♡ SEPTEMBER FAVES ♡

This month I have been loving blush and lip products. Below are my top 3 things that I have been enjoying during September. 

Too Faced Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush in Peach Beach

♡ Why I love it ♡

Gorgeous heart-shaped packaging & blush- I am a sucker for cute packaging and all things girlie!
Each shade can be used individually or swirled together (my personal fave).
This peachy shade warms up my complexion- this is one that I will be using throughout the Autumn and Winter months!

Urban Decay Naked Flushed Brush

♡ Why I love it ♡

Super soft double-ended brush which washes really well.
Love the rose gold matt finish on the handle.
The angled end is perfect for applying blush along the cheek bones. I like to use the flat end to add some extra colour on the apples if needed- It's a smaller brush so it allows precise application.
This brush is perfect for applying contouring powder, blush and highlighter.

Estée Lauder Pure Colour Envy Lipstick in 120 Desirable

♡ Why I love it ♡

Beautiful pinky-nude colour.

Super moisturising & creamy...I feel like my lips are being caressed each time I apply it.
This is a little sample that I got with a mascara but I will definitely be purchasing the full size lipstick soon as I have fallen in love! :)

What goodies have you all been enjoying this month?  

Thanks for reading my lovelies! 

SEPHORA HAUL ♡ PART 1 ♡ URBAN DECAY

This is a super exciting post about a recent splurge at Sephora thanks to some lovely friends who went stateside!  Sephora is the kind of place I would happily live in given the chance. I can't get enough of it and I still remember the giddy feeling when I first discovered it in New York a few years ago.

This post is part one of two and features Urban Decay products that I had been lusting over for a few months. I will most probably go into more detail about these when I feature them in future posts but for now this is just a little insight into what I purchased.

NAKED PALETTE

NAKED 2 PALETTE

I'm a huge fan of the Naked 3 which was my first Urban Decay shadow palette and I wanted to complete the collection with the Naked and Naked 2. 

These shadows have amazing staying power and they blend beautifully together. All the colours are different apart from "Half Baked" which features in both but this is a good base colour that will get loads of use.

My only complaint about the Naked palette is that it doesn't come in the lovely metal type packaging that the Naked 2 and 3 come in. This is a shame as I can see the velvet case getting ruined over time and visually it looks a bit old fashioned. 

They both come with a really good double ended brush which is handy for travel along with the large mirror in each palette.

AMMO PALETTE

This is a super cute palette that has 10 of Urban Decay's best selling shades. It comes with a cute brush and a mini Primer Potion which is great to pop into my travel make up bag. There are 8 shades that I think I will get a lot of wear out of like Chopper, Sin, Grister & Polyester Bride.

DE-SLICK MATTIFYING POWDER

This is a lovely translucent mattifying powder that comes in a gorgeous purple compact case. I have been popping this on my oily bits during the day and so far it's doing a good job. I love that the puff it comes with has a silicone side that sticks onto the mirror when not in use.

GOOD KARMA OPTICAL BLURRING BRUSH

FLUSHED DOUBLE ENDED BRUSH

PRIMER POTION- ORIGINAL

These brushes were my first non-make-up purchase from Urban Decay. I picked these out as they had good reviews and I was eager to try them out. The optical blurring brush is perfect for blending and buffing make-up into the skin. So far I have used it to buff in my face powder but I also want to use it to apply foundation as I have read that it gives really good results.  The 2nd brush is a double ended one used to apply bronzer, highlighter, and blush. It feels like a good quality brush and I think that it will wash well. 

My addiction to Urban Decay's primer potion continues and I purchased the original shade this time. I love this one as much as the other two that I already have.

All of these products are available in Debenhams and other good department stores although Sephora now delivers to the UK!

In a few weeks time I will be sharing part 2 of this post which includes goodies from Too Faced, Benefit, Clinique, Sephora and Beauty Blender. ♡

Thanks for reading! 

MANI MONDAY- NUDE POLKA DOT!

This has been one of my favourite nail looks which has been created using Nails Inc and Sally Hansen products. When I first applied the nude polish I thought that it looked a bit dull as I am usually a fan of bright pinks but adding the polka dots makes it all a bit more interesting. 

Products used:

• Nails Inc Hyde Park Base Coat- strengthens weak & bendy nails.
• Nails Inc "Eaton Terrace" The Perfect Nude Polish- nourishing ridge filling formula.
• Nails Inc "Kensington Caviar" Gel Effect Plumping Top Coat- creates a gel-like finish & helps prevent colour fading, chipping & breakage.
• Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen in "Fine White 310"- used to create the polka-dot effect.

I start off by filing my nails and pushing back my cuticles followed by rubbing in some vitamin E cuticle oil. The base coat is applied followed by two coats of the nude nail polish and I let each coat dry in between. Next I paint on the dots and let dry before finishing with a layer of the gel top coat. 

This would normally last a few days but it depends on how much I use my hands at work!

I always seem to get polish in my cuticles :( Any tips on how to avoid this please leave a comment at the end. 

Thanks you for reading and I look forward to seeing all your Monday Mani's on Instagram!

MY BACK-TO-WORK BAG

After two lovely weeks off from the world of Gina Shoes I returned to work at the beginning of September and I wanted to share with you my current work bag.

I am using the Bayswater in Foxglove Pink from Mulberry's AW11 collection. I am trying to hang onto the last bits of summer by wearing a bright bag...soon I will switch to my darker ones for winter.

I got this bag 3 years ago as a graduation present but I hadn't worn it much as I didn't want to get it dirty but I have finally decided that it needs to come out to play, it's simply too beautiful to hide away in my closet!

The Bayswater is one of my favourite bag designs and this is one of 3 in my collection. I love it because it's nice and big so I can shove loads of things inside inculding a make up bag and a change of clothes when I use it for travel!

The bag in action when I went to see the Christian Louboutin exhibit a few years ago.

Thanks for reading my lovelies and I hope you enjoyed my first non-beauty related post!

♡ AUGUST FAVES ♡

This month's faves are a mixture of old and new purchases. I seem to be having a real Bobbi Brown obsession lately particularly with an eyeshadow palette!

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Eye Palette in Raw Sugar

 

This is one of my all time fave eye palettes and the star of my last post which can be found here.

♡ Why I love it ♡

Gorgeous creams and shimmery browns
Good colour pay off & lasts all day when used with eye primer
Super cute & portable compact with handy mirror
Colours all work well together and blend easily
Perfect for a day or evening smokey eye that's not over-the-top

Too Faced Bullet Proof Brows

 

I used to only use pencils to fill in my brows but this clay-like formula has become a favourite from first use!

♡ Why I love it ♡

It's like a powder, gel and wax all in one

Comes with a good spooly and angled eyebrow brush

Compact has a handy mirror for on-the-go application

In about 60 seconds it becomes water and smudge proof- perfect for hot city days

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Bisque

 

During the holidays I took a trip to the Bobbi Brown counter at John Lewis and decided to get matched up for their creamy under-eye corrector which I had heard lovely things about.

♡ Why I love it ♡

Neutralises under-eye darkness- perfect for my early wake-ups!

Longer wearing formula that brightens too

Can use alone without concealer as colour (Light Bisque) is a really good match for my skin tone

Bobbi Brown Eye Blender

 

While I was at Bobbi Brown I decided to get this eye blender brush to apply setting powder over concealer and around my nose. It was a bit of a splurge impulse buy and there are other cheaper alternatives on the market like the Bdellium Tools tapered blending brush which will do a similar job! 

Hope you enjoyed looking at the products that I have been loving this month!

Thanks for reading!