February Favourites

Heimish All Clean Balm
Double cleansing is such an essential part of my skincare routine. I use sun protection every day regardless of whether I'm wearing makeup or not so it's the only way to ensure that everything has been properly removed before I go to sleep. It's been quite a while since I last used a cleansing balm but the more I heard about Heimish's All Clean Balm, the more I knew that I needed to give it a go. In this beautifully designed tub you get 120ml of thick, white cleansing balm & a little spatula to hygienically scoop out the perfect amount of product. All Clean Balm undergoes a three step transformation from a balm, then to an oil & finally to a cleansing milk. This allows it to get rid of every last trace of makeup without leaving any residue on the skin. The balm is really gentle & has a lovely herbal scent. It doesn't sting my eyes or blur my vision at all. It's basically a dupe for Banila Co Clean It Zero but with better ingredients, a natural fragrance & more product for your money.

Pixi Retinol Tonic
Retinol is a wonderful skincare ingredient with the power to combat both acne & wrinkles. The trouble is finding a formula that your skin can tolerate & a product that doesn't cost the earth. I normally use The Ordinary's Advanced Retinoid 2% but I fancied trying out Pixi's Retinol Tonic as their toners tend to be pretty darn good. This toner features a unique time-release retinol that helps to smooth & soften the skin alongside powerful antioxidants & botanicals to soothe sensitive skin. I do wish Pixi would tell us the percentage of retinol they use in this formula but I'm guessing it's fairly low as the toner is gentle enough to use every day without irritation. It has a faint scent of lavender & feels very refreshing on the skin so I find it really pleasant to use. The formula is quite hydrating as it hasn't dried out my skin at all & that's something you have to be careful of when introducing retinol into your skincare routine. My skin has been looking really smooth & bright lately as this toner has helped to plump up any fine lines & fade hyperpigmentation. I enjoy using this every day as a gentle retinol solution because using something hardcore can often be a mistake. If you've never tried a retinol product before then this would be a great way to start.

Color Wow Dream Coat Supernatural Spray
I first heard of this product back when Kim Kardashian bleached her hair white blonde. Her hairstylist, Chris Appleton, said that Dream Coat was his secret weapon for fighting frizz & keeping her hair looking super sleek. As a result, Color Wow couldn't keep it in stock but luckily I managed to snag one of Marks & Spencer's beauty boxes with a deluxe sample bottle inside. This innovative spray coats each hair with a heat-activated waterproof shield that locks the cuticle down & seals in moisture whilst stopping humidity from wreaking havoc. It's almost like a raincoat for your hair! The product feels really lightweight & gives your hair the most incredible shine without making it look or feel greasy at all. I generally like my hair to look sleek & polished so this has been my go-to product to spritz on before a blow dry. I'm obsessed with how beautifully glossy it makes my hair look as the shine is simply unreal. I'll definitely be repurchasing this wonder hair product to protect my locks from the great British weather!

Jordana Ticia Cosmetics Lipgloss in BonBon
Recently I've found myself gravitating towards lipglosses again instead of matte lipsticks. I went off them for a while because I don't like having to touch up my makeup & my hair always gets stuck in them. It's so much easier to pop on a matte liquid lipstick & forget about it because you know it'll still be there eight hours later. But glosses just look so pretty! I love these ones from Jordana Ticia Cosmetics because unlike other lipglosses they are ultra pigmented & stay put for hours. They have a creamy texture with no tackiness & provide a high shine finish. They're also vegan, cruelty-free & have the most deliciously sweet scent. I have eight of them but BonBon is currently my favourite colour. It's such a pretty soft pink shade. The high pigmentation means that you don't have to wear a lipstick underneath but I love pairing it with one of my Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheats for some extra definition. The colour of BonBon is very close to Pillow Talk so I either use that or Supersize Me if I want something a tiny bit darker around the edges. I feel like lipgloss is coming back in a big way & these ones are some of the best I've tried!

Peaches & Cream Loose Eyeshadow Pigment in Gatsby
Peaches & Cream are a Liverpool-based beauty salon who have created their own fabulous range of makeup. Their products are extremely popular with Instagram MUAs & they are probably best known for their brilliant loose eyeshadow pigments. I actually used to be quite scared of using pigments because I tend to hate anything messy but this brand has completely changed my mind. As long as you use a good primer & the right kind of brush, pigments are really easy to use & you can create some truly spectacular looks with them. You simply can't achieve the same finish with regular eyeshadows & their loose pigments are all about the glamour. One of their most popular shades is Gatsby which is an ultra fine, pale champagne gold sparkle. It's utterly gorgeous on the eye & instantly adds a bit of gold glam to any look. I love doing a cut crease with Gatsby on the lid, the colour is incredibly versatile & goes well with so many other eyeshadows. Loose pigments might be a bit messy but they really do take your makeup to the next level.

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October Favourites

Jordana Ticia Cosmetics Base & Sparkle in Stargazer
I have well & truly fallen down the rabbit hole of Instagram beauty brands. When you start following loads of Manchester-based makeup artists you'll notice that a lot of them use products from the same few brands & one that kept popping up in some of the most glam pics I came across was Jordana Ticia Cosmetics. They mainly sell lip products but Base & Sparkle is easily their best product. I've started favouring loose pigments over pressed eyeshadows for when I want something really pretty on the lid & I am completely obsessed with this easy to use eye duo. You simply apply the metallic cream eyeshadow base onto the lid with a flat eyeshadow brush like a MAC 242 & then pat the pigment over the top. Together they create the most beautiful, high shine effect on the eyes. Base & Sparkle comes in four different shades but Stargazer is definitely my favourite out of the bunch. It's a gorgeous soft sparkling gold that instantly adds a bit of glam to any eye look.

Doll Beauty Doll Light Highlighter in Like A Diamond
Another brand that I discovered via Instagram is Doll Beauty. They are probably best known for their incredible false lashes but their highlighters are absolutely stunning! They do a couple of different shades that I often combine for a blinding effect but if I could only buy one it'd be Like A Diamond. It's a bit lighter than Shine Bright so it's better suited to my skin tone & makes my cheekbones glow like nothing else. It looks super smooth on the skin & shimmers without being glittery or highlighting texture. I find that it works best if I apply it after spritzing some MAC Fix+ over my face as this amps up the pigmentation even more & allows the powder to really melt into my skin. I've been a fan of theBalm's Mary-Lou Manizer for the longest time & this is the only powder highlighter I've found that has managed to surpass it's power whilst matching the pale yellow undertone. It's such a beautiful product & if you like your highlighters on the blinding side, then this is the one for you.

The Ordinary Ascorbic Acid 8% + Alpha Arbutin 2%
We all know how much I love The Ordinary but when I tried one of their earliest Vitamin C formulations, I wasn't too impressed. It had a gritty texture which was cosmetically inelegant & made it generally unpleasant to use. They have since released various other forms of Vitamin C & I decided to take a chance on their Ascorbic Acid 8% + Alpha Arbutin 2%. I went through a whole bottle of their Alpha Arbutin 2% + HA & was really impressed with how quickly it faded my post-blemish scarring. By combining it with Ascorbic Acid they've created a super-charged serum that reduces the signs of aging & lightens hyperpigmentation as well as brightening & evening out the skin tone. The texture is lovely to use, there's no stickiness, greasiness or grittiness. The propanediol base makes it feel perfectly smooth on the skin but it still absorbs quickly. I starting seeing results after about a week & it's managed to lighten my scarring even faster than the Alpha Arbutin alone. My complexion looks much brighter & fresher now, I'm really happy with the way my skin looks since I started using this product every morning. This powerful combo of ingredients is pure genius & definitely worth adding to your skincare routine.

Bali Balm Lip Balm in Bergamot & Grapefruit*
Winter weather calls for a hardcore lip balm & this year my product of choice comes from Bali Balm. This luxury vegan lip balm is incredibly moisturising due to the fantastic blend of coconut oil, castor seed oil, kukui nut oil & candelilla wax. It instantly makes my lips feel soothed & hydrated which is exactly what you need at this time of year. This intensive lip treatment will shield your skin from the elements & will stay on your lips for hours. The rich formula contains active botanicals that are high in antioxidants & boast antibacterial properties. One of the best things about this lip balm is the bespoke flavour. Bergamot & Grapefruit is a wonderfully potent combination. The bergamot provides the soothing familiarity found in Earl Grey tea whilst you get bittersweet citrusy notes from the floral grapefruit. These ingredients give the lip balm a clean, crisp & fruity taste. Bali Balm are a really eco-friendly brand. Not only are their products vegan & cruelty-free, you can also send your packaging back to them for recycling once you've finished with the lip balm. Beauty products must generate a huge amount of plastic waste so it's great to find a brand that are so dedicated to minimising their environmental impact.

MAC Jamie Genevieve Lipstick
Jamie Genevieve is one of my favourite YouTubers of all time. She's such a beautiful person, inside & out. I love watching her full beat makeup tutorials as well as her weekly vlogs with Jack & Drogba. In terms of makeup Jamie is probably best known for her blinding glow, dark smokes & nude lips so it made perfect sense when she announced that her collaboration with MAC would be the ultimate nude lipstick. I went out to Selfridges in Manchester & bought it immediately. The lipstick is a medium beige with warm yellow undertones & it has a satin finish. Obviously as Jamie is really tanned it's a nude on her but it looks brown on me. I still really like the colour though as it's hard to find true beige lipsticks without any hint of pink. I love how Jamie always wears a darker lip liner & I think that her lipstick looks best with MAC Stripdown. I hope she comes out with more collabs soon as I'm pretty sure I'd buy anything she brings out. I recently picked up her Tired Girl Club t-shirt & it's one of the comfiest tops I own!

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