April Favourites

Andrew Barton SOS Help Me! Treatment Mask
My hair is constantly in need of some moisture so I often use hair masks instead of regular conditioner. I spotted this Andrew Barton one in Asda the other week & thought I would give it a go. It only cost about £3 but it's one of the best hair masks I've ever used! The main ingredients are argan oil & shea butter which really help to moisturise & nourish the hair. It gives my hair exceptional softness & shine. Even Andy noticed how much better my hair looked after using it so it's gotta be good! The best part though is the delicious vanilla caramel scent. It smells just like birthday cake & the scent lingers in your hair all day long. I also bought the leave in conditioner spray for Chloe & she loves it too! I'm definitely gonna buy some more of this range next time we go food shopping.

Sarah Chapman Overnight Facial
Overnight Facial is such an incredible face oil. It supposedly mimics the effects of one of Sarah Chapman's signature Skinesis facials. Simply massage one pump of the oil into your face in place of your regular night cream & be prepared to wake up with younger, smoother, more radiant looking skin. It will literally transform your skin overnight. It has a lovely herbal scent & helps me to relax before bed too. What I really like about Sarah Chapman's products is that they combine scientifically proven active ingredients with natural botanical extracts. You get the best of both worlds in one product & the results are visible from the very first use. The only major downside is the price as £46 will only get you a teeny tiny 15ml of product. It's totally worth saving up for though!

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation
I'm a bit late to the party on this one because everyone started raving about this foundation over three years ago! The trouble was, as with pretty much every drugstore foundation, that Rimmel didn't actually make a shade light enough for my skin. However last year they finally added 010 Light Porcelain into the mix & as a result I've finally found a drugstore foundation that I love! Wake Me Up Foundation offers medium coverage & contains illuminating particles that really perk up the skin. It has a fresh looking dewy finish that really does make you look more awake. The foundation feels hydrating on the skin & is comfortable to wear. A lovely addition to this product is vitamin C which can help to brighten your skin & ward off wrinkles. Light Porcelain is very fair in colour & has a cool pink undertone which makes a nice change to all the super yellow foundations that you normally find in Boots. The staying power isn't as quite good as my high end foundations but for £8.99 it does the job very well!

Claudia Louch Mineral Loose Powder*
I'm a huge fan of Claudia Louch's botanical skincare range so I was really pleased to find that her makeup products are just as brilliant. The Mineral Loose Powder is a skin perfecting setting powder that gives your foundation the most beautiful satin finish. It kinda reminds me of things like the MAC Mineralise Skinfinish Natural or the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders. It helps to set your base & airbrushes the skin at the same time. The powder is very finely milled & blends really well. It evens out my complexion & makes my pores look invisible. I love how it instantly brightens up my face & gives me that 'lit from within' look. The addition of jojoba oil also helps to keep blemishes at bay so this would be an excellent powder for anyone with intolerant skin.

Illamasqua Precision Gel Liner
When I first started wearing eyeliner I loved using gels. My MAC & Bobbi Brown ones kept drying up really quickly though so I kinda gave up on them and made the switch to liquid liner. However a few months ago I bought the Precision Gel Liner from Illamasqua & my love for gels has been rekindled. People tend to associate Illamasqua with really crazy colours but they do the basics extremely well. The formula of this gel liner is wonderfully smooth, rich & creamy. It's so pigmented & opaque plus it stays put all day long. It really glides along your lash line & feels like a dream to use. This is easily one of the best gel liners you will ever come across.

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Sarah Chapman Overnight Facial & Intense Hydrating Booster

Sarah Chapman Overnight Facial / Sarah Chapman Intense Hydrating Booster

I'd been wanting to add some Sarah Chapman products into my skincare routine for absolutely ages. For the uninitiated, Sarah Chapman is a world-renowned skincare expert with over twenty years of experience in cosmetic science. Her skin pefecting facials are loved by A-list celebrities everywhere with their combination of special massage techniques, innovative potent ingredients & cutting-edge technology. Back in 2008 she brought out her own skincare range called Skinesis which promised to deliver the same results as her super luxurious facials by combining the most advanced active ingredients with powerful botanical extracts. I'm normally more than happy to invest in products that my skin can really benefit from but for the amount of product you get, the Skinesis range is astronomically expensive. Luckily I managed to snap up a couple of her products a few months ago in the FeelUnique sale where they were a little more reasonably priced. I'm not quite sure why it's taken me so long to write this review because I started seeing positive results from day one. My skin has never been happier since introducing it to Sarah Chapman & in my mind that makes these products wholly worth the money.

You've probably already heard lots of good things about Overnight Facial which is, undoubtedly, Sarah Chapman's most famous product. The name alone makes it incredibly appealing and just one use of this wonder oil will have you hooked. One pump is all you need for the most radiant, healthy looking glow your skin will ever have. This oil is intended to be used in place of your regular night cream. It moisturises & refines the skin without feeling greasy or heavy. I don't have to worry about half of it rubbing off on my pillow either, the formula is simply wonderful. There are so many amazing ingredients packed into this little bottle! The oil is a potent cocktail of vitamins, peptides, omega oils, skin brighteners, jasmine & rose. It makes my skin feel utterly baby soft & no matter how knackered you feel the next morning, you'll look like you definitely got your beauty sleep. It completely rejuvenates my whole complexion & is a huge confidence booster. There's nothing better for younger, brighter & dewier looking skin.

I should probably mention that Overnight Facial has a very strong herbal scent & it's something that you'll either love or hate. I think it smells quite nice actually but something so highly fragranced might not be the best for those with very sensitive skin. Overnight Facial isn't something I use every day as this product feels like such a special treat & I want it to last for as long as possible. Most nights I tend to stick to my Claudia Louch Botanical Face Cream. What can I say? I love me some high performance luxury skincare products! I also own the Sarah Chapman Facialift Massager and these two products work beautifully together. The massaging nodules just feel oh so good in combination with the oil & it helps to firm up the skin, keeping my many chins in check.

However if you can only afford to splurge on one of Sarah Chapman's products I would definitely recommend buying the Intense Hydrating Booster. My favourite kind of serums are ones with hyaluronic acid in them & this product is the crème de la crème. Whereas things like Hydraluron can get quite sticky in texture, this booster serum feels silky smooth no matter how much you apply. This product comes with a pipette applicator so you don't have to waste a single drop. I normally apply about five drops, one for each area of my face, before gently massaging it into my skin. You can use it day and night, layered under your regular moisturiser or Overnight Facial. As well as hyaluronic acid, this serum contains moisture magnets & rosewater. It has a thin watery texture that thirsty skin will immediately drink up. It visibly plumps up the skin & rehydrates it too. I find that it really helps my blemishes to clear up faster & keeps redness at bay. It balances out my skin type & makes my face feel fresher throughout the day. The Intense Hydrating Booster will fit nicely into any skincare routine & it's the kind of thing that everyone can benefit from. It's basically the perfect serum for soothing stressed & dehydrated skin.

Have you tried any Sarah Chapman products?

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January Favourites

Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm in Sultry
I would have to say that these Revlon chubby lipstick pencils are my favourite drugstore lip products. I really liked both the Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains & the ColorBurst Lacquer Balms but at the minute I'm really into matte lips. They tend to last a lot longer throughout the day and they never transfer onto my wonky teeth which is always a hazard with any other kind of bright lipstick. I decided to get one of the Matte Balms in the shade Sultry & I couldn't be any happier with it. I'd been wanting to add some deep berry shades to my collection but sometimes they can look a bit harsh for everyday wear. Sultry is basically the perfect Winter berry lipstick for me. This colour is a dark pink with brown & plum tones. However on my light complexion it transforms into a rich burgundy shade. It's vampy without looking too gothic & it has a soft velvety finish that doesn't look flat. It doesn't feel heavy or dry out my lips either as it features a triple butter complex of shea, mango & coconut butters. I'm completely obsessed with this colour & I've pretty much been wearing it non-stop since I bought it.

Charlotte Tilbury Wonderglow Primer
My favourites list for this month could've easily been made up of just Charlotte Tilbury products. The obsession is real! After getting tons of her products for Christmas I actually went out and bought some more. This time I got a few of her base products and I've been particularly impressed by the Wonderglow primer. This product is a peach-toned liquid illuminator that instantly perks up dull skin. It can be used underneath your foundation to give you that lit from within look, on top of foundation as a traditional liquid highlighter or on it's own as a quick pick me up for the skin. The finish is quite sparkly so if you're not a fan of glitter then you might wanna give it a miss. I like to use Wonderglow as a primer before foundation because it has loads of amazing skin benefits. It feels really light on the skin whilst still delivering a hefty dose of hydration. I love how beautiful & radiant it makes my skin look. It really is an incredible product!

The Pro Hygiene Collection Antibacterial Makeup Spray
I have terrible hoarding tendencies & I like to hang onto my makeup products a little longer than I probably should do. I figure that if the smell, texture & function of the product remain the same as when you first purchased it then it's a bit of a waste to get rid of it. The main thing to consider is bacteria growth. This wonderful antibacterial spray from The Pro Hygiene Collection will remove 99.99% of bacteria from your cosmetics & doesn't affect the products in any other way. Thanks to this product I've been able to keep hold of all my old favourite powders, blushers & eyeshadows without fear of giving myself spots or eye infections. Just spray it on something once, wait for it to dry and you're good to go. It will also inhibit future bacteria growth on anything you use it on so it's a really good way of keeping all your products clean & sanitary.

Sarah Chapman Intense Hydrating Booster
My favourite kind of serums are ones that contain hyaluronic acid. It all started with Hydraluron and the obsession went on from there. I'd been wanting to try some Sarah Chapman products for ages & when I spotted her Intense Hydrating Booster in the Feel Unique sale I knew it was time for a splurge. I'm so glad I bought it because this is one of those products where your skin looks 100x better from the first time you use it. It has a light watery consistency and feels really silky & comforting on the skin. My complexion instantly looks brighter & plumper when I use it. This product deeply hydrates the skin & makes it feel super soft. It has fast become my favourite hyaluronic acid-based serum & words cannot express how brilliant it truly is.

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NC15
It's been quite a while since I've bought a MAC base product. Back in the day I tried out all of their foundations before realising that they oxidised really badly on my skin & always broke me out. But I've been hearing so many good things about their Pro Longwear Concealer, mainly that it doesn't crease around the eyes which is really important to me. I decided to get it in NC15 & I am completely loving it! It feels lightweight despite it's long lasting nature & extremely high coverage. It doesn't crease on me at all & it also works well as an eyeshadow base. The packaging makes it a little awkward to use but I appreciate how hygienic the pump is. It works well under the eyes as well as on blemishes without ever looking cakey. Pro Longwear is definitely my favourite out of all the MAC concealers & I can't recommend it enough!

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Christmas Presents

Charlotte Tilbury Makeup
What can I say? I've gone a bit Charlotte Tilbury crazy lately! I guess it's because it took so long for a counter to open up North and as soon as I visited one I was instantly hooked. Everything is just too pretty! I've wanted the Filmstar Bronze & Glow for ages so I got that with the Powder & Sculpt brush. I've really gotten into contouring lately & that sculpt shade looks gorgeous. I also purchased the limited edition Fallen Angel eyeshadow palette which is absolutely stunning. The buttery soft texture makes these a dream to apply & blend. They are super pigmented and have a wet to dry formula so you can amp up the colour even further. I'm a blush fiend so I got the Cheek To Chic Love Glow blusher. It's a soft peachy pink with a beautiful golden shimmer running through it. I also got the Rock 'N' Kohl eye pencil in Bedroom Black. The texture of this is fantastic, it glides on and stays put all day. I've heard so many good things about her lip products so I bought the Pillow Talk lip pencil & Bitch Perfect lipstick. Nude pink perfection! I love everything I got & I've already started planning my next Charlotte Tilbury purchases. I'm even considering replacing most of my makeup with her products. This is gonna be an expensive addiction!





Makeup Brushes
Illamasqua make some amazing makeup brushes. I bought their Highlighter Brush a few months ago & now I use it every day to apply my foundation. It makes my base look flawless. I saw this cute mini brush set on their website which comes with a little makeup bag & thought it be great to travel with. The brushes feel so soft & I'm so happy I finally got my hands on one of their Angled Brushes as I've been on the waiting list for it for months! I still love my Real Techniques brushes & really liked the look of the Nic's Picks set. Plus it was only £20 in Superdrug so I thought I'd treat myself! I especially like the two face brushes as they'll be great for bronzer & blusher.



Caudalie Products
My friend got me this cute set of miniature Caudalie products including a shower gel, body lotion, hand cream & Divine Oil. Caudalie remain one of my favourite skincare brands so I'm always excited to try some more of their products. You can never have too many bottles of Divine Oil! The pattern inside the bag is really cute too.




Sarah Chapman Facialift Massager
I didn't show anyone in my family my Sarah Chapman wishlist nor did I even mention any of her products to anyone & yet my mum got me this facial massager! Is she psychic or what? I'm really pleased with this as I have the worst double chin ever. Even at my thinnest it still didn't look great. I'm sure I'll have gained a few more after Christmas too! This scary looking contraption is supposed to help tone your face, reducing puffiness & sagging. I'm gonna roll it over my jaw every night & hopefully it'll get rid of my many chins. I gave it a quick go earlier & it definitely packs a punch. Despite it's appearance it actually feels really relaxing to use.




GlamGlow Masks
Although I wasn't a huge fan of GlamGlow Youthmud, earlier this year I fell completely in love with their Supermud. For Christmas I got a cute mask sample set as well as Brightmud Eye Treatment & Powermud Dualcleanse Treatment. I love trying out new face masks & I can't wait to give these a go!



NutriBullet
My family bought me this at the beginning of December & said it was my Christmas gift. I think they're paranoid things won't arrive in time for some reason! I've been using it a lot & it's such a cool blender. I've always loved making smoothies but I hate washing everything up afterwards. The NutriBullet makes the whole process a lot easier as you blend & drink everything in the same cup so there's only one thing to wash up when you're done. It came with some of their Superboost powder & a huge book of recipes. I normally go for kale, banana, pineapple, coconut water & chia seeds. I think I might start drinking two NutriBlasts a day to kickstart my fitness regime in 2015. I highly recommend getting one of these, they're simply amazing!



iPhone 6
This is another present that I got at the start of December but that's just because my phone contract had expired. I was desperate to upgrade from my iPhone 5 because of the 128GB capacity of the iPhone 6. I have a huge iTunes library of about 9000 songs and there just wasn't room for even half of them on my old phone along with all my photos, videos, apps etc. Now I can fit everything on with ease & I love how thin the phone is. I wish it was slightly smaller though as it no longer fits in my bag zip pocket! There aren't many nice cases out for the iPhone 6 yet so I just got this pink gel case from eBay. It was only £3 but it seems to do a decent job of protecting it from scratches. Anyway I think the iPhone 6 is an incredible phone & it's definitely worth upgrading to.

I had a really great Christmas this year. I got such lovely presents & we all had lots of fun on the day. Andy didn't get me a material gift but he's booked a little trip for us next month so I'm really looking forward to that! Christmas dinner was totally delicious, if I do say so myself haha. We got Chloe so many presents this year and pretty much all of them were My Little Pony related. She was really happy to get some more of the Equestria Girls dolls & we all played My Little Pony Monopoly Junior. I'm glad she's at that age where we can play games that are enjoyable for adults too. The day didn't drag on like usual as we were just so busy having fun. I hope you all had a brilliant Christmas & got everything you wished for! If you've done a Christmas presents post then please feel free to link it in the comments below as I would love to see it!

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All I Want For Christmas Is... Sarah Chapman

Ultimate Cleanse / Morning Facial / Overnight Facial / Intense Hydrating Booster
Overnight Exfoliating Booster / Professional Cleansing Mitts / Overnight Facial Candle

Normally I have no qualms about splashing out on skincare. I think it's important to invest in good quality products in order to see the best possible results. However I just can't bring myself to press 'buy' on any of the Sarah Chapman products. The prices literally make me cringe when I see everything together in an online shopping basket. Her Skinesis range sounds phenomenal and I'm absolutely desperate to try some of these über-luxurious skincare treats. But I do already have a lot of skincare products & can't really justify spending so much money on more when I still have so many things to use up. That's why this year half of my Christmas wishlist is made up entirely of Sarah Chapman products. I seriously doubt I will receive any of these items but a girl can dream!

Obviously the product that I would like to try the most is the Skinesis Overnight Facial. It's a serum-oil that you use in place of a night cream. I've heard so much about this potent blend of beautifying oils & it sounds like it works wonders on the skin. You can also get a candle with the same fragrance blend as Overnight Facial. I've never smelled it myself but the combination of jasmine, frangipani, rose & tuberose sounds heavenly! Morning Facial is another serum-oil but this one is used under your day cream. Anything that can make my face look glowing & less tired is very welcome in my routine. I've always loved products with hyaluronic acid so I'm sure the Intense Hydrating Booster would help to plump up my dehydrated skin. The Overnight Exfoliating Booster also sounds pretty awesome. It contains salicylic acid, lactic acid & retinol which are ingredients that I always look for in skincare. Chemical exfoliants are my fave! These days I much prefer using a gentle cleanser to balance out the harsher active ingredients that I rely on for clear skin. That's why I really want to try the Ultimate Cleanse. It's an oily balm formula that supposedly leaves your skin feeling baby soft. Washing it off with those Professional Cleansing Mitts would be a rather lavish way to start the day. Are there any Sarah Chapman products on your Christmas wishlist?

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