Christmas Gift Guide: Under £40

This Christmas is my first in employment for a rather long time, having been in University for the last three years. So I am having so much fun being able to buy Christmas presents again! Here are a few gems I've found on my travels. 

Nails Inc My Nail Polish Diary RRP £42

Could we all just take a moment to process how amazing this is?! It includes12 full size Nails Inc polishes, one for each month, including the Kensington Caviar Top Coat which is a stand out for me, as it claims to dry your nail polish in 45 seconds(!). The price tag is amazing as it offers a saving of £95, compared to buying all of the polishes individually which would set you back £138. I know I said under £40 and I haven't cheated... Find it on sale for £36.96 here. 

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette RRP £37

 This may seem like an odd product to mention in this post considering Naked 3 is coming out just time for Christmas, BUT I have a feeling that the best sale prices on this palette are going to be now, just before the introduction of the next little beauty. I'm not making this up, look, it's on sale at Debenhams right now! Whether or not you're shopping for a beauty fanatic it'll make a gorgeous present, it's just so pretty. 

Benefit One Prime Day RRP £13.50

 

This would make a great stocking filler, I think buying sample sizes is a really good idea for Christmas, as you don't run the risk of buying someone a big old pot of something they don't like and won't use. They get the opportunity to test out a few products and see if there's any that takes their fancy. In this set you get 'That Gal' face primer, 'The Pore-fessional' face primer and 'Stay Don't Stray' eyeshadow and concealer primer. The wonderful Debenhams, again, have this on offer as they currently have 10% off accross all make up, making it £12.15, you can find it here. 

Real Techniques Sam's Picks Collection RRP £29.99

 Having recently hopped on the Real Techniques bandwagon myself, simply looking at this makes me giddy. I've also purchased some brushes for my sister for christmas (shh!), so I think they're a great present for any beauty lover. Sam's picks is the most recent release from the range, which includes a Multi-tasking Brush, the extremely popular Buffing Brush, Essential Crease Brush, Setting Brush, Pointed Foundation Brush and Fine Liner brush. This set has been popular with those who are frustrated that you can only purchase the Buffing Brush as part of the Core Face Collection, as this offers a little more variety. At £29.99 I think this is amazing value and would make an excellent Christmas Present. The RRP of this set is £29.99, but I have found an amazing website selling them for £15.83. It is from the USA so it'll take a little longer to get here but, that price is so worth it. See it here. 

Soap and Glory Girl-O-Whirl Make Up Set RRP £40

If there's one thing Soap and Glory do well, it's Christmas. Their huge gift sets are a hit every year and this one hasn't disappointed. It offers 6 shades of their 'Lidstuff' eyeshadow, 6 Super Colour Fabulistick shades, a full size Thick and Fast Super Volume Mascara, a Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Nudist, a Glow All Out Luminizing Powder, a Solar Power Bronzer and lip, eye and blusher brushes. It's just amazing and would make a lovely present. It's available at Boots for £40. 

Happy Christmas shopping! 

Top 5 Barry M Shades

 

Hannah and I collectively have too many Barry M nail polishes. Far too many. But when you see a new shade and a 3 for 2 deal, you literally can't help yourself, and its handy for a little cosmetic pick-me-up when money's tight (RRP £2.99). Barry M are constantly bringing out new shades and ranges, so here is my current top 5 (in no particular order).

 Navy 

I adore navy nail polish. I think it's got the boldness of black without being such a statement. Although this shade has a bit too much shimmer in for me, it's still lovely. I like to finish off this colour with a matte top coat, which takes out all the shimmer and just leaves the gorgeous colour.

  Bright Red

 I took me a bit of time to decide which red I wanted to include in this post, but for me this pillar box red shade is classic. It manages to be bold and elegant all in one. I like to combine this with a similar shade of lipstick at night, but you can definitely get away with this colour during the day too. The polish itself is quite sheer so a few coats are needed.

Blue Moon

I love this colour. When I first picked it up I thought it might get used a handful of times, but I'm managing to make my way through this bottle pretty quickly. Unlike a lot of pastel shades it also works well in the winter. It's just so cute!

 

Prickly Pear

 I'm a big believer in purple polishes and I probably have more purple shades than any other colour. I think pretty much all shades suit my skin tone (aka, super pale). This polish especially is my favourite. The Gelly Hi-Shine range is amazing. Only two coats at the most are necessary and it stays chip-free for a lot longer.

Lychee

 This colour is so nice! I've tried nude shades before but 99% of the time they're too sheer for full coverage. This colour in the Gelly Hi-Shine makes for the perfect nude polish as you only need two coats max. It's a great shade for a quick day to night transition as it's muted, casual yet elegant.  

RRP: £2.99

Price: Bargain! The polish itself takes forever to dry and chips pretty easily, but the amount of shades on offer and only at £2.99, you can't really complain.

Packaging: I like how square the bottle is, especially because it's so satisfying lining up all your Barry M's in a row. I've had no experience of the bottle's smashing or leaking, so two thumbs up.

Would I buy it again: Yes. Again and again and again.

 Thanks a bunch Barry M

 

ELF Haul and Review

Like many before me, I too was drawn in by the ELF 50% off sale. ELF are a low price make up brand that were up until recently only available online in the UK, however they have now opened a store in Cardiff. That's a little far for me, so I put in a little online order. I didn't go quite as mad as I would have liked to, I guess I did exercise a LITTLE self control.

First off, I picked up a '32pc Eyeshadow Pallete' in 'Everyday'. I'm normally a neutrals girl but for some reason I went for this one. Looking back now I am a little unsure why as there's a few colours that will certainly never get used, like the bright pinks and blues. 

Luckily, the colours advertised on the website are not the ones that I have, if they are they're in a completely different order. It's not really a problem for me because a lot of the brights in the palette are a lot more muted than they are on picture on the site, which I like. These colours aren't the most pigmented, but they're buildable and very blendable. I'm just starting to build up my make up collection so they're a good start and there's some really nice colours in here. I got this pallete for £3 which is amazing for the amount of product you're buying and I'd definitely recommend this for anyone just starting out.

Next I picked up the 'Contouring Blush and Bronzer' in the shade 'Turks and Caicos'. First off, I picked the wrong shade. I don't know what I was playing at, clearly I picked the darkest bronzer they offer, I can't even use it because it's ridiculously dark on my skin, or anyone's skin for that matter. Even when I put the tiniest amount of pressure onto my brush when applying this it comes out a heavy, rich brown. I would recommend it for anyone with dark skin because it's SO pigmented and it has a gorgeous gold shimmer running through it... it's just not for me at all. I'm glad I got this though because the blusher is very pretty, it's a rosy tan shade that looks rather dull and pale in the pan but has a great colour pay off and gives a lovely natural glow. I picked this up for £1.88, so just it's a great deal even just for the blush.

Next I ordered 4 of the Single Blushes from the Studio Line. I got Mellow Mauve, a cool rose colour with a hint of brown, Candid Coral, a soft coral with a golden shimmer, Tickled Pink, a matte peachy pink shade  and Blushing Rose, a rosy pink with a golden shimmer. All of the colours are nicely pigmented and extremely blendable. Blushing Rose is my favorite by far - the gold shimmer running through it is gorgeous and I've used it pretty much every day since I've had it. The only problem I have experienced with these is that the Mellow Mauve shade turned up slightly broken and when I tried to use it it just crumbled completely. These were also £1.88 each, so next time ELF have a 50% sale I might just have to buy the whole collection. Oops. 

 (From left to right: Blushing Rose, Tickled Pink, Candid Coral)

I also picked up the Brush Shampoo, now, I don't really have an opinion on this at all. I have only used it twice but there's nothing amazing about it, it has no scent and while it does do a good job of cleaning my brushes so did the Head and Shoulders I used before. It has nothing to set it apart from a regular shampoo so I don't think this will be a repurchase, even with it's tiny £1.88 price tag. However, I also picked up the Daily Brush Cleaner. I got this because at the moment I have a very small brush collection so they get dirty quickly, I also have extremely blemish prone skin. So a product that can disinfect my brushes quickly and on a daily basis was perfect for me. Now I don't now how well this does actually disinfect my brushes but, weirdly enough, I don't much care. This product leaves my brushes smelling amazing. I've found myself making people smell my brushes... it's weird thing to do but it's okay because they agree, it smells so good! The bottle is super tiny, you only get 60ml of product but at £1.88 it's still a good buy. 

Last but not least I picked up a few brushes. These are normally £1.50 each, so with the discount I got them for 75p each. I was hesitant because I do believe at a certain point you do get what you pay for, but I wanted to give them a go. All of the brushes I got were in the Essential line; I got the Bronzing and Contour Brush, Eyeshadow Brush, two Eye Defining Brushes, a Blending Eye Brush, a Smudge Brush and a Crease Brush. First off, I'm afraid to say the Bronzing and Contour Brush is horrible. It feels relatively soft to the touch but not very nice at all on the face, the bristles fall out a lot and it doesn't distribute my bronzer very nicely at all. The rest of the brushes however are quite good. I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to eyeshadow application but it's been going well so far, the Blending Brush in particular I really like. They're nothing particularly special, but they're getting the job done!   

Overall I am really quite impressed with ELF so far, even at full price it's amazing value for money and with the constant discounts and offers they have there's a good chance that this won't be my last order. 

Flicky McGee Tutorial

I love the cat eye. So much. Once I developed my own method it was my go to, day or night. I think it's simple, elegant, yet a statement look. It took me a while to figure out how to get it just right, first experimenting with the much more user friendly gel liner. Now I have it down, it only takes a minute and looks pretty decent every time.

For this I used: L'Oreal Super Liner Ultra Precision and Benefit They're Real Mascara. 

After applying primer and concealer, I begin by drawing two fine lines from the outer corner, angled upwards. This is my favourite little tip for creating a flick as you can play around with the angle and length of the flick without having to re-do the entire eye. It also comes in handy when matching up both flicks.

This part takes a bit of practice and a steady hand. Starting at the end of the flick, I use one sweep to create an outline, stopping about a cm away from the inner corner of my eye. It's important to keep in with the natural curve of your lid, whilst slowly getting closer to the lash line as you get further in. Don't worry if the lines are slightly different shapes on each eye. Most people do not have a symmetrical face, and this includes eye/lid shape. You'd rather have your eyeliner shaping each eye individually than one eye looking a bit off.

 Once the outline is done I get to work on filling in. I have naturally white blonde hair, and my eyelashes are incredibly light, so I have to get incredibly close to my lash line. I then extend the line towards the inner corner a little more, creating as fine a line as possible.

Finish off with a dash of mascara! Flicky McGee!

 Side note: I couldn't recommend the L'Oreal Super Eyeliner more. It's probably my most purchased product. The tip is sturdy and fine, and the liquid eyeliner itself stays on all day/night (RRP £6.49)

 

Winter Skin Repair Routine

Although I don't usually suffer with dry skin most of the year, every time winter comes around I find myself with dry patches all over my face. Not having yet learnt my lesson, I find myself stuck with no products to deal with this specific problem. So I've come up with a little skincare routine that cleanses, exfoliates and hydrates.

 

For this I used Simple Kind To Eyes Make-Up Remover, Estée Lauder Perfectly Clean Foaming Cleanser, Simple Kind To Skin Facial Wash Gel, olive oil, honey, brown sugar and a large bowl of boiling water.

Step One

After removing my make up with Simple Kind To Eyes Make-Up Remover, I filled up around a third of a large bowl with boiling water and steamed my face with a towel over my head for five minutes. Although this isn't necessarily to help with my dry skin, I like to steam my face every once in a while to have a bit of a deep cleanse. It opens pores and helps bring all the grime and dirt out.

Step Two

Left with a sweaty, grubby face, I washed it with the Estée Lauder Foaming Cleanser. I've only got this in a tiny 30ml sample, but given the chance I'd definitely pick up the full 150ml product. 

Step Three

This step is a bit of a DIY job. As I said, I never really need facial exfoliator any other time of the year, so when I finally do need it in winter, I never have any. In a small pot, I mixed half olive oil, half honey and about a teaspoon of brown sugar. 

I then scrubbed this concoction in fat dollops all over my face, focusing on my forehead as this is where I tend to get the worst of it. I then doubled it up as a mask and left it on for five to ten minutes. The honey and olive oil is great for hydration, while the brown sugar helps get rid of all the dead, dry skin.

Step Four

I just used warm water to get rid of the majority of the mask. I then used the Simple Facial Wash Gel to clean my face of the excess. 

Ta-Da!

Soft as a baby's bottom. Not one to spend a great deal of time on skincare, this is great as it only takes fifteen minutes max and doesn't need to be repeated too often. 

Rimmel Kate Moss Lasting Finish Lipstick

 I was never really a lipstick wearer until roughly six months ago, when I (finally) came to realise what I had been missing. Whilst browsing through FragranceDirect.com I noticed they had a selection of Rimmel's Lasting Finish Lipsticks by Kate Moss. They were selling them for £1.99 each, which is an amazing deal compared to the RRP of £5.49. I had heard nothing but good reviews about the range and I was sure a deal like this wouldn't go unnoticed, so I purchased every shade they had on offer. I picked up the shades 01, 05, 08 and 13. Since then I have also purchased shade 16, which was part of this year's spring collection. A lot of people seem to object to the lipsticks not having names, but this doesn't bother me... for I am in love with them.

The shade range, selected by Kate Moss herself, is spot on. There is a shade for every occasion which is a rare find in a drugstore lipstick range. The formula is also a winner, these lipsticks are so creamy and extremely pigmented. They leave a gorgeous satin finish, however I have to admit that they tend to be a little drying so I prefer to wear them with a lip balm underneath. I'm also impressed with how long lasting they are, I'm able to apply my lipstick in the morning and not worry for the rest of the day.

Shade 05 is a cool fuchsia colour, which I have to admit I have only reached for one or twice. However I've recently rediscovered it and it makes a lovely daytime lipstick as it isn't too over the top.

Shade 07 on my lips is a lovely pinky brown. I say on my lips, because I have found that the colour of this shade is dependent on your natural lip colour. Ever since buying this it has been my go-to daytime lipstick. So much so that I am pretty close to running out, which is heartbreaking considering the shade isn't sold in store anymore and it's no longer available on Fragrance Direct. I never have to worry about reapplying this shade, more often than not I put it on when I want a hassle free lipstick that I won't have to fuss over reapplying or have any fear of it smudging. 

Shade 01 is a medium deep red. Now, I have a hard time with red lipsticks, being one of the clumsiest people on the face of the planet I more often than not end up in a mess. I still have flashback memories of 18 year old Hannah being pictured with red smeared across her face and that's hard to get over. However I can work with this lipstick... It's pretty important that I wear lip liner or things go horribly wrong, but when I do this shade is amazing.

Shade 16 is a pinky coral shade that I had my eye on for a very long time. I'm not one to stick to seasonal shades so I purchased this recently... in November. But 3 for 2 in Boots was calling my name and this had been at the top of my list for a while. This shade does cling to dry lips a lot more than the others, so if I don't apply lip balm underneath it can look quite terrible. But with a generous amount of lip balm this is one of my favorite shades. Like the rest it's extremely long lasting and when it does finally fade it leaves a nice coral tint on the lips.

Shade 12, I am sorry to say I lost... Never lend friends lipsticks on a night out, it will never return.

RRP: £5.49

Price: Considering I spent £1.99 on the majority of these lipsticks the price was pretty amazing. However the £5.49 price tag is still very good value for money.

Packaging: The black matte packaging is simple and sophisticated and I rather like the added detail of Kate Moss' signature. Even though the casing on my Shade 01 has broken, I do think the casing is rather sturdy and put this down to having purchased the product from a discount website.

Would I buy it again: I will own the whole collection.. one day.

L'Oreal Nude Magique: Eau De Teint

 

After using Lancôme Teint Miracle as my daily foundation, I was on the lookout for something a little lighter as I didn't need such heavy coverage. So I picked up the new L'Oreal Eau De Teint foundation from the Nude Magique range (in the shade 100 Porcelain) in the hope that it would be a good balance between foundation and a BB Cream. 

For the first few weeks I was in love with this product. It felt so light, blended really well and I found it to be a good balance between dewey and matte. But having used it for the past month and a half, we've fallen out a bit. I find myself needing to use about twice as much as I would do normally to cover my entire face, and considering it is only a 20ml bottle, I'm going through it really quickly.

Although the packaging is cute and compact, the lack of a pump is really rather annoying as I find myself pouring out much more than I want. Considering I'm having to use a lot of the product anyway, any additional waste is a pain in the bum.

My main issue with the Eau De Teint is its habit of clinging to my dry patches, especially on my forehead, which I wouldn't normally expect from such a light foundation. L'Oreal claim that this product hydrates your skin, which I would have to disagree with.

Although the colouring looks especially orange on the inside of my arm, it's a pretty good match.

RRP: £9.99

Price: I bought it for £7.99 in an offer, so I don't necessarily begrudge spending the money on it. However, at the full price of £9.99 for 20ml of product, to me seems a bit much.

Packaging: Like I've said, the packaging looks sleek and compact, but it isn't particularly practical

Would I buy it again: The product did not suit my skin, so no.