If you're tired of having dull, lifeless skin, then I might just have a solution for you. It's been just over a week since I purchased this facial brush and I am loving it, so much so it has become a necessity in my morning and evening skincare routine.

I can see why products like these seem like a gimmick: it has a mix of brush heads you think you will never reach for, you envisage clearing out your whole bathroom cabinet to make room for the bulky contraption and then you have to frustratingly rummage around for batteries to power the damn thing. "Is it even worth it?" I hear you ask. In short, YES.

My skin has not been great recently. I suffered a breakout on my left cheek, and the spots seem to spread along my chin and even on my forehead. I don't know the reason why they suddenly appeared, but it left my face in a state. In fact, I was so self-conscious of people noticing that a couple of Sunday's ago, I had a bit of a meltdown and refused to leave the house unless I caked my skin in foundation. That's when I knew I had to take action.

I have never owned a facial brush before. A couple of years back I bought a 'Neutrogena Wave', which was a little pink device that came with attachable cleansing pads. When powered, it would vibrate and the idea was to lightly skim it over your skin in circular motions to deep cleanse and remove any dirt from deep within your pores. I actually really liked this product, but I was looking for something more. 

That's when I came across the USpicy facial brush on Amazon. It comes with four detachable brush heads, it's fully waterproof and they even supply batteries! I use this morning and night with any sort of face wash I can find, and the results are great! It leaves my skin feeling so smooth afterwards. Garnier Micellar Water used to be my one and only makeup remover, but by using this brush afterwards it removes so much more makeup that I hadn't even realised was still left on my skin.

Included with the brush are the four brush heads:

1. Latex Sponge
2. Cuticles Brush
3. Soft Brush
4. Massage Roller 

Currently, I have only used the top three brush heads, though I look forward to trying out the massage roller. I have heard it works great if you apply an oil to your face beforehand, as it works it into your skin and improves circulation for that healthy glow.

Have you ever used a facial brush before? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Chloë

x

(Disclaimer: this was not a sponsored post.)

I've realised just recently that my skincare routine has taken a backseat. I was once that goodie two-shoes who would triple cleanse before bed to make sure every last scrap of makeup had left my face before hitting the hay, but all of a sudden I've found myself reaching for a pack of makeup wipes and totally disregarding any form of acid toner. I've moaned during the past month at the state of my skin; it's been patchy, blemish-y and shiny in all the wrong places. Feeling fed up of the state my face was in, I headed straight onto the Boots website in the hope of finding some super skincare products to give my skin the love (but also the kick up the backside) it needs to get back on the straight and narrow.

Boots have some incredible deals online at the moment, which gave me all the more reason to stock up on some of the products that I used to use time and time again until I forgot to repurchase them. One of those products being the Boots 3 Minute Clay Mask. Priced at £1.50 this is an absolute steal. I find it really helps to calm down my skin thanks to the extract of cucumber in the ingredients and it seems to make it appear much smoother and softer to the touch.

Rimmel's Hide the Blemish concealer has been around for years, and it's one of the first makeup items I ever owned. I remember liking it because it's very yellow-toned and has great staying power. I rediscovered this in my makeup collection the other day but it had worn right down to nothing more than a stump so I threw it out, but I'm glad I've ordered another one and look forward to giving it a go!

There's no better eyebrow pencil than Archery by Soap & Glory. I've tried so many drugstore/highstreet brow pencils and I always find they're too dark or too red-toned, or the nib breaks and never re-sharpens! This one has a super-fine tip so it leaves your brows looking soft and natural and it even has its own spoolie on the other end - perfect for saving that all-important space in your makeup bag.

Ah, the Clearasil pads. Whilst I'm aware i'm no longer a hormone-fuelled teenager, I grew up using these and they seemed to save my skin in times of desperation when a horror breakout occurred. I thought I'd give them another go as I have a few stubborn under-the-skin spots on my forehead and I've completely skipped using any sort of acid toner on my face for yonks. I figured these would do the trick and then some, claiming to not only even skin tone but also exfoliate, reduce shine & oil, unblock pores and remove dirt.

When I think of facial oils my initial thoughts are just "nope". I hate the texture for a start, but after reading the endless list of benefits I gave in and ordered the Botanics Organic Facial Oil. So many people have raved about this in the reviews section on Boots and I figured they can't all be wrong, so I pray this will be a product I fall in love with and banish my dislike of oils for good!

Last but not least, the Botanics Radiance Balm. Not something I necessarily need, but I tricked myself into thinking that this may just I've me the radiance i'm after, and I'm all for looking like a glowing sun goddess. I guess I just envisioned myself being hand-fed grapes while lounging on a sunbed in the mediterranean and, well, that was enough to get me to order it. 

Have you picked up any great beauty bits recently?

Chloë
x


(Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. All of the products mentioned above were purchased by myself). 

Hi lovelies!

This week seems to have been a somewhat lazy yet productive one for me, with the majority of my time being spent trawling the interweb gawping at anything and everything. I made a few rash purchases; some Soleil Tan de Chanel bronzer, a snazzy black and gold studded handbag that I had my eye on months ago (that I saw in a Zoella video) and a new camera somehow winged their way into my shopping basket... oh, the life of a shopaholic. 

Seriously though, i've been lusting over cameras since early December but couldn't make my mind up in time for Christmas. It was a struggle, but last night I decided it was to be between the Olympus Pen E-PL7 (definitely a favourite amongst bloggers right now) and the Canon EOS M. The EOS M is the slightly older model as its sparkly, new and improved M3 and M10 siblings are out now, but truth be told, I was after something affordable and didn't think the tilting screen was worth the extra £100+. You may have noticed that both of the cameras mentioned above are 'compact system cameras', or CSC for short. Essentially this means you can produce the same high-quality images that you would on a DSLR, but without the added weight and bulkiness of a larger camera body. Think the offspring of a DSLR, if you will. It was a tricky choice believe me; the Olympus Pen E-PL7 is certainly a super camera that would be sure to win 1st place in a technology beauty contest... the white one is so pretty! The Canon is certainly a lot less streamline but does have some advantages:

1. You can purchase a lens mount which allows any existing Canon EF lenses to be compatible - perfect if you already own lenses for a Canon DSLR
2. It looks a little more robust, thus less likely to get damaged
3. It's a Canon... 'nuff said.

So yeah, I went for the Canon. I figured it would be far more economical seeing as I already own a couple of Canon lenses and I've had my DSLR for years so I'm familiar with the settings. I'm hoping this means my blog photos will be nothing less than exceptional from now on!

Do you own a compact system camera?

Chloe

x

I've gone through quite a few drugstore foundations in my time, but I feel there are still more gems out there that are yet to be discovered. I tried the original True Match foundation last year, and while I got on well with it, I wasn't entirely convinced by its runny consistency and the way it liked to slide off my nose in the afternoon. Recently I discovered that this foundation is back with a BANG; it's been completely repackaged and reformulated, so I knew I'd have to give it a try.

Firstly, I'm impressed with the huge variety of shades that this foundation comes in as I know it's typically quite tricky trying to match up your skin tone with foundations from the drugstore/highstreet. I'm usually towards the lightest end of the scale (if not the palest shade) and I always find it such a task trying to find a shade that isn't too pink-toned to avoid looking like a porcelain doll gone wrong. I try and stick to yellow-toned foundations to counteract some of the redness in my cheeks but to also match up with my neck and the rest of my skin. Out of all the drugstore foundations I have tried, this is definitely the palest, yellow-est shade I have come across so far (Golden Ivory, BTW). Prior to this I fell in love with Bourjois' Healthy Mix foundation in Vanilla (no.52), but it's a little bit too dark for me now it's winter and I'm ghostly pale. 

In comparison to the first True Match formula, I can't say I've noticed much of a difference. It's still a very light and runny consistency that blends effortlessly into the skin, although L'oreal claim it's now "softer than ever, looks more natural than ever, and matches your skin's unique tone and texture even better than before." It certainly does look natural, though. I typically prefer a medium-high coverage foundation without it looking too fake and heavy, which is exactly why this True Match foundation is so perfect as you can easily build up the coverage without it looking cakey on the skin. 

Packaging-wise, the shape of the bottle has been elongated and it looks a little more modern compared to the old design. The chrome pump was seen on the previous bottle too, however it's now more square around the top which looks a lot neater but I found it almost a bit clumsy when trying to pump out the product. Besides from that though, the new design is really quite visually appealing as it sports an expensive feel and could easily be mistaken as being a product that is up there amongst some of its pricier, high-end competitors.

How it wears throughout the day is still a little bit of an issue for me. I applied it this morning after moisturising and priming my skin and by around 1pm I did notice my nose starting to look a little oily. If you carry powder with you then it's not really a big deal to do a two-second touch up, but I'd really rather not have to bother if I'm busy at work and my powder is locked away up two flights of stairs. Perhaps it depends on how you apply this foundation, though. I used a Sigma F80 brush this morning whereas recently i've been using (and loving) the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge. I used to love using brushes until I discovered a sponge - it gives such a light, flawless finish!

On the whole though, this foundation is a winner due to its huge variety of shades, its affordable price and its light-but-buildable coverage. Going from my personal experience though, I'd say it's probably more suited to normal-dry skin, but if you use a primer beforehand and set the foundation well it should see you through the day with minimal touch-ups!

A chatty mishmash of a blog post for you this week as I'm all out of sync with what day it is! I usually have Wednesdays off work so there's no confusion there, I just can't get my head around working all day tomorrow when I usually spend Thursdays sipping coffee and dawdling aimlessly around the handbag section in TK Maxx. 

Last week it wasn't just the handbag section I dawdled around, though. I ventured down the skincare aisle where I discovered what is now my favourite body moisturiser: Nip + Fab's Hyaluronic Fix Body Gel. I don't usually purchase body lotions all that often as I get incredibly lazy and don't seem to use up the ones I already have, but this one stood out to me as its texture is gel-like and not creamy like most moisturisers. I really cannot stand the greasiness of creams and hate standing around waiting for them to dry for what seems like hours on end, but with this one you don't have to. It glides onto the skin and isn't sticky in the slightest. LOVE.

Juicy Couture's Viva la Juicy has been my go-to perfume for years; this year is no different. I felt I had to include it in with the mix of my current favourites as I find myself (like many people) switching up my perfume according to the seasons. I went through a phase of using the Chloé Eau de Parfum, but have since swapped back to my well-loved, trusty Viva la Juicy.

Much like perfumes and body lotions, I'm always switching up the products I use on my face. I love this L'oreal Triple Active Fresh moisturiser at the moment which I've been using both morning and night. It's another gel-like texture which is super light and absorbs instantly into the skin. I'm sure I've already raved about this in a previous blogpost,  but it's such a lovely product I just had to give it another mention.

I bought this L'oreal #TXT Volume Spray on a whim the other day when I looked in the mirror and caught a glimpse of my hair looking rather depressed and lifeless. Naturally my hair is quite wavy and thick so I don't struggle with volume unless I've straightened my hair too much at the roots, but on this particular day it was just looking lank and weighed down. I spotted this volume spray in Boots and thought I'd give it a try. It's similar to a dry shampoo in the sense that you spray it into sections of your hair and use your fingertips to rub it in, but the great thing about this product is that it doesn't leave your hair feeling starchy and full of powdery residue. I've used it quite a few times now and so far, so good. It adds an instant lift and really helps to perk up the hair.

What are your current favourite products so far this month?

Chloë
x

Do you ever find yourself aimlessly scrolling through the photos on your phone when you discover a picture that you have absolutely no recollection of? Well, that happened to me just now. Believe it or not I took the above photo over four months ago with the intention of uploading it to my Instagram account, but for some reason or another it got lost amongst the mass of selfies and holiday snaps.

My makeup routine has changed massively since July though - surprisingly I don't use many of the products pictured on a daily basis anymore as they have more than likely been stashed away in a makeup box and completely forgotten about!

The Maybelline 'Baby Lips' lip balm and the 'Photo Flawless' primer by Seventeen are still used on a daily basis, though. The primer is silicone-based so it helps to smooth out the skin's surface and create an even base for foundation, and the lip balm is great at adding instant moisture to the lips. The 'Falsies' mascara was also a favourite that I used everyday until it ran out, but I haven't yet repurchased it as I found a stack of mascaras hiding in a spare makeup bag the other day. The same applies to the Maybelline 'Better Skin' concealer, which I found great for hiding under-eye circles but slightly too dark for blemishes.

I purchased The Balm's 'Mary-Lou Manizer' after seeing numerous YouTube Beauty Gurus rave about it but in all honesty, I'd say I've only used it a handful of times - it's been sat on my chest of drawers for weeks! It's very pigmented so a little definitely goes a long way - a light dusting above the cheekbones is all you need to create a lovely highlight.

I tried using the 'Supercat' liquid eyeliner by Soap & Glory the other day for the first time in a while and I just couldn't get my wings even (#firstworldproblems). I'll probably stick it back in my makeup box for now until I can find the time to sit down and watch hours of tutorials to get myself back on track (or back on fleek!).

The same goes for the Sigma 'Brow Duo'. I have used it a few times with a Mac 266 brush but I do prefer using a brow pencil overall - it's a lot quicker and so much easier when trying to get the brows to look somewhat even. 

Last of all is the Mac blush in 'Springsheen'. This is lovely during the spring and summer months as it's a very shimmery, peach-toned shade, but for the winter months I prefer a darker, matte shade like Rimmel's blush in 'Smoked Oyster'.

Oh, and the Real Techniques brush are still used on the daily. How could I ever forget about those?!

Chloë

x

So far this month I haven't been all that adventurous regarding my makeup. Usually in the summer, I like to mix up my routine by swapping foundations for BB creams, lip glosses for lip balms and bronzers for highlighters, but so far I'm still in 'Winter' mode and find myself reaching for the same foundation that I was using waaay back in November. Besides from that, however, I have found a few new little gems that I thought were worthy of a mention - and better still, they are all pretty darn affordable!

Foundation

Aaaaand here it is, the foundation I've been using for months on end. It's Rimmel's 'Lasting Finish 25 hour' foundation in the shade 'True Ivory'. First off, I LOVE THIS STUFF. I've been through bottles and bottles of foundations desperately searching for 'the one' for so long and having no such luck. I find that a lot of foundations tend to look lovely when first applied but begin to leave your skin looking patchy after only a couple of hours, however this one does not. I do have to powder around my nose after a few hours or so but the rest of my face looks exactly the same as it did when I first applied it. It also has SPF 20 which makes it perfect in the summer as it will protect your skin from any harmful UV rays and the coverage is amazing - I'd say it gives a medium coverage at very least and can easily be built up (without looking heavy) if you need to cover any problem areas.

Powder

When it comes to powder, I usually always buy them in the 'translucent' shades so it doesn't alter the colour of my foundation, but recently, with it being Summer and all, I tried out Revlon's 'Nearly Naked' powder in the shade 'Light'. I was pleasantly surprised by the colour of this; I thought it'd be too warm and turn my face orange but it actually seemed to even out my skintone and make my skin look healthier. I was also impressed to find a mirror and a powder puff inside of the compact, something that my trusty Rimmel 'Stay Matte' powder doesn't offer. This is ideal if you're looking for a powder you can take with you if you're on the move, as thanks to its packaging, it's a lot less likely to open itself and crumble to bits in the bottom of your bag!

Lips

I'll be honest here, if it wasn't for my Cherry Chapstick finally running out after 7 years, I probably would have never bothered looking for another lip balm. I'd only bought a Cherry Chapstick in the first place after I'd heard Katy Perry's infamous 'I Kissed a Girl' song on the radio a trillion times... aaah the memories. Anyway, the time had come for me to buy a replacement. I'd seen so many people all over the internet raving about these 'Baby Lips' lip balms that I just had to hop on the bandwagon to see what all the fuss was about. I bought the blue one at random which turns out to be the 'hydrating' one of the range, promising to keep your lips moisturised for 8 hours. I took this to Spain with me as it also has SPF 20 which was perfect for when I was spending hours outside in the sun! I did think it left my lips feeling softer and a lot smoother than other lip balms I've used it the past, and it has a slight lemon-y scent to it which smells lovely and fresh.

Cheeks

I'm pretty sure I've written about this in a blog post before, but I've been using it so much recently I thought it was worthy of another mention. It's the 'Instant Glow' Shimmer Brick by Seventeen; a compact made up of 4 different shades that you swirl together and apply to the tops of your cheekbones for a gorgeous, healthy glow. Mine is in the shade 'Gold Bronze' but there is also a 'Pink Bronze' compact available which I feel you could also use as a blusher. Personally I like that this product isn't too strongly pigmented as it allows you to build up the glow very subtly and what's more, it's just a fraction of the cost of the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks!

Eyes

Ok, I'm going to start by saying I freaking love this mascara. I love the packaging, I love the wand, and most importantly, I love the volume it gives to my lashes. The wand has a slight curve to it which allows it to grasp hold of every single eyelash and immediately turns them all long and fluttery - without any of those dreaded big clumps. Oh, and another thing, it's not a disaster to remove either; you can literally wipe it off and it doesn't leave your lashes feeling like they've been coated in

cement!

Fragrance

Last but by no means least, I've really been loving this Chloé perfume this month. I usually go for fresh scents, but this one has notes of rose, lychee and honey and is beautifully light and floral. I haven't come across many perfumes that have good staying power but I have to say, this one does seem to last for hours on end and really is such a classy and sophisticated scent.

What have you been loving so far this month? I'd love to hear any recommendations!

Chloë

It's Tuesday, and my room looks like an absolute pigsty. To be completely honest, I still have so many presents from Christmas just floating amongst the piles of clothes and wrappers and God-knows-what. Anyway, today I made a start at clearing the decks and found many empty product bottles and containers which inspired me to write this blog post... maybe my messy room was actually a blessing in disguise!

First up is the Boots Vitamin E Night Cream. This is extremely moisturising and sinks in really quickly - i'm not a fan of those creams that take forever and a day to absorb into the skin! I really can't fault this: it's nourishing, affordable and makes my skin feels super smooth and soft afterwards - an absolute winner!

Next is the Max Factor Lash Extension Effect Mascara. I absolutely LOVED this throughout the year of 2014. The wand was perfect at keeping those pesky clumps at bay and the mascara itself really elongated my lashes without making them feel dry and rock-hard. 

Another one of my favourites now - the No7 Beautiful Skin Hot Cloth Cleanser. This is lovely for removing stubborn makeup and can even be used around the delicate eye area which means you don't have to each for a separate product. As you can probably tell, this isn't an empty bottle, but I have repurchased this twice since my old one ran out, promise! For a more in-depth review, please see an older blog post of mine here.

This is something I don't actually remember buying, the Dove Instant Hydration Nourishing Lotion. I'm a little bit lazy when it comes to body moisturisers, but this is wonderful. It's very runny - I'd describe its consistency to be similar to cleansing milks, but this means it's very light and sinks into the skin very quickly. 

Last of all is this Pantene Perfect Curls Hair Mousse, which I swear I've owned for years and years. I rarely use hair mousse as I do fear it may weigh my hair down, but this one was lovely and left my hair looking shiny and feeling lovely and soft. When wearing my hair curly I didn't particularly notice  any difference to how well-defined the curls were, but if you're only looking for a mousse to make your hair that little bit shiner and more manageable then I'd definitely recommend this one.

What are some of your favourite products that you've used up? Did you repurchase any?

Chloe 

x

So far I've found the month of November to be a giant blur. To me it seems to have whizzed by... how scary is it to think that Christmas is only 35 days away?! (*gasp*) I certainly find myself having a love-hate relationship with this time of year. Part of me does secretly love wrapping up warm and digging out all of last year's woolly jumpers, scarves, gloves etc. but at the same time I despise waking up and finding it pitch black outside, and getting out of a toasty-warm bed to face plummeting temperatures is extremely difficult. Oh, and another thing - attempting to somewhat smooth down my hair when it's cold and drizzly outside is a nightmare.. talk about frizz-city! Luckily I have a few products that I've been loving so far this month which is making this time of the year just that little bit more bearable for me. It is a rather random bunch of favourites this month but I figured it'd be a nice change to include a few things that aren't beauty or skincare related, so lets begin!

First things first, obviously I have to mention this baby. I did get this over a month ago but didn't get to fully appreciate its beauty as it took a while to transfer everything over from my old laptop (which is incredibly borrrrring) but my, it's SO BEAUTIFUL. It was expensive, but I find it so much more fulfilling knowing that I bought this out of my own money that I'd earnt myself, and who doesn't like a little (or in this case, rather big!) treat now and again?!

A lip product I've enjoyed using this month is the Calvin Klein lipstick in 'Henna'. I bought this from Fragrance Direct for the bargain price of £1.99 as I was looking for a fairly inexpensive, good-quality lipstick. It was a bit of a gamble as I wasn't sure of the exact colour (the swatches on the website aren't too accurate at showing the true colour), but it's a really subtle light-pink shade that I've found to be extremely creamy and blendable.

I know everybody seems to go crazy over berry-toned nail polish and lipsticks during this time of the year, but I still like wearing fairly neutral, muted tones on my nails and the Rimmel 60 Seconds polish in 'Little Bo Peep' is one of my favourites at the moment. Although I disagree about it drying in 60 seconds and only needing one coat (I had to use three coats), it's still a lovely pale grey colour which dries with a light shine. The brush is also a good size too; it's wide enough to coat the nails properly which means you don't have to go over and over the same area so you can avoid the horrible sticky feeling you get when the polish hasn't had long enough to dry!

As somebody who uses straighteners or curlers on a daily basis, the ends of my hair are often left feeling incredibly dry - not to mention I already have ombré hair! I popped into Poundland a while back and while I was down the hair and beauty aisle, this product caught my eye. I know argan oil can be terribly expensive online, so I thought i'd give this a go as, of course, it was only going to cost me £1. I only apply the teeniest amount to the palm of my hand and then smooth it through the ends of my hair, and it really does make it feel so much smoother and healthier - absolute BARGAIN!

Another hair-related favourite of mine this month is my beloved Tangle Teezer. This is amazing for smoothing down hair to eliminate tangles and best of all, it doesn't yank all of your hair out in the process! I'm sure we've all been there where you try and run your fingers through your hair and they get stuck, so you use a hairbrush as an aid to brushing out the tangly mess you've just made and losing a trillion hairs as a result. This, however, is so gentle on your hair - it just glides through effortlessly and saves so much time in the mornings.

This is a fairly new addition to my skincare routine after discovering the queen of  skincare Caroline Hirons talking about facial spritzes on her blog. This one in particular smells super lovely and fresh and can be used before or after makeup to freshen up your face. I've mainly been using this at night after I've finished cleansing my face but I'd imagine it would be more effective to use before applying makeup in the mornings to give your skin a little bit of a glow.

Since buying the Real Techniques Travel Essentials Kit, the 'Multi-Task Brush' has been my go-to brush when applying my foundation. This brush really allows you to buff the foundation into the skin and leaves your complexion looking completely flawless. It's also extremely versatile; it can be used to apply foundation, bronzer, blush.. basically any kind of product!

The 'Miracle Complexion Sponge' by Real Techniques makes applying foundation a dream. I do believe it'd drink your foundation if you didn't soak it under a tap first, but it's a relatively small price to pay for achieving an amazing foundation base. You can really build up the coverage by pressing the foundation into any problem areas, and I believe it would do the exact same job as the Beauty Blender for a smaller price tag!

I rediscovered this necklace earlier this month which was given to me as a birthday present from one of my friends; it's so pretty! I love the different coloured flowers all clustered together with the tiny silver sparkles in the middle - and the gold chain makes a nice change from the usual silver jewellery I tend to wear :)

In case you can't tell, this is the Collection 'Lasting Perfection' concealer. Ahh, this has definitely been well loved! I bought this a while ago but only just rediscovered it in my makeup bag, and it's made a nice change from the Soap & Glory 'Kick-Ass' concealer I usually use. The coverage is brilliant for such an inexpensive product and it lasts a lot longer than I would've expected it to.

Case: Nicole Miller

Case: Case-Mate

Another random favourite of this month are pretty phone cases. I recently splashed out on a shiny new iPhone, which of course means you have to get shiny new phone cases! I decided to get the gold iPhone 5s as opposed to the 6 (mainly to save a bit of money), although I opted for the 64gb one to make sure I had enough space to store all of my music, pictures and apps.

My last favourite of my month comes in the form of music and is, of course, the new One Direction album.. how could I not include it?! My favourite song so far has to be Night Changes, but i'm yet to listen to the whole album in full!

What are you enjoying so far this month?

 x

When it comes to make up brushes, I always try and look for good quality ones that are also affordable -  a combination that is sometimes quite hard to come across (apart from Real Techniques brushes of course). A lot of the time it seems you have to make a compromise somewhere along the line by either paying a lot of money for a super-fancy brush or making do with a bog-standard, mediocre one to save a few pennies. This is where the Coastal Scents brushes come in. I first discovered these last summer when I was looking to start my brush collection. I hadn't owned any makeup brushes at this point so I was a bit sceptical about buying a complete set for under £20, but I decided to give them a go nonetheless.

Honestly, i'm so glad that I took the risk of buying these brushes because they are AMAZING. The quality is excellent and in my opinion they look and perform just as well as more expensive brushes on the market. The set consists of 12 brushes with both synthetic and natural hair bristles which all fit into the case provided. The case fastens with magnets and each brush has its own little pouch which keeps them separated and makes it easy for you to select which brush you want to use at a glance. The case also means that this set is perfect for travelling; it's roughly the same size as a small/medium sized clutch bag and it's fairly flat - definitely not bulky in the slightest.

My only teeny-tiny issue with these brushes is the amount of bristles I seem to lose from the powder brushes when I wash them, but in all honesty I don't consider this to be much of a problem and it is to be expected with the bristles made from natural hair. Both the synthetic and the natural hair bristles apply makeup effortlessly and are not scratchy in the slightest, which of course is a huge bonus when so many other brushes around this price range seem very artificial and feel rough on the skin.

In order from the picture above, the brushes included in this set are:

• Lash & Brow Comb
• Blush Brush (natural hair)
• Angled Blush Brush (natural hair)
• Foundation Brush (synthetic)
• Doe-foot Blending Brush (synthetic)
• Pointed Blending Brush (natural hair)
• Medium Shadow Brush (synthetic)
• Small Concealer Brush (synthetic)
• Pointed Detailer Brush (synthetic)
• Rounded Detailer Brush (synthetic)
• Small Angled Liner Brush (synthetic)
• Angled Liner Brush (synthetic)

As I mentioned above, this set is currently priced at £19.95 with free p&p and is available  from BeautyStore4U.co.uk: my ultimate go-to site for all things beauty and brush related!

What are your favourite, must-have makeup brushes? 

♡

**Disclaimer: This was not a sponsored post, I just wanted to share my genuine opinion on how fantastic these brushes are :) **

Hey guys :)

It has certainly been a while since I last found myself sat behind a laptop screen writing a blog post, but I can assure you I have quite a few (fairly plausible) excuses! 

First of all, I managed to get myself a job... hurrah! I am no longer sporting the 'poor unemployed student without a penny to her name' stereotype, though this unfortunately does not mean that I have all of a sudden become Britain's richest teen earning megabucks *sad face*. 

Secondly, my laptop was becoming verrrry sluggish in its old age, and it was a nightmare trying to upload photos and write blog posts on a machine that took around 10 decades to load anything. After seeing footage of many successful Youtubers and bloggers tip-tapping away on their shiny MacBook Pro's, I took the plunge and decided it was time for me to upgrade - which hopefully means more frequent blog posts!

Anyway, as the title suggests, I wanted to do a little review on a few of the Real Techniques brushes that I currently own.

The contour brush is definitely one of my most-used brushes from my ever-growing Real Techniques collection; you can use it for so many different things! Aside from contouring the cheeks, I like to use this brush to set the concealer that I use under my eyes, and it's also the perfect size for powdering around your T-zone.

Next is the buffing brush, another strong favourite of mine. This works really well with liquid foundations as it enables you to achieve a perfect, streak-free finish. The bristles are slightly less dense than those in the expert face brush, which is why I prefer to use it on foundations of a slightly runnier consistency.

The blush brush has tapered bristles which allow you to apply blush to precise areas on the face. While it is a great brush, I don't use it as often as some of the other Real Techniques brushes which is probably down to the fact that I very rarely use blush... although I have used it with bronzer before and was pretty happy with the way it turned out :)

I remember buying the powder brush and thinking "wow, it's bloody huge", but it's honestly one of my favourite brushes EVER. You can apply powder to your entire face in seconds and it also works great with bronzer if you're looking to achieve that perfect all-0ver, sun-kissed look.

The stippling brush is another of my absolute favourites. It works brilliantly with BB creams or foundations of a runnier consistency and can even be used with cream blushes.

If you haven't yet purchased any of the Real Techniques brushes but you fancy giving one a go, you really cannot go wrong with the expert face brush. The bristles are super dense which makes blending foundation into your skin a whole lot easier, especially foundations of a thicker consistency that are otherwise quite difficult to blend.

The pointed foundation brush is one of my less-used brushes from those that I own mainly due to its size; I find it a little on the small side for applying foundation. However it does come in very handy for applying concealer under the eyes as it's the perfect shape and size for getting right into those pesky inner corners.

Last of all is the tiny detailer brush. In all honesty, I've only used this once or twice when I was applying lipstick but it does have other uses. I'd imagine it'd work really well with concealer to hide any unwanted blemishes or to conceal any dark circles under the eyes :)

What do you think of Real Techniques brushes? I'd love to know which one is your favourite! 

Over the past few weeks, us UK folk have experienced surprisingly warm weather... who would have thought it, being summer and all?! But of course, it wouldn't be Britain without a few storms and rainy days. On these duller days, I like to revert back to 'winter mode' by wearing a full face of makeup, but typically during the summer months I prefer to stash the away the heavy foundations and look out my small collection of BB Creams. Believe it or not, this collection was actually unintentional... I started off by simply buying the Garnier BB cream, which led to buying one from Maybelline, then another from Rimmel and last of all the BB Cream by Dr Jart. Out of these four products, I definitely like some more than others.. which you'll soon find out if you carry on reading!

First up is the Garnier 'Miracle Skin Perfector' BB Cream. I believe this was one of, if not the first, BB creams to come onto the market, and I remember there was a huge amount of hype about it. I love the smell of this product and its consistency is smooth and very easy to blend. The coverage is enough for those days when you don't want to wear a lot of makeup but you don't want to go completely bare-faced, and the finish is very dewy. I do like the  healthy glow this product gives me but I think you'd definitely have to use a powder to avoid it slipping off your face!

Next is the Maybelline 'Dream Fresh' BB Cream. I bought this in the shade 'Light', though when applied to my face it tends to leave unsightly orange marks despite me spending a couple of minutes to make sure it is all blended in properly. Unlike the Garnier BB cream, I don't find the finish particularly dewy and the coverage is extremely light - to me it looks like I haven't even bothered putting anything onto my face! Despite not being very keen on this product, I did decide to take it on holiday with me this year mainly due it containing SPF 30, which saved me from buying a separate SPF to use on my face. But since arriving back in England, this product now spends most of its days chilling at the back of a cabinet along with an assortment of other beauty products that, quite honestly, fail to impress me.. *sassy hair flip emoji* 

This is the most recent (and priciest) BB cream that has become part of my unintentional collection: the Dr Jart+ Platinum BB Cream. This is available from Boots and retails at £22 for 50ml.. eesh. I've used this less than a handful of times - not because it's a bad product, more so that I forget I even have it. That could be enough to tell you that I personally don't think it is anything special that you should all rush out and buy immediately, but as far as BB creams go, it does the job. Compared to the others, the consistency of this one is very thick, and a little definitely goes a long way. You're in luck if you have pale skin, as this is a very light shade and doesn't turn orange after it's been applied. For some reason this appears to only come in one shade, and it's even lighter than the shades of the previous two BB creams.. ideal if you're super pale but not so great if you've developed a tan over the summer. It contains SPF 30 which is a definitely bonus if you're looking to let your skin breathe while still being protected from the sun, but overall I do think the price is a little steep for a product I see as fairly average!

Lastly I have the Rimmel Matte BB Cream (again in the shade 'Light'.. surprise surprise!) This appealed to me as many BB creams seem to have quite a dewy finish - something that isn't too great if you already have oily skin. In general it's only my T-zone that seems to get oily throughout the day, so I thought i'd try this product out to see if it really did give a mattifying finish. As with the Maybelline BB cream, this product left my skin looking orange in places and despite its runny consistency, it didn't feel too lightweight on my face; it's more of a foundation than a light BB cream. As for the finish, I can't say I noticed it was particularly mattifying so it still left me reaching for my trusty Rimmel Stay Matte Powder. It claims to 'control shine all day' but I'm afraid I'd have to disagree - even after powdering, my t-zone began to get oily again 1-2 hours later :(

So there you have it, 4 BB Creams well and truly tried and tested. If I had to name my favourite and least favourite of the bunch, I'd crown Garnier my favourite for giving me a dewy-yet-healthy glow and name Rimmel's BB cream as my least favourite for giving me a patchy orange face, cheers!