2017

Monday 4 December 2017

BLOGMAS 2017 || DAY 4 - MY TOP 10 CHRISTMAS MOVIES


1) Love Actually:
This is probably one of my all-time favourite movies ever made, not just for Christmas! It's very heartwarming and a great film for the whole family to watch together.


2) Elf:
Well, what can I say?! This is the number 1 family movie. It is funny, it is sweet, it is suitable for kids from a young age... Elf is many people's favourite movie and an obvious choice for this list.


3) The Holiday:
This is the perfect movie if you fancy something light-hearted and need to restore your faith in love (or humanity in some cases). This movie always makes me appreciate older people and their past, as well as driving me to do more good deeds.


4) Home Alone:
Duh! I don't think there's much I can say about this film other than that it is something I grew up watching every year on Christmas Eve before bed. It has a lot of sentimental meaning to my family and I'm sure I'll be watching it in 20 days!


5) The Nightmare Before Christmas:
Some people will find this film scary and others will argue that it's a Halloween movie, but to me, it will always be a Christmas film I enjoyed watching when I was little.


6) A Christmas Carol:
Yet again, this film can be a little scary for little ones because of the ghosts in Scrooge's life, but it is a classic and a must-watch every Christmas for me.


7) The Polar Express:
I have a very fond memory of this movie as it was the very first time I watched a 3D film at the cinema. I loved the storyline and the characters in this film, and it will bring Christmas spirit to all the Scrooges out there!


8) Arthur Christmas:
I have only watched this movie for the first time a year ago, but I have seen it around 5 times since because of how good it is! I love how happy and excited James McAvoy sounds as Arthur, and it just melts my heart!


9) The Santa Clause:
I can imagine my dad really enjoying this film, I'm not sure if he's already seen it but it's his type of humour! It'll definitely make its way on my movie playlist this season.


10) Fred Claus:
Last but not least, a Christmas comedy that's worth watching! I absolutely adore Vince Vaughn, I think he's a fantastic actor and any film with him is great but this one is definitely one of the best!

What do you like to watch during the festive season? Can you recommend any more movies for me to watch?

Lots of love,
Maya xo

Monday 28 August 2017

2017 || AUGUST FAVOURITES


August wasn't the best of months for beauty products for me, but I did manage to find some products that I loved - including an app which I never really mention on here. The one makeup product that I loved was the L'oreal Infallible Total Cover Foundation in shade Porcelain (yup, I'm that pale). I must say that this is one of the best full coverage drugstore foundations I have ever used and reminds me of this high-end product. As August was a bit of a hit-or-miss month when it came to the weather, I was loving Carmex's Lime Twist lip balm to hydrate my dry lips. I love the scent and flavour of this little gem, as well as the tingly feeling it leaves on my mouth - does that sound weird? Because it works amazingly!


My current skincare consists of smothering myself up in Vaseline's Intensive Care Advanced Repair moisturiser, followed by the St. Tropez Instant Tan for a natural and glowy look. I have to admit and say that I'm quite lazy when it comes to caring for my skin, especially when I have to moisturise as to me it feels like a chore. However, since I started using this moisturiser I have noticed positive results in my dry skin and it feels a lot more nourished than usual. The St. Tropez Instant Tan is great as a last minute tan boost before an event etc. as it develops very quickly and doesn't stain your clothes!


The app that I've been using daily (besides Instagram and Twitter, obvs) is My Fitness Pal which has helped me keep track of how many calories I eat in a day and what foods to avoid, and what to eat more of. It also sends me reminders to drink more water which I've been trying to be very good with - my goal is to drink 3 litres a day.
I've been trying to lose some weight and tone up for the past few weeks and I won't lie and say I've been good because I haven't. I will try and keep up with my fitness routine and get back to y'all in a couple of months.


My favourite hair products during August were the Lee Stafford Coco Loco Coconut Heat Protection Mist, and Superdrug's Bloomin' Barnet Dry Shampoo. I was in need of a new heat protection spray so grabbed the Coco Loco one to try out as I'm a sucker for anything coconut scented and I must say that I love it very much and use it all the time before using hot irons. On the other hand, the dry shampoo is my life saver on sweaty and oily days when my hair needs a little bit of refreshment, as well as for when it needs some extra 'oomph'.

What did you enjoy using this month? Have you tried any of the products I've mentioned in this post?

Lots of love
Maya xo

Wednesday 16 August 2017

2017 || JULY FAVOURITES


I know this post is now long overdue, however, I found it quite hard to balance out blogging while on holiday as I stupidly didn't schedule any posts before setting off! Thus, not only is this post a bit late but I also included the UD Naked Heat palette in my July's favourites as I had a couple of weeks longer to play with it rather than judging it by its first use, even though it's bloody amazing.

Monday 8 May 2017

REVIEW || MAC MINERALIZE CHARGED WATER SKIN HYDRATING MIST - THE BEST FACE PRIMER/SETTING SPRAY FOR DRY SKIN


Have you been wondering which setting/priming spray to buy? I've tried out quite a few different ones so I guess I can be a bit of help to y'all.

The first priming water I've used was the MAC Prep&Prime Fix+ after hearing all the hype about it all over the internet. I didn't really know how to use it and the staff member who served me at my local MAC shop wasn't very nice and she seemed like she didn't care about my skincare needs so I wasn't too happy about it. Anyhow, this doesn't affect my opinion of the product - I'm just stating that I wasn't told how to use the product to begin with haha.
After moisturising my skin, I sprayed the product onto my skin as a primer and waited for it to dry before applying foundation. I also used it to dampen my beauty blender and felt like it helped keep my makeup stay put, and other times I sprayed it on top of my makeup if I felt like my skin needed some hydration. Therefore, I think that the original Fix+ is great for everyone as you get a lot of use out of it and can use it in many different ways.

But, this time I wanted to go for something more moisturising as my skin is getting more mature (I' only in my 20s but it's best to start taking care of skin ASAP in my opinion), so I went for the Mineralize Charged Water Skin Hydrating Mist which has little droplets of oil inside - it's gold okay, it's beautiful! I was a bit sceptical about getting it as I didn't want it to make my face look oily as I usually go for a fresh but matte look. The first thing I noticed was that the scent was a lot different to the original. It smells very citrusy to me which I absolutely love in facial mists - I hate the smell of Urban Decay's All Nighter Spray but I love the job it does haha!!! It is always a plus when a setting spray has a scent that you enjoy, however some people find it irritating when makeup products have scents. The packaging is the same other than the box it comes in - all mineralize products come in white packaging. I do like the lid on this product as all you have to do is twist it, but I remember it breaking on my old spray so I hope it doesn't happen this time!

Overall, I must say that this priming water is very good for those who have dry skin but only if you use it before applying makeup as I found it moved around my mascara a bit as it made it a bit wet which made it transfer onto my skin. I will continue to use it as a primer rather than a setting spray as I feel it works better for me this way :)


Have you tried any of the MAC Prep&Prime Fix+? Have you got any setting spray recommendations?

Lots of love,
Maya xo

Friday 5 May 2017

REVIEW || COLOURPOP EYESHADOWS




Who hasn't been lusting over Colourpop products yet? Not a lot I bet. As soon as I've heard of the brand sometime a year ago I've been wanting to try out their products, and when I finally got my hands on some I was very very happy.

I have written a full review of the Lippie Stix here. So, if you have already seen this post then you'd know that I absolutely love Colourpop lip products but let's talk about their eyeshadows!

I bought a set of 4 for only $18 instead of $20 which is how much they would cost me if I had bought them individually. I love warm tones and all four of these are right up my alley so I was very excited to try them out.

I have the shades (l-r) Jinxie, Elixir, Seeker and Paradox. I must say that Paradox is my favourite as it's a very deep burgundy shade and shows up great on my skin tone - I also tried it on a friend who has a deeper skin tone and it looked great on her!

To say that these are only $5 and the pigment is fantastic and shows up well on deeper skin tones as well as light, these are totally worth the price and YOU NEED IT in your collection!!

I love the packaging of these, the cute little pots look very expensive and are handy to whip out a couple of shades to create a full eye makeup look. I think that these would look great in Alex drawers (so fetch) but I know that many people prefer to have their eyeshadows in palettes rather than singles, but thankfully you can get Colourpop eyeshadow pans to put in a palette! Hooray! The only downside of these coming in pots is that it would be very difficult to depot these and unfortunately these shades aren't available in the single pans yet :(

I will expand my Colourpop eyeshadow collection soon enough, and you'll hear about it all over my social media platforms! - I've been trying really hard to take better pictures and create better content so head over to my Instagram for pretty pics and Twitter for latest post news!

Have you tried any Colourpop products? Have you got a favourite brand for eyeshadows?

Lots of love,
Maya xo
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