The Fab Five - Red Lips

I've been really into lip products for the longest time and there's nothing more classic than a nice red lip. There's that many options available these days that it can get a little over whelming, so I've rounded up a list of my top red-lip-picks for you in the hopes it makes the search a little easier.

1. I would probably say my go-to red lip for an evening out would be the the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in the shade "Dragon Girl". I've loved the Velvet Matte range from Nars for a while now and I've had a few different reds from the line that I've loved but I think Dragon Girl just suits my complexion the best. It's a bright, slightly blue-based red that's almost bordering between a red and pink and it's a powdery matte finish that's super long wearing. The one downside is that, with it being so powdery, it will cling to dry patches on your lips and it's not the most comfortable option.

2. For the vampy lip lovers, I'm mad for "Rock Steady". It's one of the cream finish lipsticks from Urban Decay's VICE Lipstick launch and it's a gorgeous, slightly blue-based, dark red. If you apply this full whack it's very much a statement lip but if you apply it sheerly (maybe mixed in with a little lip balm) it has a lot of purple in it. A stunning multi-tasker and it's super comfortable with the bold, creamy finish. The only thing I would say is it can get a little messy if you aren't careful, the creamy finish can move a little and with the colour being so bold it's very noticeable.

3. A more day-time appropriate option would be M.A.C Lustre Lipstick in the shade "Lady Bug". I've had this one for ages and I always go back to it. It's a lovely, bright, true red but with it being the lustre finish, it's nicely sheer and glossy (which I think makes it a more wearable red). With it being a glossy finish it does require some touching up throughout the wear but it's very comfortable to wear.

4. My affordable option will come as no surprise: the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in the shade "Hot Pepper". It's a matte, bright, orangey red. This one can require a little building up on the lips as it can apply a tad sheer on the first application but once you've got it in place it's not going anywhere. Again, with it being matte it's not very forgiving on dry patches but it's not as powdery as the Nars option.

5. And finally? I absolutely love my Chanel Rouge Allure in "97 0 Incandescente". It's actually very similar in shade to the Bourjoir option, a bright, orangey red but this one is a lovely opaque creamy finish. I think the creamy finish makes it appropriate during the day but it's a lovely option for evening wear too, very comfortable but might require a couple of touch ups.

2016 Beauty Discoveries

So 2016 definitely wasn't my best year for blogging, but I thought this would be a great time to mention a few products I found in 2016 that I loved, that may not have gotten the blogging attention they deserved. I obviously loved more products than just the four I'll be mentioning today but these are the new-comers to my stash that really stood out.

1. Tata Harper's Regenerating Cleanser. So 2016 was the year in which I was introduced to Tata Harpers products, and narrowing down a top pick from her cleansing range wasn't easy, (I also have the Purifying and Oil Cleansers and they're both FAB options too). I decided to go with the Regenerating one for a couple of reasons: firstly, it got me back into manual exfoliation. Second? It's unlike other things I have. While I love the Oil Cleanser, we all know I love a bit of Una Brennan for oil cleansing. Equally, I really enjoy the Purifying Cleanser, but it's not leaps and bounds away from the Oskia Cleansing Gel that I've been using for years. The Regenerating Cleanser is a thin cream cleanser with little sand-like grains (no plastic beads) that provide a light exfoliation during your cleanse. I use this either AM or second cleanse in PM. Bonus points for the scent.

2. Pixi Rose Oil. This is just genius. Now I will never be caught bad mouthing the MV Organics Rose+ Booster, but if there's ever going to be anything that comes close to rivalling that product, for texture, for how it leaves the skin looking and feeling, for scent, it's Pixi Rose Oil. It's mind-boggling how they've managed to make an oil that is so lovely for such a good price. It's £26. just go buy it. Your skin will thank you.

3. Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner. Let me go on record for saying: liquid eyeliner was once the absolute bane of my makeup existence. I found it difficult to apply, and once I did apply it I found that it never really lasted well on me, that it faded or smudged. This eyeliner pen is so user-friendly because of it's flexible felt nib and the ink inside the pen is super black, doesn't fade and it's very water resistant (and I'm a contact lens wearer so trust me I have tested that claim). It's not the cheapest liquid liner out there but it's also not half the price of the Tom Ford one, so I'd say I'm on to a winner.

4. Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in "Ex-Girlfriend". So do we remember the series of posts around this time last year where I went a little loopy for the Gwen Stefani for Urban Decay collection? I did go back, I did buy the lipstick in "Ex-Girlfriend" and I have worn that shade at least once a week since. It's just such a good nude for paler people. It's nicely sheer and a little deeper than my skin-tone and has a lovely, wearably glossy finish. Goes with everything, super comfortable, thank you Urban Decay.

Empties: Round Four

So it's time for another empties post, and this time it's a big one. I'm not sure if I've left it a little longer this time around or something but there seems to be a lot more here than previous empties posts I've done. But without further a due, lets have a look through my beauty rubbish.

For body I have two scrubs this time around: the Mr Bean Coffee Bean Scrub in the Mandarin scent. While this was a really good scrub for exfoliating, I just can't get behind how much of a mess it leaves behind. The scrub is black and completely dry in the packet and it goes everywhere and leaves black muddy marks all over the place. My favourite scrub of the moment is one that I've also used up recently: the Soap & Glory Pulp Friction this stuff is amazing. It really clings to the skin as you use it and the scrubby particles are perfect, the scent is also really nice. I'm yet to find anything better.

For body cream the only thing I've used up this month is a mammoth container of the Soap & Glory Butter Yourself body cream. I love the texture of the Soap & Glory body creams but the "Butter Yourself" scent really isn't one of my favourites. Will pick up another but in a different scent next time. I also made my way through a Mayan Spa Reviving Body Wash. This just didn't lather up enough for me, much better shower gels available on the market.

I've gone through another Dove Invisible Dry deodorant. This was my deodorant of choice for a long time but after trialing something else, I'm having a break from the Dove. I've been trying out the Mitchum range after having used up a mini of the Mitchum Spray Deodorant on my trip to Amsterdam and I loved it.

I finished up my mini of the Therapie Himalayan Detox Salts. While I do think I'll be going back and picking up some more, I currently have a massive collection of bath things that I want to work through before I buy anymore. These are a great pre-bed-time bath product that really get you ready for a good nights sleep.

The Soap & Glory Mist You Madly Body Spray is something I've been really enjoying as a day-to-day fragrance that I'd wear to work and such. While I love my luxe perfumes they're just too expensive to be throwing on all the time so this has been great.

On my weekend trip to Ireland I knew I'd only need to be washing my hair once so I took one-use sachets of the R+Co Gemstone Colour Shampoo and Conditioner. I really enjoyed these and a full size of the shampoo in particular will be added to my stash soon.

A shampoo that I wasn't so keen on was the Kebelo Clarifying Shampoo. I got a sample size of this in a Birchbox a while back and it's just a bit too clarifying for me. A shampoo I'm definitely going back for is the Bumble And Bumble BB Hairdressers Invisible Oil Sulfate Free Shampoo. I love this shampoo as it leaves my hair clean but silky smooth.

Finally for hair I have a Co-Lab Extreme Volume Dry Shampoo in the Monaco scent. Now I really wanted to try some Co-Lab products but I think I made a duff choice as Ive heard a lot of people saying the extreme volume collection was once of their less-successful launches. I'd like to try one of the normal dry shampoos as this one left a white cast and made my hair feel really product-heavy and apparently, the regular ones don't do that - will check back on that one.

I have a few different bits of makeup to talk about this time around, first of all the Urban Decay Perversion Mascara and the Subversion Lash Primer. I loved the Perversion mascara as it was super black and made my lashes look lovely but for higher-end mascaras, I prefer the Clinique High Impact Mascara. The Subversion lash primer wasn't my favourite, but I don't normally get on with lash primers anyway.

Sadly my Nars Creamy Radiant Concealer in "Light 2 Vanilla" has come to an end. I love this concealer but I think I need there to be 1 shade light as Vanilla is a hair too dark for me. I've been using the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer more recently and that's a better shade match and it's very similar in formula. I've also gone through a whole bottle of Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in "N51 Light Vanilla". Again I loved the formula but the shade was a bit dark (come on brands! We pale folk need base products too!). Would repurchase if they brought out a lighter shade.

So now we're looking at my skincare empties and there's a whole lot of those this time too. Firstly we have a sample size of the Goldfaden MD Doctors Scrub. Not my favourite. I found this super harsh on my skin (it feels like it would be too much for my body, never mind my face), won't be using again. A sample size of the Bioderma Sébium H2O Micellar Solution has also found it's way into my empties bin. Again, not my favourite, I'd like to try the regular Bioderma micellar solutions but I preferred the Garnier one to this.

Another Yes To eye cream has been used up, this time it's the Yes To Carrots Moisturising Eye Cream. This is a lot creamier than the Yes To Cucumbers version but I don't think it was enough for me in terms of moisture. The skin under my eyes can get a bit dry at times and I need something a little more rich. I finally made my way through a whole bottle of the Superfacialist By Una Brennan Vitamin C Brighten Skin Renew Cleansing Oil. Already had a backup waiting once it started getting low. This is my favourite cleanser for makeup removal.

I've also finished off a whole Sarah Chapman Skinesis Intense Hydrating Booster. I did really enjoy this serum but for £59, it's a bit steep when for me, I like Indeed Lab Hydralyron just as much. The Sarah Chapman is a bit silkier and feels nicer going on as it's more liquid, but the indeed labs is less than half the price and give the same results for me.

And finally, we have two naughty skincare products. These products aren't in here because I used them to the end, they died on me. The Soap & Glory Off Your Face 3-in-1 Daily Purifying Cloths dried up before I could use all of them. I must admit I don't use face wipes very often but I don't expect them to dry up. And sadly, my REN Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial seems to have gone off. I went t use it the other day and it had gone completely liquid and there was no way of it staying on my face. This was one of my favourite masks but I'm not sure about it if you have to use the whole tube really. I think I've only had it for around 5 months? :(

My 2015 Makeup Favourites

So I've spent an awful lot of time trying to plan out how I wanted this post to look. It's my first annual favourites post and I wanted to make it informative and interesting, but also appropriate for where my collection sits right now - I've been doing this whole blogging thing for almost a year now, but I'm still no where near an expert.

I love the annual favourites where things are laid out as the best in a certain category but, realistically, there would be gaps where I don't have a "Holy Grail" type product. I also think that format works better for vloggers and could get a bit lengthy and dull via blog post. So with all that in mind, I figured I'd just run over the products this year that have wowed me. There's no rhyme or reason and there's no "Best of" type set up, this is just the things I've loved most this year. So lets get going.

While I'm not sure I need to mention the Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot Powder, when I thought "what's the one product I would go straight out and repurchase if it was lost/stolen/etc?" that was the only permanent product that came to mind. There will more than likely be a day that I stop harping on about this product, but that day is not today. If you're oily/combination or have any patches on your face where you struggle with oil control (for me it's my T-zone) this powder is great. While it doesn't leave me completely touch-up free all day, it's the longest lasting product I've found so far.

Another base product I've adored this year is the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer. I did begin the year with the Nars Creamy Radiance Concealer and that is very similar in texture. I just think the shade range is better on the Urban Decay and I was able to get a better skin-tone match with that one. Also, it's a tad cheaper than the Nars and the formulas are very comparable.

When I was thinking about coloured complexion products for this post, I got a bit stuck. I'm quite promiscuous when it comes to blush, bronzer and contour. I love my Nars One Shocking Moment Palette but I've still been using my L'Oreal True Match Blush and my Soap & Glory Solar Powder in rotation with it so it didn't quite make that top spot. Then I realised that whatever I'm contouring with, I always use the Charlotte Tilbury Powder and Sculpt Brush. It's just the perfect shape for chiselling out some cheek bones.

For eyes I have two slightly different products. The Maybelline Master Drama Khol Eyeliner Pencil has made it into this list because, While I do still use my Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in "Perversion". I'm at the point where I'm just using it because I have it and it wasn't cheap. I think the Maybelline is just as good and won't be repurchasing the Urban Decay again once it runs out. (Although the colour selection on the UD is much better and I would still go to them for the out-there shades).

My other pick for eyes is one product where I thought "what's the one eyeshadow product that I'd be really upset to lose?" and it was the Nars Steven Klein Eyeshadow Single in "Stud". This would have been my "go straight out and repurchase" product had it not been a limited shade (please make it permanent Nars! We need more of this!). It's just the most beautiful, subtle but glitzy shade ever. It's a light bronze with a subtle almost greenish tone to it and then a super fine gold glitter running through it. The formula is lovely and creamy. It's stunning and I wear it constantly.

Finally, my least favourite decision of the whole post: the lip product. In this last year I've become somewhat of a lip product junkie so narrowing it down to a single product was quite tricky. In the end I just thought, "what have I reached for most throughout the whole year?" and from the very beginning of the year until the very end I'm sure it's got to have been the Lipstick Queen Big Bang Lipgloss in "Creation". Similarly to the Nars eyeshadow, it;s a neutral shade with something a little special. The formula is nice and comfortable, the colour is sheer but not too sheer and the shimmer to it is super pretty but also really fine and you can't feel it on the lips at all.

So there we have it, my makeup favourites for the year. Next up is skincare, see you on Wednesday!

The Skint-tember Finale - Highstreet VS Highend (Drugstore Dupes/Alternatives)

We couldn't end Skint-tember without looking for some high-street alternatives to higher end products and I've had a good rummage through my collection over the last few days to pick out some that I think are great.

I'll get this one out of the way because I have already mentioned it this month but I thought I'd touch back on it in case you missed my original post: if you still have took the plunge and picked up the Urban Decay Naked Palette and the price is putting you off, you might want to give the Revolution Redemption Iconic 1 Palette a go. The original post include side-by-side swatches so you can see how close they come and it's a steal at just £4 compared to the Urban Decay's £36.

My First ever MAC Lipstick was their "Lady Danger" which is a great matte orangey red. The dupe I've found for it is the Maybelline Colour Drama Intense Velvet Lip Pencil in the shade "Fab Orange". While I would say that the Maybelline is a teeny bit darker and slightly less orange-y toned than Lady Danger, on the lips you wouldn't be able to tell that it's two different lipsticks. Additionally, I find the pencil application method of the Mabelline makes it easier to get a smooth lip line without having to use a lip line.

I love Estée Lauder Colour Envy Lipsticks and the shade "Tumultuous Pink" is a particularly nice, bright pink shade. In the picture I'm wearing "Tumultuous Pink" on the bottom lip and on the top lip I'm wearing NYC Expert Last Lip Colour in "404 - Air Kiss" and, again, they're practically identical. If we're being picky the Estée Lauder is a tiny bit more blue in undertone and obviously has a better wear time but the NYC is much more of an affordable option at a mere £1.99.

I've been a fan of the Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliners for years and last year I picked up the Christmas set that included the shade "Faint", it's a lovely light brown that offers a subtle definition that I really like on the lower lash line especially. Side by side against the Rimmel Scandleyes Eyeliner in "004 Taupe", you can hardly tell a difference. "Faint" is a tiny bit warmer than the Rimmel option but the lasting power is very comparable and the Rimmel is just as creamy to apply.

When I was building my first ever MAC quad, I made the mistake of picking up a shade without swatching it first and got suckered in by how lovely it looked in the pan. MAC's "Gleam" is an amazing glittery peachy-pink shade but it's a nightmare to apply, it's bitty in texture, the glitter falls down constantly, and by the end of a day wearing it you have no eyeshadow left on and glitter all over your face no matter what you're using for a base. So while It does actually cost a tiny bit more to pick up the L'Oreal La Palette Nude Blush, you're getting more colours for your money and the 5th shade from the left is a dead-on match for "Gleam" but it's nice and creamy to apply and doesn't fall down at all.

And finally, the dupe that I'm most excited by. When I first heard about the By Terry Ombré Blackstar in "Misty Rock" I had to have it, it was so unique and the formula was nice too, but the £28 price tag made my eyes water a little bit. I justified it because the colour was so unique and I've used it a tonne, but then I picked up the KIKO Long Lasting Stick in the shade "05" and it's identical in colour and the formula is creamy and long-lasting. I will continue to use and love "Misty Rock" but when it's time to repurchase, I think I'll be picking up another from KIKO.

Review Friday: Revolution Redemption Palette Iconic 1

Sticking to our affordable beauty theme for September I thought I'd try out some majorly affordable make-up products and picked up some bits from Freedom at Superdrug (sorry Boots, you're still my favourite). I got really excited about their Redemption Palettes as they're often coined as being the perfect dupes for the Urban Decay Naked Palettes and that was a theory I needed to test.

So firstly, packaging wise, I actually prefer the packaging for the Redemption Palettes than the original Naked Palette packaging. The Revolution packing is compact and has a good close and the plastic makes it easy to keep clean, my only complaint packaging wise is that there's no mirror, but in their defence, they're £4 a palette so I guess I can forgive that.

Shade wise, I can see why there's a lot of hype around these palettes, heres how Redemption Iconic 1 swatches shade-for-shade against the Naked 1:

And the shades are super pigmented too so that's really nice. My only point is the blendability of the shadows. Although the Revolution shades are super pigmented, they don't blend together as nicely as the Urban Decay shadows, but for £4 VS £38, if you're thinking of picking up the Naked range, I'd give the Revolution Iconic Palettes a go first.

Treat Week - High End Makeup Favourites

After finishing a whole week of high-street beauty product posts, I figured the high-end heros needed some love too, so this week is all about those high-end products that are worth the price tag. However since some of these are really pricey products, I've limited myself to 10 so I only mention the ones that I love.

Something that I've posted a review on before that was neither here-nor-there is the By Terry Ombré Blackstars. I have them in "Misty Rock" and "Brown Perfection" and when I first got these I didn't think they were all that, and formula wise, while they're good, they're no better than the Bourjois Colour-Band 2-in-1 Shadow and Liner pencils. The thing that made them qualify for a space in this line up is the shade selection, while "Brown Perfection" is a fairly dupe-able shade, "Misty Rock" is very unique and I think the fact that you can't get the exact colour elsewhere makes it worth the money.

Another product that is definitely more of a luxury than a necessity is the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencils. I also like the satin finish pencils from Nars but the matte ones are just lovely, not too uncomfortable for a matte and a really long-wearing finish on the lips and again, the shade selection is lovely. They're a bit different from the matte pencils available on the high-street as they aren't a twist up which I like, since you can keep the nib nice and pointy which makes for easier application.

I have two high-end mascaras that I love but my favourite of the two is Urban Decays Perversion Mascara, especially with a black liner look because this mascara is the blackest of black and helps my lashes not to get lost in the liner. It adds a lot of volume and just enough length and is even better when you use it over their Subversion Lash Primer.

Another Urban Decay product that I've fallen in love with recently is their Naked Skin Concealer, there is another concealer in this line up that I love but the Urban Decay one is a perfect skin-tone match for me. This is the only concealer I've found that I can wear without applying foundation because it's just that good a match which is rare for me because I'm deathly pale and lots of brands don't stock shades that are quite light enough for me (I find myself having to use the blend-it-down-your-neck-so-it-doesn't-look-so-bad technique on the daily).

I've never been much of a lipgloss girl but I have a couple of high-end ones that I love: The Lipstick Queen Big Bang Illusion Gloss. It feels so nice on the lips because it's such a thin balm-y texture that adds the right amount of glitter, shine and colour on the lips. The shade "Cosmo" is a perfect your-lips-but-better shade for me and I reach for it constantly. It's become one of those lip products that just lives in my handbag.

The second concealer that I love is the Nars Creamy Radiant Concealer. This was my oringinal high-end concealer love. If the shade selection had been better when I first bought it I doubt I'd have ever strayed to the aforementioned Urban Decay option. I think since I purchased they've released a shade light than "Vanilla" that is the one I picked up so I might have to check it out again. It's just a great concealer that's dry enough to use on blemishes but creamy enough to use under the eyes too.

The first high-end make-up product to become a staple in my collection was the Urban Decay Primer Potion, and even though since I found that one I've tried a couple of others, this is still the one I go back to every time. The packaging is none-offensive and easy to use and the formula is great, it makes any eyeshadow formula last longer on the lids and it doesn't separate out in the tube, even when you haven't used it for a while which I love.

A high-end product that I have moments with is the Benefit High Beam highlighting liquid. I just think it's brilliant and if I was always in a highlighting mood I can imagine this would find a permanent home in my daily makeup bag. I generally gravitate to highlights in the summer and winter but not really in spring or autumn so this product switches from my makeup bag to my stash and vice-verse quite a lot, but it's always a product I come back to.

A long-time make-up love for me has been Urban Decays 24/7 Eyeliner Pencils. When I first fell in love with these "Zero" was their black shade and I still love that one but since they've released "Perversion" I've struggled to find a comparable product for cheaper. They also do an amazing range of colours which makes them hard to dupe. While the Rimmel Scandleyes Eyeliner Pencils have a similar formula, the Urban Decay colours are just unrivalled for me.

And finally, a product that, again, I always go back to: Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation. This is my go to foundation for a night out or a day where i'm going to be out for a long time and I really want to look flawless all day. It covers like nothing else but in a natural way and has excellent oil-control for such a comfortable foundation. Also, the shade selection is amazing.

The Cheapest Way To Shop (Shopping My Stash)

Lately I've realised that starting this blog was possibly one of the most expensive things I've done in a while. Not that actually creating or updating the blog costs me anything at all (I want to make it clear that I don't pay anything for the actual blog itself, it's a free service), but since I've started blogging, I'd allowed my beauty buying habits to get a little bit out of control. Every purchase in Boots has become "Blog Material" and I've used needing product for posts as an excuse for many an impulse buy.

So in an attempt to rein it in (because I can't even look at my bank statement this month) I've decided to leave my purse alone for a month and try to use up things that I already own. And in doing so I've rediscovered some products that I forgot I even had.

A product that I got for christmas and pretty much forgot about instantly was Benefit Lollitint. I don't really go for liquid cheek products in the winter and I had more than enough new lip products to chose from and so this just got left behind. However now that it's summer and I'm wanting a light flush on the cheeks Im finding myself sort of discovering this for the first time. I dot it onto the cheeks and blend with fingers which makes it great for travel.

A product that I used on the daily back in my late teens that got pushed aside when some new purchases came into the picture is the Urban Decay Deluxe Palette. I recently found myself at a camping festival and this came in so useful. It's a little palette with 9 shades and a decent sized mirror and it's full of bright colours, but also has 3 neutrals and your basic black so it's everything you need for a festival palette. need to get more use out of this because it's great.

I've had a lazy moment for lip products and have just wanted pretty no fuss lip colours that are hydrating and I've been reaching for the Revlon Lip Butter in "Cotton Candy" a lot lately. It's a no-fuss light pink that not's too warm or too cool, a super easy option and my lips love it.

Something that I come back to every summer is MAC Paint Pot in "Rubinesque". It's a lovely peachy gold that's sheer and sheeny on the lids and that packs a punch for summer staying power. The dent in this product just shows how much I like it and while I like the Maybelline Colour Tattoos but they just don't compare to this on the shade front.

And finally, a skincare rediscovery: Sarah Chapman Intense Hydrating Booster. I shelved this pretty quickly when I bought it because for me, Hydraluron wins hands down for the hydrating serum of choice. That being said, the Sarah Chapman is still nice (and was far to pricey to waste) so I've brought it to the front of my skincare stash in a bid to get some use out of it.

The Perfect Palette Tag

Best Packaging - Urban Decay Vice 2

When I think "best packaging" I'm really thinking "prettiest packaging" and the Urban Decay Vice 2 Palette is definitely the palette in my collection that comes to mind for this category. It has the mixed purple plastic and the gem stone UD logo in the middle which is beautiful. However It's also quite practical. I'd never need 20 shadows when I'm traveling so it doesn't need to be thin in my opinion, but it has a lovely big mirror that you could do your whole face in and a button-press closure so it won't open randomly. I also love how spaced out the shadows in this palette are, it really helps to limit pigment-transfer. Unfortunately, it was also limited edition (sorry, my bad!).

Best Colour Payoff - Urban Decay

In general, the majority of my eyeshadow collection is Urban Decay just because their formula is lovely and their products are reasonably priced for a higher-end brand. Urban Decay offer lots of eyeshadow palettes with 10-20 shades for £30-£40 and their single shadows are around £14 which is cheaper than many other brands and their shadows are consistently pigmented and easy to blend.

Most Versatile - Urban Decay Smoked

I'll admit, I don't use this palette as much as I should, but it's a real gem. Two rows with five shadows a piece, a row of neutrals, a row of smokey colours. What more could you want? You can use the lighter neutral shades to create a day look, the black and the liner to create a cat-eye or smudge-y liner look, or add in some of the colours to really mix things up. Also, this palette contains the shade Mushroom, my favourite ever eyeshadow shade!

Best for Travel - The Balm, Balm Jovi

If there is a palette better suited to travel than the Balm Jovi Palette from The Balm, I need to hear about it, because I don't think it exists. This palette contains 12 shadows, a powder blush, a powder highlight and two creamy lip-and-cheek products and is insanely compact. The palette contains a mirror in which you could do your whole face and aside from foundation, concealer, mascara and brows, it has all the bases covered. The mix of eyeshadows is perfect, theres 4 matte fairly neutral shades, and 8 wearable colour options that range from shimmers to metallics to satins. This is the only palette I took with me for my month-long trip around Europe last year and it saw me through the whole trip for eyes and cheeks (although I did cheat a little and bring along 2 lipsticks).

Biggest Regret - MAC Quad - Brule, Gleam, Shale and Sketch

This was a really had question for me, because even things in my collection that I don't use often now have had their days of being my most reached for make-up product. The only one I can say I felt even mildly disappointed with was my build-it-yourself MAC quad, and that's mainly because I could see the sales assistant was getting annoyed at my indecisiveness and didn't give myself enough time to think it through. While the shades I picked are nice, Gleam is a neutral shimmery shade with straight-up glitter in that falls down as soon as you apply it, and Shale is so sheer and hard to work with that it looks like I use it all the time despite me having used it very little in the year that I've owned it. Sketch and Brule are nice shades and are pigmented and easy to work with, but I barely reach for the quad as I'm always having to bring in shades from other palettes to complete a look as the other two just don't work for me.

Best Colour Names - The Balm, Balm Jovi (again)

This is the only palette I have that has themed names that seem thought about to me, so I had to double up a palette and award Best Colour Names to the Balm Jovi Palette. Most of the shades in the palette are named after things that are music related, and as a Music BA Hons graduate I really love the theme for this palette.

Least Used - Urban Decay Book of Shadows NYC

Where do I even begin to explain why I don't use this palette anymore? Firstly, this was the first big eyeshadow palette I ever bought, so this is the old Urban Decay eyeshadow formula, which is no where near the formula they're putting out recently. The palette contains four shades that (Like Gleam from my MAC palette) have big chunks of glitter in that fall down your face either on application or throughout the day, leaving you looking like a glitter bomb exploded on your face by the end of the day. Additionally, the packaging on this palette is so huge that I can't store it with the bulk of my makeup, and so even the shades that are nice barely get touched as I don't think to reach into the depths of my drawers looking for it.

Most Used - Soap & Glory Lid Stuff

This is the palette that goes in my daily (work) make-up bag along with a single of Urban Decay's Mushroom eyeshadow single (my aforementioned favourite) and a few coloured eyeliners and serves as my daily eyeshadow pick. It's small and compact and has all the shades I reach for on a regular basis, three mattes and one shimmery shade, it's all I need to go from the office to the bar and can deliver no matter what eye look I'm feeling. Love.

My Manic Monday-Morning Make-up Routine

Being a creature of habit, my weeks follow a very similar structure and Monday has recently become my gym day. Straight from work every Monday I hit the gym, do my 2 classes and get my self home for some well deserved dinner. Working in an office environment means I can't just rock up to work in my sweats with my greasy hair up in a pineapple-like fashion, so I've come up with this routine which means I can get away with long-overdue-a-wash hair and gym-bag combo.

So firstly, that hair needs to go. I slick it up into a high bun, secure with hair pins and load it up with hairspray, and while I hold no loyalty to a particular one I'm currently using the Professional Touch Salon Hairspray High Shine Extra Hold Curl Control (what a mouthful!). It holds buns and curls a like without that crispy feeling and smells pleasant, if a bit strong.

I'll then get to work on make-up, with it being a Monday morning I've more than likely woken up slightly later than planned so a quick work-appropriate look for me consists of this: Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation in shade "3", it's a nice coverage that blends best with fingers and matches my skin perfectly. I then go in with the Urban Decay Nake Skin Concealer in "Fair Neutral" where I need it. A light dusting of Soap & Glory's One Heck of a Blot Powder to set my base and a bit of the Benefit Sugar Bomb Box O' Powder on the cheeks for a slightly rosy flush.

With base done I tight-line with Lord & Berry's Polish Eye Pencil in "5071 Mirror Black" and line my lower water line with Rimmel's Skandaleyes Waterproof Khol Kajal in "Nude". I then wiggle some MaxFactor 2000 Calorie Curved Brush Volume and Curl mascara through my lashes and tame unruly brows with Maybelline's Brow Satin in "Medium Brown".

All quite simple, standard stuff, right? Then to top it all off and make it look like I've put some effort in, I've been gravitating to a bold lip. Now I love my reds and I'll always go back to them but lately I've found a bold pink to be my go-to lip colour. It just seems more statement than a red. The one I've been picking up a lot is the Nars Satin Lip Pencil in "Yu" and it is b-e-autiful. I've just been finding that a bold lip is the best way to distract from a bad hair day and livens up an otherwise lack-luster make-up. And the best bit, just remove the bold lip with a make-up wipe and you're ready for the gym. Genius.

My New Favourite Concealer

So my Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer was starting to feel a little dried out, and as much as I loved it, I wanted to try something new and I stumbled across this: the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer. First of all, can we talk about the packaging? So sleek, so simple and so pretty. It just looks lovely in my make-up drawer. The texture is lovely, even more liquid than the Nars and just as good at covering.

The applicator is a bit strange. It's a doe foot like most liquid concealers but the nib is very bendy when you apply it to the face, this allows you to spread a thin layer over a bigger surface area if you apply a bit of pressure or for pin-point concealing just use a light hand to dot it onto the areas you need it. Its great. I usually apply it under my eyes and around my nose and then use my finger to blend it out (although you could probably use a brush or sponge). If i'm using it on blemishes I put the product onto my finger from the applicator and then dab it onto the spot for hygiene reasons.

The biggest selling point for this product for me is the shade selection. Being Urban Decay their base products go super pale and that was my main problem with the Nars. On a day where I was wearing a foundation that warmed my complexion up, I could just about get away with their lightest shade "Vanilla" but on a no-foundation day it came up so orange on my skin. I use the Urban Decay in the shade "Fair Neutral" and it's a pretty prefect match for my natural skin tone. Also works really well with my Loréal True Match Foundation, which is anothr one of those rare products that matches my skin tone pretty perfectly.

The Valentines Take-Over Finale - The Girls Night Out

Now I dub this the option for the single girl. I suppose the option could be switched up to suit a date-night, maybe you and your other half are going out for a night on the tiles, but generally when I think clubbing, I think girls night. So dust off your heels (and your emergency flats) and here we go.

Again, a night-out option doesn't call for much on the pamper side (I find the day post-night out becomes all about the pampering) so besides jumping in the shower and washing my hair I focus mainly on the make-up side of things. I'm all about an SPF free base, some sheen to the skin, shimmer on the eyes and a bold lip option to give the look a bit of something.

To keep things in place all night I prep the skin with the Laura Mercier Foundation Primer before going in with a pump of Bourjois' Healthy Mix Foundation in "51 Vanilla", which is a decent match for me but still warms my complexion a little (yes, I'm that pale). I rely on my old faithful Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in "Vanilla" (are we sensing a theme here) to hide all my bags and blemishes and set my base in place with the (you guessed it) Soap & Glory One Heck Of A Blot setting powder. For a night out I go for more colour on the complexion than I normally would and so go for a triple hit. when it comes to contouring I've gone through multiple of E.L.F's Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder in the original shades, I rarely use the blush in this compact due to it's heavy shimmer but the contour shade is nice when applied with a light hand. For a hint of blush I dip my brush into Benefit's Sugarbomb box blush which swirls peachy, plummy and pinky tones into a subtle cheek colour and I finish with a light dusting of The Balm's Disco Disco highlight (from their Balm Jovi palette) onto the tops of my cheek bones.

With complexion done I move onto eyes with the Urban Decay Primer Potion being the first product I reach for, I'm currently testing out some other eye bases but this one remains on the top spot for now, the dispenser is good for keeping the product clean and it makes most shadows I apply on top of it last a whole day (and I have some long days, trust me). I then carefully pack on one of my Helen E Cosmetics Loose Eyeshadow Pigments in "1" which is a mid-tone taupe-y shade with irresistible shimmer to it. I tight line and line my water line with my usual Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in "Perversion" and the Rimmel Scandaleyes Khol Liner in "Nude" and then apply a generous layer of Urbans Decay's Subversion Lash Primer. While that's drying I tend to unruly brows with the Maybelline Brow Satin in "Mahogany Red" (A brow product for red-heads, finally!) before topping off my lashes with a few lashings of the Urban Decay Perversion Mascara.

A bold lip is my favourite make-up pick-me-up right now and with my light skin and red hair I think a red suits me best so I have three of my favourites with different formulas to choose from. For the lip-pencil lover the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in "Cruella" is a nice, deep red that's matte and lasts a good while without much need for topping up (although if an orange-y red is more your thing "Iberico" and "Red Square" from this line are nice too). A liquid red lip option is the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in "Hot Pepper" a slightly warmer toned red that's a comfortable matte finish and really perks up a pale complexion. And for the girl who loves a glossy finish? MAC's Luster Lipstick in "Lady Bug" is a beaut. A glossy finish that can be layered up to a full-coverage and feels hydrating on the lips. This one is more high maintenance if you want it to last all night as the glossy finish isn't as long lasting as the more matte options, although it should be noted that it fades flatteringly and doesn't leave you with that bright lip-line and bare centre look that other products may leave.

My Everyday Face

Let me set the scene for you. It's 6:30am, I'm half asleep, still wearing pjs and have to leave the house in approximately 40 minutes if I want to be anywhere near on time for work.

That's when I call on these products to make me look somewhere near alive enough to manage a day in the office.

Clockwise from top left: Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot, Urban Decay Naked Palette, Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in "Vanilla", Urban Decay Subversion Lash Primer, Revlon Colourstay in "Ivoy", Urban Decay 24/7 liner in "Perversion", Urban Decay Peversion Mascara, Soap & Glory Solar Powder, Rimmer Eyeliner in "Nude", Urban Decay Pimer Potion

After a speedy skincare application I turn to Revlon's Colourstay foundation in "Ivoy" to begin the skin tone evening out process, hide the remainder of my sins with the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in "Vanilla" and set my base in place with a quick dusting of Soap & Glory's One Heck of a Blot powder.

In the summer, I'm all about a rosie cheek but when it comes to winter I forget about the blush and crack out Soap & Glory's Solar Powder, I swirl the two shades together onto the tops of my cheeks to add a little winter glow to my complexion before moving onto eyes.

Urban Decay's Primer Potion has been keeping my eye shadow creaseless for years now, and after a quick blend onto the lids I move onto eyeshadow, and my most used palette lately has been the original Urban Decay Naked Palette.

Urban Decay Naked Palette

Having dyed red hair, I find it so difficult to find brow products that look right on me, and so I use the shade "Buck" (A warm medium brown) as a brow colour. I generally go to shades "Sin", "Sidecar" or "Smog" as an all-over the lid shade. I then tight-line with Urban Decays 24/7 Eyeliner in "Perversion", line my water line with Rimmel's Scandaleyes Khol Pencil in "Nude" and move on to mascara.

My eyelashes are nothing to write home about, although they have a natural curl to them they are short and fair and I need all the help I can get in a mascara. So I kick things off with the Urban Decay Subversion Lash Primer, wait for that to dry and then go in with a couple of coats of Urban Decay's Perversion Mascara.

While I remain faithful to most of my standard routine products, when it comes to lip products, I'm always cheating.  Although lately, I'd say my top 3 lip picks look like this:

Top to bottom: Esteé Lauder Pure Colour Envy lipstick in "Tumultuous Pink", Nars Soft Matte Lip Pencil is "Iberico", Soap & Glory's Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in "Nudist"

The Nars Soft Matte Lip Pencil in "Iberico" is a perfect pick-me-up. Unfortunately a limited edition shade (although I've heard from other bloggers that it's a close match to "Red Square" from the same line) - This orangey red is everything a girl could ever want or need in a bold lip. The chalky matte texture means it sticks around for a few hours, and the orangey undertones make you teeth look white, a winner for me.

When I want a bold but my lips can't the chalky texture, I often reach for Esteé Lauder's Pure Colour Envy lipstick in "Tumultuous Pink". Again a complexion-lifting bright, the glossy finish does mean that frequent touch-ups are required, but it's a beaut none-the-less.

And finally, when I'm running around from meeting to meeting all day with no time for touch ups, a solid nude is were it's at. I find myself applying Soap & Glory's Sexy Mother Pucker (try saying that quickly) Gloss Stick in the shade "Nudist". A glossy, my-lips-but-better shade. Feels like a lipbalm, gives just enough colour. Love it.

And that's everything. Check back on Wednesday for my Skincare Staples! - Jodie

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