I hope that you had a lovely Christmas and new year and are back into the swing of things for 2016.
Apologies for my lack of blogging, but I sort of just majorly relaxed and did nothing in the start of Jan and then I started varsity a couple of weeks ago, so things have been a bit busy.
Anyway, I wanted to do this post because I have some really lovely things to show you that I have been using and absolutely loving throughout the end of December and the whole of this month! I think maybe this is my best favourites yet, what I mean is that I am just so obsessed with all of these products/things!
I'm going to do the beauty/make-up stuff first and then the other random bits and pieces after.
The Body Shop- Glazed Apple Sugar Scrub
I have never been that into exfoliating my skin, particularly if it's not my face, but this has really changed things up for me, and I have completely noticed the difference. Let me start with the smell, oh my sweet goodness, this smells absolutely amazing! I had smelt this from their Christmas range in 2014 and so I knew the second I saw they were continuing it this Christmas, that I wanted a product with this scent. I opted for the sugar scrub because I like that it is sugar based, as it doesn't overly abrase my skin and generally just agrees quite well with it. This lasts super long as well, I've barely lowered the level at all and have been using it all the time, so I think it will last pretty well too.
Lush Peppermint Bark Exfoliating Bar
I was under the impression this was on the Lush Christmas range but I went into a Lush shop the other day and was super happy to see these still there, so the might actually be available all year round. Like I said before, I've never really had a good exfoliator and then I found this and the Body Shop one this month, so have literally been alternating between the two every 4 days or so. This smells amazing as well, it is kinda Christmassy cause it's like a sweet mint, but I am in love with the smell and it sticks on you the whole day, which I love. I wasn't actually expecting to like the smell, and when you smell the bar itself, it's a bit strong, but somehow when this gets wet and you use it, the smell becomes a bit sweeter and minty and just so lovely! You just rub this over any areas you need to exfoliate, and yeah it is just a lovely product that I will 100% be repurchasing.
Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser with shea butter
This is a real sort of special product for me because Clarins is, as we all know, bloody expensive and for someone like me on a student's income, buying products like this isn't really an option. I had found that I wasn't ever really cleansing my skin. I used a face wash in the shower and then at night I generally was just lazy and used a make-up wipe, and I wanted to start properly cleaning my face and making sure all my make-up is off before I go to bed. My mom had a near empty tube of this in her bathroom so I gave it a little try and was amazed at how well it works and feels. My mom treated me to this for Christmas and I am using it every sort of 2-3 days and can just tell the difference. Going to bed with a clear, clean face just makes such a difference. This also smells lovely and because of the shea butter is super good for dry skin and is incredibly soft and hasn't caused my relatively sensitive skin to have any issues with it at all.
Rimmel Kate Moss Collection lipsticks in the shades 12 and 03
Both of these I've actually had for a while, and as far as drugstore lipsticks go, these really are some of the best ever- they are a lovely matte, pretty long-lasting, apply easily and smell amazing. I love both these shades a lot, I opted for the rangy-red one (12) a lot during Christmas and then use the darkish dusty pink (03) almost everyday as a basic. But I had to pop both of them into this favourites cause recently I've been wearing them together (put on the red, dab it a bit, then apply the pink over) to create a really lovely berry colour.
These are so affordable and just really really good.
Mac Studio Fix Foundation Powder in the shade NW20
This is a product I have had my eye on for a while, but seeing as it is pretty expensive, I had to wait to ask for it for Christmas. The reason why I was so keen to try it is because it is still a foundation, not just a setting powder, so is pretty decent coverage, but I don't like that every day I cake on foundation, and so I wanted to veer towards more BB creams and stuff like this. I love this product! I am using it almost every day when I don't have any skin problems and I just find that the coverage is perfect to just hide a few small spots and redness and I also just feel like my skin is able to 'breathe' not being covered in heavy base. So yeah, this was well worth the wait!
Loreal Super Liner Perfect Slim in Intense Black
I have had my fair share of battles with liquid eyeliner, it's difficult to put on sometimes and unless you have a good liner, near impossible to get things on nicely and looking even. A friend of mine had this and I borrowed it a while back and was so impressed not only with its lasting power but also with how easy it is to apply. The tip is almost like a long, pointy felt tip and it is just super easy and one of the best liquid liners I've come across.
The Body Shop 'Eyeshadow Blender' brush
I actually only bought this because I had a voucher that was expiring and so very hastily just picked this up. The reason I got it was because I love my Mac 217 blending brush, but often I find there's a need for a second, similar brush to contour and add different colours without just smudging it all into one. This brush is so soft, the bristles stay put and don't fall out and it is just the perfect shape to brush right over your lid, or to put in the crease and darker areas. It's just a lovely and pretty affordable (especially compared to Mac) brush that I've been reaching for a lot lately.
And now for some more random little bits and bobs. All three again, were actually christmas presents but yeah I am have been using them all a lot during January, so had to pop them in.
Accessorise Triangle Necklace
I have been really liking all the geometric shape jewellery items that have become popular recently and have really wanted a triangle shaped pendent necklace for a while. This is just a plain, relatively cheap one from Accessorise, but I really like it and have pretty much been wearing it every day.
Yankee Candle- Midnight Jasmine
So if you've read this blog for a while, you'll well know my love of candles. Yankee candles are such a big brand name and hype, but they are really expensive unfortunately I was so excited to be able to get this as my first one and give it a go. I have been loving it, I have burnt it a lot and it hasn't gone down too much at all, meaning it should last a good while. It smells incredible, I wanted a summer-y sort of scent for this season, and this jasmine is amazing, and really fills the entire room when it's lit.
'Lost Ocean'- Johanna Basford
These adult colouring books have become the biggest new craze, and when I first saw them I was convinced I would never get one because I thought that I would find colouring-in boring and quite uncreative if you know what I mean. But I LOVE this book so much! I find the colouring so calming and as bizarre as it sounds, quite therapeutic to just colouring in patterns and all that. This is also the most beautiful colouring book. I had a good look at all of them before and the whole range by this illustrates is stunning, she has a garden and forrest series as well I think. The drawings are all to do with the sea and ocean and marine life mixed with beautiful patterns and mandalas, etc. I think part of why I like it so much is also how cool they look completed at the end, there's still a very long way until I finish the book though.
So that's it for my January favourites 2016! I hope that maybe you get some ideas or recommendations from this :)
