Sorry for not posting!

Hey guys! So I feel you deserve a explanation for me being away... the problem is I don't have a good excuse. I know tut tut Abi... however I am back and ready more than ever because I cant wait to start posting again. There should be a lot of new posts not only about makeup but I've been to India so I will write a post about that and maybe some on revision tips because it's getting close to exams now if you're in England (eek!) so I thought that might be helpful. If you could give me suggestion as to what to post that would be great and I'll see what I can do! :)

Top Tip Tuesday | How to Wash Makeup Brushes

I'm If you are anything like me this is quite new to you and no matter how much I searched on pinterest I couldn't find a good way of washing my brushes and after investing in some real technique brushes I wanted to take care of them so I thought I'd put a quick tutorial for all those struggling like I was. In the tutorial I use the Estee Lauder Makeup Brush Cleanser which I got for £12 at boots but I know Feel Unique sell it too. Originally I went to buy the Clinque one but they were all out of stock but the Estee Lauder one is so good so I'm glad I got it.

So the first step is to spary the cleanser on a clean surface. I use a couple of squirts just to make sure.

 

 

Next grab your brush and whirl it around in the cleanser and after a while you should see it getting cleaner.

 

 

Then rinse it under the tap at room temperature and leave to dry.

 

 

I hope this helps and that your brushes are always clean!

L'oreal christmas deal

A few days ago I was wondering around my local town centre after work and I went in boots and browsed at all the makeup counters. I was walking past the L'Oreal counter when I saw an offer that just caught my eye instantly. They had a deal on where if you brought £14.99 worth of their products you could get a free gift that was worth £30. I thought this was a no brainer and started choosing some products that I had always wanted. I chose the "smoky" eye pigment, a new brown eyeliner pencil and a lipstick which all came to just over £15. I then picked up the cute purple box that I would get free.


The gift was called "So Couture" and contained a red lipstick in the shade 461 Scarlett crème and is quite a vibrant red colour but would be perfect for Christmas, a red nail polish in the shade 408 Exquisite Scarlet, a volume million lashes mascara and a Color Riche Kohl eyeliner in white. It also came with a £2.50 money off voucher for the L'Oreal true match foundation.

I thought this was just too good to miss out on I spent £15 for £45 worth of products. This would be a great little present but if you are like me you definitely would want to keep it for yourself and I would not blame you. I love all the products I got in the box and have used the mascara daily since I got it. It is definitely something I would recommend so if you are in boots buying L'Oreal products this one would definitely be for you.

Lush Christmas Haul

So yesterday I was shopping near the nearest Lush to me and just had to go in. I haven't been to a Lush shop in ages and have definitely missed my lush products. I walked in and there were so many people but I managed to find all the Christmassy type products I also got 1 non Christmas product.

So to start I got Candy Mountain which is a pink and white bubble bar which smells like Snow Fairy. I love Snow Fairy (they had sold out so I couldn't get any) so I picked up this instead and because I love the sweet scent.

Next I got the Christmas Eve bubble bar which smells nice and looks like a crescent moon which I thought was sweet. I think I shall save this one for Christmas Eve.

Next I got Drummers Drumming bubble bar which is so cute its pink and yellow and has little bells attached either side. It's a bit like the star one which I have always wanted and you just swirl it around your bath so I can't wait to try that.

Then I got a non Christmassy item which is the bubble gum lip scrub. I got this because I've notices now that it's colder my lips are becoming dryer and this would be perfect to get rid of the flaky bits of skin that no one wants to see.

Then I got the melting snowman which I have to get every year because he is so adorable and makes my skin feel lovely and soft.

Then I got the Butterbear which I believe is new this year I could be wrong so don't hold me to that but at the price of £1.95 I thought this little cutey was perfect.

L'Oréal lipstick review

So I have been admiring these lipsticks for for awhile now especially the collection exclusive/privee. Everytime I walked past them in Boots or Superdrug I picked it up and ummed and urred but didn't buy them until now. I brought mine from Superdrug on a 3 for 2 for £6.99 each but like I said I had looked and wanted them for ages so it wasn't just an impulse buy. I have recently really wanted to start wearing lipsticks and I felt if I got some good quality ones that didn't feel sticky it would make me want to wear them.

I got one collection exclusive by Eva in the shade Eva's nude, the second in is from collection privée by Julianne in the shade Julianne's nude and the third is a normal Color Riche in the shade 302 bois de rose. I chose this because they are quite muted tones and are very nutural. I love the each of the colours even though they are very similar. Underneath is a picture of the swatches I took of each lipstick
 

They are super creamy and smell quite nice and they really aren't sticky which is what I want in a lipstick. I found them to have long lasting ability and so am really looking forward to wearing them.

Personally I love the packaging I have to say I prefer the black packaging to the gold but I think they feel sturdy so could get knocked around in my handbag and still be fine. I like the fact there's a sort of clip on the lid so it doesn't fall off which means you can just throw it in your handbag when your leaving because who has time to make sure it's all ok in your bag before you leave. 

I would definitely recommended these however I feel it's better for those who aren't just beginning makeup because of the price and other things I feel that for a beginner a collection or a rimmel lipstick might be better.

Top Tip Tuesday | Stress Relief

I'm terrible with this. I find so much in life stressful especially with all the work I am having to do at college then applying for university and thinking about moving away from home it all just get's a little bit too much sometimes but that's ok because I am learning how to beat this stress and you can too so without further ado I give you my top tips for stress relief.

1. STOP!

 

Take a minute and just breathe there is no need to get worked up over everything going on, you can handle it I promise. It's just a matter of balancing everything. So stop and breathe if you get yourself all panicky it will only make things worse. Trust me I have done this far too much.

2. Talk to someone

If it's school or college work go and speak to the teacher it concerns after all we are all human and they will understand. At first I was too shy to go and tell my teacher that I have been overloaded with work and can't do all of it for the deadline but when I did they completely understood and helped me work out what I needed to do and for when and even said I didn't need to do some of it or extended deadlines. Or go and talk to a friend they will understand and if they are anything like my friends they will always try and help. I mentioned my friend Jess in one of my favourites posts and we have a code we use and it works and I know if anything goes wrong I can just talk to her. So surround yourself with good people plus if you are with a friend they can make you laugh which is another known way of relieving stress.

3. Make lists your new best friend

Grab a piece of paper and write down everything you need to do. Then start from the top and focus on that item of the list and do each one at a time because if you start trying to do everything all at once it won't work and it will stress you out even more. Plus there is nothing more satisfying then crossing things off of your list. I recently helped a friend who was getting herself worked up because she said she had so much work that I just sat her down and made a to do list and she instantly felt better and said that she had less to do than she first thought.

4. Exercise

This may not seem important especially if you have a long list of things to do but just take 10 minutes to go and have a little walk because this can be important however it is the most important thing there is you just have to look on the NHS website to see it cuts the risk or early death by 30%  and cuts the risk of major diseases such as cancer, diabetes and strokes by up to 50% (http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/Pages/stress-relief-exercise.aspX). So exercise really is important and could be great if you did it with a friend as you can walk and talk and feel so much better.

5. Get a good nights sleep

This one I used to be terrible at but now I make sure I get the recommended amount of sleep for my age group. Also you must lower you caffeine intake as this can affect the amount you sleep.

6. Don't procrastinate

If you put things off then more and more things will build up and then you'll be even more stressed which will not help so go start whatever you need to do and get it done because it won't get done by itself and then you can always get an early night as I've already mentioned.

7. Drink Green Tea

I personally do not do this as I don't like the taste but this is meant to really help with stress so it may be worth a go.

8. Listen to music

It's been proven to help relax someone if they listen to music. This has got to be one of my favourite tips as I love to listen to music and am rarely without earphones in my bag. It's great to just put them in and forget anything that's happening at that point in time.

So just remember things will get better in the end and you will get through whatever's happening. If you have any tips leave them below as I am always looking for new ways to relieve stress and I'm sure anyone else reading this will love to see anymore tips.

Favourites Friday - 2 in 1 Nivea Cleanser and Toner

I decided about a week or two ago that I would really like to get into skin care because I was fed up with having horrible looking skin that got far too oily but the problem was that no product would jump out of the bottle and apply itself to my face. I decided to order a bundle of products from Superdrug and see what works best and one of the products I ordered was this 2 in 1 Cleanser and Toner by Nivea and even though I have used other products such as new day cream and night cream my skin looks so much better and I have definitely noticed that my face doesn't get as oily and all the little imperfections have cleared up and bit and considering it was quite cheap I am so happy I stumbled upon it. I also love the fact that it's a 2 in 1 because if I'm running late in the morning or evening than I just use this and it is so was to use and is a nice consistency and doesn't smell bad. I would definitely recommend this product if like me you are rubbish at keeping up with skin care or just don't have time as it only take a few seconds to apply and it's so important to use cleanser and toner.