Antipodes Aura Manuka Honey Mask | Review

 Antipodes Aura Manuka Honey Mask £21.99

I had been dying to get my hands on this mask ever since Kate from Gh0st Parties mentioned it in a post of hers raving about what it had done for her skin. After living in Australia for a few years manuka honey is something i'm quite familiar as it's native to Australia's neighbour New Zealand. Manuka honey is famous for its healing, antiviral and anti bacterial properties making it a wonderful beneficial treat for your skin.  Antipodes have used a traditional Maori remedy which draws moisture to your skin, whilst the pohutukawa bloom contains natures finest antioxidants to cleanse and draw out impurities. The mask is contains fragrances of vanilla pod and mandarin which i think smells divine and i think the  subtly sweet honey scent also comes though and smells so natural. I usually use of this on thoroughly cleansed skin or after using a mask to draw everything out so my pores are unclogged so this mask will work its magic properly! This mask has left my skin feeling so plump and smoothed and my skin felt so nourished afterwards. This is one of my favourite masks and i've had it quite a while now and will definitely continue to repurchase once its finished!

Topshop Highlighter "Crescent Moon" | Review

Topshop Highlighter in "Crescent Moon" £10

After a long day at uni last year i decided to head on over to Oxford Street on my way home to perk myself up a tad! As we all probably know, the Oxford Street Topshop is a wondrous beacon of lovelyless which makes all that battling through the tube tunnels at rush hour on the tube very worth it! I of course, ended up in the make-up section which i have to say was something i have never been in that much of a hurry to explore (oh how that has changed). The only thing that seemed to grab my eye was this gorgeous highlighter with its equally lovely name "Crescent Moon". This shade is definitely more wearable for a variety of skin tones as opposed to Topshop's other shade "Sunbeam" which is suited to girls with a darker skin tone! I think this colour also blends into your skin naturally as it's a more subtle colour. I use this with my real techniques contour brush swept across my cheek bones, down my nose, cupids bow and chin. I think this gives a subtle glowy look and isn't too sparkly or shimmery, something which i'm not too keen on!

Have you tried any highlighters from Topshop?

Stila "In The Light" Eye Shadow Palette | Review

Stila "In The Light" Eye Shadow Palette £25

I finally gave in to my most wanted make-up item after Christmas and i can safely say i'll never go back! Now, i will be the fist one to say i am no eye makeup guru by a long shot, mostly sticking to cream eyeshadows which are minimal fuss! I'll take whatever is thrown my way that is easy to apply, with minimal effort involved, but makes me look like i have tried a little, you know? This Palette by Stila immediately caught my eye with its really wearable neutral colour range and it's easy on-the-go compact packaging. It seemed to be popping up everywhere on blogs and the shades seemed so perfect for everyday wear. The palette contains 6 shimmer shadows and 4 matte making everyday and evening eye makeup looks easy to achieve in the one palette. It seems that everyones favourite shade (and stills no.1 best seller) is "Kitten" (top row, second on the left) which is a lovely pink neutral shade, but my personal favourite has to be "Champagne" (bottom row, far left) which is a gorgeous shimmery champagne shade which seems to suit my skin tone more than "Kitten". The other shades are "Bare", a matte ivory, "Gilded Gold" which is a bronzey brown shade, "Bliss" which is a matte mink colour, "Luster" a dark aubergine colour with gold shimmer, "Sunset" a shimmery bronze pink, "Night Sky" is a blue shimmer, "Sandstone"a matte brown shade and "Ebony" which is a matte black. The colours apply very smoothly and are very soft, pigmented and creamy. The palette also comes with a Stila Smudge Stick in shade Damsel (a matte chocolate brown) which retails on its own for £13!

A swatch of my favourite shade "Champagne".

Overall, i think this palette is brilliant value for money as you get 10 lovely quality shadows in wearable shades and an eyeliner to boot! I think this palette would be a perfect addition to anyones makeup collection as it's so versatile and can see this lasting me a lonnnnnng time!

Have you tried any Stila products or their eye shadow palettes?

Mini Haul | Boots

La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo £13 | Una Brennan Neroli Firming Mask £7.33 | Dr Jart Water Fuse BB Cream £12 |

This is my (very) mini haul that i received yesterday through the post! Whilst shopping in Nottingham a last week, i spotted a few bits i'd been meaning to pick up in Boots but ended up getting some Clarins bits instead, and luckily so! I happened to be on the boots website a few days ago and noticed loads of offers on products that they don't have on in store itself, so i snapped myself up some bargains (or two in fact). Both the famous Dr Jart BB cream and the Una Brennan Firming mask had a a distinct price difference to that in store, with the BB cream being reduced to £12 from £18 and the Firming mask was down from £10.99 to £7.33! Dontcha just love a good bargain? I've just checked, and these offers are still running now, so if you had a few of these items on your  wish list go get them now! I shall do a far more in depth review soon but i tried to Firming mask and the Effaclar duo last night and so far i'm liking the results! The mask made my face tingle and left it lovely and plump afterwards, so looking forward to using that again!

Have you discovered any juicy bargains recently?

Products I've Been Loving | Top 5

Hello everyone! This is my very first attempt at a favourites post and i thought it was a tad over due as there has been so many products i've been going barmy for these past couple of weeks! I've been loving even more than this but i've narrowed it down to my top 5 so as to not ramble on (and to save some more for later!) Also, absolutely adore my background on these images which is my brand new dress from Zara which i purchased a couple of days ago! Absolutely in love with the print and though i'd make the most of it in my post today and manage to worm it into my post somehow! 

Origins Ginger Souffle £23

My first favourite is my recently purchased Ginger Souffle Whipped Body Cream by Origins. I had read a few reviews on this and was totally drawn in by the sound of the scent. I'm quite picky with scents and despise anything too sickly sweet or girly, opting for more spicy, woody scents instead. So (as you have probably guessed) this smells of ginger! Now, whilst that might sound strange with ginger being used outside your kitchen, i think the scent is subtle as it's combined with a light lemon, lime and bergamot notes. I personally think the ginger comes through quite a lot which i like, though it might be too much for some! I would definitely re-purchase this, as i've fallen utterly in love with it's unusual scent and look forward to using this everyday!

Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner £20 | Origins 10 Minute Rescue Out Of Trouble Face Mask £20

My skin had most definitely been playing up recently with a few blemishes here and there and so out came my trust Origins face mask! I'm sure you've all heard of this and those that haven't, please go buy it! I find this really does "rescue" my skin like no other product has before. It contains Zinc Oxide and Sulfur and Camphor which aim to refine rough texture of skin, absorb excess oil and get rid of any dead skin cells! I'll be sure to do a more in depth review on this soon as it's my favourite mask of the moment! This Clarins toner is a recent addition to my skincare regime and one i've only been getting into the past couple of nights. After only a few applications of this my skin has been so much smoother than normal and it's even begun to even our my skin tone already. You simply apply to a cotton pad and swipe all over your freshly cleansed face and leave it to work it's magic. I'm really excited to continue seeing the results of this after more use.

Origins High Potency Night-A-Mins Renewal Cream £33 | Trilogy Rosehip Oil £14.50

These two final favourites are two i've been loving combined together! After cleansing with my Origins Frothy Face Wash at night i apply the Trilogy Rosehip Oil, just two drops, and work it into my skin. After it has sunk in i apply my Origins Night-A-Mins. The two together feel just amazing and like i'm giving my skin such a treat every night. My skin looks so fresh and plump in the morning after using these two together, feel like i've struck gold with this combo!

I must apologise for the Origins heavy post! It's a brand i really enjoy using and can rely on for good, natural skincare that i know works! I recently got my sister on the bandwagon too!