Monthly Favourites videos are still one of my favourites to film, so I hope you enjoy hearing all the products I've been loving this month as well as some lifestyle faves!
JULY MONTHLY FAVOURITES 2015
MEETUP IN GERMANY!!!
HOME SWEET HOME // WEEKLY VLOG
Another week, another vlog. It's nice to be home and getting back into some kind of semi-routine! This week was pretty non-eventful but with some nice dinners and shows along the way. I love being reunited with my friends and family as I miss them so much when I'm away.
I hope you like this vlog and are having a great week so far!
AUBERGINE MASCARA – THE NEW BROWN?
Coloured mascaras are definitely having their moment... again, but this new launch from Clinique got my attention and really got me excited to do my makeup. Brown mascara has always been a more natural option but personally when I've tried brown mascara it hasn't had enough umpff for my lashes.
Clinique have quite a few products in their 'Black Honey' shade and now their bringing out a new Chubby Mascara in a few shades, including Black Honey. In terms of packaging the Chubby Mascara is very similar to the High Impact Extreme Volume mascara (which is my all time favourite) but the effect it gives on the lashes is a little bit different and I still prefer the H.I.E.V for full, thick lashes.
The colour though, wow, I love it! It's a limited edition shade which is a shame as I think it's going to be really popular. It's not brown and it's not black, it's almost like an aubergine shade (reddy brown and purple tones). On the lashes it looks darker than you'd imagine but it has a subtle hint of purple that looks really pretty, soft and just a bit different. I wouldn't recommend this if you have an oily eye area as the mascara is not waterproof and having purple mascara smear around your eyes is a really bad idea.
I'm a big fan of the Black Honey Chubby Mascara so I would recommend trying it whilst it's out in stores (£17.50). It's something a bit different but not too different. What do you think?
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: LORAC PRO PALETTE
It's been a while since my last 'first impressions' video but with so many new beauty bits from LA, I wanted to talk through my most exciting purchase.
I've wanted the Lorac Pro Palette for so long so here are my first impressions, along with a mini makeup tutorial. There were a few other products I've tried since LA so I briefly talk through those and I hope you like it!
WEAR LIFE EATS 08.08.15
This weekend Rich and I are spending our time away from home and relaxing in the most perfect way... We're going to Wilderness Festival!!!
The lovely people from Neal's Yard are taking us and a few others and putting us up in the beautiful Boutique accommodation surrounded by greenery, music, food and all kinds of wonderful things. I've never been but it looks like a festival like no other and I can't wait to experience it!
We have cooking courses lined up, a massage in the spa and trust me I will be trying as many food stands as I possibly can. I'll tell you all about it when I'm back and of course I'll be vlogging (for as long as my battery lasts!).
Hope you all have a great weekend!
FINGER ART
In my July favourites video I completely forgot to address the doodles on my hands and therefore a lot of you thought I had some new tattoos! Whoops, sorry about that!
No, I haven't got new tattoos, but I have been getting a little bit doodley with the eyeliner pen. I saw in last month's Allure magazine an article about drawing on your own finger art using black liquid liner and it looked so cute that I wanted to give it a go. I'd never be brave enough for a finger tattoo (not in terms of pain, just in terms of visibility) so it's a nice way to play around and accessorise your nails.
I'm a bit obsessed with triangles at the moment so I drew a few on and I really like the effect! The best part is, it washes off when you're bored of it.
So next time you're bored and you want to bring more attention to your new nail colour, grab the liquid liner and get doodley!
LA LOOKBOOK
Whilst in LA Anna and I helped film each other's outfits daily and then when I got home I whipped it all together into an LA Lookbook. It's been a while since my last lookbook and I really enjoyed the editing process.
I hope you like seeing the clothes and outfits I chose to take with me. Enjoy the video!
IF YOU HAD TO PICK ONE…
When Anna and I do our #BeautyChatLIVE events we almost always get the "if you had to pick one..." questions. It seems that you guys really want to know our all-time favourites, our can't live withouts and the products or brands we'd pick if we could only pick one. So I've put down a few scenario questions and jotted down my answers if I could only pick one...
Makeup brand to use... I used to always answer NARS to this question, but these days I would have to say Charlotte Tilbury. I love her base products as well as her eyeshadows, concealer, bronzers/blushers, lipsticks... I think I'd do pretty well at making a whole face apart from her mascara. Nearly the perfect makeup brand for me. Mascara to wear... The mascara that I always back to, that never lets me down is the Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume mascara. It gives me full, long and fluttery eyelashes and lasts all day on me. Skincare item to use... If I couldn't do my entire skincare routine every morning and night I would have to pick a cleanser as my one item. The Oskia Renaissance cleanser to be precise. It's hydrating on the skin but also removes all impurities from the skin. My skin would massively miss the oils and serums but I could probably cheat the whole moisturising thing with a primer before doing my makeup. Highstreet store to shop from... This one is hard as I feel like my current style sits somewhere between Topshop/Zara and Whistles/COS and I like to mix the styles together to create my own. As much as I love Whistles I find it too expensive to shop from frequently and I find with Zara, although I love it, it's quite hit and miss. Topshop has it's flaws and find it a bit young for me but I think it has a good range of basic and "on-trend" items so my final answer... Topshop! Makeup brush brand... I absolutely LOVE my RMK brushes but they are limited in terms of shapes and I also love my Bobbi Brown but they're pricey. So I'd pick Zoeva which is still quite a new brand but they do huge sets for a good price and the quality is great. Lipstick to wear every day... This one is always hard to answer but I'm going to stick to what I know... MAC Syrup can be worn lightly during the day and built up a bit in the evening. It's natural but also has a tint or plum for something a bit different. I bloody love it! Eyeshadow palette... Easy! Urban Decay Naked 1. It's still the best palette in my opinion, the quality is great, the colours are perfect and I can live with the silly packaging. Haircare brand to buy from... I'd probably have to go with Bumble & Bumble as they do good shampoo and conditioners, they're styling products are great and well, I couldn't live without my Semi Sumo! I hope you liked this post and that it answered some of those tricky questions you guys always want to ask us! Let me know if you have any more and I can do another post like this in the future.WILDERNESS // WEEKLY VLOG
I'm so excited for you all to see this vlog because it's one of my favourites. I had the best weekend at Wilderness Festival with Rich so thanks to Neal's Yard for sending us there. We made such good memories and I truly felt like I relaxed, which isn't something I usually know how to do.
I hope you enjoy the video - let me know what you think!
TWO NEW BASES REVIEWED
HOW TO MAKE A WEEKLY VLOG
I love to share my YouTube tips and tricks that I've learnt along the way and this time I thought I'd talk a bit about the behind the scenes of weekly vlogs. How I film them, how I edit them and the struggle of vlogging in public!
I hope this is helpful to some of you and if you're not a YouTuber than maybe it'll just be interesting to hear about how I plan and film every week.
QUICK DAY TO NIGHT TIPS
WHAT A WEEK!! // WEEKLY VLOG
I have no words left to describe this past week, all I can say is that I am a very lucky girl. What the vlog and you'll know what I mean!
JACLYN HILL X BECCA CHAMPAGNE POP
Admittedly I've only been watching Jaclyn Hill's videos for a few months after Anna introduced me to her videos. At first I wasn't sure but I can now confirm I'm a full on Jaclyn Hill fangirl. When I heard about her collaboration with Becca I immediately put the date in my diary to make a late night Sephora order. I missed the slot, it sold out, I freaked out, it came back into stock, I bought two. That was basically how it went...
She's collaborated with Becca in a very clever way; one product that's insanely good and completely sums up the Jaclyn Hill 'vibe'. #highlightonfleek has become her 'thing' because she is seriously obsessed with highlighter - and man, she does it well! Champagne Pop has now become my absolute favourite highlighter and an essential in my makeup collection. It's the perfect mix of champagne and golden tones and the best thing is that it actually shows up on the skin! So many highlighters hardly show once applied but this one is really creamy in texture and you only need a tiny amount to get an amazing effect.
It's definitely more of an evening highlight but I've found myself wearing it most days, just with a lighter hand in the day time. It is a powder, but as I said, it feels quite loose and creamy compared to other I've tried.
For me, it goes to the top of my "what to buy in Sephora list" and I would highly recommend it. Have you tried it yet? What did you think? I've yet to speak to someone who hasn't liked it.
50 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME
This Thursday's video is a little bit silly and fun, but I really enjoying watching these tags so I thought you guys would too. It's 50 Random Facts About Me!
TANYA BURR DUVET DAY
EARTHY TONED MAKEUP // MONTHLY MAKEUP ROUTINE
This month's makeup routine starts with a little explanation as to why I've been all over the place recently. Makeup has taken a slight back seat but I hope you like the earthy toned makeup look I've created for this month's video!
SKIN OWL BEAUTY DROPS PM / MANGOSTEEN
I've said it before and I'll say it again, anything that's recommended to me by Cult Beauty founder Alexia Inge is bound to get my attention and usually becomes a product staple of mine. Her most recent recommendation was a new brand to me, Skin Owl. Recently added to the Cult Beauty family, Skin Owl was started by Annie Tevelin as a personal cure to her acne. Her products became more and more in demand leading her to create a small but great, capsule skincare collection.
The product I was most excited to try was the Beauty Drops PM Mangosteen, because Mangosteen is a fruit I love and I've never seen it included in skincare. Apparently it is 1600 times more powerful than well known superfoods like Acai and Goji. What I also like about this product is the tiny list of ingredients, it simply includes two things, "Raw, Organic, cold-pressed African Adansonia digitata (Baobab) Oil and Pure Garcinia mangostana (Mangosteen) Oil". The brand advices using 10 drops in the evening after cleansing but I usually go for around 6-8 drops (I have quite a small face!) The smell is absolutely gorgeous, like naturally sweet fruit. It's not a really heavy oil, but it's not too light either and you can layer it up to use as an overnight mask too. I find it easily replaces both my evening serum and moisturiser and plumps up my skin giving it a lovely glow.
It's pricey at £68 but can be used sparingly if you don't get addicted like me! I'm a fan and it's definitely been added to my skincare shelf.