Review | Tropic: ABC Skincare Collection


Skincare has always been one of the most important parts of my beauty routine. As a result I am always on the lookout for new brands and products, so when my cousin became an ambassador for the brand Tropic Skincare, I knew I had to go along to her skincare party to see what this brand was all about.

Tropic Skincare is a brand created by 2010 Apprentice runner-up Susan Ma, which started out as one single product (the Body Smooth Polish) being sold from a market stall in jam jars, and has grew into a huge company selling a variety of products from skincare to makeup. The biggest selling point for this company is that it is cruelty free and vegan friendly. Also all products are made fresh when you order them and, due to the natural ingredients used, they all have a best-before date, so there's no risk of you using expired products.

Review | Soap & Glory Archery Brow Pencil

These days brows are seen as one of the most important part of any persons makeup routines, and as a result, a huge number of brow products are now available on the high street. I've always struggled with my brows, which has led to me trying out a lot of different products. One of the most recent products, is the Soap & Glory Archery brow pencil; a double ended brow pencil which is available in two different shades. As a brunette I went for the shade 'Brownie Points' however those with lighter hair can go for the option 'Love is Blonde'.

As I have already mentioned, Archery is a double ended product. On one end is a brow tint and the other, a crayon. When using this product I start with the brow tint to create hairs at the front of my brows, before using the crayon to fill in the rest of my brows.

Girls Trip to Amsterdam

Well, it has been a while since I was last posting on here. I can't believe I've let myself go almost 4 months without blogging. Quite a lot has happened since I last blogged, so I thought I would make my return by sharing a few photos from my recent trip to Amsterdam.

My two best friends Laura and Rosie are teachers, so for their half term we decided we would head off somewhere none of us had been before, and after a bit of looking around we booked a trip to Amsterdam. We went on the 26th October (a Monday), with Rosie and myself meeting Laura in Amsterdam since she lives in London and we where flying from Belfast. After a very straightforward flight, we met Laura in the airport and headed to the airport, only for us to get onto the wrong train. Luckily a very nice man informed us of this shortly after and we were able to get off at the next station and back in the other direction to Amsterdam Centraal!

Typical selfies at the airport

Review | Make-Up Atelier Tzone Gel

I'm sure I have mentioned this before, but one of my biggest skincare issues is how unbelievably oily my skin can get. I'm not talking a slight bit of shine here, I mean full on oil that no amount of matte foundations and powder seems to be able to keep under control. So you can understand my skepticism when I was recommended the Make-Up Atelier Tzone Gel by a make-up artist who was giving me a make-up lesson.

Review | Balance Me Pure Skin Face Wash

Back in April I had a skin consultation as part of a makeup lesson, and the woman who took it gave me some brilliant suggestions for my skin care routine. One of these suggestions was the Balance Me Pure Skin Face Wash. Balance Me is a natural, paraben and sulphate free, British skincare brand that I have somehow managed to never try.

As somebody with combination/oily skin (emphasis on the oily) this was recommended to me due to the fact it is a foaming face wash which helps to balance out the oiliness in my t-zone without drying out the more normal areas of my skin. The product has a gel texture which doesn't leave a film and leaves my skin feeling fresh and clean.

NueVue... A Phone Case that Cleans?


Have you ever thought about the amount of bacteria that is found on you phone? I didn't, at least not until I heard about the company NueVue. If you are anything like me, then you spend a lot of time trying to make sure that you look after your skin. From ensuring I have a good skin care routine in place, to regularly changing my pillowcases and sheets, I work hard to try and keep my skin looking good, but I never stop to thing about the damage the bacteria on my phone is doing. This is where NueVue comes in as the main idea behind their cases is that they can reduce the bacteria found on your iPhones and iPads by up to 99%.

Review | OCC Lip Tar 'Grandma'

Back in June when I attended the IMATS I bought two OCC Lip Tars in 'Grandma' and 'Stalker', since I had heard so many wonderful things about them. The lip tars are basically a liquid lipstick; they have the look and longevity of a lipstick, with the application of a gloss. Recently I have been wearing 'Grandma' a lot so I thought I should finally review it for you all.

Review | Juicy Couture 'Viva La Juicy' Perfume


For the past few years two of my favourite perfumes have been the Juicy Couture Peace, Love and Juicy and Couture Couture so when my parents bought my the Viva La Juicy for Christmas I just knew it would quickly be adding itself to the list of favourites.

The Netflix Tag


Lately my nights all seem to follow the same routine. Curl up on the sofa or in bed with a mug of tea, some snacks, and watch Netflix on either my iPad or the TV. Since I am clearly addicted to Netflix, I thought it would only be appropriate to do The Netflix Tag which was created by Annie from Annie Writes Beauty.

Review | Benefit Roller Lash Mascara


I've long been a fan of Benefit products, especially their mascaras, so you can just imagine my excitement when I heard they were releasing a brand new mascara. My excitement then doubled when I discovered that Roller Lash was actually being released early exclusively with this months issue of Elle Magazine! I quickly pre-ordered it online and then, when it still hadn't arrived days after its release, I trawled through a number of stored until I could get my hands on it (it seemed to be sold out everywhere).

Review | Barry M 'Vanilla'


Matte nail polish is a trend that I never fully got in to. I bought a few of the Barry M matte nail polishes to try it out, but I think I wore each of them once before forgetting about them. So when I came across Barry M 'Vanilla' in my collection I thought it was time to give it another try.

January Favourites


January saw me discovering some great new products, as well as re-discovering some old, so I thought it would be a great idea to start back into Monthy Favourite posts to share these products with you all.

In the latter part of 2014 I was obsessed with trying to find the perfect high street foundation that could replace my beloved Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet. I tried so many different foundation with varying levels of success, but I think I have finally found the perfect replacement in the Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation. I used this everytime I wore makeup throughout January, and as it is medium coverage it is perfect for both day and night time use. I like to apply a pump of this using my Real Techniques Expert Face brush which has to be my favourite foundation brush. It helps to buff the foundation into my skin without looking cakey and ensures I am left with no harsh lines.

#Instalife 003

Top Row: First picture of 2015 | Mini sales haul | Pre-shopping selfie
Middle Row: Making dinner | Pretty new tea lights | Relaxing Sunday afternoon
Bottom Row: Blogging time | Favourite coffee table books | Netflix and coffee

How I Prep my Lips for Lipstick

Lush Lip Scrub | Carmex | Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream

Anybody who reads my blog will know that I have a slight obsession with lipsticks which, as you can imagine, leads to very dry lips. Not a good look. As a result of this, my morning routine now includes prepping my lips so that I can apply my favoured red lipsticks without the worry that it is going to show up every crack in my lips. So today I thought I would share with you the products I use to ensure my lips are prepped for the day

Review | Sleek Face Form 'Light'

Recently I have made it my mission to improve my contouring skills, and have therefore been on the search for different contouring products. For a while I was using my Nars 'Laguna' bronzer, but I decided I wanted to buy something a little cheaper (Laguna is just a little too expensive for every day use). I had heard a lot of good things about the Sleek Face Form palettes, and with the added bonus of being only £9.99, I decided to give it a go.

Review | Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet 'Grand Cru'

The Bourjois Rouge Velvet Edition lip colours have been around for some time now but, as usual, I have only recently got around to trying them. When decided which shade to try first, there was one that instantly grabbed my eye; 'Grand Cru' which is a gorgeous berry red with slight pink undertones.

Review | Topshop Lipstick 'Beguilled'

If anybody has been reading my blog for a while, you might know that my favourite makeup product is lipsticks, and over the past few months that like has turned into an obsession and my lipstick collection has grown considerably. One of the most recent additions to my collection is 'Beguiled' from Topshop, which is a beautiful red wine/burgundy shade. This is only the second lip product I have bought from Topshop (the first was a lip bullet) so I was very interested in discovering what it would be like.