Favourites: January 2015

As promised, I'm starting off the year as I mean to go on and am sharing with you today the bits I've been loving this month!  I haven't done a favourites post since...I think it was July 2013.  I don't tend to buy myself bits too often, so I've always worried that I'd just have the same favourites month in month out, but with my mission to clear through my ridiculous stash of bits, I think I should have something different to share with you every month!

Starting with my ultimate favourite for this month - The Body Shop's Almond Body Butter.  I've had this in my stock for a while now, but had been working my way through other body moisturisers.  I can't even begin to say how much I love this body butter - it's super moisturising, but this one smells incredible.  Even though it's just almond, I feel like it smells a smidge like a cherry bakewell because it's also a bit sweet!  But because of all that...I'm absolutely gutted that this seems to have been discontinued.  I can't see it online, and when I asked The Body Shop they told me to check outlet stores and the sale in April - please let me know if you spot it!

The lip balm that I've loved this month is LUSH's Lip Service.  I got it for Christmas from Liam's parents and spoke about it in my LUSH Christmas Haul - I've never tried a lip balm from LUSH before but I really like it!  It smells a bit orangey, but it's not a tangy citrus scent...more of a sweet orange scent.  It's really helped my lips this month - they were seriously dry when I was poorly with the flu!  Revlon's Matte Balm in Sultry has been my lip shade of choice this month.  I have already spoken about it here, so I won't bang on about it again, but it's definitely one that's worth checking out if you're into the whole 90's lip look.

I have a review of this coming up soon, but don't wait for it - you need the Jouer Long Wear Creme Mousse Eyeshadow in your life.  I have the shade Dusk and I hardly wear anything else.  I bought the Maybelline Color Tattoo in On and On Bronze this month to see what the fuss was on that - it's got nothing on Jouer.  I've already got my eye on the rest of the shades, particularly Galaxy and Twilight!

This month, I also picked up my first Illamasqua Cream Pigment in the shade Delirium.  It was in the sale already, but I got an extra 15% off with my birthday discount code!  It's been my contour of choice since I bought it, and I can't see myself switching to anything else anytime soon - it's really long lasting, and creates a beautiful natural shadow on the face because of the grey undertones.  I've been applying it with the Eco Tools Complexion Blending Brush as it's perfect for contouring.  It's paddle shaped which makes it ideal for slipping under the cheekbones, and because the bristles aren't super dense you can easily blend upwards!

What have been your favourites this month?

NARS Digital World Lip Pencil Coffret

Following on from Monday's Face Facts post, I thought I'd share with you my thoughts on the NARS Digital World Lip Pencil Coffret.  I won this set through a giveaway on Tasha's blog Hello Freckles and I can't thank her enough - definitely go and check out her blog!  The NARS lip pencils have always been on my mind, but I've never committed to buying one myself.  Unfortunately, this gift set is no longer available but I thought I'd still share it with you because there is only one set exclusive shade meaning you can still get your hands on most of the colours if you like the look of one of my swatches!

The set contains three Satin Lip Pencils which are Descanso, Torres Del Paine, and Yu and two Velvet Matte Lip Pencils which are Iberico and Cruella.  I'll admit I was pretty worried about the two lighter shades completely washing me out or giving me a concealer lip, but I actually really quite like them!  The bold shades are my favoutites, but I am surprised that I like the lighter shades too.

Swatches Top to Bottom - Cruella, Iberico, Yu, Torres Del Paine, Descanso

The formulas for these are really nice, but I feel like I have to say I don't think they live up to the longevity I'd read about.  The Velvet Matte Lip Pencils last around three hours before they've faded a bit or have come off a bit patchy if you've been eating or drinking.  I found that the mattes do leave a stain behind, but the colours really need reapplying again if it hasn't faded evenly, so I always made sure to be carrying mine around with me.  The formula was also quite drying which is to be expected with a matte lip, so I shan't complain too much.  The matte formulas did last a little longer using a liner underneath.

The nuder Satin Lip Pencils lasted a couple of hours before fading, but Yu lasted a good three hours the same as Cruella and Iberico.  Yu even left a gorgeous stain behind!  These were really moisturising and comfortable on the lips - far better than any moisturising lip crayons I have that are from high street brands.

Descanso is a nude peach with pink undertones.  This was my favourite of the lighter shades, and the one that I wear the most day to day.  It's so easy wearing, and definitely fits into the 'my lips, but better' category.

Torres Del Paine is a light peachy coral shade, which I do like but haven't worn as often as the other lip pencils.  It looks pretty similar to Descanso on the lip, but it does pull slightly peachier.  I think this will be great to use in Spring/Summer to use when creating a really fresh make up look.

Yu is seriously an in your face colour, but I really love it.  I don't own any lipsticks that are similar to this shade - it's a bright fuchsia with violet undertones.  I think it really brightens the face, whitens the teeth and looks insane with simple make up and a jet black cat eye.

Iberico is unfortunately the exclusive to this gift set.  It's a bold orange with red undertones and is the shade I've worn the most.  I love how it can be worn day or night.  It applies opaque in one swipe and really is a great shade - I hope they bring it back permanently!

Cruella is the only shade I'd heard of before receiving this set.  It is a deep red with blue undertones and was my lip of choice for New Years Eve!  The swatch on my lips looks a lot brighter in the photograph than it is in real life - it's the darkest red I own!  It definitely looks more like the swatch on my arm.

As far as shades go, I think I'm pretty covered.  The only one I might need to add to my collection is Palais Royal which is a gorgeous plum shade!  But that can wait until next Autumn I think!  Whilst I love the boldness of the Velvet Mattes, I think I'm leaning towards the Satin Lip Pencil formula, just because they feel amazing on the lips.  The Mattes were just a little too drying for me, and for a high end product I'd want to make sure that I got plenty of wear from it.

Which shade is your favourite?

Face Facts: Orange Pop

It's been quite a while since I've written one of these Face Facts posts!  I hate taking photographs of myself.  If you didn't know/couldn't tell, all of my blog photography is done on my phone.  I don't have a super fancy camera and I don't have fancy lighting so something I find quite hard is taking a quality photograph of myself.  All of this said, I really enjoy doing these types of posts and maybe in the future when I maybe have invested in some kit, I can look back on these and compare my old style to the new!

Onto the look...I'm fed up of being cold now, I'm just not a fan of Winter and can't stand being freezing all the time.  I decided I was going to hop into Spring a bit early this year - I've started to dismiss my darker lips in favour of bolder and brighter ones and the look I've been reaching for a bit quite lately is this one!

FACE FACTS

Rimmel Fix and Perfect Pro Primer in 002

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in Ivory

Maybelline Instant Anti-Age The Eraser Eye Concealer in Light

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Translucent

Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Delirium

Naked Palette - Buck

NARS Eye Paint in Black Valley

Rimmel Scandaleyes Retro Glam Mascara in Black

Barry M Brow Kit

NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Iberico

Real Techniques Buffing Brush

Real Techniques Setting Brush

Eco Tools Complexion Blending Brush

Eco Tools Full Powder Brush

Naked 3 Palette Dual Ended Eyeshadow Brush

Real Techniques Silicone Liner Brush

Topshop Nails in Concrete

I started by prepping my skin with the Rimmel Fix and Perfect Pro Primer in 002.  I won this on a giveaway before Christmas (it and some other goodies look a total state because a nail varnish smashed during transit!) and haven't really used it too often.  It's really nice actually; velvety rather than feeling like your skin is coated in silicone so I'll start making an effort to use this more.  For foundation, I have been using my Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in the shade Ivory.  This is actually my second bottle and it's currently my every day foundation - really illuminating with a medium coverage.  I concealed my under my eyes with the ever hyped Maybelline Anti-Age concealer and I like it, but I'm not sure if I love it just yet.  I only got it the other week, and I'm pretty hard to please concealer wise.  I set that with the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder.

I contoured my cheeks with the Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Delirium and ohhhhmahgod...I love it so much.  I only got it last week, but I've used it every single day since I bought it.  It creates the most perfect shadow that looks really natural.  I then blended that up lightly to give a hint of colour to my cheeks but nothing to dramatic because I wanted quite a simple look.  I used the shade Buck from the Naked palette to quickly add some depth to my eyes by applying that into my crease, and lined with the NARS Eye Paint in Black Valley.  For mascara, I chose the Rimmel Scandaleyes Retro Glam Mascara.  I hated this when I first got it because the formula was so wet and application was always so messy, but it's okay now - I don't think I'd buy it again though when it runs out.

For my brows, I once again used my Barry M Brow Kit.  I use this every day, but again I don't think I'd buy this again.  It's pretty warm toned and I just feel that there must be something better out there to try.  I have a review of this coming this week so keep an eye out for that!  And for the main part of the look, I used NARS Iberico on my lips.  This was a lip pencil that came in the Digital World Lip Pencil Coffret and is currently my most used shade!  It's a warm toned orange red which is really in your face - I love it and don't own anything like it already!

What's your current go-to make up?