Beauty Audit

This blog post is inspired by an article I saw in InStyle way back in January, where the staff spoke about the products they'd used that morning with a little bit of info on their routine, so here is my beauty audit. 

To start my daily routine I also used an Origins foaming cleanser but it finished so I binned it in slightly unblogger like behaviour, then an Origins eyecream and day cream.

I went for simple makeup as I'm not up to much today, just lightly covered skin with dewy blush and highlight, a slight smokey eye created with a Rimmel Taupe pencil then heavily curled lashes with tons of mascara followed by a lipstain with a bit of gloss.

  

I'm fairly low maintenance when it comes to my hair, I love curling it or making it perfectly straight but as my hair can't hold a curl and frizzes at the first sign of moisture most days I tend to just mess it up a bit with texture spray and a detangler of some kind to soften the ends and add a bit of shine- this morning it was Ojon moisture mist. I just got my hair cut the other day so my hair is easier to work with now all my damaged hair has gone- it's strange working with roughly 3 inches less hair than I'm used to.

In total I used 15 products (14 pictured), that's a hell of a lot more than I expected as today I probably used half what I normally would in my makeup routine- eek maybe we've found where my spending ban should lie.

Make Up Rotation

 Benefit They're Real- This has been in my daily routine for a while a now, it's very popular in the beauty world and I love it because it really opens my eyes on those early mornings. 

Topshop Felt Liner- I love a good felt liner and I keep coming back to this one, sometimes it randomly goes a bit dry but other than that it's easy to use and doesn't end up halfway across my face, I'm looking at you Collection 2000. My usual routine will just be a fine line across the lashline, occasionally adding a little wing.

Topshop Skin Glow- I'll be the first to admit I'm a highlight addict, I especially like the ones Topshop has to offer for both quality and price.

Bobbi Brown Corrector- I don't really have bad skin but I have terrible undereye circles and this is only thing that makes a difference, I team it with a concealer which atm is Collection 2000 illuminating touch to really help brighten the area.

Korres Lipbalm in Rose-I'm so in love with this lipbalm, it's the perfect bitten lip red and in colder months the beauty look I get obsessed with is flawless skin with very plain eye makeup and stained lips. Probably due to how easy it is to create on cold mornings when I'd rather still be in bed.

Illamasqua Liquid Light Foundation- Nearly at the end of this now, which is a real shame as I really loved using this foundation. It doesn't have much coverage as the name suggests but it evens my skintone and doesn't look cakey, so it's perfect for day to day use.

MAC Creme Colour Base and Benefit Dandelion- These are my current go to cheek combo, both are pretty subtle but together they build up a soft rosey colour which is pretty similar to the colour my cheeks go when I've been outside too long. 

 

MUA Kissproof Lipstain- I tend to throw this on just before I leave the house if it's windy or I have to eat my breakfast on the move. It doesn't really budge foe the whole day but rather gets lighter, still leaving a little bit of colour on my lips so I don't look too ghost like. 

2013 Style Resolutions

A new year is as good a time as any to change the way you shop or the way you style yourself, I'm happy with my personal style so there's no big overhaul planned just a few simple changes to the way I shop and work with the clothes I do own.

1. Shop Within My Own Wardrobe

The fact my wardrobe is overflowing probably tells me I own too much stuff but like most, I probably only wear about half of it. As you will see later on one of my resolutions is to spend less so shopping within my own stuff is probably the easiest way to do that. My plan to make this happen is to regularly reorganise my wardrobe, rotate garments around so that I style new things together and in turn help me create a new wardrobe without spending a penny.

2. No Reckless Spending

Last year I spent a lot of money on clothes, I just bought 95% of things I liked and whilst a lot of it I will wear again this year I also need to start saving money. A result of this is probably why my wardrobe is overflowing and how I forget exactly what I own, my rule this year for shopping is going to be if I want something, it has to work with 50% of my current wardrobe.

3. Stop Shopping in Cheap Places for Stuff That Only Gets Worn Once

I like Primark as much as the next person but as it's so cheap I think 'Oh it doesn't matter that I'll wear it once' well eventually that builds up to big money. In the past few years I've gone off most of Primark's clothing, as I think the quality has gone down but the prices have risen, still a huge fan of pyjamas, tights and accessories. My plan this year is to buy fewer but more expensive items, so they continue to be part of my wardrobe for years to come-style over fashion.

4. Invest in Good Shoes

I literally own no shoes I can wear with trousers in the winter and most of shoes are the £4 ones from primark which last well in the summer but as soon as they get wet their life is as good as over. I find boots and many shoes on the high street are too chunky for my liking, as a five foot person with size six feet it's hard to not look a bit clown like with most shoes. This year I plan to invest in some ankle boots which can handle the rain and a pair of shoes which can be worn with most of my wardrobe.

5. Get Rid of Anything That Makes Me Unhappy.

Probably the most important resolution here, I sometimes take about an hour to get dressed because I don't like the way something makes me feel.I know my body shape and I know what suits me, so anything which doesn't fit the category needs to go, no matter how much I love it on the hanger.

Sunday Seven

Things I've been loving this week...

 

Rebecca Minkoff's Holiday Card, such a cool video full of beautiful people. I loved Rebecca Minkoff's take on Call Me Maybe and I stumbled upon this on Friday and became obsessed. 

Asos

 Korres Lip Butter in Wild Rose, I have insane dry lips atm and between this and the Yes To Carrots Lip Butter I'm slowly nursing them back to health

Got my hair cut on Monday and looked to Lara Mullen for the style, mine is much longer but still has the same blunt finish which I like to wear messy and with tons of texture. 

Livin Cool

Kate Upton for UK Vogue, I'm in love with her shoot for Vogue. A lot of people say she isn't suited to high fashion and I think this proves she can do it, it's really classy and only shows off her true beauty. 

House Of  Fraser

Laura Mercier Primer, I've pretty much come to the end of mine now- we had a beautiful relationship. I can't really afford to replace it but I just might have to.  

Youtube Rewind 2012, okay this is a fun video but I love it for the 10 seconds of Felicia Day performing Call Me Maybe. 

Lancome 'In Love' Beauty Spring 2013

This campaign is simply beautiful and perfect for Spring, it's loaded with nice bright colours and Emma looks so good with a bold eye and whilst I'm not the biggest Emma fan I love her hair short.

The products are shown off in this shot, which i always prefer so you can almost see how to recreate the look and in the warmer months I often wear bright coloured eyeliner. 

Winter Skincare Routine

Origins Drink Up Mask

 A real treat and beauty bloggers favourite, it's easy to see why. I apply this once a week about an hour before bed otherwise my face sticks to the pillow- nice. This is an intensive overnight mask which you let sink into your skin and do it's magic, this is a cult product for me I love everything about it and it's especially nice since my skin does what it wants it winter.

L'Occitane Toner

Only just got this really but so far I am liking it, it smells really nice but whilst it's a spitz toner its really wet so I tend to spray on cotton wool pads then dab on my face otherwise you have to dry your face before applying moisturiser and thus remove most of the product.I'm yet to see any real benefits yet but I've always felt that way with toners so we'll see how I feel once this is used up.

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish- Special Edition

I use Liz Earle all year round, I got this Special Edition version with my birthday money in September and I love it. it's perfect for cold winter night cleansing. Sadly I'm running low now and it appears to be sold out everywhere. I either use the regular Liz Earle in the morning or a water cleanser as my skin doesn't really like being cleansed twice a day.

Steam Cream

 A new favourite for me, I've been searching for a moisturiser which ticks all the boxes and atm this one is but I've only been using it about two weeks so we'll have to wait and see what happens after a month. It makes my skin lovely and soft but not too tacky and I can start applying makeup within minutes.

Origins Eye Cream

I've not used a huge amount of eye creams but this is my favourite, so I've been using this for about a year now. I'm coming to the end of my pot now so will have to use up a couple I have hanging around before buying a new one.

I love how cooling this cream is on the eyes and it's very slightly reflective so helps to brighten up my awful under eye circles. It's really light and easy to massage into the skin, which means less touching of the area.

Simple Night Cream

I'll be the first to admit I'm a product snob, I like higher end products but I simply love this, I like it almost as much as I like the Clarins Overnight cream but it's like £30 cheaper. I'm not sure if it would really work on older skin but I always wake up with soft skin that feels fresh and replenished.It's not as thick as other night creams I've tried but as I use a treatment mask once a week I don't I need it to be that thick.

Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant

I got a little sample of this way back in February when I went to IMATS and fell in love with it as did my mother but at around £40 we wrote it off as a nice treat we'd never own but then one weekend my mum came home from Harrods with a bottle for us to share. I use this once a week as I have sensitive skin and also to save product. It really gets off any dry skin without being too harsh or getting all over my face. 

I love this because you mix up the paste yourself meaning it can be as harsh or as gentle as you like.

Sunday Seven

 Things I'm loving this week...

 Almost finishing my Christmas shopping and wrapping, this would be finished except I bought my Secret Santa but failed to bring it home from the shop- change of plan there then.

IMDB

 Watched my first Christmas movie this weekend in the form of Love Actually, it's a favourite of mine and perfectly gets me in the Christmas mood.

LWIG

 The blog I've been loving this month is Look What I Got and is run by the lovely Jess who also plays a huge part in running FBL Bloggers on Facebook. Her blog is largely fashion and focuses a lot on her personal style. 

upmovie

 

 My boyfriend and I went to see The Hobbit on Thursday and we both loved it, I'm a huge LOTR fan so was very excited for this film and it didn't disappoint- having to wear 3-D glasses over my own did but otherwise every second was brilliant.

John Lewis

Stella by Stella McCartney, I used to wear this all the time a few years ago then I got into a few others and the bottles I owned got forgotten but I found  a new one the other day and gave it a try once more. I'm addicted again, it's so sexy perhaps a bit heavy for daytime but still good. 

TFS

 Temperley Pre-Fall collection 2013, whilst skirts this shape don't tend to suit me I love finding the ones that do and teaming them with thick jumpers. This whole collection was really stunning and wearable- you just might need to add tights.

The Guardian

Getting excited for SPOTY which airs tonight, I'm hoping Jessica Ennis wins but would be happy with anyone. This year has been an excellent one for sport and I got so into the Olympics, like most people and attending the Paralympics is one of my highlights of the year.

 

Christmas Gift Guide- Fun

I normally give out a few jokey/fun presents and they are fantastic for the person who has everything. I usually grab something along these lines for my brothers as we don't really do presents but something small and amusing is always welcome and I like gift giving. This is also my last gift guide so I thought it'd be perfect to end on a fun note, I often add little jokey presents as extras to people's main gifts.

Monopoly Notebook £6 Topshop, Musicial note pegs £4.99- Not On The High Street, Headphone holding robot £10- Urban Outfitters, Glow in the Dark Stars £5 Topshop, Paper Rose £9.50-Not On The High Street, Lightsaber Pencils £4.50-Topshop

Help someone keep their headphones organised with this robot who will hold them for you in your bag or pocket or remind someone of their childhood with these glow in the dark stars. Whilst a strange present this paper rose is the perfect gift for someone who has everything and loves to read or if you simply don't know what kind of book they like to read.

USB Hub £15 Urban Outfitters, Animation Wheel £11 Topshop, Cake Pop Maker £19.99 Lakeland, iPod Speaker Bot £20 Urban Outfitters.

 Cake Pops are the cake of the moment, so if you know someone who is into baking then this could be an ideal gift and you never know you might get something sweet out of it. The cute little speaker bot would also make iPod lovers smile and let them listen to the songs they love out loud.

 

Personalised Family Picture £22- Not On The High Street, XBOX live membership £29.99 for 1 year, Playstation Plus Membership £39.99 for 1 year- both from Game, Fisheye Camera £35 - Urban Outfitters, Paul Smith Keyring £45-Asos, Map £25- Not On The High Street, Kindle Cover £28-Not On The High Street.

Personalised gifts are always welcome, either opt for this family portrait which you can adapt for who's in the family or these kindle covers which can be personalised with the owners name. Whilst £45 might seem crazy for a keyring it's a sweet present for a fashion lover who is had to buy for or if you're buying for someone who loves photography and fancies something a bit exciting. 

So there we have it, the end of the gift guides I hope any of these have helped you finish or start your shopping this year. Are you done and dusted with your gift buying now or are you a rush about on Christmas Eve kinda person?