Birthday Haul!

Hey!

Sorry I haven't posted in such a long while, but I promise I have a good reason. It was my birthday on the 16th on this month so I was caught up in doing lots of fun things with all my favourite people to celebrate that. It was my 17th birthday, and the reason I am mentioning this is because this blog post is going to be all about a few things I got for my birthday! So here goes!

So first of all from my mum I got a lipgloss. And it's not just any old lipgloss. It's a Chanel lipgloss. I have wanted this Chanel lipgloss for quite a while now, it is in the shade Genie and I had heard a lot of good things about these lipglosses such as the fact they are not sticky or gloopy (is that a word?), and lasted on your lips for ages, and these claims are all true. When I saw this colour online I loved it, but when I saw it in store it shocked me as it was BRIGHT ORANGE. But then the lady behind the counter tried it out on me it turned out to be a nude/coral colour, and I loved it again :)

Another present I got from my mum was the nicest pair of earrings ever, they are dangly earrings in a teardrop/pear shape, with gold round the outside and a orange/peach colour gem on the inside. I really like these earrings and have lots of lipsticks and glosses that go well with them!

Next up, again from my mum I got a magazine subscription to Glamour magazine as it is one of my favourites, and I love all the fashion and beauty bits in it.

 I also got from my mum a New Look voucher, driving lessons, a Nando's giftcard, and the cutest birthday card with a pug on the front!

I also got a hair treatment set from TRESemme which is specifically for coloured/bleached hair, as another one of my presents from my mum was going to the salon to get my hair done.

 I got blonde ombre put in my hair, and I really really like it. It's not too blonde, more of a caramel colour, and I'm really pleased with how it turned out (even if it did take 3 HOURS in the salon!!!!!).

From my lovely friends I got a gift set of the Shea Butter products from The Body Shop, a Costa Coffee voucher, and an Itunes voucher. And also because she is the best, one of my closest chummies threw me a surprise birthday party! It was so much fun, and made me smile for ages.


So those were a few things I got for my birthday, I didn't include everything because I didn't want this blog post to go on for too long and get boring, and also I didn't want to look like I was bragging (which I wasn't). I also didn't include prices as I thought that may have seemed like I was showing off also. I just thought this 'Birthday Haul' was a fun idea that I would enjoy writing and hopefully you would enjoy reading!


With love, Jessica xx


P.s - Just as a side note, if your looking for a book to read or just feel like giving something new a try, I would 100% recommend A Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I am about two thirds of the way into this book, and although it is quite sad and about a sensitive subject, it is also funny, heart-wrenching and extremely relatable. I would quite happily say it's one of the best books I have and will ever read, and would definatley suggest you read this too. :) The film of this book is due to come out around July time this year, so if you want to read this book I would get reading now so you definatley fit it in before seeing the film!



Also a youtuber called Troye Sivan has written a song about this book, and it is amazing, so if you have read this book or are in the process of reading it, I would highly recommend checking that out here! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqG55HdmKTE

Essential beauty storage!

Hey!

So today is going to be a bit of a long post as it's all about a few of my essential beauty products and how I store them. 

To start with I store all the essentials in one huge clear container, so I know where they are all. This box contains brush cleaners, face cleaners, wipes, lip balms and more. 

In this box, amongst other things, I have 2 candles that my friend made me for Christmas which I think are really adorable, and I think will be great for burning whilst I'm in the bath. She made them in cupcake cases!! 

Another thing in my box of goodies (😏) is some makeup wipes (naughty, I know). These are for when I'm so tired I don't have to time to use a cleanser and toner etc, so I just need to get my makeup off quickly. I alternate between two types of wipes, I either use the Simple Clear Skin Oil Balancing cleansing wipes or the Argan Oil Cleansing facial wipes.

 The Argan Oil ones smell amazing, and are more for just cleansing your face and freshening it rather than taking off makeup, for which I use the Simple ones.

Another thing I have in my box is for when I'm not feeling lazy and cleanse my face, which is my Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser, which I did a whole blog post about so go check that out! 

The next product is the face wash I use which is the Neutrogena Pin Grapefruit face wash. This is just a standard face wash that smells great and does the job. 

Also to do some bargain pampering I have 5 of the Montagne Jeunesse Face Masks, in the flavours Pressed Blueberries, Pulped Pomegranate, Cucumber, Red Hot Earth and Dead Sea. I really love these masks as they are such a bargain at £1.49 each, they're great for girls nights in, or just pampering yourself after a long hot bath. I would defiantly recommend these! 

And my last product that I'm going to talk about is slightly higher end, which is the Clinique Redness Solutions Loose Powder which I bought at a Clinique counter in Debenhams for the first time in middle school, and I still repurchase till this day. It is a tub with loose yellow powder in which you apply before your foundation but after your moisturiser and primer, and it is designed to stop redness coming through under your makeup, somehow acting as a barrier between the skin and makeup. This product is £25.50 but lasts for ages and really does work. Love it! 

So thanks for reading guys, and I'm sure as it's my birthday on Thursday I will probably be doing a 'Birthday Haul' type of blog if I get any beauty products and stuff, so stay tuned for that! 

With love, Jessica xx

Golden nails!

Hey!

So today's post is about something a bit different, nails. Now I do not have great nails and I do bite them, but every couple of months I buy a pack of 200 clear artificial nails, and wear them. They come in all shapes and sizes and are really good quality. I think they are about £8 and the brand is Nailene, but you can buy them from Superdrug, Boots and Tesco. 

I bought a new nail varnish the other day and I am absolutely in love with it! It's from No .7, and is in the colour 'Hot to Trot' (number 18). This colour is a gold shimmery colour that is quite sheer and not too dark. I really like it, I think it's a subtle way too jazz up an outfit or evening look. It has a quick drying gloss finish that gives great shine too the nails. 

The only downside is that you do have to apply 2-3 coats to get full coverage, and the nail varnish will start to chip after 2-3 days if you do not apply a top coat. 

This nail varnish is only £6.00 and there are often £3.00 Boots vouchers going round if you buy anything else from there!

The top coat I use which drys any varnish instantly is from Whoosh Salon Systems and I think I got this from a shop called Sally's as my friend works in there. This top coat is so nice and only costs around the £4 mark. 

I also like to apply a base coat, for which I use Collection 2000's base coat, which just gives a nice base to apply any polish onto, and is only £2.99! 

Anyways I hope you like today's post, and had a great day.

With love, Jessica xx

NAKED 3 Palette!

Hey!

So yesterday, my naked 3 palette arrived. Oh. My. Goodness. I was and still am super excited about this product, so you can imagine my reaction when it was delivered (lots of screaming). Today I am just going to do a quick post all about this palette! 

This palette contains 12 colours, which are all somewhat rose-hued (pinky). The colour names (in order) are... 

Strange - a matte cream coloured shadow with pinky undertones.

Dust - a shimmery rose gold colour.

Burnout - a matte (with slight sparkle) muted pink colour. 

Limit - a similar colour to the one above, but with no sparkle and with slightly darker undertones.

Buzz - a really sparkly dark pink.

Trick - a shimmery gold colour.

Nooner - a mink matte shadow.

Liar - a dark gold shimmery colour.

Factory - a slightly shimmery dark brown. 

Mugshot - an almost matte grey/brown. 

Darkside - a matte warm grey.

Black heart - a deep matte black with red micro-glitter.

All these colours are absolutely gorgeous, and create the nicest colours on your eyes. I would highly recommend this palette to anyone and everyone!! 

Thanks for reading! 

With love, Jessica xx

NYX products!

Hey!

So today is just a quick blog post about something I bought online and received through the post yesterday, some NYX products. NYX is an American brand, but can be bought online from the UK. I have heard a lot of good things about the NYX makeup in general, so I thought I'd try a couple of things out!

The first thing I got is a lipgloss, which is called the Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Nude Pink. This colour is amazing, so nice on its own or over a light pink lipstick (maybe Pink Plaid from MAC?). I bought this colour as I had seen a Youtuber (missglamorazzi) review this, and say really great things about it, and she was right! This lipgloss only cost me £6.95, which for the quality of this product I thought was quite reasonable. This lipgloss isn't at all sticky or cheap-feeling, it feels moisturising and is a great colour. Love it! 

And the second thing I got is a Roll On Eyeshadow in the colour Almond, which is AMAZING. I wore it today for the first time and wow, it is such good quality! It was £3.95 which is sooo good, it lasts for ages, and is really sparkly. It is super easy to apply, takes no effort but looks amazing, and will be the cause of me having no money for a long time. It is a medium-dark brown colour with lots of glitter and sparkles in it. Highly recommend this to put ontop of Satin Taupe (MAC) or any other similar eyeshadow to create a brown smokey eye. 

Sorry it was just a short one today guys, didn't really have much else that I was really excited about! 

With love, Jessica xx

Non-makeup products that I love!

Hey! 

So today I would like to talk about some products that aren't makeup, but I absolutely love. These include hair products, skin products and a couple random ones. So, here goes!

First off we have a skin product from Lush, which is called Ocean Salt. This product is a face and body scrub made from limes, sea salt and vodka. This is such a great scrub, but it has to be used gently. The sea salt is very coarse so could case irritation on sensitive skin, so be careful with that. But overall this scrub is great, when it's being used you can really feel it working, and after use my skin feels amazing. This product is £7.25 for a small pot, which is quite expensive, but because this product works so well it only needs to be used once or maybe twice a week, so will last a while. 

Next up is a candle, and I am obsessed with the scent of it at the minute. It is the Milan candle from Next, and it cost me £9 which is reasonable for a large candle.  It smells of apples, melon, flowers and rainbows. But seriously this candle smells divine and I would really recommend it to anyone looking for an all year round, amazing smelling candle. 

Next up is just a quick one, and it's a brush cleaner (boring, I know!). This brush cleaner is from MAC and I could not recommend this enough, it is easy to use, great at getting all the makeup out of your brushes, and an all round favourite. It's £10 for a large bottle!

Next we have 2 hair products, first of which is by TRESemmé, and it is a dry shampoo. Dry shampoo is great for people who only wash their hair every other day, to freshen up in between washes, or for people who want a bit of extra volume in their hair. This dry shampoo leaves no residue or colour in your hair unlike the Batiste ones, and smells really good. I would recommend this. Especially as it's only around £3-£4 a bottle.

The next hair product is by Schwarzkopf in the Got2B range, and it is their Sea Salt spray. This spray smells amazing (like the beach), and doesn't leave hair feeling sticky or gross, which I have found some other sea salt sprays do. This product makes your hair have loose waves, a windswept look, and makes you look effortlessly natural. This product is also around £4 a bottle.

I would also just like to recommend the new Disney film, Frozen! I saw this week with my mum and, oh my goodness, it's amazing! I did feel a bit silly sitting in a cinema with a bunch of kids in booster seats, but it was worth it! The song in it is addicting, I listen too it 24/7! 

So I hope you enjoyed this post! If you have any suggestions or anything you'd like to see reviewed etc, comment below or tweet me @jessicasmith_97 !

With love, Jessica xx

Products I dislike and won't be re-purchasing!

Hey! 

So today I'm going to write about some products that I do not like, and will not be re-purchasing! I hope this is helpful in some way!

First off we have a makeup product, which is the bronzer from Marks & Spencers. Now I would not have purchased this product normally but I was staying with family and I had left my bronzer at home, so I just had to buy a bog-standard bronzer that wasn't too expensive to keep me going for the few days that I was without my beloved Soap and Glory bronzer. This resulted in me buying this - the worst bronzer ever. I would like to say in advance any of my opinions on these products are purely that - my opinion. It's all about personal preference so if you love any of these products, or if you think I don't like it because I'm using it wrong or something then please comment and let me know! 

Anyway, back to the bronzer. This product comes in a cardboard packaging which I dislike, and claims to be a soft bronzer for a natural sun kissed look. This bronzer is bright orange. Literally orange. This bronzer is grainy, heavy and doesn't do what a bronzer should in terms of defining cheek bones etc, it just leaves a big orange line. This product cost £5.00 which, don't get me wrong, is cheap, but this product is definitely not worth that 

Next up in my dislike list is a Barry M product, called a Gold Glitter Stick. Now this product is meant to be used on your eyes to add glitter to your eye lids. However, this is a waxy, hardly glittery and generally vile pencil. I bought this product as part of a goody bag at The Clothes Show, and although this was the only thing I dislike out of the whole bag I was quite disappointed with this product. 

My next product is not makeup, but fake tan. It's the Garnier Ambre Solaire Self Spray Tan in Medium. Now I do like this product, it's fine, but I certainly would not recommend it. The only reason I wouldn't recommend it is because it specifically says on the bottle that it leaves 'no streaks', and that it a lie. I used this spray tan a few times and each time my body ended up extremely streaky. I have tried much better fake tans for a smaller price, such as the Rimmel London Instant Tan which instead of £11.99 is £4.99! (Currently reduced to £2 in Superdrug!).

And last but not least we have another make up product, which is the Vivo Gel Eye liner in the colour Black Swan. I would have to say this is genuinely the worst gel liner I have ever bought. It is from Tesco so I wasn't expecting much, but I expected more than this. This is a very clumpy eyeliner which does not spread smoothly over the eye lid, and also the brush is an awful shape for even trying to apply eyeliner. This product was £3.49.

So I hope you enjoyed today's post even though it was a bit negative!! 

With love, Jessica xx

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser!

Hey! 

Today my post is a review about one thing - a Liz Earle product. Liz Earle is quite an expensive brand but I would really recommend this. This product is the Hot Cloth Cleanser.

I bought this product in John Lewis, and it was around the £25 mark, which is quite pricey compared to other hot cloth cleansers such as the No .7 one which is only £10.99, but wow it's worth it. 

If you don't know, a hot cloth cleanser is a makeup remover, but not any old makeup remover. When you squeeze it out of the tube it feels like a moisturiser in thickness, and it's white. You squeeze out a walnut size amount into your hands and apply and rub onto your face (with makeup on), doing your eyes last so you don't get black all over your face, and you then soak one of the muslin cloths that come with the product in hot water, ring it out so it's just damp, and then remove the product with this cloth. 

It is so great at removing all your makeup really really easily, and this product also smells great. It contains rosemary, chamomile, cocoa butter and eucalyptus oils, so it smells quite strongly of eucalyptus (slighty minty). 

This is the only product I can say removes every little tiny bit of makeup without making my skin dry or sore. 

Another up side to this product is the fact that it does not sting your eyes. By the smell of it (minty) you'd expect it to really hurt and sting your eyes, but it is so gentle that it doesn't. I love this product soooo much - can you tell? 

So thanks for reading this, and I hope it was helpful if you were looking for a new cleanser or just interested in skin care! 

See you tomorrow! 

With love, Jessica xx

Eye Products!

Hey!

So today I am going to tell you about my favourite eye products at the minute. I can't call this a monthly favourites as I have been using some of these products for a long long time. Also I would just like to say these are not all my favourite eye products, but the ones not including in this blog post have been including in other blog posts, so go have a look!

So I'm going to start with something I wouldn't call makeup, but I do keep in my makeup bag, and that is the Simple Revitalising Eye Roll On, which I apply before moisturiser and primer. It is a roll on clear liquid that claims to reduce puffiness, wake up and 'revitalise your tired eyes'. I use this as I don't often get much sleep seeing as I am addicted to the internet and have become nocturnal (lol), so this means I often have quite puffy eyes and this product definatley helps. It not only makes my eyes look a bit more alert but the liquid is always cold which genuinely wakes my eyes up. I apply this in a circular motion around my eyes and over my eyelids, and in my opinion it's a god send. This product is £5.00 in Boots and I believe its £4.99 in Superdrug.

Moving on to another eye product, this time by Avon.I would like to talk about an Eyeshadow Primer. Now until a few months ago I didn't even know this product existed, and I would apply eyeshadow onto my bare eyelids. Now I have used this, I will never go back. I have this product in the colour Light Beige, and it just creates a blank canvas to apple any eye shadow on to. It 're-surfaces' your eyelid, creating a nice base for any look. It is a cream rather than a powder, and comes in a small pot which you don't think will last long, but lasts ages as you only need a tiny amount at a time. I just sweep this over my lid with my finger before applying eyeshadow and it works a treat. This product is only £3.99.

Next up we have a slightly higher end product, which is the Bottom Lash Mascara from Clinique. Now as you can tell by the name, this is a mascara specifically for your bottom eye lashes. This product stops anything smudging underneath your eyes, it acts as a barrier. I have only had this product for about a month so haven't been using it as long as some of the other products on this blog, but wow I love it. I love the packaging, the product and the idea. It is a small tube (10cm long?) that is silver with a shiny silver floral pattern over it, which I love. The wand it adorably small, and so it the brush. I would say the brush is 1cm long, so is perfect for getting those bottom lashes. It also does not create 'spider legs' out of your lashes, it just gives the perfect length. Could not recommend this product enough! It is £12 at all Clinique counters.

Now I have had this next product for about 6 months, I use it at least once a week, and I still have loads left. It is one of the Colour Infallible Eyeshadows from L'oreal Paris, in the colour Time Resist White (number 001). I love this eyeshadow mainly because it is sooooo  pigmented and really covers the eyelids with a great colour. This colour brightens your eyes and makes your eyes look wider and more noticeable. Another up side to this eyeshadow is that fact that it really does last forever. All eyeshadows claim to last 24 hours, but this really will last the whole day. This eyeshadow is £6.99 from Boots. 

The last 2 products are from the same brand; Benefit. I love Benefit and I know a lot of girls who do. The first product I'm going to mention is the High Brow Highlighting Pencil. I know this is for under your brows so it may not be considered as an Eye Product, but I also use it in the inner corners/tear ducts of my eyes to make them pop and brighten them up a bit. This is a pencil in the colour Pink Champagne, and you place it under the arch of your eyebrows to lift them slightly, and I love this product. I had heard so many people raving about this product that I had to buy it, and I have 0 regrets. It's super pigmented and suits every skin colour. This product is slightly more expensive than other products as its priced at £15.00, but this product is worth it and will last you months and months.

The next product is also an eyebrow product, and that is BrowZings. This is from Benefit also, and I have purchased this many times over. I have it in the colour Light, and it comes in a small square palette that contains a powder, a tinted wax, a tiny pair of tweezers (cutest thing ever), a blending brush and an angled brush. This product allows you too decide how much product you put into your brows (unlike an eyebrow pencil/crayon) and never looks like you've over done it. Want perfect eyebrows? I suggest you invest in this product. It is on the pricey side at £23.50, but is worth it.

So I hope you enjoyed this blog post and I will see you again tomorrow with a beauty tag blog!

With love, Jessica xx

The Beauty Tag

Hey!

So today I thought I would do the 40 Questions Beauty Tag, even though I wasn't tagged by anyone (lol). So lets hope this doesn't go on for too long and just hope for the best!

TAG: 40 Beauty Questions

How many times do you wash your face daily?

-Twice, once before I go to bed and once before I put make up on.

What skin type do you have? (dry, oily or combination)

- I have a combination, depending on what products I've been using recently.

What is your current facial wash?

- I use the Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit Face Wash.

Do you exfoliate?

- Yes, everyday.

What brand do you use?

- I use the Ocean Salt Face and Body scrub to exfoliate.

What moisturiser do you use? 

- I use the Oil Free Moisturising Day Cream from Nivea.

Do you have freckles?

- I do not

Do you use eye cream?

- Kind of, I use the Simple Eye Roll On.

Do you or did you have acne prone skin?

-I do not have acne prone skin

Did you ever use ProActiv?

- Nope.

What foundation do you use?

- I use the Rimmel London Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation in Soft Beige (200)

How about concealer?

- I use the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer in Number 2.

Do you know your undertone colour?

- I think its warm (red,pink etc.)

What do you think of fake eyelashes?

- I love them. In my opinion they are a quicker alternative to mascara.

Did you know that you are supposed to change your mascara every 3 months?

- Yes.

What brand of mascara do you use?

-No .7 Lash Adapt mascara.

Sephora or Mac?

- Sephora is only in America and I am from the UK, so Mac.

Do you have a MAC Pro-Card?

- Nope. 

What make-up tools do you use in make-up application?

- I use the Real Techniques brushes which I highly recommend.

Do you use make-up base/primer for the eyes?

- Yes, the Avon one.

For the face?

- Yes, Fix and Perfect by Rimmel.

What is your favourite eye shadow? (Colour or Shade)

- MAC - Satin Taupe

Do you use pencil or liquid eye-liner?

- Both!

How often do you poke your eyes with an eye liner pencil?

-Never?

What do you think of pigment eye shadows?

- Love love love love love them.

Do you use mineral make-up? 

- Yeah I have a Jerome Alexander Mineral Powder.

What is your favourite lipstick?

- MAC - Pink Plaid.

How about lip gloss? 

- No .7 High Shine - Smile.

What is your favourite blush?

- Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

Do you buy make-up on e-bay?

- No.

Do you like drug store make-up?

- Yeah :)

Do you go to CCO's? (Cosmetic Company Outlets)

- Nope.

Did you ever consider taking make-up classes?

- Not until you just asked that question! 

Are you clumsy in putting on make-up?

-Not really no.

Name a make-up crime that you hate?

- When someone applies a Brow Highlighter that is too white.

Do you like colourful shades of make-up (lipstick, eye shadow) or neutral tones?

-Neutral. I prefer a natural look for day-to-day but sometimes I get a bit adventurous and go bright.

Which celebrity always has great make-up?

- Alexa Chung and Tanya Burr. 

If you could leave the house with just ONE Make-up item, what would you use?

- Foundation!

Could you ever leave the house without any make-up on?

- No

Do you think you look good even without any make-up on?

- Np

In your opinion, what is the BEST make-up line?

- MAC.

What do you think of Make-up?

- Make up is a lifesaver, and I am obsessed.

Wow, I hope this didn't go on for to long for you guys! It was quite a long tag!

Let me know if you liked this!

With love, Jessica xx

Drugstore Beauty Favourites

Hey! 

So, seeing as in yesterday's blog all the products were quite high end, I thought I would do a Drugstore Beauty Favourites for December 2013 - January 2014. Here we go!  

I would like to start of with what I start off with every time I apply makeup - primer. I use the Rimmel London Fix and Perfect Primer in 002. It is almost like a body lotion more than a moisturiser as it's not too thick and goes transparent on your skin. This product definitely makes my skin feel a lot smoother and makes the application of foundation 100x easier. This primer claims to Smooth, Resurface, Brighten, Mattify and Protect skin. Now I wouldn't really say it brightens the skin, but it certainly mattifies my foundation and makes it last a lot longer. I would say my foundation lasts probably two hours more with this primer being used beforehand. This product is £6.99 in Superdrug and Boots, and I would highly recommend it, especially if it's the first primer your ever trying, as it's easy to use.

Next up we have a product that has been really huge in the past month or so, and that is the Revlon Lip Butters. I bought one in the shade Juicy Papaya, which is a soft coral with neutral undertones which makes this lip product perfect for an everyday look. However this product is quite sheer so doesn't necessarily transfer too much colour on to the lips, but then again I suppose it's not meant to be a lipstick. I would recommend this product strongly for anyone looking for an every day product that looks super effortless. It also smells really good, slightly of vanilla. This Revlon Lip Butter is  £7.99 in Boots. 

Next we have a Mosaic Blush from MUA (Make Up Academy) in the colour English Rose. This blush is a rose gold colour and still manages to blend really well even though it's sectioned off into different colours. Seeing as I have naturally redder skin especially around my cheek area, I never used to find a need to wear blusher. However now I have discovered this I can definatley say I will be wearing it everyday. It is not neccessarily for making your cheeks bright red and rosy, it's more for highlighting and brightening the apples of your cheeks. The only downside to this product is that it is fairly shimmery so if that is not what you look for in a blush, say you prefer matte blushers, then this is not for you. This blush is from Superdrug and is priced at £2.50, which I think is sooooo reasonable!

I would also like to talk about another MUA product which is the 'Undress Me Too' Eye Palette. This palette is an absolute saviour and I use it literally every day. Unlike a lot of the MUA palettes the packaging of this is white, which I actually prefer, apart from the fact that it gets super dirty in my make up bag! There are 12 shades in the palette, including beautiful golds and nudes,medium and dark browns and a jet black shade as well. All the shades are creamy, except shades Naked and Lavish, which are matte and not too pigmented. I love the fact that MUA named the shades.This palette costs £4.00, also in Superdrug.

And last, we have the No. 7 Lash Adapt Mascara. This is from Boots, which I believe are the only place that sell No .7 products. Now I love this mascara so much that I have re-purchased it many times. With this mascara you will not have to worry about clumps in your eyelashes because this mascara separates lashes like no other. I could literally go on for hours recommending this mascara! I love the packaging, the tube is a silver colour and it just looks so classy. This mascara is £12.95, which is slightly pricey compared to your standard drugstore mascara, but it is definatley worth the few extra pounds.

I hope you enjoyed my second blogpost, and I would like to say thank you to everyone who got my first blog post up to 471 views in less than 12 hours! Your amazing, and I love you! This is a picture of a cat displaying how happy you all make me feel. 

Feel free to follow me on twitter and instagram to find out when my new blog posts are up! @jessicasmith_97

With love, Jessica xx

Hey!
So, this is my first ever blog post. I was super nervous to do this, but one of my lovely friends convinced me into it, by telling me that I shouldn't let anyone stop me from doing what I want. 

So here goes, this is my Beauty Favourites of December 2013 - January 2014.

I'm going to start with a definate favourite of mine which is the Satin Taupe eyeshadow from M.A.C. I have been thinking about buying this for months now, using all my family's ones but never getting my own, but today I just went for it, and I have no regrets! Satin Taupe has got to be one of my favorite, most flattering eye shadows ever. M.A.C shadows are generally really great, and Satin Taupe does not disappoint. It's a gorgeous, medium toned taupe/brown/purplish shade (its a bit hard to describe) in a M.A.C "Frost" finish. It is really pigmented, and blends really well. It is £12.50, but I believe this is a good price for what you are getting. M.A.C eyeshadows last a long time, and are worth this price.

Next up is another M.A.C product, but this time it's a lipstick. I bought a lipstick in the shade 'Snob' from M.A.C, and I absolutely adore it. It is from the 'Satin' range rather than the 'Matte' range that I am normally drawn towards in lipsticks. This lipstick is a gorgeous colour, great quality and I like the fact that it is satin and therefore doesn't dry my lips out completely like some of the matte lipsticks tend to. Its like a muted pink with purple tones in it as well which helps to balance out the colour a little. The only downside to this lipstick is that it is very similar in colour to the Pink Plaid M.A.C lipstick. This lipstick is £15.00 which I think is really reasonable for a high end lipstick.

Next we have another lip product, but this time from Burts Bee's. Burts Bee's have recently bought out a Lip Shimmer range, which is basically one of their well known lip balms with added shimmer and colour. I picked up the one in the colour 'Fig'. What I love about this product is the fact that I didn't necessarily expect the colour too transfer onto the lips too well seeing as it isn't a lipstick which is meant to hold colour, it is a lip balm which is meant to nourish and moisturise your lips, but this product does both. I love the colour, it is very similar to the Clinique Almost Black Honey lipstick, but obviously a cheaper alternative. This product was only £6.00, and I'm almost certain you can get it for cheaper online.

Now heading away from lip products and onto a face product/tool, which is the Real Techniques brushes. Now I have the Foundation and Powder brush from this set, and I honestly believe they are the best brushes I have ever used. 2 Sisters, Sam and Nic Chapman, set up a youtube channel in 2007 called Pixiwoo, and they now have nearly 1.5 Million subscribers. Sam from Pixiwoo is the mind behind Real Techniques brushes. Go check them out! http://www.youtube.com/user/pixiwoo .These brushes are soft, easy to use, easy to clean (I use M.A.C Brush Cleaner) and just an all round favourite of mine this month. The Foundation brush was £10.99 and the Powder brush was £12.99. This is a great price for the quality of these brushes.

I also couldn't resist adding this product into my Beauty Favourites because it really has been a staple piece in my makeup bag this christmas. This Laura Mercier eyeshadow trio is amazing. The trio contains (left to right) Aqua, Malachite, and Emerald. Emerald is definatley my favourite when applied in the crease of the eye and the outer corners to add a subtle smokey look. This palette was meant to be £20.00 but I got it for £10 in the christmas sales. I love love love love this!

Now last but not least, we have another face product, this time by Soap & Glory. It is their new Bronzer which claims to give 'The greatest glow on earth', and trust me, it isn't lying. It is called Solar Powder, and is a two part bronzer. One half is a light powder containing rose gold shimmery undertones, and the other half is your regular kind of bronzer. I love this product as it isn't orange, isn't too heavy, and is perfect for winter when no one is looking particularly brown. And to top it all off, it comes in lovely packaging with a mirror attached!

Thank you very much if you got this far, I rambled on a bit longer than I thought I would! (Sorry, I'm not used to this). 

Hope you enjoyed this blog post, let me know if you did!

With love, Jessica xx