Make-Up, Manhattan & Marc

Sunday, 19 January 2014

Favourite Birchbox Products

I have been subscribed to Birchbox now for 4 months and I absolutely love it! It's a great way to try out new products and brands which you wouldn't necessarily use or know about - it's also great getting a little treat through the front door every month too! I have loved pretty much everything I've got from Birchbox so far so I am going to try and narrow it down to my favourite few...

Laura Mercier Long Lash Mascara

I love to wear this mascara in the daytime as it looks so natural, much more so than my Le Volume De Chanel one which I reviewed a few weeks ago . It really separates the lashes and coats every single one without ever clumping. The small thin wand is not what I usually like with a mascara however, this one is an exception - it is especially good for bottom lashes too. It has the usual sleek Laura Mercier packaging and I will definitely be buying a full sized one when I get round to it.

Philip Kingsley Hair Elasticizer

I only got this in this months box so have only tried it out once but on first impressions I really like it. It is a pre-shampoo treatment and I worked it into the ends of wet hair and left for 15 minutes before shampooing and conditioning as usual. I found it made my hair look and feel much nicer as well as leaving it tangle-free. I'm not sure if I will buy the full sized product as it is £28 which is a little on the pricey side, I'll see if I think its worth after using for about a month then decide.

Korres Citrus Showergel

I keep hearing about the brand Korres so I was really excited when I got a (very large) sample of this shower gel last month. I have used it a couple of times but I have decided to save the rest for when I go on holiday as it is the perfect size and it has a really fresh, holiday scent. It lathers up into a really creamy texture and leaves my skin feeling very clean, refreshed and moisturised. I am definitely going to try some other Korres products- can anybody suggest any good stockists?

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser in Nude

I am a massive fan of Laura Mercier and have been using her Silk Crème foundation for a while now and I have had my eye on this tinted moisturiser for a while. It is a really lightweight tinted moisturiser and the coverage can be built up really easily. It is perfect if you are having 'a good face day' and you just want something to even out your skin tone and add a little radiance. It also has SPF20 which is another plus. I will certainly buying a full sized one in the summer.

Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter

I have never heard of this brand before but I really like this highlighter pencil/crayon. I use it on my bottom waterline of my eyes to brighten and make them look wider but it is really multi-functional; it can be used on the brow bone, cheek bone, in the eye inner corner - basically anywhere you might want to highlight. The pencil is really soft so it doesn't scratch and it stays put for a really long time. It has definitely become a staple in my make up bag.

Are you subscribed to any beauty boxes, if so, what have been your favourite products?

p.s. thinking of subscribing to beauty boxes? Click here to see Sophie's review of Birchbox and Glossybox.

Sunday, 5 January 2014

2014!

Happy 2014! First of all I need to apologize for the complete Blogmas fail! As it got closer and closer to Christmas I was so busy I just didn't have the time to keep it up.

2013 has flown by, its had its ups and downs, visited some amazing places and I am looking forward to making 2014 even better. Here are some of 2013's biggest highlights for me:

I went to Dubai for the first time at Easter

In June I got to go to the races for the first time

I visited the Greek island of Santorini

I've had a couple of fun trips to London with my family

And I've had some the best times with my amazing friends

What have been your highlights of 2013, and what are you most looking forward to in 2014?

Thursday, 19 December 2013

Blogmas Day 19: Our Favourite Christmas Songs

Less than a week til Christmas!! Because we are in such a festive mood we thought we'd share our Christmas playlist....

1. Fairytale of New York - The Pogues

This is our all time favourite Christmas song! It's the first song we play on the 1st of December every year and it brings back so many Christmas memories.

2. All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey

Who doesn't love this Christmas classic? It's one of the first Christmas songs we can remember from when we were little and it still doesn't get old.

3. Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms

This always reminds us of Mean Girls and makes us want to put on Santa costumes and dance along. It's such a good sing along song too.

4. Baby It's Cold Outside - Zooey Deschanel and Leon Redbone

From the classic Christmas film Elf, (not technically a Christmas song) Baby It's Cold Outside makes us feel all festive. It's a great one to sing along to as well.

5. 8 Days of Christmas - Destiny's Child

We had to feature a bit of Beyonce on our Christmas playlist. This song might not be the most traditional Christmas song but we love it all the same.

What Christmas songs are on your playlist this year?

Wednesday, 18 December 2013

Blogmas Day 18: Christmas Presents To Ourselves!

Today we finally had a catch up in Manchester after not seeing each other for about a month because of University, we both decided to treat ourselves to a Christmas present to put under the tree for Christmas day! This is what we bought...

Jess
If you've seen some of the other posts of Blogmas you will see Jo Malone pop up a few times, I'm slightly obsessed with all her fragrances and candles at the minute so decided to treat myself to a small cologne. I couldn't decide between three scents: Peony & Blush Suede, English Pear & Freesia and Earl Grey & Cucumber. After a lot of deliberation and umming and ahhing I decided to get English Pear & Freesia. It smells fresh and fruity with notes of pear, freesia and patchouli.

Sophie
I've had a slight obsession with Nars makeup recently so my gift to myself is the Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien. I've had my eye on this lip pencil since August when we went to the Selfridges beauty event, where I purchased the Satin Lip Pencil in Yu. Although there were so many tempting shades to choose from when we were at the makeup counter, I decided to stick with this colour because I'd wanted it for so long. Rikugien is a gorgeous rosy pink shade with a slight shimmer when applied. I love the soft texture of these lip pencils because they apply so easily and this shade is especially buildable. I can't wait to use mine on Christmas Day.