L'OREAL: THE NUDES.

Quite a while ago, L'Oreal released a selection of colours by prestigious women that we all know and love - the likes of Julianne Moore, Jennifer Lopez, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, Eva Longoria, Blake Lively and a few others. There's been a few collections from these women - most notably, their 'nude' shades and their 'red' shades. I own three of their nude shades - Julianne's, Eva's and J-Lo's - and I have to admit that these are definitely some of my go-to nude lipsticks. 

First of all, Juliannes nude. Julianne has quite fair skin, so I was expecting a relatively pink toned, pale nude. At first swatch, its definitely pink toned - the pinkest of the three. It's quite sheer - but definitely buildable in colour, however I tend to wear this quite sheer as I don't really think I suit a heavily pigmented light pink lip. The longevity of these lipsticks is pretty good - especially when put onto hydrated lips - although these lipsticks are hydrating themselves. They don't dry out your lips or make them look dry at all.

Secondly, J-Lo's nude. Jennifer Lopez is probably Queen of the nude lip - it's pretty rare to see her in anything but a nude lip so I expected good things from this shade. Again - quite sheer, they all seem to be quite sheer but that's a good thing because they can be built up. Swatched on my hand - this is the brownest of the nudes which is why I picked it - since I was a little girl I've loved a brown lipstick as it's something my mum has always worn - that and I'm a 90's kid. I love the fact that you can imagine each of these lipsticks on the woman they're named after - this is such a J-Lo shade and looks somewhat glossy when it's on due to the finish of the lipstick.

Finally, Eva's nude. This is the one I've worn the most and that's because it's a brown shade with orangey undertones. It's extremely wearable and after Velvet Teddy by MAC, it's my second go-to nude lipstick. This is the most pigmented out of the three yet still sheer and buildable which is what I absolutely adore about these lipsticks - as much as I love when a lipstick involves one application and you're done for the day, I love that you can build up as much or as little colour as you want.

This line of lipsticks is such a good idea - I'm eager to try the different styles of red that are on offer from the same ladies. They're drugstore lipsticks too which means that they are easy to get hold of and affordable too!

Have you tried any lipsticks from this range? What ones do you own?

FAVOURITES: MARCH 15'.

I can't believe it's the end of March 2015. 2015! The past few years have gone so fast and I can't believe that in the next couple of months (around 8 weeks time) I would have finally finished my degree. It's amazing. So my March favourites, not all beauty favourites but obviously, the majority of them are:

Argan Oil. This is only a cheap one from the Pound Shop but it's lasted me forever. I apply to wet/damp hair to help get rid of knots and split ends and just make my hair a whole lot softer. This really is proof that you don't need to spend a small fortune to get a good product that works. This was £1 and I really don't think I'll be purchasing anything else.

MAC Subculture Lipliner. Again - this was in last months favourites and I really don't need to say anything else.

Naked Lips lip balm in Superfruits. This is blueberry, acai, goji, baobab and pomegranate flavour - it tastes amazing and keeps my every dry lips hydrated for ages. I even use this over my lipsticks to keep my lips hydrates (lipsticks tend to dry them out) and to make my lipstick last longer.

L'Oreal True Match Foundation. After testing for the month I've really become a fan of this stuff - I don't want to repeat myself so you can read more about that one here.

Burberry Weekend Perfume. This really takes me back, I've been wearing this perfume for years and years - I actually think it was my first ever 'big girl' perfume I was bought. It's a really relaxing, floral and fruity fragrance - perfect for day to day wear. Which reminds me, I'm running out - should really repurchase.

Game of Thrones. Can we just.. for a minute. I'm a real girls girl and I love girls junk TV, until I found Game of Thrones. Simon and I have been binge watching this month and we are in love with it! I have a huge girl crush on Daenarys Targaryen - seriously!? If I could just look like that girl I'd be happy for the rest of my life.

What are your favourites for this month?

L'OREAL: REALLY A TRUE MATCH?

The L'oreal True Match foundation is something beauty bloggers, YouTubers, make-up artists have been raving about for a long long time, and because of this I've always had the urge to try it. It claims to be super blendable and match skin colour and texture, improving the appearance of skin quality.

I got the shade W3/Golden Beige and it's a really good match - it's a water based foundation so when you pump the foundation out it can be quite watery. Admittedly at first, I hated this foundation - yes, the colour was a good match and it was a good consistency but it was just horrible - it wasn't 'super blendable' as it claimed to be, it didn't even blend nicely when it eventually blended and ended up being a really really light coverage - which just isn't for me. I love a medium-full coverage and this hadn't proven to be that unless I used a lot of it. It just didn't do what it claimed to do, and I was super disappointed.

I decided to put it away and try again a little bit later, and I don't know what it did but all of a sudden it blended well, it was a better coverage (still not full enough but something I could work with without having to use a whole bottle on my face) and it stayed put all day. It looked really nice and I loved the texture and flawless finish it gave my skin. I've ended up using it a lot actually - I kind of appreciate the fact that we didn't get along at first. I always use a Real Techniques buffing brush for my foundation, and it works really well with this foundation - especially when I use the Body Shop Instablur primer.

I'd definitely recommend this, but don't give up on it straight away! Try it, try it with different brushes, different primers and I guarantee you'll find that it works for you.

Have you tried this foundation? What did you think?

BARRY M SHOWGIRL MASCARAS.

When I saw the Barry M Showgirl mascaras I completely fell in love with the packaging - a silver metallic tube, and a metallic pink tube, depending on the mascara you choose. Of course, I had to have both. I've never really used Barry M make-up, only the nail polish so I was a little reluctant to try mascaras from a brand I'd never tried.

First, the silver tube - Extra Lengthening Black Showgirl Mascara, it has a regular oval shaped head on the wand which was something I'm used to seeing - the short spikes on the wand coat all of your lashes well, and they definitely create a lengthening effect on your eyelashes. It stays all day, and although not particularly holding a curl well, they don't make your lashes completely flat. I love the doe-eyed really girly long lashed look, which this mascara is brilliant for, especially if you're on a budget.

The pink tube is Extra Volume Black Showgirl Mascara, with a fatter wand, that slightly curves. The spikes on the wand are longer and thicker - reminiscent of the type of lashes that this mascara should give you. Don't get me wrong, this doesn't give you full fat lashes like my favourite Masquara would (read about it here), however again, for a budget it does a pretty good job and you can definitely see a difference when it comes to volume.

These two mascaras are amazing for the price, and although not my favourite, I definitely wouldn't stray from a real make-up purchase from Barry M. They work well together, and they work well separately - definitely a good buy!

Have you tried Barry M make-up? Do you have any recommendations?

I LOVE BIORÉ.

I've been on a skincare hunt for a long time now - my skins been irritable and annoying for ages, I keep getting spotty and then when it clears up something else just rears its ugly head at me and brings my skin back down. I'm not sure what it is, but I've been trying a variety of different cleansers to see what it really is. I've tried Simple, Garnier, Neutrogena and even Benefit (probably the only cleanser to have cleared my skin, but will also clear my bank account too!) After experimenting with various different cleansers and styles of cleanser, I've stumbled across the Bioré Deep Pore Charcoal Cleanser and I've officially fallen head over heels in love with it.

I purchased the Bioré cleanser for £4.99 from Boots, and I've used it morning and night and it's really, really helped to clear up my skin well. The charcoal within the product helps to draw out the dirt and impurities from your skin and essentially help to reduce spots and redness from the flaws in your skin. Once I've used it, it really makes my skin tingle - some people may not like this before bed and will perhaps prefer to only use this as a morning cleanser, however I've chosen to use it morning and night so that I'm able to fully cleanse my skin.

I tend to use one pump in my hands, rub them together to lather the product up and then rub over my face. I always wash off using a flannel as I really hate splashing water on my face, but I also like the feeling of scrubbing off a cleanser with a hot flannel as it helps to get rid of any excess dead skin cells and almost act as a really gentle exfoliant.

Have you used any Bioré products?

AVON CLEARSKIN: BLEMISH CLEARING TINTED MOISTURISER.

My skin is extremely problematic, especially lately. I have an electronic face brush that seems to just make my skin worse so I wanted something that could provide me with a little coverage yet still help my skin. I've been relying heavily on witch hazel and I wanted something else. Mum threw me the Avon book as she usually does, and I found the Avon Clearskin collection, and they offered a Blemish Clearing Tinted Moisturiser. It's oil free, and contains 1.5% Salicylic acid, which helps reduce spots and clear your skin. I had to try it, and at around £3/4 it was a bargain!

I chose the shade fair as there were only two shades and the fairer seemed closer to my skin tone. It's a relatively small bottle but a little really goes a long way, and it smells so good! It does have good coverage, but it began to cake around the dry (eww) patches around spots by the end of the day, making my skin actually look worse than it was.

Admittedly, I probably haven't given it a fair enough go to test whether the salicylic acid in it actually works - although it didn't make my skin worse - which I guess is better than nothing. Now that my skins clearing up (thanks to Biore - probably be seeing a blog post on them soon) I'll more than likely give this another go soon!

Do you have any skin clearing tips?

A DAY IN THE LIFE: UNIVERSITY EDITION.

I thought I'd write my first 'lifestyle' post as 'a day in the life' post, the written equivalent of a vlog I guess. I'm a final year Performing Arts student at university - admittedly I only take three modules, so there are only three lectures a week, but lots of extra rehearsals coming up to assessment. Second term actually works out to be the busiest in terms of assessments and rehearsals! I usually travel to university on a Tuesday and stay over with my boyfriend until Friday, so you won't get any boring train related talk from me today.

So, Fridays. I wake up around 7:30 to be able to shower, get ready and kind of wake up ready for the day. Si has a kind of 'wet room' in his bathroom where his shower is, which I love. It's actually my favourite part of his house! I jump in there, wake myself up in the shower, wash my face (I've been using the Biore Charcoal Cleanser which makes your face tingle which is really good for mornings) and brush my teeth before going back to the bedroom to get dressed.

It's quite sad, but I plan my outfits before I get to Simon's so that I pack the right amount of clothes, rather than not enough or vice versa. I put on whatever I've got with me for that day, and that's when the battle for the mirror begins - I usually get halfway through my hair and Simon gets out of the shower and takes up the mirror to dry his hair! At least we can have fun in the mornings! I eventually get my hair done, I usually just use my GHD's to straighten it, and then I move on to make-up.

I've begun to wear less make-up to university on a Friday, purely because in Vocal Studies (one of the modules I take) we often touch our faces a lot which rubs my make-up off! The less of it I wear, the less there is to rub off - LOGIC! You can see what I packed this week in terms of make-up here, but this morning I just wore my foundation, I bronzed up my face, filled in my eyebrows, put a little colour in the crease, put on some mascara and lip balm (at the moment I'm using the Royal Apothic Tintie in Coral. You can read about that here) and I was ready for the day.. Nice and simple!

The last thing I do before we head off to uni (Si is in my first lecture) is make sure I have everything in my bag - especially my student card, a notepad and pen (yes, I'm old fashioned), and my sheet music folder.

First lecture on a Friday is Stage Management where we've been given a Stage Management team to lead for a specific event/night of events. This is pretty good if you have are organisation/management oriented. We're working towards our events at the moment - some have passed, some are coming up, so we were basically running through what we've been doing, and what we need to do to ensure the night runs smoothly.

Next up is Vocal Studies; which in regular terms is a singing class. Again, we're working towards an assessment which is in two weeks time. We have two ensemble pieces and two solos to work on.. We basically spent the whole four hours practicing and critiquing other groups. We then worked on our solos - I was naughty and decided to change mine, but I was also feeling under the weather so wasn't able to sing properly :(!

After that, I headed through town and back to Simon's house to pack my stuff where we drove home! All in all, this is my busiest day of the week, and even so it's not really that busy.

INSIDE MY MAKE UP BAG #1.

At the moment university is pretty hectic, so I stay at my boyfriends (who lives down the road from the university) from Tuesday-Friday. I pack a small case - sometimes I get away with a backpack but with the amount of stuff I have to transport, a case is easier - jump on the train, and off I go.

I usually know what's going on that week - lectures, rehearsals, and meetings - but sometimes there are impromptu nights out or other plans that I didn't know about, so I always make sure I have the right variety of make-up with me for that week.

This week I've gone pretty light with what I've packed make-up wise. I don't intend on going out but I know I can manage with what I've got; I've packed The Body Shop InstaBlur primer, really good for filling in pores and lines. I used to have the Maybelline Baby Skin primer of a similar nature but it made me break out really badly. I've replaced with this, which is really good for my sensitive, spot prone skin.

Next up I have the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation - I fake tanned last night so this matches perfectly. I love the texture and the finish of this foundation, I've found a lot of Rimmel foundations can be quite orange but this is perfect for me. 

For concealer, I've got the MAC Mineralise concealer, which is my favourite for under eyes. I've got the Pro Longwear but I haven't got used to that yet. This is much lighter to wear under the eyes and doesn't settle into fine lines or pores. 

I use the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in medium brown almost every single day, so putting it in my make-up bag is a necessity. I really want to get back into using the Dipbrow Pomade however it seems pretty dry at the moment, when I've fixed that maybe I'll give that another try. 

Powder wise I have the MAC Select Sheer Cover pressed powder, I feel like it's not too heavy on my skin and is not a powder foundation, just a setting powder. 

I haven't packed a blush, just contour and that's the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit where I can wear the shade Java. I also use the Banana shade of this to set concealer and the Sand or Vanilla to highlight; without being too obvious, the palette is a really good all rounder. 

For eyes I've packed the Make Up Revolution Iconic 1 palette - a good dupe for the Urban Decay Naked palette. I like to use a taupe shade through the crease and then use a glittery shade on the lid and a lighter shade to highlight. The quality of this palette is amazing considering its £4! The colour payoff is incredible and lasts all day. 

I've packed the Benefit Roller Lash mascara, which I've just finished writing a post on! Really good at lengthening and separating whilst really holding a curl. I can see this becoming one of my favourite mascaras ever! 

I've packed a regular black kohl liner to tight line, and the Soap And Glory Supercat Liner for a liquid liner. I love the formula of this, it glides on so easy and the pen format makes it so easy to apply.  I just wish it was waterproof! 

Finally, for lips I've packed an Avon lipstick which is a light pink shade (the name has rubbed off). I love Avon lipsticks purely for how sheer yet pigmented they are. I don't like really pigmented pink lipsticks because they don't particularly look natural. I prefer more sheeny ones, hence why this is one of my favourite pinks. I've paired this with a Soap and Glory Sexy Motherpucker Lipgloss too, I love these lipglosses and the fact that they stay on all day without having really needing to reapply.

That's everything I've packed this week! What's in your make-up bag?

BENEFIT ROLLER LASH.

When I heard that Benefit were releasing a new mascara called Roller Lash, I was so excited, even more so when I heard they were giving out samples with the latest Elle magazine. My brothers girlfriend works in a magazine warehouse so I text her the second I heard to get her to pick it up for me!

I tried the Roller Lash mascara almost instantly and I loved the results. It's got a small plastic curved wand with spikes of varying length all over. This means that each bristle can latch onto smaller or longer lashes which is brilliant.

It's extreme black formula lengthens and separates whilst creating a gorgeous set of curled lashes - of course, I curl my lashes before using the mascara but it seems to hold its curl really well. The mascara, like They're Real (read about that one here) is long lasting, has cute packaging and all in all is a good all-rounder.

I'll definitely be purchasing the full size when this has run out!

Have you tried Benefit's Roller Lash? What did you think?

FAVOURITES #1: FEBRUARY.

This is my first monthly favourites post; and although there aren't many, all of my favourites are things I've been using solidly all month - pretty much on a daily basis.

First up - Zoella Beauty Soak Opera Bath and Shower Gel. I'm much more of a showerer so this is a shower gel as opposed to a bubble bath for me- but I love the smell of this and the way it leaves my skin feeling after a shower. I also love the really cute girly packaging!

Next up is the Olay Regenerist Facial Brush - similar concept to the Magnitone and the Clarisonic, besides the fact that the brush just rotates rather than vibrating too. I have seen a noticable difference in my skin since I've started using this, however I'm now on the hunt for a better cleanser to use with it because I've recently run out. This is well worth the money (I paid £26.99 but I think it's usually between £30-35.00) if you're looking at testing a facial brush rather than jumping straight in and paying big money for it. I've been trying to use it every day purely because my skin is so blemish prone but I forgot to pack it last week :( Silly me! Back to using it every day as of now..

My favourite lip combo for February has been MAC Subculture lipliner paired with MAC Velvet Teddy lipstick, I've always loved a nude/brown lip and I think thats because it's a similar to the shade of lipstick my Mum has always worn since I was a little girl. My friend very kindly brought these back with her from America so that I could save some money. I've used subculture practically every day since, and Velvet Teddy has been my go to nude shade ever since then.

I received a sample of Benefit's new Roller Lash mascara, which I absolutely adore. I love how different it is to They're Real (which you can read about here). It has the perfect mix of lengthening and separating the lashes, I love the packaging too. I'm definitely interested in purchasing the full size product once I've run out of this.

I've recently got my hair cut - about five inches taken off. It's much more of a blunt cut now which I'm loving, it's much different to how I've usually had it cut. It's much easier to manage now that it's had a significant amount cut off and been thinned out too. Since I've had it cut I've been loving wearing beanie hats too - I have a really cute grey one with diamonds around the edge, from George @ Asda which is my favourite at the minute.

Finally, I've been loving blogging in February. Admittedly I've only recently got back into the swing of things but I've been posting almost every day. Something which I aim to do from now.

What were your favourites in February?

THE CUTEST LIP BALM IN THE WORLD.

In the February Glossybox I received the cutest lip balm I've ever seen in my life. The Royal Apothic Tinties Lip Butter in the shade Coral. It's gorgeous, it's so moisturising and comes in the best packaging ever.

The thing I love about Glossybox is that a lot of the brands are smaller, more unknown brands that if you saw in the shop maybe you wouldn't pick up because you hadn't heard of.

The Tintie (cutest name ever!) comes in a tiny glass pot with a rose gold lid - looks very similar to a small apothecary jar. I've only used it a couple of times but it's so moisturising and hydrating - and no wonder when it's made from Argan Oil, Grape Seed Oil, Sweet Almond Oil and Shea Butter. The Tintie automatically adds a small sheen of 'your-lips-but-better'coral colour to your lips. I wore it to work today and it stays put for such a long time. The only downfall is that you have to put your finger in the jar, something I don't really like with lip butters. The packaging makes up for that though.

Have you tried the Royal Apothic Tinties Lip Butter? What did you think?

ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS CONTOUR KIT.

I've been meaning to post about this for months. I've had this item since September and used it near enough every single day. The Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit has been, and continues to be one of the most talked about products on the internet. YouTubers, bloggers, make-up artists; you name it, they're talking about it. Since it's release in 2014, everyone and their mothers have started to release contour kits of their own, but none of them come remotely close to this one.

I purchased this directly from the Anastasia Beverly Hills website and got it shipped from the USA, this was because it was sold out on Cult Beauty and not expected to be restocked until January 2015! I placed an order for this alongside the Brow Wiz and the Dipbrow Pomade - both in medium brown - and impatiently waited just under two weeks for it's arrival.

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit consists of three contour shades - Java, Fawn and Havana, and three highlight shades - Sand, Banana and Vanilla. Each suited to different skin tones and all multi-functional (I quite often double this up as an eyeshadow palette). All of the shades are extremely pigmented and last all day.

I mainly use the shade Java as a contour as I find it suits my skin tone the best but sometimes I switch it up and use Fawn to create much more of a shadow as opposed to a more 'bronzed' contour.  I always always always use the Banana shade to set my undereye concealer and concealer on any high points of my face as I feel that this looks better than a regular powder. The other two highlight shades are pretty, but not enough for me so I like to stick with my Mary-Lou Manizer by The Balm.

Other than that - this contour kit is amazing. It's the best investment I've made. Even better than that is the fact that Anastasia Beverly Hills stock replacement pans for this palette so when one runs out - you can replace that one rather than the entire palette. They also sell different shades so the palette is completely customisable when you purchase it.

Have you tried any other contour kits? What did you think?