New palettes!

Palettes are one of my favourite items of makeup as I love the variety within them as well as the convenience. There are a few new palettes that have recently caught my eye and they look pretty amazing. 

1. Morphe 35F.

I've been on the waiting list for the 35O palette for ages, but have accepted that I won't be getting it anytime soon. However as I scrolling though Twitter I noticed this one which has the most beautiful shades. I think I prefer the look of this palette to the 35O however it also has a waiting list so it'll be a while before I get any!

2. Becca Blushed with Light. 

Blush palettes are my weakness and this one is definitely one I will be buying at some point. I really want to try some more Becca products and the colours in this palette look right up my street. 

3. Hourglass Surreal Ambient Lighting Edit. 

This looks incredible. Hourglass have created some beautiful palettes and I can imagine that this one will carry the same hype with it. I love how they have a strobing powder as well as their normal powder and think this would be such a perfect travel palette!

4. Anastasia Master Palette by Mario. 

This eyeshadow palette looks beautiful. I love the array of shades and think it's really nice that they've included a mix of dark blue and purple amongst the more neutral shades. 

What kind of palettes do you like? I hope you enjoyed reading, 

Holly x

Molang Diary.

Seeing as I'm really into stationery at the moment I thought I'd share my latest delivery which I'm very excited about. It only arrived on Saturday morning and I'm already obsessed.

I've been looking at diaries that are more planner/journal orientated and came across the Molang Diary on Amazon and it looked perfect. I chose the white option as I wanted to keep it simple however it's inevitable that I will get pen on it or something in the future. I love the cute little drawings throughout and on the covers and especially love how you can add your own dates to each page. The layouts of each page is exactly what I was looking for and I'm hoping it will help me to stay very organised this year. There are a few checklist pages throughout also and I like how it will put everything into perspective during busy times. Also it's just the right size for me, slightly smaller than A5 i think so it won't take up too much space in my bag, but is big enough for everything to be laid out neatly.

There's not much more I can say that will describe it better than the pictures, but I am very smitten and can't wait to start using it!

I hope you enjoyed reading,

Holly x

Stationery

Chloe's post last week has inspired me to do this post. Recently I've bought a lot of stationary as I head into the final year of my A-Levels. This year I plan on being prepared and organised to the max so as to get the grades that I'm aspiring to.

I'm not going to go into masses of detail about everything as it all speaks for itself, however I am really excited about what I've picked up. My subjects are very heavily note/essay based so notepads are a must for me. I love pukka pads for class work and then I have a spare set in which I will write my notes up in neat. The Pukka Pad refill pads are amazing and I'm going to use them as huge revision books for each subject. To complete my revision I've bought about 100 pens of a variety of colours - I'm especially happy about the sharpies. I love the Stabilo fineliners and have been using them for years and the Papermate Inkjoy pens are so easy to write with. I bought 3 packs of the plain black as I'm forever losing pens and these are definitely my favourite!

I am very happy with how organised I've been so far and although I still have a few more bits and bobs to purchase I'm sure I won't be struggling once the year begins.

I hope you enjoyed reading,

Holly x

Covering dark circles.

I've struggled with my under eye circles being dark for as long as I can remember and have tried many different things to battle them. My holy grail for covering them up is Benefits Erase Paste as I have mentioned so many times before. However I've found a new combination which has been doing wonders for me and I really love the result.

I always apply concealer and corrector after foundation so once the foundation has settled I use the NYX under eye corrector in the shade medium. It is very orange and looks scary, however it neautralises the blue and purple tones really well. I blend it in as much as possible and let it dry before apply concealer. I hate things feeling tacky so will always wait. I've been mixing between the Maybelline eye eraser and the Urban Decay Naked Concealer, both of which are amazing. I generally draw a triangle shape underneath my eyes and I'm quite heavy handed as I do need a lot of concealer most days. The final step is a banana powder. Previously I've never been a fan of powders, but since I purchased the NYX banana powder my life has been changed. It really helps to lock in the concealer as well as brightening everything.

I'm really happy with my routine at the moment and I'm thankful to look a little more awake! I hope you enjoyed reading,

Holly x

New Moisturiser!

I get incredibly stuck in a rut with my moisturisers because I know what my skin likes and stick to it. However after finishing what seems like my 50th tube of the Garnier Moisture plus cream I thought I'd give something else a try.

I've been using the Una Brennan Superfacialist Rose Hydrating Cream and I'm really starting to like it. I was put off by the smell at first however after previously using the mask and enjoying it I thought I'd perserve. It's quite thick, but super hydrating. I have to use a light hand though because otherwise it takes a while to sink in and can leave my face feeling very tacky. I find that it needs rubbing in for longer than other moisturisers as if not it just sits there on my face. Makeup applies evenly over the top and I don't find that it slides everywhere. I find this to be a hugely important factor as past experience has taught me.

If I apply this at night by the time the morning comes around my skin feels very soft and still hydrated, but not greasy. The smell soon dies down and it hasn't caused me to break out yet. Plus it has SPF in which is always a bonus!

I'm interested to see what else this brand has to offer. Have you tried anything? 

I hope you enjoyed reading,

Holly x

Birchbox.

I've always been interested in the concept of the birch box so when I saw there was an offer on for new customers I decided to purchase one. It was 2 for the price of one so I don't think I can complain. 

I think the idea is genius and I appreciate receiving both full size and miniature sized products. It's really good value for money. 

One thing that stood out to me was the Huygens face scrub as its not too thick in consistency like some are and isn't too abrasive. I'm very excited to try the Hydraluron moisture boosting mask as I need all the hydration I can get! The Caudalie serum is intriguing as I'd love to see how it can correct my complexion. There are some other really nice bits and bobs in these boxes too, especially the Percy and Reed hairspray and LOC lip pencil. There's also a mini nails inc polish which you can't go wrong with - it's such a good brand! 

I'm really impressed by the whole concept and would definitely purchase a box again! I love how you can try brands that you wouldn't normally veer towards! It's a great way to stock up on minis as well as they're so handy for travelling! 

Have you tried something like this? I hope you enjoyed reading,

Holly x

Disappointing Products.

It is very rare that I don't get along with products as I only buy products that I know I want and will like.

Bourjois chocolate bronzer has very strong reviews across the internet, however I fail to see the hype. I find the bronzer far too orange and it shows up very patchy on my skin. The highlighter is nothing special and it's quite chalky.

I received the Benefit Push Up Liner in a set and had very high hopes. The liner itself is good and jet black however it was too soft and broke and crumbled after every use!

Rimmel is my favourite drugstore brand so had high expectations when I picked up the Glam Eyes eyeshadow palette. The shades are beautiful and very me however the pigmentation is awful. To get any sort of nice look I have to really build the colour which takes up more time than I would like. 

The final product is benefit's Benetint. For me the consistency is far too thin for me to constitute as a blush and it applies very patchy. The colour is nice, but nothing special. I've tried it on my lips to and find it to make no difference to my natural lip colour. I think it's too wet and it takes too long to dry down. 

Are there any products that have disappointed you recently? I hope you enjoyed reading, 

Holly x