A festive fun evening...

Hello to anyone reading!!

Christmas is my favourite time of year and I love when it gets dark and cold and I can snuggle up on the sofa in my jim jams, light some candles and watch a christmasy film, to me that is the perrrrfect evening! So I thought I'd share with you some of the things I like to do on that kind of an evening :) 

First off the fire would be lit but I was home alone and a bit scared to do it by myself!(haha) But I love candles to make a cute festive atmosphere and make the room smell nice which is always a plus.

I love love love my pyjamas from Primark, they're so soft and cosy even after several washes and the pattern is too cute. And obviously a festive hot beverage is needed so I like either a big mug of classic hot chocolate (options is my personal favourite!!) or a cranberry and blood orange tea which is super yummy and cosy tasting (if that's possible!) And while I'm watching a film I find it very therapeutic to paint my nails and of course have Iphone to hand for instagramming and all that jazz!

 So these are my all time favourite Christmas films and can't stop watching them during the holiday, love actually is perfect for a girly sleepover and Nativity I find is hilarious and a perfect family sit down film :)

 Killing two birds with one stone on this picture, found this cute festive phone case in poundland would you believe and I'm obsessed with it, it's like carrying round a bit of Christmas with me wherever I go!(sad but true) and very cute. I can never stop scrolling endlessly through my phone whether it be catching up with vlogmas on youtube or reading blogs - it's addictive! 

This is my go to Christmas nail job I recently discovered it's barrym 'red black' with a channel top coat which is insanely good, I can wear this for well over a week staying perfectly shiny without any chipping at all!

Just thought I'd show you a super cute Christmas decoration I bought the other day :) 

Thank you for reading, I love reading the occasional comments I get so please drop in some feedback if you liked :) 
Love Ellen x

A weekend away...

Recently on a cold weekend in November I spent time with my family for a weekend in Leigh-On-Sea in Essex and thought I'd share some of the scenic snaps I took.. Enjoy :)

...and of course I had to take a picture of some of the yummy food we had :) 

Ellen x

Autumn/Winter beauty must haves!

So we're coming close to the end of autumn(!!!) and approaching winter rather quickly, which I am so so excited about because anything Christmas or festive related is my absolute favourite. Whether it be candles, films, clothing, shopping and just life in general! So, with that being said I have gathered a mini collection of things I think are necessary during the wintry months and that I will be using throughout.

LIPS: MUA lipstick Shade 1 £1, Lush popcorn lip scrub £5, Babylips mint fresh £2.99

My well-loved(!!) MUA lipstick in shade1

MUA lipstick shade 1 swatch

So first off is lip products, with the colder weather my lips tend to dry out a lot quicker, more frequent and chap a bit, sometimes as a lot of people will agree can become quite painful. I am a huge(!) lip balm hoarder and love applying them often and carry far too many round in my bag. I really enjoy using maybelline baby lips as I have stated before and find them to be a quick and easy instant fix when my lips are beginning to feel dry. A good scrub is also key for keeping your lips luscious(!!) during winter as when they dry out and chap, lip balm can be used to remove the dead skin, however chapped lips can be sensitive so be extra careful when applying, or maybe wait till your lips heal to use. Lip scrubs are so easy to make making the lush ones seem over priced for what they are, but as a one off the convince and smell makes it hard to resist! Lastly on the lip front is an easy wearable winter lip shade. I'm not a big lipstick girl but I really want branch out hence only spending £1 on for me such a daring colour. I didn't think I would suit this, but I really enjoy wearing it and I like how it looks. I like wearing this with a neutral eye or just a wash of colour and makes me feel festive and isn't too over powering on my face. The staying power of this lipstick could be improved on but for £1 how can I complain? It's brilliant.

HANDS: Hand food by soap and glory, Simple hand cream, OPI nail varnish

As well as my lips my hands sometimes get affected by the weather so its nice to have soothing hand cream to heal cracked, dried out skin. I tend to use the ever so raved about hand food from soap and glory, this must be my 4th tube of it now!, its such a nice scent and leaves my hands perfectly soft, if my hands feel extra sensitive or damaged I'll use the simple one for intensive relief instead as it doesn't have perfume or colour. I love nail varnish and I am always changing it up, I like to have a 'go to' colour for each season or month so when I can't decide on a colour there's one that I know will go well with what ever and suit most occasions at the time. This OPI I picked up in TX Max in a set of 3 for £15 so it worked out quite a lot cheaper than usual. I really love the formula of this as I could get a way with minimal coats as well as fast drying, it's a really festive deep red and has a slight gold undertone shimmer which is perfect for Christmas!

OPI - 'Wocka Wocka!'

Other bits and bobs I think are necessary, for example a great moisturiser, I have the amazing Righteous butter from soap and glory, like the hand food, it has a great smell leaves my skin feeling hydrated after cold drying weather, and lovely and smooth. And a perfume, Taylor Swift is my all time favourite singer and I got her 'Wonderstruck' perfume last Christmas so will always remind me of this season any way but I love this perfume for this time as it's sweet and elegant as well as being in some way cosy and comforting.

Thank you for reading!! I hope you enjoyed.
 please leave me a comment, Love Ellen x

August Favourites & Babylips

Essie colours - Cute as a button, Fiji, Mint candy apple

Pink punch, Mint fresh, Peach kiss

Hey Everyone!

I know this is a cliché, but this month has really flown by, at the start of my longest holiday ever (14th June to be precise!!) I thought the end of summer would never come, yet I now find myself preparing for all things back to school and can't believe this time is almost over! Plus the fact the weather is now rainy and cold again in the UK it makes it all the more surreal, there are not many things in this months favourites as I haven't been wearing a lot of make up or trying many new things, but I'd say what I've included in this post have been my 'must-haves' of the month.

Garnier pure active 3 in 1
I've now been using this product for just over a week and although it's not been the entire month I enjoy using this product. I have tried using it all 3 ways, I find using it as an twice a day everyday wash leaves my skin feeling noticeably cleansed, mattifyed and refreshed. I also like how the scrub helps reduce redness and smooths my skin. It did take a while for me to see a visible difference in the appearance of my skin and now it is slowly helping clear spots and even out my skin.

Simple spotless skin spot zapper
Annoyingly I tend to get breakouts and I'm always looking out for something to help stop them. The instructions on this product suggest to apply when you feel a spot coming on however when I began using this I already had spots so I don't think it was working to its full potential. However I really enjoy using this product and I use it most nights as park of my skin care routine  I like how it instantly feels soothing and cools the redness around spots, I find it dries spots out which helps them diaper quicker. It says spots look reduced in 4 hours, I do agree with this as if I put it on before bed in the morning they appear better. 

Soap and Glory Scrub of your life
I've never really used a body scrub in the shower religiously because to be honest I didn't really see the point, but last month I got this for my birthday and used it before tanning for prom and I loved it. This month it's become a necessary after body wash, it just feels so luxurious and leaves my skin feeling and smelling amazing.

Maybelline Dream pure BB cream for oily skin
I've written about this before here so go check that out, but I've used it almost everyday this month and I love it.

Essie nail polish
I am so obsessed with nail varnish, I love buying new ones and adding to my collection yet I'd never tried the ever so raved about essie polishes until now. There was a 3 for 2 offer on all things nail in super drug so I got my first 3 essie's this was great as it worked out at around £5 each. I really love them! at first they weren't as I expected as their consistency is quite thin I thought I may not like them. Yet after 2/3 coats I love love love all 3 of them and the colours are all so beautiful, I do like the formula, I find they have a glossy type finish and leave my nails feeling like I've just had them done professionally!!

Maybelline Babylips
I have countless amounts of lip balm, I love collecting them and using them all day every day! I had no idea these beauties were coming to the UK so I was so pleasantly surprised when I saw they were launching here. I got so excited and got myself some immediately at £2.99 each and 3 for 2 plus £6 of points on my boots card how could I say no? Luckily I managed to find the 3 I wanted the most which was lucky as they are racing off the shelves! They are all so moisturising and smell uh-maze-ing!! I have a very red undertone to my lips so I find the peach kiss doesn't really give much colour unfortunately but a lovely natural sheen, but the pink punch has so much colour to it, a lovely every day pink. The mint fresh is so soothing and well, fresh!! I take one everywhere I go and are for sure an essential, for not a big lipstick girl these are perfect, I can't wait to get some more!

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed :)
Love Ellen x


-Knowing people have read my posts mean so much and I am so thankful that they do, please drop me a comment if you like reading them just so I know, as I love writing them. Also any requests, I'd love to hear them :)-

Benefit Porefessional // Review

The Porefessional // £25

Hello Everyone!

I often find myself round the Benefit counter in department stores wishing I owned everything, the packaging for a start is hands down my absolute favourite on the beauty product front, and the products themselves are amazing. Unfortunately with a hefty price tag and in this case not much product for your money it's something I usually tend avoid purchasing. For my birthday I received a voucher from my lovely auntie and I knew exactly what I wanted to buy, at the time the product was also discounted so I only paid £5 of my own money which was extremely exciting.

Porefessional claims to reduce appearance of pores, smooth skin and keep make up lasting. I was certainly not disappointed with this product, it gave an amazing base for my foundation etc and held my make up in place for my entire prom night! It is the best primer I've ever used but with a price tag of £25 for such a tiny amount I am using rather sparingly!  

Hope you enjoyed!
Love Ellen x

Recent beauty buys // Haul

Hey Everyone!, so a few months back now I finally bought some bits and bobs I've wanted for a really long time (a few were even listed in a wishlist post) I saved some money to buy these as it' was my school prom and I wanted to treat my self to a few new things to use. All the things I bought have been highly recommended and I am so pleased with every single one, I have had time to try them out so I thought I'd share my thoughts with you all, hope you enjoy.

Sleek face form // Light - This is such a great all rounder product, before this I'd never experimented much with contouring and highlighting so this kit is perfect to get started as everything is all in one place and you don't have the worry of trying to find a mix of suitable products. Sleek are so well known for their amazing pigmentation, pretty selection of colour, easy application and value. I really enjoy using this product and is a new definite must have for me!

Kate Moss Rimmel lipstick // 16 - I picked up this as I needed a lipstick for prom to compliment my dress, my dress was a pinky-coral and I thought this would look really pretty. However I found this a bit too bright and slightly over powering on my face so I used a small bit and blended with a nude benefit lip gloss. I have used this since prom as it's such a pretty summer colour.

Maybelline colour tattoo // On and on Bronze -I cannot recommend this enough. I love it. It works great as an eye shadow base or just a was of colour over the eye lid, it's build able, blend able and simply brilliant!! Perfect for casual day time looks or evening do's! I use it pretty much all the time!

Maybelline BB cream for oily skin // Light - I really love this product, it's for sure my favourite of the BB creams I've tried. It's light weight but gives just enough coverage for a relaxed make up look or summer day, it stays put on my face a lot longer than the original as its suited to oiler skin. It has been my go-to-product this summer!

Maybelline dream lumi touch concealer // 01 ivory - I decided to pick this up as my free item as part of the 3 for 2 on maybelline deal as it has been highly recommended so I thought I'd give it a go.. I really like this concealer, it's great under my eyes as I find it's great coverage and brightens nicely. It's natural looking and blends well. 

Samantha Chapman Real Techniques Brushes // Face expert and Blush brush - So I finally got myself some of these ever so raved about brushes, and I love them. They are such a pleasure to use!! The blush brush is so soft and puts the product perfectly in the right place as well as being a great multi task brush too, I use it for blush, powder and contour! The Expert face brush is great aswell, it leaves no streaks on my face no product is wasted in the brush, it't easy to work with and I love the finish it gives my foundation.

Thanks for reading! hope you enjoyed.
Love Ellen x

SINFULCOLORS nail varnish // Review

Hey everyone!! Today shopping I finally picked up one of these. 'Sinfulcolors' is an American brand nail varnish recently launched in Boots in the UK.To be honest when I first saw these for £1.99 I just thought they were a cheap dupe to 'china glaze' as the packaging is quite similar. Since then I saw them on many occasions crop up on beauty blogs and how pleased people were that they are now available in the UK and how great the results are.

I got shade 24/7 as I have been looking for a bright neon for the summer and this looked perfect as well as being a great price. I love the formula of it as its thick and gives a lovely matt finish (I'm not sure about the others) which I really love with the neon. I'm obsessed with nail varnish and constantly adding more to my collection so I think these are definitely ones to look out for with a great price and colour range.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it.

Love Ellen x

IMATS London 2013

Hey everyone!! First of I am so excited about this post and I have been dying to write about it!! 

So today me and my other make-up/blogger/you tube obsessed friend (!!!) took the train to Kensington Olympia in London where IMATS (international make up artist trade show) was being held, we didn't buy tickets as I couldn't justify spending £60 to wander round a huge hall. But we went in the hope of doing some beauty Guru spotting! We arrived around midday and waited around the entrance for about half an hour checking twitter every 2 minutes!! Then my friend spotted Fleur (FleurDeForce) Ingrid (missglamourazzi) Becky (TalkBeckyTalk) her sister Holly and Tati (GlamLifeGuru) going in the door behind us. So we quickly followed them and asked the security guard if we could pop in  to take a picture (he had no idea who they were but let us any way!) 

By this point I was shaking and so much more overwhelmed than I thought  I would be, it way crazy! I got pictures with Fleur and Ingrid and I was so glad as they are honestly both idols of mine and now I feel my whole summer is complete, my friend and I were so excited and shaky (hense the blurry pictures)! Luckily we got to meet them before loads of other people inside IMATS realised they had arrived so we didn't have to wait in any form of que. Even though I didn't say much to them as I was so overwhelmed by the whole situation they were so lovely and I feel so lucky to have met them, it was such a great day and I hope I get to meet them again soon!

Love Ellen x

Ingrid & I 

Fleur and I (left)

Garnier moisture match // Shine be gone

Hey Everyone! At the beginning of this year (Jan 2013) Garnier launched a new collection of 5 moisturisers suited to target whatever your skin type may be. I actually bought this within a month or so of them being released on introduction offer for £3.99 and I have used it a lot since so I thought it deserved a review!

I had a look at  the range and instantly knew I’d go for the Green  'shine be gone' as I have oily/combination skin type. It said it would help reduce the appearance of shine and give you a soft matt finish, as well as a cooling 'sorbet' texture feeling light and fresh on the skin. 

When applying this I found I only needed a small amount of the 'sorbet' texture as it went a long way. It absorbed straight into my skin and I could definitely tell any shine had been mattified. I feel this hydrated my skin perfectly without feeling sticky or wet and left it soft to touch. I also think this would work great as a make up base to prime the skin. 

I hope this review helped and I would  recommend this to any one with oily/combination skin if you have be disappointing with other 'mattifying' moisturisers, personally this one has worked wonders for me compared to all the others. I look forward to re-purchasing this at £5.99!!

Thanks for reading

Love, Ellen x

Collective empties // Things I've used up & review

Hey Everyone!! - Here are some things that I've used up in the past couple of months, and I thought I'd share with you what I thought about them after using them for a while and if I'm going to re-purchase!!

Batiste dry shampoo - floral & flirty blush (200ml) // £2.99
This product is a life saver! I use it in between washes in my roots to make my hair appear fresher and  sometimes more voluminous. I have repurchased this many times before in a lot of different scents and so far this one is my favourite!

Pantene Aqua Light nourishing mist // £4.99
I love this product so much! It is the perfect detangler for my hair and leaves it so soft light weight, and smelling amazing. I wish it came in a bigger bottle as I used it every day and didn't talk long to run out. I would definitely re-purchase this product however they no longer sell it in boots and can't find it anywhere which is incredibly frustrating!!

Simple soothing facial toner //£2.99
I really enjoyed using this product, it does exactly what is says. I used it in the morning to refresh and waken my skin and evening to take off all remaining make up and dirt from my face that I missed. I would re-purchase this as it's a reasonable price and does the job.

Nivea pearl & beauty deodorant // £2.50
Bit of a bazaar thing to be talking about but I really love this deodorant!! - One thing I hate is spray deodorant, I think the smell is so overpowering and makes me feel sick when it all lingers in my room. On the other side I'm also not a fan of roll on deodorants as I find the ones I've tried leave my under arms wet and take forever to dry. So the perfect in between these is this kind of cream base deodorant which is soft and comfortable and smells lovely!

Simple vital vitamin - night cream //£5.60
I'm not obsessed with this cream but I do like it, I applied it once I had washed my face in the evening before bed. It took away that tight skin feeling and when I woke up my skin still felt moisturised however I didn't notice a change in my skin over night. Personally I don't think I will re-purchase this as I think my standard nivea soft does the job just as good.

Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation - 100 ivory //£8.99
I started using this foundation a while back before it became a huge 'drugstore beauty must have' and once it became popular I didn't really understand why. I have oily to combination skin and I don't think it suited me well. It did not stay put all day and I had to keep re touching my powder. Also the colour match was not great yet the same as my current foundation which works wonders as you can see here. Personally I won't be repurchasing this which is so disappointing as it has worked so well for so many others.

Carex aloe vera hand gel //£1.45
Pretty much the bog-standard boring hand sanitiser, I usually buy this on offer at 99p which is great as I go through it by the gallon (not literally!!) does the job and a must-have for me taking it every where!

The Body Shop Pink Grapefruit hand gel //£2.50
Can you imagine my excitement discovering two of my favourite things ever? (body shop grapefruit and hand sanitiser) I love this so much and it didn't take me long to use it up it smells amazing and I will most certainly repurchase!

Nivea Hydro care lip balm //£1.99
I find it unusual to actually be able to say I have finished a lip balm, I have so many they usually go missing, loose their smell or I just get bored of them and buy a new one. But this one I did finish (having used it all day every day!!) it took quite a while but I did! There's no scent, it's extra hydrating and easy to apply. Not the fanciest but simply great!

Intimately Beckham perfume//(price varies)
I really love this scent, I was able to wear it casually or on an occasion all year round. It smells so luxurious or sophisticated (of course they're the Beckhams!!) yet it's not heavy or overpowering. I would love to get this again.   

Soap & Glory Righteous Butter (50ml)//£2.50
I really love all things soap and glory and I picked this up on a 3 for 2 offer with hand maid and hand food from the 'mini' selection, this was great as I could keep it in my bag and use it through out the day. The smell is so amazing and it's so softening to the skin! I will always re-purchase soap and glory!

The Body Shop Grapefruit body butter (50ml)//£4
As I mentioned here this is one of my all time favourite body shop scents if not ever, I currently have the big version but have bought the small version a couple of times to taking places with me, it's just so fresh and summery and so nice to use!

Thanks for reading!!

Love, Ellen x

Weekly wants // Make-up & more...

                            1.                                                            2.                                                     3.

                           4.                                                                      5.                                                             6.

Hey Everyone!! Just a few things I have my eye on, hopefully once I've done some saving up I may buy!

1. Sleek face form kit - light (This includes a contour powder, a highlight and a pretty blush) //£9.99

2. Topshop cream blush - Flush // £6

3. Models own nail varnish - utopia // £5 

4. Topshop lip cream - Witty // £7

5. Benefit Porefesional // £24.50

6. Real Techniques - Blush brush // £9.99

Love, Ellen x

My Summer Beauty Essentials // 2013

Hey Everyone!!

So I can't believe summer is right round the corner if not pretty much here!, however the weather in the UK is proving otherwise! Anyway, we have been lucky and had a few really gorgeous sunny days and I started thinking about all my must have beauty products for the holidays!

My summer essential nail varnishes 

Revlon Lip Butter 

Garnier BB Cream // Swatched & blended - Benefit Benetint // semi-blended & fully blended 

The Body Shop body butter // Mango & Grapefruit

Dove summer glow Gradual Tanner - light to medium 250ml // £4.99

I love this as it's so easy to apply and build able so multiple shades can be created. I like that it gives a really nice summer glow/natural tan, I don't have to wait ages for it to dry (like fake tan) and I don't have to worry about it going wrong. It develops gradually but can appear fairly instant depending on how often and the amount is applied.

Garnier Fresh Essential cleansing wipes // £3.99

I think in hot weather it's nice to have something refreshing, either to wipe away sweat, clean up smudged make up or cool your face/body down. These wipes in particular have a really clean refreshing scent and are great for carrying round in your hand/beach bag. And are handy for any summer related incidents e.g. melting ice cream, sand on feet etc!!!

Lacoste perfume - love of pink // (range of prices)

I love this fragrance for summer as it is light and fresh. I don't like having a strong musky perfume in summer I don't know why it just doesn't seem right!! I think all the lacoste scents smell sweet and floral but not too overpowering - perfect for a summer day!

Soap and glory hand maid // £2.50

Having hand sanitiser in my bad on a daily basis is a must have, and even more so on a hot summers day!, It's really uncomfortable when my hands get clammy in the heat, I just feel all gross!! After applying hand sanitiser I feel so refreshed! This one in particular from soap and glory is the best smelling one yet as its not overpowered by that alcoholic cleansing scent.

Garnier BB Cream - medium // £9.99

When I first got this BB cream (on offer at £4.99) the colour was too dark so I didn't wear it much, but in summer with a bit of a tan its perfect. A BB cream is good as it contains SPF so protects your skin from the sun and is really light weight compared to a full coverage foundation which can feel horrible in the heat.

Benefit Benetint // (sample)

I think using this kind of 'liquid' blush or cream blush in summer is nicer than a normal powder blush as it gives the skin a more 'glowy' effect which looks created by the sun. Benetint also works really well as it is build able so you can achieve a light natural effect or a bright glowy cheek!

Nivea sooth & protect SPF lip balm // £2.59

So, a few summers ago my lips got totally sunburnt on the first day of my weeks holiday, and it was so painful and uncomfortable just a huge inconvenience really! They turned red raw, they stung and tingled, they completely dried out at became so chapped and I had to keep licking them to cool them down which just made it worse! After having experienced this, now every day especially in the summer I make sure my lip balm has SPF, it really does help and prevents your lips getting damaged from the sun. Your lips are really sensitive so make sure to protect them as you would your skin!

Revlon lip butter - 047 pink lemonade // £7.99

This is one of the 4 new summer shades Revlon brought out recently and I love it, its such a perfect, cute summery colour I think 'pink lemonade' is the perfect colour/description for it! its really light weight and quick and easy to apply as well as being really moisturising. Its staying power isn't great but its easy enough to carry round in your bag to re apply during the day.

The Body Shop Body butter - mango & grapefruit // £13.00 each

(Look out as usually The Body Shop has offers on and you can pick them up for much cheaper)These for me are the ultimate summer must have, they're so kind to the skin, they moisturise dry skin from the sun amazingly and easy to lavish all over the body. The smell is the most amazing thing, I own more than these but mango and grapefruit are my favourite summer scents ever, I can't even describe how much love I have for smelling them! The smell lingers on your skin all day almost no need for a perfume. The fruity-ness of them is perfect for summer! 

Barry M - peach melba // £2.99

This colour compliments a tan perfectly or makes the skin look more tan than it is! it's like a pastel coral colour so pretty and wearable in summer.

Maybelline Colour Show - Cool Blue // £2.99

This colour had become my go-to summer nail varnish and its almost half empty (not usual for a nail varnish!) I find it compliments my skin tone so nicely and makes me look more tan! Its the perfect summer blue, half way between pastel blue and bright blue, I think the name describes exactly what it is! I also love the formula of this, it's so thick and easy to apply.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed and got some inspiration for the summer

Love, Ellen x

What's my everyday make-up look? //

Face

Eyes

Lip & tools 

Hey Everyone!! Just an insight to what I put on my face every normal day!! - enjoy.

Clear make-up bag // Superdrug £2.99
I love this bag so much! It's so handy for seeing everything inside, you can clean it, it fits as much or as little as you want and perfect for travelling as well as being a total bargain!

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation - 001 ivory // £6.99
After countless disappointing  foundations this one is so far my favourite, I have oily/combination skin and I find this foundation stays on for a longer period than any others I have tried. This foundation really suits my skin tone (main point of 'match perfection') which surprised me as it is the same colour as my previous Rimmel Wake Me Up which did not suit me at all. I find it easy to blend and I really like the smell! So I will be looking to re-purchase this when I run out.

Collection (2000) concealer - shade 2 // £4.19 
I am surprised at the price of this as when I bought it it was £2.99!...Anyway this was so raved about on majority of blogs & YouTube so thought I must give it a try! I agree in that it covers well and long lasting and great for it's value, but I found as it dried on my face the colour didn't match very well, where my foundation began to fade during the day the concealer stuck, a down side of this is as the colour wasn't great and looked strange and patchy. I am continuing to try and work with this concealer under my eyes as it covers dark circles well but personally I won't be using it on spots/imperfections! I would still recommend this as it seems to work better for a lot of people and is rather cheap.

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder - 001 transparent // £3.99
I'll keep this one short and sweet!...I love this, does what it says. It matte-ifys my oily areas and keeps my foundation on longer. I have re-purchased this many times and will continue on into the future and I love how great it is for it's value. Every day must have.

MUA eye palette - undress me too // £4
I love this palette, this and the original are meant to be dupes for the urban decay naked palettes which I am not fortunate enough to own so this it brill! Its a whole range of neutral mattes and shimmers that are all so wearable, I like mixing it up day to day as so many looks can be created with this! (I also use the light matte brown for my eye brows) They're not the best pigmentation but I can't complain as it's such great value at less than 20p a colour!

Maybelline The Falsies - Black // £7.99
This is by far one of my all time favourite mascaras! I love the effect it gives and is so easy to apply with nearly never any clumps, I love that it's build able depending on how many coats you apply. I find staying power isn't great after a long busy day but I'm not too fussed about that!, over all I love it.
OR
Benefit They're Real // £19.50
At almost £20 it's a lot to pay for a mascara however I was fortunate enough to receive a benefit voucher for my birthday so only paid £5, I really love this mascara, I never get any clumps and doesn't move at all through out the day. I love the effect it gives and I can see why people love it so much. I like this product as much as Maybelline The Falsies, so it's a great cheaper alternative.

Maybelline Gel liner //  £7.99
I really love this as it is so versatile, I can wear it on my waterline or on my upper lash line  and it stays put all day. I definitely prefer it to the other liquid liners available as it's easier to apply and drys quicker. It can be used lightly to define the eyes, or can create a cat-eye effect and be smudged to create a smokey eye. I comes with a brush which works fine but personally I think using an angled brush works more effectively.

Bert's Bees lip balm - Mango // £3.69
I think this is quite a lot of money to pay for what is it, but I am very pleased with it. I am definitely a lip balm junkie and this has become my go-to lip balm and almost run out (which is rare of a lip balm!!) I don't tend to wear a lip colour on a day to day basis I just go for a balm.This one in particular is so nourishing, the Mango drew me to this as love the scent, it didn't smell as I hoped but I still really liked it.

H&M double ended eye brush // £1.99
This brush is great value for what is is, you get an angles brush at one end which I use for my eyebrows, then a 'smokey eye' brush at the other which is great for patting colours on the eye-lid and in the crease.

Real Techniques expert face brush // £8.99
I was so desperate to try real techniques brushes as they have been so raved about so finally decided on this one. I love this so much! it feels so soft applying foundation and as it is synthetic hardly any foundation is wasted in the brush. I use this all the time now and I am really looking forward to getting some more.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed or gained something from this.

Love, Ellen x