Beauty || Pixi Beauty Ultimate Beauty Kit 4th Edition

A couple of weeks ago I attended the Stylist Live event at the Olympia where a whole array of beauty, fashion and lifestyle brands were showcasing products that were available to purchase. One of the stands I was excited to visit was Pixi Beauty. I had my eyes on a couple of products, but sadly none of them were available on the day! (I still need the Judy Time Palettes!). For sale on the day were a couple of their bestsellers including this new Limited edition Ultimate Beauty Kit. As soon as I saw the palette I knew it was for me. I excitedly asked the assistant who told me it had just sold out! Luck happened to be on my side however, as I was queuing up I asked another assistant who was able to find me the last palette that had been hidden under the counter! I would be lying right now if I didn't admit to being extremely excited to share all of my thoughts on this palette. 

So where to begin? Obviously the first thing you see is the packaging which showcases the classic Pixi colours, with a little autumnal orange and bronze foiled pattern. I love the whole look of the box, and love how it matches the actual palette packaging on the inside as well.  

So this palette is the ultimate face kit. It comes with two sides of eyeshadows and a middle section with highlighter, blush and bronzer. This palette truly is great for testing out all of the different products Pixi has to offer. The eyeshadow shades are made up of 8 individual mineral palettes which have been put together to create the ultimate palette. The different shades also makes it quite versatile for the different seasons.

The left hand side of the palette is more dramatic and has been compiled of colours that when applied can create an impact. The pigmentation of the different shades are extremely dreamy and as well as swatching perfectly, apply smoothly to the eye as well. I will one day be brave enough to wear the Aquamarine Dream palette, it's just so beautiful! 

The middle section of the palette consists of 2 Glow-y Powders, 2 Beauty Blush Duo's and 2 Beauty Bronzers. I have been a Benefit Hoola fan for the last 5 years, so it's really telling when i've managed to find a new favourite! The bottom left bronze shade in 'Subtly Suntouched' looks natural and pretty on the skin and gives enough bronze to the skin without looking too orange. For highlight, I have been obsessed with both of the shades in the palette. I use the left 'Light Glow' shade on my brow bone and inner corner of the eye, and then apply 'Bare Glow' on the cheekbones and down the centre of my nose to add that extra highlight to my makeup look.

The right hand side of the palette consists of 4 palettes compiled together to create a natural and neutral eye look. This side is a lot easier to wear, and I have become obsessed with using shades from each of the different palette rows to create something I am really pleased with. 

Swatches

Amythst Aura

Mineral Contour

Aquamarine Dream

Silver Sky

Glowy Powders and Duo Blush

Beauty Bronzer

Rich Gold

Copper Peach

Opal Glow

Plum Quartz

Overall, I am so pleased with how well this palette performs when being worn. Quite often palettes which seem to promise a lot never really do as well as you would think, they also seem to have a shade or two that is rubbish. This isn't the case with this palette at all. I can't wait to use it more throughout the winter season, and already know it's going to be my go to palette for the summer too! 

I am planning a couple of makeup looks using this palette which I would love to share over the next couple of weeks! Perhaps I will be brave enough to finally use the turquoise palette shades! 

Until next time,

Beauty : Glossybox November 2017

As if by magic, another month goes by leaving us one step closer to my favourite month of the year... December! This month November's Glossybox embraces everything Hygge, (The Danish word for cosy) by including 5 full sized products that are set to comfort the cold winter evenings. This month's box includes a sweet scented lip balm, shower gel and a charcoal face mask. What more could you want from a cosy night in box! 

This month's box design is back to the classic pink and black, which if you have read my previous reviews is my favourite design! So let's take a look inside...

Greenfrog Botanic - Natural Bodywash Relaxing Geranium and Peppermint | £8.95

I will admit, when I saw a body wash was included in this month's box I wasn't that excited. There always seems to be a shower gel included in most gift sets, so I have a cupboard full of them. I did give this a try and I genuinely like it, which trust me is a shock! The ingredients included make it sensitive to skin, hydrating, soothing and very very calming. It's now placed in my gym bag where it will stay until its finished! 

Beauty UK Cosmetics - Contour Powder Brush | £6.99

I love it when brushes are included in Glossybox as they always end up being one of my favourites! This brush in particular is designed to be used with powder and is shaped to create the perfect contour. The brush makes application easy and blends the product onto your face to create a smooth appearance. This brush also makes it easy to apply the right amount of highlight. It's a big thumbs up from me! 

SportFX - Candy Floss Moisturising Lip Balm | £4.99

If you're anything like me then you too probably have a whole drawer full of lip balms in all shades and colours. With that being said, I love trying out new flavours and scents. This lip balm may just be my favourite of them all. My favourite sweet treat, if it's being sold anywhere, is Candy Floss. So having Candy Floss in a lip balm form is 100% me! Scent aside, I have noticed such a difference to the texture of my lips after using this balm. I have been applying it lightly with my fingers before work and can still see it at the end of my shift. 

Collection Cosmetics - Define and Perfect Eyebrow Powder in Blonde | £4.19

Oh I do love a brow product, especially when it's as good as this! I've been an avid Benefit Goof Proof brow girl wearer since it was released. So finding a new brow product that gives me similar, if not the same results can only be a good thing! One of the things that I like about this product is the thin applicator. It allows you to create thin lines on the brow which defines them smoothly but perfectly. I've worn this on its own with a little bit of brow mascara, but the directions also suggest applying on top of other brow products to set them. 

Boots - Charcoal and Willow Bark Sheet Mask | £2.50

I love applying a face mask on a Sunday evening, but hate the mess of them. Since the creation of the sheet mask I haven't used much else. This mask is applied over cleansed skin for 15 minutes before being removed. The leftover serum is then massaged into the skin to moisturise the skin. I am yet to try this mask, but it's next on my list! 

Overall I am really happy with all the contents in this month's box. I will be honest, it's not my favourite box I have ever received. However the contents are all products I will find a lot of use out of which makes it perfect for me this month. The little sneak peak of December's box makes me so excited for Christmas and I can't wait to receive it. 

Until next time, 

Lifestyle : Vision Express Festive Frames!

When I first started my blog back in 2013, I had no idea that I would have had the amount of opportunities to work with brands that I have admired for years. As soon as I saw that Vision Express where holding their first Blogger event I knew it was something right up my street. As a 24/7 glasses wearer I couldn't have thought up a better blogger event for myself than this! So I was extremely excited and very grateful to have been invited down to the Oxford Street Vision Express store for the #FestiveFrames event. 

My appointment was at 2pm, however we were advised to be there 15 minutes early, like you would with any opticians appointment, to make sure everything ran smoothly. After handing over my latest optical prescription to the team, we were given the opportunity to have a 10 minute style consultation with celebrity stylist Gemma Sheppard who helped me find the perfect frame for my face. I am generally a wayfarer shaped glasses wearer so I knew going into the event that I wanted to try something new. I was even more excited to find out that Vision Express would be gifting us a pair of glasses with our prescription, so what better time than now to try out something now! Gemma tried various different styles on me and we both settled on a gorgeous pair of tortoise shell cat eyed glasses. Something very different than my normal pair, but I love them! 

Another exciting part of the event was the makeup consultation with a makeup artist and beauty expert who created a look to match my chosen glasses. I will admit that I felt a little bit out of my comfort zone here as I was thrown into the deep end by having my consultation and makeup application filmed. I'm yet to see the video so fingers crossed it all looks okay! The makeup that was applied was also something I probably wouldn't have chosen to do on myself as it consisted of darker colours and black eyeliner. I loved how it looked when completed and know I will try to do this myself throughout the festive period. 

As the event finished I was handed this cute little christmas present box full of gifts as well as a super dry water bottle as a thank you for attending the event. I was really not expecting this as the gift of a pair of glasses chosen specifically for me was enough in my eyes! (I have inserted a little image below of everything I received in the goody bag!) 

Overall I had such a lovely time at the event and love all of the new frames that Vision Express have available for the festive period. As much fun as I had, I just wanted to make a note of how important it is to have an eye test done. You can see so much about your health through your eyes, and its alway's good to have an up to date prescription. I am so excited for my glasses to arrive, and you best believe I will be Insta-gramming them once I collect them! 

Until next time, 

Lifestyle : I'm officially a graduate!

I'm officially a Graduate!

I didn't realise how odd that would sound until I wrote that sentence down! Getting to the point to be able to speak about finishing uni has been a miracle in itself, and trust me I didn't think I would actually make it this far at all. There were many a time I thought about quitting, and many a time I wondered if it was worth it at all but I am so pleased and proud that I pushed forward.

Last Thursday my family and I made our way up to the O2 in London to attend my graduation ceremony. It was such a weird experience seeing my classmates after such a long time, and it was even weirder to see everyone formally dressed! I didn't take too many photographs, but I wanted to just share and document this moment in my life. That's one of the things I have found most enjoyable about writing this blog, being able to look back on the special moments. 

Until next time,