The Hidden Beauty Brand♥*

There's big competition out there for beauty brands, and I mean huge. There's hundreds upon thousands of them, some well-known whilst others are really too known. Makeup brands for example, majority of makeup lovers know the popular brands; Maybelline, Rimmel, Benefit and Urban Decay are just a few to name. Seventeen? It's a brand that's sold in Boots, but not many people know about it nor have tried it. I received a few pieces, and none of them disappointed me!

Seventeen Instant Glow Shimmer Brick*

This brick reminds me of Bobbi Brown's shimmer bricks but for a fraction of the price. This shimmer brick, however, is incredible! Not only are these highlighters/bronzers absolutely stunning to wear on your skin, but it's a multi use product and can be used as an eyeshadow quad. Every single shade is highly pigmented, even the lightest colour. A little bit goes a long way where this product is concerned! This is fantastic for the little price that it costs and I highly suggest it to everyone. The highlight colours will work with any skin tone as well.

Seventeen Instant Glow Skin Wow Tan*

Unlike the previous highlighter, this is a liquid form. In the tube, it looks scary and intimidating, but honestly, it isn't. I use this on my cheekbones for a subtle glow, although, you can apparently use it to contour (which I haven't ever done) but I love how it looks as a cheekbone highlight. It leaves your skin looking luminous and radiant, as well as looking glowy and healthy. Normally, I apply it as a base highlight and apply a powder highlight on top to make it pop a little bit more.

Seventeen Lip Crayon*

I don't own many lip crayons (apart from the famous Revlon colourburst lip lacquer balm which is technically a lip crayon) so I was excited to see how this would turn out. I didn't know how the texture would feel on the lips, but when applied, it applies smoothly and just glides on your lips. Once applied, it feels hydrating and moisturising on the lips and non-greasy or thick. The colour I have is nude, but finishes off any makeup look perfectly as it's so natural!

Seventeen Stay Pout Lipstick in Rule Breaker* 

Of course I kept my favourite until last! These lipsticks are insane! I never, ever see seventeen lipsticks raved about by bloggers but honestly cannot understand why. These have a creamy consistency meaning they're wearable on the lips. The lasting power of these lipsticks are impressive, and last a good few hours. Mine is in the shade Rule Breaker, which is a deep red/berry colour. When I wore it for the first time, I received so many complements on it. I hate nothing more than a pretty lipstick that dries out your lips but luckily this doesn't! Most definitely my Autumn and Winter 2015 lip product!

I know for sure I will most definitely be buying more from this brand. Their products are inexpensive yet great quality. I cannot wait to venture out and see what else they have available! Also, not to mention the packaging - not only is it cute but is sturdy!

Have you tried seventeen? Will you be trying their products out?

*PR Samples

Perhaps The Brushes That Were Made For Me♥

In July, it's no secret that I fell in love with Real Techniques. I bought the Core Collection (review here) and I've used those brushes religiously since getting them. It's not a surprise that I've wanted to grow my collection even further. When I went into Superdrug, I was looking about and out the corner of my eye, I spied (ha) the Eye Makeup Brush Starter Set reduced from £21.99 to £14.99. And how can one turn that down?!

If you know me, then you will know that I LOVE nothing better than seamless eyeshadow, so these appealed to me. Real Technique brushes are some of the best brushes on the market, and are just stunning! You can't deny the purple and black brushes don't look professional! The brushes also have their dedicated job on them so you won't ever forget what they're for.

Left to right; deluxe crease brush, base shadow brush, brow brush, accent brush and fine liner brush.

I don't know about you, but I think these brushes look incredible sitting alongside my other brushes within my collection. There's just something so amazing about the brushes that I love and makes me want the whole range. Maybe it's just the inner beauty blogger within me..

Deluxe Crease Brush - I adore this brush! It is most definitely one of the best brushes ever created for blending eyeshadow and making it look perfect. The bristles are densely packed together nice and tightly. They are shaped together to look round, and fit fantastically into your crease.

Base Shadow Brush - This is probably the brush which I rely on most. It picks up shadow immensely and then packs it onto the lid. Maybe it's my imagination, but I feel it makes the shadow more pigmented. Or maybe it just picks up product better than any other ol' brush!

Brow Brush - The new best thing ever. I just use it to fill in my brows, simple really. Apart from that, I use it to smoky out colour on my lower lash line. It's angled to my liking to fill in my brows. From using this, my brows are definitely 'on fleek'.

Accent Brush - At the moment, I'm currently using it for a highlight colour in my inner corner and brow bone. It's small and precise enough to get the product exactly where I want it. It's one I use quite regularly and honestly, it comes in handy!

Fine Liner Brush - I haven't found a definite job for this yet, although, I do know once I do, I will love it. I have used it with shadow to give the appearance of liner on my upper lash line. The bristles aren't soft like the other brushes so it makes it easier to use for liner.

I genuinely think these brushes have been sitting in Superdrug waiting for me to pick them up, and I am not afraid to admit that I am (slightly) late on the bandwagon with these but I do wish I'd picked them up sooner! Since I own one too many palettes, these brushes get used almost daily. Of course, I just want to go on and collect even more of their eye brushes because I'm a bit of a hoarder that way..

Have you tried these Real Techniques brushes?

Achieve Glowy Skin In Autumn/Winter♥*

The craze for glowy and dewy skin this Summer was unreal! Highlighters at the ready as strobing was the latest beauty trend and everyone was wanting highlighted cheekbones. I must admit though, I do love a good highlight myself, it completes any makeup look, no matter how natural or dramatic it is! As we're coming into the Autumn and Winter seasons, your skin can become duller and loose it's natural glow, but I've found five products from The Body Shop which work perfectly in conjunction with each other to help bring your skin's glow back.

Moisturising is key! If you want any type of flawless base, you got to have smooth skin. Having a soft skin to start means all your face makeup will apply and look perfect. The Body Shop Vitamin C Glow Boosting Moisturiser* is my current go-to moisturiser every morning! It's quite lightweight yet extremely hydrating. It boosts skin which may look or feel tired. The best bit? It smells gorgeous! To me, it's basically Summer in a tub as it smells like Sprite or Fanta Lemon. As it's quite a strong scent, it helps the skin to feel awake and glow beautifully underneath the makeup!

A light base is perfect if you're wanting that glow to look as natural as possible! The Body Shop All-In-One BB Cream* does the job. It gives coverage yet isn't too heavy on the skin. It smooths the skin, leaving it look flawless. I blend in with the W7 Power Puff Sponge as that's my own preference, and like the look of the finish. It's colour adapting, gives even coverage and doesn't clog up your pores. It is much lighter than a typical foundation is, so still looks very natural yet covers up any redness your skin may have. What else could you wish for?!

For concealer and under eye highlighting, The Body Shop Lightening Touch Concealer* is my favourite at the moment! It's a pen style concealer where you twist the bottom to use the concealer. I like to apply this in a triangle underneath my eyes as well as down the bridge of my nose for extra coverage. Again, I blend in with my W7 Power Puff as the tip of it reaches perfectly under my lower lashes to blend out the concealer. It's not cakey and blends like a dream. Not only is this concealer quite high coverage, but it's brightening so brings a lot of light under the eyes!

Layering highlighter is what I do best! I start off with The Body Shop Radiant Highlighter* which is a cream highlight. This can be applied before or after foundation, but I usually apply it after my foundation. I apply two or three dots on the tops of my cheekbones then blend with my contour brush from Real Techniques. It gives a subtle glow which is what I'm always trying to achieve! It also makes your skin look fresh, looks subtle and quite healthy! On top of that, I use The Body Shop Honey Bronze Highlighting Dome*. I sweep my contour brush around this dome to pick up some product and apply on top of the previous highlighter. This does have a bit more of a shimmer to it. Alternatively, you could glide it along the tops of your cheekbones and blend out. Both work and leave your cheekbones looking on point (hahaha!)

So there you have it, my way on how to achieve that amazing glowy skin look in the Autumn and Winter!

Have you got any secrets to achieving glowy skin throughout Autumn and Winter?

*PR Samples

The Bubble Bar Of All Bubble Bars♥

Don't get me wrong - I really like bath bombs. There's just something amusing about watching them fizz about the bath and see what pretty colour the water changes to. However, I like a bubble bath, one that not only makes the water smell nice, but creates a lot of bubbles. Let me introduce you to my new, favourite bubble bar - Candy Mountain.

Candy Mountain is from Lush's Christmas range, and is perhaps one of their best-sellers from the range. It's basically meant to look like a mountain which is made up of swirled pink and white candy, and actually looks very girly. The bubble bar is also coated in a layer of glitter to make it looks sparkly and even more Christmassy!

Personally, I'm a fan of this. If you love Snow Fairy, then you will adore this! It smells sweet, sweet like candy, and almost creamy too. The bubble bar itself is quite big, therefore is reusable and you can manage to get two to three baths out of it, depending on how large a chunk you use. It's simple to use; break of part of the bar and crumble under running water to create gorgeous bubbles.

I used a third of the bubble bar with a little drop of Snow Fairy and this is the result. I'm very impressed with the turn out, I had heard a fair amount about it, so I'm glad to have tried it out for myself. After I used this, my skin did feel phenomenally soft and smelt divine.  The only thing is - I wish I had bought it sooner! I have a feeling I'll repurchase this again before Christmas..

Have you tried this bubble bar? What's your favourite Lush bubble bar?

High-Street Body Scrubs♥*

Body scrubs are something I use weekly. Not only do they leave your skin smelling gorgeous, but also feeling amazing because they remove any dead skin cells (sounds so gross but it actually isn't!) Some body scrubs can be a little pricey, for instance, I absolutely LOVE The Body Shop body scrubs, but at £13, I sometimes like an alternative for when I'm in need of a body scrub but don't have the money.

Typically, if I'm looking for a new body scrub, my instinct would be to look in Boots, Superdrug or The Body Shop. Oh how I could be so wrong and not know I was missing out by not looking elsewhere. Ever think to look in Wilkinson's? No? Well, you definitely should. They have a fantastic skincare range, which contains these body scrubs, and are only £1.50! (Currently £0.95).

Within the range, there's many different scents to choose from. I have the Fruits Body Scrub Orange and Pomelo*, Fruits Body Scrub Rhubarb and Vanilla* and Kiss Exfoliating Body Scrub*. The Orange Pomelo and Rhubarb Vanilla body scrubs are very gentle on the skin, yet leave it feeling clean and smooth. The Kiss body scrub feels like it exfoliates your skin more, but doesn't irritate the skin at all, and is great for dry patches such as the knees or elbows.

Of course, you'd pay more for quality, but that's not always the case. These three can be bought together for less than £5, now, that's a bargain! Not only do the smell great and are brilliant body scrubs, but they do look cute too! The bright, colourful colours would definitely catch my eye!

Will you be swapping your body scrubs for these high-street body scrubs?

* PR samples

The Perfume I Don't Want To Finish♥

Not often do I genuinely not want to finish a perfume. It's a rare occasion when I do eventually finish perfume, because I own quite a few and takes me some time to get through them. When I'm at the end of a perfume, I use it continuously to finish it, however, this perfume is an exception - I don't really want to finish it, just yet.

I remember going into Boots and smelling this. I instantly wanted it, but it came with quite a price tag. That was during January 2012, fast forward almost a year until Christmas of 2012 when I received this gorgeous perfume. Fair to say I was delighted to unwrap the paper and see Diesel Loverdose Eau De Parfum.

Surprisingly, it wasn't the packaging that I wanted the perfume for - a first! The purple, glass, heart-shaped bottle is very girly and feminine nonetheless. I keep this in the box it came in though, but if I had a makeup set up, I would most certainly keep this on display! It comes in three different sizes; 30ml, 50ml (which I have) and 75ml. The actual perfume itself? Let me begin..

Looking at the perfume bottle, you would except it to be deep, dark and quite mysterious. In fact, it's pretty much the opposite. It has notes of various fruits making it fruity, and is sweet yet not too sickly sweet. It's almost floral too. 

Top notes: Mandarin, Star Anise.
Heart notes: Vanilla, Gardenia, Jasmine.
Base notes: Liquorice Liqueur, Woods, Amber.

The staying power of this perfume is incredible. I can spray it at 9am and still smell it around 6pm. I spray it twice on my neck and once on my wrists. It's meant for you to feel bold, strong and confident.

I've owned this for around 2/3 years and the smell is still as strong and beautiful as when I got it. With perfumes, they can easily loose their scent but this one hasn't, which makes me love it even more. 

Why don't I want to finish it?

Simple - I just love it. It was one of my first designer perfumes, it's gorgeous and the staying power is fantastic. I would 100% recommend this and repurchase it!

Loverdose is available from all perfume stockists. 

30ml - £32

50ml - £42

75ml - £51 

Have you tried Loverdose? If so, what do you think of it?

Products I've Used Up♥

I haven't done an empties post in over a year. Since I came back from my holidays in July, I've finished up heaps of products, and it only made sense to keep them to then share them. I, myself, like empties because people can give their full, honest opinion on the products as they've completely finished them. 

Body Washes

I managed to finish up 8 body washes! Firstly is The Body Shop's Brazil Nut Shower Cream, it smells like caramel and leaves your skin feeling silky smooth. I also finished Soap and Glory's Sugar Crush Body Wash, it's brilliant to use as it's refreshing and smells like citrus. Next is The Body Shop's Japanese Cherry Blossom Shower Gel, it smells ever so fresh and floral! I emptied up the NIVEA Powerfruit Fresh Shower Gel, it's creamy, smells fruity and makes you feel more awake. I finished 3 LUSH shower gels; Hot Toddy which smells like cinnamon and is basically Christmas in a bottle, So White which smells like apple and makes me feel like Snow White and Snow Fairy which is one of LUSH's most loved Christmas products and reminds me of strawberry laces and bubblegum. The last body wash I finished is Soap and Glory's Clean Girls Body Wash, this is incredibly creamy and almost luxurious, and smells gorgeous.

Body Butters

My skin was dry after my holidays so I finished a lot of body butters. Firstly, I finished two of Soap and Glory's Righteous Butter; a mini and a full size. This stuff is pretty much a godsend! Continuing with Soap and Glory, I finished their Butter Yourself Body Butter which smells phenomenal, as well as finishing their Sugar Crush Body Buttercream, it smells the same as the body wash, and I love it! Next up, I scraped every last drop, The Body Shop Mango Body Butter, it's rich and creamy, and reminds me of a yoghurt (yummm..) as well as the The Body Shop Coconut Body Butter, which if you know me, I love coconut body butters so this was a hit with me. I finished the Sanctuary Spa Body Butter which I believe I finished last year, and it works wonders with dry skin. Lastly, I finished up the Ted Baker Body Souffle was creamy yet moisturised your skin thoroughly.

Body Lotions

As well as body butters, I went through a few body lotions. Firstly, I completely used up Dove's Visible Effects Body Lotion, this stuff I knew I'd love as soon as I got it, and I was right, it was brilliant! I tried to empty every single last drop from Ted Baker's London Regency Houses Body Lotion as it felt really hydrating on the skin. Soap and Glory's Righteous Butter Body Lotion was a real treat - it's pretty much the righteous butter except a lotion version! Finally, a little different, but I used up Soap and Glory's Heel Genius Foot Cream, it honestly does help smooth your heels and leaves them summer shoes ready (even though we're in A/W now..)

Body Scrubs

I take ages to finish a whole body scrub itself, but I finished my 2 favourites. Firstly, I finished up The Body Shop Raspberry Body Scrub. This stuff literally smells good enough to eat, although I don't suggest you do, because it isn't made to be ate.. Anyways, this scrubbed your skin gently, and left my skin both feeling and smelling gorgeous! My other finished body scrub is Soap and Glory's The Scrub Of Your Life. I've had numerous tubes of this as it's one of the best I've tried, and isn't too harsh on your skin. It's ideal in Winter as it helps improve dry patches of skin like a miracle.

Haircare

I was actually surprised with the amount of hair products I finished, and everything is Lee Stafford. Starting with basics, Lee Stafford Hair Growth Shampoo and Conditioner. I like these two in conjunction with one another as it leaves your hair in good condition. I used up two hair treatments; Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment which is an absolute miracle (read about it here) as well as the Lee Stafford Pre-Shampoo Treatment, this stuff helps your hair and makes sure it's in a good state. The Lee Stafford Glossing Blow Dry Gel is completely empty as I used it every time I dried my hair and it did live up to it's name leaving it shiny. I've finished to the last drop of Lee Stafford's Nourishing Miracle Oil as I applied it on the ends of my hair to leave them soft. Finally, I finished the Lee Stafford Original Dry Shampoo as it's a total life saver and helped out with many bad hair days!

Skincare

I didn't get through that many skincare products as a lot of them are relatively new. I finished up two face washes; the Skin Therapy Facial Wash was my morning face wash to freshen my skin and the Skin Therapy Tea Tree Facial Wash was my evening face wash to fully cleanse my face after the day. I finally finished my Boots Essentials Moisturiser, and if you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll know I've been a fan of this for ages, but now I've finished it, I think it might be time to try something else.

You can read last year's empties post here.

What have you been finishing up lately? Or have you tried anything I've finished?

Bargain Buys - Lipsticks♥

Every makeup brand does lipsticks, highend or drugstore, they're all out there and range from £1 upwards. Of course, we would all love to splurge every so often but really, who has enough money to buy a mac lipstick every month at £15.50 each? I've found some amazing bargain lipsticks cost less than £5. Interested? I bet you are!

MUA (Make Up Academy), a brand available from Superdrug. A lot of people tend to overlook this brand due to it's pricing (don't fear, I used to!) and don't look into it much. In fact, it's a great brand which offers extremely high quality for their prices. Seriously though, can we look at the packaging? It looks very sleek and in my opinion, quite professional! Best part of it? These beauties only cost £1, yes you read correctly, £1!

Left - Shade 2
Right - Shade 16 Nectar

You're probably thinking that they're only £1 so they're rubbish. Well, let me tell you, they are not at all. The colours look pigmented just looking at them. They are very, very creamy, which is a good thing as nobody likes dry lipsticks (well, at least I don't!) and being creamy means they glide on your lips easily. They're also comfortable on the lips, and are light to wear too - they don't feel heavy on the lips.

Some of the colours are dupes for high end lipsticks, and that's always an added bonus! There's a wide range of colours to choose from, so you can always buy a few as at £1 each, it won't break the bank! The finish of the lipsticks are quite glossy and the lasting power can last for a good few hours, depending whether or not you're eating or drinking. 

Personally, I would definitely pick these up as they aren't a disappointment, and for £1, you can't complain.

Ever tried these lipsticks? Will you be picking them up anytime soon?

Zoella Beauty♥

It's highly likely that you've heard about Zoella beauty, or at least Zoella herself. Last year, she released her own beauty range, and expanded it this Summer creating even more products for her line. You probably already know that it's no secret that I love perfumes, and when I knew she had body mists, course I wanted them! I got the "Blissful Mistful" from her original range at Christmas and bought the "Let's Spritz" from her newest range, Tutti Fruity, during the Summer.

The bottles look very girly and are great sitting among my perfume. The original range has more of a red, orange and white colour theme with polka dots but the "Tutti Fruity" range has a pink, purple and blue theme with lace. Personally, I prefer the "Tutti Fruity" body mist packaging and it has some of my favourite colours within it, plus I just think it looks a lot girlier.

"Blissful Mistful" is a light and floral body mist. Being a body mist, it's staying power isn't meant to be as good as perfume's staying power, so make sure to throw this in your bag! It's got quite a fruity note to it, which is noticeable when sprayed. However, be careful when spraying this; it is EXTREMELY strong! I can't even begin to explain how many times I've sprayed this body spray and choked on it, but, knowing me, I've probably sprayed too much!

Maybe it's just me, but I prefer this one. "Let's Spritz" is a fruity and sweet but not sickly scent. There is much more of a berry note to it, which I really do like. I feel this one is more Summer appropriate than "Blissful Mistful", and isn't as strong as the other one. However, the staying power of this one lasts longer than the other one, which I cannot understand, nonetheless, I am not complaining! 

If I was to repurchase one of these after finishing both, I think I would lean more towards "Let's Spritz". I do like the scent of "Blissful Mistful" but I feel like this one is more to my taste (If you aren't sure what perfumes I like, I have plenty of perfume posts!)

Which of Zoe's line do you prefer?