Whats in my holiday make up bag!

Hey everyone!

 I have been trying to upload a video onto my youtube channel every Friday, this week is one about what I'm taking with me on my holiday!

I would love it if you checked it out!

Lots of love,

Hayley 

xxx

Underrated Products #2 - Models Own Make Up Brushes.

Sorry it's a day late, but today is going to be a super quick about these five fab brushes.

This is the Models Own 5 Piece Brush set (which comes in at a fantastic £10!). It's a really handy little set, as all of the brushes are quite small & will fit into pretty much any make up bag. 

In this set you get a tiny powder brush, which I find perfect for highlighting & blush, a lip brush, a blending brush, which is perfect for smudging out eyeliner, an angled brush & a shading brush, which is great for patting on sparkly shades.

The angled brush is my favourite out of the bunch (as you can probably tell - bad blogger alert) as I think it is so multi purpose! I have used it for lining the eyes, my brows and could probably use it for on the spot concealing in times of need. It's the perfect companion for a smoky eye. 

All in all I think these brushes are a bargain, & a great starter kit for someone who isn't all that experienced when it comes to eyeshadow. 

What are your favourite brushes? Have you tried these ones?

Lots of love,

Hayley.

x

Battle Of The Gradual Tanners

Being a super pale girl in winter is tough. My legs look like milk bottles & people think I am ill or coming down with something half the time, so I have been looking for the solution.

I have never used a '"real" fake tan before, i'm too scared of going patchy, & because i've suffered with eczema before I imagine that would happen and would look awful. Also, I don't like the idea of having orange hands.  There are sun beds, which I have also never tried, because I burn like no other and I would come out looking like a lobster, not with my desired look of a slight warmth to the skin. 

Then I found gradual tanners (hallelujah!) & I think i've found the one. But first, I will tell you about the ones that I have tried. 

The first one I tried was the Garnier Summer Body gradual tan moisturiser. This one smells like apricots and it's SO good. No biscuity scent in sight. The colour was very light but there & no sign of patches or orange hands, the only downfall to this product was that it didn't give my skin enough hydration. Suffering with eczema means I have to moisturise after every shower or bath to keep my skin in top form, but this stuff just didn't do enough & I was having to layer it with other products which meant it was very time consuming & didn't work as well on the skin. But if you don't suffer with skin issues like me, this one could be great.

Next, I tried the Dove Summer Glow & Soft Shimmer Nourishing Lotion. This one was a lot more hydrating on my skin, & the colour was strong. Me being me accidentally bought the Medium to Dark Skin option, but that just meant that the colour built up quicker on me. It smells very similar to the other Dove moisturisers, so it felt very clean and nice to use. It did patch a bit around dry skin areas, but the one thing that put me off this product was the shimmer. On the product they call it a soft shimmer, but in certain lights it looks like a full on glitter! I felt like a real life Edward Cullen, so sadly this one has been pushed to the back of the drawer. Maybe I may try it again before a night out? Probably not. Sorry Dove!

And last but definitely not list, it's the one they all rave about, the Palmers Cocoa Butter Natural Bronze Body Lotion. This stuff. Smells. INCREDIBLE! It smells so much like cocoa I almost want to eat it. The moisturising benefits this one has are great, so perfect for my problem skin. And the bronzing effects are really strong. I found I had to be the most careful with this one, as orange hands & patches have happened with haphazard application. But the scent & the moisture this gives mean that I am definitely willing to try a bit harder for this one, so scrubbing my elbows and knees has now become a daily thing just for this beauty. 

Have you tried any of these gradual tanners? Got any recommendations for me?

Lots of love,

Hayley

x

Cream & Powder High Street Shadows - What Do You Prefer?

I've always been a bit scared of eyeshadow, as whenever I've tried it in the past I could never get it to blend right and it always looked awful on me! Recently, I have been getting a bit better at it, but I have been noticing in recent years how cream shadows are shining in the beauty world. Be it shadow sticks, cream shadows or shadow paints, they seem to be turning into the top choice for the everyday girl who wants something that is easy and looks great in one sweep. 

So, are powder shadows becoming an outdated product on the high street?

My Top Picks: Sleek i-Divine Eye Shadow Palette in Storm and the Rimmel Glam'eyes Quad Eye Shadow in Smokey Brun

There are pros and cons for both formulas of shadow. For example, with powders you can be much more precise and build up colour very easily; but sometimes it's difficult to find good quality shadows in the high street, so it can get quite pricey and choosing which colours will look right with your outfit, or getting the right look from them can be a bit complicated. 

My Top Picks: The Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Sticks in Bulletproof Beige (very well used!) & Bad Bronze, the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Permanent Taupe, and the Topshop Crayon in Mink I think? I found this in the sale for £1(!!!) so I don't think they sell this one anymore, but many other brands do things similar to this, such as Avon.

On the other hand, cream shadows are super easy to use as all you need is your fingers to blend the edges and you're done. Also you can get some really good quality cream shadows at the high street so they can be a much cheaper option, but it's more difficult to get the precise look from a cream shadow, and the colours are tougher to build up to make  super smokey eye like you can with powder shadows. 

Personally, I think powder and cream shadows make the perfect duo when teamed together. I love the precision of powders, and the simpleness of creams which create a super long lasting and pretty eye look when used in conjunction.

So what do you think? Are you crazy for cream shadows or sticking with classic powders?

Yankee 'Simply Home' Christmas Candles!

Candles are my weakness, or at least one of my many many weaknesses, so this year i decided to go all out FESTIVE and get some christmassy smelling ones.

I decided to go for Yankee Candles because 1) I adore how they smell, 2) They last a while and 3) I think that they are pretty darn affordable! I found these ones in my local Asda store, which i was totally stunned and pleased by as i have never seen Yankee Candles so close to home before. I went for 'Christmas Treats' and 'Apple Spice Potpourri', two completely different scents but both lurvly. 

I would have to say that my favourite scent of the two would be Christmas Treats, as it just smells so yummy like biscuits in the oven!

I had to put this picture in, look at Gimli being all sneaky in the background.

They have lasted me a long time so far, and i have been burning the a lot (as you can probably tell). If you are indeed looking for some festive candles this season, i would definitely recommend these ones!

Lots of love,
Hayley.
xxx