What's in my Shower

I was the luckiest girl this Christmas and I got SO many bath type products. I've never had so many at one time before and to say I was excited to try them all out was an understated. My first thought was "I can be that person that chooses what scrub, moisturiser and shower gel to use depending on what their feeling!". Yeah, that was my very first thought. But this has made me realise that I have a huge love for pampering products and enjoy having a good shower/ bath. Because I'm at uni, and uni accommodation tends not to have baths, I thought I'd let you into my shower and show you the products I use and my thoughts on them. So let's dive in!

Aussie

The Aussie shampoo and conditioner range is one that I love and don't think I would ever change up. If you've never smelt the wonderful products then I'd definitely recommend it, they leave you hair smelling like a tropical dream all day and even when you can't smell it anymore, other people can so you may attract more friends, or not. The Miracle Moist range is my favourite as I feel like it cleans my hair deeply and you can get a good lather with it, which I always like. the 3 Minute Miracle is something I've used for a while and it's something that my hair really likes. I run it through the ends of my hair and leave it on for 3 minutes (what a surprise) then wash and and kind of brush through my hair with my fingers to make sure it's all gone. Aussie products are normally on offer in Boots, Superdrug or most supermarkets.

The Body Shop

I love The Body Shop and I got very excited when I saw that I had got two products from their Spa of the World range for Christmas. So luxurious! The African Ximenia Scrub is really good is you want something that will still scrub but isn't too abrasive. There are tiny scrubby bits so it gives you an all over rub and it also gives your legs a good moisturise. You don't need too much so I have a feeling that this tub is going to last me for a really long time. The Frozen Plum scent is my new favourite from the Body Shop so I was excited when I received that Frozen Plum Shower Gel. It gets up a good lather and smells amazing! Body Shop shower gels always last a long time so I'm going to enjoy using this for a while!

Soap and Glory

I'm having a big Soap and Glory moment so there's a few of these products that I'm using lately. The Smoothie Star scent will always be one of my favourites and the Smoothie Star Scrub is great for getting rid of any dead skin. The smell is sweet and it's a sugar scrub so it's pretty abrasive which is sometimes just what you need. Another scrub on the other end of the abrasive spectrum is the Scrub of our Life. This has bead type things in them which gives a more gentle scrub. I've been using this everyday to keep on top of my legs to keep them smooth. It's in the original Soap and Glory Scent and I love using it. Something else in the original scent is the Clean on Me Shower Gel. I love their giant pump shower gels, they last for ages, dispense the right amount of product and lather up nicely. My go to winter shower gel is the Whipped Clean which is also in the sweet Smoothie Star scent. It's so thick and luxurious, lathers up amazingly and is the best thing I've ever used when shaving my legs, it moisturises so well!

Getting Some Charlotte Tilbury Love

I know, you are looking at products from heaven. I've been lusting over Charlotte Tilbury products for about two years now and I this Christmas I was lucky enough to get my hands on some! I'd say these are my first 'proper high end' products, meaning they are rather expensive, big on quality rather than quantity but totally worth it!

In my first year of uni I'd go onto the Charlotte Tilbury website every few weeks and decide which eyeshadow palette I was one day going to get. There was so much hype over the Dolce Vita palette which made me want to choose something else to be a bit different (I'm a bit strange when it comes to things like that). I felt that The Rebel was quirky and different but something that I wouldn't get much use out of, Fallen Angel was neutral but didn't have the glitter like the other palettes and Uptown Girl would have suited my hair colour, etc, but was a bit wishy washy looking. After swatches, reviews and a lot of research I decided that the Dolce Vita was the best and the palette for me and boy am I glad that I chose it. The shades are buttery and very pigmented without much fallout and the easy to use system means that every eye look looks amazing! At first I couldn't really get the glitter to work properly but now I've got the pat and swipe technique down it adds great sparkle to any eye look. My favourite shade from the quad is reddish brown. I can see myself using this day and night on its own and within the palette.

I'd heard a lot in recent months about the Charlotte Tilbury matte lipsticks, and I want to keep expanding my lipstick collection, so I browsed the website to pick a shade. I'd heard a lot about the reds and the dark colours like Glastonberry but I wanted something that I could wear everyday. Sexy Sienna stood out to me as I colour I would wear a lot but that wasn't anything like something I already had. I cannot explain how much I love these lipsticks. The formula is really creamy so they apply so easily and last for a very long time. I cannot wait to add more of these to my collection, I have my eyes set on Bond Girl (friends, family please take note).

December Favourites

I wasn't planning on doing a December Favourites post due to my 2015 Faves that will be coming up next week, but I thought that I've been loving a few things this month so I might as well share!

I bought Harper's Bazaar last month because I saw that it came with a free mini Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair. I'd never used a serum before and I was curious to see how it would work on my oily skin. I am in love with this product and will be really sad when it runs out. It gives my face some much needed moisture without creating a load of oil. I've noticed that it also has a real effect on spots as well as I get much less when I use this. If you saw my Nine Ladies Dancing post then you'll have seen that to get my glittery lids I used the Collection Glam Crystals Glitter Eyeliner. I've found that this is so much better than a normal glitter as it sticks to the lids and stays on for a very long time. It does make my eyes sting for a bit whilst I apply it but that's completely worth it. My lips seem to have hated me this month so lip balm has been my best friends and the Maybelline Baby Lips gives me just the right amount of moisture to keep my lips from getting dry. Also my Lush Lip Scrub has been great at getting rid of the skin on my lips after they've gone through a dry patch.

Twelve Drummers Drumming

THE LAST DAY OF EYEMAS! I can't believe it! I have to say these three weeks have totally flown! Drummers Drumming, another one that I found difficult to do. I used blue shades in the end because I could picture the little drummers wearing little blue jackets and thought it looked cute! Also I've not done a blue look in this series so I thought I'd end it with a bang!

I primed my eyes and then got to work with my Urban Decay Vice 3 Palette. I started with the shade Truth, a cream matte shadow, to give the look a clean base to open up the eye. I then started on the blue and used the shade Freeze which is a light blue shade in the crease. I layered it on with a fluffy brush to get an intense colour with a soft edge. To darken up the look a little I took the shade Heroine, a dark navy blue, on an angled brush and used this to define my lash line. I also took this underneath and blended it out to deepen the eyes. Eyeliner and mascara then finish off the look. And that's eyemas done! I've really enjoyed doing this little series so don't be surprised if you see something like this in the future!

Eleven Pipers Piping

Eleven pipers piping! One of the ones I always get confused with the number on. This one is the shimmery version of six geese a laying and I'm starting to sense that dark browns are kind of where I'm at right now. The Urban Decay Naked Smokey palette is the one to thank for this look and I have to say I'm going to be using this palette a lot this winter!

After priming my eyes I went into the crease with Combust, a light ashy brown that I use as a base colour. I then used the shade Dirtysweet all over the lid, which is a beautifully gorgeous shimmery gold. I layered this on to get a lot of intensity as I just love the colour. I then went into the crease with the dark matte brown shade Whiskey to darken up the crease. I then used the light brown shimmer called Radar on the outer part of the lid and took this underneath the lid and blended it out. Winged liner, black eyeliner in the waterline and lashings of mascara finished off this look.

Ten Lords a Leaping

Every day it seems to be getting harder and harder to make these looks different and not repeat! This was a very brave look for me, there's a lot of red which may border on 'punched in the face'. I do quite like the way it turned out though, whether I'll be wearing it again is another thing!

Primed the eyes as per usual and got straight to work. I was feeling really brave so took a risk with the shimmery, vampy red shade from the Urban Decay Vice 3 Palette called Sonic. I patted this all over the lid and blended it out so that the edge was really soft. I also took it underneath and did a lot of blending. To give the look a bit more depth I used the warm, dark brown shade called Reign from the same palette  on the outer corner of the eye and did a lot more blending! To make it look like I didn't have some kind of eye problem I did a little bit of liner quite close to the lash line. To finish off I lined my waterline with Rimmel Sable Brown Eyeliner and a little bit of mascara.

Nine Ladies Dancing

I am absolutely, head over heels in love with this look! I love the colour, I love the drama and most of all I love the glitter! I decided that 'Ladies Dancing' deserved its very own video, because I've not done one in a while and I wanted to do one in this little series. I'm so glad I decided to do that because I like the way it turned out and I am literally in love with these eyes! This is clearly the most dramatic look I've done so far and is what I'd class as definite Christmas party makeup. Don't be expecting every day from now on to be this intense because it won't be, just to pre warn. Hope you enjoy the video and I apologise for the awful nails, totally forgot they'd be on show!

Mac Painterly Paint Pot

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette // High and Smoulder

Mac Metallic Pigments // Femininity, Dusty Desire and Maribu

Collection Glam Crystals // Funk and Dancing Queen

L'areal Super Liner Perfect Slim // Black

Rimmel Kohl Kajal // Jet Black

Clinique High Impact Mascara

Taste Lights Camera Splashes Mascara

Eight Maids a Milking

Yep, I know what you're thinking. Abz, I'm so glad that you finally got to use that milk jug in the shape of cow. I know, me too! I seriously apologise for the state of my brows in this look. They're in dire need of a wax and I didn't realise how bad they were until I saw these photos! For this look I went down the pink route. I know, very stereotypical to go pink for girls but I've not done a look like this so far and I kept it quite neutral. I really like how it turned out and it rekindled my love for the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette, which is all I used shadow wise for this look.

A little change in this look in terms of primer as I used the Kiko Shadow Stick in 21 Passionfruit. I used it because it's a sparkly pink/gold and I thought it might add a little extra pinkness to this look. Using the matte white shade Strange from the Naked 3 palette I put this on the inner part of my lid just to brighten it up a little. I then went into the crease with Nooner, a matte brown with a tint of pink that I absolutely love. This was all I used in the crease and layered it to build up intensity. To make the lids a bit sparkly and festive, I used Dust, a shimmery pink, on the inner lid and Trick, a gorgeous rose gold, on the rest of the lid. Finally I took Blackheart, a black with red shimmers in it, on an angled brush and then across the very close to the lash line. A swipe of black liner to the waterline and a bit of mascara and the look is complete. Now I'm ready to go and milk some cows.

Seven Swans a Swimming

I've never really understood a no makeup makeup look before until I did this to my face. When I planned to do this look I knew that I wanted to go very simple on the eyes, understated but great like a swan. I thought about going for the liner look but I've done that quite a few times already in this little series so I thought I'd use a little bit of black eyeshadow instead. I wasn't sure about this look at first but I quite like it. It's taught me that you can still put makeup on without having to go over board with the eyes. You learn something new everyday!

All of the eyeshadows I used for this look are from the Urban Decay Naked Smokey Palette, ironic when this is the furthest thing away from a smokey eye! I started off by putting the shade Thirteen a pale white, all over my lid to lighten up my eyes. I then used the cool light brown shade called Combust in the crease, but only lightly as I wanted to keep the eyes quite bare. The last shadow I used (yes I only used three, crazy right) was Black Market, which as you probably guessed is a black. Not quite matte but also not shimmery, somewhere in between. I took this on a small pencil like brush and lined the top of lash line with it, focusing on the outer edges. This was the first look in these twelve days that I haven't used eyeliner in my waterline and I have to say I think that's what makes my eyes look bare. So all I did was finish off the look with mascara. 

I hope you like this one and the fact that it was something a little bit different for this blog!

Six Geese a Laying

Welcome to the inevitable neutral eye with winged liner look with was bound to come at some point in these twelve days. I just felt that geese are brown, these eyeshadows are brown, it was meant to be. I'm still loving the Fleur De Force eyeshadow palette so that's all I used to complete this look and I love wearing this everyday with a big jumper. It's seriously become my staple. 

Primed my eyes as per normal and then used the shade Coconut Cream from the Fleur De Force Eye Quad in Cosmic Bronze all over the lid. I then used the light brown matte shade called Taupe Brown in the crease, doing it layer by layer to build up the intensity. To make it a little darker I use the shade Cocoa Brown on the outer corner in a 'V' shape to flick the shadow out a bit. I also did this in layers to make the colour more intense. For a bit of sparkle I used the brown shimmery shade Mink Shimmer and patted it onto the lid for an extra something something! Finishing off the look I winged out my liner with a fancy cat flick, put black eyeliner in the waterline and piled on the mascara. Look this look and it's one that I think I'll still love for years to come!

Five Gold Rings

This was the look I was most excited to do and I have to say it didn't disappoint. I was glad to crack out the sparkle and get my glitter on which to me is what Christmas is all about. I added the winged liner because I felt that this was more of a Christmas Party look and the liner would make it night time appropriate, even though I rarely ever not where liner nowadays. Everyone knows the five gold rings so I wanted to make this eye look very special.

As per I primed my eyes with the Mac Painterly Paint Pot and got to work. I used the Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette for this look and first took Honey Pot, a nice shimmery gold shade that was the inspiration for this look. I simply patted it on the lid with a flat brush and did this a few times to build up the intensity. To add a little bit more sparkle I used the Gold Barry M Dazzle Dust and patted it all over the lid as well. Back to the Too Faced Palette I used the shade Chocolate Martini, which is a gorgeous chocolate brown with gold glitter and shimmer running through it, into the crease and the outer edges. I did this a little at a time to build up the colour but also to keep a bit of softness as I wanted the main focus to be on the gold. I did a very thin line of liner for this look, using the L'Oreal Super Liner Perfect Slim, and I think that it worked out well as it defined the eyes but didn't take attention away from the gold. Black eyeliner in the waterline and lashings of mascara and we're done. Lovely!

Four Calling Birds

I'm not going to lie I was a little stuck with what to do with this one but I think that it turned out pretty well. I went for a smokier eye to anything I've done so far and I really like the way it looks. I went for the darker, grey/black tones because when googling the good old calling bird (as per with these 12 days) I noticed that they are jet black. So because black isn't the best colour to work with I just decided to smoke it out. I also like the harsh line and liner as it intensifies it even more.

You know the drill, I primed my eyes with the Mac Painterly Paint Pot and got to work. I started off with a bit of a base and put Combust from the Urban Decay Smokey Palette softly in the crease. I then put DTF from the Urban Decay Vice 3 Palette on my lid as it matched the grey theme but kept it light. Defy from the same palette then went into the crease, with lots of building up to intensify the colour, and Black Market from the smokey palette was focused onto the outer corner. All of the shades were blended underneath the eye, with a particular focus on Black Market and Defy. I finished off the look with winged liner, black eyeliner in the waterline and lashings and lashings with mascara! This look may be making an appearance on my next night out, you never know, I do like it a lot.

Three French Hens

I was rather excited to have a go at this look as I knew it was going to be a bit different. As with most of the looks I'll be doing in the upcoming weeks I googled what french hens actually look like. I don't know why but I assumed that they were all red but the ones I looked at were orange with a bit of red so there was a slight change of plan to what I was going to do, but not massively. Red eyeshadow scares me slightly but when I use it I like the way it looks on the lid and the way it makes my eyes look really blue. If I was to do this again I'd put liner on because I think it would finish off the look a little more but other than that I really like how this turned out!

As always I primed my eyes with the Mac Painterly Paint Pot and then got to work with the shadows. I took Lucky, a shimmery orange, from the Urban Decay Vice 3 Palette all over the lid but leaving the inner corner clear for a lighter colour, I used Last Sin from the same palette. Now for the exciting part. My Kiko eyeshadow in 128 is what I used for the red in this look as it's a poppy colour red and matte which was great for using in the crease. I built the colour up as opposed to going straight in with the full colour so it didn't look I'd got punched in the face. I made sure I blended it out to the max as well and I think it was successful. I also look all three colours underneath and blended them out, keeping the red strictly to the outer corner. Finishing the look off with brown eyeliner for a softer look and used a lighter mascara to open up the eyes. I also lightly dabbed on my Clinique Lipstick in Poppy Pop to add a little bit more red (as if there wasn't already enough!). Love this look and I'll definitely be trying it again.

Two Turtle Doves

Day two of the 12 days of Eyemas and we are on to the very cute Two Turtle Doves. I knew that I wanted this to be a clean and light look but also with a little bit of sparkle. I assumed that turtle doves were all white but when I googled them they had a bit of a grey touch to them as well, which I used as well in my eyes. I really like the way this look turned out and it's a bit of a more wintery version of what I wore throughout the entire month of October. I think I'll be cracking this look out sometime next month no doubt!

Priming my eyes with my Mac Painterly Paint Pot I covered my entire lid with Bobby Dazzle from the Urban Decay Vice 3 Palette (I have a feeling I'll be using this palette a lot this month!). Bobby Dazzle is a shimmer shade which is whiter than white and made my lids super shiny. I then used DTF from the same palette, which is a soft matte grey, through the crease to soften it out and add the all important grey to this look. I added a little more to the outer corner to intensify that up and then took both of the shades underneath the eye and that's the shadows done. I finished off the look with some winged liner and I did a smaller wing than normal so not to overpower the look. The I added some black eyeliner to my waterline and a bit of mascara. Two turtle doves complete!

A Partridge in a Pear Tree

The Christmas countdown has officially begun and it's safe to say I'm a little bit excited! If you didn't read my post last week then you won't know about the special thing I'm doing this festive season. I'll be doing what I've named the 12 days of Eyemas which is where I do an eye look inspired by the 12 days of Christmas. As this is the first day it means that we jump straight into A Partridge in a Pear Tree. I went for a mix of oranges and browns with a bit of a mix of green for this look to incorporate the tree and the pear. I think that it turned out pretty well and I like the softness to it because I'm so used to wearing eye liner these days.

I started off like I always do with my Mac Painterly Paint Pot and primed my eyes and then did a base coat of Truth from the Urban Decay Vice 3 Palette, which is the palette I used for this entire look. I pressed the shimmery orange shade Lucky onto the lid and did this quite a few times to build up the intensity. I then took Dragon on the outer corner and patted it in so you could still see the orange but so that there were still hints of green coming through. I blended the shades together so that they meshed smoothly. I then took Reign and blended it in the crease to give the look a little bit more dimension. I blended all four colours underneath the eye but with more focus on the green to give that a bit more prominence. I finished the look with some black liner in the waterline and mascara on the eyelashes. I think I'll be wearing this again because I liked the way how it was neutral but also had a little bit of colour.

Twelve Days of Eyemas

This is a very exciting post for me! Last year around Christmas time I did 'blogmas' where I uploaded a post everyday leading up to Christmas. I thought about doing it again this year but because I have such a busy life (*cough* all lies *cough*) I won't really have enough time to write 25 posts. Instead I'm going to do something pretty exciting! I've decided to do something called the twelve days of eyemas. Basically what this is is me doing an eye look which is based on whichever day of Christmas I'm on, for example day five is five gold rings, etc. I'll be uploading on my usual upload days with day one being this Friday, exciting! It will take me up to Christmas Eve which is really scary to think that we are just weeks away from the festive season. Where has this year gone! Once Christmas is over I'll be resuming to normal posts and will be having the necessary yearly favourites which I'm excited for as it will be my first ever one so I better get thinking!

Anyway I hope you're just as excited for this as I am and let's get this festive season started!

The 'it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas' eye

It's getting to that time of year where Christmas is literally everywhere, including in the blogging world. The festive period and winter in general is my favourite time of year because I'm just a jumper loving Christmas weirdo! Anyway this has nothing to do with this post! I've been enjoying experimenting with my eye makeup again because I've been through a patch of finding my everyday look and sticking to it. I remembered how much I liked the Kiko Shadow sticks so I decided to put one on again and it was amazing! I love how easy they are to apply and how pretty and long lasting they are. I like the subtle festiveness of this eye with the purple shimmer, it's so pretty!

So for this look I used the Kiko Shadow Stick in the shade 05 Rosy Brown. I just apply it to the lids and blend out the edges. Because of the colour and the shimmer, you don't have to apply a lid shade. It shimmers blue and purple and is so gorgeous! To make it a bit deeper I took Bondage from the Urban Decay Vice 3 palette in the outer corner and brought it out in a sort of wing and went underneath with this shade. It's a deep plum/ purple with lots of sparkle and I love it, I need to use it more often. In terms of liner I used the L'Oreal Superliner Perfect Slim to do a really thin line and I didn't do a flick because I thought the winged shadow was enough. Finishing it off with Rimmel Kohl Kajal in Jet Black and my Clinique High Impact Mascara. 

Favourite Friday: Chatsworth

Last week, when all the selfie stick action happened, me and my family went to Chatsworth house in Derbyshire. It was a super cute day and I had a great time so I thought that I'd share a few snaps, enjoy!

Favourite Friday: Frozen

It has to be said I'm totally in on the hype, but my inner hipster has to confess that I loved it before it was cool. I first discovered Frozen in March of last year by listening to the album on Spotify. I have absolutely no idea what made me start listening to it but I was hooked from the off. I'm pretty sure my flatmates hated going into the kitchen when I was there because 9 times out of ten the album would be on repeat. For christmas this year I was lucky enough to get a baby Sven, Sven from the beginning at the film when he's little, from my brother and he even paid to get a felt tag with my name on it, cute! Definitely one of my best presents! I also got a Frozen charm bracelet from my mum and dad which is one of the best things I've ever seen in my entire life. Try and get this off my wrist! These have seriously sparked my obsession with Frozen again and I'm constantly thinking of quotes, sad but true,

"Olaf, keep out of sight" 

"Okay...hello!"

Christmas Day

MERRY CHRISTMAS!