Mini New Look Haul

You might be able to spot a bit of a theme with this haul! Yes, I went a bit overboard with the monochrome, but it's a must for your wardrobe, as it goes with everything! I have to admit, it wasn't until I got to the till that I realised that everything is grey/black. I'm on a mission to inject a bit of colour when I next go shopping.

Redken All Soft Shampoo & Conditioner

You may have read that I was pretty unimpressed when I tried out the Mark Hill MiracOILicious shampoo & conditioner last December, so when the sales came along I decided to treat myself to the All Soft set from Redken. A bit on the pricey side, but I've been wanting to try Redken products for a while and what better time than when they are reduced?! I didn't do a great deal of research before making this purchase but read some quite mixed reviews whilst I was waiting for my delivery, so I was a little unsure of what to expect.

No7 Blush & Glow Collection

No7 isn't really a brand that I gravitate towards all that often. Their prices edge towards the more expensive end of the drugstore range, and to be honest not all that much has ever caught my eye. I was, however, really intrigued by the launch of their Pop & Glow Cream Blush Sticks last year but resisted the urge - that was until I spotted their Blush & Glow collection whilst I was sales shopping.

The Drugstore Starter Makeup Kit

One of my friends, who's been thinking of dabbling a little more with makeup, asked me a while ago what products she would recommend to start out with, which gave me the perfect idea for a post! The drugstore can be a pretty confusing place when you're first starting out with makeup - there's just so much to choose from these days! I've put together what I think are the very basics you would need if you were putting together your first makeup kit on a budget.

Soap & Glory Smoulder Kohl Set

I find Soap & Glory makeup to be a bit hit & miss so, even though I'd heard really good things about their Smoulder Kohl eyeliners I was still a little reluctant to try them. However, when I saw a four piece set for just £7 in the Boots Boxing Day sale, I decided it was time to give them a go, especially as I'd be paying just over the price of one (£5) to try out a variety of colours.

OOTD - Family Meal

This Saturday evening I went out for a meal with some of my family to meet my soon-to-be brother-in-law's family so that we could all get to know each other. I knew it was going to be quite a casual evening (most of the men went in their football tops!), but I wanted to make a little bit of an effort.

Zoeva Rose Golden Luxury Brush Set

Building up a collection of really good makeup brushes can be pretty darn expensive. A good quality foundation brush alone can cost in excess of £30, so building up your collection one by one soon gets pricey, but the trouble with sets can often been that there's one or two duds that you know you'll never use, so you feel like you're wasting your money. Zoeva brushes were massively raved about in the blogging community last year, this rose gold set in particular, as not only being relatively affordable but really good quality too, so naturally they ended up on my Christmas wishlist! Now I've had a bit of time to play around with them, I thought I'd let you know my thoughts.

Pretty Honest by Sali Hughes

I don't think I've ever seen so much hype around a book in the beauty community before. Sali Hughes, weekend columnist for The Guardian, has created quite a stir with her first book, and I was keen to see what all the fuss was about, so this immediately went onto my Christmas list, and I was lucky enough to receive it. Now I can see what all the well deserved hype was for.

My Favourite Highlighters

For some, highlighter is one of those summer-only products, but I like to give my face a bit of a glow all year round - just a subtle sheen to perk up my complexion on a drab winter's day. Until recent years, highlighter was one of those steps that I tended to skip in my routine, and I probably had just one sad,unloved highlighter sitting at the bottom of my makeup bag, but now I seem to have amassed quite a few in a short space of time, and these are my top three.

Clarins Rouge Eclat Lipstick in Candy Rose

When I opened up my Christmas present from my friend Alison and saw that this was inside, I did a little squeal of delight! First off, how pretty and luxurious does the packaging look? And second, this was my first ever Clarins makeup product and I couldn't wait to try it, especially as I love a lot of their skincare.

The Body Shop Wild Argan Oil Range

This range has been out for quite a while, and I've been pretty excited about it ever since the launch, but with so many The Body Shop products clogging up my drawers, there was really no justification in me buying any more, so I was really excited to see a little goodie bag of Wild Argan Oil treats under the tree on Christmas Day.

Bloggers Block Post Ideas

image from weheartit.com

Unless you're super efficient and your head is constantly swimming with ideas, there's going to come a time where the dreaded bloggers block strikes. I've got a list stored away on my phone for when such a moment arises, so I thought I'd share with you some of the ideas I have on it to perhaps give you some inspiration if you are ever struggling for something to write about.

Slimming World Magic Pancakes

I love pancakes, but when I started following the Slimming World plan, I found that I'd be spending a lot of syns if I was to have them. Of course, I'd treat myself occasionally but through another member of my group I discovered a super simple recipe for "magic" oats pancakes, which is very popular amongst Slimming World members, as we can give into our cravings without going off plan.

My Favourite Nude Lipsticks

I love a good nude lip. It's the fail-safe option that's going to go with any look and, until the last year or so, it was the only lip choice I'd make! Whilst I have enjoyed experimenting with my bolder lip colours recently, I'll always come back to a nude for a more everyday, office appropriate look. It was hard to narrow this collection down, but here are five of my favourites.

OOTD - Lunch Date With A Friend

This afternoon I went out for lunch with the lovely Alison, who blogs over at Rock and Glitter and had a good old catch up, and I thought I'd share with you what I wore. I'm getting a bit bored of big fluffy jumpers now, so thought I'd look to spring a little with a pastel themed outfit.

Tanya Burr Nail Polish - Midnight Sparkles

If you saw my sales haul, you'll know I picked up a trio of Tanya Burr nail polishes from Feel Unique, and I couldn't wait to get testing them out. I tried some of Tanya's lipglosses last year, which was probably a big mistake to begin with, as I'm really not a lover of lipsgloss, so as you can imagine I wasn't overly impressed with them. I'd heard good things about the nail polishes too and thought they would be more my kind of thing, which I'm pleased to say they are.

The Body Shop Raspberry Body Scrub

I'd already purchased the Raspberry Body Butter during last summer, which featured in one of last year's monthly favourites. It's quite possible overtaken strawberry as my favourite The Body Shop scent, so when I spotted the body scrub half price in their sale, I had to pick this up too.

The Best Of Topshop Makeup

It took me quite a while to make my first Topshop makeup purchase, I didn't really see what all the fuss was about at the time. I then became absolutely obsessed with their lipsticks but never really ventured into the rest of their range much until last year. Now I've discovered some real gems amongst their collection, so I thought I'd share with you what I consider to be their top five makeup products.

Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 Palette

Yep that's right, it's another Urban Decay palette! They've thrown so much at us recently and as you can tell it's been really hard to resist. I now have the entire Naked eyeshadow palette collection, which may be a little unnecessary, but they are all so stunning in their own way. I didn't think this palette would ever come to exist - they did the whole Naked Basics thing and I didn't really think there'd be anywhere to go with a second one, but I guess I was wrong!

Mark Hill MiracOILicious Range

When I'm browsing the Boots gift section pre-Christmas, I always find it hard to resist picking up a little something for myself, especially with the 3 for 2 offer, and last year was no exception. I've tried quite a few Argan Oil hair products over the past year or so, with varied results, so when I saw this cute little box set on the shelves I thought I'd pick it up for myself and see what Mark Hill's offering was like. I've tried a few Mark Hill products in the past and really enjoyed using them, so I was expecting good things. Unfortunately, this set was a bit of a mixed bag for me.

My Favourite Drugstore Foundations

For the longest time I wasn't really all that into foundation. I used to just buy one base and then stick to it. I feel like 2014 was the year for discovering foundations for me, and now I have quite a few favourites in my collection, so I thought I'd share with you my top three from the more affordable price scale.

My New Project For 2015

One of my New Year's resolutions was to take more photos, as I wanted more memories that I could actually look back on. I have a lot of exciting things going on this year, so I wanted to document them in some way. When I came across Lily's video all about the Project Life scrapbook she kept last year, I knew I'd found the perfect solution, and immediately headed over to the Hobbycraft website to place my order.

Space NK Winter Candles

If you read my winter sales haul at the weekend, you'll know I made a sneaky little purchase in Space NK. One of the things I picked up was their winter candle trio, which I thought was a steal at just £17.50. Candles (well, any product actually!) from Space NK can be a little on the pricey side, but I've always wanted to buy one. Whilst these may not be full size, they are ideal for trying them out and finding a favourite to possibly purchase in the future.

January 2015 Wishlist

You might notice a bit of a theme with my wishlist this time around - everything is pretty much high end! I guess it's because I tend to just go out and buy the more budget friendly items that catch my eye and leave myself with no money to treat myself to any of the more expensive items I've been lusting after for so long. A lottery win would be really handy, but failing that I plan to save my money a little more to allow myself to treat myself to the odd item above.

Skincare Favourites - Origins

I'd be surprised if you hadn't heard of the brand Origins - it's probably one of the most talked about skincare brands within the beauty blogging world. And there's a very good reason for all the hype, their products really do produce great results. I hadn't tried too much from them until I purchased a gift set for myself last year, and now their products feature heavily in my regular skincare routine.

Maybelline Colour Elixir Lip Lacquers

There was so much hype surrounding these products when they were finally launched in the UK. We spent forever lusting after them whilst our friends in the States had them, and after what seemed like forever, they were finally available towards the end of last year, and we all went crazy over them. After experiencing the same hype over the Maybelline Baby Lips and being extremely disappointed, I decided to sit back and watch the reaction before deciding whether I really wanted to give these a go myself.

Best Websites For Fitness Tips

image from weheartit.com

I've seen a lot of people, myself included, have set themselves a goal to either lose weight, or just generally eat healthier and get fitter this year. I know at the start of the journey in particular it can be pretty hard going, and it's difficult to keep the motivation up. When I feel myself slacking a little, I like to take a look online and find inspiration for new workouts or recipes to try, so that I'm not bored by doing the same routines over and over. Here are my favourite sites for finding fitness inspiration online.

Winter Sales Haul

I did a bit more damage in the sales than I was originally planning. I did the majority of my spending online and, whilst that was great for avoiding the queues, I think it may have been my downfall where spending was concerned, as you can't physically see the damage that's been done until the products arrive a few days later. I think it's safe to say I won't be doing another big shop for a while! I know quite a lot of the stuff I bought was pretty popular and is no longer available, but if I can find any online still, I'll leave the links below.

Urban Decay Naked On The Run Palette

When my What I Got For Christmas post when up last week, I couple of you requested that I do a full review of the Naked On The Run palette. Of course I was already thinking of doing one anyway, as it had become quite a sought after item around the holidays, but as some of you had shown I feel interest, I decided I'd try and get one up asap. I've had a little play around with this palette over the Christmas holidays and I'm now ready to share my thoughts with you.

My New Favourite Boots

I seem to live in boots over the winter. They're really practical for the weather and seem to go with pretty much any outfit I throw together. I went a bit mad this winter and bought quite a few new pairs, as well as keeping my old favourites from the previous year, but there's one stand out pair that's been getting a lot of use over the past few months.

December Beauty Favourites

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a fabulous time seeing in the New Year with those closest to you, and that you're not feeling too delicate today! I wasn't sure if I was going to do a December favourite, since I posted my favourite discoveries of 2014 yesterday, but there are a few things I'd been loving this past month, some of which were new to me so I thought it would be a little premature to put into a yearly favourites post, but I wanted to share with you nonetheless.