My 'Go To' Brands

Hey guys, 

Everyone has those 'go to' brands, which they always go back to for their favourite products. Today I thought I'd share my favourites & why I love them so much. 

 Chanel is my absolute favourite beauty brand. I go there so often I've become good friends with the lady in my local department store, & she always gives me free samples to try, which makes me fall in love with the brand even more, & makes me want to buy these products. My favourite products that Chanel does, is their foundation. I absolutely love the natural finish that it gives. It's also so long lasting which makes the pricing so reasonable. When you first look at the price at around £34-£36, you think it's so expensive, but the quality is amazing with their products. I now won't buy a foundation from anywhere else. I do have a few over bits from Chanel, which I save for special occasions as I can't afford to wear all their products everyday (I so would if I could though). Another product I'm sworn by is their limited edition bronzer, I'm so upset that it was limited edition because I love it so much & never want it to run out, but seeing as I wear it everyday it's lasting a while. Plus the services they provide are always of the best quality, and their customer service is lovely. 

Mac is the brand which I go to for absolutely everything. But most of all their lipsticks. Everyone knows Mac does the best lipsticks, the quality, range of colours, everything. But not only that, all of their products are of the best quality. I don't just go into Mac to buy one product, I come out with loads of different products, from eyeshadows, highlighters, powders, mascara.. I could go on, but you probably get the idea. I have yet to find a product which I'm not 100% satisfied with by Mac, & I don't think that day will ever come. The girls in my local Mac are always so lovely & complimentary, so I always leave with a smile on my face. In my opinion customer service is a big deal within beauty, as they need to be willing to help their customers, some people may think this is bs.. but I had bad customer service in Clinique & I have never been back or bought a product since. 

Urban Decay I find is a hit & miss brand, some products I absolutely love & others I'm fond of. But this is definitely my go to brand when it comes to eyeshadows. I'm sure the majority of girls will agree that Urban Decay's palettes are to die for. I don't know anyone who doesn't have one. I cannot fault them... any of them. The fact they're bringing out so many recently gets me very excited. I cannot wait to get my hands on the Gwen Stefani palette when it's released! This is also the brand of my favourite mascara, Perversion. So, even though I'm not keen on all of their products, the ones I do like, are the best. 

Sigma has only recently become one of my go to brands. Ever since buying their kabuki kit, read my review here. I now know where I'll be going to buy all of my brushes. They leave such a flawless finish & are the best brushes which I have purchased, I had longed to find my perfect brush.. which I have now found within the kabuki kit. I'm totally eyeing up their new contour & highlight brushes, which I'll be buying in the near future as I can only imagine the perfect results they will make. Although Sigma is based in the US, they deliver to the UK, and there are many UK beauty website which sell a selection of Sigma brushes. I definitely recommend trying these brushes to anyone who hasn't tried them, as they're amazing & they make your makeup look even more incredible. I haven't got a bad word to say about them, the fibre bristles they use are so soft, which make the application so easy. 

Anastasia Beverly Hills is a new brand to me, I have only recently started purchasing their products. Every single product I have purchased I've been over the moon with, they've truly been amazing. This is now my go to brand for brow products, as I believe they simply do the best products for eyebrows. I've watched so many tutorials with people using ABH products, & they've always looked gorgeous. This is also the brand which I'm hoping to purchase a contour palette from (which has been on my wish list for months). 

What are your 'go to' brands?

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Love, Alix x

Winter Beauty Wish List

Hey guys.
I admit it's been a loooong time since I've posted, but I've been extremely busy filling out ucas forms & sorting out a few resits. As I've got a spare few minutes before I go to work thought I'd write a little beauty wish list for this for the upcoming winter months.

Mac Lipstick - Sin

A dark berry wine colour is a must have! It's perfect for nights out, as the weather gets cooler it's always good and refreshing to have a dark, warm colour on your lips. I've been wanting this shade for ages, but I've been waiting for the right time to buy it, & I think that time is now. 

Anastasia Beverly Hills - Self-Made Palette

Ever since I saw an image of this palette I wanted it. It contains so many pretty shades, which vary from light to dark. This palette is perfect for christmas time, as it's got so many pretty, shimmery colours. This palette is limited edition so get your hands on it before it goes!

Zoeva - Complete Eye Set

Having never bought any of Zoeva's brushes but knowing how amazing they are, is killing me. The prices are so reasonable for such good quality brushes. I've always been a fan of their professional sets, as I prefer the classic look of the brushes. This set is perfect as you're able to create any eye look with these 12 brushes. 

Chanel - Bronzing Makeup Base

This product would be so perfect for this time of year. Giving your skin a natural, bronzed glow. You're able to wear this alone or under your foundation. I personally want this to contour my cheekbones and forehead underneath my foundation, but it would also be handy to apply a thin layer all over, to stop myself looking so pale this winter.

I could go on for days saying all the products I want to buy, but I simply don't have time & I also don't want to bore you guys. I will be back posting more each week, as I feel as though I've let my blog go a little. But as soon as all the stress of applying for uni has gone, I'll be able to post a lot more. 

x

10 Summer Must Haves☀

Heyyy! England's finally sharing the sunshine so I've decided to share some fashion and beauty must haves for this summer, hope you enjoy!

1. Topshop's Poppy Garden Print Bardot Top £26

Bardot tops are very in this year! This top in particular is gorgeous, I love the colours and print. Topshop sell many of these tops, in different styles and prints to suit everyone. One thing I love about these tops is they're very airy in the sun, which keeps you cool. I have this top and a similar white one  and I wear them all the time, they're so flattering and floaty. This top has a lovely cross over back and will look beautiful with a tan.

2. Guerlain Terracotta Joli Teint Natural Healthy Glow Powder £35.50

This product adds a lovely glow to your face and there are different shade to match your hair colour which makes it perfect for everyone. This powder gives a light coverage and pigments are less intense than a bronzer. It has a pink tint for blondes and apricot tint for brunettes and leaves a light sun kissed effect to deliver a burst of radiance. 

3. Topshop's Kingdom Ghillie Pointed Shoes £59

Now these lace up shoes have been noted as 'the shoes that stole summer' & they're totally right! I love the pointed toe on these shoes, and they're available in many colours. I've wanted a pair of these for ages and a pair of lace up heels. They're very slimming and look incredible on, an absolute must have!

4. The Body Shop Brush on Radiance £14

Aren't these highlighting pearls just the perfect shades? Truly gorgeous! They give a lovely shimmery finish and help give the skin a luminescent glow. Using these on the cheek bones and to highlight the nose and lips to create a perfect face shape. 

5. River Island's Pacha Crochet Halter Neck Top £20

This top is available in black and cream. It's the perfect cover up if you're on holiday or just to wear out when the weather is hot. Unlike most crochet tops, this top has a lined chest area so it's not see-through which I think is a bonus/ 

6. Mac Lipstick in Morange £15.50

I'm all about orange lips this year! I have recently purchased this lipstick and the colour is perfect! It really compliments tanned and olive skin tones. I thought this colour is perfect for festivals and just wearing out casually. Every girl needs a orange lipstick in their makeup bag this summer.

7. Topshop's Snake Chain Floppy Hat £32

I'm in love with these floppy hats. They can be dressed up or down, and will definitely get a lot of wear out it. It's important to protect your head from the sun if you're out for long periods of time, so why not protect it with something as stylish as this floppy hat? I really love the snake chain detail, a little chain can make a whole lot of difference.

8. Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Multicolour £44

This duo bronzer offers the pure, fresh radiance of spending days outdoors. I wore this product for my leavers ball and fell in love with it. You can read about my leavers ball here. Blend the two colours together over the face to give your face a natural tanned glow. Add the lightest shade to the areas which capture the light and the darker shade below the cheek bones for a subtle contour. This really is a beautiful bronzer which you'll all fall in love with!

9. Topshop's Floral Print Strappy Bodycon Tunic £36

This beautiful print should be in everyone's wardrobe. This is a very flattering tunic and the cross over back is gorgeous. 

10. Tarte Showstopper Clay Palette £38

This palette has everything you need for summer, it's warm shades for the eyes and cheek are beautiful. It includes 6 eyeshadow shades, a full size blusher and a highlighter/bronzer to create the perfect contour look. 

So There we have it. Those are my summer must haves.. What are yours? 

Thankyou for reading x 

Top 10 Mascaras

Hello!

The start to my summer has been very busy so I've been unable to write many posts. But I've decided to share my 10 favourite mascaras with you, as I'm someone who never sticks to one as there are so many to try. 

10. Benefit They're Real! Mascara £19.50

Now, everyone raves about this mascara and I totally understand why! This mascara does create incredible results, it's lengthens the lashes and is very long-lasting. The application of this mascara is great, it applies the right amount of mascara to the lashes leaving no clumps. This mascara is now available in brown and blue. The reasoning this is number 10 on my mascaras is that I find it's not volumizing enough for my eyes as they're really small I need something thicker. 

9. Lancôme Hypnôse Doll Eyes Mascara £22.50

I do love this mascara and it really suits its name. Giving the outer lashes more length than the inner lashes, the results of this mascara are beautiful. I do find this mascara leaves a more natural finish, rather than giving the lashes full volume. But this is a lovely everyday mascara if you're looking for something a bit more natural.

8. Yves Saint Laurent Luxurious Mascara For Flash Lash Effect £25

So, I haven't got this mascara myself, but I have used it a couple of times which is why it's only number 8, otherwise it may be higher. I found this mascara really does what it says, it gives the lashes so much volume and defines each lash perfectly. It also extends the lashes, if you're a person who has quite short natural lashes then this mascara is perfect for you. 

7. MAC False Lashes Extreme Mascara £19

I recently received a free sample of this mascara in the post, so I haven't really had enough time to fall in love with it yet. I find this mascara leaves a beautiful, natural finish to the lashes. But also leaves them looking long and gorgeous. I also find you can build up on this mascara, applying more layers to create a more dramatic look. 

6. Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara £16

This mascara is for you if you love volumous and thick lashes! Although this mascara can clump, it can be easily fixed by using a good primer before and after. I find this is particularly good if you wear eyeliner on your eyelid, it makes the lashes longer so you're able to see them over your eyeliner. 

5. Eyeko Black Magic Mascara £18

This mascara creates dramatic volume and curls the lashes. It has an extreme black finish which volumizes the lashes even more. The lashes appear thicker and longer without clumping. Eyeko mascaras also come with a little shield which allows application clean and easy and it's easy to remove as well so you don't have to spend ages rubbing your eyes at the end of the day. 

4. Dior Diorshow Mascara £25

I absoulutely love this mascara, the volume doesn't deflate during the day, the perfect amount of mascara is applied to the brush so when it's being applied to the lashes it looks amazing! Everyone else who has used this product has loved it as much as I have!

3. Chanel Le Volume De Chanel Mascara £25
This is so close to being one of my favourite mascaras, I do really love it! It does everything a mascara should do, lifts, curls, adds volume and length, what more could you want from a mascara? It is definitely worth every penny, I only have the little sample I was given from my leavers ball, and I will definitely be buying the full size one as soon as it runs out. 

2. Benefit Roller Lash Mascara £19.50
Of course Benefit's roller lash is in my top 10! It really is one of the best mascaras I have ever used, I love it. It does everything it says, It really curls the lashes and gives them an incredible length. The brush is the perfect design to give the lashes a real boost. 

1. Urban Decay Perversion Mascara £17.50
Here it is, number 1, Urban Decay's Perversion. It's perfect for making eyes look bigger which is what I look for when buying a mascara. This has been my favourite mascara ever since I got the travel size in the 'NAKED on the run' palette, so I had to buy the full size as I know wear it everyday without fail. The volume this mascara creates is unbelievable, it's so amazing I cannot put it into words, I recommend this product to every who hasn't tried it. There's no turning back for me.

So there we have it. My 10 favourite mascaras, what are your favourites? I will be trying to post at least once a week from now on, I've just been so busy I don't know where the time has gone!
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x

Leavers ball

Hello

So I just had my leavers ball, and it was amazing! It's scary how fast the past two years of sixth form have gone and being with the same people for the past 7 years and that was the last time we'll be together as a year group is upsetting. But now's the time to go our separate ways and achieve great things.

The evening was held at Thropeness country club and it really was a beautiful venue with a lovely view of the sea. In this post I'm going to show what makeup I wore and my outfit and then I few photographs I took. 

So I'd arranged to get my makeup done at Chanel for the ball, as I love getting my makeup done. This cost £25 and with that you were able to spend that £25 on a Chanel product, which I think is really good. With this I decided to buy the lipstick she used and a lip liner to go with it. I don't have a photograph of my makeup close up but I'll list all of the products she used. For the base she applied 'le blanc de chanel' £33, which is a multi-use illuminating base, this made the skin look really fresh and gives a lovely finish when the foundation is applied. For the foundation she used 'vitalumière' £36, this gives a satin-smooth finish, it has a fuller coverage than my Chanel foundation but I thought this would last longer as I needed to keep it on all night and she gave me a little sample to take home with me to use. She then used the 'correcteur perfection' £27, long lasting concealer under my eyes and on my eyelids to correct the colour and creates a nice base for the eyeshadow. For my eyes she used the 'les 4 ombres' eyeshadow quad £36, the colours she used were the lightest 2 from the colour '266 Tissé Rivoli' and the 2nd darkest from the colour '202 Tissé Camélia', these eyeshadows are lovely, they're so pigmented and have a beautiful glittery finish. For my eyeliner she applied the 'écriture de Chanel' eyeliner pen with effortless definition £27, on my eyelid and to then make the flick shadowy she applied 'stylo yeux waterproof' long lasting eyeliner £19, in shade '88 noir intense'. The mascara she used was the 'le volume de Chanel waterproof' mascara £25, and also give me a little sample to use. For my brows she applied the middle shade of 'le sourcil de Chanel' perfect brows £43, just to give them a natural finish. I decided to wear a bronzer instead of a blusher, so she used the new summer 'les beiges healthy glow multi-colour' in colour No.2 £44, I absolutely loved this bronzer and will probably buy this before it goes! For my lips she used the 'le crayon lèvres' precision lip definer £17.50, in the shade '55 Fuschsia' and for the lipstick 'rouge allure velvet luminous matte lip colour' £26 in the shade '50 la Romanesque', I loved the lipstick and thought I'd have to keep reapplying it all night after I ate and drank, but I didn't need to! It's really amazing. 

This is my little Ted Baker clutch bag, which I am in love with. It was £99 but I got it when there was 20% off. It's a lovely leather cute bag, with a gorgeous gold bow detail on the front. This bag has patent sides and comes with a gold cross body strap, if you wanted to wear it as a cross body bag. I got so many compliments on this bag as it truly is beautiful. 

I got my heels from Lipsy, £65. They are just a plain black suede, with a gold clip to do up the strap on the ankle. These are surprisingly comfortable and I love all of Lipsy's heels, they have a cutest little details on the sole. My dress was from French Connection, £79. 

Thankyou for reading x

Beauty wishlist

We all have beauty products which we want to try out but just cannot simply afford them all. I thought I'd share my wish list with you, including all the products I want to buy in the future. 

First is this Marc Jacobs high shine nail lacquer, in the colour 'Funny Girl'. This about £11.50/$18. I love the colour of this nail lacquer, but not only that, isn't the bottle just adorable. I know it's not about the packaging, but I've seen so many images of nails painted with this nail lacquer on Instagram, and it just looks gorgeous! Nude nails are the best nails.

Now this product is just a must have! It the Yves Saint Laurent touché éclat blur perfector. This is £31.50. You can apply it before foundation or during the day as a touch up. I've tried this product on in Debenhams, and it is lovely. So worth the money, it makes your skin feel so soft and blurs out any imperfections. Not only that the casing is beautiful, you need this in your handbag.

I love makeup brushes, I could spend so much money on them. This classic face set is by Zoeva, it's £60 and comes with a little bag to put them in. As I want to try experimenting with my makeup more, I think this set it perfect. One of my friends owns some Zoeva brushes, and she said they're amazing, so I can't wait to try them. 

I've always wanted to try Daniel Sandler's invisible blotting powder £19.50, ever since I've heard about it. This is a lightweight powder to set your makeup and to mattify the skin. As this powder has no colour, it doesn't change the tone of your foundation, it just reduces shine. 

The Anastasia Beverly Hills cream contour kit is next on my to buy list £39. I've always wanted to try contouring, and I've heard all good things about this palette and watches loads of youtube tutorials of how to use it. It comes in three different shades to best match your skin tone. I'm not sure how good I'll be at contouring or whether it'll suit me but it's worth a try. 

Chanel les beiges healthy glow sheer powder £39. I really want this powder to go with my Chanel foundation because I think they really compliment each other. As I'm getting my makeup done in Chanel for my leavers ball, I'm going to ask to use this product so I can see what it's like and how it feels on my skin before I buy it. 

Dior, diorskin star foundation £32.50, there are so many foundations I want to try and this one is one my list. I've heard this foundation really brightens your skin and gives you an instant glow. But as you can't always go by reviews as everyone has different skin, so I'll ask to try it on before I buy which I always do before purchasing a foundation. 

And finally Bobbi Brown's corrector £19, I always manage to get a bit of mascara or eyeliner out of place, so this would be perfect to go around my eyes just to finish up my makeup. It's also meant to be very good for covering up tired looking eyes, which I also suffer from.

If you have any reviews about any of these products, please feel free to post your honest opinion as it would be very helpful. 

x

Chanel review

Just a quick review of my new chanel foundation. I recently bought the vitalumière aqua foundation, colour 20 beige (avg price £33) 

This is a very light skin perfecting foundation. As it's water based it needs to be shaken well before use. The thing I like most about this foundation is a little goes a long way. But I always think minimal foundation looks best as I'd rather look more natural. This gives a light coverage and makes your skin feel silky smooth. I tend to have quite dry patches of skin around my nose, so sometimes wearing foundation makes it look quite flaky, but with this foundation you cannot tell at all! It's simply amazing. I don't wear this foundation everyday, as it's waaay out my budget, but it's definitely good for going out. 

I'll be buying this foundation again after it's run out, for sure. It's well worth the money, and stays on for so long. Being a girl with fair skin, can really suck, but this foundation gives me a healthy, radiant glow without looking really fake. It applies really quickly to the face because of it's liquid base, and sets quickly. 

It feels as thought you're got a second skin, which looks fresh and energised. It also protects the skin from the sun with it's spf 15 formula. I go out and feel confident about my skin when I wear this foundation, because the finishing results are outstanding. 

x

Favourite scents

I am a lover of perfumery. I think how one can create their own scent is heavenly, and how we can recognise different perfumes. I would love to be able to create myself a perfume that is unique to everyone else's . I own so many perfumes, you can never have too many! I have narrowed my favourites down to just six. 

six - Daisy by Marc Jacobs 100ml (avg price £70). I always wear this perfume in the summer, as it always smells so fresh and light. Although I really love this innocent scent, I do find it can fade quite quickly, so may need reapplying throughout the day. It's a very sophisticated scent without being too in your face. It has a very natural smell to it. 

five - Ma Vie by Hugo Boss 30ml (avg price £37). This is the perfume I always wear to sixth form as it's relatively cheap and has a really appealing smell. This perfume always gives off a glow of femininity. 

four - So Cal by Hollister 50ml (avg price £39). I absolutely adore the smell of Hollister, so I asked which fragrance they use in the shop. Even though it's a mens fragrance I just love the smell. Whenever I wear this, people always recognise and compliment it. It is quite a masculine and strong scent. I can come home and the scent will still be as crisp as it was that morning. Really worth the money! 

three - Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel 3x20ml (avg price £64). This was a gift for my 18th birthday. I am in love with the perfume. This set comes with twist and spray case and three 20ml refills. This makes it suitable to just have in your handbag as it's a nice compact fragrance. The gold and white bottle is so elegant, just as the smell is.

two - Black Opium by Yves Saint Laurent 50ml (avg price £64). This is came with a little 10ml compact spray to keep in your handbag. I think this fragrance has a lot of energy, I wear it when I'm going out. This fragrance has quite sweet and spicy scents in it, but they go incredibly well. I have never smelt anything like it and the first time I smelt it, I knew I had to buy it. 

one - Chloé by Chloé 75ml (avg price £75). This is by far, my favourite perfume. It last all day and is well worth the price. It's a really strong, unique smell. Every time I wear Chloé, I always get compliments! It's a very fresh smell, even though it's quite pricy, it doesn't disappoint. I would wear this perfume everyday, if I could afford to.