4 Autumnal Beauty Picks

Autumn is now in full swing and I find myself drawn towards my more red/purple toned makeup products. Lately, I have been so into switching up my makeup on a everyday basis, so I'm excited to show you guys the main products I have been reaching for...

One of my favourite palettes that I own is my M.A.C Burgundy Times Nine Palette (£30.00/0.8g). I just love the mix of neutral and bold colours which makes it perfect for both day and night looks. The purple and burgundy tones are just what I want for this season, I find they warm up my complexion while still adding depth and intensity. This is a great investment product if you want to try more M.A.C shadows for the least amount of money, I've had this palette for a year now and I still haven't made a dent in it! 

The Lancôme L'Absolu Rouge Lipstick in the shade 'Bois de Rose 272' (£23.50/4.2ml) is a product which works with any type of makeup look. It's a pink toned brown which is lovely for all skin types and just finishes a look without being too overpowering, especially if you are not a massive fan of bolder, brighter colours. This is a product I pick up regularly because of the colour and also the cream finish which feels super moisturising on the lips and so is perfect for these colder months! 

Another autumnal product that I have been obsessed with is my M.A.C Mineralised Blush  in the shade 'Love Joy' (£22.00/3.2g). I picked this product up ages ago and I had forgotten why I had even bought it until a few months ago when I rediscovered it. This blush is amazing, firstly the colour is lovely, it's a red toned blush with super fine particles of shimmer. The shimmer actually adds to the formula of the blush, making the product smooth and even in texture, rather than being super powdery and dry on the face. So for this season, I like that this blush enhances the radiance and health of my skin by the colour and the formula. If you haven't tried this formula of blushes, I would highly recommend it!

My last autumnal beauty pick is the BarryM Daylight Curing Nail Paint (£4.99/10ml) in the shade 'Dark Side of the Shroom'. I love love love this product. It is one of my most used polishes because the colour is just so wearable, as it is a lovely mauve colour and it holds that balance of being a fun colour while also looking sophisticated. I think that this shade really compliments my tanned skin-tone and I even wear it on my toenails! BarryM has a great formula and for the price, I would absolutely recommend this to all of you as you can't go wrong! 

So that was a quick roundup of my top 4 Autumnal Beauty Picks. I have to say I reach for these products so often in these past few weeks. For me, they just nail the autumnal feel and they are all awesome products. 

I would love to know if you have tried any of these and what your beauty picks are in the comments below. 

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Top 5 Make-up Brushes

My make-up brush collection is one that I have been meaning to show for a long time. Although I have way more brushes than this, the ones that I will show you today are the 5 stand-outs in my collection...

So first up is the Real Techniques Contour Brush (£9.99) which is my go-to brush for foundation. It is a pretty dense brush, which means that you can achieve coverage that is even, leading to a flawless base. It's super soft and doesn't leave the dreaded streak marks on me. Since this is quite a bigger brush than the rest of my base brushes, I find that I spend less time buffing the product in, which is ideal for anyone who wants a good coverage in the least amount of time. My next love was a part of the same set as the Contour brush and it's the Real Techniques Setting Brush (£7.99), this brush is just fantastic at blending in a highlighting concealer around the face. I don't personally use this for setting my face because I find it a tad too small, but because it has long and flexible bristles, I find that this blends in the concealer seamlessly, without making it seem like there is a lot of product on my face. 

The last base product I am going to mention is the bareMinerals Hydrate and Brighten Brush (£21.00). This brush is one of the softest brushes I've ever felt, and it's so sad but this brush is reserved for the use of my Chanel Natural Finish Loose Powder. I think it's the perfect product to pair this brush with as it's intend for a light and natural finish, and the bristles on this brush reflect that by being tapered and flexible, and so doesn't cake the product on the face. 

For eyes, the M.A.C 217 Blending Brush (£20.00) is the one. I gave into the hype on this one, not going to lie. I was sceptical that this brush will change my life, like I've heard people proclaim. But damn, there is something special about this brush that other brushes can't quite mimic. I can get by without this, but I feel like now I've experienced it, there is no looking back. To those who want to try this, I would say go for it. It blends like a dream and helps to make a more perfected shape for your eye. 

The last brush I want to mention has been my eyebrow brush for the last few years. Yup, it's probably time to get a new one. This was one of the first brushes I ever used, I bought one of those really cheap sets off Amazon (They still sell it here!!!), when I wanted to practise and this one actually was one of the few good ones out of the rest of the duds! I like this for my eyebrows because it's angled and flexible which means that you don't get too much product on the brush, which leads to more natural looking brows. As much as I love the Instagram brow trend, it's not my personal style for myself. I need to find a brush like this, so if you have any recommendations, I would love to hear them.
I hope you liked having a sneak peak of my brush collection. If you would like to see more, let me know in the comments. I would also love to know your top brush recommendation! Subscribe to my blog on Bloglovin' to keep up to date with my next post! 

Shopping my Stash

I don't know if I am the only one who gets the urge to go into Boots and buy everything I can get my hands on. Unfortunately since I don't have the means to do that, I've had to develop strong will power to resist those urges. Recently however, I have found myself looking at products deep within the recesses of my make-up bag to see if what I already own will make me relive that shopping experience...

The first thing I found was the M.A.C Mineralised Blush in 'Love Joy' (£22.00/3.2g). I picked this up on my way to Milan, in Summer 2014, and I did use it but for some reason I just...lost interest. I have phases with blush, sometimes I feel like I need it and other times I feel like I can go without. Anyway, lately I have been loving this because it's a bronze shade with a red undertone and gold shimmer and so on my skin tone it's very flattering, adding depth to my face with a flush of colour. Another reason  I like it is because it's got a good amount of pigmentation, you can build it up to be as deep as the swatch I have shown below, or can add it just to warm your face up slightly. I know this will be a nice summer staple for me, so I'm glad I rediscovered this!

The next item is also from the same Milan trip! It is the Lancôme Le Crayon Khôl in 02 Brun (£17.00/1.8g) This item has definitely been an on/off staple for me. It's a lovely brown eyeliner that I like to use when I want to add some definition to my eyes but not make them too bold. However lately I have been using this in a different way: I line my eyes messily with this product and then use a pencil brush to smudge out the product and the finished result is a wearable, slightly grunge style, smoky eye. I then proceed to tight-line my eyes with this product and also add it in my waterline so the colour is more concentrated closer to the eye. This takes me like 2-3 minutes to do and I love it, because it requires just one product that can be used in two different ways! Also this pencil is massive, so it's definitely worth the investment!

The last product that I rediscovered is the Eternity Moment Eau de Parfum by Calvin Klein (£50.00/50ml). This was a gift from my sister two years ago, one of five mini perfumes to try. Recently I cracked this out because I didn't want to run out of my other perfume, Sì by Giorgio Armani, and I was pleasantly surprised. If I had to describe this scent, I would say that is it smells quite sophisticated. I feel slightly older and more confident when I wear this, it's odd! It's a fresh floral scent that's not overpowering, having notes of Pomegranate Blossom, Litchi, Lily, Pink Peony, Guava and Musk. It's definitely one that is for young working women and so warrants a sniff!

I'm glad I shopped my own stash because I actually feel like I've discovered new products which have inspired new make-up looks. It's good to mix things around a little, and I would love to know if you have done this too and what items you have rediscovered or have found different uses for!

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The Best Winter Eyeshadow Palette: M.A.C Burgundy Times Nine

I made a new purchase a few months ago and it's completely astounded me how I failed to mention it on my blog, because I have been using it like crazy! 

I honestly think this palette is the one to get this season because it's just got a little more edge over other eye-shadow palettes out there...

M.A.C's Burgundy Times Nine (£30.00/0.8g), is the winter palette that beats them all in my opinion. The packaging is standard M.A.C: simple black plastic that encases nine small eye-shadows, it's sturdy but sleek and also has a magnetic strip, so that the eye-shadow is protected.

The reason I was drawn to this is because I think it's very good value, you get nine shadows which equates to just over £3 each and you do get a decent amount of product. I have never actually finished a full size eye-shadow before and so I think having these mini ones is just really convenient as it really lets me test out some novel eye-shadow colours that haven't been hyped about so that I can really just discover and explore.

M.A.C do four of these little palettes and I was torn between this one and the Amber Times Nine, which is more brown and gold oriented. What urged me towards this one was that it actually does contain a gold and also a brown, so I figured this would be the best of both worlds. I have to say the colours in here are the perfect balance, the matte and satin finishes are perfect for everyday wear, but you also have the more shimmery and 'out-there' colours to deepen your look for evening wear.

The quality and pigment of these shadows are great too! They are super smooth and don't require much product to get an opaque layer of shadow on your lids and they blend out amazingly, especially the mattes. 

My new favourite daytime eye-shadow is Haux, it's a nude beige-purple colour which is great for all over the lid and because I have brown eyes, this really makes my eyes stand out and look a little brighter. If I feel like adding a bit more 'oomph' to my look, I'll add either Embark or Sketch to the outer corner of my lid. I know I would have never chosen this colour as a singular eye-shadow because I would get drawn to the more ostentatious colours, but I will purchase a full-size of Haux, If I ever finish this!

This is my go-to palette for everything at the moment, but it's especially handy if I am travelling as this takes no space, and makes my Urban Decay Naked Palette look a bit bulky, and too much for if I am just going home for the weekend! All in all, great palette for yourself or even as a gift for people who want to ease into wearing a bit more colour on their lids!

What do you think of this palette? I would also love to know what you are reaching for this season, so leave me a comment down below!

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