Here are a few of my favourite blogs...

Hello everybody, I hope you’re all well! This weekend it has been Eid, and I’ve enjoyed two days of kicking back and spending time with the family. Although I love my job, I don’t remember the last time I had the full Saturday and Sunday to myself and it was awesome!

I decided today to share with my lovely readers a couple of my absolute favourite blogs. I reads so many blogs on a weekly basis and consequently I have a good few favourites so I’m going to be doing a couple of these over the next few months ^_^ These six blogs here are ones I check on a regular basis and I have been for months now. If you have a bloglovin account, follow these lovelies and thank me later! (Oh and be sure to download the bloglovin app on your smartphone which’ll make it easier to keep up to date, and have a catchup when you’re on a train or waiting at the doctors office etc.)

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Vanessa | Citron and Guavaberry

Vanessa was one of the very first blogs I followed a year and three months ago, we had both started blogging recently and it was so nice to connect to someone who was absolutly hilarious, from across the world about beauty! Onto Vanessa’s blog, it’s by far one of the most outstanding I have read. This girl is SO incredibly talented with photography and she just modestly brushes it off, but go have a flick through a couple of her posts and you will be blown away. Vanessa is also known as the Blush Queen *swoons* I love Vanessa’s wit, the occasional GIFs used and the way her swatches are ALWAYS perfect (she is magic at fotos ok). Also she has some amazing advice/tips posts for photography/lenses etc.

A few of my favourite posts from Vanessa: The Autumn Flushes, You Just Got Litt Up, The Photography Edit (These will make you believe in love at first sight for sure)

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Daphne | Subgenre Of A Dream

Another blog that I’ve been following for well over a year, Daphne’s blogposts are wonderful and she occasionally makes YouTube videos too! I love the style of Daphne’s writing, with both her beauty posts and her personal/updates. I’ve also learnt a lot from her blog posts, and that is what I really value in blogs that I read, when something from a post sticks in your mind (eg her continuous raving of the NARS tinted moisturiser, or a revision tip) you know it’s a fantastic blog! Also I adore bloggers who add little anecdotes here and there, it is such a lovely personal touch that can make reading about an eyeliner, or a face mask a whole lot more interesting - so enjoy those as you browse through her beautiful blog!

A couple of my favourites from Daphne: If Its Good Enough For Mum, Review: The Amazonia Clay Blushes, Review: Aesop Parsley Seed Cleansing Masque

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Kal | Cluttered Closet

I’ve been following Kal’s blog for around 6 months now, and it’s easily one of my favourites! The variety of beauty posts and the way she adds so much detail to her reviews makes her recommendations invaluable. I picked up the Bourjois CC cream which I ADORE because of Kal’s fantastic review! Kal has several ‘series’ on her blog one being ‘Top 5s’ and another being ‘Under £10’. She covers a range of price points, and hair as well as beauty products. Her product directory (which is updated often unlike mine) features an impressive array of reviews, and like I said the level of detail included in each is really appreciated it! Plus Kal is just such a lovely caring person, do follow her on twitter too ^_^ Oh and I should mention Kal is around NC40 in skintone and so makeup wise, her blog is extremely useful if you have the same skintone especially! (Of course her posts are awesome for all skintones but I say this because I know I have a lot of asian followers who could do with another blog written by medium skintones to add to their list ^_^)

A couple of my favourites from Kal: Top Five: Kiko Cosmetics, Under £10: Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation, TheBalm Dream Team

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Louise | Lilting-Grace

Louise’s blog and Vanessa’s blog, those two are the ones I immediately turn to when I need a bit of cheering up, because they both have an amazing ability to lace their fantastic humour into posts about beauty! Makeup AND funny? Yes Please ^_^ Miss Louise to me is the Lipstick QUEEN, and quite the high-end one at that! Her photos are gorgeous, I think nearly each post includes a GIF which normally has me tearing up with laughter, and the reviews are just brilliant. Very honest, very accurate and detail with beautiful clear swatch photos and selfies that will give you MAJOR HAIR ENVY!! Louise is now a cruelty free blogger, so for any of my readers that are also boycotting, a lot of the products Louise talks about have the thumbs up (seems that brands that are NOT cruelty free regarding animal testing, also donate large amounts of money to having Palestinian children murdered, coincidence? hmm.)

A few of my favourites from Louise: Tarte Haul and First Impressions, Because, I like dressing up like my grandma sometimes-- Bésame Summer 2014 'Resort Collection' Haul and Review, I spent too much $$ but it's okay because it's true love-- A review on the Guerlain Rouge G's

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Pauline | Asianhomie101

Pauline is one of the nicest girls I have ‘met’ through the blogosphere, and I am so thankful to be able to connect with her through the web! She is a YouTuber as well as a blogger, and her reviews are phenomenal you guys. The level of detail included is just fantastic and something which I think a lot of bloggers can get sloppy on, when you want to know about a product you want to KNOW all about it y’know? Not just if it worked for that person, and I really appreciate that Pauline understands this. She also has lovely GRWM vids and lots of recommendations from the US drugstore too!

A few of my favourites from Pauline: Four or more makeup tag, Review of Anastasia Beverly Hills DipBrow Pomade in Dark Brown, Video: Back to school: Makeup Touch Up Bag

 

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Poppy | Miss Everyday Elegance

Poppy is the only fashion/style/lifestyle blogger I check regularly because honestly I’m not massively into fashion, but Poppy’s blog is filled with inspiration, beautiful large photos and of course Poppy herself who is utterly gorgeous! Seriously she could easily become a model, and again HAIR ENVY ALERT! I love how Miss Everydayelegance is has great tips for finding gems elsewhere from the highstreet, as well as DIY clothes upcycling and in general a mix of updates and tips for the petite (something I am not, but a heads up to any of my petit readers!)

A few of my favourites from Poppy: Summer Reflections, Thrifty Winter Coats, A New Lease of Life

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These are the six blogs that I have been following for a while, and each one I check on a fairly regular basis. They’re gems, each of them and the bloggers themselves are wonderful people who I feel very lucky to have met through the blogosphere! I have so many more wonderful blogs to share with you, but for now enjoy these and feel free to comment below some of YOUR favourites! Sharing is caring as they say ^_^

Thanks for reading!

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Here are a few of my favourite blogs...

Hello everybody, I hope you’re all well! This weekend it has been Eid, and I’ve enjoyed two days of kicking back and spending time with the family. Although I love my job, I don’t remember the last time I had the full Saturday and Sunday to myself and it was awesome!

Brilliant Benefit Box - Cheeky Sweet Spot (Not To Be Missed!)

Hello ladies! Just a quick second post for today to show you this wonderful gift set from Benefit! I adore Soap & Glory x-mas gift sets but I’d never really looked at higher-end ones before. When I saw someone on twitter share a photo of her set I googled it and was so impressed by what the ladies at Benefit have put together! 5 Blushes, 1 Bronzer and 1 Highlighter plus a mini brush all encased in an adorable tin.

It is currently on sale for £29.50 and you save 55%! The main reason why I was so drawn to this ‘blushin’ blockbuster’ was because I have only tried one powder product from Benefit. The Hoola bronzer and it blew me away, so when I saw the chance to pick up 5 blush shades for the price of one and a half (approximately). I did at first think about trying to bag this in the sale but them memories flooded back to the bitter disappointment last year when all high-end gift sets were gone by 9am. Yes really, 9am!

There was also a wonderful points offer on instore, spend £50 and get £12 of points, so it was a brilliant chance! I have been thinking about picking up the Coralista and Rockateur blush as well as the Watt’s Up! highlighter. However I have already bought more than enough high-end items this year and didn’t want to splurge out. So to pick up 6 powders and a highlighter for less than £30 is amaaaazing! Seriously, if you buy ONE thing this month, make sure it’s this one!

You get a very decent amount of each powder. To be exact 4g of Dandelion, 5g of Hoola,Rockateur, Coralista, Bella Bamba, 6g of Sugarbomb and 1.5g of Watts Up!

You also get a cute little guide book which gives suggestions on when you could wear each shade. I love how portable and travel friendly this is, and the tin packaging keeps the powders very protected. I will be taking this with me whenever I go away for a weekend, but I will also keep this cute box on my dressing table and dip into any shade whenever I want to ^_^

I am so overjoyed with this I had to type this up the same day I bought it! I hope you enjoy it too if you get your hands on this amazing deal, which you can pick up online here or instore at your local Benefit counter!

Thanks for reading!

 Follow Via Bloglovin' | Tweet Me | Follow on Instagram | Like The Blushing Giraffe on Facebook

Brilliant Benefit Box - Cheeky Sweet Spot (Not To Be Missed!)

Hello ladies! Just a quick second post for today to show you this wonderful gift set from Benefit! I adore Soap & Glory x-mas gift sets but I’d never really looked at higher-end ones before. When I saw someone on twitter share a photo of her set I googled it and was so impressed by what the ladies at Benefit have put together! 5 Blushes, 1 Bronzer and 1 Highlighter plus a mini brush all encased in an adorable tin.

September 2014 Favourites

Hello! I hope you’re all doing well. September has been the month of new beginnings for everyone aside from University students. Does anyone else feel like our holidays are too long? I have to say despite having a load of work already, I am pretty happy to be back at Uni. (Having said that it’s only been two days, but still lets start off on a positive note!)

This month I started somewhat of a rota again with my stash. In an effort to use up unethical products and also try out new products, I had a strict list to work with for two weeks and then a one week break to just wear whatever I wanted. I’ve really enjoyed doing this rota because it’s meant I have had to use products in my collection that I normally wouldn’t be too fussed about. E.G Sleek Pumpkin Blush-By-3! (Reviewed here).

Essence I <3 Extreme Crazy Volume Mascara | £2.80

This is the first mascara that has ever made it into a monthly favourites of mine *applause*. The reason why is because it really does what it says on the tube, and boy does it do it well. Those who dislike clumpy lashes, this might not be for you, I feel like it has some sort of fibres to it because my lashes look a great deal thicker, and it’s almost like a fake lash effect. Definitely not one for everyday but used with a lengthening mascara first, this one is amazing and at such a fantastic price too!

Essence XXXL Lipgloss Matt effect 06  | £2.30

This has been my go-to lip colour as of late, a gorgeous brown nude which looks so wonderful on olive skintones. It is similar to that famous Kylie Jenner brown but perhaps a little warmer. As for the matt effect, I would describe it as more of a velvetish texture, it’s not glossy and its not drying. With the lipliner it lasts a good 6ish hours, it does fade but I’m really not one to keep checking, so if a product is still on my lips after 3 hours and looks semi-decent I’m happy!

 

Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner - Addiction | £3.99

From Rimmel’s new retractable lip liner range, and this shade is a wonderful mauvey pink. It does a great job at making lips look defined and larger, and the shape of the liner helps a lot too! I always apply this before I wear the above ‘matt gloss’, but I enjoy wearing it on it’s on too. A sophisticated neutral shade that is a must for every girl!

 

Face wise this month Bourjois has been running the show for me!

Bourjois Healthy Balance Powder | £8.99

The first powder I ever truly loved, this compact with it’s slight coverage and amazing ability to not matteify but still set my base has blown me away. For the past week and a half I’ve been testing out the brand new BareMinerals Bareskin foundation, and with the warmer weather we have randomly been experiencing and it’s dewy finish I have found myself reaching for this quite often. It prolongs my base time by at least 3 hours and if I apply my bareskin foundation at 10am and don’t set it, but then around 5pm I apply a little of this powder, my face looks fresh and almost as if I’ve just done my makeup. I cannot express how much love I have for this pot, thank-you Bourjois!!

 

Bourjois Delice De Poudre Bronzer Duo | £6.75 from lookfantastic

The second has been this duo, which surprised me more than anything. At first glance you can see little shimmers in the pan, nat cool, but when applied on the skin I don’t notice it at all. What I do see is a great mix between cool and warm, thus very suitable for contouring the cheekbones whilst adding a wee bit of warmth! The highlight is subtle and slightly yellow toned, it’s not my favourite (we all know Mary-Lou has had that spot for well over a year!) but it’s great for work/Uni when perhaps one does not always want to shine bright like a diamond.

 

Sweet Almond Oil | £5.65

The only skincare favourite from this month has been this 100% pure sweet almond oil. I purchased this from iherb and the reason was because I was watching HudaBeauty talk about concealing dark circles, and she mentioned a product that contained this. I knew it would be relatively cheap and why buy a £50+ product when you can buy a possibly amazing part of it alone for a fraction of that price! I have been using this every single night for 3 weeks running, and I have noticed a slight reduction in my dark circles. Unfortunately I’ve had a couple of bad nights recently and so they’re playing havoc again, but I think with some dedication and constant use over a long period of time this oil will work better than slices of cucumbers ever did for me!

And that is about it for the month of September! Keep an eye out later today because I have a very excited product to share with you, from Benefit! Until then, have a lovely weekend ^_^

What were some of your favourites from September? If you’re a blogger please link your favourites below, I’d love to have a read when I get the time :)

Thanks for reading!

Follow Via Bloglovin' | Tweet Me | Follow on Instagram | Like The Blushing Giraffe on Facebook

September 2014 Favourites

Hello! I hope you’re all doing well. September has been the month of new beginnings for everyone aside from University students. Does anyone else feel like our holidays are too long? I have to say despite having a load of work already, I am pretty happy to be back at Uni. (Having said that it’s only been two days, but still lets start off on a positive note!)

This month I started somewhat of a rota again with my stash. In an effort to use up unethical products and also try out new products, I had a strict list to work with for two weeks and then a one week break to just wear whatever I wanted. I’ve really enjoyed doing this rota because it’s meant I have had to use products in my collection that I normally wouldn’t be too fussed about. E.G Sleek Pumpkin Blush-By-3! (Reviewed here).