January Favourites 2013

Throughout January, I have been enjoying a number of products that have fast become staples in my routine.

This month I have been loving using Wet n Wild Mellow Wine blush. It's a lovely dark pink-red colour, which gives a lovely pop of colour on the cheeks. I have been in love with my MAC 266 and using the centre shade of the top row of the NYX Nude on Nude Natural Look palette. I would not have normally opted for a colour like this, as my hair is darker than the shade, but it somehow works. My lipsticks of choice for the past month have been Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Rivage and Wet n Wild Spiked with Rum. Rivage a pretty pink colour, which gives a natural rosy colour to the lips. While it doesn't last too long on the lips, I love the formula and the glossiness. I love the long-lasting formula of Spiked with Rum and the colour is great for Winter. The Sigma Precision Round P82 has been one of my favourite brushes for packing on and blending out concealer over redness and blemishes. It's bristles are super soft and leaves such a flawless finish.

For skincare, the Emma Hardie Amazing Face cleansing balm has been a dream to use recently, especially as my skin has been a little dry in this cold weather. I am going to do a full review of this soon. I have also had a few pesky blemishes, which the Origins Out of Trouble mask has been a godsend for. I normally use it twice a week, but recently I've been using it on specific big spots and leaving it on overnight. It really helps to minimise the size and redness of the spot. I have used Lush's Mint Julips lip scrub everyday since I got it and it leaves my lips soft and smooth.

My random favourite this month has been this Jasmine candle from ASDA. I don't like to spend too much money on candles, so I was happy that it only cost £4 and I would say it's definitely on par with Yankee Candles. The smell is gorgeous and really radiates around the room. The packaging is fairly simple, but neutral.

What have you been loving this month?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

Casual Weekend FOTD

Yesterday my family and I ventured to a number of furniture stores to try and buy some new furniture for our house. In the end, we traipsed to at least 5 versions of what felt like the same shop but came home empty handed. Better luck next time, eh?

At the weekend, I like to keep my makeup light and simple and try to use as few products as possible. If I could, I would go out without any makeup on, but instead I opt for a 'no-makeup-makeup' type look.

I decided to use Revlon Photoready in Shell as my base, as it gives a subtle glow to my complexion. I used my Maybelline Pure Cover Mineral Concealer in Natural Beige under my eyes and over any redness or blemishes. I gave my skin a light dusting of Collection 2000 Sheer Loose Powder to set my base and then used Benefit Dallas on the apples of my cheeks, as I think it gives a nice, healthy glow. Although I wanted to keep my makeup simple, I still did my staple winged eyeliner using the Collection 2000 Extreme 24hr Felt Tip Liner and used my current favourite mascara - Rimmel Lash Accelerator. I filled in my eyebrows using my MAC 266 angled brush, which I am in love with, and a cool toned brown from my NYX Nude on Nude Natural Look Kit palette. To finish everything off, I used a little Eve Lom Kiss Mix lip balm to keep my lips soft and moisturised, while adding a little glossiness.

What does your weekend FOTD consist of?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

Wet n Wild Spiked with Rum Lipstick

Left: One layer, Right: A few layers

Recently I have been enjoying wearing this Wet n Wild lipstick that I received in my swap with Jawharah last year. It's fast become my go-to lip colour over the past few weeks.

The lipstick is very natural dark pink, plummy colour - Almost like a 'lips-but-darker' shade. It is a matte shade, which means that it is a little drying, but still feels comfortable. I don't think it's particularly blue or orange toned, so I think that it would suit every skintone. I found that it is very pigmented and lasts for ages on the lips. I always worry that my lipsticks will have travelled onto my teeth or around my mouth throughout the day, but this stays put, even after eating and drinking.

Have you ever used any Wet n Wild lipsticks?

Thanks for reading. xoxo, Joy

Life Lately #1

A few obligatory snow pictures taken on my new DSLR

1) It was my 22nd birthday on Tuesday 15th. I spent the day shopping in Bluewater trying to spend some Christmas and birthday money that was burning a hole in my pocket. I ended up buying hardly anything, as nothing in stores really enticed me. I find it hard to buy during this current season transition where the weather is still cold, but the spring/summer things are coming into stores. My parents kindly bought me a DSLR for my birthday, which I am so excited about. The instruction manual is my current bedtime reading, as I want to learn how to shoot in manual mode rather than auto mode, as I only ever used my old DSLR in auto due to being too lazy to read the manual.

2) Did you get a lot of snow where you live? It seems like that's all that everyone is talking about at the moment, myself included. Although fresh, untouched snow looks pretty, I'm not a big fan of snow as it causes so much disruption and I end up with a soggy bottom whenever I go out. That said, I think these snowy days are the perfect excuse to finally buy a pair of Hunter wellies... However I never feel the price is justified for a few snowy days a year.

3) My mum and I caught up on the past two episodes of Mr. Selfridge earlier this week. I really enjoyed it and found myself wanting to research more about Harry Selfridge and the history of Selfridges. So I Wiki'd them and found its history really interesting.

What has been going on in your life lately?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

PinTest #1

I am addicted to Pinterest. There's no secret about that. There are lots of tips and tricks using household products on Pinterest, which I always pin to my 'Useful Tips and Tricks' board and thought that I would give some of them a go to see whether or not they actually worked.

These are a few of the pins from Pinterest regarding putting Vicks Vapor Rub on the feet to stop coughing. My little sister has recently had a cold/cough and has spent the past few nights coughing throughout the night. For the past few nights before my sister went to sleep, I massaged a pea size amount of Vicks onto the soles of her feet and popped a pair of socks on top. It didn't work as well as I'd hoped. My sister stopped coughing for about 1 hour, but the effects didn't last long. I had a look online and it seems that it has worked for many other people. As there are no proper instructions, it could be down to trial and error and may need to use more Vicks or spend more time massaging it into the feet?

VERDICT - Did this work? No.

Have you ever used Vicks Vaporub on your feet to stop coughing?

Thanks for reading. xoxo, Joy

Review: Superdrug Naturally Radiant Brightening Renewal Mask

I've recently been going a little mask mad. I have been loving using the Origins Out of Trouble Mask, but I fancied a change and picked this one up from Superdrug back in November for an introductory price of £2.49, because I thought it sounded a little like the REN Glycolactic Mask, which everyone raves about and I want to try.

This mask has a gel like consistency, which doesn't really dry as after 10 minutes or so, it still feels tacky on the skin. It doesn't really have a scent, which I was a little disappointed about, as it contains fruit acids, kiwi fruit extract, mulberry fruit extract, so I thought it would smell nice and fruity, or something along the lines of Origins Drink Up Intensive Face Mask. After washing the mask off, my skin looks no different but it felt incredibly soft. I tend to use this sporadically when I feel my skin needs a boost, so I can't comment on whether it has helped even out my skin tone. I think that it would need to be used regularly, e.g. 1-2x a week, to see a difference.

What are your favourite face masks?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

NOTD: Rose Bowl

2 coats of American Apparel Nail Lacquer in 'Rose Bowl'

This shade may not be the most Wintery shade, but after almost a month of dark reds and blues, I fancied a change. Rose Bowl is a pretty pink creme nail polish, with no shimmers or glitters. I thought the colour would be similar to Rimmel 'Rose Libertine', however Rose Libertine is brighter and Rose Bowl is a little more muted. American Apparel nail lacquers never disappoint. The formula is a little runnier than other brands, but the colour is opaque in one coat. (I always do two for good measure). I find that American Apparel nail lacquers don't last too well on my nails, as I usually experience chipping after a few days.

xoxo, Joy

New Year's Blogolutions

2013 has come around and this year I thought I would set a few blogolutions. I have seen a few other people post theirs and it inspired to me to think about what I'd like to achieve from my blog in the coming year. I have decided not to set too many, as I never stick to my new year's resolutions, but hopefully these will be achievable and I will review them at the end of the year or next year.

1) Try and introduce new features and different types of posts, as variety is the spice of life. I typically post reviews, NOTDs, favourites and empties posts, with a few wishlists and other posts thrown in. This year, I want to try to include things such as cooking or baking posts, DIY, OOTDs and personal posts.

2) Take better swatch pictures in natural daylight and try to make sure the colours are as accurate as possible. I will also try to show products being worn as well, as it gives a better picture of the product and can be useful for people with similar skin toned people.

3) I read a lot of blog posts, but comment on very few. I sometimes read posts, leave them open to come back and comment on them, but end up forgetting and closing the tab. I will endeavour to comment on more posts when I read them, as it's nice to interact with other bloggers and show some appreciation of the time they've put into their post.

4) Upload more frequently on my Youtube channel. I have been majorly slacking with my Youtube channel lately as we are moving house and I have misplaced my tripod and there are boxes everywhere! I am going to try to be more organised and write lists for potential video ideas and schedule times to film and upload them. My goal is to upload 2-3 times a week.

Have you made any blogolutions this year?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

Project Empties #20

I hope you all had a lovely new year. What did you all do? My new year is usually fairly quiet, as I like to spend it with my family and watch the fireworks on TV. But this year, I spent it helping my mum pack up the remainder of our house as we are moving at the end of this week. Since I've been helping my mum pack, I have found so much stuff I'd forgotten about, found lots of hilarious old drawings, made up stories and school things and conquered my fear of the going into the loft.

Last month I only finished a few products. Once you throw in being ill and cooped up in bed for a week or so and then spending a lot of time makeup less helping to pack up the house, not many products were used throughout the month. It also seems like my beauty drawers are getting full again after Christmas... Eek!

Of the products I used up, I would repurchase the majority as I absolutely love them. I really enjoyed using the V05 Ultimate Hold Hairspray, as it has a great amount of hold without leaving your hair crispy, flaky or hard. It's easy to brush out and doesn't leave much residue. I love the huge can and it lasts forever, even with daily use. I have recently been using Batiste Tropical more than usual. I think my last bottle lasted me around 1 year, as I barely ever used it because I hated the smell and the white residue it left. I love the coconutty tropical smell of this one. La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo is one of my favourite blemish products. I have a full review here and I am already on my next tube. I also love the TEN Instant Lifting Cream. I had never heard of TEN before, but when my dad brought some of their moisturisers home, I thought I'd give this one a whirl. I'm glad I did as I love this moisturiser now. It's quite a light cream, but really hydrates and helps to balance my skin as it contains hyaluronic acid. It sinks into the skin nicely and doesn't leave the skin feeling greasy. The only thing I didn't like about this moisturiser is the smell as it's highly perfumed.

I won't be repurchasing the Lubatti Deliciously Rich Body Lotion (Tuberose and Mimosa), because although it smelt nice and was easy to rub into the skin, I didn't feel like it left my skin feeling  moisturised enough. I also found that you needed to use a lot per limb, using about 5-6 pumps per limb.

What have you finished this month?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy