Day 30: 2014 Favourites

Just to add to cliche that is me and this blog I'm now going to comment on how fast the year has gone: Am I the only one who can't believe its 20-freaking-15 in less than two days? 2014 sounds so futuristic still, let alone 2015. I swear the years go faster each time, though to be fair I did read on tumblr one time that the years seem to go faster because each new year is a smaller fraction of your life eg when you're 5 the new year is still 1/5th of your life however when you're 16 the new year is 1/16th of your life so it seems shorter. Which kinda makes sense really, no? Anyway today's all about my favourite products of the year, so without further ado lets get on with that...

Makeup-

MUA Undressed Palette- This has basically been my go to palette this year, though the fallout can be a little annoying, the colour pay off and blendability of the colours is great for such an affordable palette. 

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer- I don't think I really need to talk about this since every blogger, vlogger and youtuber from here to the moon has raved about this at some point, but it had to be included.

Benefit Porefessional Primer- I first tried the sample size of this when I got it free with Elle magazine and I knew I'd have to buy the full size for christmas but when I found out they were selling double sized bottles for the normal price in John Lewis and I just had to.

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet- Easily my favourite lip product I've ever tried, I truly don't understand how anything can be so long lasting, matte and such a true bright colour. If they didn't cost £9 each I'd own ever colour by now.

Loreal Super Liner- Still my favourite eyeliner of all the many I have tried, long lasting, easy to apply and a true black, could you ask for more? 

Real Techniques Buffing Brush- I honestly don't know what I would do without this brush, it so dense and soft and really does even out and buff the foundation into the skin. 

Hair-

Mark Hill Miracoilicious Hair Mask- My relationship with this hair mask has just hit it's one year anniversary as I first tried it when I brought it on boxing day in the sales last year and I have to say I still love it now just as much as when I first tried it. I will never stop recommending it to anyone and everyone.

Tangle Teezer- After trying out the tangle teezer on my waist length wind swept hair I can officially say without a doubt that it is the best hair brush ever.  Whilst the price always puts me off, I really couldn't go back to a normal brush after trying this.

Skincare-

St Moriz Fake Tan- The only tan I've ever tried, but with it being as good as it is I've never really been tempted to buy another brand. The price is really affordable and the blendability and colour payoff is excellent so I see no need to try another brand.

Freederm- This is probably the best spot treatment I've ever tried, 3 days of using this and the spot will be non existent, but when paired with sudocrem it works miracles, seriously!

What are your plans for celebrating the new year, I'm working this year, but I don't really mind cus none of my friends are doing anything really, let me know your plans?

August Favourites

1.Bourjois Rouge Edition Lipstick in Ole Flamingo-I have a review of this going up in a couple of days, but in short, these are incredible and you should immediately go and buy one. They seriously are Holy Grail material.

2.Orphan Black- I have been obsessed with this show and actually watched both seasons in 6 days. I know, I have some serious issues. Cosima is my fave clone I think and I love her and Delphine together, they make such a cute couple.

3.Five Guys Food-A Five Guys just recently opened up in Touchwood Solihull and although I have only been once, it has made it on to my Favourites because it was just so damn good. Though I would not recommend a date there, its kinda hard to eat a bacon cheeseburger with all the trimmings gracefully. The prices are also not as bad as I thought, they are about the same as a Nandos.

4.Costa Coffee Caffe Caramella- I have officially found my favourite hot drink ever, this beats the Greggs Caramel Latte and the Starbucks Caramel Macchiato. Plus it is way cheaper as it is only £2.20. Though its not quite as good as a Caramel Frappuccino I'd have to say. I'm not actually a huge coffee drinker and actually only drink it when I go out, because I don't really like it if its not caramel flavoured, but this is perfect.

5.Golden Compass Book-I really enjoyed the first book of the His Dark Materials trilogy which is The Golden Compass. My friend had recommended it to me and I loved the movie so thought I'd give it a try and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. However I think that the trilogy just goes downhill from the first one and I wasn't actually a fan of the second or third.

6.Barry M Matte Nail paint in Crush- I bought this last winter when they first launched and wasn't really a fan but with the autumnal weather approaching I decided to give it another try and fell in love. I really love the matte effect as well as the colour.

7. HeyItsRae on Youtube-Over the summer, I decided to try watching some new youtubers and fell in love with HeyItsRae. She's soo funny and her videos are interesting and unique, you should really go and watch some!

April Summary

It's been a quite month for me with my upcoming exams so here we go...

1. Shauna's 16th Birthday party, which was amazing.

2. My parents arrived home with the most adorable labradoodle in tow one day, we had been discussing getting a dog for a while but never really that seriously and then suddenly this gorgeous pup arrived just 10 weeks old and I fell in love. We are thinking we are going to name him Bucky as in Captain America's best mate :)

3. This photo depicts the incredible delivery skill shown my amazon delivery people when I (Finally!) gave in and brought the real techniques eye set. I saw them on offer on amazon at only £13.50 so I couldn't resist, there will be a review of them soon!

4. A big group of my friends also went to Zizzis for a meal after school to cheer up one of my friends who was feeling a bit down.

5. We also went out for a meal for my friend Lauren's 16th birthday and surprised her with a birthday cake and candles, the whole works!

6. I got my first ever spray tan over easter as a trial for prom. I was really happy with how it turned out, especially as it only cost me £8!

As a side note there won't be any April Favourites as I haven't tried out enough new stuff to make it worthwhile me writing a post, so the few things that I'm currently loving will probably be making an appearance in the May Favourites. However there will most likely not be a May Summary either as let's be honest I'm going to be doing nothing but eating, sleeping and studying as exam season officially starts, but I'll definitely make sure I have a May Favourites up...

February Favourites

February's over which means its my Birthday in 6 days (YAY!)(EDIT:Well it's tomorrow now that I'm publishing this, double YAY!) but also it's time for February favourites...

1. Frozen Soundtrack- I only discovered Frozen in early January and since then I have been obsessed with it, particularly the soundtrack. Me and my sis like to sing the 'For the first time in forever' reprise together haha honestly we're almost sixteen...but its just so good, as is 'Let it go', Idina Menzel is incredible.

2. Carte D'or Salted Caramel Ice Cream- To be honest this isn't really a favourite just for February, it's sort of a forever and always favourite. Salted caramel is just the best flavour of anything but ice cream especially. I have been eating this a LOT throughout February, though the only problem is that the rest of my family really likes it too and keep eating it before I get to it.

3. Firefly- Normally I will avoid old shows, which I consider anything before about 2010 to be honest (I know that's bad!) so considering that this is from 2002 I can't believe I liked it so much! Even though a mix of sci-fi and western  sounds so bad, gifs and screencaps of this have been popping up all over my pinterest and tumblr feed so I finally decided to see what all the hype was about. Firstly I was really surprised to see how many of the actors I recognised from other stuff like Castle, Suits and Suburgatory. And to be honest I can really see why everyone is so annoyed that it got cancelled.

4. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee- A rather unexpected addition to my monthly favourites but we are reading it as part of my English Literature GCSE but I'm really rather enjoying it so I thought I'd include it. 

5. Boots Tea Tree and Witch Hazel Back Spray-I brought this about a week and a half ago and have been using it on and off since then and can honestly say that it had definitely reduced redness on my chest and back, hopefully if I continue to use it and use it more regularly, my back and chest will be a lot clearer. Maybe I'll do a full review on it in the future?

6. Barry M Gelly Nail Varnish in Blueberry- I think this may have featured in my favourites before but I do adore this colour. It's the perfect colour for spring and since spring has officially arrived I think I'm allowed to wear it even if the weather doesn't show it. I bought this in June last year and it still hasn't gone thick so I'm very happy with that too :)

7. MUA Brow Kit- I brought this about a week ago now but I love it so much that I had to include it. The only problem I do have with it is that the highlight shade isn't really a highlight, but the darkest shade works rather well for me, the mini tweezers are very handy, the mirror is huge and it's a lot easier to carry around than my MUA palette!

8. Bare Minerals eyeshadow in Smoke-I got this as part 

9.Quiz Up App-This is my current obsession! I love love love it, its basically a trivia game on almost any topic you can think of-tv shows, movies, general knowledge, current affairs, maths, science etc. My personal favourites are Game of Thrones, Harry Potter  and Disney :) plus you can play with anyone around the world and challenge your friends. 

So what have your February favourites been?

January Favourites

I cannot believe January is over already that's 1/12 of the year gone, time flies when you're having fun I guess! Sorry I didn't do a December favourites post but I wasn't sure what to put in it since I hadn't really brought anything new because I was waiting for Christmas :)

1.Mark Hill MiracOIlicious 2 Minute Hair Mask- I will be writing a separate review of this since I got a set for Christmas and it's so great, but this mask masks my hair feel so soft that it had to be included. It makes my hair shiny, smooth and just generally healthier looking! I use this mask once a week and it makes my hair feel amazing.

2.Carrie Underwood-I'm quite a fan of a bit of country music, (Lady Antebellum are one of my favourite bands!) so I  don't really know why it took me so long to get to Carrie Underwood to be honest. But now I have I've downloaded all of  her albums, I think my favourites are Blown Away, Before He Cheats, Jesus Take the Wheel, See You Again, Two Black Cadillacs and Good in goodbye.

3.Rimmel London Apocalips in Eclipse- As you will know if you are a regular reader, I literally adore these lip products (Sorry I blog about them all the time)! I know that they were mentioned in my last monthly favourites but I brought Eclipse after Christmas and it is the most gorgeous wintery berry purple/burgundy colour which I am in love with so I just had to include it.

4.Game of Thrones Clash of Kings-It took me like 2 months to read, but I must admit it was amazing. I have been addicted to the show since it started but only recently started on the books. I have decided to take a break before I read the third one though because they take so long. As a side note, would you guys like me to do book reviews since I do love to read, I'm just not sure If you guys would be interested?

5.Pretty Little Liars-Another thing I seem to have arrived late too! I'm currently only on season 2 of I think 5, but if the other seasons are as good as these, I'll be very happy :)

6.Bare Minerals Original Foundation in Fairly Light- I recently brought the Bare Minerals bright and beautiful gift set (post on that soon!) and I have to say I hated this foundation on the first use, but since then I have grown to really love it! Wearing what is essentially a powder as a foundation was just such a foreign concept to me that I really hated it. But after wearing it to school for a few days, I really like it, it offers long-lasting, medium coverage and feel so light on the skin, its like your not wearing anything at all. And usually I break out after wearing foundation but with this I didn't which is a huge bonus! Unfortunately, due to the price it will have to be one saved for special occasions.
7.Bareminerals Bright and Beautiful Eyeliner in Charcoal-I almost never wear pencil eyeliner, I'm more of a liquid/felt pen type girl, I love me a good cat eye flick. But since buying the bare minerals gift set and discovering this eyeliner, I have been wearing pencil liner most days. The only problem is that I love it so much, I don't want to use it because the more I use it the quicker it will run out and the quicker I might have to fork out £14 (Yes, fourteen pounds!) for a new one. That's how much I love it!

8.Real Techniques Core Collection-Do I really need to say anything about Real Techniques?

Don't forget to tell me all your favourites in the comments please!

P.S. I have noticed I use way too many exclamation marks in my favourites posts...

Festive Favourites: Activites

I meant to post this on thursday, sorry! I've been so busy...

Here is the third in my festive favourites series...activities! It sounds a bit random but I thought I'd share with you my favourite things to do to get me in the festive mood.

Our Christmas tree in the lounge 

1. Decorate the tree- An obvious but necessary addition to the list.
2. Visit the German market-I went yesterday and had my first ever German sausage which  was absolutely gorgeous! We were going to go on the ferris wheel too but we all chickened out ;)
3. Have a Christmas movie marathon-I've hardly watched any movies yet and I only have 4 days to go :( that will probably be what I do tomorrow in fact.
4. Christmas present shopping-I LOVE buying presents for all my friends and family, its so great when you find something that you know they're gonna love.
5. Spend an evening wrapping everyones presents-This ones linked to the previous one really but when you have the perfect present its important to make it look its best
6. Go to a carol service or similar- Its pretty fun, this year I went down to one in my local park with my mum which was quite fun.
7. Make a gingerbread house-I am yet to make a free standing one that stands up on its own but hey, its the thought that counts right?
8. Have or attend a Christmas party-Our annual Christmas Party is tonight, I have made 56 brownies and 30 gingerbread biscuits today plus I have added jam and cream to about 50 mini victoria sponges...
9. Christmassy Journaling/December Daily Challenge-I love love love my smash journal which I brought in the summer, its perfect for writing down all those festive little tidbits which you don't want to forget. Let me know if you'd like a post on that ;)
10. Bake some christmas treats-As I mentioned I baked loads of gingerbread today which is my personal fave festive treat but there's loads of other stuff you could try too like christmas cupcakes, DIY mince pies or chocolate fudge.

Some of my Christmas pages

Remember to spread the festive cheer...

Festive Favourites: Songs

This is the second in my Festive Favourites Series, as I mentioned yesterday today is songs so hop on over to youtube and have a listen to get you in the festive mood. I feel a bit lacking in the festive spirit but I think that's just because I'm still at school. When I break up on Friday I'm going to the German Market with all my friends though so that should be fun and then on Saturday we are having our annual Christmas party so I should be feeling well and truly festive by then. Anyway here we go...

1. Fairytale of New York
2. White Christmas
3. Driving home for Christmas
4. Let it Snow
5. Do they know its Christmas
6. A spaceman came travelling
7. Saviors day
8. All I want for christmas is you
9. Merry Christmas Everybody
10. When a child is born

Tell me your favourites below...

November Favourites

Well December is finally here, which means that christmas is here at last too, but more importantly November Favourites are here! 

But remember, December favourites will be over on my new site Beauty By a Geek!

1. Yankee Candles in Red Apple Wreath and Snowflake Cookie- I brought these at the beginning of November and I have been loving them! They make my bedroom smell so christmassy and delicious.

2.Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder- I love this new bronzer, its perfect for just adding a little colour to my face in the winter.

3. Lasting Perfection Concealer- One of my favourite youtubers, Zoella swears by this concealer so I thought I'd give it a try after the last couple I've tried weren't that great and I'm really loving it, it offers good but also long lasting coverage.

4. Maybelline Falsies Mascara- I am really loving this mascara, definitely one of the best Ive tried along with the loreal telescopic one.

5.James Blunt Bonfire Heart- This song is absolutely beautiful and I cant stop listening to it on repeat.

6.Chocolate Hobnobs-My nan brought me a packet last week and these are absolutely delicious, I could have eaten the whole packet in one sitting.

7. Katy Perry Legendary Lovers- This song is also brilliant, I love her whole album though!

8. Fox's Sleepy Hollow- Me and my sister have been loving this programme of late, though I cant watch it at night time ;)

9. Rimmel London Apocalips in Stellar-I brought this on 3 for 2 at boots and I love it! It glides on like a gloss but even after the gloss is gone your lips are still stained. It was really hard to pick a colour because I also really wanted big bang, phenomenon and apocalyptic, hopefully I'll be able to get a few more though!

So what have your November favourites been?

October Favourites

I have been watching so much youtube recently, I'm a little obsessed. But anyway, I was inspired by these to start a new feature... monthly favourites! So here goes...

1. Starbucks Chilled Caramel Macchiato Latte-These things taste amazing! As do the bottled frappuccinos.
2. ABC's Once Upon A Time-I have been watching this show since the very beginning and am totally obsessed. So happy Season 3's finally here!
3. MUA Undressed Palette-This is a beautiful and versatile palette with a great selection of colours.
4. Sara Bareilles Brave, Chasing The Sun and Hercules-Chasing the Sun is my current fave but the other two are close contenders.
5. Maynards Sour Patch Kids- I am so happy that these have arrived in England, they are delicious!
6. Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss stick in Fucshia-ristic- This has long been a favorite of mine as it has the colour of a lipstick but the sheen of a lip gloss with out the stickiness.
7. Divergent, Insurgent and Allegiant by Veronica Roth-I am obsessed with these books! I read the first one in 2 days and can't wait to read the third.
8. Compass by Lady Antebellum-I have been a fan of Lady A for a while now but their new single is one of my favourites yet.
9. Loreal Super Liner Perfect Slim in Black Intense- This is my new favourite eyeliner! The tip is so thin and precise and the formula lasts all day. 

And of course I have been obsessed with Katy Perry's new album, 'Prism'!

Let me know your favourites this month in the comments...