Things I Loved In 2017

Song
Katy Perry - Swish Swish
Katy Perry is undoubtedly one of the best pop stars that we have today but I know a lot of people weren't really feeling her latest album, Witness. A lot of the reviews were very negative & slammed Katy for trying to stay relevant by making 'purposeful pop' & being 'woke'. I for one absolutely love this album & every single she has put out. Chained To The Rhythm & Bon Appétit were both fab but I became truly obsessed with Swish Swish. The combination of the club beat & scathing lyrics is perfection. It's so much fun to sing along to & makes me feel like a sassy queen haha! Nicki Minaj's rap just makes it even better, she's the best part of the music video too. Apart from Nicki's appearance I'm not a huge fan of the video, the performance she did on SNL is so much better especially as it features Vivacious from Drag Race & Backpack Kid! One of my goals for 2018 is to learn how to do his dance...

Other Faves: Big Shaq - Mans Not Hot / Pharrell Williams & Trey Parker - Hug Me
Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do / Little Mix - Power


Album
Steven Universe - Soundtrack: Volume 1
Steven Universe is one of my favourite cartoons. I wish people wouldn't dismiss cartoons as something that's only for kids because if anime has taught us anything, cartoons can be very adult. There are many things I love about the show, from the animation style to the way it tackles adult themes in a way that's suitable for children. But the music is what first got me hooked. Rebecca Sugar, the creator of Steven Universe, has such a wonderful way with lyrics & has composed some incredible tunes to go along with the show. Aivi & Surasshu came up with the rest of the music and helped to develop Rebecca's ukelele demos into grand productions filled with emotion. This is definitely the album that I've listened to most this year. I love so many songs on this soundtrack but my favourites are Do It For Her, Stronger Than You, What Can I Do For You & It's Over Isn't It.

Other Faves: Billy Corgan - Ogilala / Katy Perry - Witness
Taylor Swift - Reputation / Lana Del Rey - Lust For Life


Book
Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn
Even though Sharp Objects came out in 2006, I only just got round to reading it this year. Gillian Flynn is such a brilliant writer, Gone Girl & Dark Places were so damn good. Sharp Objects was her debut novel but I read this one last & it's actually my favourite out of the three. It's about a newspaper reporter called Camille who goes back to her home town in Missouri to cover the murder of a young girl. Camille was hospitalised for self-harm & obviously has a lot of demons but when she reconnects with her family it's easy to see why. Like Gillian Flynn's other novels, it's full of twists & turns. She's a master when it comes to writing thrillers & I honestly couldn't put it down. HBO are currently turning this book into a TV show starring Amy Adams as Camille & I cannot wait to watch it!

Other Faves: Behind Closed Doors - B A Paris / Hunger - Roxane Gay
Body Positive Power - Megan Jayne Crabbe / Final Girls - Riley Sager


Film
Mother!
Darren Aronofsky is well known for his psychologically disturbing films & Mother! is no exception. This film is seriously fucked up but I think that's probably why I enjoyed it so much. The film starts with a happy couple who are doing up their house in the countryside. The house is in quite a remote location so things start to get a bit strange when a random man turns up one night & asks to stay. More people start turning up at the house & everything basically goes to shit. It soon becomes clear that this film isn't your standard home invasion movie but is actually a biblical & environmental allegory. It really makes you think about the way we treat the Earth & the impact of organised religion on society as well. I wouldn't recommend seeing it if you are religious or easily offended as there are some truly horrible scenes that even I found hard to stomach. This is one of those movies that will stay with me for a long time & it was definitely the most interesting cinematic experience I've had this year.

Other Faves: IT / Star Wars: The Last Jedi / Despicable Me 3 / Beauty & The Beast


TV Show
Mr Robot
Mr Robot is the best show on TV right now by far & it saddens me that more people don't know about it. I think it's mainly down to the fact that it's on Amazon Prime rather than Netflix but if you're looking for something new to binge watch, look no further. Mr Robot is about a guy called Elliot who works in cyber security. He also happens to be a hacker who hates society & often acts as a cyber-vigilante. Elliot suffers from anxiety, depression & has an addiction to morphine. One day when he's riding the Subway he meets an anarchist called Mr Robot who founded fsociety. They are a group of hackers wanting to get rid of all debt records by destroying the financial data of a company called E Corp or 'Evil Corp' in Elliot's mind. Of course erasing all financial debt has a lot of societal consequences that Elliot, Mr Robot & the rest of fsociety couldn't have predicted, especially when a group of Chinese hackers called the Dark Army get involved. The hacking is well researched & seems realistic which is refreshing to see & helps the authenticity of the show. There are so many compelling characters in Mr Robot & there are a lot of twists as to the real identities of certain people. The plot runs much deeper than you would expect & every episode is a wild ride. I love the cinematography & all of the actors on the show are brilliant. I've always been a Christian Slater fangirl & he is exceptional as the titular chatacter. Sam Esmail has created a masterpiece & I fully expect Mr Robot to become one of those shows that everyone loves as it draws to it's final conclusion, much like Breaking Bad.

Other Faves: American Horror Story: Cult / Vice Principals / Game Of Thrones / Better Call Saul / RuPaul's Drag Race


Animation
Attack On Titan
The first season of Attack On Titan came out in 2013 & it took them four whole years to bring us season 2. There was no way I could've waited that long without finding what happened to the Survey Corps so I've kept up to date with the manga ever since. Some crazy shit has happened in that time, this month's chapter alone was extremely wild so I'd definitely recommend reading the manga if you like the show. As a result of reading the manga I knew everything that was going to happen in season 2 of the anime but that didn't stop me from being incredibly hyped up about it. I took great delight in singing 'Sasageyo! Sasageyo! Shinzou wo sasageyo!' along with the theme tune every week & it was so thrilling to finally see many of the scenes animated. They even dropped in some more recent manga scenes featuring Ymir so that was super cool & unexpected. Yūki Kaji's performance as Eren was astonishing & even though I don't understand much Japanese you can really feel the emotion he puts into his voice. The only bad thing about season 2 is that they only made 12 episodes instead of 25. Season 3 is supposed to be two cour again so I'm really looking forward to it & now there's only six more months to wait!

Other Faves: Yuri!!! On Ice / Steven Universe / Kakegurui / Teen Titans Go!


Game
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
I have spent an inordinate amount of time playing video games this year. I bought a Nintendo Switch as soon as it launched because I needed to play Breath Of The Wild right away. The Legend Of Zelda is one of my favourite game series of all time. I've played nearly every Zelda game so of course I had to get this one. Despite maintaining many of the things you would expect from a Zelda game, Breath Of The Wild is completely different to anything else. The freedom you get to explore & do things as you wish is remarkable. You can go straight to Hyrule Castle & kill Calamity Ganon if you want. You can spend hours doing little side quests for people or collecting all 900 Korok Seeds. Climbing up mountains & flying about on your paraglider is great fun on it's own. I loved killing the mini bosses dotted around the world & battling against the Divine Beasts. The Champions were all such interesting characters & I enjoyed regaining Link's memories of them. Finding & completing the puzzles in all 120 shrines was really challenging. The only thing I missed from the old Zelda games were the traditional dungeons but storming Hyrule Castle at the end was beyond awesome. I love this game so much, Nintendo did such an amazing job & it was well worth waiting for. The Switch is easily the best purchase I've made this year. Since beating Zelda I've played Fire Emblem Warriors, Stardew Valley, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe & Super Mario Odyssey for hours on end. My TV is too old to support the Switch so I can only play it as a handheld but the graphics still look breathtaking on the small screen. I can't wait to see what games Nintendo come out with next year. There's rumours of Pokemon coming to Switch but I'm hoping for a new Fire Emblem game & Project Octopath Traveller looks like it will be another fantastic RPG.

Other Faves: Fire Emblem Warriors / Stardew Valley / Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows Of Valentia
Super Mario Odyssey / Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

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Christmas Presents

Peppermint Treats
Whilst chatting to my mum on the phone I briefly mentioned that I was planning on making some peppermint bark for Christmas. I was just gonna look for recipes on Pinterest but she got me this awesome cookbook filled with all sorts of recipes for making bark & ways to use it in other desserts. The peppermint bark brownies are currently top of my to-do list! She also got me some gourmet treats from Williams Sonoma. The hot chocolate is utterly divine and the pretzels are that perfect combination of salty & sweet, yum!



Tom Ford Black Orchid
I've been wanting a Tom Ford perfume for ages but they're just so expensive! I could never decide whether I preferred Black Orchid or Velvet Orchid either. Luckily my mum made that decision for me & I was delighted to receive this bottle of Black Orchid for Christmas. Black Orchid smells unlike anything else in my collection. I normally go for girly floral fragrances but this is more of a spicy oriental scent. It's luxurious, sophisticated, sensual & I love it! I think I'll probably save this one for special occasions as it's just too good for everyday wear.



Real Techniques Filtered Face Set
You can never have too many makeup brushes & this set from Real Techniques has it all. You get loads of brushes, three sponges & a cute pot to store them all in. When this set went down to £35 in Boots I decided to treat myself & wrapped it up as a present from Chloe haha. Real Techniques brushes are some of my favourites so I think it's always good to have a few backups. I've never tried the pink & purple sponges so I'm looking forward to giving those a go.



Elemis Pro-Collagen Hydra-Gel Eye Masks
My sister got me these eye masks. I love sheet masks & the hydrogel ones are often the most effective. These ones are just for the eye area & sound really good. My eyes often look puffy & tired so I'm sure they'll be of use to me. I love Elemis products & have heard such great things about their Pro-Collagen range so hopefully they'll work well!



Makeup Geek In The Nude Eyeshadow Palette
She also got me this Makeup Geek eyeshadow palette that I've lusting after for quite a while. Makeup Geek do such brilliant eyeshadows but no one really talks about them anymore. I have a custom palette that I made using their single shadows that I absolutely love & use all the time. The In The Nude palette features a gorgeous array of neutral colours. MUG's matte formula blends like a dream & their foiled shadows are simply stunning. It took me longer than most people to get into the warm brown trend but now I'm fully on board & I can already tell that this is gonna become my new everyday go-to eyeshadow palette.



Kylo Ren Funko Pop
I've had a huge crush on Adam Driver ever since the very first episode of Girls so I was super excited when he joined the cast of the new Star Wars films. Kylo Ren's relationship with Rey was my favourite part of The Last Jedi & I'm a shameless Reylo shipper. The store that Andy manages sells Funko Pops so he got me a little Kylo Ren! I love it so much & he has already earned a permanent place on my desk.



Topshop Goodies
Andy also bought me loads of things from Topshop. I was really surprised because I wasn't expecting him to spoil me at all & I love everything he bought! The only thing I asked for was some gold jewellery & he got me three long layered necklaces. The one with the stars & moons is my fave. He also got me this lovely pink scarf & polka dot wrap dress. I hate to be one of those people but the boy did good!



Rifle Paper Co. Stationery
I always treat myself to a new diary & some stationery at the end of the year. For 2018 I decided not to go with my usual Frankie Diary & ordered some items from Rifle Paper Co. instead. I'm a huge fan of Anna Bond's design style & having pretty stationery to use always makes me feel more productive. I never normally spend so much on calendars but this one is beautiful, absolutely massive & features some great inspirational quotes.



Modalu Pippa Bag
My mum is one of those weird old people who are obsessed with the Royal Family. Even though Pippa Middleton isn't technically a Royal my mum still likes to follow her fashion trends. This bag from Modalu was designed & named in honour of Pippa so my mum went out & bought one for all of us. Personally I couldn't care less about Pippa but I do really like this bag. Anything black patent & gold is right up my street. I like that it has both a shoulder strap & a grab handle. There's tons of space inside but it isn't too big & heavy to carry about every day.



Canon 70D
I've been using my Canon 650D quite happily for the last five years but I'm finally upgrading to something more professional! My mum actually bought this camera for herself as she wanted to get into photography but she was completely overwhelmed by all the controls & couldn't figure out how to use it. She knows that I love photography so she asked me if I wanted to trade my 650D for her 70D & of course I said yes! There isn't a huge difference between the two cameras but it's still an upgrade & a chance to further improve my photographic skills. It's been sitting here for the past month all wrapped up for Christmas & now I'm beyond excited to start using it!

Despite not feeling too festive this year, I actually had a really lovely Christmas. Normally I end up feeling a bit deflated by the end of it but for the first time in a little while I just felt perfectly content all day. I'm sure that has absolutely nothing to do with all the Snowballs I drank! I got such a wonderful collection of presents & I'm so grateful for everything I received. I'm especially fond of my little Kylo Ren! We watched loads of films on Christmas Day & played with some of Chloe's new toys. We always get a couple of new board games and this year we chose Monopoly Gamer & Cluedo. I put together a cracking Christmas dinner as usual but I'm definitely ready to get back to eating healthily now. I hope you all had a brilliant Christmas & got everything you wished for!

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Black Friday Haul

I love shopping around for bargains & rarely buy things online without a discount code. Even though we don't celebrate Thanksgiving I'm glad that us Brits have fully embraced the tradition of Black Friday. It's the best time to get all your Christmas shopping done & as you're saving a bit of money you can afford to treat yourself at the same time! There were a few items that I needed to repurchase & some things that I've had my eye on for ages. First I got a new bottle of the L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil & Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray. I ordered them from FeelUnique as they had a 20% discount code. The shower oil is my favourite thing to shave with & the extra moisture is much needed at this time of year. I tend to flit between using the Urban Decay & NYX setting sprays as they both work exactly the same. I just went for the Urban Decay one this time as you get a bigger bottle & I enjoy it's unique scent so it's a good one to buy when you can find a discount code.

These days most of my skincare comes from The Ordinary but I still love Bravura London products. They had a whopping 25% discount for Black Friday so it was the perfect time to stock up. I got a new bottle of their First Cleanse Oil which is what I always use to remove my makeup. I absolutely love the Azulene Moisturiser! I use it twice a day as it works really well with the rest of my skincare routine. It's a light moisturiser packed with calming botanical ingredients that help to soothe & heal the skin. It's brilliant for those with oily, combination or acne-prone skin types as it hydrates the skin without clogging pores. I also decided to pick up the Collagen Moisturising Cream. I normally stick with the Azulene Moisturiser but this one is better for dry skin so it helps my skin to cope with the cold weather.



Bumble & Bumble's Hairdresser's Invisible Oil is one of my favourite hair products of all time. I'm always amazed by how much softer & shinier it makes my hair. It can be a real struggle to make damaged, bleached hair look healthy but this stuff works miracles. I rarely have to repurchase it because a bottle lasts such a long time & I'm sure glad it does because it costs £35! I spotted this Bumble & Bumble Sp(oil)ed Silly Gift Set on FeelUnique for £38 which means that for a mere £3 more you get a sample of the Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Primer (which is also incredible!) & a rose gold Tangle Teezer thrown in. With FeelUnique's 20% discount I got it for just £30. What a bloody bargain!



The Stila Eye For Elegance Liquid Eyeshadow Set was at the very top of my Black Friday wishlist. I'm utterly obsessed with the Magnificent Metals Glitter & Glow Liquid Eyeshadows. They make using glitter so much easier & completely mess-free. I currently own four of them but they are pretty expensive so even at full price this set is fantastic value. I knew I could get it cheaper on Black Friday though & Stila had 20% off on their website bringing it down to £36. In this set you get three Glitter & Glow eyeshadows and three Shimmer & Glow eyeshadows. Unfortunately I already own Smoldering Satin but at least I can use the one in the set as a stocking filler for someone else. I'm so excited about this gift set, all the colours look beautiful & I cannot wait to try out the new shades!





Beauty Bay had up to 30% off everything on their website so I ordered a few items that I've been wanting for a long time. I already own 25 Jeffree Star Liquid Lipsticks so I decided that I wouldn't order any more colours. I've wanted to try his Velour Lip Scrubs for ages as the flavours sound amazing but I didn't want to pay £12 for a single scrub. I ordered Strawberry Gum & Root Beer in the sale. I mainly got the strawberry one for Chloe as both of us get dry lips at this time of year. Root Beer is just for me though! It's one of my favourite ever drinks & a small part of me died inside when McDonald's took it off their menu back in the 90s. The scrub tastes just like the drink & has the added bonus of being edible. It does a great job of removing dead skin cells, leaving my lips feeling super soft & smooth.



I've tried loads of different beauty sponges but in my opinion nothing comes close to the original Beautyblender. My one was getting a bit tatty looking so I needed to buy a new one. I went for the Beautyblender Swirl as it has a pretty pink & white marble design. It works exactly the same as the pink Beautyblender but just looks a bit cooler.



Jouer Cosmetics have been all over YouTube this year & I love the look of their lip products. I have so many matte liquid lipsticks so I wanted something a bit different & decided to go for their Long-Wear Lip Topper in Skinny Dip. Lip Topper is just a glorified name for a lip gloss but I do really like this product. Skinny Dip is a metallic golden nude gloss with flecks of gold & pink shimmer. It looks gorgeous whether worn alone or on top of a liquid lipstick. The luminous finish makes my lips look fuller & plumper whilst adding a hint of golden iridescence. The consistency is kinda thick for a gloss but it isn't sticky at all. It feels more like a lip balm as it's quite nourishing on the lips due to the inclusion of jojoba seed oil & coconut oil. This Lip Topper looks truly stunning & the sweet, cakey scent is divine!



I've been wanting to buy the RCMA No-Colour Powder for so long but it's always out of stock! Beauty Bay managed to get plenty in for their sale so I finally got my hands on this highly coveted setting powder. I use loose powders to bake my concealer but I've noticed that they can sometimes alter the colour, making my base products look slightly weird. This powder has no pigment in it so even though it looks white it won't change the colour of your foundation or concealer & it is suitable for all skin colours. It gives my base a matte flawless finish that lasts all day & it never looks dry or powdery on the skin. Unlike some powders it doesn't cause flashback so you don't have to worry about getting your photo taken. The packaging is a bit rubbish but otherwise this is an excellent setting powder.



The last item I got was the Benton Snail Bee High Content Mask Pack. I mainly bought this to get free next day delivery but I love sheet masks & Benton are one of the few popular Korean beauty brands that I haven't purchased anything from before. The Snail Bee range is very well loved on /r/AsianBeauty so I knew it would be worth trying out. I haven't used the mask yet but if I like it I'm sure you'll hear all about it!





Accessorize had 30% off their Angels kids range so I got Chloe some cute new things. She needed some new Winter accessories & what could be more fitting than their Chloe Cat collection?! I bought her the Chloe Cat chullo hat, Chloe Cat scarf & Chloe Cat capped mittens. They're all so cute & keep her really warm. Her new school has a tuck shop during morning break & when I've given her money to get a snack she always loses it! She loves being able to get a hot chocolate & croissant in the morning so I bought her the Becci Bunny round cross body bag & the Pretty Kitty cat purse to keep her money in. I also spotted this lovely Crown Chakra bracelet in store & decided to treat myself. I have one of the Daisy London chakra bracelets but it was so expensive & this one was only a tenner!




I have become an avid enamel pin collector this year & I'm always on the lookout for cute new pins to buy. Etsy is my favourite place to look for new designs & it was on there that I came across Hand Over Your Fairy Cakes. I didn't manage to get one of her limited Black Friday discount codes but I decided to go ahead & buy a few pins anyway as I fell in love with these designs quite a while ago. I adore the pastel colourwheel, strawberry pocky & CMYK pins but my absolute favourite is the one that says 'I Got Dressed Today'. Sometimes that can be a bit of a struggle for me when I'm feeling down & it's nice to be positive about those small achievements.

What bargains did you pick up on Black Friday?

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November Favourites

Glossier Boy Brow in Brown
Anastasia Beverly Hills DipBrow Pomade has been my go-to brow product for the past three years. However I've recently started using two new things that have completely changed the way I do my eyebrows. The first one is Glossier's Boy Brow. These kind of tinted brow gels are nothing new; ABH, Benefit & Essence all do really good ones. There's just something about Glossier's offering that makes it stand out from the rest. The colour is great, it's a deep ashy brown without a hint of red. The hold is really impressive & keeps my brow hairs in place all day long, which is something lacking from other tinted brow gels. The brush is tiny so it coats the individual hairs well & you're less likely to blob product on your skin. It's so quick & easy to use, giving your brows just the right amount of definition. Of course it works best if you already have a good eyebrow shape but overall it's a great product for beefing up your brows without making them look unnatural.

Laneige Eyebrow Cushion-Cara in Two-Tone Grey
The other eyebrow product I've been loving is Laneige's Eyebrow Cushion-Cara. I recently saw people using Iconic London's eyebrow cushion on YouTube & as with most cushion type products I knew that there would be a cheaper Korean alternative. I ordered it off eBay & immediately fell in love with this product. Inside this tiny compact you get two different brow colours contained within a cushion sponge & an eyebrow brush with a spoolie on the other end. I never normally use brushes that come with makeup but this brush is great quality. It picks up the liquid inside the cushion & applies the product with extreme precision. You can easily draw on individual hair strokes with it as well as filling in your entire brow. The liquid is highly pigmented but blends out really well so you can get that beautiful gradient fade at the front of your brows whilst making the tails super sharp & defined. The pigment tends to stick to the skin rather than the eyebrow hairs so that's why I like to use it in conjunction with Boy Brow. I would definitely recommend trying out one of these new eyebrow cushions, they are simply incredible!

Bravura London First Cleanse Oil
I always double cleanse at night to make sure I get rid of every trace of sunscreen & makeup. Oil cleansers are my preferred method of makeup removal & I've been using Bravura's First Cleanse Oil for about a year now. I rarely repurchase skincare but I picked up a new bottle in their Black Friday sale as I've been so pleased this product. The packaging is beautiful & it comes with a free pump for ease of use. The cleanser is made up from a blend of safflower seed, coconut, avocado, chamomile, lavender & rosemary leaf oils with added Vitamin E. It has a lovely scent & feels really luxurious on the skin. It attracts all the dirt on my face & washes off easily leaving my skin feeling super soft & clean. It even works well on waterproof mascara & doesn't make my eyes sting at all. Some cleansing oils can leave a weird film on my eyes which makes me feel like I'm going blind but this stuff is completely fine to use on the eye area. This cleanser does a wonderful job of cleaning my face & has also helped to improve the condition of my skin. It's especially good when it comes to dealing with the sebaceous filaments on my nose & balancing oil production.

Bleach London Smoky Shampoo
Getting my roots done is the bane of my life. I haven't been bothered to go to the hairdressers since our holiday got cancelled this Summer so I'm currently rocking six months worth of regrowth. Not only are my dark roots massive but the blonde parts have been looking rather brassy too. It's a real mess! I've used Bleach London's shampoos before & they're actually really effective when you need to quickly refresh your colour. I decided to get their new Smoky Shampoo instead of the Silver one I usually buy & I'm so happy with the result. The Silver Shampoo brightens up blonde & grey hair whilst removing yellow tones but this one almost darkens it, giving it a deeper, ashier tone. My brassy yellow barnet has been transformed into a beautiful smoky grey with minimal effort. I love how it looks & no longer feel quite so desperate to get my hair done professionally. There is a hint of purple running through it & this shampoo definitely seems like it would turn your hair properly purple if you were to use it too often or leave it on too long but if you stick to using it every other wash you should be fine. Just like the Silver Shampoo it can also be quite drying so make sure you follow it up with a hefty dose of conditioner!



Morphe x Jaclyn Hill Eyeshadow Palette
As much as I love watching beauty gurus on YouTube, I have never bought any of their merch or collabs with cosmetics companies. Neither have I bought any Morphe eyeshadow palettes before despite my love for their brushes. That all changed when I purchased Morphe's much-anticipated Jaclyn Hill palette. I love Jaclyn, I think she's great at teaching eyeshadow techniques & I've personally learned a lot from watching her videos. She seems really sweet & always looks flawless. Morphe eyeshadows can be very divisive but I saw how hard she worked on this palette, perfecting the colours & formulas over a two year period so I knew it was gonna be well worth the investment. I spent a couple of hours in a queue on Beauty Bay & the palette was mine the very next day! There are a couple of minor things I don't like about this palette, the typography makes me want to cry & I wish it wasn't made out of cardboard but the actual eyeshadows are utterly dreamy. The colours are rich, highly pigmented & look even more beautiful in real life. It's full of warm eyeshadows but there's also some gorgeous jewel tones that really make it stand out from other Morphe palettes. It's really versatile & you can create so many different looks with it. I'm so impressed with the quality of the eyeshadows. The mattes are creamy & almost blend themselves! The shimmers are absolutely stunning, I'm a big fan of the purple at the bottom & the pinks at the top. This palette is easily one of my favourite purchases this year. I honestly can't recommend it enough & if you see it in stock on Beauty Bay, don't hesitate to pick one up!

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Rimmel Lasting Finish Breathable Foundation & Concealer

Choosing a new foundation can be a complete minefield. I tend to be very fussy when it comes to base products. In the past I've struggled to find something that not only matches my pale yellow skintone but also provides the coverage & finish that I want. More often than not that means paying for high end products & foundation is something that I'm quite happy to spend a lot on because it's such an important part of doing your makeup. Even though drugstore offerings have improved immensely over the past few years I don't buy many of them because the shade ranges aren't very inclusive & my acne-prone skin can react to the cheaper ingredients. No matter how well my skin is behaving I mainly reach for high coverage foundations because I like to have a flawless canvas for the rest of my makeup. So I was really surprised by how much I enjoy using Rimmel's lastest base collection. They recently brought out a new lightweight version of one of their most popular foundations. I've been testing out the Lasting Finish Breathable Foundation & Concealer and I never thought I would say this but I think they might've converted me to wearing natural looking makeup! I either go out in full glam or completely bare faced so it's great to find something in between the two for when I need to look presentable but don't have time to cake on the makeup.




The Rimmel Lasting Finish Breathable Foundation* provides long lasting medium coverage in a lightweight, hydrating formula. It boasts breathable skin technology that moisturises for up to 25 hours & it also features SPF 20. The foundation is very thin & easily spreadable. It does have a slight fragrance to it but it's not too noticeable & thankfully doesn't irritate my skin. Despite my affinity for full coverage foundations I'm actually very happy with this product. It evens out my skintone well, covering up any redness & discolouration without looking like a mask. You can still see skin through it yet it looks smoother & naturally perfected. It almost melts into the skin giving an amazing flawless finish. This foundation is very comfortable to wear as it feels exceptionally light & hydrating on the skin. It doesn't cling to dry patches & never looks cakey. The thin consistency allows you to build up the coverage without compromising the texture of the foundation. I've never tested Rimmel's 25 hour claims but I was still really impressed with the wear time. It lasts all day long & looks just as good at the end of the day as it does in the morning. One of my favourite things about this foundation is the massive applicator wand. It has a soft cushion tip which makes the application process very quick & easy whilst contributing to it's wonderfully smooth finish. I can just smear it all over my face, go over the top with a buffing brush & I'm done in a matter of minutes!

I received this foundation in the shade in Light Porcelain. This is the lightest shade they do & it's definitely pale enough for my skin colour. However the foundation is quite pink toned. The lack of pale yellow shades across most foundation brands does annoy me as the wrong undertone can make it seem like a foundation isn't light enough for you & I know this can be a huge problem for other fair skinned people. It is a shame that there isn't a Light Ivory shade like the concealer as that would've matched my skintone perfectly. I can still make it work for me as Light Porcelain is the shade I wear in every other Rimmel foundation & once you blend it in with the concealer they balance each other out to create a more neutral base.




To go along with the foundation Rimmel also brought out the Lasting Finish Breathable Concealer*. I received the shade Light Ivory which is a perfect match for my skintone. It has a round cushion sponge applicator at the tip. The concealer is dispensed through the hole in the middle & the sponge allows you to blend it out really easily. The coverage & texture of this concealer look absolutely beautiful under the eyes. I have quite bad dark circles but this covers up everything I need it to & it has the same lovely smooth finish as the foundation. It helps to reduce the look of fine lines around the eyes & it doesn't crease at all! I barely need to use any powder to keep it in place. I normally use quite a heavy duty concealer & have to bake my undereye area with loose powder to stop it from creasing or I end up looking like a hot mess. This is a much faster way of concealing my dark circles & looks just as good.

However I don't like it as much for concealing blemishes or scarring. It does add a tiny bit of coverage to those areas but I can still see the redness peeking through. The hydrating formula prevents it from looking cakey over spots & the smooth finish doesn't emphasise texture so it still works fairly well. I just find that I have to build it up quite a lot to achieve the level of coverage I desire. As a result I've gone through the tube rather quickly!




I think the swatches help to show the smooth texture & finish of these products. They really do look beautiful on the skin, giving a naturally flawless finish without looking mask-like. You can also see the huge difference in the undertone of the foundation & concealer. I was a bit freaked out by how pink the foundation looked when I first swatched it but it isn't too obvious when I apply it to my face. The foundation doesn't oxidise on my skin or dry down darker so what you see is what you get with this product & that's always a good thing! I love the feeling of swiping the foundation applicator over my skin. The cushion tip is super soft & spreads out the foundation in no time at all. It really is fab for when you need to get ready in a rush. Can every foundation have this wand please?!





To help complete my look Rimmel also sent me a couple of other products. I received the Rimmel Kate Sculpting Palette in Coral Glow*. This palette contains three different powders for highlighter, contour & blusher. I was pleasantly surprised by this palette. Normally if a highlighter isn't blinding then I don't want to know but this one imparts an almost ethereal soft glow to the skin. It's so pretty & would be a great choice if you just want to add a subtle sheen to the high points of your face. The second powder is supposed to be for contouring but it was far too warm & shimmery for that purpose. Instead I decided to use it as a bronzer & it actually warms up my complexion rather well. Most bronzers are too dark for my skintone but this one blended out nicely. My favourite part of the palette is the blusher. This kind of peachy pink is the exact shade I tend to go for & it looks beautiful on my cheeks. For my lips I used Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Vintage Pink*. I really like the texture of this lipstick. It feels very moisturising on the lips & I love the pink colour.





So here is my finished look using all four products! Overall I'm incredibly pleased with everything I tried. The foundation has fast become my go-to base product for when I'm short on time. I adore how it looks on my skin & I know I can rely on it to still look good hours later. Never before have I used a foundation that feels so light & looks so natural on the skin yet still manages to provide the coverage I need. The concealer is truly brilliant for under the eyes as it really brightens up the area & doesn't crease or settle into fine lines. The sculpting palette gives my face some much needed definition & the lipstick is a gorgeous colour. If you're looking for a new lightweight foundation & concealer duo then you should definitely check out Rimmel's Lasting Finish Breathable range. The natural looking coverage, super smooth finish & long lasting formula are just too good to be missed!

I received these products free from Influenster for testing purposes.

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