October Favourites

I don't really have too many favourites this month as I've been mostly sticking to a makeup routine! School is majorly stressful at the moment, so I'd much rather get the extra 15 minutes of sleep. Basically since my skin has been a bit shit this month (thanks, stress. Also probably diet, oops), I've been focusing on attempting to make it look nice and not worrying about eyeshadow, etc. Every now and again I'll throw on my Lazy Girl Red Lip Edit, but mostly it's been these few products.

I got the Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser earlier in the month and basically instantly fell in love. I'm describing it as clouds in a bottle. It's a pH-balanced super creamy gel formula and may be the best cleanser I've ever used. You can use it as a morning and evening cleanser, and it freakin' removes makeup. Aka a miracle. And yes, it really does remove makeup, everything I have on my face but waterproof mascara (which I never subject my poor lashes to). It uses the same cleansing agents as contact lens solution, so it's super gentle on your eyes. I've definitely seen a marked improvement in the rest of my skin (only my chin/jaw has been freaking out), so I'm pretty obsessed with this. I recently was sent the NUXE Melting Cleaning Gel with Rose Petals* and I've been loving it so much as a second-cleanser I had to let you know. Apparently rose petals help calm redness and boost moisture. I haven't done any research into this, but I HAVE noticed a lot of reduced redness. It emulsifies into a milky-gel texture (hey, Milky Jelly rounds two) and leaves my skin feeling clean but not stripped.

Alright, I think I've waffled on about cleanser for long enough, I've been loving the NUXE Huile Prodigieuse*as well. I've already written a post here, but recently I've started using it at night after toning on my face and omg. Waking up in the morning my skin is hydrated and smooth, but not oily! I'm assuming this is because it's a dry oil, but I'm seeing this being a lifesaver in the winter. For base, I've mostly been sticking to the Glossier Skin Tint in light which is quite surprising. When Glossier first launched, I had zero interest in this as I'm totally not someone with nice enough skin to go almost bare-faced. But I decided to go ahead and get it with some store-credit because why not? Well I'm pretty much kicking myself that I didn't order it sooner because I'm in love. This is a pretty much imperceptible tint that somehow just evens out your skin and makes it look gorg. It definitely covers nothing but some redness, so I have to conceal over my acne (rolls eyes) but my skin looks so nice I don't even care about the extra step. Glossier somehow always makes magic products (ps if you want 20% off your first order, click here!).

If I'm not feeling extra concealing and my skin looks particularly rough, I reach for the Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation. It's been my go-to for quite a while, but now that the sweltering heat is lifting I've been reaching for it a lot more. There's an in-depth post all about this here. I'm always a brow person. I don't think I'll ever get to the point where I just go with some gel (unless my brows become extra thick one day). I've actually been switching back and forth between the ABH Brow Wiz and DipBrow, but the DipBrow seems to be winning! I'm just into quite a thick, statement brow again and this makes it super easy to achieve that look!

What have you guys been loving this month? Let me know!
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*Products in this post have been sent to me for consideration, I am not being compensated for this post and as always all opinions are my own.

The Beigey-Pink Lip Edit

As winter approaches (yay!) and I get even paler (how is that even possible?) I find that I need a bit of lipstick to make me look not-dead. Generally, I cba with lipsticks because they require upkeep and I definitely don't have time for that. Unless it's NARS Cruella. Anyway, SOMETIMES I just need a lil' colour and these are those lipsticks I reach for!

I've talked about the Clinique Pop Lipsticks before here, and Beige Pop is the one I reach for on the most frequent basis. It's a pretty pinky-nude in a lovely creamy formula (you can see lip swatches in the post mentioned above). It wears really well, meaning I don't have to worry about it looking crazy throughout the day which is the goal! MAC Blankety is probably my favourite every-day lipstick. It's a soft pink-beige (the descriptions aren't getting any better) in an Amplified finish. I'm usually not a huge fan of the Amplified lipsticks, but in this nude colour I love it. The texture is quite hydrating so it looks lovely on the lips! Last but not least is Bobbi Brown's Creamy Lip Colour in Pale Mauve. This one is a little cooler than the others, and a little more sheer making it really easy for on the go. I'll throw this in my purse and (maybe) reapply later in the day.

Another lazy makeup post from me, what a shocker! Hehe, what are your favourite every-day lipsticks? I promise I'll try to start actually wearing makeup once it cools down!
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Meet Amelia

If you know me, you know I'm an Into the Gloss addict (who isn't?). I check the website far too many times a day. Slightly embarrassing facts aside, I LOVE reading their "Meet the Team" posts. They're really fun and it's cool to know more about the writers I love and the rest of the team who aren't often featured. I realized I've never really introduced myself to you guys, or told you about my interests outside of makeup so I'm ripping off their idea today. In actuality, the photographs for my post today turned out to be an absolute fail so I'm diverting you from that issue. Onwards!

Where are you from?
I'm originally from Norfolk in England. Specifically Dersingham, but we moved around quite a lot. I currently live in the southeast of the US which is vastly different. I've been here for 14 years and am very ready to get out of this humidity!

Which emoji represents you?
Easily the lil' guy with the glasses. That's what I look like 99% of the time. Also if there was an emoji that was falling over it'd be more accurate. I'd love to say I'm extraordinarily graceful, but in fact I have extreme vertigo and fall all over the place.

Current favourite song?
I listen to various versions of Clair de Lune when walking to class, but my favourite normal-person song right now is Third Eye Blind "How's It Going to Be." It comes on my playlists alllll the time and I love it. I suppose this isn't really a "normal-person" choice considering it's almost as old as me, but I love late 90's stuff.

Which five products can you not live without?
I literally have no idea how people answer this question but if I HAD to answer I'd say Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation, Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz, L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black Mascara, Glossier Balm Dot Com, and Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser.

What are you currently inspired by?
Blog wise, I'm super into Paula from Thirteen Thoughts at the moment. Her photography is gorgeous and her posts are really informative. Life wise, Emily Weiss is my role model of the moment. Her work ethic is absolutely insane.

Favourite book?
I could never say anything other than the Harry Potter series. My dad started reading them to us at bedtime when I was like four, so I've really grown up with them. And I've re-read them an alarming number of times. I'm also a big fan of Madeleine L'Engle and 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.'

What are you studying in school?
I'm getting a Bachelor of Fine Arts with my concentration being Graphic Design. Ideally I'd get a degree in working for Vogue or ITG, but alas that's not a thing yet. I enjoy graphic design, but I definitely don't want to work for an ad agency like most of my classmates do. I'd LOVE to work in product development for cosmetics or skincare. I'm super interested in the science behind makeup, but I don't think I'm quite smart enough to get through a biochem degree (lol) so we'll see if design thinking can be a tool here!

First thing you do in the morning?
Hit the snooze button on my alarm 5 million times, then look at Instagram, delete my spam emails, then rush to get ready in 5 minutes even though I gave myself an hour.

I'd love if everyone would answer these questions in the comments! Or tell me a bit about yourself, I see the same commenters all the time and that makes me happy, but I wanna know you! Also, to my bloggy friends, do something similar if you haven't already!
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The Lazy Girl Red Lip Edit

This month (in case you haven't noticed) I've been super lazy with my makeup. Part of this is because I've gone back to staying up all night working on projects and waking up early for class. Anywho, even though I've been lazy, every now and again I've had to actually look put together. On these days I generally use this go-to lazy girl red lip so I thought I'd walk you through the products I've been using.

When wearing a red lip, you generally want pretty perfected skin because a bold lip draws quite a bit of attention to your face. I've been using the Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer recently and I am obsessed. It's a pretty full coverage base that makes your skin look like PERFECT skin, but feels super lightweight. It's got a weird giant doe-foot applicator that makes it super easy to spot concealer (although not super hygienic). It's great for lazy days when you 'need' to wear makeup, because it doubles up as concealer and stays put all day! I set it with a bit of the Bobbi Brown Sheer Finish Pressed Powder in my t-zone and I'm good to go. I highlight/contour/bronze as usual with my Inglot P395, Inglot Matte 360, and elf Bronzer Palette respectively.

For eyes, I've actually been wearing eye liner (shocker)! I'm digging the Parisian look, and I think I've quite gotten the hand of a cat eye. I've been using this L'Oreal Infallible Super Slim Eyeliner, which is pretty good (I'd be lying if I said I'd liked it as much as KVD Trooper). It's definitely not the blackest liquid liner, and if you have quite oily lids you might not like it, but there's something about it that makes it hard to mess up. My mascara weapon of choice when I'm in a rush is the Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara because it's both lengthening and volumizing and requires minimal effort. Brows as usual are the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Medium Brown and the Glossier Boy Brow. These two help give my brows some life but still look natural.

The NARS Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella is the matte red lip of your dreams. I absolutely adore it, if the tiny nub I have left isn't indication enough. It's a gorgeous blue-based red that's quite bright but leans a little bit burgundy. The pencil makes it super easy to apply, and I'll usually clean up the edges with a liner after (if I can be bothered). It also lasts literally ALL DAY. It doesn’t feel uncomfortable or dry, but still looks super duper matte on the lips. You know some matte lipsticks are still a little slippy? Not this. It’s like your lips have just temporarily changed colours. I love.

What's your go to look when you need to be put-together but aren't in the mood?
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NUXE Huile Prodigieuse

As we near the colder months my skin gets more and more dry, and nothing seems to help keep this at bay. The skin on my legs and arms get particularly dry and in the height of winter it can start to crack (gross). I've tried numerous products and while things like Nivea help keep my skin moisturized for a while, it'll always start to get dry again. Enter the NUXE Huile Prodigieuse. I was sent this king of multi-use products last week and I'm amazed by how much I've already seen a difference in my skin.

This is a dry oil multi-use product (France's leading dry oil oooo) full of reparative plant oils like macadamia, hazelnut, borage, sweet almond, camellia, and St. John's wort. It also contains Vitamin E which is extremely beneficial to skin as it has antioxidant properties which block free radicals. It's free of mineral oil and silicons, and a majority of the ingredients are naturally sourced. Apart from the dreamy formula, the packaging is also genius. I've used many a body oil in the past, but they're so messy I always just give up. This size has a spray cap (bloody genius) so you just spray it on and rub it in (lazy girls rejoice)! It's also liquidy so easy to blend in, but not so much so that it runs down your leg before you can get to it. I've already noticed that the skin on my legs is less dry when I get home at the end of the day. Usually all traces of moisture would have disappeared, but my skin still looks quite hydrated!

I've also been using it on my hair, and it looks healthy and shiny without being too heavy. I'm not super into hair products so I'm not one to really notice a huge difference, but it's easy to use the leftovers on my ends! I haven't yet braved putting this on my face, but as the temperature has finally dropped here in the south I think I will be. I'll update you in a future favourites post or on Instagram!

Have you guys tried this out, or anything else from NUXE? Let me know your thoughts! I love having a bit of the French Pharmecie with me, hehe.
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*Products mentioned in this post have been sent to me for consideration. I have not been compensated for this post and as always, all opinions are my own. 

Skin Smart 001: Hyaluronic Acid

Recently with my interest in skincare, I've been researching the science that goes into creating products and the benefits of specific ingredients. There aren't a lot of posts out there that aren't from medical journals or full of super technical jargon that you have to google mid-article (I'm no chemistry buff). I thought I'd start this new 'Skin Smart' series, to break down this info and make it a little easier to digest!

The first ingredient I want to talk about is Hyaluronic Acid, which has been a super-popular ingredient in skincare for a long time. First and foremost, forget about the term "acid." A lot of people at work start freaking out when I talk about HA, wondering why I want them to put acid on their skin. Hyaluronic Acid is different from typical acids like Glycolic which are meant to break down dead skin cells. HA is a polysaccharide (carbohydrate) that naturally occurs in your skin. While it is throughout your body, it's found in abundance in the space between skin cells and is a cushioning agent. The greatest thing about HA is that it has an amazing ability to retain moisture. We're talking one gram can hold up to six (SIX) litres of water (aka almost 1000 times its weight).  As we age, our skin loses the ability to retain moisture, which explains why babies have such soft skin. Those little suckers have a super high concentration of HA (not fair they don't even appreciate it).

This humectant superpower works to help your skin retain moisture by pulling water out of the air and into your skin. This also means you have to be careful when using it, if the HA can't find water in the air, it'll start pulling it out of the deeper layers of your skin. So if the air outside is dry, make sure you're properly moisturizing as well as using this! Recent studies also show that Hyaluronic Acid can help provide antioxidant defense against free radicals! This gets pretty technical, so I'll try my best to make it easy to understand. Basically, free radicals form when an unpaired electron steals an electron from another molecule (it was just lonely). This causes a chain reaction in molecules, and can wreak havoc on living tissue. Antioxidants help because they give their electrons to the lonely, un-bonded ones.

Hyaluronic Acid is found in a ton of products nowadays, so it's fairly easy to find. The first experience I ever had was with the Indeed Labs Hydraluron Serum. I love the stuff, but it has a pretty high concentration of HA so you have to be careful to moisturize well on top. My favourite product at the moment is the Glossier Super Bounce (who saw that coming?). It has a combination of HA and Vitamin B5, which helps regenerate skin layers, and feels much more hydrating when using it alone. Other popular products containing Hyaluronic Acid include Pixi's Glow Tonic and the Mario Badescu Hyaluronic Acid Eye Cream but there are tons out there, so get reading those ingredient labels!

I hope my waffling helped you guys understand Hyaluronic Acid and its properties a little more! Let me know if there's something specific you'd like me to talk about in the next edition!
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Best in Bases: Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation

Back to Bases (hehe) today. This is the Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation, which Bobbi describes as a long-wearing liquid foundation that delivers hydrating, comfortable, and undetectable coverage that looks like skin. It's a water-based foundation (my favourite kind), so it's pretty light and runny. The consistency is similar to the MAC Face and Body, but a little thicker. I would say it has a light to medium coverage. It's sheer, so you can wear it pretty lightly but it is buildable. I don't think you could get it past a medium coverage, which is probably not a downside if you're going for the natural look. This works wonders to even out skin-tone, but definitely won't conceal blemishes so you'll need an extra concealer (which I would suggest for any foundation). I love a water-based foundation because you can really buff and work it into the skin, making it blend in and look like you have naturally perfect skin.

The finish is a gorgeous dewy-satin that really does look like skin. It's not a foundation that sets down, so I set it with a powder otherwise it will transfer. While it's quite moveable, it somehow stays in place all day and looks better with wear (magic)! It's really sort of shocking how flawless your skin looks whilst wearing this. It evens and perfects, and somehow manages to minimize the look of pores, all whilst looking like you're wearing hardly anything on the skin. This foundation comes in a whopping THIRTY shades, so you're pretty much guaranteed to find a match. I use the shade Porcelain 0, which is a perfect match, but I can also get away with several of the Ivory shades. This does contain an SPF 15, which is an added bonus but if you know me I'm all about a dedicated SPF (aka a separate product).

This is definitely one of my all-time favourite everyday foundations! What are your favourite bases?
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Skincare Favourites

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you probably know that I'm a skincare addict. I have a drawer quite literally overflowing, but I also have a few products that I reach for more regularly so these are my favourites! Most of these I already have individual posts on, so I'll also include links to those if you'd like more in-depth information (I tend to get a bit carried away).

We all know I'm a major fan of Glossier, especially the Supers (post here). These are three super concentrated serums designed to act like supplements for your face. Glow for dull skin, Pure for stressed red skin, and Bounce for dehydrated skin. These allow you to change your routine based on the needs of your skin. I pretty much use Pure every night, but I'll switch out Glow and Bounce depending on whether my skin is dry or not. I recently got the Milky Jelly Cleanser and was debating whether or not I should put it in this post. But, after deciding it's the best cleanser I have ever used I had to include it. It's a creamy gel cleanser that Emily says is the thicker equivalent of a micellar water. It's cleansing solvent is the same thing you'd find in contact solution, so it's extremely gentle on your eyes. This baby somehow removes all of my makeup and leaves my skin feeling super clean and conditioned. Absolute love.

The NARS Cleansing Oil has apparently been discontinued and this makes me want to cry. I think it's been replaced by some kind of micellar water, but I use this almost like a massage oil so leave your cleansing oil faves in the comments for me! I use this around twice a week and massage it into my skin for several minutes to get a deep clean. This does work wonderfully to remove makeup, but I generally use it after the Milky Jelly Cleanser and there's nothing to remove! I bounce around between moisturizers a bit, but I always always come back to the Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream (talked about this in my Five Fab Moisturizers post). It's a fairly rich cream, but sinks into the skin quickly and leaves my skin feeling super hydrated. It also contains humectants that help pull water out of the air, keeping you moisturized all day! I do, however, generally use this one at night.

During the day if I use something other than Super Bounce, I'll use the Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base. I also talked about this one in the Five Fab Moisturizers post. It's specifically designed to be worn under makeup, and does a magical job at making your foundation look smooth and pristine. I love using this in the winter as it keeps my makeup from clinging to dry patches. I'm all about eye creams at the minute, and I think my holy grail has to be the Bobbi Brown Extra Eye Repair Cream (post here). This stuff is seriously heavy duty, incredibly rich and full of humectants, peptides, and natural plant oils. It's really super rich, so I stick to using this at night. I used to have those weird little bumps around my eyes, and this is the only thing that has made them go away!

I have a tonnnne of other products that I like to use (ie face masks), but these are the products I use on a really regular basis! What are your favourite skincare products?

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Best in Bases: Chanel Perfection Lumière Velvet

It's no secret that I'm a little bit obsessed with foundations, I can't seem to stop buying them. But there are several that I always come back to, so I thought I'd do a little 'Best in Bases' series talking about my favourites!

First up in the Chanel Perfection Lumière Velvet, an oldie but a goodie. Chanel describes it as a lightweight, oil-free fluid foundation that provides a long-lasting matte-velvet finish. It's a gorgeous lightweight foundation with medium coverage. It's sort of like one of those "dry oil" foundations, but much easier to blend into the skin. It's definitely a minimal-effort base, and one that I reach for on days that my skin looks quite bad but I'm being lazy. The medium coverage evens out my skin without looking heavy, but you'll need an extra concealer to cover blemishes, etc.

The matte-velvet finish is somehow both mattifying while still looking quite radiant (magic?). It has no discernible shimmer in it, so I'm not quite sure how they've made a matte(ish) foundation look so skin-like. As far as the texture goes, it's reaaaaally thin, almost watery. I use it with both a beautyblender and the Sigma f84 Kabuki, and I don't think I really have a preference. It's no fuss either way! That velvety finish is thanks to a powder content, so if you have dry skin definitely moisturize properly otherwise it'll cling to dry patches. If you have oilier skin, I would set it with a powder. With my combo skin, I generally just set my t-zone. The only thing I don't loooove about this  one is that there aren't any yellow-toned light shades. Although this is the case with all Chanel foundations as far as I've seen, they're quite pink.

I generally prefer my luxury foundations to have fancier packaging (bang for your buck, eh?), but I do love this lil' black rectangle so I'll let it slide. Also, how gorg are these tiles?? Shoutout to the tiling section at Lowe's! What are your favourite bases?
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Glossier Haul and First Impressions

Hello, loves! I thought I would do an extra little post this week since I've been MIA and show you some things I've picked up from Glossier! A few I've already tried or are repurchases, so I'll do a bit of a first impressions/review as well.

I placed this order originally to replace my Balm Dot Com and Boy Brow. We all know I love the Balm Dot Com with an unreal obsession, but it's the greatest lip balm ever. A fresh Boy Brow is basically the greatest, and today my brows look goooood. My only gripe with the Boy Brow is that I use it up too quickly! I finally picked up the Milky Jelly Cleanser (what the hell took me so long?!) and I'm already in love. My pump is unfortunately broken, but I used it straight from the bottle and it's a gorgeous jelly (duh) texture. It removed my makeup beautifully and felt so fresh. Emily says this is basically a jelly-version of a micellar water, and uses the same solvent as contact solution so it's super gentle!

I also picked up both of the masks (listen, people, don't judge me I had a moment). I tried out the Mega Greens Galaxy Pack last night and it was pretty interesting! It's a clay based mask, so I was expecting it to be quite smooth and dry down hard, but it's actually fairly hydrating and doesn't really dry down. This one is described as a juice cleanse for the face, which sounds like something I need because I'm a sugar addict. My skin felt super smooth after I washed it away, so I'm liking it so far! The Moisturizing Moon Mask is a hydrating and smoothing mask. It contains sweet almond oil and hyaluronic acid (YAY) so it packs a lot of punch in the moisture department. Very excited to try this one out! I also got the Logo G-Pin because it's just so blimmin' cute look at it.

As always if you want 20% of off your first order, you can use my affiliate link: here!

Have you guys picked anything from up from Glossier lately? They just came out with two new Gen-G shades so I need to get my hands on those!
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Primary Raw: 2Step Face Therapy

Hello my loves! I apologize for my brief hiatus, but I'm back! And today I'm telling you about this lil' sheet mask that saved my sick skin. I don't know about you guys, but after being sick, my skin gets really clogged and really dry. So, I use clarifying products, but I find it quite hard to keep my skin hydrated. I went into Sephora and picked up a few sheet masks (oops, what buying ban?) one of them being the Primary Raw DoYou 2Step Face Therapy. There's not a lot of talk about this on the internet so I thought I'd tell you my thoughts!

Apparently milk peeling is the biggest trend in Korea right now, and it's a two-step system consisting of a lactic acid swab, and a botanical infused sheet-mask. You can see in the picture, there's two little pockets in the mask. The first has a giant q-tip loaded with lactic acid which you apply all over your face, and then concentrate on areas like your forehead, nose, and chin. The mask part is a microfiber mask with soy milk and green tea. The lactic acid doesn't sting at all, UNLESS you have an open wound on your face. I had a little cut and it stung like a bitch, so be careful! It also doesn't smell wonderful, but it's not too strong. The mask smells beautiful, but is again not overwhelming just really pleasant. It's super silk and feels luxurious, and actually stays on your face (miracle). It says to pat the serum in after taking the mask off, but it felt a little sitcky so I rinsed a tiny bit. My skin feels AMAZING. It definitely looks brighter and hydrated, and until I start coughing my lungs out you probably wouldn't even know I was sick! My skin also feels smoother than ever, and as texture is one of my main skin concerns I'm loving it!

Have you guys tried any aqua or milk-peels? What's you favourite sheet mask? Let me know!

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MAC x Charlotte Olympia

Right, so we got shipment at work the other day (I work at a Cosmetics Company Store if you're new) and I may have forgotten that I'm supposed to be on a spending ban. Oops. But how was I supposed to resist this packaging?? Look at the boxes! Lil' lips and spiderwebs. Gorg. These are two of the MAC Charlotte Olympia Lipsticks, both of which are beautiful reds.

Leading Lady Red is a beautiful deep red with blue-pink undertones. This is quite a classic red, along the lines of Russian Red, but a touch deeper. MAC calls both of these matte, but I'm going with semi-matte as they aren't really dry at all (which I think is a good thing). Retro Rouge is a dark burgundy-brown red that is pretty much perfect for fall. It is, in fact, so beautiful that it may have become my new favourite dark red, sorry Sin. The packaging of the actual bullets are really lovely in person. I thought they'd be a cheapy plastic, but it's actually quite a heavy clear lucite.

I'm hoping we get more of this collection in, Charlotte Olympia is an absolute babe and so are all of the products she chose! Did you guys pick up anything from her collaboration?
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Autumn Nail Edit

It's fiiiiinally really really Autumn. It was 70 and breezy today, and this morning was 60 degrees! My happy lil self is getting all the coats out ready to wear. I thought today I'd show you guys my Autumn nail picks (from Essie because I'm obsessed) and see if you have any recommendations! I've been on the hunt for the perfect berry-burgundy forever, so comment your faves for me!

Topless & Barefoot isn't an autumn exclusive, but I do love the way it looks with an all black outfit. It's pretty much the perfect pinky-neutral that doesn't give you corpse hands. Chinchilly is a darker, granite grey that totally doesn't come across here. This picture is pretty overexposed because aesthetic, but it's really a medium cool-toned grey. Merino Cool is Chinchilly's darker, more mauve older sister. Its super chic older sister. I'm obsessed with this one.

Right, time for some colour! I love a good ol' dark green and Off Tropic is a gorgeous deep forest number. This is one of the best greens I've found that isn't too bright or so dark that it looks black. I suppose After School Boy Blazer isn't really all that colourful, but oh well. It's the darkest midnight blue you've ever seen. Mostly black in most lights, but a stunning blue in the sun!

What are your favourite polishes to wear this time of year?
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A New Neutral Palette

Since I'm attempting to be on a (makeup) spending ban this month, I've been shopping my stash a bit and trying to find things I haven't used in a while. I decided to depot some more of my MAC singles into a smaller palette that would be easy to take with me (buying an empty palette doesn't count, right?). I have two of the 12-pan MAC palettes, one I made myself and one pre-made, that are gorgeous but they're so bulky I rarely use them. Especially if I'm doing my makeup in the parking lot at school. This time I went for a 6-pan palette because 4 just isn't enough and set to melting some plastic.

I did have one casualty whilst depotting, because I was trying to watch Once Upon a Time whilst holding an eyeshadow over a flame with a pair of tweezers (stupid). Unfortunately it was my gorgeous Sable, so we'll see if the pigmentation has been compromised, I may have to break my ban to replace it. I'm going to walk you through the other shades in the palette, but as these are quite old some have been discontinued, but have no fear I've found some dupes!

First up is Bisque, which is one of the discontinued shades but remarkably similar to Brule. It's a neutral beige in a satin finish, but seems almost matte to me. I love this as a setting shade for primer because it has enough colour that it doesn't wash out whatever I put on top. It's also a bit darker than my skin so I can blend it all over my lid and pretend I put effort in! Next is Kid, also discontinued but very similar to Wedge, which is a medium beige-brown in a velvet finish. I also think this one looks quite matte, but with a creamier texture. That texture makes this a gorgeous blending colour for my skin! Texture is one of my favourite crease colours, it's a warm brown with a satin finish and blends out beautifully. It's got a bit of an orangey undertone, so it really brings out my green eyes when I put it all over the lid.

Swiss Chocolate is on of my all-time favourite eyeshadow colours. It's a matte warm brown, but without the orange undertones, and is the best lazy eyeshadow colour ever. You can blend this all over the lid and into the crease and it looks like you've put on several shadows. I love it! Poor Sable was dropped into candle wax, so you'll have to excuse its appearance. This is an absolutely gorgeous warm golden-bronze frost and a lovely lid colour. I was thinking about putting a dark matte brown as the final shade, but settled on Sketch instead. It's a dark plummy burgundy with a velvet finish that really makes my eyes pop. I thought this addition would be a bit more exciting than another brown!

Shopping my stash was really fun, so I might do a few more posts this month about products I've rediscovered! What products have you guys been giving some love lately?
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