Valentine's Day Gift Ideas

Hello! As I'm sure you know, Valentine's Day is coming up so I thought it would be a nice idea to do a gift ideas post! Before Christmas I posted a couple of Christmas Gift Ideas posts which seemed to be helpful to a lot of you and I received some lovely comments, so I thought I would write a Valentine's Day one!

The gifts in this post are all for women so if you are a man then hopefully this will give you some ideas of what you could buy the lady in your life! For all of the ladies reading this, these gifts may give you ideas of presents you might like to receive so you can start dropping some hints! Also, if you don't have anyone to buy you these lovely gifts, why not just treat yourself! I know I will be! 

If you read my blog regularly then this first product will come as no surprise to you at all! I love Chanel  Rouge Coco Shine lipsticks so of course I had to include one in this gift ideas post! I currently own two, Boy and Evasion and I really want to buy some more! I thought Monte Carlo looks like the perfect Valentine's shade as it is such a gorgeous, true red with a little bit of shimmer!

As you may know, I have bought quite a few Bobbi Brown products recently and I am in love with them all! I really want to try some more of their products and this Sheer Colour Cheek Tint looks lovely! I have been loving cream blushes recently a lot more than powder as the finish they give is a lot more natural and glowy. This cheek tint is a stick blush so will apply and blend a lot more like a cream than a powder. I think Cherry looks like the perfect shade as it is a lovely natural red which I think would look amazing on the cheeks with the Monte Carlo lipstick on the lips!

Bare Minerals is a brand I love - their makeup and skincare is just lovely and if you have read my very first blog post then I wrote about the Bare Minerals Night Treatment! This Exfoliating Treatment Cleanser looks really interesting and I am very tempted to give it a try! It gently exfoliates and cleanses the skin and has been clinically proven to leave skin looking brighter and smoother. This is called a powder cleanser and when mixed with water, forms a light froth which you then massage into your skin. I think this seems like a perfect gift - who doesn't want bright, smooth, lovely skin and especially with Summer approaching!

I have bought some Dior makeup lately and have loved it, however I haven't tried any of their skincare. This Beauty Awakening Rehydrating Mask seems like a great present idea as it looks very luxurious and is made to intensely hydrate and nourish dehydrated skin. I do have an oily nose so hydrating products aren't always the best for me to use, however the rest of my skin is normal so usually products like this are fine for me as long as I don't apply too much on my nose (I hope so as it looks amazing!) I think that it's really important to add some hydration and moisture back into the skin, especially during these cold, Winter months and this rehydrating mask sounds the perfect product!

My last gift idea is this beautiful Ciate  Sequin Manicure. I have always heard amazing things about Ciate and I own one of their nail polishes and love it! They last very well and are so easy to apply! This Sequined Manicure looks amazing and a great way to add a bit of sparkle and brighten up your nails! I thought this seems like a lovely, fun, girly gift idea.

I hope you have enjoyed this post and it has given you some ideas of presents you may like to give or receive or just treat yourself with! I think all of these products are lovely, luxurious and will make amazing gifts!

All of these products are available from Selfridges and you can view their range of Valentine's gifts and their Valentine's gifts for her!

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All photos are from Selfridges

Mac Starter Kit

Hello! I know there are probably absolutely loads of Mac Starter Kit videos and posts out there, but I thought I would make my own and hopefully some of you will enjoy reading this post and watching my video.

When I first started going to Mac, I never knew which products were good or worth the money as there are so many to chose from! I thought a post/video like this will be useful for everyone because if you are new in makeup then it will hopefully help you decide what to try from Mac, and if you aren't new in makeup then you can just see what I would recommend!

I haven't chosen too many products as I know Mac can be fairly expensive.

I do go into a lot more detail about each product in the video so if you would like to hear why I like them and just generally lots more information then you can watch that here! This blog post is mainly just so you can see lots of swatches and close up photos of each product!

Here are all of the swatches!

Left to right:

Blush in Well Dressed

Studio Sculpt Foundation in NW15,

Tinted Lip Conditioner in Petting Pink

Top - Eye Shadow in Satin Taupe

Bottom - Eye Shadow in Naked Lunch

Top - Eye Kohl in Smolder

Left - Eye Shadow in Satin Taupe

Right - Eye Shadow in Naked Lunch

I hope you have enjoyed this post and video! I would love it if you subscribed to my Youtube channel if you would like to and if you do then it means you wont miss a video, even if I don't write a post about it!

What are your favourite Mac products? Do you have any recommendations for me?

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Rimmel Stay Matte Powder

Hello! If you read my blog regularly then you will know that I have a very oily nose and the rest of my skin is normal. I only use face powder on my t zone and I like it to control the oil as much as possible so I don't have to reapply powder very much throughout the day.

When I first heard about the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder, it sounded perfect and I kept reading really good reviews on it! I decided to get the Transparent colour which took me a little while to find as they seemed to be sold out a lot, so when I finally found it I was happy!

I have tried a lot of different powders, high end and low end to try and control my oily nose and this one is easily the best! The packaging isn't amazing at all. It feels quite cheap and the lid isn't secure so I wouldn't want to travel with this, however the powder itself is incredible so I don't really mind about the packaging!

Usually when I powder my t zone, my nose will still get oily throughout the day and I will have to reapply powder a couple of times. My makeup always comes off my nose as well because it gets so oily!

When I use this powder though, my nose stays pretty much matte all day and does not look at all oily which is amazing! Also, because my nose stays matte, my foundation stays put all day and doesn't slide off! I am so impressed with this powder and the fact that it keeps my very oily nose, pretty much completely matte. My makeup looks the same at the end of the day as it did at the beginning.

I use my Bobbi Brown Powder Brush to apply this which is my new favourite brush! It is the softest brush I have ever used and applies powder amazingly well. Sometimes when I buff powder onto my skin, my concealer and foundation moves or comes off, however this brush is so soft, it doesn't move any makeup underneath which is great!

Overall, I would highly recommend this powder! It is the best powder I have ever used to control my oil and set my makeup. The best part is, it only costs £3.99 here. Amazing!

What is your favourite powder? Have you tried this one before?

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Primark Haul

Hello! I filmed my first shopping haul video today so I thought I would post it on here as well as Youtube so you can all watch it if you would like to!

Today has been such a great day! I was so excited last night because it was due to snow, so as soon as I woke up this morning I looked outside to see lots of snow! My College classes were cancelled so I had a day off. My mum and I walked into town and I went shopping whist she had her hair done! 

I don't go into Primark that often but I thought I would today and I found quite a few things I liked.

This haul is basically all Primark with the exception of a little extra at the end! I hope you enjoy it.

You can click here to watch it on Youtube or watch it below.

Let me know if you enjoy this video and please leave any video requests down below!

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Stila Convertible Colour

Hello! I hope you are all well and not freezing in this weather! I feel like a little ice cube! If you read my 'What I Got For Christmas' post then you will have seen I received this gorgeous Stila Covertible Colour in the shade Lilium.

I have only owned one cream blush before and it was a real pain to apply! It was very dry and when I applied it, all my foundation rubbed off because it was so difficult to blend. This cream blush however, couldn't be more different!

The colour is a gorgeous rosey pink colour with a very slight purpley tone, which I think is the perfect shade for my skin! I have never found a blush which complements my skin as much as this one.

The product itself is incredibly creamy which means it applies and blends amazingly well. I tend to get a little bit on my finger and dab it onto my cheeks and then blend it in. I have also used this with the Real Techniques Contour brush and it applied just as nicely, however I much prefer to just use my fingers.

I love how easily this blends as it makes it look like I just have a natural, healthy flush of colour to my cheeks. It also lasts perfectly all day which is amazing considering how creamy it is!

This blush is also extremely pigmented! I only need a tiny dab of this and that is enough! I can always add a little bit more if I need to and because this is so creamy, it's also very easy to remove some if you have applied a bit too much! I just sweep my foundation brush over my cheeks and any excess comes off!

This blush really brightens up my face and adds a gorgeous wash of colour. The finish is brightening and dewy because it is such a creamy blush! I never powder my cheeks so apply this directly over my foundation and it never moves any concealer or foundation when I apply it. 

The Convertible Colours can also be used on the lips and I think this looks like a gorgeous lip colour, so I will have to try it as a lip stick soon! This has become my everyday blush which is great as my last cream blush put me off them a bit! I would highly recommend this and I'm already looking into which colour I may like next!

This is available here for £16 with free delivery!

Have you tried any Convertible Colours? What is your favourite Stila product? I am very tempted to try some more of their products!

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500 Follower Giveaway Winner!

Hello! My 500 follower giveaway ended last night and I have been so excited to find out the winner! I used Rafflecopter to chose the winner for me and the winner is Claire from PinkChickClaire!


a Rafflecopter giveaway
Congratulations Claire! I will email and tweet you now. I wish I could give you all some lovely prizes to thank you for being such amazing followers but that might be a little expensive! I will hopefully have another giveaway soon which will be so exciting!

I hope you are all having a lovely day.

My Favourite Foundations and Foundation Brushes

Hello! If you watch my Youtube videos (here) then you may have seen my 'Favourite Foundations and Foundation Brushes' video. I thought I would do an accompanying blog post for those of you who aren't subscribed to my videos! 

My favourite foundations are all high end and that's because I wanted to talk about the foundations I genuinely love and use on a regular basis and these are the only ones I really use!

Currently, my most worn foundations are the YSL Touche Eclat and Bobbi Brown Long Wear. If my skin is quite clear then I will wear my YSL Touche Eclat foundation as it is very light, radiant and doesn't look or feel like you are wearing foundation! I wear my Bobbi Brown foundation on days when my skin isn't quite as good as it is thicker, provides medium, buildable coverage and lasts amazingly well!

The Bare Minerals foundation is a great powder foundation which provides a lovely, flawless and natural finish. I don't wear a powder foundation very often, however if I do then it is always this one.

My Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation isn't worn as much now I have my YSL Touche Eclat as they are quite similar. I still wear it when I don't want my skin to be as radiant and dewy though. I tend to wear it when the weather is warmer as it isn't heavy at all and lasts very well in heat! Last year I went on holiday to Zante where it was 40 degrees and I obviously didn't wear foundation in weather like that, but I do remember wearing it once for dinner and it lasted really well!

If my skin is very good then I wear a tinted moisturiser. My favourite ever is the Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser and I have the oil free one. This provides very good coverage for a tinted moisturiser and leaves my skin looking very dewy and natural.

I have five favourite brushes! My most used are the Bobbi Brown Foundation brush and Real Techniques Buffing brush. I use the Bobbi Brown Foundation brush for my Bobbi Brown Long Wear foundation! I don't usually like traditional foundation brushes, however I really like this one and it applies my foundation flawlessly.

My Real Techniques Buffing brush is mainly used for my YSL Touche Eclat foundation and the two work amazingly well together! I also use this brush for my Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua and Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser. I find it doesn't work quite as well with the Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser as that is thicker than the other two which makes it slightly harder to buff in and blend.

The other three brushes are the Mac 187, Zoeva Powder brush and Real Techniques Blush brush. I use these all for my Bare Minerals foundation powder and it just depends whether I want a light dusting or a fuller coverage.

I hope you enjoyed this post and you can watch my video here if you want to as I do go into more detail. Please let me know in the comments any recommendations you have for foundations and brushes!

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YSL Rouge Volupte Lipstick

Hello! I hope you are all well. If you have been reading my blog for a long time then you may have read my Top 3 High End Lipsticks post where I briefly mentioned my YSL Rouge Volupte lipstick in Sensual Silk. For Christmas I got another one in the colour Rose Caresse, 9 so I thought I would review it for you because it is amazing!

To start with, look at the packaging! It is so beautiful and I love that the colour of the lipstick shows through around the middle. The colour is an absolutely gorgeous deep rose pink with a little bit of plum in it. It's the perfect autumn / winter colour and I find it suits my skin tone very well! The colour is extremely pigmented but also buildable. I sometimes apply a little bit and blend it in with my finger for more of a stain or I build it up for a bolder look. It never looks too bold or dark though, it's just the perfect everyday shade!

The YSL Rouge Volupte lipsticks are honestly the creamiest lipsticks I have ever used! I find I don't need a lip balm when wearing this which is pretty amazing as my lips can be very dry. This lipstick applies so nicely as it's very soft and smooth. It also lasts amazingly well and I don't have to re apply this at all throughout the day if I don't want to! I find the colour doesn't stay as vibrant and rich so I could do with re-applying it around midday but it's definitely not necessary.

I absolutely love this lipstick - the formulation, texture, colour and packaging is just amazing!

Have you ever tried a YSL Rouge Volupte lipstick? What is your favourite lipstick?

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Blog Designs

Hello!

UPDATE: I have already received lots of emails from people interested so I will be taking no more free designs!

You may have noticed that my blog looks different! I redesigned it last week and I hope you like it. I also redesigned Rebecca's blog yesterday if you would like to see that. It was so much fun redesigning them and I really enjoyed it. 

I have decided that I would love to start offering blog designs to anyone that would like one but since I only started doing them very recently, I would like a little bit more practice! So, I have decided to do a couple of blog designs for free so I can get a little bit of practice before I may start charging for them.

I am planning to offer these blog designs to about five people. It may be a couple more than five, for example if the first five people only want blog buttons made then I could have a couple more whereas if they all want full designs then five would be enough!

All you need to do if you would like your blog redesigned is email me at beautybeckyblog@gmail.com and the first five (possibly more) people will get their designs for free!

It can be anything from some social media buttons, blog button, header or a full redesign! It's completely up to you.

I will design them all on a first come first served basis but they shouldn't take too long to do.

I really look forward to receiving any emails! I had so much fun with the two I have done so far and I will always do my best to make your design exactly how you would like it.

You can read Rebecca's lovely post here if you would like to read what she thought of her blog design experience!

Bobbi Brown Corrector

I feel like I haven't written a review in quite a while now! There's been lots of Christmas, New Year and chatty posts so not many reviews but they are coming back!

The Bobbi Brown Corrector has been on my wishlist for a very long time now, so the other month when I popped to Bobbi Brown to have my eye makeup done, I took the opportunity to try it! The makeup artist colour matched me, applied it under my eyes and I loved it!

She applied it under one eye first so I could see the difference and it made a massive difference! I don't suffer badly with under eye circles at all, however I do like to use something that slightly conceals and brightens and this little pot did just that.

The corrector I have is Porcelain Peach and I have been told peach is a better tone for concealing bluey colours under the eyes. The first thing I noticed about this was how creamy it is! It is amazingly creamy and very pigmented which is lovely and a dream to apply. I absolutely love applying this because it almost just melts into the skin and blends amazingly. I only need one little wipe of this product and that is plenty to conceal my under eyes! I find it is very buildable though so if I feel I need a little bit more coverage, I just use a little bit more product! Even if I build the coverage up, it always looks brightening and it never looks cakey or thick. 

I have been using this every single day since I bought along with a little bit of translucent powder to set and I love it! It conceals my under eye area fantastically well, whilst also brightening it and staying put all day with no creasing! Concealers always crease in one little line under my eye and this is the only one that doesn't! 

This is available here for £18.

I don't have a bad thing to say about this apart from I wish this came in a little duo kit with the concealer because that would be really handy! 

Have you tried the Bobbi Brown Corrector?

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Blog Button Swap!

Hello!

I have been thinking about offering advertising on my blog for a little while and I hopefully will do later this year. I thought a fun thing to do until then would be to offer free blog button swaps which means other blog buttons (like yours!) will go in my sidebar in exchange for mine going in their sidebar. This will allow me to see how many of you are interested and also get used to how I will organise it!

I have a blog button page now where I have had a few buttons for a while. I am starting fresh now and any new buttons will be placed in my sidebar in exchange for you placing mine in your sidebar.

I am going to be accepting 10 (UPDATE: I am now accepting 15 for this month. More of you were interested than I thought so thank you!) per month and they will be in my sidebar from the 1st to the last day of every month. If this goes well and lots of you seem interested then I will definitely consider increasing the amount of buttons I have per month.

I know it's the 4th today but I wasn't organised enough and had New Years posts going up just before and on the 1st! Any buttons I put in my side bar for this month will still be changed on the 1st of February so it wont be quite a whole month. I hope you don't mind but otherwise I will never get out of the cycle of it being the 4th of every month!

If you would be interested in doing a blog button swap and feel your blog would be of interest to my readers, then please email me! (Make sure you email me and don't just comment on this blog post! Otherwise I will probably get confused. Haha!)

beautybeckyblog@gmail.com

Anyone can email me so if you are interested please don't hesitate and then if I feel that your blog is a good match for mine I will pop your button in my sidebar straight under my button. (They will be ordered on a first come, first served basis)

Please use the subject 'Blog Button Swap' in the email.

I really hope some of you are interested and I look forward to receiving your emails if you are!

What I Got For Christmas

Hello! I absolutely love reading other people's 'What I got for Christmas' posts and quite a few of you asked me to write this post so here it is!

I uploaded a video the other day of my favourite Christmas presents where I talk a little bit more in detail about some of these presents, so you can click here to watch that. This post wont go into much detail about each product otherwise it may be too long, but feel free to leave a comment below if you would like a review on anything once I have used it a little bit more.

Soap and Glory Clean On Me shower cream - My favourite shower gel!

Soap and Glory Small Wonders set - I think Soap and Glory is my favourite brand for body products so I love this!

Avon Far Away Perfume - A lovely, long lasting perfume which is great for everyday as it's not very expensive!

YSL Manifesto perfume and purse spray - Possibly my new favourite perfume. It smells amazing and lasts an unbelievably long time.

Georgio Armani Miniature Fragrance Collection - I haven't tried these yet but I have smelt Armani Code before and loved it so I am excited to try these all.

Enrapture Totem Styler - I have only used this once so far and it was so good! It created gorgeous loose waves/curls which lasted all day with no hairspray!

Babyliss Big Hair - This is my favourite gift this year! I am thinking of doing a review or tutorial on Youtube so please let me know if you would like that! UPDATE - Tutorial here!

Macadamia Get Hooked set - I have only used the hair oil out of this so far and it was incredible. I am definitely considering buying the full size and am very excited to try the mask!

Burts Bees Tinted Lip Balm Duo - These lip balms are lovely and the colours are gorgeous! The colours are Hibicus and Red Dahlia. I am actually giving the pink set away in my 500 follower giveaway!

YSL Rouge Volupte in Rose Caresses, 9 - This colour is gorgeous and the perfect everyday colour. I may have a review of this soon!

Rimmel blush in Santa Rose - This is also in my 500 follower giveaway! It is the perfect shade for me - it warms up my cheeks and looks very natural.

Stila Convertible Colour in Lilium - This was a surprise present that I pointed out to mum but had no idea she bought it for me! The colour is beautiful and  it blends amazingly well.

Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch - I really like under eye concealer/highlighters and this one is amazing.

Urban Outfitters skirt - I was wearing this in my Christmas Day Outfit post if you would like to see it on!

Marks and Spencer floral scarf - This scarf is beautiful and I have been wearing it most days since Christmas.

Martine Wester bracelet - This was also in my Christmas Day Outfit post and it is very pretty. I have been wearing it everyday.

Clarks Chelsea boots - These boots are the comfiest boots I own! I was also wearing these in my Christmas Day Outfit post so you can see them on there.

Revlon Illuminated mirror - I haven't used this properly yet but I turned it on the other day and it looks like it will help amazingly well when I am applying makeup.

Ted Baker makeup bag - I love this little makeup bag! It is gorgeous and inside has a section for makeup brushes!

Cath Kidston mug - I love Cath Kidston products with all the floral, pretty designs.

What To Expect When You're Expecting DVD - I really enjoyed this film!

Real Techniques Starter Set - I have used about three of these brushes so far and they are all very good and soft.

Rae Morris Makeup The Ultimate Guide - Amazing! I absolutely love this book and I read about half of it on Christmas day!

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year! I posted my New Years resolution the other day which you can read here! Let me know below your favourite Christmas presents and don't forget you can watch my video here if you would like to hear me go into more information about some of these products!