PAPERCHASE HAUL

So this is the story of how Paperchase lured me into their shop by putting all things cat directly by the entrance...it was literally like human catnip for my crazy cat lady self!

GEEK KITTY COLLECTION

 Now I could have probably bought the lot but instead I opted for a few select pieces from this delightful collection. It was difficult to pick as there is so much that I "need" but in the end I went for a few stationary bits and a cute little mug.

Look at it all! Ahhhh!

You know it's all about the cats, about the cats....

Geek Kitty Mug in Box £6.00

Geek Kitty Fold-out Sticky Notes £3.50

Geek Kitty Pass Case £5.00

Geek Kitty Gel Pens £4.00

Geek Kitty Cat Highlighters £3.50

This collection is new for spring and should be available in store but you can get some bits online.

Have you purchased anything from this wonderful collection?

♡ JANUARY FAVES ♡

During the month of January I have been mainly loving old favourites that I had forgotten about like Benefit's Rockateur blush and Clinique's Instant Lift for Brows as well as some constant faves like my beloved Sephora Jumbo Liner in Beige Glitter. 

Custom MAC Palette- Dazzlelight & All that Glitters

I've really been enjoying using these two colours together and it has been my go-to everyday palette. I use Dazzlelight all over the lid as a base and then apply All that Glitters in the crease and outer corner of the eye to add definition and create a neutral "smokey" eye look.

Sephora Jumbo Liner in 20 Beige Glitter

This eye pencil has been a favourite of mine for 2 years and I am just about to start my third one. It is a beautiful champagne gold colour with shimmer and I use it to line my lower eyelids, the inner corner of my eye and also along the top lash line. Paired with the aforementioned MAC eye shadows it creates my favourite eye look. It glides on effortlessly and lasts all day long. 

Clinique Instant Lift for Brows in 02 Soft Brown 

I first got this last December during a Sephora spree in Las Vegas and although I used it for a few months it somehow got forgotten about and substituted for Benefit's Instant Brow Pencil. I'd forgotten how practical this is with the brow colour on one end and a lovely champagne highlighter on the other. This one is particularly good for travel as you get two products in one. 

Benefit Rockateur

This is another forgotten gem that I have really gotten back into. It is a beautiful rose gold blush which seems to really warm up my complexion and almost acts like bronzer. Without this I tend to look a bit dead in the face department but this injects some life back into my skin. 

MAC Lustre Lipstick in Sophisto 

My go-to lipstick for the past few weeks has been MAC's Sophisto which is described as "dewy plum rose with gold". This is one that looks scary in the bullet but on the lips it looks lovely. 

Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream Lip Protectant Stick SPF15

I have been using this lip balm every evening before bed to hydrate my lips and keep them super soft. I also pop it on before I do my make-up and by the time I'm finished my lips prepped for whatever lipstick I choose to put on.

There you have it the make-up bits that I have been loving during the past month.

Are any of these your favourite too?

REAL TECHNIQUES BOLD METALS

As an avid collector of real techniques brushes (I have 19 of them) I was super excited when I read about the Bold Metals collection and instantly knew that a few of them would need to be mine!

After reading about each brush I decided on the following 3 to get me started: 

101 TRIANGLE FOUNDATION

This innovative brush has a flat side which applies foundation quickly over a large surface area and then it becomes angled on the other side. This angled edge allows you to get into all the smaller contours of the face like around the nose and under the eyes.

200 OVAL SHADOW

This is a large eyeshadow brush which can easily apply base colour over the lid in one motion. It's super soft, dense and picks up product really well. The tapered edges allows the brush to gently blend the eyeshadow for a seamless look.

201 POINTED CREASE 

This was the one that I was excited about as I love a good crease brush! This one is like no other that I own as it is large and densely packed. It easily picks up shadow and blends it into the crease beautifully. Paired with the 200 oval shadow brush this will create a beautiful smokey eye with minimal effort.

In total there are 7 brushes in the collection:

100 Arched Powder £25.00

101 Triangle Foundation £22.00

200 Oval Shadow £15.00

201 Pointed Crease £12.00

202 Angled Liner £10.00

300 Tapered Blush £24.00

301 Flat Contour £22.00

These brushes are currently exclusive to Boots stores in the UK and they will be released to all other retailers later this week. The bold metals collection is a bit pricier than the Real Techniques core brushes and I can see why. They feel more luxurious with the tapered metal handles and they look stunning on the dressing table!
No doubt there will be more brushes added to this collection as they have been really popular and keep selling out although I have found that Boots online have been quite good at re-stocking. 
 
Have you tried any of these brushes?
What type of brush would you like to see from Real Techniques in the future?

MANI MONDAY- ALEXA CASHMERE PINK

My nails had a little break over the past week after having them in glitter all through December and well into the new year so all I had on was a base coat.

This is a more muted nail look with no jazzyness created by the Alexa Cashmere Pink which I got in a set at Christmas. I like this colour more than I expected and it went on really smoothly- this my first experience of the new bottle and brush design and so far all I love it (apart from the elevated price)!
The polish dried with a slight texture which I suppose is meant to resemble a cashmere jumper.

Products used:

Orly Color Care Argan Cuticle Oil £10.00

 Nourishes and hydrates the nails and cuticles.

Nails Inc Hyde Park Base Coat £12.00

This base is for weak, peeling and bendy nails.

Nails Inc Alexa Cashmere Pink £15.00

A soft pearly pink polish.

I must say that I am super impressed with my nail painting this time and I have nearly mastered applying polish without getting it all over my cuticles! Hurray for Youtube tutorials!

 Thanks for reading my #manimonday!

NEW SKINCARE ROUTINE

Hello and firstly let me apologise for the lack of posting over the past month...I've been feeling a little lazy and needed a complete break from everything as December was a hard month in my day job! I'm hoping that I will be a little bit better from now on so lets gets started with a new skincare routine! :)

It's the time of the year when I feel that skincare takes a little bit more priority as the cold weather seems to do strange things to my skin! My last skincare post was in August where I went through all the goodies that I was using at the time. You can find a link to this here!

Recently my skin has been going through some up and downs. I have annoying combination/ oily skin which tends to be super shiny and dry all at the same time! During the winter months my skin feels particularly sensitive to the elements so I decided to try out some new cleaners and moisturisers. After doing some research I decided to give Liz Earle products a go and I wanted to share my thoughts on it all.

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish

The first step in the Liz Earle cleansing routine is to use their "Hot Cloth Cleanser". This is a cream formula which is plant based and contains eucalyptus and cocoa butter.
I massage this all over my face after I have removed my make up, although they claim that this can remove every scrap of make up too. Personally I prefer to remove it beforehand and then apply the product. Step 2 is to take the muslin cloth that comes with the cleanser and wet it using hot water, then ring it out. You then "polish" off the cream using the damp warm cloth which gently exfoliates the skin and removes the cream before splashing the face with some cold water.
In the beginning I thought I wasn't going to like this two step malarkey as it takes a bit longer but now I quit enjoy the cloth part and it only adds about a minute extra to my routine. 

Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic

The next step is to apply the "Instant Boost Skin Tonic". This is a beautifully smelling alcohol-free toner containing aloe vera, cucumber and vitamin E. I love it as it doesn't irritate my skin at all and leaves it super soft and not tight like other toners that I have used in the past.
I apply a small amount onto a cotton wool ball and sweep it over my face before moisturising.

Liz Earle Skin Repair Light Moisturiser Combination/ Oily

The last step is to moisturise using the "Skin Repair Light Moisturiser". This contains a blend of naturally active ingredients like avocado oil and natural vitamin E to protect skin against dryness. Personally I only use this moisturiser in the evening as I found it a bit too heavy for the daytime and I feel that it doesn't do enough to tackle the oiliness in my t-zone. In the evening I don't mind it as it leaves my skin feeling really comfortable and moisturised.

La Roche- Posay Effaclar Mat 

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Mat has become my morning moisturiser as it hydrates and then mattifies the skin providing a good base to pop make-up on top of.
This French brand makes products for sensitive skin so my face doesn't feel too irritated after I apply it and what I like about it is that it feels nice and light on the skin.
I am still looking out for the prefect moisturiser for my combination skin and I will probably try out a few more during the coming months.

Bobbi Brown Eye Cream

I feel in love with this hydrating eye cream after getting a small sample in a Bobbi Brown online order. It feels really luxurious and does what it claims! It definitely hydrates and I use this in the evening before bed and in the morning. It makes concealer go on like a dream and as an ageing human I hope that it will help keep the under eye bags under control. This product is super expensive and I was lucky enough be have been given a Westfield gift card for my birthday which I used to purchase this. Although pricey a little does go a long way so I think that it will last for months.

I got the Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser and Skin Boots Tonic in a gift set pack as well as a smaller 50ml Hot Cloth Cleanser for travel purposes.
These products are available in larger boots stores and good department stores like John Lewis.

Have you tried any of these products out?  I would love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks for reading!