November Favourites │ lipsticksandlevis

Hello everyone!

I am super excited to be writing this post, my November favourites, because that means that it's then end of November and December is on it's way and I am so excited for Christmas, even more so this year than I have been before! Christmas is probably my favourite holiday to celebrate, so look forward to lots of Christmas themed posts coming up throughout December! Anyway, enough about Christmas and on with the favourites. I feel like this month hasn't been a very good month for favourites because I haven't really found anything new that I love, these are all products that I have loved for a while apart from two, which are both actually products from YouTubers. 

The first product, and the only body product, I'm going to talk about is the Butter Yourself Body Cream from Soap & Glory. I have been absolutely loving this stuff this month and have gone through almost the whole tub keeping my body nice and hydrated. I battle with dry skin throughout the whole year, but even more so in the winter so this has been a life saver, keeping my legs from going all lizard like. It is a super rich and creamy formula, so packs in a lot of moisture and has a lovely fresh scent which never fails to tickle my senses. It is so easy to apply, because it sinks in super quick and you aren't left standing around your underwear waiting for it to absorb a bit before you get dressed, because getting dressed with a sticky body cream on your skin is extremely difficult. 

Recently Ruth Crilly from A Model Recommends came out with a line of dry shampoos called Colab. Each dry shampoo has a different scent to represent a different city, and each has a different design on the bottle and the designs are super pretty, I think. I was running out of my usual Batiste dry shampoo that I never strayed from and as Ruth had just launched her line, I decided to give it a go. I have the London, classic fragrance and I honestly think that this has overtaken my love for Batiste. Colab claims to have a 'sheer invisible formula', which it most definitely has. It leave no white cast on your roots and seems to just disappear into your hair when you use it. It absorbs any unwanted oils so you can go onto two or three day hair with it still looking amazing. This will now be my absolute staple hair care products and I'm looking forward to trying some of the other scents.

My next favourite is another YouTuber's brainchild. It's the Blissful Mistful Fragranced Body Mist from the Zoella Beauty range. The first thing I want to say about this is the bottle, just like the packaging of the other products in the range, it is gorgeous. I don't know what it is about packaging, but when a product has lovely packaging, it makes me more intrigued and wanting to buy it! I love having pretty perfume bottles on my dressing table, so this was a perfect addition. I wear this almost everyday, because it is just the perfect everyday fragrance. It is lovely and fresh and light, so not too overpowering that it gets down people's throats wherever you go. It's just a lovely simple scent which I like for everyday wear because I don't like to go out with no perfume on, but this isn't really in your face like something you would wear for a special occasion perhaps. 

My next favourite is a combination of two things, the Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in the shade 100 Ivory and the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge. I am loving this foundation at the minute. I love the finish. I love the ease of application with this sponge. I love the coverage. I just love everything about it. I tend to get quite oily through my t-zone and dry everywhere else on my face, and this foundation tends to matte out the oily parts, but at the same time it doesn't dry out the dry parts. Using this sponge to apply the foundation, it just gives my skin such a flawless finish without it looking like I have a tonne of make-up on. It looks like skin, while still looking flawless. I also find that this foundation lasts really well on me, even when I don't use powder which is amazing considering my oily skin!

My final favourite is one product, but I have two shades that I am loving at the moment. It is the Rimmel Kate Moss Lipsticks in the shades 107 and 22. I mention these lipsticks so much on my blog that I won't go into too much detail about them. 107 is a lovely deep red wine colour and 22 is a vibrant red. Both the lipsticks are moisturising and last really well, just the usual fading from eating and drinking etc. Whenever I can't decide what to wear on my lips, I instantly reach for one of my Rimmel Kate Moss lipsticks in my many various shades! 

And that concludes my November Favourites!

What have been your favourites throughout the month of November?

♥

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A Mini Make-up Haul │ lipsticksandlevis

Hello everyone!

The other day, me and my boyfriend hopped on a train and decided to take a trip to Lincoln, that being one of the closest cities to where I live, out here in the sticks! I decided to treat myself to a few beauty bits as I haven't in a very long time and I thought, I can't buy make-up and not write about it! So, here I am with a short post today, a mini make-up haul. I bought all of these bits from Boots, and got sucked into the 3 for 2 offer that they have on at the minute. I initially wanted just a couple of things but ended coming out with a few more and a very impatient and bored boyfriend. 

I love nude coloured nails for this time of year and my favourite nude polish, Street Beige from Avon, has almost run out so I had to pick up another nude but decided to look for an alternative to the Avon one. Barry M is always a winner for me when it comes to their nail polishes, especially their Gelly Hi-Shine formulas, so I knew exactly where to look. The shade that I bought, Lychee, is just the perfect simple nude, and being in their Hi-Shine formula, they tend to last a long time and give a lovely shiny finish. So, I am very excited to test that out. Another purchase on the nail polish front, was the Rimmel Salon Pro Kate nail polish in the shade Saturn. As soon as I saw this on the shelf I just had to have it. It is one of the most gorgeous shade I've ever laid my eyes on, it's difficult to explain and I'm sure that my explanation won't do it justice. It is a deep green, gold, orange shimmery polish. (That's the best explanation you're going to get). It is just gorgeous, I have another polish from Rimmel in this formula which I love so I would recommend that you all check it out and I am definitely going to pick up the other colour similar to this, which I think was called Mercury. Next I purchased the Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kajal in the shade Nude. I have been looking for a nude eye pencil for a while, to use on my waterline to brighten up my eyes and make them appear bigger and have heard so many good things about these particular eye pencils from Rimmel so decided to give it a go. 

Next, I got three lip products. I love lip products, whether it be a lipstick, a lip gloss or a lip pencil, I just love them and my collection of lip products seems to be growing a bit too quickly than my make-up storage can handle. As soon as the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet lip creams came out, I wanted to try them but have only just got round to getting them, I have no idea why. I got the shades Grand Cru and Nude-ist. I tried Nude-ist out as soon as I got home and these seem really easy to apply with the little doe foot applicator and one layer of the lacquer on your lips is good enough. They do have a matte finish so are a bit drying on your lips. I am super excited to try the deep red colour out too, because that's my favourite shade for autumn and winter. Finally, I got the Maybelline Color Drama Intense Velvet Lip Pencil in the shade Red Essential. I love lipsticks in crayon form because of their easiness to apply, just like colouring in! I got a nice vibrant red shade because, again, I just love reds! 

Have you picked anything up recently?

♥

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Pamper Evening Routine │ lipsticksandlevis

Hello everyone!

Today I'm going to be talking to you about a little bit of pampering, my pamper evening routine to be specific. I try to do one of these evenings at least once a week, just to help me relax and stop me from getting too stressed out with whatever has been going on that week. Because I tend to get quite anxious, I find that these nights really help me forget about all my worries and just chill out. So, I am going to tell you what my typical pamper evening consists of and which are my favourite products to use during it, whether they be for my face, body or bath. On with the post.. Firstly, I always like to light a candle to give a nice relaxing atmosphere. 

The first thing I do before I even think about getting into the bath is wash my face. At the moment I am loving The Body Shop's Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter. I take a little bit out onto my fingers and rub between my fingers a little. I then just massage it into my skin, whether I'm wearing make-up or not and once it looks like all the make-up has been dissolved, I will wet my fingertips with a little water. Then I continue to massage my skin until the cleanser turns into a lather and then I wipe it off with a damp flannel. Once I have had my bath and am all dried off and have carried out the other steps of my routine, I come back to skincare, using a face mask to give my skin a little treat. At the moment, I love the Sanctuary 5 Minute Thermal Detox Mask. It heats up when you rub it into your skin and is ready to come off once it has cooled down. This means that you dont walk around with your skin feeling really tight and uncomfortable waiting for your face mask to do its job because you just leave it until it cools down and it's ready to take off straight away. The next step, that I can't live without is my toner. I am currently using The Body Shop's Tea Tree Facial Toner. I fell like toner gives your skin that really good and deep final cleanse to get rid of any little nasties that may have been lurking that my cleanser may have missed. Lastly is The Body Shop's Vitamin E Overnight Serum-in-Oil,which I obviously use at night time, because I tend to only have baths in the evenings. I just squeeze out a couple of drops on my fingertips and gently pat it all over my face. I always find that when I use this at night, I wake up the next morning with my skin feeling so smooth and soft. 

Next is the body care bits. This scrub, I wont mention too much as it will be appearing in a post that is coming up at the end of this week, but it has been one of my favourite products to use recently. It is the Strawberry Body Polish from The Body Shop, and it is just a dream to use, and it has unfortunately now run out, but I will definitely be repurchasing it when I run out of my current scrub. For after the bath, I~ have the Butter Yourself Body Cream from Soap & Glory. Moisturiser is a must for me when it comes to the winter months, because my skin can get so dry and this works wonders. My skin drinks it up and I use it morning and night to keep my skin nice and hydrated.

Finally are the products that I use in the bath itself, to make it lovely and fragrant and relaxing. Most of the time I use a bubble bar from Lush to create all the bubble for my bath because you can't have a relaxing bath without bubbles! But I am currently loving this bubble bath from Soap & Glory, the Calm One Calm All bubble bath. It has a built in body lotion for extra moisture for your skin and it has a lovely soothing scent to it. I also can't have a bath without using a bath bomb. I am loving the Lush Christmas Collection, as I do at this time of year every year and have the Lord of Misrule Bath Bomb here to use. I love the colours that they turn your bath and the lovely properties they have for your skin. That is my recipe for a lovely relaxing pamper evening.

What are your essentials for a pamper evening?
♥

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Everyday Make-up Autumn / Winter Edition │ lipsticksandlevis

Hello everyone!

Every season, my everyday make-up changes slightly to suit that time of year and the weather at that time. In winter I like to go for very simple and basic eye and face make-up and bolder lips. I love watching everyday make-up routines on youtube and also reading everyday make-up posts on other beauty blogs, because I like to find out what products other people love enough to use on a daily basis. I love using the posts and videos as inspiration, mainly shopping inspiration, but also to follow make-up trends.

Face Make-up: Benefit Rockateur Blush, Soap and Glory Kick Ass Concealer, The Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder, Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer, Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer.

For my everyday base I like to use the Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation. I use the shade 100 Ivory. This foundation is a good all rounder for me, it doesn't make my skin too dewy or too matte, it lasts a long time and gives a lovely skin like finish. It can be applied to be a lightweight coverage but can also be built up to a medium coverage. I then use the Soap and Glory Kick ass concealer, I use the peach correcting side under my eyes to cancel out the bluish tones. Then i cover any blemishes and the redness around my nose with the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. After my base is complete I go in and contour my face with The Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder, contouring my cheeks, jaw line and temples. I then put the Benefit Rockateur Blush on the apples of my cheeks and drag it back slightly towards my hairline because of the highlighting effect of the blush. 

Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick in 107, MAC Lipstick in Creme Cup, Avon Eyeshadow Primer, Avon Supershock Max Mascara, Sleek Eyebrow Stylist

Next is the eyes, which I like to keep very simple on a day to day basis. I will always go in with my Avon Eyeshadow Primer to cover up the veins that show through the skin on my eyelid and to just even out the colour of my eyelids. Then I may occasionally go in with an eyeliner or a liner brush and shadow to lightly define my lash line, but most of the time I skip that step. I then give my lashes a coat or two of mascara, at the moment that mascara is the Avon Supershock Max mascara. Then it's time for eyebrows which I lightly fill in with the Sleek eyebrow stylist, brushing through with the brush on the other end as I go to keep them as natural as possible. The last step is lips and at the moment my two go to lipsticks are Rimmel Kate Moss in 107, a lovely red wine colour and MAC Lipstick in Creme Cup, a lovely pink toned nude. 

What are your favourite make-up products that you reach for on an everyday basis?

♥

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Autumn & Winter Essentials │ lipsticksandlevis

Hello everyone!

So now that we're halfway through November and it is truly starting to feel like winter here in the UK, I decided that it was time that I shared my Autumn and Winter essentials with you. Basically, the products that I constantly reach for during the colder months, from skincare to make-up to candles. There really is a bit of everything in this post. As we go into autumn, I always tend to reach for darker colours concerning my lips and nails, and I reach for more shimmery, deep coloured eyeshadows. Also, my skin become a lot more dry into autumn and winter, so I always reach for my much more hydrating products, both for my face and body. I also love to upgrade my candles to some christmassy scents, especially spicy ones.  So, here are some of my autumn and winter essentials...

L to R: Rimmel Kate Moss 107, M.A.C Riri Woo, Rimmel Kate Moss 22, Seventeen Supreme /shine Lipstick in Barely Blush, M.A.C Creme Cup

L to R: Sleek i-Divine Palette in au naturel, Bobbi Brown Colour Options Sparkle Dust in Platinum, Maybelline Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze, Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Permanent Taupe, Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Metallic Pomegranate

L to R: Benefit Rockateur Blush, Milani Baked Blush in Rose D'Oro, MUA Blush in Candy Floss, Natural Collection Blush in Peach Melba, Benefit Dandelion Blush

L to R: Essie Power Clutch, Essie Bobbing For Baubles, Rimmel Salon Pro in Celebrity Bash 391, Models Own in Purple Ash, Avon Speed Dry+ in Street Beige, Essie Penny Talk, Models Own in Jack Frost, Avon Nailwear pro+ in Starry Sky

Elizabeth Eight Hour Cream (mini), Carmex Moisturising Lip Balm - Classic, Lush Lip Scrub - Bubblegum

Organic Surge Super Intensive Daily Moisturiser for Dry Skin, The Body Shop Vitamin E Sink In Moisture Mask, Indeed Labs Hydraluron

L to R: Kringle Candle in Gingerbread, Kringle Candle in Christmas, Kringle Candle in Hot Chocolate, Kringle Candle in Atkins Cider Donut, Yankee Candle in Salted Caramel, Yankee Candle Tealights in Candy Cane Lane

What are your essentials for this time of year?
♥

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Zoella Beauty │ lipsticksandlevis

Hello everyone!

Finally being able to put up regular posts is amazing! Basically, our internet was so slow and everything was just such a slow process. from uploading and editing pictures to saving the actual post. Everything would just take so long and I didn't have the time, but now we have super fast internet available out here in the countryside and I am super happy to be able to put up regular posts. The difference in the amount of time it takes me is unreal! Anyway, enough about that. When Zoe Sugg (Zoella) announced that she was releasing 'Zoella Beauty' I was super excited. I love seeing bloggers and vloggers success, I think it's amazing how far they have come from sitting behind their computer screen to releasing products and books and making a business for themselves! As soon as the products were released, I was straight on the internet to have a look and I ended up buying everything from the collection to try out. 

The entire collection: Eyes Beauty Bag £8; Guinea Pig Beauty Bag £8; Soak Opera - Bath Soak / Shower Cream £5; Creamy Madly Dreamy - Body Lotion £5; Blissful Mistful - Frangranced Body Mist £8; Let's Glow Candle £5; Fizz Bar £5

I am yet to try out all of the products from the range, but from what I have tried they are lovely. I love the fresh and really refreshing scent that all of the products have, it's perfect for when you need to have a relaxing bath and clear your head because there are no really strong, distracting scents. I love to use the fragranced mist on a day to day basis because of it's fresh scent. I don't like to wear overpowering scents during the day time so this is perfect. Keep an eye out for a First Impressions post once I have tried them all. If you want to try out any of the products, they are available from both Superdrug and Feel Unique.

Have you tried any of the products from Zoe's range? 

♥

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A festive Lush haul │ lipsticksandlevis

Hello everyone!

I'm sorry for the massive gap in blog posts, several things have been to blame fit it but I'm not going to get into that and just get on with the post! As we're now in November and it's getting a lot colder and the nights are drawing in I am having a lot more baths to help me relax after a long day. Baths are one of my favourite things about the winter time, baths with Lush products in particular! Lush is possibly one of my favourite shops all year round but especially when it gets that little bit colder and they bring out their 'Holiday' collection with all their halloween and christmas inspired products. As soon as they released the collections on their website, I was on there for a sneak peak before I went into the shop planning on getting some old favourites and also trying lots of the products that were new this year. I may have gotten a little overwhelmed when I went into the shop and come out with a rather large, rather heavy bag full of stuff. So, on with the haul!

The first pieces in my little (or large) Lush haul are two shower gels and some 'fun'. I think, although I'm not sure, that all three of these products were brand new for christmas this year. 'So White Shower Gel' was an absolute must for me because of the scent, It has the same fragrance as the So White bath bomb - fresh apples. It is one of my favourite smells from Lush. The shower gel itself has really tiny bits of shimmer, but doesn't leave your skin shimmery after using it. The other shower gel is 'Hot Toddy Showel Gel'. This is basically christmas in a bottle, it just smells like christmas, fullstop. Again, this has a bit of a shimmer to it but doesn't stay on your skin once washed off. The third product, the 'Gold Fun' is something that I have always wanted to try but have just never bought it. This gold coloured one is a limited edition one for christmas and it smells absolutely gorgeous, just like honeycomb. Basically the inside of a Crunchie chocolate bar. I love that this is a dual purpose product that can be used as a shampoo, body wash or bubble bar, and also like play dough to create little models! 

This next little lot are all bubble bars. I was slow to jump of the bubble bar band wagon but as soon as I did, I never got off! Unlike bath bombs, these can be broken apart and used multiple times. On average I get 3-4 uses from the bubble bars although some of the bigger ones you can get up to 6 baths out of, making them great value as well as making your bath both look and smell amazing. 'The Christmas Hedgehog' is a both and bubble bar and bath melt in one. I am not a fan of bath melts because I feel that they tend to leave an oily residue on my skin that I really don't like. but as this isn't solely a bath melt, I thought I would give it ago. Plus it is extremely cute! 'Drummers Drumming' bubble bar smells amazing, like strawberries and cream according to Lush, and acts as a mini drum, so you can make music while you have a bath too! 'Holly Golightly' is probably my favourite product from this haul. Everytime I smell this all I think is 'christmas'. It has a very spicy scent, perfect for the festive season and is covered in this gorgeous silver glitter. 'Sparkly Pumpkin' bubble bar is another gorgeous glitter covered bar and has a classic Lush, really fresh scent. 

Last, are the bath bombs, my favourite products to buy from Lush. I love the way that they move around the bath and create all the different colours. 'So White' is an old favourite of mine. It looks really boring on the outside, just plain white, but it smells of fresh apples which is amazing and on the inside it is different shades of pink. 'Luxury Lush Pud' fast became one of my all time favourite Lush products when it came out last year. It turns your bath an amazing rainbow of colours and the spicy scent is just to die for. 'Dashing Santa' is a new bomb out this year, and I was told in the shop that it has been designed carefully so that the yellow parts are a sort of 'super fizzer' which propel the bath bomb round the bath so it literally is a dashing Santa! 'Cinders' is again an old favourite. I love the spicy scent and it has popping candy which is always amazing. The 'Father Christmas' bath bomb is a must when it comes to this time of year, you can't have christmas without the man himself can you! If I can remember rightly, the inside of this is a deep green colour. This is another spicy smelling one. 'Lord of Misrule' , although it has been out before, is another one that I have never tried. I bought this, again for the spicy scent but also for the fact that it is a gorgeous deep red wine colour on the inside which I thought was really festive.

What are your favourite Lush products? 

♥

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