverage* Also if you have been thinking of going on a makeup ban for a while, I hope this post gave you the inspiration to do so! (although I totally understand if it had the opposite effect D:)

Are any of these items on your wishlist? 

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Huge 2016 Beauty Wishlist | Halfway Through My 8 Month Ban!

Hello everyone, I hope you’re doing very well! Today marks 126 days since I started my ‘no buying makeup challenge’ and I am kind of in shock myself! To read about this challenge if you are new to my blog, click HERE. To get this far makes me so proud and honestly I am not exaggerating when I say this challenge has been life changing for me. Saving money properly for the first time ever and then being able to pay for my car insurance independenly and even putting in a good amount of cash for a new sparkly laptop (more on that in the update post tomorrow) felt SO good! I don’t earn a tonne of money as I only work around 8-12 hours a week and running a car is pretty bank-balance draining as it is. However by stopping spontaneously buying makeup left, right and centre I have managed to save a decent amount AND really use up all the stuff I already own which is wondefully satisfying. 

So as it has been exactly four months since I have not purchased any makeup, we are at the half way point now! My challenge ends on the 25th of May (my 21st birthday) and if I make it that far without buying makeup I’m treating myself to a Sephora haul yaaaaay! There are always makeup items that I really want to check out, partly because I’m always reading blogs and partly thanks to YouTube, so I thought it would be fun to write up a wishlist post. I managed to miss out a couple of things in my picture down below, but never mind I’ll mention everything that I can think of (with links too of course). 

By the way, these are all things I would LIKE to get in the next year but I probably won’t be adding it all to my stash. We’ll see how much makeup I use up too ^_^

2015 Beauty Favourites!

Hello everyone! I know I’m a little bit late with this annual beauty favourites..but at least you’ve finally caught up on everyone else’s and you’re ready for the final one on your feed..am I right?! hehe.  I didn’t get exactly 15 products, but these are the items that I found myself reaching for over and over throughout the year. I have a feeling this is going to be a fairly long post, so lets begin..




The base

1. Currently my all time favourite foundation for when I want skin that looks great, as well as something that lasts a good amount of time is by far the NARS Sheer Glow (£31.00). I purchased it late in 2014 and its been my go-to whenever I need my skin to look real good, without a lot of effort. Its pretty yellow toned and photographs really well. Personally its a little heavier than I gravitate towards on a daily basis, but anytime I’m going to an event or my skin is playing up, a dollop of this with my trusty beauty blender has me covered. A thorough review will certainly be coming up soon!

2. My absolute favourite daily base is the Make Up For Ever Face & Body (£27.00) which definitely took a while to figure out, but its the most natural, glowy, long-lasting base I own. I love how buildable the coverage is, without looking cakey in the slightest. It’s also super easy to apply and blend with my fingers and it takes me under a minute to have it applied and good to go, which is perfect for busy mornings. It’s got a unique gel-like formula and is a cross between satin and dewy. I wish it were a little more yellow in tone but aside from that I am loving it!

3. The most expensive, yet most revolutionary addition to my makeup collection in 2015 was by far the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer (£36.50). This stuff is insanely pigmented and has many uses, with my favourite being as a highlighter and concealer. You really need to stick to the rule ‘a little goes a long way’ as you only need a tiny bit to achieve a flawless under-eye! I have two shades, SX08 which is a good match to my skintone and SX06 which is a couple of shades lighter, so mixed with SX08 its perfection for everyday. The formula is luxuriously creamy and it has seriously changed my makeup game for the better. My favourite way to blend this out is with this mini beauty blender dupe and I really cannot be without these!

**Honorary mention: the Rimmel Lasting Finish concealer in 3 (£5.49) which I have mentioned a couple of times on my blog! It is the only drugstore concealer which actually brightens and corrects my under-eyes pretty well. So many times I have used just this and a tinted moisturiser and I have been good to go, its a great 3-minute makeup essential of mine, but it also works well under other concealers too!**

The Powders

4. After a great experience at the Harrods Charlotte Tilbury counter this summer, I picked up the Air-Brush Flawless Finish Skin-Perfecting Micro-Powder (£33.00) because the MUA used it on my under-eyes and I was in awe at how smooth and literally flawless they looked! Recently my skintype has shifted from normal/dry to normal/combo and sometimes I find my T-zone getting a little bit oily throughout the day. Although this is a finishing powder, I find a light dusting instantly removes shine without removing glow. It is finely milled, has a light coverage and doesn’t look cakey at all. Also this powder beautifully erases the signs of my visible pores around my nose, which is why it is literally the key to success - and I don’t use that phrase lightly! Pricy? yes, but 1000% worth it and I will be repurchasing when I hit pan ^_^

5. The Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Illuminator (£21.00) is one of the most gorgeous golden highlighters I have ever seen. Despite the disappointing packaging for a high-end product, the product really makes up for it. With a fan brush I get a light application and that works well for everyday. With a more dense brush, such as the Sigma Tapered Highlight brush or the Real Techniques Setting Brush I can achieve the perfect highlighted look, with cheekbones glowing like no other. I love that it has no sparkly bits in it and the fact that its a true golden shade means it compliments my olive skin-tone perfectly. I have my top 3 golden highlights post coming soon, so keep an eye out!

6. Blush wise I really struggled not to include NARS Deep Throat because I’ve used it so often this year too, but I went for the NARS Blush in Torrid (£23.00) instead. This is a shade that looks so gorgeous against my olive skintone and I love how its not a flat matte blush. The subtle gold shimmer looks so beautiful on the apples on my cheeks and the hybrid colour of pink/peach is perfect all year around. The formula of NARS blushers tick all the boxes for me, super long lasting, easy to blend and you only need a little each time - loooove them!

The Palettes

7. Picking out an eyeshadow favourite was kind of tough, because my palette collection grew even more in 2015, but if I had to talk to you about my most reached for palette its the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette (£39.00). I got this for my 20th birthday and it was heart-eyed emojis everywhere! The salted caramel shade is one I reach for at least four times a week and I love the range of browns too. To be totally honest I’m a bit disappointed with the large matte cream shade because I just expected it to be more pigmented. Aside from that though its a stunning neutrals palette and IT SMELLS LIKE CHOCOLATE NOM NOM NOM

8. The Kat Von D Shade & Light Contour Kit ($46 - £30) is THE BEST CONTOUR KIT EVER. Especially for medium skintones, because we finally have a contour kit which has 6 shades that are all useable and they have such a beautifully creamy formula. Pigmented? check. Easily blendable? check. Long lasting on the skin? Check. I mean what else could I ask for?? Well..okay if I’m being super picky, I wish the yellow shade was larger, but regardless I’m going to be repurchasing the shade and light this summer because I genuinely have never fallen so hard for a palette! It’s also SO multitask-able! I could literally take a concealer (Kevyn Aucoin OFC) and an eyeliner and this one palette away with me for a trip and I’d be sorted..its THAT good.

9. Finally the most glorious face palette from any of the holiday picks of 2015, the NARS One Shocking Moment Cheek Studio Palette (£45) is absolutely *struggles to find the right words here* AH-MAAAZING. Four gorgeous NARS blushes (and you already know how I feel about those!), a large sized Laguna and a pretty neat contour and highlight duo. I love all the blush shades and I adore mixing and matching them up. The laguna bronzer in this has a bit of a more shimmer on the skin, which I didn’t pick up at first and to be honest it’s a bit annoying, but it’s only really noticeable when you’re really close to me face - so all is not lost! Again I reviewed it in full, which I’ll link below, but this is limited edition so I suggest you pick it up sooner rather than risking it for later because this is a STEAL.

& the other stuff

10. Benefit’s They’re Real Mascara (£19.50) has been my absolute favourite throughout 2015, because it really does everything I want a mascara to do. I do always use another mascara first, but this is like the amplifier of any mascara and whenever I do two layers of this (seldom, but still) I always get questions on what I’m mascara I’m using and that has to be a good sign! I also feel like this mascara doesn’t dry out too quickly AND I don’t have to wait for it to not be dry enough either.

**Honorary mention: Essence I heart extreme volume mascara (£2.80) is so great at adding volume with very little effort. I normally use this stuff as the base for They’re Real and of course I will be repurchasing, which is something I rarely say when it comes to mascara**

11. Colourpop Super Shock Shadow in Get Lucky ($5.00) is one of my most used shadows EVER. Its a one swipe wonder type of deal, because I love me some gold shadow and used lightly it works so well for everyday. I also adore the fact that you can pack it on for a more intense look AND also how it applies so beautifully with my fingers - no brush required! Although shipping prices are ridiculous from colourpop to the UK, I will simply have to place another order this summer for some more of these types of shades that aren’t matte because the formula is GORGEOUS. I want coppers, bronzes and different shades of golds (oh and OFC those liquid lipsticks!).

12. The Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow in Chocolate (£15.00) is actually a repeat product from last year, which says it all to be honest! I have been trying different brow kits, brow pencils etc. but I always come back to this pot of good stuff. Now I have a matching brush duo I feel like I can achieve great looking brows with very little effort. Also I just want to point out that this is the exact same pot that I purchased in 2014, so it is incredible value for money! I’m shocked mine hasn’t dried out (but I’m always careful when it comes to closing the lid tightly and ASAP..so maybe that’s why??).#

13. My bronzer of the year, although Ihave so many that I love, is the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer in medium/deep (£25.00) which I gave the HG status to! Not only does it smell amazing, but its fantastic for both contouring and warming up the face and THAT is hard to find in bronzers! It lasts a long time on the skin, blends so smoothly, you get a decent amount of product and the packaging is so pretty! I adore Laguna and Hoola, but if I only had to pick one from these three it’s going to be the chocolate soleil one for sure.

14. The Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal mini size (£34.00) has been in my makeup collection since summer of 2014 (from a wonderful Space NK goodybag), but I only actually opened it in the last three months and I am obsessed! It is THE MOST gorgeous liquid highlighter I have ever used, better than mememe and better than benefit. A tiny bit goes a long way and it literally gives you that lit from within look. I’ve worn it under makeup, over makeup and mixed with bases and I’ve loved each way I tried it. Its a light, peachy tone but still very highlighting and it works well with my medium skintone. I don’t think I’ll be needing to actually purchase the full size of opal anytime soon, but I want to swatch moonstone because it looks more golden and we all know that’s right up my street! I will definitely be doing an indepth review on this soon.

15. My favourite lip product has by far been the NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Bahama (£19.00) which has such an amazing formula, matte but not drying and super easy to apply and go. I love everything about this, from the packaging to the colour which works well for me for everyday! Read more on this in my review (linked below).

16. Finally, the lipliners of the year for me were by far the Make Up For Ever Aqua Lipliners in 2C and 3C (£13.00) long lasting, beautiful shades and the BEST formula of lip liners ever. The people at MUFE HQ hit the nail on the head by creating a lip pencil which is just firm enough to actually define the lips, but creamy enough to fill them in without drying them out! It’s also the only formula that really lets me get away with slightly over lining my lips and it looking totally legit, what is not to love? ^_^

LINKS FOR REVIEWS:

MUFE F&B

Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer

Rimmel Lasting Finish Concealer

NARS Torrid

Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Palette

NARS One Shocking Moment Cheek Palette

ABH Dipbrow pomade in Chocolate

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer

NARS VMLP in Bahama

MUFE Aqua Lip liners in 2C & 3C

PHEW! WAHOO, WE GOT TO THE END. I feel exactly like Dumbledore right now xD It took me a good couple of days to finish this post because I have been so busy, but also whenever I write one of these mammoth posts it does take an age (especially finding and including the links!).

Also I just wanted to address the fact that the majority of my favourites were high end this year..which came as a bit of a surprise to me when I was editing the photos to be honest! The way I picked these products was literally thinking..hmm which *insert type of product* really stood out to me? and whichever it was, I then put into my yearly favourites list. That is not to say that I haven’t loved high-street products, as my monthly favourites will show you - but I added a lot of high end products to my collection this year and they have really stood out to me. You may notice a theme in these favourites, a lot of these things I’ve praised for being long-lasting and that is a huge reason why I’ll really love a product, if it lasts well without much effort I’m happy!

So with that being said I hope that this collection of favourites can help you to decide on if you want to treat yourself, or add any of these items to a wishlist ^_^ be sure to check out the reviews, linked above as you’ll get a lot more information of each thing there.

 Also I didn’t want to add more than one of each thing, because this post would have been stupidly long, but if any of you do want me to do a specific drugstore favourites of the year, let me know and I’ll have one up for you!

Please let me know if you’ve written one of these posts, with a link to your blog - I’m getting behind on blog reading but I want to take out a whole evening and catchup, whilst making notes! ^_^

Thank-you for reading ♥

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2015 Beauty Favourites!

Hello everyone! I know I’m a little bit late with this annual beauty favourites..but at least you’ve finally caught up on everyone else’s and you’re ready for the final one on your feed..am I right?! hehe.  I didn’t get exactly 15 products, but these are the items that I found myself reaching for over and over throughout the year. I have a feeling this is going to be a fairly long post, so lets begin..

September Favourites 2015

Hello ladies, I hope you’re all doing well. I missed out my favourites of August, because most of them were the products that I put into my travel makeup bag post. This month I have a bunch to share with you, a couple of new things and some older rediscoveries so lets get started.


 Base wise the month of September was focused on flawless. As briefly mentioned in my Aug/Sept catchup post here I had a lot of wedding events going on and so my key needs from my foundations were to cover well and not flash back in photos. The DiorSkin Star Foundation is one of my all time favourite foundations, it helps me to achieve beautiful looking skin, with a little glow and great lasting power. It does have SPF but it still looks lovely in photos...idk how but hey! The other foundation which has been floating my boat is a brand new one - the Too Faced Born This Way in Warm Beige. I picked this up with a gift voucher and used it on myself and my mum for two weddings, verdict? we both loved it. Phenomenal coverage, yet light on the skin and nothing too matte or dewy, a happy medium! The only slight issue was selecting the right shade, for me this is a tad dark - nothing a bit of highlighting can’t fix but I think I would have been good with natural beige too...or perhaps a mix, but who has $60 to spend on mixing foundations -.- Anyways it’s not too much of a difference and you can’t tell anyway thanks to my hijab.

 My absolute favourite concealer and highlighter in one has been the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in SX06 it is highly pigmented, creamy and brightens like no other. I’m still working on how to stop it creasing as much, but the rest of it works so well that I don’t mind TOO much. Also the Charlotte Tilbury flawless airbrushed powder in medium is ALL that it’s cracked out to be. Honestly this powder is glorious, a little goes a long way and despite the lack of more colours this one is a good match. I once got home after an eight hour day and powdered half my face...I kid you not it was like fresh makeup. Incredible. I have normal/dehydrated skin so powder isn’t part of my everyday routine but a light dusting of this when I need my makeup to last longer is perfect.

The Kat Von D Shade and Light palette is something I’m still in awe of (despite managing to create a dent in the middle contour shade -_-). I love how versatile it is and how I can set, brighten, contour and bronze my face using use this one palette - I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, it is PERFECT! On the rare days I didn’t pick the palette up I rediscovered Benefit’s Hoola which is one of my all time favourite bronzers. I didn’t think it would work so well for my medium skintone but I’ve found it’s so great for warming my face up AND adding a nice contour line with the awesome brush included. I tend to reach for this when I’m doing a 4 product face as it’s quick and easy to use and makes a huge difference. If you haven’t found your perfect matte bronzer and you have light-medium skin check out hoola!

Moving on to the brows, a brush mentioned in my recent haul has totally changed my brow game. I know, a pretty dramatic statement to make but I’m not even kidding the Anastasia Beverly Hills Large Synthetic Duo Brow Brush #12 is worth every penny. I don’t know what it is about the shape, but it works better than any other slanted brush I’ve used in the past and I find it so easy to shape and add more to my sparse brows with the Dipbrow pomade. Plus dat spoolie. Yaaaaaas. I have been loving the Topshop Magic Liner in Engraved it’s super black and the nib makes it SO easy to draw a great cat eye. I’ve switched my liner shape up since using this pen, my wings are more elongated and I’m really enjoying them like that! Finally my favourite Mascara of the past for weeks, yes I ACTUALLY have a mascara in my faves! Is the Benefit They’re Real, I got the full sized version ages ago when it was really discounted and only opened it up for the weddings - this is such a good thickening mascara. Yes it’s a pain to remove but it makes such a huge difference, especially when used with a bit more of a lengthening formula underneath. Pricy but worth it!

The lip products that I’ve been reaching for are all from the highstreet! Sleek’s Matte Me in Birthday Suit used alone or with a deeper lip liner has been one of my favourite lip looks to go for. It’s a mauvey/nude shade and I think it is so flattering on medium skintones. Plus it doesn’t budge for ages so it’s great for a long day, because I’m rubbish at remembering to touch up. Moving on to a very new product to in stash, the Barry M Matte Me in 3 which I picked up online on a whim, not knowing what to expect. It’s a chunky crayon type of product with a beautifully creamy consistency which feels SO comfortable on the lips and provides a good wash of colour in one swipe. This shade is definitely a MLBB for me, surprise surprise and I find it perfect for when I’m in a rush! I have been LOVING lipliners in the past few months, but the one that stands out the most is the Rimmel 1000 kisses lipliner in Tiramisu. For some reason this doesn’t get enough love on the blogosphere, it’s a beautiful nude shade which isn’t too pink. It’s a mix of brown and peach and it’s the lipliner I’ll go for when I want fuller looking lips without that obvious over-lined look. It creates believable pouty lips and for the small price tag the quality is phenomenal. Highly recommend you check out the whole line!

 Finally on to the skincare bits, firstly we have the Pixi Makeup Fixing Mist which is brilliant - an ethical alternative to the UD one FINALLY! It kept out makeup up flawlessly throughout all the wedding events, the countless hugs and kisses with family members and the humid conditions. It also refreshes and hydrates the skin which is always nice when it’s a hot and icky day. The Una Brennan Vitamin C Cleansing Oil has been a favourite for months - it’s the only product that actually makes me excited for take my makeup off and I am obsessed. A little oil gentle massaged onto the skin breaks down the majority of my makeup and it leaves my skin feeling so hydrated! It is brightening and I can’t imagine my night time routine without it.

And those are my favourites from the last month and a bit! Right now back to my Uni reading (which I’m really enjoying right now!).

Reviews from this post:

Dior Star Foundation

Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer

Kat Von D Shade and Light Palette

Topshop Magic Liner

What were your favourites from the month of September?

Thank-you for reading ♥

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September Favourites 2015

Hello ladies, I hope you’re all doing well. I missed out my favourites of August, because most of them were the products that I put into my travel makeup bag post. This month I have a bunch to share with you, a couple of new things and some older rediscoveries so lets get started.

Eid Gift Guide Part 1 | Beauty Edition

Hello everyone, I hope you're all doing fantastically. As it will be Eid in approximately two weeks I thought it was an appropriate time to post a little gift guide or two for you all! Although these are titled with Eid they are great ideas for any occasion, be it birthdays or anniversarys, so I hope they're useful to all my readers. Gift giving is a Sunnah therefore is highly encouraged, plus we all like getting gifts so why not shade the love? ^_^ Life is too short not to spread a bit of happiness. This guide will be for the ladies, so your sisters, mothers, aunties, cousins and friends. I have linked everything I'm mentioning so have a click and check it out for yourself, also I've tried to get the best prices and any special offers on too.

The fist category is of course beauty (high-end)  so lets begin...

The Ultimate Eid gift you could give a sister this month has to be the Blame it on NARS cheeks palette! (£45) It’s a little bit pricey but if you have the budget for it, or wish to combine it for their Eid and birthday present, believe me any woman would be thrilled to own it. The first cheek palette
which does not contain any of their iconic shades, including Laguna - because I’m sure we all have at least one of those! It has Casino which is the ideal bronzer for medium/dark skintones a deeper highlight shade (satalite of love) as well as two limited edition blusher shades AND A MINI ITA BRUSH! Yes I do blame it on the NARS, cause mine arrived in the post today and I am overall very impressed. Whether for yourself or a loved one this is seriously one of the best gift anyone could give that's make-up related.


I would always recommend Too Faced for their eyeshadow palettes, they are creamy and pigmented, plus the colours work together really well. I love both the Chocolate Bar (£39 normally £45) and the Natural Eyes (£32) palettes. Similarly I think anything from The Balm cosmetics always makes for a wonderful gift, the packaging is adorable and the products are well worth the price, with exceptional quality. The California driver licence palette (£16.50) is one of my favourites, it’s about the size of a debit card so it's super travel friendly and it contains brilliant shades - I treated myself to this when I passed my driving test and it’s like a little keepsake from that milestone, so if any of your loved ones are planning on doing their test this could be the perfect little encouragement hehe.


I think makeup brushes always make for wonderful gifts because anyone who wears makeup needs brushes, especially those who think they don't. Brushes can change a girl's life for real. The  Zoeva Rose Gold Brush Kits (£56.95) are so beautiful and the quality is on par with all the top brush brands. I don’t personally own it but I know it would be an amazing gift which would last a long time too! Also each brush technically costs £7 each which is generally cheaper than buying it individually plus you get a study clutch to keep them safe in.  If Zoeva isn’t in your budget I really recommend picking up one or two of the Real Techniques brush kits which are great value for money. My personal favourite is Real Techniques Sam’s picks (£29.99)- reviewed here which contains 90% of brushes anyone could need. Also the iconic Beautyblender (£13.95 normally £16.00) - to those who have not tried this, you may think it is just a sponge, but no, no no no no it’s not. This is the queen of tools for makeup application, you’ll find it hard to get a more flawless application with any other brush and I truly believe every woman needs at least one in her collection.

Anything Charlotte Tilbury looks swoonworthy, but it’s quite a high end brand, so I recommend picking up some of her Lip Cheats (£16) to give as gifts because they're somewhat affordable, at least in comparison to other high-end gifts. Pillow talk and Iconic Nude are the two that catch my eye.

Okay now on to the drugstore/highstreet and more budget alternatives because I know some of you are thinking...errr Iqra, the above is great and all but I'm a student and I do not have the budget for giving those out at gifts! Don't worry guys... I did try to spread out the cost from around £16+ but fear not, the below are cheaper yet still good quality makeup gifts that would make awesome presents!

I love the Barry M Chisel Cheeks Contour Kit (£6.49) which I reviewed here and I think its perfect for anyone starting out in contouring, or anyone who's looking for an affordable kit! It truly is a gem from the drugstore and affordable enough to buy a couple and spread the chiselled love tehe. Eyeshadow palettes always make great gifts and from the high-street I think Sleek Palettes (£7.99) and Makeup Revolution (£4-£8) have the absolute BEST quality that you could get for a budget price. Especially the I heart chocolate palette reviewed here which  is a great dupe to the chocolate bar one mentioned above! Barry M also make awesome Nail polishes (£3-£4) with so many shades and formulas to choose from and buying a trio with perhaps a neutral shade, bright shade and a dark shade would make a really nice gift. Sleek are also fantastic for blushers, have a browse of their blush-by-3s and single ones too! Very affordable compared to high-end, but without compromising on the quality so I'm certain Sleek items would be highly appreciated!

I wouldn't recommend buying anyone foundations and concealers, because they're very easy to get  wrong due to the different undertones and finishes, but I think lip products make great gifts. Some of the best you can get are the Rimmel Lipliners (£3-£4), Rimmel Lipsticks (£5-6) and Sleek Matte Me's (£5) they're affordable, generally comfortable to wear and come in a decent range of colours. Also with each of these brands, boots has little special offers such as free gifts when you spend over £10 or buy one get one half price making it the idea time to stock up for yourself and for gifts!

I always have a browse of the ASOS Beauty section because they normally have sales on and they also sell great little gift sets too. A good example is of this REN Glow and Go (£12) which has the 1 minute facial mask mask and the Glycolactic Radiance Mask, both of which work well with all skintypes and are from a brand that contains no parabens and are made from as natural ingredients as possible.

Another good idea is picking up a makeup bag and then filling it with a couple of things mentioned above. I think this is one of the best gifts you can give a girl - it's somewhat personalised gift and so useful too!

That is part 1 of my gift guide - all the beauty bits that I think your female family members and friends would love to receive! Keep an eye out for part 2 and 3 coming up later today!

Thank-you for reading ♥

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Eid Gift Guide Part 1 | Beauty Edition

Hello everyone, I hope you're all doing fantastically. As it will be Eid in approximately two weeks I thought it was an appropriate time to post a little gift guide or two for you all! Although these are titled with Eid they are great ideas for any occasion, be it birthdays or anniversarys, so I hope they're useful to all my readers. Gift giving is a Sunnah therefore is highly encouraged, plus we all like getting gifts so why not shade the love? ^_^ Life is too short not to spread a bit of happiness. This guide will be for the ladies, so your sisters, mothers, aunties, cousins and friends. I have linked everything I'm mentioning so have a click and check it out for yourself, also I've tried to get the best prices and any special offers on too.

The fist category is of course beauty (high-end)  so lets begin...

The Ultimate Eid gift you could give a sister this month has to be the Blame it on NARS cheeks palette! (£45) It’s a little bit pricey but if you have the budget for it, or wish to combine it for their Eid and birthday present, believe me any woman would be thrilled to own it. The first cheek palette
which does not contain any of their iconic shades, including Laguna - because I’m sure we all have at least one of those! It has Casino which is the ideal bronzer for medium/dark skintones a deeper highlight shade (satalite of love) as well as two limited edition blusher shades AND A MINI ITA BRUSH! Yes I do blame it on the NARS, cause mine arrived in the post today and I am overall very impressed. Whether for yourself or a loved one this is seriously one of the best gift anyone could give that's make-up related.

June Favourites 2015

It’s JUNE FAVOURITES TIME! No skincare bits this month, I’ve been loving the same as I did last month and basically everything mentioned in my Skincare Routine. As you know I’d been doing a lot of shopping in May and now is the time I get to try out all the beautiful things! Lets get started shall we..

The base I have been slightly obsessed with is the Make Up For Ever Face & Body in 32. If you read my MUFE haul you’ll know I was hoping this would be a good alternative to MAC’s version. Well a few weeks after using this stuff I can confirm that to me at least - it’s even better. I love the consistency of this, once you’ve shaken it up it’s kinda gel like and blends into the skin beautifully. This is most definitely a light coverage, though it can be built up to a medium coverage and I’ve enjoyed applying this with my fingers as well as a buffing brush. The result is a long lasting, slightly dewy, skin-like finish which has really evened out discolouration and redness. It lasts so well in humid conditions and doesn’t fade in weird places or catch on dry patches. I will be reviewing it fully soon with the cons too, so keep an eye out for that but so far so good!

The second base product that has been floating my boat is the NARS Soft Velvet Loose Powder in the shade beach. This has a yellow tone and it is so beautifully soft, the name does not lie! The powder is really finely milled yet does a great job at setting makeup and removing any excess dew. I’ve actually been using this more than my trusty Ben Nye banana powder because its a little less intense in pigment and looks less thick and powdery under the eye. The yellow tones match my stromboli skintone perfectly and a little goes a long way - I’m super happy that I picked this up! My favourite brushe to use this with is the Sigma Tapered Highlight - F35 reviewed here which I previously only used to actually highlight, but it is seriously one of the best setting brushes ever. The top is so precise (though it looks a little ruffled above but that's only because it was freshly washed) and it gets right into the corners of the face. I don’t normally set my whole face, just under my eyes, around my mouth and my nose and this brush makes it easy to put the powder where I need it.

As the warmer weather has started in the UK I’ve been loving using lightweight cream products, especially the Bourjois Bronzing Primer which is very similar to the Chanel tan de soleil in my opinion. Though it has a much more mousey texture, it warms up the skin so beautifully and the texture means it blends on top of foundation, CC cream, even just moisturiser so well! It adds warmth and though it is an orange tone when blended in with a stippling brush it does a great job at adding real warmth like you've been sunkissed. I sometimes put this on before my base and it looks even more natural. The brush I’ve been using with this is the E.L.F Small Stipple Brush which is perfect for blending out bronzer and cream contour! It is also great for applying cream highlight precisely where you want it and of course for blusher - the size of this is perfect and I’m hoping E.L.F open up again quickly in the U.K because I need at least two or three of these!

Keeping along the kinda cream theme, I have been loving the Colour Pop Blush in ‘Between The Sheets’ which is a GORGEOUS matte dusty pink which just looks so complimentary to any look, be it no makeup makeup or a smoky eye! I was watching the beautiful Heidi Hamoud’s video here and she said she loved the colour and it looked like such a beautiful 'pulled together' shade for medium skintones. Side note - how flawless is her eyemakeup in this video?? Really want to try this look for the next special occasion..perhaps Eid? ^_^ The texture of the blush is odd - the word squishy comes to mind, it is nowhere near a powder but not a cream either and I’ve been applying it with either fingers or the E.L.F brush mentioned above. The shade of the blush isn’t similar to anything I already own and it reminds me a little of NARS Madly, just that kinda nudish effortless cheek colour. Plus the fact that it’s matte means you can go extra cray with the highlight y’know?

I don’t like to keep going on and on about products but when they work well, I just have to share it more than a few times..one of those is the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer in Medium-Deep! It is my go to bronzer for contouring and adding warmth too, if I have five minutes to get ready, a quick sweep of this bronzer on my cheekbones and it makes the biggest difference. Also I can’t express how lovely the smell is! Especially when one is fasting tehehe.  I use with the RT contour brush or the new Real Techniques Sculpting brush which I shared with you guys in this post here. It’s perfect for getting a quick sculpted look without much effort and actually it’s awesome for blending out cream products too as well as liquid.  I recommend everyone picks one of these up if they’re after a good quality sturdy contouring brush.

The blush I have been loving aside from ‘between the sheets’ is NARS Torrid. It is one of the most perfect shades for medium skin-tones - the best peachy pink with light flecks of shimmer which transfer on the skin as a stunning healthy glow. It’s not as crazy shimmery as their most iconic O blush, nor is it as sheeny as my favourite D.T - it could be almost matte but for the small speckles of golden glimmer. An olive skin tone must have shade and another product I need to give you a full review of for sure!

Those are all my favourites of June! What have you been loving recently? ^_^

Thank-you for reading ♥

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June Favourites 2015

It’s JUNE FAVOURITES TIME! No skincare bits this month, I’ve been loving the same as I did last month and basically everything mentioned in my Skincare Routine. As you know I’d been doing a lot of shopping in May and now is the time I get to try out all the beautiful things! Lets get started shall we..

First Ever Sephora Haul!

Hello ladies! Firstly I want to apologise that this haul is two days late, I’ve just been very busy with Ramadan and working extra shifts too...but anyways enough of that, I am SOO excited to be posting this! This is literally a ONCE-IN-A-YEAR haul on the blog because there’s no denying that shopping from Sephora is a real treat/splurge.

Before we get into the haul I’ll just break down the payment side of things, so hopefully my fellow UK beauty lovers can have an idea of whether they think its worth it. Personally I’m not planning to make a trip to the U.S anytime soon and there are so many ethical brands that are easily available in America and not here in the UK! :c I always knew the shipping costs were steep so I decided that I would make an order for my 20th birthday and I reckon it’ll be an annual treat which, yes I’ll have to save up for, but after this experience it’s totally worth it.


Basically the actual shipping cost to the UK is £6 when you spend over £70 I believe and then they charge taxes and duties on site so you pay it all together online rather than being charged customs here in the UK. The T&Ds are what make any Sephora haul expensive, however if you don’t have family in the U.S or if you don’t take trips (and spend hundreds on a holiday) to America, this charge is well worth it in my opinion! I mean I’d rather pay £23 extra than wait till I get the urge to save up for a holiday to America y’know? It’s just not a destination at the top of my travel list personally and I’m 99% sure the main reason I would go if I DID make plans to go it would be to shop!! Just keeping it real here haha. So if I can purchase goodies from the U.S site for a small charge - I mean come on I'm not going to deny myself that treat once a year!

So justifying my spending aside (three paragraphs later) on to the haul...

The first thing that I picked up was this amazing duo from Marc Jacobs, and I should say this now - most of the things in this haul are from brands I’ve not tried yet which makes it one of the most exciting hauls ever! Anyways I purchased the Marc Jacobs #instamarc light filtering contour powder which I had seen here and there before but not heard a LOT about. This is HUGE in size, so much bigger than I expected (larger than the palm of my hand) and it contains 18g of product all together. Despite the size, it’s super sleek and the packaging is reflective of the price in my opinion. Marc Jacobs falls in the ‘luxury’ category of makeup for me and so this is one of the most expensive products I’ve bought, it costs around £33. Yah..it’s pricey...

but so far it is 100% worth it. The shade range is what prompted me to purchase this, I picked it up in 40 mirage filter which has a beautiful yellow tone (it's more yellow/bright than it looks above) and a just as amazing contour shade which is literally SUCH a great grey/brown mix. I thought The Balm’s bahama Mama was grey but nope, I had not seen a true contour grey until I tried this stuff! Upon first swatch it seemed a little powdery but I've realised that it's actually because the powder is so fine and filtering so to speak. The powder is protected with a cover on the inside, pictured to the right, and the mirror inside is brilliant. I can do my whole face using this one mirror which makes it perfect for travelling. Also the whole silver button opening thing is so cool heh.

If you're wondering why I choose to do a Sephora haul for my birthday, you probably haven't heard about the birthday gift system they have. Every year they give out a free birthday gift to those who have signed up and the fact that this year it was NARS Lip Pencils only urged me to order more. I'm not sure how they afford it because there are a LOT of Sephora loving ladies out there, but hey I'm not complaining in the slightest! Each pencil is 1.8gs and such a perfect size for the handbag. The Satin Lip Pencil is in the shade Rikugien and I was worried that it wouldn't be my cup of tea - much to my delight I absolutely love the shade. It's such an easy to wear pink which pulls my whole face together and feels super comfortable too! The matte shade is in one of their most iconic colours Cruella and I haven't actually worn this yet but upon first swatch it looks like a wondeful deeper red which I really dig. These are great sample sizes which will last ages and I love that they're part of the permanent line so I can purchase either shade in the future should I fall in love with it - thanks NARS!

I also really wanted to try the Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer and I bought the shade medium sand to use as more of a highlight shade rather than one to match my skintone, which I already have plenty of. It claims to be full coverage and waterproof so I have high hopes! This costs £17.24 so it's certainly on the high-end spectrum. I love the packaging and the cute wooden lid - lets hope it performs as well as it does ascetically.

I HAD to pick up one of the beautiful Too Faced palettes, so opted for the Too Faced Natural Eyes palette which I had seen over and over again on the net and experienced serious palette envy. Yas that's a thing .__.  Honestly if you've never seen these palettes in real life you won't be able to imagine how adorable they are. These are the ultimate travel friendly palettes and just look at those gorgeous shades! It comes with a decent sized mirror and a little booklet with eye make-up inspiration and how to's. I've used this twice, once for an everyday look and another time I went for a quick smoky eye and I'm so impressed with how speedy yet beautiful it turned out. It costs £24 on the Sephora website which is slightly cheaper than here in the UK and so far I'm very pleased to add this to my collection.

Finally one of the most exciting things in my haul HAS to be the Kat Von D Shade and Light Contour Palette which cost me £31.72. I decided to purchase this over the Anastasia Beverly Hills palette because I watched a few comparison videos of the two and this one ended up being the favoured palette. Especially from Nicole.G on Youtube, her video really swayed me towards this and I wasn't a big fan of most of the shades in the ABH alternative. The palette is large, includes a guide sheet and has amazing shades in it which I am incredibly excited to try out! This is the one that I've not used yet as I've been loving my Marc Jacobs duo, but I will be of course posting a thorough review as soon as I've used it enough ^_^

That concludes my first ever annual Sephora haul, there were so many other things that I was semi-tempted to pick up but I have more than enough beautiful goodies to use here and I cannot wait to share detailed reviews with you all!  Oh I should mention that unfortunatly they didn't include the samples I picked out which was a bit of a shame, why make you choose a few and then fail to deliver? But anyways, aside from that small annoyance, I had a great experience over-all and I think it's the perfect birthday present to one's self!

Have you tried anything here? I’d love to know what you think! ^_^

Thank-you for reading ♥

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