Birchbox | February 2016

Hi lovelies!

So my February Birchbox came yesterday and I was super excited, I thought it would be nice to share what I got in mine! I'm also going to do this with the Glossybox when it comes. This months theme is "shine bright like a diamond" and the box is so pretty. I was a bit gutted that there wasn't a bit of a valentine's theme but it doesn't matter too much. Here's what I got inside..

Spectrum Collections Tapered Powder Brush: This was the first thing I pulled out because it caught my eye the most! I've actually tried this brush and it's perfect for applying highlighter. It's super soft and I love the colours. The original price is £7.99 which is more I paid for the box itself (I got 50% off with unidays student discount)

LOC One and Done Shadow Stick in Champagne Problems: I actually knew I would get this in the box because we had to choose which shade we wanted. I chose champagne problems because the other shade was a bit too gold and brassy for me, I prefer more subtle colours. The shade is gorgeous! This is actually Birchbox's own brand and I have to say I am really impressed. It says we can expect "up to 11 hours of creaseless, waterproof colour in one handy stick" and they're not wrong. I wore this out last night and it didn't move! I also swatched a little on my arm and it was still there when I woke up and only came off when I went in the shower this morning. The original price is £8.

Doux Me Comforting Face Mask & Exfoliator: This little sample has the cutest polka dot packaging! It can be used as a face mask or scrub which I think is really nice. The smell is absolutely gorgeous, it's a mix of apricot and marshmallow which is what the scrub is made from as well as camomile and rice powder. I was a bit worried at first because I have dry, sensitive skin so face scrubs can sometimes be too harsh but this one is so gentle. It didn't leave my skin feeling sore afterwards like most scrubs do, but still got rid of dry, dead skin on my face. The original price for the full size product is £18 and I think I may have to invest in some once my little sample has ran out (yes I love it that much)

Number 4 Lumiere d'Hiver Super Comb Prep & Protect: This is a leave in conditioner and is supposed to strengthen and repair tired strands and also de-tangle the hair. It smells amazing and does what it says on the box, but the original price for the full size product is £20 and I think you can get much cheaper ones that do exactly the same! I will keep using it to see if I think any different, but at the moment I don't think I'd pay £20 for this.

Cochine Water Hyacinth & Lime Blossom Hand & Body Lotion: I haven't actually tried this yet, the only reason being is that I'm a bit hesitant when it comes to trying new body creams as I suffer from eczema and don't want it to flare up! The smell is okay but it's not my personal favourite. I can't really give you a review but the original price is £19 and I'm not sure I'd be willing to pay that for any body lotion (unless it magically gave me perfect, flawless skin!)

L. Erickson Grab & Go Ponytail Holder: This bobble was a beauty bonus. To me, it's just the same as an ordinary bobble except it's probably a bit stronger. It does it's job and I will have to keep this one safe because it's £11.50 for a set of 15.

So that's what I got in my Birchbox this month. Did any of you get this months box? What did you think of it? My Glossybox is due to come next week so I will do a post like this on that too! Just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone reading my blog, I've just reached 1300 views!

Lot's of love,

3 Highlighters I've Been Trying | £5 and Under

Hi lovelies!

Today I'm going to be sharing with you 3 drugstore highlighters that I've been trying recently (all £5 or under) and give you my opinions on each one! I've been looking for a good quality highlighter that isn't going to break my bank so I decided to try a few to see what worked for me. I feel like drugstore make up is really improving lately, which is great because not everyone can afford to splurge on high end products 24/7 (like myself and my part time cinema wage!) 

Make Up Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter (Golden Lights) - £3

 

I was a bit skeptical about trying Make Up Revolution products at first because I didn't think they'd be very good. However, I love their eye shadow pallettes so I decided to try something different. This highlighter has actually been my go to highlighter for quite some time. It's a gorgeous golden shade and it lasts on my face all day. It definitely gives your skin a golden glow, but after using it for a while I started to see that it became very drying on my skin. I'm not sure whether that's to do with my skin type (normal/dry) or whether it's just the product, but it would look great when I first applied it and then after a while it would look slightly dry. With that being said, my mom uses this highlighter and really likes it, she has quite oily skin. For £3 you can't really complain.

Rating: 3.5/5

Collection Speedy Highlighter (Pearl Sheen) - £3.99

This highlighter came in a stick form which I thought would be really useful when it came to applying, however I actually found it a lot harder! I much prefer using a brush or even my fingers. The colour gives you quite a subtle, natural glow, but it took me quite a few layers to be able to see the slightest bit of highlight. I also found it really hard to blend with my bronzer and unfortunately it just isn't long lasting! I could see it fading after just half an hour, and with that being said I'm not a big fan. The Make Up Revolution highlighter is cheaper and much better than this one!

Rating: 1/5

Freedom Professional London Pro Highlight Pallette - £5

 

I am absolutely in love with this pallette! I'd never really bothered with Freedom make up before, it was always one of those brands that I'd walk straight past when I was make up shopping. I spotted this pallette whilst in Superdrug and I couldn't resist. The pallette contains 6 cream highlighters and 2 powder ones and as you can see, there are a wide variety of gorgeous shades to suit pretty much anyone! For £5, they are amazing quality and super easy to blend. They seem to be lasting most of the day on my face too which is great! I prefer cream highlighters to powder ones because I feel like they give you more of a glow, but that's just my personal preference. The only thing I'd say is they are abit glittery which I don't mind but I know some people do. This is my favourite out of the 3. The shades don't have names but I've swatched them below.

Rating: 4/5

2 powder highlighters (middle 2)

3 of the cream shades

The other 3 cream shades

Rankings (from best to worst):

1: Freedom Pro Highlight Pallette
2: Make Up Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter
3: Collection Speedy Highlighter

What good drugstore highlighters have you tried? I'm thinking of doing more posts like this, I love trying new products and not breaking the bank whilst I'm doing it!

Lots of love,

 

Weekly Life Update | Blogging, Broke and All The Bright Places

Hi everyone!

I'm currently sat here eating a bar of smarties chocolate to make up for the fact that I haven't been very well for a few days (any excuse). Here I am again with my weekly life update and there's a few things I want to share with you lovely lot today.

The first thing I'm gonna start off with is about sharing my blog with my friends and family. I'm a bit weird when it comes to my blog.. I'm so proud of what I've created so far and it's something I want to share with the world! But when it comes to my friends, family or people I know seeing it I start to get really anxious and paranoid. I am not in any way embarrassed by my blog, but I always think that they're going to judge me or make fun of me when in reality that's probably the opposite of what they'd do. I can't wait for they day that they know about my blog, but in the meantime I'm going to keep working on it and make it the best it could possibly be!

The second thing I'd like to share with all of you is how broke I am at the minute! And this really isn't going down too well with my make up addiction. I only got paid last week, but with my boyfriends birthday coming up and saving up for our holiday, I haven't got much left over to spend on myself. (I'm crying real tears) I have literally been torturing myself over the weekend looking on every possible make up website, adding EVERYTHING to my basket and breaking my own heart when I have to close it down. I need to find a new way to make money because my part time job on the side of college just doesn't seem to be enough these days! I've been looking to sell some of my old stuff, but I haven't really got anything worth selling. So here I am, still broke. And if I post any hauls in the next couple of weeks please shout at me for spending money that I don't have.

Speaking of selling stuff, I've been selling my old dance costumes. I didn't realise how hard this would be but I feel like I'm letting go of a massive part of my life. I went through every costume and thought about the amazing memories I had wearing each one and it was actually really upsetting. Of course, I kept a few because I physically can't let go of all of them! It makes me sad just thinking about it.

My boyfriend finally finished his 3 week job in London and luckily I didn't have work so we got to spend the weekend together. At first, we were going to go out somewhere and do something nice. Instead, because we are both extremely lazy, we took a trip to ASDA, bought lots of chocolate and popcorn and had a movie marathon. Let's face it, what's better than cosying up on the sofa watching chick flicks and comedies and eating a load of crap? That's what I thought.

To finish off I just need to tell you all how much I am LOVING All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven.. I can't put it down! I have almost finished it now after spending most my week reading it (when I've had chance) and I can't wait to share a review with you.

I feel like my blog has made amazing progress this week and I want to thank every one who has read my posts, commented or followed me on bloglovin! I have just set up a twitter account so that I could have one directly related to my blog and beauty! Follow me here @shelbyblogx

Lots of love,