Benefit Hoola Dupe!

I recently hit pan on my beloved Benefit Hoola Bronzer. This is one of my favourite, holy-grail products as I have quite pale skin, and the Hoola bronzer is a very natural tan colour, with very little orange or too-warm tones within in. I was searching in my local Boots and Superdrug to see if I could find a dupe when I came across a product from MUA. I picked up the MUA Pressed Powder in Shade 4, as this is a very natural bronzer/pressed powder, and I would definitely rather pay £1 for the MUA powder than £23.50 for the Hoola Bronzer.
On the left is the MUA swatch, on the right is Hoola. As you can see, they are both very pigmented, natural looking bronzer shades perfect for any skin tone, especially pale skin tones like myself.

Update+Happy New Year!

So I havn't been blogging for a while as I have been extra busy with christmas and new year. I will be blogging a lot more now it is the new year, bringing diy's, beauty tips and tricks, reviews and everything else! I also wanted to wish you all a merry christmas and a happy new year!

Lush Catastrophe Cosmetic Face Mask

I don't think it is actually possible for me to express how much I adore Lush fresh face masks. I have only been introduced to them over the past four months and I have tried and tested three, which are now my favourite masks, ever!

Catastrophe Cosmetic is advertised as a mask to battle spots and blemishes and to battle against any flaring up skin problems. It contains Irish moss gel which softens the skin, whilst almond oil moisturises and keeps your skin feeling supple! There's fresh blueberries which are full of vitamins, minerals and are a great anti-oxidant! There's also rose absolute and chamomile essential oil which reduce redness and irritation, as well as calamine and talc which work to deep clean and soothe the skin.

All of these ingredients work together to give the skin a deep cleanse, without causing puffiness, and leave your face feeling cool, clear and calm. And to top it off, it smells absolutely amazing! The blueberries really shine through with this amazing fresh face mask!

With these face masks, you do have to keep them in the fridge because of the fresh ingredients, but they instantly cool and refresh the skin once applied. I use these once or twice a week and one pot will last me 4 or 5 masks.

DIY Highlighter

Ingredients:

Moisturiser
Shimmery white/cream eyeshadow or pigment (I would suggest using a highstreet/drugstore eyeshadow as they are cheaper)
Face Primer (optional)
Toothpick or something to mix with
Jar to store it in (I just used an old elf compact but you could use a lip gloss pot or just a small jar)

Make sure you sanitize all the equipment
Mix your moisturiser with your eyeshadow (Use double the amount of moisturiser to eyeshadow)
Add the face primer
Store in jar

DIY Hand Scrub (DIY Christmas Presents)

Ingredients:

2 and 1/2 Cups of sugar (it can be any type of sugar)
1 Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 Tablespoons of flavouring or colouring (Strawberry, Pink, Blue, Lemon Juice, Orange)
Glass jar with a sealed lid (I bought mine from Ikea for 80p each, you could also use jam jars)

Mix the sugar and oil together in a bowl
Once all combined and mixed evenly, pour the flavouring into the bowl
Mix well so a gritty paste forms
Pour into your jar

-You can use flavouring in a bottle or use real lemon juice if you want (It is just for the scent)
-This does not need to be refrigerated.
-Store in a cool place out of direct sunlight
-Make sure you thoroughly clean and sanitize all equipment
-You can use what ever oil you have at home, it does not have to be extra virgin olive oil

DIY Shellac Nails

I have been using my shellac nail set quite a lot recently and have found a really good website where you can purchase all the extra items needed! Shellac is basically a UV Gel, long wearing nail polish. The website I have used to buy most of my shellac products is http://discountnails.co.uk/shop/catalog/browse?sessid=pHjdW99g14N7cA6pH13FpG8qiFBsCJW6x9iaP16eTWjwkXN7mlNQZtTVAlus30WV&shop_param=. I love this site because you can purchase the UV machine, top coat, base coat, remover, sealant and the polishes, and it is all very inexpensive!

Save The Nail!

I have been going nail polish-free lately and it has made my nails so much stronger. I used to be a nail polish addict and would always have a nice, unchipped manicure until my nails were getting extremely weak and breaking off. I have not worn nail polish for 2 months now and my nails are so much stronger! If you are like this with nail polish, I would really recommend going polish free for about a week every month or so, just to give your nails a rest!