1 Year Anniversary and Swatches on Swatches on Swatches!

Hello! So the 13th was my 1 year anniversary of this blog! I would just like to say thank you to all of you for sticking with me this long and putting up with my ramblings and my hiatuses. :P I'm hoping to work much harder on this blog for its second year and I hope you'll all stay for the ride!

Now, the rest of this post is not going to be anything special about the year, but the other night I went a bit swatch crazy with all the make up in my "most used make up" make up bag and decided to take pictures of all of them so that I would remember exactly what everything looks like on. I used my iPhone as I didn't think this would go anywhere, but I decided to post it all up because I'd rather not have a bunch of swatches taking up space on my laptop. Please forgive the quality, but these pictures are more of a reminder for me than anything else. Lol

From top: Rimmel Fix & Perfect Pro Primer, Sheer Cover Base Perfector Primer,
Rimmel Fix & Perfect Primer, and L'Oreal Magic Lumi Light Infusing Primer

(Blended in)
From top: L'Oreal Magic Lumi Light Infusing Primer, Rimmel Fix & Perfect Primer,
Sheer Cover Base Perfector Primer, and Rimmel Fix & Perfect Pro Primer

From left: Rimmel BB Cream in Medium/Dark, Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream in Medium/Deep,
MAC Mineralize Moisture Foundation in NC35, MAC Face and Body in C4,
L'Oreal True Match Mineral Makeup in Nude Beige W3/460,
and L'Oreal Hydra Perfect Translucent Powder

(Blended in)
From top: Rimmel BB Cream in Medium/Dark, Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream in Medium/Deep,

MAC Mineralize Moisture Foundation in NC35, MAC Face and Body in C4, 

L'Oreal True Match Mineral Makeup in Nude Beige W3/460, 

and L'Oreal Hydra Perfect Translucent Powder

The first 6 from the left are various different blemish and under eye concealers, that I can't put an order to. :P
Makeover Essentials Shimmer Powder Brush in Bronze, Milani Multitasker Face Powder in
06 Medium Tan, Sonia Kashuk Bronzer Blush Duo in 53 Glow, NYX
Rouge Cream Blush in Hot Pink, MAC MSF in Stereo Rose,
and Maybelline Master Bronze in Weekend Bronze

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation Stick in 355 Coconut

From left: e.l.f. Lip Lock Pencil, Estee Lauder Shimmer Gloss in Praline Paradise,
and Urban Decay Lipstick in 69

From left: Covergirl Pencil Eyeliner in Brown (guestimation since the pencil's half gone lol),
Cynthia Rowley Silver Pencil, Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof in Black,
Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof in Nude, and L'Oreal Infallible
The Super Slim in Black/Noir

From left: Maybelline Color Tattoo in Tough as Taupe, L'Oreal Infallible in Amber Rush, NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder
in Dark Brown/Brown, Maybelline Expertwear in Earthly Taupe, and NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Sparkle Nude

Wet N Wild Color Icon from top: Browbone, Base, Definer, Eyelid, and Crease

Chanel Les 4 Ombres in Raffinement from left: bottom right corner, bottom left corner, top right corner, and top
left corner

Estee Lauder Deluxe Pure Color Eye Shadow Compact from left: Summer Linen, Amazing Grey, Amethyst Spark, Flirty
Lilac, Purple Passion, Tempting Mocha, Berry Burst, Smoky Ember, and Peacock Blue

Continued from left: Tranquil Moon, Nude Fresco, Ivy Envy, Chocolate Bliss, Ivory Slipper, Sandbar Beige, Hot
Cinnamon, and Riviera Rose

NYX The "All I've Ever Wanted" Box - 1st row from the bottom right to left

2nd row right to left

3rd row right to left

4th row right to left

5th row right to left

6th row right to left

7th row right to left

8th row right to left

9th row right to left

Bottom Tier from top: Top two face powders, left upper face powder, top left corner blush, bottom left corner blush, top right corner blush, and bottom right corner blush

From left: Top row left to right and bottom row left to right

December Favorites

Now, I know it's a bit early to be posting my December favorites, but I'm actually leaving for Vegas with some friends tomorrow and I won't be posting much whilst I'm there. Also, some of these have been my favorites since November as well, but I wanted to wait until I got my camera to photograph them. :) All of the products below are very, very affordable so if you see anything you like, I really do suggest giving it a go. Without further a do, here are my December favorites.

(Orders of lip products and swatches)
Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush, Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Black Cherry,
Lasting Finish by Kate Lipstick in 10, e.l.f. Lip Lock Pencil

I love the balm stain because even when the berry color fades, there's still a pink tint on the lips so there's still some color there. Black Cherry is absolutely amazing! I've worn it almost everyday since October. Zoella posted a blogspot where she had her YSL Rouge Pur lipstick and I wanted to find a similar shade and found this! I pleasantly surprised to see in her current favorites video from last month that this is the lipstick she chose for her YSL dupe. :) The Kate Moss was the perfect bright red lip if I didn't want to go to dark. Lastly, I came across this at Target and since I wear a lot of lipsticks, I thought I'd give it a go and it really does work quite well! I put on before my lipstick and it makes transfer from my lips to other things pretty much non-existent! :)

Real Techniques Buffing Brush and Contour Brush

These are by far the best brushes I've owned (granted, I haven't owned very many brushes lol)! There obviously very well known in the beauty world and I was excited to give them a go. The buffing brush is perfect for flawless foundation and concealer application and the contour brush is, as you'd expect, the perfect size for contouring. I also use it to apply powder.

L'Oreal Hydra Perfect Perfecting Loose Powder in Translucent 

I was previously using the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder and I had heard so many amazing things about it that I was quite disappointed to find that I had to keep re-applying it every 15 minutes and I think it sort of enhanced my oily spots. I was on the hunt for a new translucent setting powder and found this and it is absolutely what I was looking for! It lasts for hours and hours, it keeps my shiny-ness at bay without making me look dull, and there's loads of it so it'll last for ages!

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in Sand

 As some of you may know, I never used to wear foundation. I always just used a BB cream and maybe some concealer. However, unfortunately my skin hasn't been looking its best the past few months so I thought I'd venture into foundation. Many YouTube beauty gurus that I love (ie. Tanya Burr, Zoe Sugg, etc) have said many good things about this foundation and I am pleased to say that I love it as well! I'd say it's a medium coverage, but can be buildable, and it covers all my spots and things really well without even using a concealer. What I really love is that it's not drying; I've got some dry patches thanks to these winter months and this doesn't highlight them at all. Love this stuff!

Maybelline Fit Me Blush in Deep Coral

 When I first got this blush several months ago, I wasn't a huge fan of it. I didn't hate it, but it wasn't as pigmented as I'd hoped. However, I rediscovered it this month and I'm absolutely loving it! I don't know if the brush I was using wasn't picking up the product or what, but this month I'm loving it! Now that I wear foundation, my naturally rosy cheeks get covered up so I've been reaching for this to add some color back into my face! I'd actually like to go to the store and look at the rest of their color range as well. :)

Maybelline The Falsies Volume Express

I feel like there's not too much I can say about this as pretty much every YouTube beauty guru and beauty bloggers have already raved about it! I will say this; I have quite short lashes (practically invisible), but this does the job of making them stand out a bit more quite well! 

L'Oreal 12hr Infallible The Super Slim Liquid Eyeliner in Black

 I'm in love with this eyeliner! It's easy to use, it stays put, there's none of the fuss that I had with gel liners and it's pigmentation is pretty good! Simple as, it's amazing!

Estee Lauder Pure Color Deluxe EyeShadow Compact

(The colors I used most out of the palette) Top left - Smoky Ember, Top Right - Berry Burst,
Bottom Left - Sandbar Beige, Bottom Right - Hot Cinnamon

This is a beautiful palette that I was given by my mom and it's the one item on here that is a bit on the higher end, but it's such amazing quality! All the colors are beautiful, are highly pigmented, and blend incredibly well, but the four colors that I used the most this month are the four pictured above! My go to eye shadow palette at the moment. :)

Moroccan Sea Salt Spray - This sea salt spray does everything you'd expect it to, it adds texture and volume and it smells amazing! The one down-side I found is that it does make my hair have a bit of a weird paper-y feeling. I love it none the less, but I am on the hunt for another one. Any suggestions? :)

Tresemme Tres Two Spray - This is a quality hairspray! It holds volume and curls so well without making my hair crunchy or sticky. I curled my hair for a night out last week and fell asleep and my curls were still there in the morning.

Tresemme 24 Hour Body Foaming Mousse - This adds the perfect amount of volume for me without being greasy. Since I have straight hair, it is quite easy for it to appear flat, but when I apply this right before I blow dry upside down, my hair has a lot more life than it used to! For the price, you can't go wrong! Highly recommend. :)

Tresemme Keratin Smooth Heat Protection - Not much to say about this other than it does what it says it will and it smells amazing. Leaves my hair so smooth!

Moroccan Moisture Miracle Argan Oil - I use this after I get out of the shower when my hair is still damp and it leaves my hair so shiny and smooth! There really is a noticeable difference after using this for a few days. A plus? It smells amazing!

I've never done a monthly favorites post, so please feel free to leave any suggestions in the comments and if you have recommendations of any products you think I'll like, leave those as well! Hope you're all fantastic! What have you been loving this month? Xx

Massive Collective Haul!

Soooo I filmed a haul video! Lol I meant to put this up over the weekend and get up my Black Friday haul as well, but it has been a crazy busy weekend as my friend who was here on leave from the army had to go back on Sunday so we had a goodbye get-together for him. Sorry for the delay! The Black Friday haul should be edited and up by tomorrow! Hope all is well! Xx

Also, thumbs up and subscribe to my channel if you'd like! Also, feel free to comment on here or on YouTube as I could use some feedback! ;P

Friday FOTD...Kind Of

I went out with my mom tonight and I was inspired a bit by the lovely Zoe Sugg's latest blog post and liked how it turned out so I thought I'd take some pictures. Now, the reason the title says "kind of" is because the quality of these pictures, as usual, are pretty crappy and it's kind of a FOTD because you can somewhat get the gist of what my make up looked like tonight. Lol Good news, though! I will hopefully be getting a new camera for Christmas! I'm so excited because I can finally take better quality pictures for here and just in general and maybe record some videos! :) I wish Christmas would come sooner so I won't have to post any more terrible quality pictures, but my iPhone is just going to have to do for now.

The inspiration. Courtesy of www.zoella.co.uk
Look at how beautiful miss Zoe looks and of course, the amazing quality of the photo! Lol

My attempt.
And notice, the beautiful quality of my photo here...not! Lol

And here's a peek at my outfit. Yes, I wore this to school last week, as well as tonight. :P

Unfortunately, I don't have the exact same products as Zoe, so I did what I could with what I had. I liked it! :) Here are all of the products I used:

Revlon Photo Ready Concealer in Light Medium 003

Revlon Under Eye Concealer in Light

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB 8-in-1 Beauty Balm Skin Perfector

NP Set Pasarella Powder Foundation #3

Milani The Multitasker Face Powder in Medium Tan 06

Maybelline Fit Me Blush in Deep Coral

Shiseido The Makeup Pre-makeup Cream

Rimmel Volume Accelerator Mascara in 003 Extreme Black

Brown Covergirl pencil eyeliner (which the actual label rubbed off of..oops)

NYX The "All I've Ever Wanted" Box

L'Oreal Infallible Lipstick in 741 Bold Bordeaux

Thanks for the inspiration, Zoe!

Mini "Drugstore Haul"

So last night I went to Walmart with my parents. Now, I know Walmart is not the swankiest of places, but there are a lot of really good products that are super affordable there. As a struggling student, that sounds good to me. Lol I got some new make up and new hair products that I'm super excited about so I thought I'd make a post about them all. :)

Milani Color Statement in 01 Sweet Nectar

Maybelline Color Whisper in Orange Attitude 40

Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Moss in 109

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB 8-in-1 Beauty Balm Skin Perfector

Maybelline Fit Me Blush in Deep Coral

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Nail Color in Sun Kissed

                                        

Neutrogena Deep Moisture Day Cream 

St. Ives Blemish Control Apricot Scrub

got2b Rockin' It Dry Shampoo

Tresemme Keratin Smooth Heat Protection Shine Spray

L'Oreal Power Moisture Hydrating Conditioner

Tresemme Tres Two Ultra Fine Mist Hair Spray

Organix Moroccan Sea Salt Spray

• Milani Color Statement in 01 Sweet Nectar - So this is a really bright orange color and it goes on really well, but I think it's a little too orange for me. I didn't think it would come out so opaque. It's pretty good quality and it smells nice, but the color just is a little too much for me, but I would consider buying a different color because the quality of the lipstick is pretty good for the price.
• Maybelline Color Whisper in Orange Attitude 40 - I really love this color, it's a little bit sheer on my lips because my lips are kind of dark, but it definitely adds just the right touch of color. It's a bit greasy for my liking, but overall a good lip product that I can definitely see myself reaching for often. :)
• Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Moss in 109 - This is by far my favorite lipstick of the three! It's amazing quality and sooo affordable! It's a pale orange color and the pigmentation is so good and it's more of a matte finish, but it's not drying which I love. Plus it smells good. :) I will definitely be buying more from this line!
• Maybelline Fit Me Blush in Deep Coral - So this looked like a gorgeous dark, coral color in the packaging, but when I put in on my cheeks, it wasn't very pigmented at all. After applying it 2 or 3 more times, it did show up a pretty pink, natural flushed color, I was just a bit disappointed that it wasn't as pigmented as I'd hoped. Maybe it's because I have slightly tanned skin, but honestly if it's a good quality blush, it shouldn't matter that much. Hopefully it'll grow on me.
• Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Nail Color in Sun Kissed - This nail polish is a bright orange (I know, clearly Zoe's love for orange is growing on me lol) and it goes on quite opaque and beautifully. We'll see how long it lasts without chipping. 
• L'Oreal Power Moisture Hydrating Conditioner - My hair's been a bit dry these days so I bought this in hopes it would help and I used this last night and just from that one use, I can already tell a difference! I'm looking forward to using this until it runs out as it seems to work quite well. :)

I re-purchased my Maybelline BB Cream and St. Ives Apricot Scrub because I love both of them so much and I ran out of them a few days ago and the other products, I have yet to try. I'm very excited to try them out though, especially the sea salt spray. :) If I end up developing a strong love for any of the above items that I haven't talked about yet, I will definitely write a little bit about whichever ones they are. :)