January Favourites

So I'm a bit late with my first ever monthly favourites but really who gives a damn...as long as I do it right?

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette - £37 from Debenhams

I think every single beauty blogger and their grans cat has posted about this beauty! What can I say, this is the first of the Naked palettes I have truly lusted after, and my mum can testify to that after we practically ran the entire length of the main shopping street in Edinburgh to make sure I got one. Sure the original and the reboot are gorgeous but this is other-worldly!  Nude rose gold smokey loveliness all wrapped up in a pretty tin with a great brush to boot! That blender is such a pleasure to use and works so well with the shadows although the shadows themselves are that fantastic that I think even the naffest of brushes would still work.  My favourite shade has to be Limit and I wear it nearly every single day.  I don't want to go too much into my favourite shade combos as I'll be doing a post on that next week but all you need to know is that I want to have tiny rose gold babies with this palette. Is that a bit much?

Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray - £9 (currently out of stock but available in full size for £20 at Debenhams and House of Fraser)

I snatched myself one of the travel sized All Nighter sprays on the same day I bought my beloved Naked 3 as I had been wanting to try a setting spray for quite some time and heard such mixed reviews about MAC's Fix+.  I have fairly oily skin so something that will hold my makeup to my face and prevent an atrocity akin to a lava flow is kind of a big ask.  This lives up to that though.  I must admit I have drunkenly fallen asleep with my makeup on recently and when I groggily looked in the mirror my base was looking alright despite the eyeshadow that I had smudged all down my cheek.  I want to try out the other sprays in the Urban Decay range but I think this will definitely be a repurchase in the near future.

Nails Inc Porchester Square - £11 from Nails Inc

I thought I'd get all of the typical beauty blogger favourites out of the way first.  I had never really been one into the nude simple nail until fairly recently.  I was always the girl who had crazy nail art that I spent an hour on whilst watching the Grand Prix on a Sunday afternoon.  Unfortunately being a student midwife, taking an hour to do an elaborate ail design that I'm only going to have on for 2-3 days seemed a bit of a pointless exercise and so I have now opted, most of the time, for a basic manicure of a single colour.  I received Porchester Square as a Christmas present from my parents and wasted no time in slapping it on my nails the very same day.  What a gem this is...I can see why everyone raves about it so much.  This has such a nice formula and lasts really well.  I have a part time job in the medical records department of a local hospital and my hands take quite a battering but this polish lasted a full 4 days over the festive period without a single chip.  I even love the shade so much that I just repainted my bedroom a slightly lighter shade - how odd!

Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner - £7.99 from Boots

For the last 5 years I have been a loving devoted purchaser of the Bobbi Brown gel liner after I was introduced to it on my makeup artistry course.  Last month though it all changed.  The introduction of Jaclyn Hill and her amazing makeup tutorials into my life has swung my entire feelings upside down.  This liner goes on like a dream and so far I feel it is a far superior product to its predecessor.  It has no hint of going cakey or dried out in the jar yet, it's so smooth to apply and it really is the blackest of blacks.  And for half the price of the Bobbi Brown equivalent I am very happy with the update.  It does come with it's own brush but I think that and angled brush works much better with it.

Hydraluron - currently on offer for £16.66 from Boots

If you have read my skin care love in (here) then you'll know all about my feelings for this product.  It's the lightest smoothest serum I have ever tried and it's gel like texture makes it feel like you're rubbing a thicker version of water into your parched skin - bliss.  I'll definitely be repurchasing this...even considering the equivalent sheet masks for special occasions.

Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm - £3.69 from Boots

My brother and sister in law gave me a Burt's Bees set as part of my Christmas present that contained this lip balm as well as a hand balm and a cuticle balm.  This is my favourite product of the three though.  It's so moisturising and the peppermint scent is not too overpowering (I learnt on a recent university placement that peppermint aromatherapy oil is good for nausea so if you're feeling a tad queasy this might be the perfect pick me up...or even if you have a stuffy nose).  It also contains vitamin e which helps to keep your skin healthy.

 Paddy Wax Watermelon Mint Candle - from TK Maxx

Tyrell's Sweet and Salty Popcorn

I decided to include two lifestyle favourites this months just to jazz it up a bit.  First up is this Watermelon Mint candle I picked up whilst having a rake through the home department of my local TK Maxx.  They always have amazing deals on candles and I think this one was only £5.  The scent takes me back to my holiday in Dubai and Abu Dhabi as it reminds me of the apple Shisha pipe that me and my cousin are so fond of.  It has a great scent throw and there were a few other candles from the same range that were also really fresh and perfect for getting into the springtime mood.

Last in my favourites list is Tyrell's Sweet and Salty Popcorn.  I first picked up a big bag of this when I was in Morrisons after seeing it on my Instagram feed and scoffed near enough the whole bag in one night.  Luckily for my waistline my mum discovered a pack of 6 mini bags in Tesco.  It still takes a lot of self restraint to not eat another bag but it's definitely easier than having an open bag in the cupboard.  The sweet side isn't as sticky and coated as you'd expect from Butterkist and the salty isn't as much as they serve in the cinema.  Overall, it's a tiny tasty treat minus the guilt of a share bag.