Happy New Year | Favourites of 2015

2015 was definitely a year with major ups and downs for me but after a little social media detox I'm so excited to be back here and blogging again for 2016! As far as beauty products are concerned it was a year of so many amazing discoveries. My obsession with bareMinerals products reached new heights, I rediscovered Lush and I'm completely in love with the store again and I finally found a few holy grail skincare items that I honestly can't imagine living without. So, before I start to ramble on like I always tend to do (some things will never change!) let's get started with my makeup favourites of 2015.

Summer Nail Polishes Collab with Anjna!

It finally feels like Summer! Exams are over, the weather in the UK is so close to reaching 20 degrees and everybody is hopping on a plane to go on holiday. The lovely Anjna, who I've know from the very start of blogging, messaged me the other day and asked if I wanted to write a collab post about our favourite Summer nail polishes and I thought it would be a lovely way to kick-start a series of summer themed posts! I'll be focusing on polishes I've found work well with fair skin and Anjna's post, which I'll link here when it's been posted, will be discussing polishes that work well on tanned/darker skin.

The Classic Red Lip

(Left to Right: Rimmel Apocalips in Big Bang, Mac On Hold, Bobbi Brown Hollywood Red)

Lip products are my weakness, especially red ones. I've loved the classic red lip look for as long as I can remember, I think one of the first lip products I ever bought was a sparkly red lipgloss from Rimmel and whenever I put it on I truly felt like a grown up. There's something so chic, so feminine and so elegant about red lipstick and I thought it was about time I dedicated a blog post to my favourite lip colour!

Shamefully, I have yet to try Mac's Ruby Woo (America's best selling lipstick of 2013 apparently!) which is terrible considering I'm a self-confessed red lipstick addict. My favourite everyday red lipstick, however, is also by Mac. On Hold, a Cremesheen, is not as classic as Ruby Woo but it's a beautiful alternative for a more subtle, casual look. It has a slightly pinker, raspberry tone which tends to make it more wearable if you're not feeling that bold and it has amazing staying power! However, if I do feel like making a statement one day I always reach for Big Bang, a super vibrant red shade from Rimmel's Apocalips line. I've mentioned the Apocalips line before here and here and I really can not praise Rimmel enough for how pigmented and long lasting this line is. Big Bang is the ultimate classic red shade and I like to use a lip brush to apply this for accurate results. My final favourite is a product I tend to gravitate towards when I'm going somewhere fancy, such as dinner or an important event. Bobbi Brown's Hollywood Red lipgloss is, out of all my red lip products, probably my favourite. It really does remind me of old Hollywood stars like Marylin and Audrey and it leaves a lovely shine on the lips. It's such an opaque gloss and it's actually quite difficult to get off so you certainly don't need to worry about it fading throughout the night.

What are your favourite red lip products? I'd love to know in the comments below!

Current Favourite Lipsticks

(Left to Right: Rimmel Apocalips in Apocalyptic, Mac Up the Amp, Calvin Klein Delicious Luxury Creme Lipstick in Henna)

I have a confession to make... I'm a little bit obsessed with buying lipstick. I can't help myself, whenever I'm near a make-up counter I always gravitate towards the lipstick section. So, the other month I sat down with my collection of lipsticks and I had a huge sort out. It was painful but definitely worth it, you wouldn't believe how many rose coloured lipsticks I had! Anyway, during this process I discovered some hidden gems that had found their way to the back of my collection and now I can't stop reaching for them!

My favourite alternative to a statement red lip is currently Rimmel Apocalips in the hot pink shade Apocalyptic. I've mentioned the Apocalips before in my Festival Beauty Essentials post and I have 4 in total. I remember my excitement back in 2012 before they were released and they're still a favourite of mine today, especially the bold, brighter colours. Apocalypic is a beautiful hot pink with blue undertones and it's insanely pigmented, creamy and opaque. Like the rest of the line, it has a satiny finish which dries matte after a few hours and the staying power is fantastic! I prefer to apply Apocalyptic with a lip brush for a more accurate application!

Probably one of the most daring shades in my collection is Mac's Up the Amp and as Autumn slowly approaches I find myself reaching for this more and more when I want to spice up a simple outfit. It's an Amplified Creme (my favourite finish) and Mac describes the shade as a lavender violet, a purple shade that's not too bold and not too dark. The lipstick applies smoothly, has a creamy texture and a shiny finish and it looks beautiful on bronzed skin.

My final favourite is from Calvin Klein, a brand I didn't even realise made make-up until I stumbled across this lipstick on the Fragrance Direct website for only £1.99! They retail at £13.50 so this was an absolute bargain and I'm definitely going to buy some more! (I also have Rose Rush which is gorgeous!) I have the shade Henna, a pretty nude pink shade and it reminds me a lot of Cream Cup from Mac, although Cream Cup is a bit lighter and has deeper, blue undertones to it. It's quite pigmented and has a matte finish. My only issue with this lipstick is that it's a little bit drying but this isn't anything a lip balm can't fix! The packaging isn't that glamorous either but for the Fragrance Direct price of £1.99 it's easy to overlook.

What lipsticks are you loving right now?

Festival Beauty Essentials

Before I start rambling about festivals, I'd just like to say a huge thank you to everybody who has followed my blog so far! Yesterday, I reached 100 followers and I can't believe how wonderful everyone in the blogging community has been. I've talked to some lovely people, discovered so many amazing blogs to follow and I'm enjoying blogging more than I could have ever imagined. So, if you're reading this thank you so much and if I could I'd hug each and every one of you! 

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I know festival season is almost over but Reading & Leeds begins this Friday and, in a way of controlling my excitement, I thought I'd write a post on my festival beauty essentials! Of course I'll also be taking dry shampoo and a ridiculous amount of baby wipes with me but the items I've decided to feature in this post are the things that help me feel a little bit more glamorous and put together as I trawl through the mud in my pac-a-mac and eat an unsightly amount of fried food.