Tuesday 31 January 2017

MAC Mariah Carey Collection Blush And Lipstick - Worth The Hype?

MAC Mariah Carey Collection Blush And Lipstick - Worth The Hype?

Hello Lovelies 

I have been buying MAC makeup for 20 years now, maybe a little longer and I still look forward to their new collections, I am not always blown away by them all but one of the collections I could not wait to launch last year was the MAC Mariah Carey collection which launched online 8th December 2016 and in stores 15th December 2016 here in the UK and what a beautiful collection it was. 

The collection included 2 eyeshadow quads, 4 lipsticks, 2 pro longwear lip pencils, 2 blushers, 4 lip glasses, a liquid eyeliner, 2 sets of false lashes, an extra dimension skin finish, loose body powder, a 183 body brush and a 239 eyeshadow brush so it was quite a large collection. The packaging was absolute perfection and I think is what drew people in to wanting it, it was silver sparkly and champagne gold and who doesn't love a bit of sparkle? 

Although I adored the collection and most of the products, the only products that really drew me in were the lipsticks and the blushers, I love blush and I love lipstick so it was a no brainer that they would be the products I liked the most. My daughters had told me not to buy any of the collection as they wanted to buy me something from the collection for Christmas so I did as I was told and didn't pick anything up which was hard when I kept seeing photographs of everyones purchases on Instagram.

MAC Mariah Carey Collection Blush And Lipstick - Worth The Hype?

However when Christmas day arrived, I was absolutely thrilled to find my girls had bought me one of the lipsticks and one of the blushers. I have been using both for the last few weeks and thought I would share my thoughts on what has to be one of the most hyped MAC collections of all time and let you know if I think it is worth the hype that surrounded it.

MAC Mariah Carey Sweet Sweet Fantasy Blush

MAC Mariah Carey Collection Blush And Lipstick - Worth The Hype?

MAC Mariah Carey Collection Blush And Lipstick - Worth The Hype?

MAC Mariah Carey Collection Blush And Lipstick - Worth The Hype?

The packaging of the blush is absolutely stunning, even the box is nice! The box is champagne gold and silver sparkly with the Mariah signature and MAC Mariah Carey inscribed on it. The actual blush packaging is pretty but I would have preferred it to be silver sparkly instead of champagne gold, it is still beautiful though. The blush has champagne gold packaging with a clear lid with the same Mariah signature and MAC Mariah written on it in gold. 

The Sweet Sweet Fantasy blush is a gorgeous bright pinky coral shade with a semi matte finish, it has a very subtle sheen which looks absolutely beautiful on the skin. The blush applies effortlessly without fallout and isn't powdery at all, it wears extremely well,  I have worn it for over 8 hours and not experienced any fading at all.

The blush is very pigmented so I use a light hand when applying it, it looks lovely on the skin and doesn't accentuate any pores, I love the semi matte finish, I have chosen to wear matte blush for a long time over other finishes as I felt I preferred them, but this semi matte finish is absolutely stunning and has just the right amount of sheen for me and has definitely changed my mind on wearing a matte blush over other finishes.

MAC Mariah Lipstick in Dahhlinggg!

MAC Mariah Carey Collection Lipstick in Dahhlinggg!

The packaging of the lipstick in Dahhlinggg! has to be the nicest lipstick packaging in my whole collection, it is stunning, the box is again champagne gold with silver sparkle and the same signature and writing as the blush, but the actual lipstick packaging is pure silver sparkle with a champagne gold insert and the mariah signature on it, the lipstick bullet has a butterfly embossed on it and is extremely pretty. 

MAC Mariah Carey Collection Lipstick in Dahhlinggg!

Dahhlinggg! is a cremesheen finish meaning it is moisturising with a slightly glossy finish, MAC cremesheen isn't my favourite finish but it is nice and moisturising and lasts well on me. Dahhlinggg is a peachy pink shade with warm undertones and is very pale, it has a semi-opaque finish and is buildable, I wore the lipstick for 4 hours before having to re apply. 

Dahhlinggg! is very pale and is a tad too pale for my complexion so I have been wearing it with a nude/pink lip liner underneath, my 2 favourite lip liners to wear with it are MAC Soar and Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk, they both compliment the lipstick really well and look lovely worn underneath the lipstick, all over the lip. Dahhlinggg! feels lovely on the lips and is nice and moisturising, it doesn't bleed or feather at all and wears away nicely too. 

MAC Mariah Carey Collection Blush & Lipstick Swatches

Overall Thoughts & Is the collection worth the hype?

I absolutely adore the packaging of both the blush and the lipstick, I would as I said have preferred it if the blush had had the same sparkly packaging as the lipstick, but the champagne gold is still very pretty, I have kept the products in their boxes too and they look so pretty in my collection.

Sweet Sweet Fantasy blush is absolutely stunning and the shade is right up my street, I love bright coral/pink shades and this is perfect and I adore the semi matte finish, it is beautiful and a shade I can wear all year round, that looks lovely with many different eye and lip combinations. 

Dahhlinggg! although a little too pale for me when worn alone, may look better when I am tanned in the summer, but it does look beautiful when worn over a deeper nude/pink liner as I have been choosing to wear it, it feels lovely on the lips and doesn't bleed or feather at all and feels moisturising and very comfortable to wear. 

I really love both the blush and the lipstick and know I will get a lot of wear out of them, I definitely think both products are worth the hype, the packaging is absolutely stunning and both are beautiful products that can be worn all year round and look lovely with many different makeup looks. 

Sometimes with limited edition products, especially ones with stunning packaging, the products aren't always wearable or very good for that matter but these are both extremely wearable and excellent products, my favourite of the two is most definitely the blush but I love both products and am extremely happy to have them in my collection. 

Sometimes MAC re launch products into other collections or they add them into their permanent line and if that is the case with Sweet Sweet Fantasy and Dahhlinggg! I would highly recommend picking them up and if you do happen to see them in the stunning Mariah packaging, snap them up! 

Debenhams do have a couple of products still available from the MAC Mariah Carey collection, if you would like to check them out, you can do so via this link

Did you pick anything up from the MAC Mariah Carey collection? Do you think it's worth the hype? Chat with me in the comments and let me know. 

Thank you for reading, much love as always

Zoe x







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Friday 27 January 2017

Milani Rose Powder Blush In 08 Tea Rose

Milani Rose Powder Blush In 08 Tea Rose

Hello Lovelies

You may already know this, but I am a bit of a blush fiend, I love blush which is funny because only a few years ago I wouldn't ever wear it, I have a very pink undertone to my skin and I always thought that wearing blush would make me look even more pink, giving me that just slapped look, so I shied away from it until only a few years ago when I realised that wearing foundation and concealer actually gave me a nice blank canvas and although I do have a pink tone to my skin, blush actually looks nice and doesn't make me look like I've been slapped. 

For Christmas one of my lovely friends bought me the Milani Rose Powder Blush in the shade Tea Rose 08, she knows how much I love blush and this shade is right up my street, it is perfect for me. I have seen the Milani Rose Powder Blushes on blog posts and always thought they looked stunning so I was so thrilled to receive my own and it is absolutely beautiful. 

The packaging of the blush is lovely, it comes in a pretty gold compact with a clear lid with the Milani logo and "powder blush" in gold. 

Milani Rose Powder Blush In 08 Tea Rose

On the back of the compact is the name and number of the blush and the ingredients. 

Milani Rose Powder Blush In 08 Tea Rose

The lid of the compact is transparent so the blush is clearly visible through the lid but once you open the compact you can see how stunning the blush actually is, it is absolutely beautiful. 

Milani Rose Powder Blush In 08 Tea Rose

Milani Rose Powder Blush In 08 Tea Rose

The blush has a raised floral design and is very pretty indeed, it is so pretty I worried that as soon as I began using the blush the pattern would wear down but so far it hasn't and I have used it quite a few times. 

Tea Rose is a beautiful soft pink shade with cool undertones and has a matte finish, matte blushers are my favourite blush finish, I like to wear a matte blush and then highlight on the tops of my cheekbones and this blush is perfect, it is the perfect shade for me and I love that it's matte and it is also extremely pigmented so a light hand is most definitely needed when applying the blush. 

The blush applies well, I use a light hand as it is very pigmented, the blush has quite a powdery texture but isn't chalky at all it feels lovely and smooth on my skin and lasts really all day without fading. There is a massive 17g of product in the blush which is a brilliant amount, for comparison purposes a standard MAC blush contains 6g of product, so the Milani blush contains an impressive amount of product. 

Milani Rose Powder Blush In 08 Tea Rose

The Milani Tea Rose blush is absolutely stunning and I adore it,  not only is it aesthetically pleasing but it is beautiful on the skin too and compliments many different makeup looks and lip shades, it is a blush I can wear all year round and one I know is going to get a lot of wear since I have worn it so much already. 

If you would like to purchase the Milani Tea Rose blush or one of the other available shades of the Rose Powder blushers, you can find them on the Beauty Bay website HERE priced at £9.00 (17g). 

Have you tried the Milani Rose Powder blush in the shade Tea Rose, or any of the other shades? Are there any other Milani products you would recommend for me to try? Let me know in the comments section below. 

Thank you for reading, much love as always

Zoe x 



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Tuesday 24 January 2017

No Worries Journal

No Worries Journal

Hello Lovelies,

I am a born worrier, one of my 2016 goals that I completely failed at was to worry less.  I worry about every single eventuality there is, I have been a worrier for as long as I can remember but in recent years having been diagnosed with depression and anxiety my worrying has gone to a whole new level and at the moment because of some awful things that myself and also my family went through in the later months of 2015 and earlier months of 2016 my anxiety is at an all time high which means my worrying is affected and is bordering on ridiculous, I know it's not right but can't seem to stop worrying and it is affecting me and I need to try and stop worrying so much. 

Unfortunately my daughters are also worriers, Cole has Aspergers Syndrome so she has very black and white thinking but she also obsesses about things, so she worries about things such as the house falling down because the roof is leaking, I can always speak to Cole and rationalise things with her and she is fine then but my youngest daughter is more like me in that she will worry about something and the worrying can take over and she won't think rationally at all about things. 

A couple of weeks before Christmas, I saw a book on the ASOS website called No Worries, the title instantly drew me in so I clicked on the image to find out more about the book. 

No Worries Journal


No Worries is a journal and is ideal for people like myself and my daughters who worry a lot, when I'd read into the book I thought it would be perfect for myself and Lissy, not so much for Cole, it isn't really something she would be interested in. I told Lissy about the book and said I was going to pick it up for us both, but unfortunately it was out of stock and stayed that way for a while. Lissy has access to a book store through her university and they had it in stock so she surprised me by buying me a copy, she also bought herself one. 

No Worries is a brilliant book and something I wanted to share on my blog because I feel it could help a lot of people like me who worry a lot. 

No Worries Journal

No Worries is a journal, a book you fill in, the book also has lots of inspirational quotes throughout  which I have found really helpful, a couple of my favourite quotes from the book are "worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere" and "my life has been full of terrible misfortunes, most of which never happened" the second quote is most definitely me! 

Aside from the quotes the purpose of the No Worries journal is to break the habit of replaying negative outcomes in your mind, there are steps to follow and sections to fill in. 

No Worries Journal

Each page has steps to follow and both the right hand page and left hand page work together, on the right hand page at the top is a space for the date, it is blank for you to fill in and just says "Today" and then has gaps for the day, month and year. 

Under the date it says "This is my worry": and then there are a few lines for you to write your worry, under than it says "Can I do something about it?" and then there is a "Yes" and "No" section, under the "Yes" section there are arrows and spaces to write and it says "Here's my plan" so you can write what you aim to do about the worry and where it says "No" it says "Time to move on and check back later" 

No Worries Journal

Then on the right hand side of the page it says at the top "Checking back after - Days - Weeks - Months" and there is a space to write how many days/weeks/months. Then under that is says "What happened" and there is a few lines to explain what happened, then under that space it says "How I feel now" and again a space to write how your feeling. Next there is "No longer a worry? Tear off the tab" and an arrow pointing to the corner of the book which has a tear off corner in pink and says "worry corner" on it.

No Worries Journal

I absolutely love the concept of this journal and I am really hoping it can help both me and Lissy with our worrying. It is a great book, easy to fill in and something that isn't too time consuming and can be done in a couple of minutes and it will be so good to be able to tear the worry corners off too if and when my worries are sorted out. 

I will of course come back and let you know how I am getting on with the book and if it has helped me but I am hoping that if/when I start to see that some corners have been torn off, it will help me not to worry so much. 

If you would like to purchase the No Worries journal for yourself or for a friend/relative, you can find it HERE on the ASOS website priced at £9.99 or HERE on the WHSmith website priced at £9.20 or HERE on the Amazon website priced at £9.99. 

Do you or a friend/relative of yours worry a lot? What do you think of the No Worries journal, is it something you would buy to help yourself or a friend/relative? Do you have this journal and has it helped you? Please chat with me in the comments and let me know. 

Thank you for reading, much love as always 

Zoe x







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Saturday 21 January 2017

MAC Nutcracker Sweet Peach Face Compact

MAC Nutcracker Sweet Peach Face Compact

Hello Lovelies

You may have seen in my "What I Got For Christmas" video (see video here) that I received rather a lot of makeup and within that makeup were some items from the MAC Nutcracker Christmas or Holiday collection for 2016. One of the items I received from that collection is the Sweet Peach Face Compact, a stunning blush and highlight compact, I received so many requests to write a post on this compact and when I asked in my video people to let me know which items they would like to see in a blog post first, the Nutcracker items were one of the most popular, so today I am sharing my thoughts on the face compact with you. 

MAC Nutcracker Sweet Peach Face Compact

The packaging of the whole collection was lovely, it was pink and purple striped with gold detail and gold MAC lettering, the box is so pretty and the compact inside looks exactly like the box. It is a sturdy plastic compact with the back and inside of the compact being black and with the striped detail on the lid with the gold which actually feels like ribbon/twine. Inside the compact are the blush and highlight both embossed with the same pattern as the box and compact, housed in the lid of the compact is a mirror which is almost the full size of the lid, it is a good sized mirror. 

MAC Nutcracker Sweet Peach Face Compact

The Sweet Peach compact contains the extra dimension skin finish highlight in the shade Tutu and the extra dimension blush in the shade At Dusk, the palette was also available in another shade combination, that palette is the sweet copper palette, the highlight in that palette was Whisper Of Guilt and the blush was Pleasure Model.

MAC Nutcracker Sweet Peach Face Compact

The sweet peach face compact is absolutely stunning, I am a huge blush fan and have been for many years, I love blush and for years and years didn't wear it because I have rosy cheeks and I always thought wearing blush was wrong and feared it would make me look like I'd been either slapped or were the long lost twin of Aunt Sally (I'm showing my age now) but once I realised that blush actually complimented my makeup look and actually looked nice, I have always been a huge fan. 

Highlight is also something that I shied away from and always used but always opted for a subtle highlight, last Christmas (2015) my friend bought me The Balm Mary Lou Manizer and I loved it and still do, since then I have embraced highlight and worn a more obvious highlight rather than a subtle one, I'm not saying I walk round looking like a glitter ball but I now enjoy wearing highlight and I don't shy away from it at all, I love it. 

MAC Nutcracker Sweet Peach Face Compact

Extra Dimension Skin Finish - Tutu

Tutu is a bright, light beige highlight with warm peachy undertones, it has a metallic finish, is extremely pigmented and has an excellent colour payoff, it is so soft and smooth and it applies like a dream and lasts on my skin all day. Tutu doesn't accentuate my pores and gives the most stunning glow, I adore it. Tutu is a new colour and limited edition but knowing MAC and also knowing how popular the face compacts were and how fast they sold out, I think we can hope that MAC will add Tutu to it's permanent line in the not too distant future.

Extra Dimension Blush - At Dusk

At Dusk is a medium pink shade with warm undertones and has a satin finish so it has just the right amount of a sheen to it without it being shimmery, I do usually prefer a matte blush but I have been finding myself leaning towards a satin finish and At Dusk is stunning, it gives a beautiful flush to my cheeks and has a stunning subtle sheen that looks incredible paired with the highlight and lasts beautifully on my skin. At Dusk has been released previously but is limited edition within this collection but as with the highlight I think we may see it being released in the permanent line soon. 

MAC Nutcracker Sweet Peach Face Compact swatches

I am absolutely in love with this compact, both the blush and the highlight are stunning,  both apply beautifully and last extremely well, they don't accentuate my pores and they compliment each other perfectly, they are both stunning shades and if MAC do bring these out into their permanent line, I would highly recommend you snap them up immediately. 

MAC blush and highlighters are all beautiful and they last such a long time, it takes me a long time to hit pan on either product and although they are more expensive than some brands, they are worth it in my eyes, unfortunately I cannot leave you a link to the face compact as it is sold out everywhere online but if I do hear of MAC adding these shades to their permanent line (possibly with a different name) I will of course let you know as soon as I know. In the mean time, you can check out the MAC blushes and highlight that they do have in stock HERE

Do you have this face compact or the Sweet Copper face compact? And do you have any items from the Nutcracker collection and what were your favourite items from the collection? Chat with me in the comments and let me know. 

Thank you for reading, much love as always 

Zoe x









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Friday 13 January 2017

Estee Lauder Micro Essence Skin Activating Treatment Lotion

Estee Lauder Micro Essence Skin Activating Treatment Lotion

Hello Lovelies

Having extremely dry skin and also dehydrated skin is something I have mentioned a lot on my blog so I am sure unless my blog is new to you, you're aware of my skin woes. Around 6 months ago I was chatting to the sales assistant on Estee Lauder and we were just having a general chat about makeup and beauty etc she wasn't trying to sell me anything. 

We got talking about skin care and she kindly told me she didn't think I looked old enough to have daughters the age mine are, then we were talking about our skin types and I told her how I hated my dry skin and as winter was soon approaching that it would only get worse, and boy has it got worse! The lady recommended I try the Estee Lauder Micro Essence Skin Activating Treatment Lotion, she put a little on the back of my hand and it did feel nice, she said it was really good for dry skin but didn't really go too much into detail about it, I decided to research the micro essence myself and found that it might be something that would be good for my skin but it is expensive and I was unsure about spending that kind of money. 

A few weeks later my daughter actually bought me a bottle as a gift, she is a MUA and gets brand discount so she was able to purchase the micro essence for less than half the price I could and she picked me a bottle up as she knew I wanted to try it but was worried about the price. I have been using it now since mid August and wanted to let you know my thoughts. 

What Estee Lauder Say About Micro Essence

Micro and mighty. This essence-in-lotion activates and strengthens skin's foundation to reveal its youthful, angelic glow.

MICRO TARGETED: penetrates deeply and rapidly within skin's surface to renew and rebalance its appearance.


MICRO NOURISHING: delivers a precise concentration of exclusive Micro-Nutrient Bio-Ferment.


MICRO ACTIVE: Activates multiple natural pro-youth abilities to replenish the look of skin.


My Thoughts

First of all I have to say I love the packaging, it is a lovely frosted glass bottle with a gold lid but glass packaging does scare me a little because I worry I might drop it and smash my sink, needless to say, this doesn't leave the bedroom! But aside from that it is nice packaging. 


Estee Lauder Micro Essence Skin Activating Treatment Lotion

Estee Lauder Micro Essence Skin Activating Treatment Lotion

The Micro Essence Skin Activating Treatment Lotion comes in 2 sizes, 75ml (£48.00) and 150ml (£68.00) in terms of value for money, buying the 150ml makes much more sense because you are getting double the amount for £20.00 more. I have the 150ml size and have been using it for a good few months now and I am not even a quarter of the way down the bottle which is good news considering the price.

I apply the micro essence by tipping a little into the palm of my hand and then patting my hands together and patting it onto my face, if I need to concentrate on certain areas of my face I will upturn the bottle onto my finger and apply it where I want to, you can pop it onto a cotton pad and use it like you would a toner but I feel you would waste a lot of product using it like that and lets face it, it is too expensive to waste. I apply the micro essence after my toner and before my serum morning and night time. 

The first time I ever used the micro essence I used it in a morning and I noticed straight away that my serum didn't sink immediately into my skin after applying it, because my skin is so dry/dehydrated it usually does but it didn't, it took a few seconds to sink in and my moisturiser seemed to take a little longer to sink in too. The more I used the micro essence the more I noticed my serum and moisturiser would take longer to sink into my skin and the same at night with my advance night repair or mask or whatever I might be using, they were taking longer to sink in too. 

I have been using the micro essence for 4.5 months now and my skin definitely feels less dehydrated, I have to admit there have been times when I have let my skincare slide due to my health recently but when I have been using my skincare I have used the micro essence and it has definitely made a difference to my skin and the dehydration, and I am really pleased with the results and think if I had not let my routine slide I would have had much better results than I have. 

Would I re purchase? I have to be honest here and say yes 100% at the discounted price but I am not in a position financially to spend £68.00 on a skincare product, if I were then yes, absolutely and without hesitation I would purchase it at the full price, but for me, if I can't get it at the discounted price then unfortunately I will have to find an alternative, but judging on the amount I have used, it will last me a very long time anyway, but if this is within your budget I would say 100% go for it.

If you would like to try the Estee Lauder Micro Essence Skin Activating Treatment Lotion, you can find it on the Estee Lauder website here £48.00 (75ml) Look Fantastic also stock the 150ml bottle here priced at £68.00.

Have you tried the micro essence? Can you recommend a similar product that you think I'd love? Let me know in the comments section below. 

Thank you for reading, much love as always

Zoe x




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Saturday 7 January 2017

Foundation Brush V's Complexion Sponge

Makeup Test - Foundation Brush Or Complexion Sponge? With Brush Works

Hello Lovelies

A couple of years ago I discovered complexion sponges or makeup sponges as they are also known, since then I have tried a few different sponges from a different brands from budget to high end and I have a couple of favourites, one of which comes from the brand Brush Works

Since using complexion sponges, I have rarely used a brush to apply my foundation so today I am going to put both a foundation brush and a complexion sponge to the test, both from Brush Works and set them against each other in a little test and see which one comes out on top for me, will it be the complexion sponge or the brush? 


Makeup Test - Foundation Brush Or Complexion Sponge? With Brush Works

Makeup Test - Foundation Brush Or Complexion Sponge? With Brush Works

Makeup Test - Foundation Brush Or Complexion Sponge? With Brush Works

The foundation brush I used is a Brush Works standard flat foundation brush, the handle is a nice length and the head of the brush a nice size too, I like that it is duo fibre as I find these brushes usually work well for me. The brush head is a nice size, not too big or small and it feels incredibly soft, I like the colours of the brush too, the black handle is classy and the purple ferrule makes a nice change from silver which you would normally find on a makeup brush. 

My foundation applied well using the brush, the brush was brilliant for using under and around my eyes and around my nose. I didn't find I was left with brush strokes on my face and the brush feels very soft on my skin, I hadn't used a brush for such a long time to apply my foundation but I have really enjoyed using the brush and am loving the flawless finish it gives me. 



Makeup Test - Foundation Brush Or Complexion Sponge? With Brush Works

Makeup Test - Foundation Brush Or Complexion Sponge? With Brush Works

The complexion sponge I used looks a bit like a purple egg with a waist, it has a more pointed end and a bigger rounded end and is tapered at the middle. It is easy to hold and expands when wet, it feels lovely and soft on the skin and does an excellent job of applying and blending my foundation. I use the pointed end to apply and blend my foundation around and under my eyes and around my nose and use the rounded, larger end to apply and blend my foundation on my forehead and cheeks. I like that the sponge doesn't absorb too much product so didn't waste my foundation and my foundation applied really well and blended out well onto my skin and gave a beautiful flawless finish. 

Overall Thoughts & Which Do I Prefer?

I absolutely loved using both the brush and the sponge and both gave me a nice flawless finish to my foundation, both wash and dry really well and keep their shape and the brush hasn't shed at all, even when washing. 

The brush is a nice size and gets into all the crevices on my face and the sponge is lovely and soft and I love that it doesn't soak up my foundation like other sponges I have tried. The sponge is very soft and feels lovely on my skin and the brush bristles are lovely and soft and feel lovely too and they are both very affordable and perform just as well as much more expensive tools I have in my collection. 

It is quite a hard choice but for me the Complexion Sponge wins for the simple reason that I have gotten used to using a sponge to apply my foundation and it felt quite alien to me to use a brush again, but that is the only reason that I would choose the sponge over the brush, in terms of application and finish they are equal and there is no winner, they are both incredible for applying foundation and I enjoyed using them both equally.

It has been really interesting putting the brush and the sponge to the test against each other, I think we all get so used to doing things a certain way and years ago it was such a strange concept for me to use any kind of brush to apply my foundation as I'd always used my fingers, then I got used to using a flat foundation brush, then I moved onto buffing type brushes and then onto the complexion sponges and I fell in love with using the sponges that I have, and over the last couple of years I haven't gone back to using a brush so it has been nice this last few weeks using a brush again and putting the brush and the sponge up against each other. 

Brush Works brushes and complexion sponges are some of the best brushes and sponges I have in my collection and always perform brilliantly, they are such an affordable brand too and I cannot recommend them highly enough.

If you would like to try both the foundation brush and the complexion sponge, you can find the Foundation Brush here priced at £5.99 and the Complexion Sponge here priced at £4.99. 

Which do you prefer? A brush or a sponge? Let me know in the comments below. 

Thank you for reading, much love as always 

Zoe x


✿ Post contains PR Samples or Gifted Items




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Friday 6 January 2017

Favourite Blogs I Discovered In 2016

Favourite Blogs I Discovered In 2016

Hello Lovelies

I love reading blogs, I read lots of different blogs and I really enjoy reading them, some of them are blogs written by some of my best friends and some by people I've never met and I love reading them all. There are a lot of blogs that I have been reading for a long time, some as long as 6 years and I have many long time favourites but each year I love finding new blogs to read. During 2016 I found quite a few new blogs to read and some of those blogs have become firm favourites of mine and today I want to share those blogs with you, the blogs are in alphabetical order. 



I discovered Antonia's blog through my friend Gemma, who also writes one of my favourite blogs. Myself and Gemma always like the same thing and it seems this expands to bloggers/blogs too, Gemma told me how lovely Antonia is and I checked out her blog and loved it immediately. Antonia has a lovely mix of posts on her blog, she has the most amazing recipe posts that always make me feel hungry, and some fantastic beauty posts and product reviews too, plus some great lifestyle posts. I really enjoy reading her blog and through Gemma have gotten to know her a little and she is a really nice person too, there's nothing not to like, and her blog is exactly the same. 



Beautylymin is written by the lovely Siobhan, I adore Siobhan's blog, she is very honest with her reviews, and her empties posts are amongst my favourites along with her haul posts especially when she had visited the USA! Siobhan's posts are always thorough and informative and she always gives plenty of information on the products making her posts both interesting and helpful. Myself and Siobhan have very similar skin types and she is the skincare goddess which I have found super helpful. It has also become apparent we like the same things which has it's downside because my purse cries every time I read a post and my wishlist grows! 



I only discovered Emmy's blog at the very end of 2016 but I am loving it and it has fast become a favourite of mine, her posts are brilliant and informative and I am finding myself wanting lots of things she has mentioned already. I have recently chatted with Emmy via Instagram and she seems so lovely, she also designs the most wonderful blog headers, so if you're after a new header and a great blog, Emmy's your gal. 

The lovely Victoria writes the blog Florence And Mary, Victoria's blog is a beauty and lifestyle blog and I really enjoy her posts. She loves to travel and has some brilliant and really helpful posts on beauty packing and what she takes/took on her holidays which I have found really helpful amongst other travel posts. Victoria also has some amazing beauty posts, we like a lot of similar things so I always love her haul posts and her favourites, she is always thorough and gives a lot of information on the products which I really enjoy, she's great. 



Hearting is written by the lovely Ionna, I love Ionna's blog and her photographs are incredible! Not only do we share a love of nail polish, she also has the most adorable pets including some extremely fluffy guinea pigs that I would love to snuggle! Ionna has a mix of beauty and lifestyle posts with some yummy recipes too, I have bought many a nail polish after reading one of her posts and written down recipes for Simon to make, she isn't helping my purse or my waistline but I love her blog and her photographs are incredible. 


I love reading Leanne's blog, she is lovely and her posts are informative, in depth and thorough and she always has brilliant swatches too, she enabled me with so many makeup products in the last half of 2016 and I have a wishlist as long as my arm just of things Leanne has recommended. Leanne got married in 2016 and looked absolutely stunning and as well as makeup product envy I also now have bride envy, she looked absolutely incredible.  



Dagmara like me, loves skincare and she has some fabulous reviews and very enabling skincare posts on her blog, she is also brilliant at creating make up looks and has some beautiful makeup look posts on her blog too, her favourites and her spend or splurge posts are some of my favourite posts to read but I love them all, she always swatches everything clearly and her posts are thorough and in depth which I love, she's also a really lovely person too. 



Julie writes That Age Style and like me is, shall we say over 30, she certainly doesn't look it though and I am envious of her youthful looks, she is stunning and also a really lovely person. It's nice to find someone a similar age who loves the same things I do. I love Julie's honesty and I have both bought products and stayed away from them on her recommendation as I know if she says something isn't worth the money, then it isn't.  Julie also has a house bunny like I do so we have that in common too, but if you like beauty, fashion and honest chat, Julie's your gal. 



Roxie is lovely and she has a gorgeous baby girl Penelope who is absolutely lovely too, Roxie has a beauty and lifestyle blog, The Beautiful Bluebird, she writes many different posts including beauty and lifestyle and some mummy posts too, all of which I thoroughly enjoy, her Degusto box posts always interest me, I love to find out what she has in her box! She has introduced me to some new organic brands too which I hadn't heard of, I love to find new brands and Roxie has introduced me to a lot of new brands which is great. Roxie also like me loves lipstick and she has some great beauty posts and like all the other lovely ladies mentioned, her posts are always thorough and informative and a great read. 

So those are all the blogs I found during 2016 that have become amongst my favourite blogs to read, I do hope you can pop over to their blogs and show them some love, if you do, please tell them I sent you. I am sure you will love them and their blogs as much as I do and I hope I have found you some new favourite blogs of 2017 to read. 

Let me know in the comments what your favourite blogs of 2016 were? Or your favourite blogs in general, it doesn't have to be just the ones you found in 2016. 

Thank you for reading, much love as always 

Zoe x




*All the blog headers or images were taken from the blog mentioned. 












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