Posts I loved - January

I used to love doing these posts however I got out of the habit, since it's the new year and all that I figured I would try and do these more often as they are a fabulous way to find new blogs. There's a bit of a mix of everything from food to blogging tips so I hope you enjoy these posts! 

Five tips for a fabulous Flatly - Laurzrah 

Are you giving back to the blogging community? - Make Erin over 

Fuck youtube - Rhianna Olivia 

My thoughts on Instagram; The algorithm, finding your feet and 1am meltdowns - Petite Elliee

15 things not to say to disabled people PT.2 - Shona Louise 

Blogger: From a boyfriends perspective (Ben) - Make Erin over 

Is instagram really worth the effort? - Jasmine talks beauty 

My 2018 Bullet journal: tips, tricks and thoughts. - Chloe Harriets 

How I stay organised for blogging whilst having a job - Lab muffin 

My routine for a successful blog post - The Rose glow 

How to create the perfect red lip this winter - Madolyn thinks 

How I approach brands for collaboration - Style and splurging 

Beauty brands I want to try (More from) in 2018 - Based On

Veganuary: What I learnt from a month being vegan - Katie Morgan Cecilia  

So that's it for this months round up, let me know what your favourite post(s) have been this month! 

Ten to try - Beauty bay

If you are a regular reader, or you follow me on any social media you will know that I'm a bit of a Beauty bay junkie. Today I thought I would share ten products/brands that you should definitely check out on the site. This was super hard to narrow down, I really think the products here are the creme de la creme. So without further ado lets get into the post. 

Starting off with brushes the Morphe 332 is actually the only thing I have tried from the brand but I am absolutely obsessed with it. It's the perfect slightly fluffy crease brush for my eye shape and size. I think if you have a smaller or more hooded eye shape this might not work as well for you however if you have pretty big eyes this is just an amazing brush to put colour in the crease and blend in a targeted way. The brush quality is actually much better than I expected and it washes really nicely. The other brush I wanted to mention is the Zoeva 317 winged liner brush, I love so many Zoeva products however I have to say this is definitely my favourite. It is the best brow brush ever and is one I reach for every single day. 

Moving onto palettes I had to mention my Coloured Raine Queen of hearts palette, this one was definitely my favourite palette of 2017. The shades are so stunning and just so pleasant to work with. Although the deep purple doesn't swatch well it works beautifully on the lid and blends like a dream. The metallics are more like a foiled shadow and are perhaps my favourite shadow formula ever. The Juvias place Nubian palette is perfect if you love a warm toned palette. Both of these were actually mentioned in my top five palettes post so definitely check that out if you want to know more. The final palette I wanted to mention today is the Blank canvas cosmetics Master palette 1. I feel like this palette gets no way near enough credit as it is just a really basic neutral palette however these shades are just so lovely to work with and I think it is the perfect basic palette in anyones collection. 

Milani Luminoso is such a hyped product and one that really deserves it in my opinion, it is a stunning rose shade with a golden sheen which just makes the skin look so beautiful and glowy. It isn't too pigmented either making it very hard to go over the top with it. I honestly think everyone should have this shade in their collection as it us just such a beautiful shade. The Festival face glitters are a bit of a random addition to this post however I wanted to mention them for the more creative types! These come in such a huge range of sizes, shapes and colours. One of the ones I have is actually little UV moons and stars which look so cute both on the lids and on the face. The final non lip product today is my Anastasia Dip brow. You can get this elsewhere and the Anastasia website do now ship to the UK however I picked up mine off Beauty bay when it was very hard to get elsewhere. I love this stuff and if you are a regular reader you will already know that as it is basically the only brow product I use. 

Finally we have two different liquid lips. It was so hard for me to not include my Jeffree star Liquid lips in this however I do tend to purchase those off Beautylish now as they tend to get the new collections faster than Beauty bay so I thought I would mention two different brands. The first being Jouer which I have only recently dipped my toe into their waters and I am so impressed. Their liquid lips are super matte yet don't feel uncomfortable on the lips. I also wanted to mention the Dose of colours liquid lips which are possibly the most beautiful matte liquid lips I own. They set down to the  most beautiful almost velvet finish and are ones I reach for all the time. 

So that's it for today's post, I'd love to know what products from Beauty bay you feel people need in their collections. 

Marc Jacobs Gel highliners

Marc Jacobs Highliner - £20.00 each* 

These are everywhere at the moment as so many bloggers have received them through Influenster. I was lucky enough to be chosen for this campaign and I have to admit I am really loving these liners. They are an incredibly creamy and so ridiculously pigmented, I'm not normally one for lining my water line as I have super watery eyes however these stay put for hours and don't end up half way down my face. They are completely retractable which is something I look for in a liner as I hate having to sharpen them, these also have mini sharpeners on the end so you can sharpen the tip of the liner for more precise liner work. I have used the brown shade on the upper lid and I have to say it isn't my favourite for smudging as it sets down so incredibly fast! If you are looking for a liner you an smudge for a more smokey look these definitely aren't for you. That being said these work incredibly on the lid for a graphic liner and really do stay put even on my oily lids. 

The shade selection in this range is however quite impressive, they have some beautiful really bright vibrant colours which would look amazing for graphic liner. I have to say I am really impressed with these but I do think you can get very similar formulas which perhaps don't last quite as long from the drugstore. I think if you want to spend £20 on a liner pencil these are beautiful ones however you definitely don't need them. 

Pink of me and (earth)quake

A little NYX haul

I feel like it's been such a long time since I've picked anything up from NYX. When it was initially released in the UK I picked up so much however since then I've rarely gone near the stand. However I decided I was going to do a full face of the brand for youtube so I needed to pick up a couple of bits just to finish off the look. So without further ado lets get into what I picked up. 

I have been meaning to pick up the Born to glow liquid illuminator for the longest time as I have heard really good things about it both for mixing into foundations and wearing as a highlight on the cheeks. I went for the shade sunbeam which is the lightest available. It's a beautiful sheeny very light pink shade which isn't too icy. I wanted one of the blushes and when I saw the shade Crimson I just couldn't resist. It's a beautiful incredibly bright red shade with a very slight silver shimmer in it. This gives the perfect rosy flush to the cheeks and even though it looks super scary in the pan it looks amazing on the cheeks. 

I didn't have a brow gel from the line so I grabbed a tinted brow mascara in the shade Espresso which is my normal shade in NYX's brow range. I have to say it is a little too warm toned which I was surprised at as all the other products in this shade are nice and grey toned. That being said as long as I use a grey toned product underneath it isn't too much of a problem. A cult favourite from NYX is the Jumbo eye pencil in Milk which is another product I've been meaning to buy forever. I actually had to use a white liner on my lid the other day which reminded me I need to buy this. It is a very stark white shade which just does a fabulous job of priming the eyes as well as intensifying bright shades on the lid. 

Second to last I picked up two more of the glitter shades, the first being Rose which is a beautiful chunky rose coloured glitter and the second being Ice. Ice is a iridescent much finer glitter than the other shades I have. It reflects so many different colours and I cannot wait to use it. Finally I picked up two more of my favourite drugstore glosses. The butter glosses are so pigmented yet not super sticky and gross like so many glosses from the drugstore can be. I have actually already finished one of the shades I have so I decided it was about time that I picked up some more. The first shade I got was Angel food cake which is a deep pinky nude shade and the other was Fortune cookie which is a standard light nude shade. 

That's what I have picked up from NYX recently, I'd love to know what your favourites are.