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I use Bondi Sands with my St.Tropez mitt

I'd never been a massive fake tan lover until recently. Because I am naturally pretty pale, I always used to use gravitate towards body moisturisers with a hint of self tan in, mainly because I was scared of looking orange and wanted something natural. However, I was/am rubbish at keeping up with moisturising my body! When I had tried a *proper* fake tan, it was always one of the cheaper options on the shelf and therefore would just end up looking streaky.

However, after getting fed up of how pale I was, I watched a few fake tan routines on YouTube and decided to bite the bullet and buy the Bondi Sands Self Tanning Foam. For some reason I always thought this was going to be expensive however I was pleasantly surprised to see it only retails at £14.99. I actually bought it when it was on offer so i got it for around the £11 mark, even better!

I bought the light/medium shade and had read that it was quite light, but still kept it on for only 3/4 hours the first time I used it just in-case. I now leave it on all night and wash it off in the morning, to get a darker and longer lasting tan and I love it! I am a massive self tan convert. I love the colour, it never streaks (always use a mitt), i don't find it stains my sheets and i really like the coconut smell. It also fades so nicely and I am never left with patches even after 5/6 days. 

I now fake tan almost every week and i'm even considering getting the dark shade for the summer. If anyone else is wanting to get into fake tanning but is apprehensive i would highly recommend Bondi Sands! 

I was having a pretty horrid time with my skin for what felt like a couple of years. Nothing had been working to clear the constant array of spots that were developing on and around my chin (my chin has always been my issue area), and although you're told your skin will clear once your teenage years are behind you, my skin was doing the opposite. It was infuriating and confidence bashing!

I normally spend ages researching and reading reviews on products before I buy them, but after reading a few rave reviews, I bought the Pixi Glow Tonic from ASOS (no surprises there), slightly on a whim. I wasn't expecting miracles but I was wrong. After only a couple of days, my spots were clearing and my scars fading! Scaring is one of the worst aspects of having spots for me! I didn't want to get my hopes up too much though, as the time of the month was approaching and this plays havoc on my skin. However to my surprise, nothing! This has continued until now, barely having a spot in 4 months. If I have had a spot, its been small and has cleared up within a couple of days instead of the huge underneath the skin spots that I used to get, that would seemingly last for weeks.

It has been so nice not wearing as much foundation and concealer, or worrying about my makeup wearing off and revealing spots. I generally use this once a day, at night, however if i do feel a spot developing I sometimes apply both morning and night. 

I just hope this product continues to work its magic on my skin as it really has been my skin saviour up to now! The 250ml bottle costs £18.

Top Row Swatches

Middle Row Swatches

Bottom Row Swatches

I'm not really one that buys YouTuber's products / merch and if I'm honest, I don't religiously watch Huda, just the odd video here and there (I've got too many other subscriptions to be keeping up with). But when i was researching Christmas gift ideas, the Huda Beauty Smokey Obsessions palette was suggested and I immediately wanted to get it. I know a lot of her products are raved about (especially the eyeshadows) and not just from the YouTube community. I also thought it was pretty reasonably priced and after reading a few very positive reviews, added it to my Christmas list. 

The palette contains 9 eyeshadows, with a mixture of matte and shimmer finishes and cool and warm toned shades. It's definitely travel friendly, some may say too small for the price however the eyeshadow pans are actually the same size as her standard palettes. It has a pretty good sized mirror, especially for the size of the palette and I like the magnetic close. 

I used it for the first time on New Years Eve and I loved it! The shadows are by far the best in terms of blend-ability I've ever used. They were very pigmented, so easy to use and even though I used the black (which normally means eyeshadow everywhere) there was no fall out! I used every shadow bar one and they worked so well together. On first glance, it looks like a palette that is more suited to night-out or glam makeup, however I now definitely think everyday looks can be created too. My only gripe is that a couple of the matte shades have a few cracks in them, so i'm hoping they won't smash completely. However this probably happened in transit, so maybe I shouldn't blame the palette. 

I'm thinking I may have to try out the Warm Brown Obsessions Palette next! 

When i was sifting through my makeup collection the other day, i realised how much of a fan I am of liquid and cream highlighters. More often than not, when doing my makeup i reach for them over a powder highlighter. Liquids and cream highlighters give much more of a glow and luminosity, almost from within the skin, that you just can't get with a powder. 

When looking at my liquid highlighters, two stood out; Nars Copacabana Illuminator and Benefit High Beam. Both are beautiful, quite similar in fact, and blend out really well whether you use your fingers, a brush or a beauty blender. I find that you only need the tiniest amount, so especially for Copacabana where it comes in a big tube, it will last ages. I also like the versatility of liquid highlighters. You can mix a little in with your foundation or moisturiser for a more glowy finish or even apply it like a primer.
The only downside to liquid highlighters? I find they can be a little time consuming and sometimes messy to apply.

I still love to use powder highlighters, such as the Balm Mary LouManizer or Nars Albatross, that give a kind of dazzling effect to the cheeks, but for general every day makeup, a liquid or cream is my preferred choice. 

Which do you prefer? Liquid or powder?

Where do I start? I haven't written a blog post in such a long time. *Edit- I wrote this a few months ago then forgot to post, doh!* I've been so busy with life and working that this little space went to the back of my brain and just wasn't a priority. I want to get back into the swing of things though and that starts now! So i'm going to ease myself back into it with an updated everyday makeup routine. This is the makeup I've generally been wearing everyday for work, so it needs to be quick and easy! I don't have the time (or effort) to be spending ages on my makeup at 7 in the morning!