2017

Wednesday 3 May 2017

5 EYESHADOW BRUSHES YOU NEED IN YOUR LIFE - FOR ONLY £7.99!





I bet you're all wondering what sort of brushes can do the same job as a £19 MAC 217 brush? Well, tune in to hear about a few of my favourites which retail at only £7.99 for 9!

I bought this set with 4 more (face) brushes which cost me £7.99 for the set, however, I've seen just the eyeshadow brush set for just under £5. Of course, the power of how the eyeshadow looks is in the hands of the person applying it, but brushes can speed up the process haha.

I personally love the brush on the far end on the right-hand side the most. It's my ultimate favourite eyeshadow brush and I use it daily without a fail. I've been wanting to get my hands on MAC's 217 for a very long time now but the price has always put me off; now these have gone up by whole £3 which is more than this set of 5 costs?! Absolutely ridiculous if you ask me... (Update 16/02/2021 - I have since bought 2 of the MAC 217 brushes as they are a m a z i n g)

I use the flat brush from this set to either blend out my crease or apply eyeshadow primer with. The pointy one is great for applying dark shadow in the crease as it doesn't let fallout drop everywhere and keeps the shadow in place instead of when using a fluffy brush. The other two - which are slanted, are great for blending shadows together. I personally prefer the 4th one (see the last pic) over the 2nd, but that's a personal preference.

It also depends on which eyeshadows you are using when creating a make-up look. I suggest you try these out with trusty shadows to test these out properly! In this post, you can see my Morphe eyeshadow palette which consists of a mixture of Morphe, NYX, and Makeup Geek shadows. You can read my '4 eyeshadow palettes you need in your life' post here.

*This post contains affiliate links.

Have you tried cheap brushes which you swear by? Have you got any recommendations for good, affordable eyeshadow brushes?

Lots of love,
Maya xo

Monday 1 May 2017

2017 || APRIL FAVOURITES






April, April, April... What a rollercoaster of emotions you were - just like the weather you brought to us this year! I must say I loved quite a few of the same items this year so it might look like a review - but I promise you they are so worth it.

First up, I've been really enjoying using the Kerastase Voluminifique Spray. I have very thin hair and it's difficult to keep it looking volumised and thick. I've been using this spray after every wash and then blow drying and styling my hair as usual, and I have noticed a change in the volume even after sleeping with my hair down. This is honestly a Holy Grail for me and I highly recommend it to all who haven't been blessed with thick hair.

The Collection Glam Crystals Dazzling Gel Eyeliner in Glitz was my first glitter liner from this collection. It makes creating glam cut crease looks so much easier and it's great for those who aren't very good at using loose glitter as it sticks to the eyelid without any extra glitter glue. I try to use these as much as I can, but the turquoise shade is hands down my favourite and will get a lot of use this Summer!

Bell sleeves - my true love this Spring. How beautiful is this top from Topshop though? Not only has it got bell sleeves (which are so in this Spring - read my 'What's fashionable this Spring' post here), but also the oh-so-cute pie crust neckline! This is the top that's in my pictures however, the teal colour seems to be sold out on the website. I know for a fact that I'll be getting some more colours soon!

What have you been loving this April? Other than the hot days of course!

Lots of love,
Maya xo

Friday 28 April 2017

HOW I FACE MY FASHION FEARS - TRY-DAY FRIDAY - IT'S OKAY TO STEP OUT YOUR COMFORT ZONE


It feels like forever since I last spoke about fashion - I'm very sorry about that as I know how much you love these kinds of posts. I promise I'll do more of those from now on! It's just hard to find the time for photo shoots and the right kind of person to take them! Once I'm done with my 2nd year at uni I will focus 100% on blogging so I hope you're all as excited as I am!


*Jumper, Mom Jeans, and Choker are from Primark


The idea behind this post is to share with you my fashion fears, and believe it or not there are quite a few... For example, I find it very difficult to have my arms and shoulders out because of my post-acne scars, but since being challenged by Dia&Co to step out my comfort zone and try something different this Friday, I wanted to show everyone that we all have our own insecurities even though we might seem confident.



Many people (including myself), feel like they can't wear a certain outfit because of their insecurities. I personally don't feel like I can pull a maxi dress off because of my height - I'm only 5ft3". But why does it actually bother me? I've been put down by people I used to call my 'friends' and I guess it stuck around with me that I'm 'small and tubby', but being a size 8-10 I know it isn't true.



*Leotard - H&M, Bra - Pink at Victoria's Secret


The company Dia&Co specialise in 14+ size clothing where they send you a Dia Box that's styled up by one of the team members and if you don't like something you can exchange it for something else - the great thing about this company is that you don't have to pay until you decide which items you'd like to keep! Erm, sign me up now, please!! I'd love for something like this to be available for petite girls like me!


*Loafers - H&M

How many times have you felt like you can't wear something because of your own insecurities or having other people's thoughts on your mind? Well, hear me out now, stuff them! Who cares what they think? If they think negatively then it shows that they're insecure about themselves, but I can guarantee you will receive a lot of compliments if you wear that floral skirt or those pointy kitten heels - trust me! Us women should empower one another instead of bringing each other down, so I say rock that outfit girl and make sure you pay others compliments too because it will make you feel good knowing that your little gesture could have made someone's day!

I now challenge all of you, my lovely readers, to rock the outfit you've been wanting to for ages but never got 'the chance' to wear ;)

*This post isn't sponsored and all opinions are my own. I was asked to share my fashion fears by the brand and decided to mention them independently. 

Lots of love,
Maya xo

Monday 3 April 2017

2017 || MARCH FAVOURITES




Oh, well wasn't March an eventful month for me?! I have bought my own domain, updated my blog, did many collaborations with some amazing brands, went to a fashion show where I won the 'Best Dressed' award, got good grades from uni, and got rid of horrible people from my life! I can honestly say that March this year has made me stronger as a woman and I'm very grateful for all your support.

Moving on, March wasn't my best month for beauty favourites therefore I will say that the events mentioned above are a part of my monthly faves, but I did fall back in love with a couple of items I've had for a while.

First up, MAC's Paint Pot in the shade Painterly. I have previously reviewed this product here, but I started to reach for it more throughout the month to make my eyeshadow last longer. I really love the shade of this paint pot as it's very close to my natural skin tone so it makes it easy to blend any eyeshadow colour on my lid. I also have 3 more shades of these, would anyone like an updated MAC makeup collection? Please let me know!

The other product I've been loving this March is the glorious Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy Eau de Parfum - 100 ml. I wanted to get this perfume for so long, and one of my closest friends bought me a bottle for Christmas last year! I was so happy when I opened it up - you should have seen my face! It smells great, it's suitable for all ages (especially teens and young adults, and anyone who loves sweet scents!). And can we just sit back and appreciate the packaging? It's so bloody gorgeous that I think I'll keep the bottle on display after I use the product up!!

*This post isn't sponsored but may include affiliate links.

What have you been loving this March? Have you tried any of the products mentioned above?

Lots of love,
Maya xo

Friday 10 March 2017

2017 || FEBRUARY FAVOURITES






February was a massive emotional rollercoaster ride for me. I had to battle my depression and anxiety as well as distance myself from toxic people, yet I also met some very lovely like-minded people and been really successful with blogging and university work. Moral of the story - don't let temporary people affect your future, and that hard work does pay off!

Anyway, I must say the product I've been loving the most last month was something that I've had since August and had only used it once. It is the Natural Collection Lipstick in shade Fig Leaf. I don't know why I didn't use it, probably because I have so many lipsticks I usually stick to the old trusty ones like Jeffree Star's Celebrity Skin or NYX's Soft Matte Lip Cremes. With the weather not being so great, I've been wanting to just wear lip balm but I felt like I needed a bit of colour added to my lips, so that's when I turned to this natural shade that's full of moisture that locks in all day long and it only costs £1.99! Fantastic bargain and I must say it will definitely suit all skin tones!

My next favourite (especially in Spring) is the Urban Decay Beached Bronzer. I've had this since January and been using it nearly every day since. It's a beautiful shade that instantly adds warmth to my skin and makes me look sun-kissed in seconds which also lasts all day long! It is slightly pricey, however definitely worth the price if you wear bronzer every day.

I recently bought the whole range of Lee Stafford's Hair Growth products and I've been really loving the Leave-in Treatment. I've been using it after every wash and I've noticed the difference on how much thicker my hair looks thanks to the pro-growth complex and caffeine. I will do a full review of the whole range soon.

Another one of my oldies but goodies that I've completely neglected is the Benefit It's Potent Eye Cream. It is amazing for brightening up your eyes and reducing the appearance of dark circles. I tend to use it in the morning before applying my makeup, but it's also BENEFITcial (see what I did there haha) to wear it overnight as then I wake up feeling fresh and with bright eyes - not horrible droopy 'what is sleep' sort of eyes!

Wikaniko's Moringa oil is one of my newest additions to my skincare routine, and OMG can I just say that this is bloody amazing?! I've not had it for long but I've been using it every night since receiving a bottle to review and it makes my skin feel absolutely amazing; it's so soft and reduces the appearance of fine lines (a full review will be up soon).

I've probably spoken about the L'aimant fragrance before, but I honestly love this scent. It smells great and is very dusty but still refreshing - perfect for Spring. It's also a very handy small bottle which fits perfectly in my handbag without weighing it down too much! If you're a big fan of Chanel then I'd definitely recommend this fragrance as it smells identical to Chanel No5.

What have you been loving this February? Have you tried any of these products before?

Lots of love,
Maya xo
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