February Favourites

Another month down and it's been a good one for new discoveries. I have quite a few things to talk about this month so lets get right down to it.

I'll start with one that's possibly a bit obvious: in my post about the new releases to the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani line, I made my feelings towards the Lipsticks in that collection pretty clear (click here if you missed it!). I have gone back and picked up the shade "Rock Steady" (resisting hard on the other shades - surely buying them all is a little extreme?) but it's the shade "Firebird" that really has my heart. It's an awesome deeper bright pink and it's super comfortable and so unique and my other lipsticks have barely had a look in this month. Seriously, love.

With a bold lip I've been going for something a little less in-your-face on the eyes and I've been gravitating to the Love of Colour One and Done Shadow Stick in the shade "Champagne Problems". I got this in my Birchbox this month and LOC is an in-house brand at Birchbox and let me tell you, these shadow sticks aren't messing around. They're £8 each and they're pigmented, long lasting, creamy eyeshadow sticks and you'll be hearing more about this brand in an upcoming post. My only complaint? There's only 2 shades available in the UK right now - LOC, please release more!

Another Birchbox win this month was the Spectrum Collections Tapered Finishing Brush. This brush retails for £7.99 and it's a really lovely brush for contouring the cheek bones. I love that it's so colourful and even though it's only £7.99 full price it feels really sturdy and nicely made. For those of you that want vegan friendly, cruelty free brushes these are also synthetic bristle brushes.

Ive been getting back into using setting sprays. I went off them because the only ones on the market were a bit up there in price and for me they didn't do an awful lot - Ive had the Urban Decay De-Slick Setting Spray in my collection for years. On a recent trip to Boots I saw that the L'Oreal Infallible Fixing Mist had come over to the UK and it was in my basket before you could say "setting spray". I'm still not sure if it's doing much for the longevity of my makeup but it does make my base apply a little nicer as it gives some slip and I've been using it every day since I got it.

And finally? Hair masks. I've not been into hair for ages but I'd been wearing it up off my face a lot for a few weeks and noticed the ends were feeling a bit brittle and not as soft as they normally are. Depending on how much time I have in the shower I've either been reaching for the Swell Ultimate Volume Masque or the Philip Kingsley Elasticizer in the "Geranium & Neroli" scent. I personally prefer the effect of the Philip K option, it's a bit of a faff having to dampen the hair, put the mask in and then leave for 5-10 minutes before shampooing but the effect is great.

Balance Me Congested Skin Serum

Some people like to find a skincare routine that works for them and stick to it. Me? Not so much. I've been trialling a lot of newness (or at least new to my skincare stash-ness) lately and one of the things I've been playing with for a little while is the Balance Me Congested Skin Serum. So I figured I'd let you know how it's been working for me.

So this product is a little confusingly marketed, my first thought was "ooh, a serum for £16, that might be a nice budget product for the blog"! Upon it's arrival I noticed it was only 15ml of product which pushed it more into the mid-range price bracket, and then upon reading the packaging, it doesn't seem to be a serum at all, it's a spot treatment.

So confusion aside, it seems to be reasonably priced compared to higher end spot treatments (Origins Super Spot Remover is £15 for 10ml, Benefit Boo Boo Zap is £14.50 for 7.4ml for comparison). The packaging is also quite nice, it's a hard-plastic tube with a pump on the top. The pump doesn't pump out too much product and it keeps things nice and sanitary which is exactly what you need on a spot treatment.

The actual product is white in colour but goes clear and colourless as you press it into the skin. It has a thin, slightly gel-like texture to it which absorbs into the skin fairly quickly. As I've mentioned this is intended to be a targeted spot treatment which you just dab directly onto blemishes, but the formula isn't at all stripping and I see no reason why you couldn't use it all over the face. I myself have used this as an all-over serum and didn't notice any dryness or dehydration at all, and I find even when used all over the face that it sits well under makeup and won't drink up liquid foundation.

I found the scent on this serum/treatment really pleasant, it's a nice sweet citrus-y scent that will wake you up a bit if used in the morning. I didn't notice the scent lingering on the skin too long after application and it's not at all over-powering for those of you that are sensitive to fragrance. However for those with sensitivities I will mention that the formula does list some ingredients like essential oils so if that's something your skin doesn't like this might be one to skip.

Other than that I think this is a nice product - I personally prefer it as a serum than a spot treatment but if it's a spot treatment you're looking for, this is a nice gentle one that might be worth a try.

My Must-Have Masks

Face masks have always been a really popular product type in the world of skincare and with good reason. They tend to be my go-to product for a quick fix when my skin's misbehaving and I've tried an awful lot of them but here's a run down of my favourites from the ones I've tried:

For the dry or dehydrated out there, there's a lot of moisturising masks on the market and, while some budget options are quite good, my absolute favourite one is the Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask (£23 for 100ml). It's essentially a super heavy duty night cream and you apply a thin layer before bed for a boost of hydration. The scent is nice and fruity and it leaves the skin feeling soft and supple. If the Origins is out of your price range my affordable alternative would be the Super Facialist by Una Brennan Rose Hydrate Intense Moisture Mask at £9.99 for 125ml. This is more of a quick fix type mask than an overnight treatment but it works well and the rose scent is lovely.

Clay masks are something you really don't need to spend a lot of money on if you don't want to. My absolute favourite clay mask is the Aroma Actives Deep Cleansing & Purifying Clay Mask. It's around the £10 mark for 100ml and I pick this up from Sainsbury's (although this product isn't available on the Sainsbury's website), I like this one because it's an effective clay mask but it doesn't strip all of the moisture out of the skin like some clay masks do. If Aroma Actives isn't available near you or if you just fancy splurging on a more luxe clay mask, the Charlotte Tilbury Goddess Skin Clay Mask is a nice one. My only problem with it is that, at £45 for 75ml, I think it's quite steeply priced for something that works very similarly to the Aroma Actives one.

The final mask type I'll be talking about today is the exfoliating mask. I have two that work very similarly and they are the Oskia Renaissance Mask and the Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask. They're both an orange-y pink gel texture with a soft rose-y scent. They both go onto the skin with a jelly-ish texture and neither of them will dry or "set' on the face. I personally wouldn't be able to tell the difference between them in a blind trial and they're quite similarly priced with the Oskia being £48.50 for 50ml and the Tata Harper being £45 for 30ml. I'll leave either of these on for 3-10 minutes, rinse off and my skin feels so smooth after use.

A good exfoliating mask for me has some slightly pricier ingredients in the formula and, because of that, I haven't been able to find a more budget friendly option. However if you're strapped for cash and need some exfoliation in your life I'd recommend a more affordable exfoliating toner which you can use 2-3 times a week like the Pixi Glow Tonic (£18 for 250ml) or the First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads (£22 for 60 pads).

Makeup Tips for Glasses Wearers

I've always been a big fan of eye makeup, so when I got to the point in life where my eyesight had gotten bad enough to have to wear glasses all the time, I opted for contact lenses initially. After a few years of them not really working for me (I'd tried dailies, monthlies, only wearing them for a few days a week - my eyes just don't really like them) I resigned to actually wearing my glasses and have found ways to still make makeup work for me, so here's some quick tips for those of us who don't get on with contacts.

Choose your frames carefully. When I picked up my glasses I've gone for a shape that's really flattering on my face, they're oversized with thin pieces of metal surrounding the lenses in a burgundy colour ( I found black frames to be a bit too harsh for my features) and the actual shape of the frames is slightly cat-eye shaped. They're just like a larger version of the shape I normally wear my eyeshadow in. The frames I've got give me a lot of lid space for eyeshadow without having to blend outside of the frames - which brings me to my next tip:

Try to keep the colour within the frames. Eyeshadow on glasses wearers can start to look a little messy if it's blended outside of the frames. When you're doing your eye makeup, the easiest way to make it look polished is to treat the frames of your glasses as the frames for your eyes.

Keep things balanced. Like I said, my frames are quite oversized so they cover up a bit of my eyebrows, I always make sure that I fill my brows in as it offers some balance to the face. I also think a toned down eye and a really bold lip looks great with glasses, your frames are already giving your eyes definition so mascara and a bold lip always seems to work nicely.

And finally - beware of false eye lashes. I personally don't bother with falsies if I'm wearing glasses as they just end up brushing up against the lenses and going a bit wonky. If you are going for false lashes, I'd recommend going for shorter ones and using a really good glue to make sure they're 100% secure.

Nspa Does Face Masks

A while I did a post about the Nspa Skincare range at Asda (clicky link: here) and there was some gems in that post so when I saw that they did little face-mask sachets, I figured they'd be worth a try. There's 3 in the range and they're all aimed at different skin concerns, so lets ave a look.

So the first one I tried was the Nspa "Treat" Warming Detox Mask. The mask comes in a pink sachet and claims to be a "elf-heating treatment with natural clay to deeply cleanse the skin" and if I'm honest, I can't really offer this mask a fair review. I used it precisely once and the smell was so awful that I had to remove it immediately, it made me feel a bit sick. Now I know scent isn't everything and that as long as something works the scent shouldn't be a big thing, but for something that you have to leave on for 15 minutes, the scent is unbelievable strong and overpowering.

The second mask I tried was a bit better. The Nspa "Cleanse" Deep Cleansing Mask claims that it is "A dead-sea mineral mud mask to treat and refresh the skin for a beautiful complexion". This one goes on to the skin a light blue colour and though the sachet recommends 15 minutes, I found that it dried down in around 5 minutes. The scent was fresh with a slight hint of mint and was light enough that it wasn't overpowering. You get 2 uses out of the sachets and it left my skin feeling nice and smooth on removal, however it did leave my skin craving moisture and I have oily/combination skin.

The final variety in the range is the Nspa "Moisturise" Radiance Boosting Mask, and this one is the worst of the lot. It goes onto the face light pink and feels nice and cooling on application. The scent was a nice soft sweet almost herbal-y scent that was completely non-offensive and, again, you can get 2 uses out of the packet. I was really happy with it at first. Now fast-forward 5-10 minutes later, the mask had dried and as I wen to remove it my skin underneath was red and dry started heating up. The redness was really blotchy and didn't go down (even after I'd applied some nourishing oils) for a few hours.

I don't like posting super negative reviews but I thought this was worth sharing - especially that last one since the mask actually seemed to be damaging. I am really disappointment since there's lots of other products in the Nspa range that are really nice, amazing value products but these are just not great.

Beauty Brands You Can Pick Up In Manchester

I can imagine there are people in the world that plan a trip solely around the tempurate of the country, or the sights to be seen. I guess there can be a whole range of factors that might have an effect on where people choose to travel to when they're booking trips, but for, the local shopping has become one. So with my home town of Manchester being a seemingly popular tourist destination (for reason that I unfortunately can't understand let alone explain) I figured I'd let you know which beauty brands you can pick up in store here.

You won't find a Space NK store in every city in the UK but you will find a little one in Manchesters St. Ann's Square. Don't be fooled by it's size it is small but perfectly formed, and the staff there are so friendly and helpful. If you're not into online shopping this store has brands like Becca, Hourglass, Oskia, Oribe, Sarah Chapman, By Terry and Aromatherapy Associates on the shelves where you can see/feel/sniff them.

For department stores, we don't have a Fenwicks or a Liberties, but we do have 2 of the 4 UK branches of Selfridges, Debenhams, House of Fraser and a John Lewis (but you do need to go specifically to the Trafford Centre for John Lewis and our House of Fraser can be found near Deansgate in Manchester city centre). Between those stores you'll find Urban Decay, Nars, MAC, Diptique, The White Company and Tom Ford (and if you find yourself in the Trafford Centre branch of Selfridges you'll even find a little section dedicated to Muji).

There's a Boot's or a Superdrug (or one of each) in most areas that have some form of shopping centre in Manchester but I find the Superdrug in the Trafford Centre to be the best one for beauty selection here and the Boots on Market Street in the City Centre carries NYX and Origins which you wont find in most other branches. Market Street will also be the one place you'll find a H&M that stocks their entire range of beauty products.

You'll be able to find Lush and The Body Shop in most area's and we have a stand-alone Yankee Candle store in the Arndale Centre - but you can find a selection of Yankee's products in some branches of Clintons Cards.

If there's anything I've missed feel free to update in the comments - I think this is one of those posts that will need revisiting as new brand become available etc.

The Perfect Smokey Eye With Tom Ford

I've mentioned owning the Tom Ford Eye Shadow Quad in "Sahara Haze" before on the blog but I wanted to give it a good testing before I did a full post on it. I was going to pick up a few of the palettes and do a review on the line as a whole but I figured that really, the palettes are so different that stand alone reviews made sense. So this is on the "Sahara Haze" colour collections but if you're wanting to hear about the others, I'm up for doing those posts for you too.

So I guess the first thing we need to address with this product is the price. Yes, it's expensive. Yes, it's only four shades. Yes, it's a little bit outrageous, but it's Tom Ford. While I do think his products are pricey, lets not forget that there's some other fashion designers that have released cosmetics recently that are also earth-shatteringly expensive (I'm looking at you Mr Louboutin). Aside from the ingredient and the 10g of product, you're paying for the name and the packaging with a product like this.

I think the packaging is nicely done, it feels really luxe with the little velvet pouch (that yes, I do keep) and the mirrored brown and gold palette casing is nicely weighted and feels sturdy and substantial. When you open the palette, inside the lid there's a really nicely sized mirror and a small well that contains two mini applicators.

The applicators included are usable if a little cheaply done - two double ended applicators, both have one end that is a standard sponge tip and then the others ends are a tapered sponge tip on one and a thin tapered brush which is actually quite soft. Your eyeshadow will look fine if you use these but for the price it would have been nice to see some actual brushes included. Although I should mention that the sponge used on the sponge tips is softer than the ones you'd fine in an NYC quad, so they are "high-end" sponge tips, if those exist.

The eyeshadow pans are nice and big so you'll have no trouble dipping whatever brush you want into them and in the "Sahara Haze" collection, it's a variety of smokey looking shades. The lightest shade is a creamy off-white with yellow-gold undertones and for me it's like a satin with a bit more glow to it, very pretty everyday shade. The next shade working clockwise is a medium cool grey, standard satin finish and possibly a little on the sheer side - for me this is the weakest shade in the palette. The darkest shade comes off black but definitely has a hint of greenish tones in there and is laced with super-fine gold glitter. And then the final shade is one of the much-hyped "Glitter Top Coat" shades, in a swatch it comes off as a very light green with lots of gold glitter but when applied to the eyes it gives a similar effect as a super-fine micro-glitter pigment would.

All in all, the shades are all really pretty and work perfectly together to create a really glam smokey eye for an evening out. They're also all really unique, even the light creamy colour is unlike anything else in my collection. My main disappointment is that despite there being four shades to play with, I feel like there's only really one look I can achieve with it because of the colour selection. If the grey had been swapped out for a more brown-ish medium shade then you'd have had a day time look with the lightest and medium shades and you could work in the deeper colour and the glitter for an evening look but the grey confines it to a lid shade for me.

For quality the shadows are soft and creamy and they are really easy to apply and blend on the eyes. I feel like when I've done my eyeshadow using these products everything on the eyes looks nice and seamlessly glam. I will mention that because the shades are so creamy they can fall down a little when you're applying so you might want to be careful in that respect but they are really nice shadows that I do really enjoy using. I just think this colour selection is a little limiting in terms of the looks you can achieve with them.

The Build Your Own Birchbox Event At Selfridges

Firstly - a quick apology as this means there's been two posts about Birchbox this week - worry not, there is no sponsored posts going on here. I genuinely loved my February box enough to blog about it and I only found out about this event on Tuesday night this week and it's ending soon so I wanted to get the post up ASAP for you so no one misses out.

The first Birchbox X Selfridges event is being held at the Manchester Exchange Selfridges in Manchester's city centre, the event here ends on the 21st of February, so you have until next Sunday to get yourself down to that one to participate. If you do miss it don't worry, Birchbox are holding a second Manchester event at the Trafford Centre Selfridges between the 20th of March and the 9th of April and they'll also be visiting the Birmingham branch of Selfridges between the 29th of May and the 11th of June.

When you get there they give you an empty box and a tick list which tells you to pick 1 product out of each of the categories. The category boxes are broken down into two labeled "makeup", one labeled "skincare", one labeled "body", one labeled hair and one label "bonus" and each category is split into 4 sections, each containing a different product. So it's not a "pick any 6 products" which I'd have preferred, I personally would have picked two skincare, two body, one makeup and one bonus for my box if there'd been no restrictions.

Hopefully the range of products available is the same at each of the events (I'm planning to attend the Trafford Centre one to check and will update if this isn't the case). At the Manchester Exchange event you could choose from the following samples:

Makeup:

Benefit They're Real Lash Primer

Jelly Pong Pong Caribbean Sun Duo Bronzer in "Martinique"

LOC One & Done Shadow Stick in "Perfect Cents"

Laura Mercier Kohl Ey Pencil in "Black Violet"

Lord & Berry Couture Kohl Kajal Eye Pencil in "Black"

Mirenesse Glossy Kis in "Cheeky Kiss"

Pop Beauty Eyeshadow Trio in "Peach Parfait"

Wild About Beauty Lip Pencil Duo in "Fiona or Mia"

Skincare:

Absolution L'Eau Soir Et Matin

NUDE ProGenius Omega Treatment Oil

Huyges Le Gommage Visage Exfoliating Cream

Sarah Chapman Skinesis 3D Moisture Infusion Mask

Body Care:

Beauty Protector Beauty Wash Body Cleanser

Bliss Lemon + Sage Body Butter

Korres Santorini Vine Shower Gel

Rituals Honey Touch Body Cream

Haircare:

Beaver Professional Hydro Nutritive Moisturising Shampoo

Macadamia Professional Moisture Shampoo in Nourising, Weightless or Ultra Rich

Parlour By Jeff Chastain Moisturizing Sea Salt Spray

Percy & Reed Reassuringly Firm Session Hold Hairspray

Beauty Bonus:

This Works Sleep Plus Pillow Spray

This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray

Regenerate Enamel Science Advanced Toothpaste

Birchbox Key Ring (Selfridges Event Exclusive Item)

So a decent enough selection and a lot of the products are great. The build-your-own-box is £15 compared to the £12.95 that a normal box would cost including the shipping so it is only £2 more than a normal box. It's also nice to see some more luxe brands like Sarah Chapman, Laura Mercier and This Works included as this box is slightly more expensive.

The main thing that I couldn't help but notice was how many of the products I thought "I'd pick that, but I've already had it in a box before". I've been a Birchbox subscriber for a year now and prior to this event I'd already had 9 of the 24 products and I've had another one in a different shade in a box as well. It would have been nice to see more products that we'd not had in boxes before for existing subscribers.

The Recently Single Girl's Guide To Getting On With It

So I just wanted to get this cleared up before we start: this post isn't to bash my ex-partner at all. It is simply a (hopefully) helpful set of suggestions to help those of us who are finding themselves recently unattached get through the season of heart-shaped everything's and hand-holding. Having been attached for the best part of 2 years I found getting used to being back on the market a bit daunting at first but I think I've got it down now - and if you have any suggestions to add feel free to help a girl out.

1. I always find the best therapy for a breakup is your friends. Give them a call, ask them to come over, turn up on their doorstep (maybe warn them first if you're opting for the latter). I have a couple of amazing best girl-friends who were practically fighting over who was going to order me takeaway and pour wine down my throat when they heard about what had happened and I'm eternally grateful to them for it. A good friend is also going to be the one who will enforce strict no-rebound rules on you and will be on standby to go see that film or try that new restaurant or whatever it was that you and your no-longer other half were planning on doing together.

2. Devote some time to yourself. Seriously. It sounds corny as hell, but it's true. My life revolved around my ex when we were together, between lining up schedules and planning dates to actually spending time together he took up a good 80% of my free time. I dropped all sorts of hobbies to accommodate my relationship and I've really been enjoying re-discovering and getting back into the things I used to love.

3. Throw yourself into something you're good at. There was a line in "One Tree Hill" from back in the day that really hit me on the close of this relationship: "Focus on your talent. Everything else will work itself out" and that's what's been getting me through. I've thrown myself into my work and you know what? Not even a month on I feel so much better. I feel productive and I feel positive and I'm going to be fine. Focus on the things that are going well and everything will be okay.

4. Don't feel like you can't still be friends with the people you met through your ex, but don't put up with them if they're being less than nice to you. Keep in mind that their view of the breakup is limited to what your ex has told them, and that they were already his friends when they met you. Remove yourself from the group chats, delete them if necessary, but don't take verbal abuse and don't put up with bullying.

5. Give yourself time to properly heal. This is a difficult one because there is no one-size-fits-all answer to "how long does it take to get over something/someone". Every person and every situation is different. That being said, figure out your feelings and feel them. Another quote I've been holding onto lately is "pain demands to be felt" (John Green), and the truth is, every feeling demands to be felt. So whatever your feeling, feel it, and know that the way you feel is more than likely an appropriate response.

And if all else fails, I have 2 words for you: Netflix and chocolate. If all you need right now is a few days of laying in bed with junk food watching TV like a zombie, then do it. If it turns into weeks it's a problem, but a small dose of time spent feeling sorry for yourself can help. (And don't worry, I don't know many people who actually share anything that is marketed "to-share" either).

The February 2016 Birchbox

I mentioned the fact that I subscribe to Birchbox in a post way back when I started my subscription, and I haven't mentioned them since because on the whole, the quality of the boxes had gotten a bit poor. I was actually considering cancelling my subscription after the disappointment that was my January 2016 box but this month they've really turned it around and it's a box worth trying to get your hands on.

So the theme of the Feb 16 box was "Shine Bright Like A Diamond" and the box itself is super cute with the white and pastel colours and the metallic writing. Like all of the Birchbox offerings, it give you 5 sample products and one "Beauty Bonus" in your little Birchbox drawstring bag.

When I was considering cancelling after the January box, I got an email advertising that the Feb box would include a full size of one of the new LOC Love of Colour One And Done Shadow Sticks and that's what made me hold out for the Feb box. Tati from "Glam Life Guru" on YouTube had been involved with Birchbox LOC Launch in the states and I just had a feeling they'd be great. They let you pick from the two shades available so I picked "Champagne Problems" and it's a beautiful shimmery silvery taupe that's easy to apply and beautiful on the lids.

This month also brought a sample of the Frat Boy Blush from The Balm which seems to have a bit of a cult following these days. It's a beautiful peachy pink blush that's pigmented and has the amazing staying power that I've come to expect from The Balms products. My one gripe with this product is the sample size it such a tiny square that it can be a bit fiddly getting an even layer on your blush brush.

I'm a cleanser addict so the addition of the Korres Milk Proteins 3-in-1 Cleansing Emulsion was nice for me. The sample size is perfect for short trips of traveling and the texture of the cleanser is lovely and creamy on the skin and it's not stripping at all. It's not a cleanser I'd se for makeup removal but for a morning cleanse it seems nice. It's lightly scented and while I' not a fan of the scent, it's not overwhelmingly awful.

The box also includes a full sized Spectrum Collections Tapered Powder Brush. I personally hadn't heard of the brand before but my sister uses some of these brushes and loves them. The coloured handles and bristles are fun but it's a good quality, sturdy brush and the bristles are nice and soft. The shape is also perfect for contouring products, it's like a slightly denser version of the Charlotte Tilbury Powder and Sculpt Brush.

This months beauty bonus was a single use of the Derm Eyes Makeup Remover Wipes. These claim to be for sensitive eyes and delicate eyelids and they're safe for contact lens users. I must admit, with them being a single use I haven't tried them yet as they seem ideal for an overnight trip so I'm saving them but they do seem interesting and if they work I will definitely have to report back.

And finally, the one thing I wasn't so excited about, but these days is it really a birchbox if it doesn't contain some sort of body cream? I'm sure the Ayres Body Butter in "Patagonia" is lovely, the scent seems pleasant, but seriously Birchbox, enough body creams.

But all in all, a solid box. If by some stroke of luck Birchbox are reading this: More boxes like this one in future please!

Tata Harper Glow On Demand Set Review

Tata Harper is a brand that I've been interested in trying for ages now but this it being a pricier brand I was waiting for a sample kit that really spoke to me and the Glow On Demand Set did just that. While they have had the Tata's Daily Essentials Set on Cult Beauty for a while now, and you get to try a lot in that set, it was the cleansers I was itching to try and that kit had more "other" skin care bits to it. So when the Glow on Demand came out, I practically jumped for joy.

The set contains 4 travel minis: the Purifying Cleanser, the Hydrating Floral Essence, the Regenerating Cleanser and the Resurfacing Mask and it also contained a sample of one of the Volumising Lip and Cheek Tints which I got in the shade "Very Naughty". The travel mini's are all 15ml and come in substantial-feeling glass packaging that definitely feels sturdy enough to travel with and are all able to be re-filled, so if you really like them you can buy the full sizes and decant into the these bottles for travel which I think is a nice touch.

The Regenerating Cleanser is one of those exfoliating cleansers with the grainy particles in it. The actual formula of the cleanser is a very fluid, creamy liquid that's easy to work into the skin and the exfoliating particles are very fine and not overly abrasive. This one has a lovely orange-zest type scent to it which is refreshing during use but it doesn't seem to linger too long once you're done with your skincare routine.

I'd pin this as a morning cleanser because of the scent and the fact that you can't really use it for makeup removal because the exfoliation - it's not a cleanser I'd use too close to the eye area. I personally remove with a hot, damp wash cloth but I can't see any reason why you couldn't splash it off with water. My skin feels clean and soft after use but I'd be careful with it if you're prone to breakouts, simply on the fact that it's a manual exfoliant which can spread bacteria from existing breakouts all over the face.

I was really excited to try the Purifying Cleanser and it really didn't disappoint. This one is more of a gel cleanser but I don't lather with it. I use it as an evening cleanser after makeup removal or it makes a nice AM cleanse as well. Again this has a citrus-y orange-type scent to it but there's more of an earthy undertone with the scent on this cleanser.

It goes onto the skin like a gel and is one of those cleansers that almost melts down into an oily texture when you work it in to the skin. This is another one that I prefer to remove with a wash cloth but I have splashed off with water whilst traveling and that works too, I just feel like you don't get the same feeling of "ooh, my skin feels so clean and smooth right now" because you don't get the added exfoliating from the flannel.

The Hydrating Floral Essence is nice if unnecessary. It has a very subtle sweet rosy scent to it and it feels lovely and refreshing as you spray it on the skin. It does leave a bit of a glow on the skin and does add a layer of moisture into your routine but ultimately one of those princess products that's an add on. While I do like this product it's definitely not a "must have product". If budget is a concern for you, spend your money on a good cleanser, a great serum, a sturdy moisturiser and a mask that's tailored to your specific skin concern before you start looking into products like this.

I loved the Resurfacing Mask. It's a cooling gel texture that feels silky on the skin and it's an exfoliating mask that really leaves my skin feeling soft and smooth once I've removed it. The rose scent is lovely and it doesn't leave my skin crying out for moisturiser on removal like some exfoliating masks do.

My one thing with this mask is that I can't help but draw parallels between this one and the Oskia Renaissance Mask, which is another one of my favourites. That is also a rose scented, gel formula exfoliating mask, although that one does feel a little more firm in the pot than the Tata mask. I'm struggling to see much difference in them, and while the Oskia mask is £48.50 to the Tata's £44, the Oskia contains 50ml and Tata only gives you 30ml. At the end of the day if you already like one of the masks, you'll probably like the other, but the Oskia does seem to be more affordable per ml.

I haven't really formed a solid opinion on the lip and cheek tint yet. It's not really a shade I'll wear on my cheeks with it being a bright red and the format is a bit fiddly for me for use on the lips (give me a traditional tube-format lip product any day). I don't even particularly find myself drawn to the shade all that much, it's a sheer poppy redand I much prefer the look of say the Benetint Lip Balm or something like MAC Luster Finish Lipstick in "Ladybug".

Some Bits From The Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Collection

So when I heard that Gwen Stefani was collaborating with Urban Decay to bring out a whole collection of products, I got a little giddy. I have a whole review on the Eyeshadow Palette from the collection here and while I wasn’t sure how much I’d like it just looking at the shades, it’s landed straight in my favourites list. So here’s my thought on the rest of the bits I picked up from the collection.

The Gwen Stefani Lipsticks were just one of those things that I had to have. There wasn’t a singe shade in the lineup that I wasn’t interested in so narrowing it down to a non-outrageous number was difficult and after trying the two I picked up I’m pretty sure I’ll be going back for more. In the end I picked up shades “714” (the Mega-Matte red) and “Firebird” (the vibrant blue toned pink). I love both of the shades and they’re colours I’ll get a lot of wear out of.

Out of the two I’d say the “Firebird” is my favourite, the texture is really comfortable with it being a creamy finish and the micro-shimmer is really pretty without being OTT or at all garish. I love the shade of “714” and the mega-matte finish is lovely and long-lasting but the comfort factor lets it down a little bit. I really like both though and I think I need to go back for “Rock Steady” and “Wonderland” in particular. The other stand-out quality to these is the packaging. While it can feel a little bit flimsy as it’s just plastic, the black and gold graphic print is really lovely.

When I picked up my first pieces from the collection I didn’t think I needed the Gwen Stefani 24.7 Glide On Lip Pencils and that I’d have stuff in my collection that would work. For some of the shades in the collection that’s definitely the case but there some do seem to be a bit more unique. I have MAC’s Lip Pencil in “Redd” and that’s a near dead-on match for “714” but “Firebird” is a bit more unique and I'm considering picking up the matching lip liner. The packaging is beautiful. You can really tell that Gwen had an input into every aspect of these products.

Finally we have the Gwen Stefani Blush Palette. XSparkage’s review on this piece sparked my interest in this (no pun intended - honest). The rest of collection came out in America before it hit the UK so when she said it was perfect for pale skin tones I figured I needed to at least give it a go and it IS pretty. After having actually used it, I’m not sure it’s exactly what I wanted it to be. The matte-bronzer shade is really warm so it’s no good for contouring, you’d need a separate contouring product. Then there's a shimmery bronze-y shade that’s really pretty to add a sun-lit glow. The highlight shade is really lovely too, a very intense highlight that’s great for pale-ys, and the 3 blush shades are really great but you need to be so carful with them because they’re really pigmented. Really I just wanted to see something that would work as a contour in here, that’s the thing that really lets it down because for me it’s not an “all you need for cheeks” palette without one. That being said, if you’re pale and not fussed with contouring, I can imagine you’d think this was pretty perfect.

January Favourites

First month of 2016 is over and I've never been so glad to see the back of a month in my life. January this year brought me some big challenges but there's been some great product discoveries this month that have helped me along the way. We've also got one rediscovery in here too that I'm equally excited about. So let get into it.

My rediscovery this month was the Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation. I absolutely love this. The shade match it great, the formula is comfortable and it lasts well on the skin and the packaging is practical for travel. For a high-end foundation it's not too up there in price £32.50 for 30ml (although it was definitely more around the £26 mark when I first started wearing it so the price has crept up over the years). I use shade "03" and the shade range is really impressive. The lightest shade is white and the darkest is very dark, and the shade selection caters to everyone from the fairest of the fair to those with the absolute deepest of skin tones which is great.

I finally picked up one of the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfectors, these have to be one of the most hyped lip product ever and for good reason. I have shade "02" which is a natural pink and theres a really nice amount of shine to these. They're a relatively sheer lipgloss/balm hybrid product that are super comfortable on the lips without being sticky at all. Also - the scent/taste on these, they're lovely and sweet without being overpowering at all. Best of all? They've just introduced a berry shade into the line and I will definitely picking it up shortly.

This one won't come as a surprise to those who read my review/rave on the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette (here - spoiler, it's a positive one). The packaging is amazing, the selection of shades is the perfect balance between wearable and fun colours and it really caters to my "fairest of them all" skin tone. My favourite shades have been "Punk", "Zone", "Steady" and "Danger". The formulas are amazing and most of these are shades I can see myself reaching for a lot. I've picked up a few more bits from the collection so check back on Friday this week to hear more about that.

So the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel has finally been knocked off the top spot. I have a review on the whole set coming up soon but the Tata Harper Purifying Cleanser has just jumped to the top spot in my skincare stash this month. The citrus-y scent is nice and refreshing for an AM cleanse and the formula is creamy and cooling on the skin. I saw a noticeable difference in my skin after using this cleanser which always puts a product on my radar. Obviously I take pretty good care of my skin so when something makes a really visible difference for me it's always impressive.

My last pick is also a skincare product and again it's one that been featured in a post recently: the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream. I only have the travel size for now and I'm rationing it until payday when I can go and treat myself to a full size. This is just such a lovely day cream, super moisturising, makes a nice base for makeup, smells amazing. What's not to love?