The Review: Max Factors Colour Elixir Giant Pen Stick

I first clocked eyes on these beauties I was standing in the queue in Boots queue surprise and while bored swatched a few shades. I have tried and tested most of the chubby stick esque lip products and although cutsie and easy to apply, I've never really fallen in love with any of them. However, once this went on my hand, I knew I had to have them. 

Available in six shades, most of them are very wearable, from pinks to browns to reds. The shades I picked up were subtle coral which is funnily enough a sheer subtle coral shade ha.. and hot chocolate, a sheer brown. 

Sheer colour, medium wear time, and a smooth hydrating formula. A definite win win all round. Available from Boots and Superdrug at £6.99

The Review: Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour® Cream Lip Protectant Stick Sheer Tint Honey

The search for the perfect every day lipstick has ended. With this. 

Enter Elizabeth Ardens Lip Protectant in Honey. Creamy, beautiful colour with SPF that is pigmented but doesn't emit that I hadn't realised it was daytime so I'm wearing fushia on my lips vibe. Lovely. 

The packaging isn't as luxe as possibly it could be, however with such a gem of a product inside, I won't be embarrassed to whip this out on the tube. 

I have the shade Honey, as it is a good match for my skin tone, however there are three other beautiful shades in plum, berry and blush. 

Swatched on my hand, it's a sheer yet beautiful formula. 

Overall, I am in love. I will no longer be on the hunt for my perfect daytime nude. Too big of a statement? Probably. Do I take it back? Not for now..

An Ode to the Sun

Sun cream. No one wants to wear it, so here is me trying to glam it up a little. 

As much as I have enjoyed the many many 'look how sunburnt I am no one can beat this' tweets and instagrams, it has to be said that clearly many of us, myself included, are walking down the inevitable path of leather face. And yes, this includes you. 

But there are steps you can take to avoid it, and after seeing some of the tomato-esque photos, I highly recommend that you do! 

First up, La Roche Posay Anthelios range. Huh? La Roche Posay, the skincare experts in practically every area, (and sold in boots) have a suncare range which doesn't just include SPF and UVA protection, but leaves a non-sticky finish that is perfect to apply make up on. Sounds good right? It is. 

The whole Anthelios range is on 25% off in boots at the moment, so no excuses pale and tanned girls alike, now you can enjoy your tans guilt free! 

Polish Parade

My nails and I have a particularly love hate relationship- that being when I take a trip to the nail salon I love them, and in general they hate me. Le sigh. 

So in aid of all things polished, I decided to cut the fakery and embrace the natural nail.. so far so good, and with this in mind here are my must haves for an at home manicure, and my tried and tested colours. Aren't I nice?

First up, nail file. Now I for one am terrified of having my nails filed, nothing makes me cringe more than that nails on the chalkboard feeling. So over the years I've been using my trustee crystal nail file, a worthy investment as they never loose their grit! 

Next comes the cuticles. Sally Hanson brings it in this department, however any cuticle gel will suffice. Push them back with a cuticle pusher, I love the kiss set from boots. 

Now for the boring layer of the polished cake. Base coat. Groans. Although it may seem unnecessary, a good base good is essential to keeping your polish smooth and chip-free. The Sticky Base Coat (CND) is a dream.

Next the best part. Polish. Pick your fave and swipe away, simple. 

Lastly, top coat. Now you've heard me mention this before, but it requires another, trust me. Seche vite, I love you. Swiped across the finished look, if seals, shines and dries in an instant. What's not to love? 

Add a little hand cream if you have a tendency for dry hands, the caudalie one is fab (and smells like orange ice lollies) and voila, perfect talons off you go. 

Long Hair Dont Care

Sometimes, most of time, long hair can be a real pain, but there simply isn't anything like having a scarf of hair to give you confidence on a down day.

Looking after your long locks can equally be hard work, but with a little patience, time and products that work well with your hair, we can all grow our own rapunzel at home, and here are just a few of my cant live without long hair picks.

John Freida Recovery Masque

Okay so yes, this does contain silicones, dont shoot me, but its the only thing I can put in my hair that will turn it from it dried when i was asleep and now looks rasta-esque to look at my long thick locks. Used once a week just on the very ends, this has been in my stash since I was about ooh, 14, and still holds a firm place there. Ive got stocks to the high heavens incase its ever discontinued, which should say a lot.

Ojon Volume Advance Shampoo

This shampoo, although a bit of a splurge at £18 a bottle, is one of the few products that made a noticeable difference to my hair after one wash. Having long hair, pretty much nothing will give it any volume whatsoever, but after foaming up with this, Im pretty sure I saw some lift. A-ma-zing.

Schwarzkopf Heat Protectant

Big big fan. When curling my hair or adding *trying to add• any volume to my hair, this is the only heat protectant spray I reach for. When going for straight, Ill go for the Tresemme one, I forget the name, but we all know which one I mean..

Aussie Leave-In Conditioner

When in a rush and skipping the conditioner, it can be a little tricky manoeuvring a hairbrush through my mane. Enter the Aussie Luscious Long Leave-In Conditioner, sprayed into wet hair, imparts a lovely Aussie scent and detangles my hair in no time.

Detangling Brushes
Original Tangle Teaser (left)
Aqua Tangle Teaser (middle)
Michael Mercier Detangling Brush (right)

These three bad boys I couldnt be without. Aqua for in-shower, Original for post-shower, Michael Mercier for dry and my travel tangle teaser for the handbag. Job Done.

The Summer Edit

As summer is slowly approaching, its time to collate all of my summer must haves, and boy are there some good'uns.

Safe to say that Bourjois makes a hefty appearance in this post. Well, they released a lot of good new products this summer, so it'd be rude not to..

Bourjois bronzing primer

Let me start by saying i absolutely hate this as a primer. However used as a cream bronzer it is a total beauty. 

Creamy, long lasting, light yet pigmented it is my must have summer bronzer, emitting a glowy but not sparkly summer bronze, and at £9.99 its a bargain.

This product is also very similar to the Soleil Tan De Chanel, which at £31 isn't great value for money, and being made by the same company, I wouldn't now repurchase.

Bourjois BB cream

The beauty of this bronzing bb cream is that it emits a lovely tanned glow on good skin days, but can also be mixed in with much loved but too pale winter bases, ramping up the bronze, lowering the coverage, and producing a new light weight summer ready base. Lovely.

Bourjois cream blusher

These are just. Melt. Such creamy and beautiful textures that swipe onto the skin leaving a light and dewey wash of sheer colour, perfect for summer. Mmmm.

Sleek peaches blush

Although in powder form, this is one of my most used every day blushes. A very pigmented and creamy formula, for which is upheld across the sleek brand, provides a beautiful peach pigment on the skin, and one that lasts, too.

Revlon Lip Butters

It could be said I am a little fanatic about these lip butters. A huge colour selection, creamy buttery texture, long lasting, need I go on? These are absolutely perfect for summer, matte bold lips move aside, a sheer wash of dainty summer colour is here, to stay.

Ikea Alex Make Up Storage

So after much anticipation, the Ikea Alex has finally landed into my possession, and it couldn't have come a day sooner. With one (lie) too many bases and 10 brands of the same shade of lipstick, I was on the hunt for a new place to store my offerings, and the Ikea Alex was chosen to be the one.

 Tall and Skinny Storage

Two Drawer Sizes

Face Base Wardrobe 1

Fave Base Wardrobe 2

All in all, a beautiful £85 spend, all in the name of neatness. 

Was it necessary? No. Was it satisfying? Oh yeah.

Triple Threat Facial

After a long hard day of facing the dirt and grime of the tube, there is nothing i enjoy more than a pampering triple threat facial. 

Cue entrance of the all-knowing skincare goddess Caroline Hirons, and a personal favourite blogger Anna from viviannadoesmakeup, these two have got this down to a tee.

Essentially, the triple threat facial does what it says on the tin, and its the perfect got the sunday blues, need to ramp up the skincare for monday morning routine.

1. Detox

2. Exfoliate

3. Moisturise

First up is the detox, the favourite step in my opinion, as it draws out impurities and allows for that i forgot this was on, now ive laughed, and my face has cracked moment. Two to mention here are the Origins Clear Improvement mask (£20) and the Superdrug Mud Mask as a budget alternative.

Next up is exfoliation. The  REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask uses fruit acids to get rid of dead skin without the need to slough it off with a manual exfoliant in the shower. A budget buy for this, and one i use regularly is the Superdrug Radience Mask.

Lastly is moisturise. Although we may not all feel the need for extra moisture *speaking for myself here* many skincare experts say most of us will have dehydrated skin, even if its oily. To combat this, the peachy smelling Origins Drink Up Intensive is called into play, left on overnight to give the skin a good dose of hydration, or just because i love the smell. Budget buy for this? Superdrug Sachet Mask.

Je t'aime Seche Vite

After a year or two of continually loving my bi-weekly trip to the acetone smelling nail salon, i finally decided to give them up and embrace the natural nail. Although this may sound like a win for natural beauty, it really, really wasn't. 

So after a few applications of nail varnish chipping within the day, i embarked on the hunt for the perfect top coat, and boy did i find it.

Enter: Seche Vite.

Not only does it leave the most shiny hard top coat, its available in larger boots stores and it keeps chips at bay for the week, leaving me more time to order numerous take aways. Dont pretend you dont.

Oil Banishing Base Wardrobe

As a particularly oily skinned gal, i have on rotation a collection of great-for-oily-skin bases that i like to wear day to day. I think of it as a sort of face base wardrobe.

So here are my current favourites, day and night.

Daytime

Lancome (left)
This is my go to for medium glowy coverage during the day, that doesn't build up like an oil slick. As its oil-free, its ticks my boxes.

L'oreal Lumi Magic (middle)
Although this has the word 'lumi' in the name, which would usually have me running for the hills, I find it to be a lot less oily than its ancestor the true match.

Garnier bb cream Oil Free (right)
This is probably my most repurchased item, ever. A light to medium coverage, oil free bb cream that covers particularly well and leaves a nice skin like finish on the skin. Winner.

Evening

Smashbox Studio Skin
Although a little more matte than I usually reach for, this base is perfect for a long and hot night out. Pretty much transfer resistant, even with a dance floor sweat going on, its a favourite of mine.

Bobbi Brown Long Wear
The new version of my all time favourite and greatly missed natural finish, is the long wear. Not dewey nor matte, it has a skin like finish that sets like paint and wont come off until you want it to. but not really even then..

Laura Mercier Silk Creme
This little beauty is just. uhh. With an ever so slightly dream matte mousse like texture, it blends on like an absolute dream, giving off an airbrushed finish. Come to mama.

Skincare Essentials

Any make up lover will tell you they have developed a love of skincare, as 'make up sits better on good skin'. Not having been blessed with the best of them, I have a few product picks that are tried and tested and have stayed in my stash throughout the long haul.

Double Cleanse 

(Put your wipes down ladies)

Emma Hardie

Liz Earle (not pictured)

Bioderma

Garnier Eye make up remover

Exfoliate

Pixie Glow Tonic

LRP exfoliator

Treatment

LRP effeclar duo (right)

Moisturise
garnier moisture match (left)

Vichy (middle)

Bolt-Ons

skin obsession