THOUGHTS & FEELS: BOOTS TEA TREE & WITCH HAZEL WITH ACTIVE CHARCOAL FACIAL MASK

Why does this product have such a long name? Boots, why?!

THOUGHTS & FEELS: JACLYN HILL FAVORITES PALETTE + SWATCHES

I'm trying reeally hard not to freak out over this palette because it's just eye shadow. But oh my god I'm practically vibrating with excitement.

Jaclyn Hill collaborated with Morphe Brushes and created this beautiful palette of 28 warm eye shadows. I love warm-toned eyeshadows so this is right up my street! This palette is limited edition and I know it is being restocked this month (February 2015) because of hiccups with the initial release, though I'm not sure of the exact date. The shadows in this palette are available individually and they are identified numerically instead of by name, which is what all the numbers on the picture below mean. So if you want to avoid all the stress of trying to order a limited edition palette that is really, insanely popular, or if some of the shades in the palette aren't appealing to you than you can head over to Morphe Brushes (link) and pick and choose what you like. You will need to buy a Z Palette or a Mac Pro refill palette or something like that to store your shadows in if you choose to buy them individually as they are sold in the refill pan form.

On with the swatches!

(L-R)
19, 71, 48, 53, 38, 59, 11

(L-R)
74, 24, 61, 15, 16, 68, 33

(L-R)
66, 47, 20, 63, 62, 13, 67

(L-R)
75, 14, 64, 76, 6, 54, 4

Everything you've heard about this palette is true. These eye shadows are incredible. They're wonderfully soft, the pigmentation is insane, they blend so well together and with other eye shadows. and they look amazing on the eye. I was worried that Morphe may have sent the Youtubers the good stuff to get us all to buy this palette and then would have sold us duds, but this palette is honestly amazing. There's a mixture of shimmer, satin and matte finishes and trust me when I say the matte shades are to die for. The only shade that doesn't rock my boat is 56, because it's just not as pigmented or as soft of texture as the other shades. It's still good but it's not as great. As for the actual plastic palette itself, it does feel a bit flimsy but nothing that I'm too concerned with, I'll just have to be careful if I choose to travel with it.

Morphe Brushes is an American brand and I did have to get this shipped from California, which wasn't cheap or very fast but it did come very well packaged. A huge brown box was delivered and the box that the palette comes in was nestled in between packing stuffing. The box that the palette comes in was then wrapped in bubble wrap and inside that box the palette itself was also wrapped in bubble wrap. I'm not sure if this is protocol or just because the item was being shipped over seas they took extra precautions but I was really impressed with how well packaged the palette was. 

Morphe Brushes Jaclyn Hill Favorites Palette - $27.99 (about £18) plus shipping.
Pros: Amazing quality, good range of colours, arrived well packaged, the price.
Cons: Shipping is a little expensive and it's not available domestically in the UK.


This was a really long post but I hope it was informative!
Thanks for reading, xo.

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THOUGHTS & FEELS: NYX LIQUID ILLUMINATOR IN GLEAM

I didn't even think to take that price sticker off but hey, now you know how much it costs.

REVIEW: L'Occitane Angelica Hydra Vital Cream

My thoughts & feels on this swanky face cream. Let's go!

Review: Wackier than a Coconut!

Pssssst! Hey!
Hey you!
Wanna know a secret?

I've discovered that magic exists.
I promise, magic is real.

Let me show you what I've found...

NEW Dove Compressed Deodorant Review

Deodorant is important. As squeamish as some may be, it's something we need to talk about. 

Everyone sweats, everyone needs protection from immense BO strong enough to knock a dinosaur out.

And Dove has a new kid on the block to help us out! 

Review: Maybelline Fit Me Foundation

A long, long time ago I blogged about Maybelline giving away free sample of the foundation from the highly anticipated Fit Me range. After lots of bitching to no one about how long the delivery was taking, I ended up with two samples! (Im)patience is a virtue and all that ;)

Christmas Cupcake Tartlet Review

I know, it's not even Tuesday!

But I finally gots myself an oil burner, so I thought I'd whack my Christmas Cupcake Yankee Candle wax tart in there and give it a sniff!

How cute is that burner!

Yankee Candle tarts are famous for crumbling really easily - or should that be notorious? They can make such a mess!

But they smell really good, so I can kinda get over that.

In the packaging, Christmas Cupcake smells like vanilla cake and butter cream, but melting/burning it smells really soapy. It's starts of smelling like a vanilla dream, but then this soapiness comes out of nowhere. Maybe it's the "Frosty Christmas" element that Yankee Candle famously add to many of their Christmas Candles, offering us wax that smells like toilet cleaner! Never mind!

These little tarts are only £1.25 and last long enough. I burn/melt little pieces periodically throughout the day to keep my room fresh. That tiny chunk that I've put on has been burning for about an hour, and is still going, and the fragrance will linger for about an hour or two after the oil has evaporated. 

This tart smell reasonably good, though it does have a soapy smell to it that I'm not 100% keen on, but that's just my personal taste!

Thanks for reading :)

Review-Day Tuesday #4: Clean & Clear Blackhead Clearing Cleanser

Hey butterflies!

I'm not even gonna jazz this up; I have blackheads. Whole hoards of them. 

So I've jumped on the skincare bandwagon and I've been shocked to discover how much I've been neglecting my skin!

I already have the Clean & Clear Deep Action Cream Wash, but I'm lazy as hell so I wanted something that I didn't have to wash off.

Therefore after much deliberation I went ahead and bought the Clean & Clear Blackhead Clearing Cleanser.

It's oil-free and claims that it "helps clear and prevent blackheads" as it "is formulated to start acting against blackheads from day 1."

Basically it's supposed to do all the beautiful, de-clogging excellence that cleanser does, but with extra blackhead-fighting toughness.

I started off smothering this stuff all over my face, once in the morning before I put my makeup on and once before bed once I'd taken my makeup off, with a standard cotton pad, but I noticed that my face would sting - especially on the places where I had one or two spots. So I reverted to just using it once before bed, but it still stung like a bitch. My eyes were stinging, my cheeks were stinging, my chin was too.

And I'm not surprised, really. The product is basically all water and alcohol.

Despite the known acne fighting ingredient, salicylic acid, being so high on the list of ingredients, this stuff breaks me out like nobody's business. And my blackheads were spreading! My problem area is my t-zone. My nose, my forehead, my chin, and the area close to my nose but under my eyes(if that makes sense). Since I started using the cleanser, I have blackheads on my cheeks, the sides of my face and my temples, as well as my t-zone. No thanks.

Now I've told you my whole experience with this thing, it's clear to see that I hate it.

I won't lie, on "Day 1" I did see fewer blackheads around the side of my nose, but they've come back since. And nowhere else is showing any improvement.

I tried a quick DIY facial scrub last night - just sugar and honey - and my skin already looks 10 times better than it did when I was using the Clean & Clear.

If you have used this product before, let me know how it went for you!

Thanks for reading! :)

Review-Day Tuesday #2: Starlytes Candle

Hey guys & dolls.

In my last haul post I discussed a delicious candle that I bought and as it's Review Day, I thought I'd tell you all a little bit more about it!

As detailed in the picture above, the brand is called 'Starlytes' and the scent I got is 'Vanilla Créme'. I know I mentioned this in my haul, but I don't think you understand. It smells just like the Vanilla Cupcake Yankee Candle, but not quite as strong. I'm not even kidding. It's delicious.

I burnt mine for an hour or so the other day and my whole room smelt like the candle; sweet, creamy deliciousness. My room's not huge, but it's not a box room either. I've been thoroughly impressed with this product, I can't believe it only cost me 99p!

I got mine from a shop called Discount UK and if you visit the website, you can see if there's a store near you. If there is, go and look for this candle! It's totally worth it.

If you do manage to get your hands on one, let me know what you think of it!

Thanks for reading :)

Review-Day Tuesday #1: Nivea Lip Butter

As the title suggests, Tuesdays will be review days!
I dunno, I'm just in love with the idea of doing weekly posts with outrageously awful titles ;)

As far as I know, these Lip Butters have been going around the beauty circle for a little while now, so naturally I had to see what all the fuss is about. I've already reviewed this product over on my Tumblog, which you can find by clicking here, but I figured I might as review it over here too!

As stated in my other obscenely long review, this stuff is the bees knees. It does exactly what a good lip balm should do in one application.

Cheap and cheerful and definitely something I'd repurchase!

[Apologies about the severe lateness. The internet connection over here is dire. So if this is all botched up and askew, now you know why! I'll fix any gamminess as soon as I can!]

Limited Edition Deliciousness

I kid you not, this hot chocolate is delicious.

(Excuse the scummy-looking cup. It's just hot chocolate; I drank some :3)

It's warm and spicy without being overpowering, and is still the same velvety Options Hot Chocolate that we know and love! If you like ginger, you have to try this! It's so perfect for this season that I can't even.

I got mine from The Cooperative for about 35p and it's worth every single penny, so check out a Coop near you for this sachet of deliciousness!
It's limited edition as well! What are you waiting for?

- XO