From Day to Night Feat. The Body Shop*

The festive season for me is all about trying new looks, not only when it comes to my outfits but my makeup choices as well. The Body Shop have recently launched their brand new makeup brushes and I couldn’t wait to try some festive looks out to transform from day to night. The brushes have been designed to help master the latest trends and go alongside the essential brush range they already have on offer.

I was lucky enough to receive the whole new brush range and some make-up. The brushes are 100% cruelty free and have FSC wooden handles making them 100% vegan. The Body shop set me a challenge to take my look from day to night focusing on just the cheeks. With the amazing range of products I was sent, this was really easy. I’ll go into more detail on the products used below.

For the day time look I started off by moisturising then applying Instablur. I then applied some of the Concealer All-In-One with the Concealer brush underneath my eyes and on any blemishes and red areas. I then applied my foundation with the Buffing brush which felt so soft and made my foundation look absolutely flawless. Next I used the Face and Body brush to apply some translucent powder to set my liquid foundation in place. I then used the Down to Earth Eyeshadow Palette and brushed some matte neutral colours onto my eyes with the Eyeshadow brush and the Eyeshadow crease brush to really blend the darker colour through the crease of my eye. I finished the eyes by using the Eye liner brush to apply my gel liner then adding some of the Super Volume Mascara. To finish my daytime look I lightly applied some of the matte lipstick in the shade Rio Fuchsia which gave a lovely natural colour to the lips.

To turn this look into a night time one, I made a few simple changes. I started off by adding some shimmer to the eye from the Down to Earth Eyeshadow Palette with the Eyeshadow brush. I the darkened my crease further with the crease brush, and blended it out with the flat brush. To really make my cheeks pop, I used the Slanted Blusher brush to apply some bronzer along my cheekbones and up and around my temples. The Blusher brush really came in handy here and I applied some blusher to the apples of my cheeks. I then used the Fan brush to highlight. Finally I switched up my lipstick to the shade New Orleans Scarlett which I think really finished off the night time look.

Overall I think these brushes are amazing and there really is a brush for every aspect of your make up routine. They are soft and feel of great quality. If you'd like to check out the entire new range of vegan brushes, head to The Body Shop Website.

*I received these items free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not influenced in any way.

April 2016 Glossybox

After receiving a slightly disappointing Glossybox last month I was over the moon with this month’s box! I received 4 full sized items and one mini and all of them are things I will definitely use. Onto the review.

Next – Make Me Beautiful Lip Chubby – Full Size £8

I love this chubby crayon stick and having never tried any cosmetics from Next I was really excited to see how this turned out. I received a lovely pinky red colour which is easily buildable. This lip crayon goes onto the lips so smoothly and doesn’t smudge. I am really impressed with the colour pay off and would love to see what the other colours are like.

The Body Shop –Oils Of Life Facial Oil – Full Size £28

I love when I open the box to a familiar brand and as a massive fan of The Body Shop, this excited me! This intensely revitalising facial oil has been a great addition to my beauty routine. I have been massaging a couple of drops of this product into my face and neck and it really does revive my complexion and make my skin feel amazing. A little really does go a long way too so despite only having a small sample size, I know this is really going to last. This is something I would definitely repurchase and I now want to check out other products in this range.

Leighton Denny Expert Nails – Miracle Mist – Full Size £12

I already own a quick-dry nail varnish spray so this probably isn’t something I would have went out and bought but I am really impressed with the results. After applying nail varnish, simply spray this product over the nails for a few seconds. They become touch-dry in less than a minute. I am absolutely loving this mist especially as I am usually too busy to paint my nails and wait for them to dry. This has cut minutes off my drying time meaning I am more likely to paint my nails. Great product.

Studio 10 – Brow Lift Perfecting Liner – Full Size £22

Wow, I can’t believe the price of this product! As a true Anastasia Dip Pomade Fan I was a bit sceptical about trying this out as I have had bad experiences with pencils in the past. This double ended pencil comes with a brow pencil and also a highlighting pencil to really enhance the arch of your brow. I am not a huge fan of the brow pencil end as it’s not an exact shade for me but I have been loving the highlighter end teamed with my dip pomade, this makes a great on-fleek brow. 

Swiss Smile – Whitening Toothpaste – Full Size £28.95

I am really pleased I got this product as it’s worth nearly £30 and I saw a few other people get stick-on tattoos which I wouldn’t have probably used. This whitening toothpaste is from a brand I have never heard of before but I absolutely love this. I noticed results after just one use and my teeth looked brighter and cleaner. I went to the hygienist at the dental surgery after using this for a week and she barely needed to clean my teeth – bonus because it’s pretty painful! I probably wouldn’t repurchase due to the price but I am very happy with this and recommend it if you’re after a more luxurious toothpaste that really works.

What did you get in your Glossybox this month? If you’d like to sign up for Glossybox, click here.

Body Shop Haul - Kidney Research UK

A few weeks ago now I attended a Body Shop Party round the lovely Sabrina’s in aid of Kidney Research UK. Sabrina was given an amazing party pack from Kidney Research UK including ‘pimp it purple’ stickers and funny hats, great for selfies! This is a charity very close to Sabrina’s heart as in 2015 she got the devastating news that she had IgA Nephropathy which is a type of Chronic Kidney Disease. She has been incredibly strong the past year and is going in for her transplant in April so I wish her all the best. 

Lots of products had 30% off on the night so I got to pick up some things I have been eyeing up for a while now at really good prices.

The first item I decided to get was the All-in-one Instablur. I have wanted to try this primer for ages and decided to get it as it was such a great price. After trying it out on my hand in the crease between my thumb and forefinger, I was sold. This perfector blurs imperfections and controls shine for up to 12 hours. I have been wearing this under my foundation for a couple of weeks and I have really noticed the difference in application. My face feels so soft after using this, ant my makeup glides on nicely and stays put all day. You only need a small amount as a little goes a long way so it will last me a while.

I then bought was the Reviving Leg Gel in Peppermint. I do a lot of shifts that require me to spend long hours on my feet and can come home with heavy, tired legs. The cooling peppermint gel aims to sooth and revive tired legs which is just what I was after! I’ve had the cooling foot spray in the same scent and loved it. I have heard this product is great if you are pregnant and getting swollen heavy legs (this is not an announcement by the way!). I recently did a stint of couch to 5k training runs and this was so soothing to put on my tired legs after. I really love it.

I have been looking for a body lotion for a while now and the Green Tea Body Lotion caught my eye as it comes with a pump – great for easy access! I own the green tea bath salts which I really like using and this has a similar scent. This lotion sinks into the skin and does not feel sticky. I have been using this in the mornings on my arms and legs and I definitely feel moisturised.

The last item I bought  was the Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter which I haven’t heard of before. The body shop consultant explained to us that if you remove your make-up with wipes then you take off what is on your face but you don’t clean it. The cleansing butter aims to deep clean your face and after using a little bit on my hand I loved the consistency, and it removed the scribble of pen I had on my hand. To use this cleansing butter you simply put a bit between your fingers to warm it up, then massage it into your face. This can be removed with a muslin cloth or with cotton pads. I have used this to take off my makeup every night since having it and I haven’t had any breakouts and my skin generally feels a lot nicer.

I had a great night at the party. We played party games and there was a raffle to raise money for the charity.

All in all Sabrina managed to raise £80 for Kidney Research UK which is fantastic. If you would like to make a donation to a great cause and help develop and increase the knowledge within Kidney Research UK, head over to Sabrina’s donation page on Just Giving.