Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub Review

I was actually deciphering for a while what to post, as I'm lacking inspiration at the moment. You know when you don't feel like doing a tag, or perhaps you may have just done a haul or a review and you don't really want to do another. So I'm having a bit of writers block at the moment, so after my birthday (which is in two days if your wondering) I should have some reviews and bits and bobs up. I'm a massive fan of Lush and have probably been using their products on and off for around three years. In that time you would think I had tried a lot, however the majority of things I buy from Lush are from the bath bomb/ballistic section, so I never really get round to trying the face masks or shower gels. 

After seeing countless reviews and mentions of the Lush Lip Scrubs, I popped this on my wish list pretty quickly.  They retail for a high £5.50 which for a lip scrub comes across as absolutely ridiculous , however I have had this since the end of last year/ beginning of this year and I have literally just hit the bottom (a perfect opportunity to go buy the Christmas cola flavour.) So I can definitely tell you now they are such a great investment, what can be cuter than small glass jars which contain different coloured flavoured sugars. 

The point of a lip scrub is to 'clear away the dead skin and flakiness from lips, leaving them moisturised and smooth.' So essentially a lip scrub works hand in hand with a lip balm in order for the lipstick to apply creamy and smooth. The Lush lip scrubs just tick all the boxes, not only does the scent smell delicious and is also edible however it all removes all the disgusting dry skin which always suddenly appears at the start of Autumn/Winter. At first applying sugar to your lips can be a little strange, however you will eventually come round to the idea, and will not be able to stop your self from applying it just for the taste (like me.) Lush offer three permanent flavours: 'Mint Julips', 'Popcorn' and 'Bubblegum' however I wasn't keen at all on the other two flavours as the Mint flavour tasted like after eights and the popcorn flavour tasted like butter so Bubblegum was the best bet for me. I do warn you however that it is super sweet, and has the same scent as Snow Fairy which I actually worked out the other day, after wondering what Snow Fairy reminded me of. They also offer one limited edition scent called 'Santa's lip scrub' which actually tastes like Cola, Lush's idea was the scrub would be something Mrs Clause would use.  

You receive 25g of product which a perfect amount, which is bound to last you a long period of time. As soon as I run out, I will be repurchasing as I find its really become part of some sort of routine. I know this is a hit or miss product for a lot of people, however its really worth a try perhaps pop it on your Christmas list. 

You can buy this here

Thank you for reading,

Livs x

Current Foundation: Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Foundation

There are about a hundred and one foundations I would like to try and its especially difficult taking into account how some people can love a foundation whilst others can absolutely hate it. Now I have Normal to Combination skin and my skin isn't particularly dry or oily however these problems can occur in the t zone around the winter period. I'm not a big fan of heavy coverage, so if your a big fan of high coverage I would probably suggest you stay away from this foundation. Sorry these pictures are not great; when the Winter comes around I struggle to take a good picture. 

YSL offer four foundations ranging in price from £29 to £37. with the YSL Touché Éclat being the cheapest at £29. YSL isn't exactly a cheaper brand compared to the drug stores and even Mac, so I see the brand as more of an indulge rather than a fairly often shop. I find that with YSL your not only paying for the product itself but the beautiful gold packaging which looks very luxurious and expensive. The product which is only offered as a 30ml, which I find is a perfectly typical size for a foundation and of course the product is in cased in a glass tube which is far more luxurious compared to a plastic container. 

Twenty Years after the launch of the Touché Éclat, Yves Saint Laurent has brought out a foundation which is supposedly meant to achieve a illuminating result for the entire face. 'A bold, unique formula to target shadowy areas and define contours. Infused within a weightless fluid, the light of Touché Éclat foundation targets shadowy areas and highlights the contours of the face' 

When I originally bought this foundation, I was impressed to say the least. The product was definitely lightweight and was easy to apply with the Expert face brush from Real Techniques. The colour in which I use is Br20 which isn't the lightest shade, however fits my skin perfectly, the product does give a very dewy finish so therefore I would probably say if you had oily skin I probably wouldn't suggest this. However I usually apply a matte blush and it gives the skin a lovely radiance without the need of highlighting the cheekbones and other areas of the face. The product is very light coverage so would probably be more appropriate for those Summer days when your either hitting the beach or perhaps having a great skin day. Overall I would probably say, I do love this foundation however I don't think its particularly life changing or makes me feel like I have the found the 'one', so I feel like I won't be repurchasing this as I intend to try out other foundations however I feel like I will eventually come back this as I know it gets along with my skin perfectly fine and gives a beautiful finish.

Thank you for reading,

Livs x

Collective Beauty Haul

I don't realise how much I spend, until I actually put it all together. I really need to get some new clothes but everytime I see make up I just put off buying it and buy that instead. I love reading hauls and watching them, so I thought I would do another as everyone likes to be nosey. I didn't actually purchase all of this together, I bought bits and bobs in stages which is what I tend to do rather than splash out all in one go. I should probably go on a spending ban, however I don't think I could stick to it.

The Bourjois 'Delice de Poudre' is one of the most famous Bourjois products alongside the healthy mix and little round pots.  I have actually been putting off buying this product for so long, either because I really don't need four bronzers or there are things I wanted more. However during a 20% sale at Asos, I just grabbed this for £4.50 as it was a lot cheaper. So far I'm impressed, I must admit I do prefer my Nars 'Laguna' however as a cheaper alternative this works just perfectly fine. I wouldn't perhaps suggest this , if you are super pale as it may look a tag strange, this product does work better as a bronzer instead of a contour. I would also like to comment on the smell; I would say it was an artificial chocolate smell instead of a chocolate fragrance however either way it smells beautiful.

You can buy this here

'Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder, with flecks of gold and infused with a sweet chocolate fragrance'

Mac's Vanilla Pigment. Do you ever find that white eyeshadows are just not pigmented enough, or not shimmery enough? Most of the time I have this problem, so when seeing so many people rave about the pigments and the lady in mac saying its one of her all time favourite products I just had to buy it.  I know that this product use to be sold in a bigger pot with a lot more product, however after using this I realise its a perfect size. I'm sure this will last me a very long time with 4.5 grams of product. 

You can buy this here

'A Pigment is a highly concentrated loose colour powder. A pigmented can be applied in multi places including the eyes and as a highlight'

1) Nars Turkish Delight. I'm really not a lipgloss person, however I absolutely adore this lipgloss. Its a perfect everyday colour which sits nicely on the lips its not at all sticky which I find is so important in a lip gloss. I can really see why its one of Nars best sellers. The colour is a pinky sorbet and the product comes a doe foot applicator which makes it super easy to apply. I really am so glad I made the jump and just bought this. 

You can buy this here

2) Collection Cream Puff in 'Cotton Candy' All I can say is wow wow wow. I wasn't in a hurry to try the soft matte lip creams from Nyx but after trying this I really want to get my hands on some. This shade is such a beautiful colour its almost a my lips but better however just a little bit more. I can't believe they are only three pounds and I really wish they had more shades as they only offer four. I can really tell this will be loved over the next couple of months for sure. Again this product comes with a doe foot applicator which makes it really easy to apply, again not sticky and overall lovely jubbly. 

You can buy this here

I actually bought this a very very long time ago, I think towards the end of August/ Beginning of September time. Now I'm a big big fan of the Real Techniques brushes, I plan to eventually collect them all however I like to pick one up here and there. So I decided to go for the 'shading brush' I really wanted a brush I could use to apply shadow all over the lid and to blend shades together which this brush is perfect for. Its exactly the right size and would be a good alternative for anyone dying to get their hands on the Mac 217. 

You can buy this here

And last but not least is the L'Oreal True Match, which is loved by the likes of Tanya Burr. I must admit I don't love it as much as my Ysl touche eclat foundation however its still amazing. I have the shade 'Ivory' which is a little light for me, however if I mix this with a darker foundation it works fine and gives off a lovely matte finish.  The one great thing about this foundation is the variety of shades, there is a shade to match everybody essentially why its called 'true match'. The coverage is light however buildable, which is always a plus as I'm not one for a heavy coverage.

You can buy this here

Thank you for reading,

Olivia x

Stila in the Light Palette

Sorry I have been a little MIA recently- I give myself a little slap on the wrist- I literally have not had time, with school and I'm currently in the middle of redecorating my room, things are becoming hectic and a little bit stressed. So I find it can be super calming to take a couple of minutes hours to sit down read blogs and watch youtube. Unfortunately sometimes these 'breaks' turn into hours and I can find myself looking at make up collections and repeats of videos I have already watched. Longest intro ever,ok I'm done now, on with the post. 

So like I had mentioned in a haul I had written in August, I spoke about how I originally planned to get the Naked palette sadly it wasn't it stock. However with much convincing from Ems, I chose to buy the Stila in the light Palette, my reasoning is 1) I wanted it anyway 2)It was cheaper than the Naked palette and 3)This would be the only opportunity, for a while before I would be near a Stila counter again. I would say personally these were great reasons excuses. 

The first thing I adore about this palette is the choice of colours. I am a massive fan of neutrals and this palette pretty much ticks all the boxes, the only shade- similar to the Naked palette- which I don't think I will particularly be using a lot is 'Night Sky' as I have blue eyes and I think this may a clash. The palette comes with four matte shades and six shimmer shades. I think the shimmery shades are very creamy and pigmented whereas I just felt as if the matte shades lacked the same sort of quality. However I have noticed the more I have been using them, the more pigmented they have become.  Essentially even if there are shades in the palette which aren't exactly the greatest quality compared to others, you're still getting your moneys worth. The palette is priced at £25 however to buy a single shade it costs £13. So in the palette you're making a £10.50 profit on EACH shade, now I say that is definitely worth the money. 

Also with the palette comes a Stila Smudge Stick in 'Damsel' which is a muddy brown colour, which I find is a lot more of a complementing colours compared to harsh blacks. The quality of the smudge stick is amazing. The liners are super pigmented, and really do not SMUDGE or rub off after application. I would even say if you were interested in picking up the smudge stick just buy the palette, you're paying an extra £11 for the smudge stick and ten beautiful eyeshadow colours. You can create such beautiful looks if this palette, especially using Bare, Bliss and Kitten which work particularly well together. I should also mention that the palette comes with a little booklet which tells you some of the eyelooks you can create with a step by step guide, which I find can be so helpful especially if I am lacking inspiration. 

I adore this palette so please please go pick this up, you will not regret it. I certainly don't:)

Thank you for reading:),

Olivia x

America Beauty Haul

Well Hiya my lovies,

So I didn't actually visit America- shame- but luckily my parents actually did. So as every beauty blogger does, I wrote my mum a big long list of beauty products you can't get here in the UK. My mum did a very good job, as she knows how much I love make up and she doesn't love it as much as I do. So unfortunately we don't have a collection of brands including: wet and wild, cover girl, NYX and EOS. However we are blessed with having Sleek, MUA and Max Factor which the United States don't have so you could look at the situation from either way, ok so on with the haul,

 Strawberry Sorbet, Sweet Mint

So these little egg lip balms are of course a gimmick, however I think ever British girl wants to get their hands on one. I believe you can buy them in sets on Amazon for a non-ridiculous price. In London they can charge £14 and in America they are two or three dollars it just seems a bit silly to me. They aren't the greatest I must admit, however I find the strawberry flavour to be much more moisturizing than the mint.

 Next is the NYC bronzer in 'Sunny' yes we do have NYC in the UK, but for some strange reason this isn't sold within the range. Some lucky people they have been able to find it in poundlands or perhaps online, but I have been very patient to wait to get hold of this badboy. Oh my golly wolly its o-mazing, I was really worried about the colour being too orange, but it was fine. If you live in America, go pick this up you lucky kids!

 Of course I had to ask for the infamous wet 'n' wild palettes in 'Sweet as Candy' and 'Walking on Eggshells' I can't believe how pigmented they are for such a small price. Overall I prefer walking on eggshells, I just like the colours and find they work nicely together. I also find the idea of labelling each section, to be really helpful especially for those who are starting out in make-up. 

 WHY DON'T WE HAVE THIS SHADE IN THE UK?! Did you see the capitals I used here, this colour is an incredible champagne colour from the color tattoo range from Maybelline. Some of the shades we have here are quite odd, and we don't have anything like this I can find the shades are limited. I'm a neutral girl all the way- and I don't plan to venture with colour any time soon I don't see a purple or blue suiting me.

And Lastly some lip products, as you are aware Baby Lips have just come to the UK however we don't have the neon shades. So as I was originally going to ask for the basic range, I thought I would ask for this instead. Also the Maybelline color whispers, similar to the Revlon Lip Butters which are available here. Im not one for bright shades, I like just a sheer pop of colour and I'm good to go.

Overall I'm pleased and very thankful for my mum for getting these goodies. 

Thank you for reading,

Olivia x