Estee Lauder Modern Muse Eau De Parfum // REVIEW

Hey guys! Today's post is a slightly exciting one, my first perfume review! This lovely looking thing is the Estee Lauder Modern Muse Eau De Parfum*, which I was recently sent and I am so happy to have. Estee Lauder are renowned for their perfumes and this is another one to add to the list of successes!

The Modern Muse bottle is one of the most gorgeous perfume bottles I have ever seen. The cute little 3D black bow at the top and slight pinkiness of the perfume has something very elegant, sophisticated and girly about it and I love it!

I think this scent is great for Autumn and Winter because it has woody and floral undertones, whilst having a slight musky smell to it. There are also hints of jasmine, patchouli and citrus, which stops it being too sweet and gives a soft bitterness to it, so it would be great for any sort of ages!

Every so often it releases sudden "bursts" of fragrance which I find is really nice and helps to preserve the scent on your skin. After a few hours the scent doesn't fade at all and keeps its gorgeous smell! That's really useful to me as I'm not the sort of person who tends to top up perfume during the day, and I rarely have to do that with Modern Muse.

I could see this making an absolutely amazing Christmas present for someone, as I would be very happy to receive it as a gift. Definitely have a smell of this whenever you see it next because I think it is one of those scents that would appeal to most people, even if it's just due to the bottle!

Have you tried Estee Lauder Modern Muse Eau De Parfum?

Beauty Advent Calendars 2013 - Christmas

Hey guys! This is my first Christmas related post of the year, and I had decided to do this since about July, so I'm really excited to write it. Whenever a #bbloggers chat is on, I have seen beauty advent calendars mentioned every time without fail! There are some amazing advent calendars this year, including two newbies, although they are all rather expensive. Hopefully some brands will do a budget version next year!

Boots Advent Calendar - £30 - Available now!

Up first is the Boots advent calendar which is the cheapest of the five, coming to £30 for 24 treats worth over £65! Some of the brands include Nails Inc, Soap & Glory, Paco Rabanne, Juicy Couture, Rimmel and more. I have heard quite a few people saying this one isn't that great, but I'm not sure if that it just because it isn't as amazing as some of the more expensive ones, I guess the Boots version is still pretty good for the money if you don't have much to spent on an advent calendar!

Benefit Countdown To Love Advent Calendar - £50 - Available from 2nd of November at selected stores and 3rd of November online

This is the first year the Benefit Countdown To Love advent calendar has been on sale, which has lead to a great amount of hype and excitement surrounding it! At £50 it is rather expensive, although it contains 21 mini best-selling products including Porefessional primer, Hoola bronzer, Coralista blush and Badgal mascara, plus there is 3 pieces of jewellery too!

There are only a very limited amount of the Benefit advent calendars available, so you will have to be very quick if you want to buy one! They are being sold from the 2nd of November at selected Debenhams Benefit counters, and online from the 3rd of November.

YOU Beauty Advent Calendar - £49.95 - Available now!

Details about the YOU advent calendar have been kept quite under wraps, with barely anyone knowing when it was going to be officially released! It has only become available within the past few days, although I don't think that many people have realised this as I haven't heard anyone talking about it. This was a favourite of a lot of people last year, so people have definitely been excited to see what year's offerings are. The YOU advent calendar costs £49.95 (£10 less than last year) and includes 24 products, worth over £240, from brands such as Caudalie, Stila and Balance Me!

Ciate Mini Mani Advent Calendar - £42 - Available now!

The Ciate Mini Mani advent calendars have always interested me, opening a little door everyday to find a brand new, pretty nail polish to paint your nails with that day (even if changing your nail polish everyday would be extremely bad for your nails!) For £42 you get 17 mini Paint Pots of their best-selling shades, 4 mini Caviar blends and 3 exclusive glitter Paint Pots.

Selfridges Advent Calendar - £84 - Available now! (Although it is currently sold out)

The Selfridges advent calendar is very expensive, however it is rather luxurious! Some of the brands include Lancome, YSL, Kiehl's and Giorgio Armani, so it is definitely one for anyone who wants to slurge and treat themselves. I have heard and seen on other posts, that there are quite a few sample sizes included that you could quite easily get for free, which is a bit cheeky considering the price of this, but it would make a great early Christmas present if you didn't mind that!

That is it for my beauty advent calendar post, I hope you enjoyed reading it! Sadly, I don't think I will be buying a beauty advent calendar this year as my budget doesn't quite stretch far enough, however I would still love to know if you are getting one (or more, if so I am very jealous) and what you think of it.

What beauty advent calendars do you like the sound of this year?

Bourjois Little Round Pot Blush - Rose Pompon & Rose Mandarine // REVIEW

Hey guys! Sorry that this post is a day late, I tried to write it yesterday but I never got the time. At least it is the half term now though and the next holiday will be Christmas! Today's post is about the Bourjois' Little Round Pot Blush, in the shades Rose Pompon and Rose Mandarine. I hadn't actually heard a huge amount about these in the past, I'm not quite sure why though! The Little Round Pot Blush was created 150 years ago, which is pretty impressive because I haven't heard of many (if any) makeup products that have been around that long.

Rose Pompon is a light rose shade and Rose Mandarine is a terracotta/peach shade, although they are both completely matte. Since they are matte I think they would look lovely in Winter, especially Rose Pompon as it would give a natural "rosy" hint without being glittery!

The formulation is very soft and smooth, and they blend really well, which makes them quick and easy to apply. Both shades are extremely pigmented so you need to be careful not to use too much, especially with Rose Mandarine as you will end up looking rather orange. I only use a little bit on a brush so I can see each of these pots lasting me for ages!

Each blush comes with a built-in mirror and a little brush that fits in easily over the dome of the blush. Personally I don't find the brush to be of any use, but I guess it would be alright if you needed a little touch up during the day! The lasting power is average as it only lasts about 3-4 hours, which isn't very good considering they cost £7.99 each and I had hoped they would be better in that respect.

Overall I do really like the Bourjois Little Round Pot Blushes, they definitely aren't the best if you want something that lasts a long time though! If you just need them to last for a few hours then I really do think that they are lovely, plus there is a great selection of 15 shades. 

Have you ever tried a Bourjois Little Round Pot Blush?

Berry Makeup Wishlist

Hey guys! Lately I have really liked berry/plum shades and have seen quite a few things that have caught my eye. I thought what better thing to do, than do a little post/wishlist about them! I love these sort of shades around Autumn and Christmas because they make me feel all festive. Anyway, on with the wishlist!

Barry M Nail Paint - Raspberry - £2.99

I have seen quite a few people feature this in Autumn related posts and I'm not surprised why! It is a classic rouge with a pink undertone which looks so pretty. Plus it would cover Winter/Christmas as you could easily add a glitter top coat!

Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil - Damned - £17.50

I have a couple of the Nars Velvet Lip Pencils already, admittedly they aren't matte, but they are one of the best lip products I have! The pigmentation is amazing and they don't budge for hours.

Mac Eye Shadow - Cranberry - £12.50

I have heard so many people talking about this shade, and how it is very similar to the Maybelline Color Tattoo in Metallic Pomegranate, although the Mac eyeshadow does look slightly darker and toned down! It is such a pretty shade and would be perfect to use in the crease.

Chanel Rouge Allure Luminous Satin Lipstick - Enigmatique - £25

This lipstick is from Chanel's Autumn collection this year, which is one of my favourite collections so far! I currently only have one of the Rouge Allure lipsticks, and although they aren't as amazing as the Rouge Coco Shine range in my opinion (they aren't as moisturising), I would love to add this to my collection!

Rimmel Kate Matte Lipstick - 107 - £5.49

This had got to be the most talked about Rimmel Kate lipsticks I have seen! When I asked a few weeks ago on Twitter for Autumn lipstick recommendation, nearly everybody suggested this. When I swatched it a little while ago, it definitely didn't seem as dark as it may look online, but I am honestly quite happy about that as I thought it would be far too dark for my liking.

Essie Nail Polish - Bahama Mama - £7.99

Now I must admit, the Essie polish I used in the photo above is is actually "Berry Naughty" rather than Bahama Mama. When I came to writing this post (after creating the wishlist image) I realised that Berry Naughty was either only available in the USA, or it has a different name in the UK, however Bahama Mama looks very similar. Bahama Mama is quite a deep purple with red undertones, that is so pretty and very Autumnnal!

YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Lipstick - Forbidden Burgundy (12) - £24

Firstly, how amazing is the packaging of Rouge Volupte lipsticks?! I've had my eye on Peach Passion for some time, so as you can see this is a completely different shade. It's quite a dark purpley pink and looks extremely glossy!

That is it for my berry wishlist! Hopefully I will be able to pick up a few of these bits soon (the rest will most likely go to my Christmas list), I'm especially looking forward to getting the Barry M nail polish. If you have any other berry/red/Autumnal makeup products that have caught your eye please let me know as I would love to have a look!

Are any of these products on your wishlist?

Maybelline Color Tattoo - Metallic Pomegranate & On And On Bronze // REVIEW

Hey guys! Sorry for this post being a day late, I didn't feel too well yesterday and didn't get a chance to write this up. Anyway, today's post is my review on the ever-talked-about the Maybelline Color Tattoos! A couple of months back I asked on Twitter what shades to buy, as I was desperate to try them, and On And On Bronze & Metallic Pomegranate were by far the most suggested shades, so I knew I had to get them (both shades are also perfect for Autumn/Winter.) Boots were doing buy one get one half price on most of their makeup products aswell, which meant these two only cost £7.49 together! Gel/cream products have got to have been one of the most discussed products this year, whether it was eyeshadows, blushers or eyeliner, but I have only just begun to pay much interest to them and having tried these two, I'm so glad I did!

On And On Bronze is a gorgeous bronze shade with a subtle golden undertone, and tiny silver glitter particles in. I think this is a better Autumn shade, rather than Metallic Pomegranate, as the bronze and golden highlights remind me of when all the leaves fall off the trees! Metallic Pomegranate is a burgundy-pomegranate shade, with gold glitter in it, which I think look lovely together and remind me of Christmas! Metallic Pomegranate does look a little too bold on me when used as the "main" eyeshadow, but I think it looks really pretty just on the outer corner, blended into the crease a little. The pigmentation of both shades is amazing and you only need a little bit to give quite an intense colour, so I can see this pot lasting me a very long time!

They each have a very smooth texture and don't feel at all grainy, even though they contain glitter, which makes them so easy to apply! They also act really well on dry skin as I have a little patch of dry skin at the moment that just won't budge (I think it's possibly eczema), and the settle perfectly on top. I was really impressed with the lasting power, when used with my Helen E eyeshadow primer (I'll get to without a primer in a little bit), they lasted around 8-9 hours and they only started to crease then! Strangely I noticed they didn't begin to crease at the same time on both of my eyelids, the left creased sooner than the right, which I've never noticed before with any of my other eyeshadows, has anyone else had that with this product?

I do have a couple of negatives however; Firstly they can be a little awkward to apply with your finger, as they can go a little patchy, with parts of your eyelid with more on than the other parts. My other negative is that they really don't last well without a primer, mine started to crease after about 2 hours, which isn't tremendously great if you are in rush and don't have time to apply/don't own a primer! 

Overall I was very impressed with the Maybelline Color Tattoos! I admit, they maybe aren't as great as the hype leads you to believe they are, in terms of application and lasting power without a primer, but they are still an amazing cream eyeshadow. I will definitely have to try some more shades! Any suggestions?

Have you tried the Maybelline Color Tattoos? If so what's your favourite shade?

Huge Autumn Haul! - Primark, H&M, The Body Shop & More

Hey guys! Today's post is my Autumn haul, which I have planning on doing for weeks, which meant as soon as I knew I had done pretty much all of my Autumn clothing buying, I quickly got on with this post. Autumn clothes have got to be my favourite, they are so warm and you can layer up! This year I got quite a lot of things from Primark, as their stock seems to be so good and I've noticed that their quality seems to have got better.

Quick note aswell, I just realised, having nearly finished writing this post, that I never included my new Converse in the photos, stupid Millie! So I also bought some black, high-top Converse from La Redoute for £34.40.

H&M Oatmeal-Grey Cable Knit Jumper - £14.99 (Link is the same jumper in another colour) I have been looking for a jumper for weeks without much luck, as I'm allergic to wool which makes finding jumpers ten times harder, meaning when I finally found some in H&M I knew I had to get one. This is so soft and thick, making it perfect for Autumn and Winter!

Primark Fluffy Cream & Black Striped Jumper - £10 I have contemplated whether to get a fluffy jumper or not for a while, because honestly I'm not too keen on them however this one is so soft and doesn't look that bad on! Plus for £10 you can't really complain.

Not quite sure what the blur mark next to the leggings is, there must have been a spot of dust on the camera lense

Primark Dark Denim Skinny Jeans - £9 You really can't go wrong with Primark's denim jeans, considering they are only £9, and the colour range is pretty good! I live in jeans during Autumn and Winter, well all year round really, so I can't wait to try these.

H&M Olive Green Skinny Jeans - £19.99 These jeans were in my Autumn wishlist last month, and after finding a code for £5 off (I think) I had to get them! The colour is great for Autumn and look really great with the H&M jumper and boots.

Primark Black Leggings - £3 I had told myself that I wouldn't buy Primark leggings again, but when I saw that they had started doing non-shiny ones again I caved and bought a pair. Hopefully they will be better than the ones I previously had! Although I'm still on the look out for some Zara ones, preferably the thick, lined version.

Boohoo Off-Shoulder Ruched Navy Dress - £8 I must admit, this isn't for Autumn of course, however I thought I would include it as I bought it around the same time as all my other things. I thought this would be perfect for next year if I was to go on holiday anywhere hot, or, for some extremely strange reason, it is hot again in the UK for the second summer running.

iKrush Perfume Tea Dress - £1!!! This is my ultimate bargain! A couple of weeks ago I saw someone tweet about how iKrush (who I had never heard of before) were doing £1 dresses to celebrate their first birthday, so I, quite literally, stopped what I was doing and ran upstairs to the laptop. Sadly you could only get one dress each, but this was my favourite of the eight or so that they were selling. It is surprisingly really nice and thick, it's definitely the quality of a much more expensive dress!

Primark Frilly Cream & Blue Socks - £1.50 I finally bought a pair of frilly socks. I think they look really nice, plus when I saw them in Primark for £1.50 I knew I had to get them! Hipster socks achieved (oh dear).

Primark Pack Of 5 Fairisle Socks - £3 I have a slight thing for fairisle print, especially in the colour red, so when I noticed these, I realised that they were for me! Anyway I needed some new socks and these are very season/Christmas orientated.

Primark Pack Of 2 Grey & White Fluffy Socks - £2 And another pair of socks, honestly you can't go wrong with Primark socks. I LOVE fluffy socks, and Primark's are better than any others I have tried. You don't feel bad about getting rid of them once they go a bit horrible aswell, since you've been wearing them everyday for months (washing them regularly of course)! 

Primark Bird & Branch Print Scarf - £4 Admittedly this isn't exactly the most Autumny scarf, but when I spotted it I couldn't bare not getting it, so who really cares? It is a really pretty, vintage type print and I will hopefully be able to find an Autumn outfit to match it with!

Tesco F&F Domed Stud Leather Boots - £35 I had set out to buy some nice boots this year, and originally I did buy the New Look ones off my Autumn wishlist, but they absolutely reeked of faux leather! I then went with some others from Tesco which are actual leather and were only about £5 more than the New Look ones, plus they are really similar. They are such comfy boots, definitely have a look at these if you are on the look out for leather boots!

Mudd Hydrating Sea Clay Mask - £2.98 My skin always lacks hydrating during Autumn and Winter, and when I spotted this in Sainsburys I popped it in my trolley. I have never actually tried a proper clay mask before, so I'm really looking forward to trying this one!

Nivea Creme - £2.78 (currently half price in Sainsburys) A couple of months ago I saw this being compared to the Creme De La Mer Moisturising Cream, and how moisturising it is. Having looked up some more reviews on it I thought "yeah, I'll give that a go", and when I saw this in Sainsburys half priced I instantly bought it.

Maybelline Colour Tattoo - On And On Bronze & Metallic Pomegranate - £4.99 each I finally got the two Colour Tattoos in On And On Bronze and Metallic Pomegranate from Boots (buy one get one half price) after hearing so many great things about these two shades. They are perfect Autumn shades and I have already started using them! I'll be reviewing them soon.

Sainsburys TU Pink Grapefruit & Lime Room Spray - Around £3.50 Admittedly this isn't beauty stuff, it is a room spray, but I felt I had to include it because it smells really nice and fresh! I do realise that this is more of a Spring/Summer scent however I don't really mind as it smells amazing. It is quite sweet, whilst still having some sour undertones because of the lime, think The Body Shop Grapefruit shower gel, if you've smelt it, with some sour in it!

The Body Shop Almond Hand & Nail Cream - Free! (Normally £5) Lastly, a little while ago Voucher Codes were giving away free 30ml tubes of The Body Shop hand cream to anyone with the app, and when I found this out me and my friend popped instore and got one each! I have the hemp version somewhere, so I thought that I would go for a change this time and almond smelt very nice. I'm really looking forward to trying it, possibly after writing this post!

Wow I have bought a lot recently! My next big haul will probably be around Christmas or my birthday (its only 8 days before Christmas), unless I do a little haul in-between now and then, so I can save up my money until then. Ahh Christmas isn't long away now!

What things have you bought ready for Autumn recently?