January Favourites 2014!

Hey Guys!

So it's been a long time since I've done a favourites post, so these are a few things over January and the Christmas period.

As you can see there are four beauty products, one music-related item, and my cat sleeping! So lets begin!

First is my MAC Eye shadow in the shade Jest which is a Frost shade.

I have already put this in my Christmas Presents Post, and it had to make an appearance here, because I've basically been wearing it everyday since! It is a really pretty light pink/taupe shimmery shade, perfect for all over the lid. I use it with a neutral brown or matte brown through the crease, and it just makes a really nice look for everyday, or even night time if you were to add a more dramatic, smokey eye. Obviously it is from an extremely good brand, and therefore lasts really well and applies really smoothly, and overall I just really love this product, and will definitely be buying more mac eye shadows!

Next is my Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner 24HR and I just have the shade 01 Black.

This is a really good quality gel eyeliner, and as you can see from the photo, I use it most days. I wouldn't necessarily agree that it lasts for 24 hours, but it definitely has some staying power. I have eyelids that rub onto the top of my lids, so I usually expect some rubbing throughout the day, but I just find that this is the best product I've tried so far. It's so easy to apply, and I use a thin angled brush to prevent getting really thick lines (even though some mornings I literally can't concentrate), but it gives a really intense black line and is just generally a really good quality product.

Next is a brush that I've been loving which is the No.7 Eye Shadow & Contour Brush.

I guess that this brush us a dupe for the MAC 217 Blending brush because it's a very similar medium-sized, fluffy brush. It's perfect for blending into the crease and generally blending out eye shadow, and I've just really liked using it because it is also really soft, and so doesn't take much effort to create a seamless look. So yeah huge thumbs up for this product!

Next is a product which was also in my Christmas Presents post, and that is the Body Shop Born Lippy Pomegranate Lip Balm.

This is by far my favourite flavour lip balm from The Body Shop, and the reason I tend to use these is because they actually work! Some lip balms or salves that I get don't moisturise my lips at all, and can even make them drier, and I just find that these lip balms are really nourishing and smoothing. I apply a layer at night before I go to bed, and I can still feel it working when I wake up in the morning. So yeah, if you're looking for a really decent lip balm definitely get this one, and there is loads of different flavours to chose from, so there is definitely one for everyone!

Lastly isn't beauty related, but I thought that I'd have to put it in because I've literally had it on repeat since Christmas Day. It's James Arthur (CD) by James Arthur.

Obviously he has made this album as a result of winner the X-Factor last year, and I just really love his music. The songs that I have been loving in particular are 'Suicide' and 'Roses'. All of the songs generally under the title of 'Pop music', but I would say that some of the songs don't fit into that since they are really unique, and I find that I can listen to it all of the time; when I'm getting ready, when I'm on the bus and when I'm working. So yeah been loving this CD, and is definitely a great CD to actually own on hard copy!

e.l.f January Sale Haul & First Impressions

Hey guys! So I recently had a cheeky purchase in the January e.l.f sale, and thought that I would share the things I bought with you guys! Most of the products were in the sale anyways, but I also got 50% off too! So yeah here are the things I got with a few first impressions. 

I am really loving e.l.f products at the moment because they are all really cheap and good quality for the price. So lets just get started! The first things are three of the e.l.f Professional Brushes.

The ones I got are (from left to right) the Professional Blending Eye Brush, the Professional Eye shadow Brush, and finally the Professional Concealer Brush. I got the blending brush for using with eye shadows in the crease of the eyelid, and also I'd heard that they were really soft and they are! I wanted a flat eye shadow brush for simply applying pigment or light eyes shadows all over the lid, and so far the eye shadow brush looks really promising! Lastly is the concealer brush, and this is actually quite smaller than I expected from the website, but I guess it will be good for concealer over spots, but maybe is too small for under the eyes. 

Next I thought that I'd try the Brush Shampoo.

It's basically just a liquid brush shampoo, and I thought I'd give this a go because at the minute I only use a bar of soap to wash my brushes, and maybe this will make a nice change?

Then I got three of the Single Eye Shadows because they were on offer!

The three shades that I got are (from left to right) Coffee Bean, Pebble, and Saddle. These three colours are so nice and pigmented. I got them for smokey eyes or using in the crease. They are all shimmery shades, but from previous use, e.l.f eye shadows are really creamy and apply well, so I'm really looking forward to using these.

Then I've got the All Over Cover Stick in the colour Apricot Beige.

The reason I was interested in this was to use as a spot and blemish concealer, because at the minute I use the Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer, but I personally think it works better under the eyes, so I wanted a good new face concealer. I've used it a few times briefly, and so far I really like it. It has good coverage and matches my foundation really well, but I need to try it out a few more times so see if it has good staying-power. Also, I don't know if it's just me, but I think it smells like chocolate orange (?) which is not that bad actually!

Next is the Maximum Coverage Concealer. I have the lightest shade Porcelain which is a really good match for me, but I may try the next shade up when it gets closer to summer, because I think it ma be too pale for when I'm a bit more tanned.

At the minute I am really loving this concealer, since I wanted a higher coverage foundation to use under my eyes on days where I need some more coverage, and this is a really good thick, but oil free concealer. It blends out really well and with my e.l.f High Definition Under eye Setting Powder, I find that it lasts a really long time.

The next thing is this Eye Enhancing Eye shadow Palette.

I couldn't resist getting this palette because it was in the main sale down to £2.40. I mean who wouldn't buy it for that price? But yeah I thought I'd try the Blue Eyes shade, even though I have brown eyes, because I thought they would make good neutral tones from the website. In real life all of the tones are more orangey than I expected, but there is a really nice sparkly grey shade (third from left), and a really nice matte, cool-toned brown (second from right), and I think I will used these shades the most.

Then I have the Cream Eye Shadow in the shade Candlelight.

In my last e.l.f haul I got the cream eye shadow in the shimmery, gold shade, and I really love it! This shade is a light cream-beige with a slight shimmer, but when blended in is quite frosty. I really like this so far because I think it looks really nice all over the base of the lid, or even just as an inner corner highlight, and from previous experience, these eye shadows last really well too!

Next I have the Jumbo Eye Shadow Sticks in three different shades in Rock Out, Little Miss Thing, and French Lace (from top to bottom).

I really like these at the minute because they have a really smooth and opaque formula. They are great for using on the lid, either as the main colour, or as a base to eye shadow, and the fact that they are shimmery means they are also perfect to use either daily or for a more dramatic look.

The thing I was most looking forward to trying was the Matte Lip Colour, because I saw Emma Pickles (http://www.youtube.com/user/EuphoricCreation) use it in her Katy Perry Makeup Tutorial.

This is the shade Rich Red, which is a really bright red. I really like it, it's not super matte, but is not glossy which I really like. The colour is super bright, and I'm really looking forward to wearing it in the summer! But yeah I really love this product, and will definitely be buying more shades in the future!

Next I've got the new Moisturising Lipstick in the shade Party in the Buff.

On the website it looked like a medium-nude shade, but it's more peachy toned in real life. However with a darker nude lipgloss over the top it really looks good. Also it's a moisturising lipstick so doesn't make your lips dry out, which is always a bonus!

Then I have the Luscious Liquid Lipstick in the two shades Maple Sugar (top), and Strawberry (bottom).

To be honest, I'm not that impressed with these products. Firstly they are really transparent, and you need quite a lot in order to see the colour (especially the nude), and also the shade Maple Sugar has the peppermint scent and flavour which I really don't like. So I don't think I'll get much use out if these, but if you like thick lipglosses, these are perfect because they are really shiny.

Lastly is my Matte Finisher Nail Polish, and I literally had to have this!

I absolutely love my Barry M Matte Nail Varnishes, but this is one step better. It is basically a top coat that you can put on top of any nail varnish, in order to make it matte. It works really well and doesn't take ages to dry, and yeah I really love this. You can also do like certain sections of the nail to create patterns with shiny and matte sections. So yeah huge thumbs up for this product.

So they are all they products I recently got with a few first impressions! Hope you enjoyed reading :)