Wednesday, 22 April 2015

Recent Purchases

Hey Beauties!
I wanted to treat myself to some new bits and bobs after recovering from my operation and before all my exams start so during that time I could save up for my holidays etc.
So my little shopping trip consisted of buying lots of stationary for myself and my little brother, and obviously some beauty picks too. I chose my favourite brand at the moment - Essence, Ted Baked body spray and some supplements.
So as we all know supplements are good for us. But do we take them regularly? No... So when I saw that Holland&Barrett had a mid season sale I had to pop in to see for myself! Those cod liver oil tablets were reduced from £12.99 to only £6.49 so I had to grab this bargain! There are 120 capsules so it will last me for 4 months which made me even happier as I always feel ill and like I don't have enough vitamins in my system.
I always wanted a Ted Baker body spray but the price has put me off a bit even thought t was too expensive but I just thought I'm not paying 7 quid for some body spray, but when it was reduced to half price in my local Boots I had to grab it. I love this scent, it's perfect for SS15 as it's floral but also sweet and flirty so it's great for nights out.
Essence is my number one brand for lip and eye products at the moment. You can read my review of their products here. I chose 3 nude lipsticks, two lip liners and one eye pencil. Wilko's always has great offers on their make-up and when I saw the 3 for 2 sign I just couldn't resist those beautiful colours!!
l-r 03 Come Naturally, 02 Porcelain Doll and 05 Cool Nude. Those colours are absolutely fantastic and suit any skin type and colour. They are long lasting and moisturise the lips as well as make them look fuller.

Here are the swatches of the lipsticks and as you can see they are very pigmented after one coat. My favourite has to be the one on the left as it reminds me of MAC's Brave a lot and for only £3.20 it's a steal!
Those two lip liners are in shades Satin Mauve and In the Nude. I absolutely love Essence lip liners as they are very soft and easy to apply as they glide on the lips smoothly.
And a long lasting eye liner in the shade Berry Merry which is a new addition to the collection.
On the left side is the swatch of the eye liner and the other two are lip liners. as you can see they're all highly pigmented and look very soft. I would recommend any of Essence products to any of you beauty gurus who are looking for style steals!

Have you entered my MAC lipstick giveaway yet? Hurry, you only have one week left!

Lots of love,
Maya xo

Sunday, 12 April 2015

How to become more organised

Hey beauties!
I've never been an organised person in my life. Whenever I attempt to motivate myself to be organised at the beginning of an academic year it all goes down the drain pretty fast... I'm talking like a week tops. But the other day I bought quite a lot of stationary as I wanted to get organised just in time for my exams.
First of all, make sure you have a to-do list of things you would like to get done in a day/week/month and make sure you stick to it. I usually write down a bullet-pointed list of things I want to get done in a day, e.g. revision and coursework and then when I've done it I highlight or cross the task out so I feel like I've accomplished something great.
Another great idea is to buy a weekly planner and a packet of star shaped stickers like I've done. What I do with it, is write down daily tasks and put a sticker next to each task after I have done it so when I have a certain amount of stars at the end of the month I can treat myself to a high end products for working hard. So far it's been paying off slightly as I've become more determined to revise more.
Make sure you always have enough pens in different colours so you can annotate your notes in different topics etc. A refill pad is always helpful when you want to make a list of upcoming blog posts especially if you order them by dates or alphabetically.
I usually make posters and mind maps and put them all around the house so whenever I am doing something like brushing my hair I will look at my notes and revise them in my head. This is very helpful if your exams have a lot of context you need to learn so topics like history, psychology and geography.
Flashcards are the next best thing after mind maps. They are so helpful when it comes to revision as you can get someone to ask you questions about certain events or theorists which you then answer to ensure you know EVERYTHING. Also, make sure you keep all your files sorted out by topics and dividers in a folder, keep it all hole punched and stapled to keep all important documents together.

What are your favourite ways of keeping organised/revising?

Have you entered my MAC lipstick giveaway yet? You have until May 1st to do so!

Lots of love,
Maya xo

Sunday, 5 April 2015

Review || Essence Eye and Lip Liners

Hey beauties!
Who hasn't heard of Essence before? Because, oh boy, are you missing out big time or what! The products are available to buy at Wilko's in UK, I'm not too sure about other countries but I bet you can buy the products somewhere online. I adore their products. They are very good quality and very affordable! I would say I prefer this brand to MUA by far.
l-r we have three double sided kajal pencils in 15 Soul&Mate, 14 Toffee&Sweets, 01 Black&White. And t-b three lipliners in 12 Wish me a Rose, 05 Soft Berry, 07 Cute Pink.
The kajal pencils are very soft in touch and the application is very easy as they glide on along the eyelid or waterline. As you can see I have used a lot of the white half as I use it on my waterline to make my eyes look slightly bigger, not like they need to look nay bigger haha! I use the black pencil for my upper waterline and a bit along the lash line for the feline effect. I've only used the other two pencils once or twice to try out but I'm sure I'll be using them more often this Spring/Summer as they would look great with a tan.
Here are the pencils swatched on my arm, as you can see they are very pigmented and lovely colours which will suit any skin tone, even the pale me!
Those lipliners are my all time favourites and I use them nearly every day - obviously one at a time. My favourite has to be Soft Berry (middle) as I love a dark outline with my MAC Brave lipstick. It makes my lips not only look fuller but also more stylish and ombre.
Here are swatches of the liners on my arm. As you can see they are very pigmented and soft in touch. I would say these are a definite 10/10 not only for the price but also for the amazing quality of the product.

Have you tried any of the Essence pencils? Which ones are your favourite?

Lots of love,
Maya xo

Tuesday, 31 March 2015

REVIEW || ESTEÉ LAUDER DOUBLE WEAR MAXIMUM COVER FOUNDATION IN CREAMY VANILLA


Who's still struggling with finding the perfect foundation? Me Me Me!! But not any more. Now that I've found my long lost best friend I am forever happy. This miracle foundation is what everyone with any skin concerns needs. It does its job better than any other foundation I have ever tried - and trust me, there have been many.

I have heard so many good things about Estee Lauder's Double Wear foundations and have decided to try out both of them. I went to my local Estee Lauder counter at Boots and asked for a sample of the normal Double Wear and one of the Maximum Cover. I got given the shades 'Cool Bone' for Double Wear and  'Creamy Vanilla' for Maximum Cover. What I can tell you is that the colours did NOT match my skin tone at all. I am usually NW10 or NC15 in MAC foundations, depending on the type and consistency so I would expect to be similar colours in Estee Lauder but I guess it's just the personal opinion of the staff that work there, as well as the store's lighting.


After long consideration, I decided to purchase the Maximum Cover foundation in the shade 'Creamy Vanilla' as it is the lightest shade in the collection - not very impressed with the shade range, I'm hoping that the brand will consider expanding their shade range for lighter and darker skin tones in the future. And I am very impressed with the coverage it offers. It makes my skin look flawless, slightly orange (yikes) but flawless. Okay, I am exaggerating a little bit, it doesn't make me look orange but it is a lot darker than my natural skin tone so I have to blend it very well which can be time-consuming, or I would apply some fake tan to match this shade. However, you do not need a lot of product for full coverage which I like about this foundation as it is expensive and will probably last me for a year. A little goes a long way!


You can see here how dark it actually is and I only put the smallest amount on the back of my hand! I would say a pea-sized amount would be enough to conceal acne and scarring on my face (not saying that you need to do this). The consistency is very different from all the foundations I have ever tried. It is very velvety and smooth and almost like a cloud?? I cannot explain the texture of this foundation but it doesn't feel like you have any on your face after application so it's very good for people who wear heavy make-up and dislike the feel of it. I forget I'm wearing a full face of make-up when I use this foundation! 

Overall, I am very pleased with this product as it truly is a lightweight and very full coverage. A little goes a long way, meaning that one tube should last around 6-12 months even with daily use. Sadly, the shade range isn't great but hopefully, you'll be able to find the closest match to your skin tone. Sometimes I mix it with my NW10 studio fix foundation as it's too light for me at the moment. A girl can never win... but it's a definite 9/10!! YAY! - Estee Lauder has since updated their colour range and has added a few new undertones too.

If you are looking for a foundation that's similar to this one without breaking the bank, then have a look at the comparison between these two foundations.

Have you tried any of the Estee Lauder foundations? What did you think?

*This post contains affiliate links.

Lots of love,
Maya xo

Monday, 30 March 2015

2015 || March Favourites

Hey beauties!
How are you all? I'm still recovering from my recent surgery so I've had a lot of time to take photographs of some products I've been loving this month, so keep on reading and stay tuned for more posts!
So, as you can see all of the products I've been obsessing are skin care related and are all very affordable so any of you can go and buy them. I'm not entirely sure about the availability in other countries, but nearly every shop in the UK stocks these products. Okay so let's get to it!

Sure Maximum Protection Compressed Deodorant has been introduced earlier on last year I think, and this is the only one from the entire range that I've actually liked for its long lasting effects and the scent. It is aloe vera scented and infused so not only does it smell good - it does good to your skin too. It leaves my underarms feeling smooth and hydrated while it works wonders on keeping the odour away.

Garnier Fresh Eye Make-up Remover has been my holy grail this month as I suffer from dry and sensitive skin and I never take my make-up off before going in the shower which I need to start doing!! This product has made my life a lot easier as it removes waterproof make-up and the mascara that I'm using at the moment is so hard to take off, and also the eyelash glue I'm using is permanently on my eyelids!! I highly recommend this product to people with sensitive skin and those who wear fake eyelashes on a daily basis because it does get rid of the glue and keeps your eyes tear-free!

Dove Go Fresh roll-on Deodorant smells a-m-a-z-i-n-g!! It leaves a cooling feel when you apply it, it's great for when you've just had a shower after a nice work out. It keeps you feeling fresh and ready to start your day and the scent is delicious!

Sure Invisible roll-on Deodorant is one that I use in the evenings or for when I go out as it doesn't leave any marks after using it and dries really quickly, so if you want to wear that LBD, you do so girl! It offers maximum protection for 24 hours (obviously nobody will need it for that long) but it's great for nights out especially as clubs do tend to get you hot and sweaty!

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water - now this is something every blogger has been raging about for the past few months. This is the first time I've repurchased a cleansing water and what can I say other than that I'm very impressed with this product and with what it does to my skin. It smells great, leaves my skin feeling clean and healthy and it's also hydrating so it's perfect for this kind of weather we've been having. If you use it before applying your make-up make sure you use a moisturiser with a subtle glow or a primer such as Prep&Prime from MAC as it gives a great glow to your face and you're instantly Spring photo ready!

Clean&Clear Deep Cleansing Lotion is very good for oily skin types and those who get a lot of break outs. It cleanses your face completely out of all oils, dirt and blackheads as well as it prevents new ones from growing. You can feel the difference after the first use and this is definitely my favourite product out of the ones I've mentioned above as not only it gives me a cleansed feel/look but also moisturises my skin and leaves it feeling smooth and soft. It's great for using before bedtime.

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

Lots of love,
Maya xo
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