Current Favourites!

Ello lovelies!

This this is a bit of a random post for me today, as i don't often do favourites as i find a lot of the time what i use day to day stays the same. But lately I've been loving a completely different set of products than normal, so i thought I'd share it! And being the forgetful person i am i forgot to photograph one of my top favourites, so I'll include it in at the end!


Real Techniques Brushes:

So we all know everyone loves these! I had put off buying some for a long long time, convincing myself that i did not under any circumstances need new brushes... i obviously wasn't that convincing! I first had the pleasure to try the Eye set after winning a giveaway and after feeling how incredibly soft they are decided i needed more, now! My two must haves are the Buffing and Powder brush, they have completely transformed my routine, i love them!

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer:

Another well heard of product! I've not had the best experiences with concealer  in the past and normally would just use more foundation, but oooh how I've learnt. This product is AMAZING. I've been really enjoying using lighter, dewier foundations and this concealer just allows me to cover any imperfections without looking over made up or cakey.

China Glaze Riveting Polish:

This is the prettiest polish i have ever seen and has been on my nails 90% of the time since i snagged one off eBay. I've done a full review on this here.

Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy Perfume:

Sweet, girly, fruity scent that is absolutely perfect for spring/summer! Adore!

Embyolisse Lait-Creme Concentrate:
I picked this up at IMATS in February and its been pretty unloved. Its a little less hydrating than my normal moisturisers but its also a lot lighter on the skin so with my new tinted moisturiser love it works really well! I really enjoy using this on my lips before lipstick too, gives the perfect amount of hydration without being greasy!

Makeup Forever Smoky Lash:

Best mascara I've tried, ever! Perfect amount of length and volume and no smudgy marks under the eyes, perfect! Again I've done a full review here.

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser:

Weirdly, this was one of my first reviews! I loved it at first, then went back to my Double Wear as i tend to favour fuller coverage. Well, not anymore! I am really enjoying this currently, with it being Spring (not that you'd notice with all this rain!) I'm attempting a more fresh, glowy look, and this achieves that perfectly! It is very light coverage so i do have to use quite a bit of concealer, but it still looks radiant and healthy. The only downside is the price, around £33 I'm not sure if I'd be able to stomach paying that for it.

Bobbi Brown Bronze Shimmer Brick:

Okay, so i cheated a little bit with this one. Its not actually my product, its my Mums but since we share the same area to put our faces on in the morning i do get to cheekily pinch some of her products. With a light hand this looks lovely to add a bronzey glow instead of using a blush, I've been enjoying just contouring and using a smidgen of this!

Nars Laguna Bronzer:

Okay, another cliche product! But I've been adoring this for contour! Simple as that!

And the missing products! Lip products! I've never been a lip girl but I'm obsessed with corally pinky toned lippies lately! My most worn is Costa Chic from Mac over Nyx's Pinky Lip Pencil, i neeeeeed more corally lip products!

So that is it!
Feel free to link me your favourites posts! I love a good nosey!

xox 

Monthly Favourites: November 2010

Hello lovelies :) It's the end of the month yet again and therefore it is time for me to share my favourites for November!

Here's what I've been enjoying for these last four weeks:

From top left:

Earrings ~ I bought these at around the middle of the month and have been really enjoying wearing them.  I love the rose motifs on them and they match a whole load of outfits! Check out my haul post here!

Ultra Glow Shimmer Pot in Icicle ~ I won this from one of the sweepstakes on the R8Beauty Facebook Page and I really had fun experimenting and creating different looks with it. For more pictures and a full review click here.

BYS Mascara ~ my latest mascara which is great for everyday use. Click here for the review.

Technic Palette ~ I've had this palette for aaaaaaaaaaaagggggggggggggeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssss lol but it's only now that I have been reaching for it very often. I especially like the second eyeshadow from the top left.

Since the weather is getting colder, I'm reaching for jackets more often and this is my favourite of them all:

It is a leather jacket from Dorothy Perkins and I bought it last year and still enjoy wearing it like it is the first time each time! Here are a couple of pictures to show you the detailing:

Other things I have been enjoying this November are:

Not wearing foundation! No, not even mineral!  My skin was frequently having good skin days and therefore I could skip foundation and leave it to breathe and therefore enjoy more good skin days! Click here for more tips on how to have clear skin.

A pink and purple glitter mani with some VivaLaNails Dazzlings, BYS Pink Passion nail polish and a no-name glittery polish. I really like how it came out and how long it lasted.  For a tutorial of the mani click here; for a review about the pink nail polish please click here; and for a review on the dazzlings go ahead and click here!

Lastly, I'm really in love with my Nokia 5800 Navigator that my bf gave me for my birthday last October with which I can capture pictures of cuties like these...

The cats all belong to my bf whilst the hedgehog had his life saved by us!

... and special moments like this:

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Monthly Favourites: October 2010

Another month, another monthly favourites post! Here are my favourites for this month:

e.l.f. Studio Powder Brush ~ I'm so glad I got this brush! The hype and raves about it are all true! If you don't own one, go get one here asap! Thorough review coming up soon.

e.l.f. Professional Blending Eye Brush ~ another brush which I really am head over heels on. I love how it blends eyeshadows for a smoother finish.

Cover Girl Eye Enhancers Trio in Cafe au' Lait ~ I've had this for years (!) and it is still my favourite neutral eyeshadow trio. I use it both for day and night looks. 

E45 Cream ~ a life-saver (read hand and skin saver). It saves my skin from getting all dry and chapped in the winter and also doubles up as a nice hand cream for me to use when I remove the latex gloves I have to wear at hospital. Definitely a must-have!

e.l.f. Mineral Blemish Kit ~ recently I was getting bad pimples on my face, and this kit really helped reduce the redness and puffiness from them. I also slept in it and it works wonders.

e.l.f. Nail Polish in Cranberry ~ my new favourite shade of red! Not too light, not too dark, and with a hint of shimmer... very sophisticated and chic looking nails in an instant!

Revlon ColorStay Makeup in 180 Sand Beige ~ very good coverage for those bad skin days!

e.l.f. Studio Cream Eyeliner in Midnight ~ the best cream eyeliner I have ever tried! Stays put all day long and can only be removed by a make-up remover! Well-worth it (apart from a being a bargain)!

e.l.f Liquid Eyeliner in Stardust ~ just what you need to add a touch of glitter onto your eyes for the ultimate party look. Perfect for the upcoming festive season.

Vaseline/The Body Shop Born Lippy in Passion Berry ~ my fave combo for ultimate lip protection against wind and havoc-wreaking weather.

What are your October favourites ladies? Product reviews coming up soon ;)

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Monthly Favourites: September 2010

My my my how time flies by! Another month has already gone by and with it, it brought new starts: a new season and tomorrow I will start my last year at University which I am very looking forward to and hope it will be a fruitful and successful one *fingers crossed*. In the meantime, let me share my favourite products for this month you ladies :)

Estee Lauder palette ~ I absolutely love this palette! It has neutral colours that go with everything and I have been using it a lot to create a whole lot of Autumnal looks. 

Max Factor Creme Puff ~ with a change of seasons comes a change in make-up routines and now that my skin has lost its tan ;( , I have reverted to using my pressed powder to give my face an even skin-tone.

elf Super Glossy Lip Shine SPF 15 in Malt Shake ~ I have three of these and love all of them, but this month I have used this shade the most especially for day looks since it gives a nice, sheeny hint of red to the lips without being too obvious. I also like layering it on red lipstick for night to give a more intense colour and a glossy finish.

elf Shimmer Eyeliner Pencil in Iconic Ivory ~ having read not so good reviews about elf's Eye Widener, I was glad they had this range of eyeliners delivered and so I bought this one to use as an eye widener and it works perfectly well!

elf Waterproof Eyeliner Pen in Black ~ this is my go-to eyeliner to create that perfect thin line and flick as it gives me total control to create the look I want. Furthermore, it stays put all day without smudging or budging!

elf Nail Polish in Rosy Raisin ~ I have been waiting for the Autumn collection of nail polishes from elf forever and when I got them in my last haul, this was the first one I tried and I fell head-over-heels for it! I can sense an Autumn loaded with NOTW featuring this colour!

elf Mineral Lipstick in Natural Nymph ~ another product I have been dying to get my hands on! I really love the nude lip you see in make up and fashion adverts and really wanted to give it a go and see how it works for me. I can say that this lipstick really has what it takes to achieve this look (will post pics when I do a full review about it).

Earrings ~ finally, something different... I bought these two pairs of earrings this month and can't seem to be able to resist putting them on, especially the silver/blue ones. I have a thing for dangly earrings (see photo below), probably owed to the fact that they jazz up any outfit and I nearly always buy a pair or two (or more hehe) whenever I hit the shops, particularly from this Chinese shop called Tenda Costume Accessories. They sell all sorts of quirky and original jewellery at unbeatably cheap prices which still looks as good as the higher priced ones. Also, when I bought these two pairs, I was with the bf and since the owner of the shop happened to know him through work, he even gave me a discount on each of them and got them for €5 instead of €7.90!!! They even pack them in cute pink paper pouches with violet flower and butterfly motifs :)

Here's a sneak-peak into my collection of dangly earrings:

The first pair from the top is from Accessorize, the round pair next to it is from Corfu, the pair under that I bought from a lady who sells them from her home, the green chandelier ones I bought from a random shop, the long black ones are from Peacocks, the second pair from left in the bottom row I also bought from Corfu and they are one of my faves as they have an unusual shape and are crafted from the Olive tree bark; the rest are all from Tenda!

Looking forward to seeing all your monthly faves for September!

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Monthly Favourites: August 2010

As usual, at the end of the month, a very tough task to choose my favourite products has to be accomplished! I don't necessarily base my decision on which are the products that I have mostly used during that particular month. I sometimes come across products that I have forgotten I own and rediscover them all over again and I include them. Other times, it is new purchases and also sometimes, products that I have been using for a long time. Anyway, enough blabbing. Here are this month's faves :) enjoy!

~ Those two boxes come from The Body Shop. You know how they do those gift-sets with travel-sized products... I used get like 2 or 3 different ones each Christmas and then, after I've used the products, the metal boxes end up as ornaments. Recently I came up with the idea of using them to store my make up and got my bro to spray paint them in black and silver (he has more coming soon haha) to match my room and here they are!! The black one holds my lip stuff while the silver one houses my eye stuff such as mascaras, eyeliners and the likes. Here's a close up before going on to the rest of the products:

~ Marks and Spencer Cocoa Butter & Vanilla Hand and Body Lotion

~ e.l.f. Daily Brush Cleaner

~ e.l.f. Nail Polish in Mint Cream

~ Impulse Temptation Deodorant Spray; I really like the 'blend of musky vanilla scents with amber notes' of this deodorant and besides smelling divine and tempting hehe it doesn't leave any stains on clothes and lasts me the whole day!

~ Fraulein 38 Powder Brush (part of a 20 piece set)

~ Attirance Chocolate Shower Gel

~ e.l.f. Professional Shine Erasers

~ Kate Moss Velvet Hour

~ Guerlain Insolence

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P.S. Clicking on the products' names will take you to my reviews on that particular product :)

Monthly Favourites: July 2010

July is nearing its end and that means it's time for my favourite products for this month.

And here are the stars for this month:

~ e.l.f. Studio Warm Bronzer (click here for a full review)

~ Nailene Bedazzle Nail Art stickers in Earth Angel (for a review click here)

~ Rimmel Powder Blush in 004 Pink Rose: I bought this blusher a few months ago because I wanted a healthy pinkish colour. It is my fave blusher because it blends in naturally with my skin tone.

~ e.l.f. Waterproof eyeliner pen in Coffee and Black (only one is shown)

~ e.l.f. Eyelid Primer

~ e.l.f. Earth and Water Mascara Duo in Brown (shown) and Black

~ e.l.f. Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear Mascara (for a full review of all e.l.f. eye products mentioned above, please click here)

~ e.l.f. Nail Polish in Lilac (click here for a review on e.l.f.'s nail polishes)

~ e.l.f. Super Glossy Lip Shine SPF15 in Goddess (click here for a full review and a sneak-peak at my lipgloss collection)

Lara xoxo

June 2010 Favourites

Hello make-upholics :) It's time for my first monthly favourites post and well here they are!

From left to right they are:

- e.l.f. studio Complexion Perfection

- e.l.f. nail polish in Medium Red

- Rimmel 60 Seconds nail polish in 270 Shocker

- e.l.f. nail polish in Dark Navy

- e.l.f. dual pencil sharpener

- Rimmel Lasting Finish Minerals Loose powder foundation in 001 Ivory

- Napoleon Perdis Protege lipgloss

- essence stay natural concealer in 01 Soft Beige

- L'oreal Telescopic Explosion Mascara in Black

- Max Factor Lash Lift Volume & Lift Mascara in 5074 Black/Brown

To start off, my absolute favourite product is the Complexion Perfection by e.l.f. It retails for £3.50 and you get 13.5g of product in a sleek case with a nice-sized mirror. I use the various shades to counteract redness and sallowness in my complexion and also to set my under eye concealer.

The nail polishes all have a very good stay-on time without chipping even without a top coat on. Applying polish without a top coat is the best way to test longevity of a polish and these 3, besides being hot shades for this summer, passed my test!!

e.l.f.'s dual pencil sharpener is a very good deal. For £1.50, you get 2 sharpeners, the dual one and a bonus single one. There is also a picker installed in the side of the dual one which you can use to remove any colour remnants from the blades. The cap and base of the dual sharpener are also detachable for optimum cleaning.

I found mineral foundation to be the best foundation for my skin since it gives me the coverage I need and also, it mops up oil from my skin and leaves me flawless all day.

I got the Napoleon Perdis Protege Lip gloss from a 50 make-up points redemption on Meg's Makeup (If you want to join the site contact me with your email address and I will send you an invite) It has a nice summery coral colour and a fresh minty taste...you feel it tingling on your lips instantly! I have been using this ever since i got it and it is now one of my absolute favourite lip glosses.

The essence concealer is great because you apply just the right amount by twisting the base and then blend it with its brush. It gives me a very fresh look.

Mascara is the one product I NEVER EVER LEAVE THE HOUSE WITHOUT! It gives the eyes an instant lift and you can choose different colours to suit your mood and look. I mostly use black for evenings and brown for natural looks.

So I guess that's all for now :)If you have any questions or queries don't hesitate to contact me...

Stay beautiful,

Laraxoxo