September/October favourites

Another monthly favourites blog coming up and this time there is a lot! I haven't written one for nearing three months so I've culminated some real treats in that time. Here are the ones I've loved the most!

1. Smashbox - Photo Finish Foundation Primer £25 (full size): I first tried this when I'd read reviews from a couple of bloggers claiming Smashbox to be a really great brand. I decided that rather than going all out and trying the full sized products that I would buy the little set you can get which has three different primers in it - including this and my number 2 favourite (see below!). I tried this when I went on holiday to America, fell in love with the first use and promptly headed to Sephora to grab the full size bottle. I expected this mini size to run out fairly quickly but I've been using it daily for nearly two months and it's still going strong! Bravo, Smashbo, bravo!

You can get the kit from Boots here for £14: http://www.boots.com/en/Smashbox-Its-Your-Prime_1308778/

2. Smashbox - Photo Finish Hydrating Under Eye Primer - £21 (full size): As stated above, this came in the little set I got from Boots. At first I was unsure what difference this would really make but boy was I wrong! It totally eliminates those pesky cakey lines you can sometimes get with certain concealers and keeps the concealer in place all day! I have barely even scratched the surface of this tube but can see myself picking up the full size bottle when I eventually run out!

You can grab this from Boots (be warned, it's not cheap!) http://www.boots.com/en/Smashbox-Photo-Finish-Hydrating-Under-Eye-Primer_1281414/

3. The Body Shop - Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream - £11: TBS are one of my favourite brands for moisturisers and this does not disappoint. I've been using it overnight as towards the colder weather my skin tends to struggle but this keeps a nice moisture in my skin when I pair it with number 4 of my favourites.

Get this from TBS here - http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/shop-by-range/vitamin-e/vitamin-e-night-cream.aspx 

4. The Body Shop - Vitamin E Moisture Lotion SPF 15 - £11: This is basically the day version of the item above so it's a little less thick but also has the added bonus of SPF 15 which, even during the winter months is a big bonus to stop from any kind of sun damage! It's lasted for ages as I picked this up months ago and have barely used any despite daily use!

You can grab this here: http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/shop-by-range/vitamin-e/vitamin-e-spf15-moisture-lotion.aspx

5. Ulta - Vanilla Sugar Anti-Bacterial Hand Gel Sanitiser: I picked this (and the next few!) up from shops in America which unfortunately don't ship to the UK so I have no way of sharing these to my fellow Brits but this baby is amazing! I can't remember exactly how much it was but it wasn't a lot and smells absolutely divine! It's essentially the same as any old gel hand sanitiser but that smell... Yum!

6. NYX - Matte Finish Setting Spray: I absolutely ADORE this setting spray - when paired with the next item it holds my makeup on perfectly and keeps a fantastic matte finish which is especially great when you have oily skin! Oh how I need this to be sold in the UK!

7. Urban Decay De-Slick Mattifying Powder: Oh this is glorious! Urban Decay is a brand I've been wanting to try for so long based on recommendations but have never really been able to justify the steep price tag for. In America literally EVERY beauty product is so much cheaper so I decided what the heck? I'd go for it! I'm so chuffed I did, too, as this is a wonder product. The powder initially looks a white/lilac colour and when I opened it I was like woah, this is not what I was expecting. However, it literally is incredible - it just takes away that shine instantly and lasts for ages. It really is true that what you get is what you pay for! The packaging is really cute too which shouldn't really matter but... It does!

8. OPI - Alcatraz...Rocks!: This was another purchase from the USA but can also be bought over here (for a much steeper price, mind you!). I did a review of this some weeks back but this liquid sand shade has jumped to my favourites with it's purple /gold sandy goodness! 

9. Tarte - MultiplEYE Lash Enhancing Liquid Eyeliner: Another America purchase and boy, did I buy right! This is hands down the best eyeliner I've ever worked with. It goes on like a dream with great pigmentation and stays put all day with no real smudging. Plus, it claims to have "lash enhancing" qualities which I really do feel is true as my eyelashes look longer, fuller and feel softer. 

10. L'Oreal Studio Secrets Pro Lip Tint - Runway Rose - £8.49: I've tried quite a lot of lip tints now and this is definitely my favourite. It's got great colouration which is long lasting and it also smells amazing! 

I picked this up at Superdrug here: http://www.superdrug.com/loreal/loreal-pro-tint-lipstain-runway-rose/invt/496450

11. Police - To Be Queen - £30: Yes, I know, another perfume! But I have truly found my favourite now - this is just a beautiful smell! For 125ml the price is also incredible and it was well worth the buy!

Get this from Superdrug here: http://www.superdrug.com/fragrance-for-her/police-to-be-queen-edp-125ml/invt/757857

12. Thor 2: The Dark World: The above was the last of the beauty items and now we move on to the randoms. This film was literally incredible - easily my favourite Marvel movie ever (and if you know me, you know how much I love that Marvel!) I couldn't personally find a single fault and everything was just done right. I shall definitely be heading back to the cinema to see this again!

13. Yankee Candle - Christmas Cookie: Oh goodness this candle is like heaven in aroma form. Well, well worth the money for the hours of amazing scent-filled bliss! I loved this so much that I purchased the giant size after burning out the smaller within a few days!

14. Pokemon - X: We're rapidly approaching the end of the favourites and the last three are games. I have adored Pokemon since I can remember and this is no different! I actually picked up a Nintendo 3DS specifically to play this game (sad, I know)! It's a typical Pokemon game but has somehow been greatly entertaining still!

15. Grand Theft Auto V - Xbox 360: Whilst impatiently awaiting the arrival of the Xbox One, I decided to purchase this game after my brother had been raving on about how good it was and it hasn't let me down! The online game play is so much fun that I genuinely haven't completely any more the of the story than was necessary to actually access the online part of it!

16. Assassin's Creed IV - Black Flag - Xbox 360: We've reached the end of the favourites for the last few months and have arrived on my favourite game of all three. The Assassin's Creed franchise is easily my favourite on Xbox and this has exceeded the previous titles by a long way (though perhaps not Brotherhood). Well worth the money as the story has kept me playing for a long time and I'm still only 40% complete!

July/August favourites!

If you guys can remember I posted a monthly favourites last month and it got quite a few views so I've decided to do another for this month. Again I've included all sorts of random things and some have already featured in previous posts!

To kick us off I'll start with nail related items and move towards the more random ones.

1. The first item that I've been absolutely loving is Kawaii's Lois Lane (a custom order I had her create!). I've reviewed it here if you want to check that out! I love how this glitter looks, it's such a beauty!

2. The next item is one that has also featured before in my haul blog and is Vaseline's Spray & Go Body Moisturiser. I use this daily and it's absolutely fantastic! One of my favourite moisturisers due to the way it applies, the way it makes my skin feel and look and the smell! 

3. Number three is yet another item that featured in the haul blog and is n-spa's Vanilla Fragrance Body Mist. Wowwwwww I love this so much! This is just amazing and I will certainly be repurchasing when it runs out.

4. This is a bit of a naughty item - sweets! Haribo Smurfs to be precise. None of that dieting rubbish in this belly ;)! These are so dang tasty and at only £1 from Asda I have a hard time resisting buying them every time I go in there!

5. Number five technically comprises of four things - four books! All belonging to the Demon Trappers series by Jana Oliver. I picked up the first 2-in-1 book at Asda on a whim and holy mother of all things I LOVED these books! I was so obsessed with them that I managed to finish all four (I purchased the other two on my kindle as soon as I'd finished the second) within a week. I really really recommend these books if you're into anything supernatural/romance/dry humour/amazing - this series is perfect!

6. Winding down now and next up is Maybelline New York's Dream Pure BB Cream for Oily Skin. With a much thicker texture that the normal version of this, I love how this makes my skin look! Thumbs up to Maybelline!

7. The seventh and last (but not least!) item on the favourites list for the last month is the purse that I also showed in the haul blog. I've been using it a lot and I just love it so much! It's got a huge amount of card room and is just so nice! Go me for buying this beauty!

Branching out - June/July favourites - part 1

I've got a very different sort of post to my usual today! I've decided to branch out from sticking to nail looks (though those will remain the main feature) and I'm thinking about making this a monthly feature. It will include my favourite things from the month be it nail polish, books, beauty items, films, perfume etc! I may also from time to time post reviews of products that fall outside nail polish reviews such as make up items. Let me know if you would like this to be a regular feature or not!

I've decided to split this first post in two due to the sheer amount of things I've included! Without further ado, here are the first half of my favourites for the last month or so!

1. The first item on the favourites list is Cutex's Nourishing Nail Polish Remover! Sticking to the nail side of things to start with, this polish remover is one of my all time greats. It leaves your nails looking nice and moisturised unlike some which can cause horrible peeling if they include a strong concentration of acetone. Furthermore, the smell that this leaves on your fingers is very different to the normal acidic smell you tend to get from removers and has a slightly chocolatey smell to it!





















2. The second item is ORLY's Rich Renewal hand creme in Peace. This hand cream smells absolutely divine and the scent lingers for a long time which I really like! It came in a kit I got when I did a manicure course earlier in July and I've used it when I've done manicures on my mum and she also agrees that it smells amazing! The only down side is that it is quite oily and doesn't soak into the skin for a while but the smell alone is good enough for me to look past that! The smell is spiced vanilla and white tea - I seriously wish that smellivision was a thing so you could have a whiff of this!

3. The next favourite is an item that I've been using daily for several months now! I'm on my third pack of Witch's cleansing and toning facial wipes and have loved using them! They leave yur face feeling fresh and remove any traces of make up - including mascara - easily and quickly. They also aren't too heavily scented which means you're not constantly smelling a strong cleanser smell.

4. Number four on the list is a body lotion - E45's endless moisture body lotion to be exact! This lotion works great on my skin as I've got very dry skin on my legs. This makes them feel moisturised and soft for a few days and is a product I used quite often. It's very runny which also makes it very easy to spread and it is "lightly fragranced" so it's not an offensive product to use. 

5. Coming in at number five (not that these are in any order really) is another nail related product - Streaker Beauty's 100/180 grit nail file. I bought these a few weeks ago to replace some old nail files and wow, I'm glad I got them! I only need the 100 grit side on my nails as they're natural and it's super quick. It means that if I've got a break (god forbid) or I just want to keep them nice and even it takes me a few swipes and it's sorted. These are super cheap too which is also a plus!

6. Makeup now - and my favourite product has been NYC's Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm in Applelicious Pink! I know this is supposed to be "glossy" but on me for some reason there is next to no gloss.. you would think that this would put me off it rather than make me love it but alas, no! I love this lip balm as it gives a perfect amount of colour which isn't too bold and isn't too bland. The cute as heck apple shape through the middle is adorable too!

7. Number seven is completely different to everything so far - it's a book! The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda is a book that I purchased a while ago but never got around to reading until about a week ago and as soon as I started, I whizzed through it in a few hours! The story is really gripping and I liked the plot - twists that I really didn't expect caught me out but I really loved it! 

8. The penultimate item is yet another random one! I've been trying to drink a lot more fluids as I really wasn't drinking enough before but I've always disliked the taste of plain water (and yes - it so does have a taste!) and so picked up a bunch of flavoured water from ASDA. The Cherry and Plum still water has been my favourite of these so far!

9. The last thing on part one of my June/July favourites is not an item that I own, per se, but it's film that I saw last week - Man of Steel! Wow it was fantastic! I really really really enjoyed this film and cannot praise it highly enough. The casting was spot on (totally wasn't fangirling over how attractive Henry Cavill is) and I generally couldn't fault it! I recommend you check it out!

 That's it for part one - part two will be up sometime soon!