Burt's Bees Beeswax & Banana Hand Cream, £9.99 - I've only recently discovered Burt's Bees products and my first two purchases were this hand cream and their Grapefruit lip balm (which is also lovely!). Although slightly pricey for the amount of product you get, this hand cream is really rich, creamy and a small amount really hydrates the skin. I love the packaging, it's very sweet and simple plus the scent is amazing - it reminds me of the Body Shop's Banana Shampoo and Conditioner.
Avene Thermal Spring Water, £3.50 - Most of my Summer has been spent indoors at work in a hot, stuffy kitchen and this has been a life saver. You know when you reach the point where you're so hot you're tempted to dunk your head in a sink of ice cold water? (just me?) Well this gives you a cold, light refreshing mist - fragrance free and it's small enough to fit in your bag.
Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer, £4.19 - This has been a favourite of mine for months! I've used up two, keep one in my bag and have one at home - for under £5 you can't really go wrong. It has quite a limited colour range but if you can find a match it offers full coverage and blends like a dream!
St.Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub, £1 - This is just a travel size for when I'm away but I really love this and it's just as good as Benefit's Facial Polish! A big bottle is only £3-4, it has lots of tiny beads in which give your skin a really good exfoliation, leave the skin soft and get rid of dry patches.
Urban Decay Primer Potion, 'Eden', £14.50 - This and Mac's 'Painterly' Paint Pot are my two favourite primers. I hate the Original Primer Potion but 'Eden' is a light beige colour which covers any veins on my eyelids and makes my eyeshadow last all day.
Collection 2000 Extreme Felt Tip Liner, £2-3 - This is a great eyeliner for beginners, not only is it cheap it's also pigmented, incredibly easy to apply and lasts all day for me!
Nars Matte Lipstick, 'Madere', £18.50 - These lipsticks are no doubt expensive and I'm not going to make a habit out of purchasing them as I think the amount of product you get for the price is outrageous. That being said, they're lovely lipsticks - pigmented, smooth and creamy plus, this could be the perfect nude. It is slightly drying but if you exfoliate your lips beforehand and don't apply too much it's fine.
The Balm Bahama Mama, £15 - I find this to be the perfect shade of bronzer for me. It's completely matte, very pigmented and I never have a problem blending this in to the skin. This adds depth to my face, a bit of colour and the packaging is adorable!
Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow, Iced Gold, £17.00 - When I first opened this I was massively disappointed, in the pan it looks very shimmery - almost glittery and I thought it would be a total write off. Lucky, I was wrong! Somehow when applied to the skin this turns in to the most beautiful product that adds luminosity and gives you a gorgeous glow - no glitter particles and only slightly shimmery. Just lovely!
As the name would suggest this lipstick is completely matte, something which is an essential for me with red lipstick. I'm not a massive fan of gloss, shimmer - definitely not frost in lipsticks, I think matte is classic and statement enough without being over the top. I also find that matte lipsticks, even though they still transfer they do so less than other finishes. I have a few matte red favourites already that include Elf's 'Red Carpet' Lip Stain and NYX 'Eros' but both are quite bright so I wanted something slightly darker and 'vampy'.I'd not tried anything from Nars before but heard great things so I decided to order 'Valparaiso' which was pretty pricey at £18.50 for 2g's of product when you think Mac lipsticks are £13.50 for 3g's. It's a deep, burgundy red that looks slightly darker in person than it does in photographs, I'd say the swatch on my hand below is true to colour in real life. It wears nicely on the lips, fading ever so slightly throughout the day but you may want to pop on a lip balm before applying this, as well as making sure your lips are exfoliated!Overall, I do really love the colour but for the price I feel like the amount of product you get is pretty stingy, the packaging is nice enough, sleek and compact but not very eye catching so I'd probably stick to Mac lipsticks in the future.
I'm feeling all christmassy and festive lately so I thought I'd hold another giveaway as I've just sent off all the bits for the...
