Steel Grey.

Burberry -

Nail Polish in Steel Grey

“Formulated with patent-pending technology, Burberry Nail Polish has a protective and long-lasting high-gloss finish with accelerated drying and hardening times. The formula contains strengthening and moisturising elements, including antioxidant pro-vitamin B5 and myrrh extract, to help protect and care for nails and prevent breakages. Effortless application is guaranteed with a high-precision rounded-end brush design. Discover saturated hues direct from the Prorsum runway, intense, highly pigmented tones reflecting the British weather and landscape, and subtle hues of nude inspired by the trench coat, the most iconic of all Burberry garments.” - Burberry

Nail Gym.

Ciate - 

Treatment Collection

The Ciate Treatments Collection has been a long time coming – the brand has focussed on exciting packaging (the gorgeous Ciate houses) and a vibrant colour collection, so the foray into treatment products is very interesting. So far, the packaging, with its little spanners and underwear (an undercoat, presumably) is beautiful.

This is a super sneaky peek at the Ciate Treatments Collection – it doesn’t hit stores till March at least, but when it does, you can expect botanical blends, exotic oils and plenty of nail loving vitamins within the formulas. I’m always on the look out for nail treatments since mine are always suffering one way or another – I’m so looking forward to getting a closer look!

Revolution and Moondust.

Right so I definitely think it is time to get excited about the imminent launches from Urban Decay.

First up is Sheer Revolution Lipstick. The news from the brand says this is all about “creamy, badass luxury meets sheer, pigmented colour”. I loved the creamy badass luxury of the original, however they were a bit too intense for me, therefore this sheer pigmented sounding great! I love a shiny finish to lip colour and as this promises to be all the power of Revolution with a sheer and shiny finish, I think they are going to be beautiful.

They promise that they will be;

- Buttery smooth application

- Long lasting

- Creamy feel

- High shine finish

- Sheer yet pigmented colour

- Pigment Infusion system for even colour and long wear

- Maxi-Lip defines, hydrates and plumps

- Blend of oils and antioxidants

…And there are 10 shades available:

 SHEER LADYFLOWER – sheer rose-pink

 SHEER STREAK – sheer coral-pink

 SHEER F-BOMB – sheer red

 SHEER LIAR – sheer pinky-brown nude

 SHEER RAPTURE – sheer dusty rose

 SHEER ANARCHY – sheer fuchsia

 SHEER SHAME – sheer berry

 SHEER SLOWBURN – sheer orange-red

 SHEER OBSESSED – sheer baby pink

SHEER WALK OF SHAME – sheer pale nude-pink

Second up is the new Moondust Eyeshadows. I am so excited because I absolutely adore Urban Decay eyeshadows, especially this line of them and now we have new shades!!

They will be releasing 4 new shades;

ETHER – light purple with pink-blue 3-D sparkle and shift

SCORPIO – matte black with gold 3-D sparkle

SOLSTICE – metallic pink-red with green 3-D sparkle and shift

COSMIC – metallic white with iridescent 3-D sparkle and shift

The Moondust sparkle is so pretty. Rather than chunky glitter, you get an intense dazzle that literally just lights up the eyes. I am a massive fan of this formula even though I sometimes find shimmer a little on the scary side, especially those with massive fallout, however I have never experienced much of that with these eyeshadows. It is so easy to apply – I often use my fingers – and the effect it creates is just stunning. It uses super fine iridescent sparkly metallic 3-D pigmetns for a “luxe, upscale vibe and a gorgeous, diamond-like effect”. It is a powder but it really feels like cream as you apply it, which is why I like to use my fingers. To increase intensity, I apply it wet and it twinkles like you have never seen! Just like all the UD eyeshadows, Urban Decay Moondust Eyeshadows come in little compacts you can pop out to build your own palette. They are pale silver rather than gunmetal.

The Urban Decay Sheer Revolution Lipstick retail for £15.50 and the Moondust Eyeshadow new shades Ether, Scorpio, Solstice and Cosmic are £14.50 and will be available at www.urbandecay.co.uk from 29th January 2015.

Complexion Rescue.

After my little BareMinerals obsession not long back, I got super exited over news of this new releases from them. This Spring/Summer comes the release of their Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream, which will be released in ten shades. It’s exciting to see BareMinerals taking on another liquid product or in this case a gel one. I’m just hopeful that Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream proves a better experience for me than Bare Skin Serum Foundation, which I wasn’t really too fused on.

Bareminerals explains that this Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream is a hybrid BB Cream, CC Cream, and tinted moisturiser, and is formulated without oils, parabens, fragrances, or silicone. It promises to increase the moisture of your skin by up to 215%, which is pretty exciting for those dry skinned girls. However, I will be excited to see how this reacts and applies on those with a more combination or oily skin type. Bare Minerals says it has dewy sheer to medium coverage with a soft, smooth finish that has an SPF 30 and a gel cream texture that gives skin a natural, radiant finish. It’s formulated with Marine botanicals to help replenish your skin’s moisture.

Shades:

•   Opal 01: Fair Skin, Cool Tone

•   Vanilla 02: Light Skin, Neutral Tone

•   Buttercream 03: Light Skin, Golden Tone

•   Suede 04: Medium Skin, Cool Tone

•   Natural 05: Medium Skin, Neutral Tone

•   Ginger 06: Medium Skin, Golden Tone

•   Tan 07: Tan Skin, Neutral Tone

•   Spice 08: Tan to Dark skin, Golden Tone

•   Chestnut 09: Dark Skin, Golden Tone

•   Sienna 10: Deep Skin, Neutral Tone

I really didn’t like last year’s Serum Foundation release so I’m hopeful Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream proves better. I’m excited to try it out especially since it claims to be so hydrating. All this snow, wind, rain and cold is making my skin look scary!

Star.

Dior - 

DiorSkin Star Foundation

Studio Make-Up Spectacular Brightening Weightless Perfection Foundation SPF 30

‘The complexion is instantly more luminous and visibly more even. A new generation of hollow silica beads captures and diffuses light in a correcting halo with no shine. At the same time, colour-filter pigments neutralise colour imbalances to recreate the perfect light. The complexion is clarified with a purer, more dazzling and long-lasting light. Anti-""light-trap"" skincare ingredients help reduce the appearance of dark areas, pigment spots and redness.’

The Perfect Foundation Brush?

Shiseido –

The Makeup Perfect Foundation Brush

 “Designed to provide the ultimate finish, Shiseido’s New Perfect Foundation Brush helps to create a natural and flawless complexion. The unique shape of the brush allows foundation to glide evenly over the furrows and ridges of the skin while perfectly fitting over all angles and uneven surfaces of the face. A versatile product it can be used with all foundation types including liquid, powder and compact. Made with a blend of artificial hairs the new Perfect Foundation Brush is a must have tool for any make-up collection.”

Deep Cleansing.

Liz Earle –

Deep Cleansing Mask

‘This highly concentrated clay and manuka honey mask helps draw out impurities and excess oil to leave oily, combination and problem-prone skin balanced, calm and clear. Naturally active ingredients include green clay to draw out impurities, soothing manuka honey and propolis and rose- scented geranium to help tone and balance.’

I really love this Liz Earle Deep Cleansing Mask, targeted for oily, combination and spot prone skin; it has certainly been doing the trick. The mask deep cleanses the skin and helps to eliminate oiliness and impurities in the skin. The key ingredients within the mask assist cleaning and clearing the skin, with clay to help absorb oil in the skin and with the potent smelling manuka honey, that for me is rather strong, never the less it makes your skin feel incredible.

To use I simply cleanse my skin like normal, then applying the mask, which I leave on for about 10 minutes. I then wash off the mask with the provided sponges, which are a great add on. I like using the sponges as there much softer texture on the skin to slowly remove the mask with, plus they seem to remove the mask much easier and quicker then using a muslin cloth. 

When the mask is on your face it dries fairly quick but doesn't go crumbly or really tight like some clay masks I have used. After removal my skin feels soft, refreshed, oil-free and not tight or overly dry. I use this mask once a week along with my usual skin care routine. However, if my skins feeling really stressed or congested, then mid week I just apply this to my t-zone and the Liz Earle Intensive Nourishing Mask to my cheeks, which is where I tend to need a lot of hydration!

Overall, so far so good! It’s really helped to clear my pores and the odd spot that appeared. I do however have to warn, because it de-congests and clears your pores, there may be a slight chance of this mask fetching you out in a few spots after usage. However, this is purely down to the fact that it’s removing all the toxins and dirt from within your skin/pores. This has happened to me once or twice when I first used it, but they healed crazy quickly!

Favourite Christmas Tag.

I don't usually get around to doing any tags - although I do enjoy reading them - but as I love anything to do with Christmas, I wanted to give it a go!  

Favourite festive food

Christmas dinner is probably my favourite food at Christmas…obviously.

Favourite reindeer

Rudolph, because he was unique…and the only one I really know!

Favourite day of Christmas

Christmas day, but I also love the whole run up to Christmas and the excitement of Christmas eve…plus because my parents and sister tend to be working Christmas day, we tend to have our Christmas on Christmas eve.

Favourite Christmas song

Now, I sing along to most of them, but I don’t actually know any of the names. Therefore I’m just going to say all of them!

Favourite present

Generally I get a lot of very random presents. However, this year I got a new iPhone 6, therefore that has got to be my favourite present yet…I also bought myself some Timberland's as a present to myself…do they count?

Favourite festive film

Ok…from the top of my head, I like the Grinch, Muppet's Christmas Carol, Nightmare Before Christmas and Arthur Christmas, however this is only a few, I really like animated films, as you can tell!

Favourite cracker toy

We didn’t have crackers this year, but last year we had balloons and you made them in to balloon animals, and the year before that we had some sort of reindeer race inspired crackers, which was fun. We tend to look for ones which have something good inside…which is actually pretty hard.

Favourite cracker joke

I can never remember jokes whether they're from crackers or not - some cracker jokes are so lame and repetitive thought!

Favourite Christmas decorations

I love the tree lights. To be honest, I like lights in general, at work we have a light sensory room and that’s where I do most of my planning, therefore having Christmas lights all over the tree, and when people put tasteful lights outside their house, looks super pretty too.

Favourite Christmas candle scent

Most people say that a real Christmas tree is the best scent at Christmas…but I haven’t ever smelt one, however I am determined to have a real tree one day. However, candle wise I really love cinnamon!

Favourite Christmas advert

The John Lewis adverts are the best - I love the penguins this year, but I'm still hung up on the one from a few years ago with all the animals and the Lily Allan song.

Favourite festive tradition

I don’t really have any festive traditions. I like being with my family at Christmas and all sitting in the living room opening presents and watching films together…does that count as a tradition?

Favourite place to spend Christmas

I live with my parents, therefore that’s where I spend Christmas, last year we went to my sisters but her cooker wasn’t big enough and it caused too much aggro, therefore she just came round to ours.  I can't imagine ever wanting to be away on holiday over Christmas, it just wouldn't feel the same.

Favourite Christmas fact

I don’t really know many Christmas facts, however my dad did tell me that for it to officially classed as a White Christmas, only one flake of snow has to land at one of the Met Office buildings…still waiting on a White Christmas!

Favourite thing about snow 

I love everything about snow, making snowmen, throwing snowballs, making snow angels, wearing my hunter willies and taking my dog for a walk (she is the only person I now who loves snow more then me), but my favourite thing is when you wake up to freshly fallen snow in the morning and everywhere is beautifully covered without a single footprint.  I hate it when it turns to dirty, yucky sludge!

Naturally Active.

Not long ago I wrote a review about Liz Earle’s very handy skincare Try-Me-Kit. I was that impressed with the results that I actually asked for the full sized range for Christmas. As I’ve been using it for a few months now, I thought I would give you an up to date in-depth review about the products. I’m going to focus mainly on her moisturiser and mask, however I will include a little review about her Cleanse & Polish cleanser and her toner. The main reason I didn’t want to write loads about her cleanser and toner is purely because there are that many reviews available that we all just start to say the same thing. Furthermore, I would rather let you all know about the two products that don’t get as much hype as they deserve!

So lets begin…

Six-Inch.

Timberland -

Six-Inch Premium Boots

‘Here it is: the original Timberland® boot that helped start it all nearly forty years ago. Admittedly we’ve made a few improvements over the years, such as the addition of our exclusive anti-fatigue technology for all-day comfort, but our six-inch boots remain just as sturdy and dependable as ever. They’re crafted in premium waterproof leather with seam-sealed construction to keep your feet dry, whatever the elements throw at you. Famed for their long-lasting durability, our six-inch premium boots will stand up to a beating in mud, rain, sand and snow and keep coming back for more.’

Limited Edition Gold.

Burberry –

Gold (No. 25) Complete Eye Palette 

Burberry is a brand that I haven’t ever been dawn to neither make up or clothing wise. However, this Christmas my boyfriend treated me to this beautiful palette and it truly fell in love. The Burberry Complete Eye Palette in Gold (No. 25) is a new, limited edition eye shadow palette released as part of Burberry's Gold Collection for Holiday 2014.  Everything in this collection is encased in the festive and stunning gold packaging instead of their usual, gunmetal finish. I personally think this is one of the most beautiful eye shadow palette I have ever used and here’s why…

Filmstar.

Charlotte Tilbury –

Filmstar Bronze & Glow

“This is a secret that silver screen sirens have kept to themselves for years – and once I share it with you – so will you! With Filmstar Bronze & Glow you can slim, sculpt, shorten, trim and highlight your features. It’s amazing what clever shading and highlighting tricks can do to your facial framework - it’s an illusion that I use all the time, particularly for red carpet scrutiny, and my clients can’t get enough of it. Take what you were born with and maximise your assets with Filmstar Bronze & Glow!”

Sheer Skin Tint.

Liz Earle –

Sheer Skin Tint SPF15

‘Discover enviably radiant skin with our award-winning complexion perfector. With its rich and creamy, yet lightweight formula, Sheer Skin Tint delivers an even, dewy and beautifully natural-looking finish, while offering mineral UV SPF15 protection in one clever product. Enriched with our own blend of natural source vitamin E, borage and avocado, specially selected to work in harmony with our skincare range – this really is the ultimate make up must-have.’

Cleanse, Polish, Boost, Repair and Brighten.

Liz Earle Skin Care –

Try-Me Kit 

Liz Earle is a brand I hear a lot of rave reviews from when it comes to skin care, however it wasn’t one which was easily available until recently, when they opened a stand in my local Boots. My sister was the first to try it out a couple of months ago, and she’s done nothing but say brilliant things about it, and we have pretty similar skin type. Therefore, I thought I would give it a try and see what happened. Unlike most brands Liz Earle sells ‘Try-Me Kits’ for each skin types, the little bag contains travel size products which allows you to try out the whole skin care routine without having to buy each full sized product…which I think is incredible! I chose the Normal/Combination skin type kit, and it contains everything I need to achieve healthy-looking, beautiful skin. The 3 daily essentials claim to deliver outstanding results whilst the fast-acting Brightening Treatment Mask instantly reveals radiance.