Maybelline Brow Drama in Medium Brown

Maybelline Brow Drama in Medium Brown £4.99 (Boots)

I've come a little ... okay a lot obsessed with brow products this year. I started 2013 with just one staple product and have some how ended the year with an entire compartment in my eye product drawer dedicated to my eyebrows. I picked up the Maybelline brow drama after reading a few reviews on it and then deciding I needed this release in my collection. I have a lot of powders designed to fill in the lashes and a few waxes to set them but no brow mascara's. 

The magic of this product is the want that little larger round ball on the end makes applying it so simply and it means you can fluff out the inner corners then sweep down the rest. It's not too pigmented so it's perfect to apply over brows that you've already filled in. It gives a little amount of colour that pulls together the eyebrow perfectly. It's also great for when you want a more natural look to hold your brows together and set them with a little added colour. 

 I've really enjoyed having this product and have used it everyday since I bought it. The wand makes it a dream to use and the finish on it doesn't leave with you with crusty brows just sleek and groomed. I like it so much it's been included in my current giveaway. You can enter by checking out the giveaway post here - alongside Brow Drama I'm also giving away two Maybelline color tattoo's, the VO5 dry texturising spray and the L'Oreal Micellar solution.

Rimmel Matte Finish Lipstick Shade 107 Wine

Rimmel Matte Finish Lipstick in 107 Wine - £5.49 (Superdrug) (FeelUnique)

I've used my Rimmel Matte lipstick in 110 a lot since purchasing and reviewing it back in February. It was quite a bold shade for the summer for me so when looking for a deeper red for the winter I thought it would be the perfect range to head back to. I really like the finish to this range - they are super pigmented and have a non-drying matte finish. I find them a little more satin than full on matte which I really like. Shade 110 is quite out there for me it's a deep red wine shade but it was just what I wanted for the winter and for Christmas parties. I wear a lot of black so I think this shade will offset it nicely. It's definitely not an everyday shade but I'm so glad I have something autumnal in my collection ready for parties!

Christmas Obsessions: Hair Care Gift Guide

Save
Palmers Coconut Oil Hair Mask - £3.09
Palmers Olive Oil Conditioning Spray - £4.49
John Frieda Full Repair Conditioner - £6
L'Oreal Intense Hair Mask - £6.99

Spend
Morroccan Oil Shampoo & Conditioner - £17 each
Tara Smith Feed the Root Kit - £12.50

Splurge
Bedhead Party Gift Set - £30
Morroccan Oil Styling Essentials Gift Set - £48

Christmas Obsessions: The Wreath

I couldn't find a wreath that I loved so decided to put together my own. My wreath sums up my Christmas theme really natural colors with a hints of red and the odd bit of gold. I made mine from a host of bits from hobby craft. The base was the 35cm tree wreath for £4 its a wire frame with fake tree spruces all over it. You can bend and move these as you like to cover or show off the other decorations you place around it. I then covered it in cinnamon sticks, berry clusters (small) & (large), mini pine cone clusters and bent them all round the wire frame. It took minutes to put together I found the key to it was using everything in multiples of an odd number and making is as unsymmetrical as you can so it has a lovely natural finish. I wreath made of natural bits would be much nicer but being as controlling as I am I wanted mine ready and I also like the idea of adding little bits to each year and keeping the same one. You can pick up the polystyrene wreath bases from Hobbycraft too where you can cover it in your tree off cuts. I picked up the gold wreath hanger from B&Q for just £3 just to finish it all off.

If you don't want to make your own I've picked out 5 of my favorite finished wreaths:

Cones and Berries Wreath - B&Q £18
Mini Red Berry Wreath - John Lewis £15
Heart Wreath - John Lewis £10
Pine Cone & Berry Wreath - Marks and Spencer £19.50
Luxury Pine Cone Wreath - Marks and Spencer £49.50

5 Favourites Giveaway

I've been meaning to do a giveaway for absolutely ages but couldn't really decide what I wanted to put in it. Now with the end of the year near I thought it would be fun to do a little pre-christmas giveaway featuring 5 of my favorite products right now and of 2013. It features the above 5 products which I will be giving away in one parcel. 

L'Oreal Micellar Solution - Review I had to include this product it's been my most repurchased and loved skin care product of the year by far. I had a little dalliance with Bioderma again a few weeks ago and it turns out my skin actually prefers this. 

VO5 Dry Texturising Spray - Review -  I raved about this just a week ago and it's been a hair staple since I first bought it so it definitely had to be my hair product in this bundle. 

Maybelline Color 24hr Tattoo's - Review - These have been my everyday eye product since they first launched and I can easily say I've used them every day I've worn make up this entire year. I have nearly all of the shades but I've included my 2 favourites in this giveaway. On and On bronze is my most reached for shade and is a gorgeous shimmery gold toned nude. Permanent Taupe is a matte shade that is the perfect base for so many eye looks. 

Maybelline Brow Drama in Medium Brown - I've only just bought this and I haven't even gotten around to writing up a full review on it yet but I've used it every single day since owning it and as it's a pretty new release I thought it would be a good 5th item for the giveaway. I've really been a little obsessed with brows this year too so couldn't really have a favourites giveaway without including a brow product.

The giveaway is open until the Saturday the 7th December in the hope that then the Royal Mail will come up trumps and I can get the parcel out before Christmas time. All entires can be made using the below Rafflecopter. 

Good luck :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

L'Oreal Collection Privee By Cheryl

 

 L'Oreal Collection Privee Lipsticks £8.19 Boots

The last thing I need in my collection is another nude lipstick but there I am surrounded by 3 for 2 signs in Boots swatching everything in site. The L'Oreal Collection Privee lipstick range is made up of 6 shades all chosen by the 6 L'Oreal spokeswomen the 6 shades are described as:

Doutzen Kroes: Barely Pink. A combination of freshness and femininity with a sprinkling of softness. The way this barely pink nuance melts into any type of complexion gives it indispensable elegance.

Julianne Moore: Barely Peach. Sensual and delicate to the extreme, enhances the radiance of pale complexions and endows them with elegance  and sophistication.

Eva Longoria: Barely Golden. With a hint of gold added, the best to capture the radiance of matte skin and sublimate the complexion, the sun‑kissed effect is worthy of the influential woman!

Freida Pinto: Barely Parma. Perfect for emphasizing the delicacy and elegance of the amber complexion. The ultimate in refinement, this shade evokes a freshness as well as sheer sophistication.

Cheryl: Barely Greige. Ultra-chic and rich in iridescence, barely greige offers a discreet contrast to the skin, thereby enhancing the natural beauty of the complexion.

Liya Kebede: Barely Moka. A barely brown nuance that adds a charming shade to the lips for a contrast to dark skin that comes up trumps.

I naturally picked up Cheryl's shade in barely greige. I really loved Julianne Moore's barely peach but I think I just love Cheryl a little more so that's why it ended up in my basket. I adore the packaging of this range it feels super luxe and the hint of gold against black makes it a gorgeous addition to my lipstick collection. The lipstick has a good pigmentation and a lovely creamy finish. I've been after a less pinky nude to my favourite MAC in hue so this fills that spot perfectly.

Batiste Cherry Dry Shampoo

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Cherry RRP £2.99 (£1.99 in Boots)

Dry shampoo is an everyday staple in my hair routine not only reviving hair between washes but also to just add some texture to my hair that's gotten ever so long. I've tried most own brand dry shampoo's and some competitors and none really hit the mark like Batiste does. I have no fear of white roots with Batiste which is why I've always got a bottle in my cabinet. I normally stick to the original or tropical but fancied a change when stocking up so went for cherry mainly because the bottle is ever so pretty. This reminds me a little of the cherry's that 'my baby all gone' used to eat off the never ending spoon when I was little. It's ever so sweet but I do like that the scent on these doesn't really linger around so it's just a nice burst when applying it first thing on a dreary November morning. 

Christmas Obsessions: Makeup Gift Guide

Save: 
Sleek Vintage Romance Palette - £7.99
Bourjois Shine Edition Lipsticks - £7.99
Maybelline Color Tattoo - £4.99

Spend: 
Duwop Mini Venom Trio - £15
MAC Lipstick - £13.50
Naked Basics Palette - £18

Splurge: 
Daniel Sandler Radient Sheen Illuminating Face Powder £28
Dior Nude Tan Bloom - £38
YSL Lipstick - £25

VO5 Give Me Texture Dry Texturising Spray

VO5 Give Me Texture Dry Texturising Spray £3.79 Boots

I've nearly finished my first bottle of this and I can't believe I haven't written about it before. Without being over dramatic this is my favourite ever hair product - I literally can't get enough of it. My hairs pretty long now and is often weighed down just by the sheer amount of it. I don't like to use heat on it in the week partly because I'd rather have another 10 minutes in bed and also because I don't want to do more damage than I have to. This spray is like a cross between a salt spray, dry shampoo and hair spray. It gives a messy tousled finish in seconds without leaving the hair crispy or unmanageable. I do find as its so light my hair does go a little limp as the day goes on but a quick respray or just messing it up again leaves it looking like new. I picked up on a whim as there was a 3 for 2 offer on and I was there to stock up on hairspray but I'm so glad I bought this as I've used it everyday since. I really love VO5 for hair products they are so reasonably priced and always delivery what they say they will. I mainly use there finishing products but think I might try out some shampoo and conditioner when I next need them. Are there any other amazing products by VO5 that I need? 

Christmas Obsessions: Scents

As this is my first Christmas in my own little house I've gone pretty Christmas crazy. I've been told I'm not allowed to put my decorations up until the 29th November which does seem fair ... I guess. However I have started sneaking in bits of Christmas all over the house that I've so far gotten away with. This mainly started with filling my house with gorgeous Christmassy smells. I've been sniffing all the offerings in nearly every supermarket for weeks and these are my top 3.

 

Air Wick Mulled Wine and Cinnamon Apple - £4 (Tesco) Currently half price in Sainsbury's

This scent is pretty much Christmas on its own - it has a really strong cinnamon and apple tone to it that just screams Christmas time. I love the air wick range as you can go all out and get matching plug ins, sprays and just standard freshner blocks. It is quite sweet and the candles fills the home with a lovely scent so it's always a must for me - the price point of the range is amazing too and it's so easy to just add a little bit of it in your weekly shop.

The Marks and Spencer mandarin, clove and cinnamon range comes out every year and it is hands down my favorite Christmas scent. It's more woody than the air wick scent and much more subtle to fill your entire house with. I also love that you can literally buy everything you ever want to smell like Christmas in it too - MnS have scented an entire range! Refresher Oil (£2.50) Room Spray (£5) Hand Lotion (£5) and so much more. My little tin candle cost just £3.50 and has a 15 hour burn time. The entire range is on 3 for 2 at the moment too which makes it all even more reasonably priced.

I picked this scent up for the first time about a week ago. Sainsbury's have 1/3 off all of their Christmas candles and scented products at the moment and I spent ages trying to find one I loved. The Frankincense and Myrrh scent was my second favourite but all the candles were silver so didn't fit with my theme. I picked up Christmas Tree and even though I really don't need another oil I just had to buy it because it smells just like a Christmas tree. I know that sounds silly as it's called Christmas tree but I thought it would be odd and fake smelling but it smells just like they put an actual tree in a bottle. I'd gone a bit candle heavy in MnS a few minutes before so I just picked up the oil which I've been adding to the non-scented tealights I have. It doesn't seem to be available online but the whole Christmas tree scent collection is so pretty - lovely dark green candles and cream candles full of twigs. If you love that just cut tree smell I can't recommend this enough! It's a nice subtle addition that works well with the cinnamon scents I have most of so I can use it whilst also burning the above.

Camel Obsessions

Topshop Tan Ankle Boots £45

River Island Molly Jeggings £20

H&M Coat £49.99

ASOS Smock Dress £35

Whistles Across Body Bag £75

'I'm already living in camel. Last winter there was camel everywhere, it was literally Camel Camel Camel! I literally had humps! ' 

Mark Francis - Made in Chelsea

Winter Candle Obsessions

H&M Candle £2.99 

Birdcage Tealight Holder Asda £6

Glass Jar Candle Holder Not On The High Street £6

Watering Can Tealight Holder Not On The High Street £5

TU Hedgerow Candle Sainsbury's £6

TU Orange and Cinnamon Candle Sainsbury's £6

TU Christmas Spice Jar Candle £4

There's something about the smell of cinnamon and orange burning from a candle that immediately makes me ready for Christmas. Asda is one of favourite places for cheap scented candles but above is some more of the candle items I have my eye on. If you have pretty holders and just want plain scented candles I highly recommend Asda - you can pick up 25 hour burning pillar candles for just a few pounds. This year is the first Christmas where the house is completely mine to decorate and winter christmassy scented candles are playing a huge part in our winter decor.