November Favourites

Hey guys! It's been a while but I'm back with one of my favourite posts, it's November Favourites time! This month has been an incredibly busy one. Between end of year exams, beginning a new year of classes at school, doing my calisthenics concert and many other social engagements, I took no time to think about my favourite products of the month. Luckily, after having a quick look back I've got a pretty accurate list of what I've been into. 

Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Nude Foundation

While the name isn't quite as catchy as the name of my holy grail Match Perfection, I decided to give this new Rimmel offering a go when my Match Perfection kicked the bucket. A more in depth review will be coming in the form of a mini haul on Wednesday, but I will tell you that this is rivaling my precious favourite foundation.  

Real Techniques Contour Brush and Zoeva Luxe Soft Definer Brush 

I thought I had better give these two brushes a shout out because, though they were not new to me this month, they are integral to my current everyday makeup. I absolutely adore using the Contour Brush for my concealer on a daily basis because it blends really quickly and leaves a natural layer of coverage that doesn't look like too much. The Luxe Soft Definer Brush is a perfect one for sweeping a simple brown shade into the crease and blending everything out easily. I'm a sucker for a brush that does exactly what I want it to super quickly. 

Wet 'n' Wild Walking on Eggshells Palette 

This month I'm giving especial love to the brow bone shade in this palette, though the other shadows are great as well. Because this month has been such a busy one, I've been tired and using this shade in my tear duct helps to brighten up the eye and make me look far more awake than I actually am. It also makes a great intense (without being too glittery) highlight on the cheekbone. I actually used this on all of the little girls when I did their makeup for my dance concert and they said it made them look like princesses, if that's not a seal of approval I don't know what is! 

Girl Online by Zoe Sugg

I only got this book in the mail on Wednesday, after having had it pre-ordered for a couple of months, and I've already finished the entire thing. I will have an entire post on this book up next week but I had to include it in my favourites because I enjoyed it so much. Not only was it the only book I finished this month, but it got me back on the reading band wagon. I'm so happy that Zoe wrote such an enjoyable book. 

One Direction's Album Four

I'm not going to lie, the name of this album did briefly confuse me because my first thought was 'but there's five of them?!'. I did eventually cotton on that it's their fourth album and I felt like a raging idiot. Despite that, I really like the album. It very much follows the type of music they have done before, I don't think it shows as much of an evolution as their previous albums have. I like the mix of slow songs and more up tempo ones, I think that makes it good to listen to no matter what mood you're in. I would have to say that my favourite songs are Steal My Girl, 18 and Fools Gold. 

Heart Necklace
I can't remember what brand it was but I got this dainty rose gold necklace as a gift from my Nan this month. I can wear it with anything and I just thought I should acknowledge it because it's been one of my favourite things. 

I can't believe it's December already, this year really did fly by. The good thing is that December means Christmas and with the upcoming summer holidays I'm going to dedicate a lot more time to this blog. Yay for December!! 

Lots of Love, 

Shannon 

Steal Her Makeup: Lucy Hale

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to another themed week on Lots of Love, Shannon. This week we're going to tacking the varied and interesting world of celebrity. That's right, we're jumping straight into celebrity week. I considered giving this post the title 'Steal Her Face: Lucy Hale" but I decided that was slightly creepy, so instead we're just going to steal her makeup. Lucy always has a really beautiful fresh faced look, often aiming to excentuate her eyes. This was the look that she wore at the MTV Movie Awards earlier in the year. It features a lot of coral/peach tones and is a great one for summer events. 

Bourgois Healthy Mix Serum Gel Foundation | Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer | Physicians Formula Youthful-Wear Cosmeceutical Youth-Boosting Powder | Models Prefer Blush in First Kiss | Body Shop Honey Bronzer | Revlon Colorburst Laquer Balm in Provocateur | 

Almay Brow Defining Pencil | L'Oreal Brow Artist Plumper | Ultimate Nude Eyeshadow Palette | Almay Shadow Softies in Hot Fudge | L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes So Couture | Models Prefer Intense & Waterproof Kohl Liner in Super Black | 

I've decided to make all of my recommendations drugstore today, but the great thing about this look is you can recreate it with products you have at home as long as they do the same function. So to start off the look you would go in with a dewy foundation that still gives a medium coverage and then cover any areas that need it with a highlighting concealer (especially under the eyes). If you're going to a fancy event like Lucy, you may want to lightly powder your skin to set all of the foundation in place for the day. Over that go in with a light dusting of bronzer to sculpt the skin a bit and make you look sun kissed. Top off the cheeks with a peach blush. 

For the eyebrows you want to go strong while still aiming to have them look like eyebrows, you don't want to look as though you have blocks over your eyes. Fill in any sparse areas with a small eyebrow pencil but get most of the colour from a tinted brow gel. Use a light pink-toned nude eyeshadow (like the middle shade in the palette above) all over the lid. Run a darker brown shade through the crease and highlight the inner corner and brow bone with the lightest shade. Take the darkest brown eyeshadow (almay single pictured above) and run that along your upper lash line, smoking it out a bit as you go. Also put a small amount of this on your bottom lash line and blend out. Run the kohl pencil over your tight line and water line, then pile on the mascara. 

Top everything off with a peachy lacquer or gloss and your Lucy Hale inspired look is complete! It's quite a simple look that will make any girl look like a star. 

Lots of Love, 

Shannon

Beauty Interview: The Chloe Look

This month we get to catch up with a new beautiful blogger from the internet! I was really excited to get in contact with Chloe because her blog, The Chloe Look, is one of my absolute favourites. Her posts are so informative and her photography is to die for. There is also an air of class in her writing which is not always found with 'teen bloggers' (I mean, she uses the word Bordeaux to describe lipstick colours, if that's not class I don't know what is). Right. I'll stop waffling and lets get into this. 

1. What is the first piece of makeup you remember owning?

There are two main ones for me - a Bratz 'phone' with about four lipglosses in. I was never bothered in the normal coloured ones, it was the blue lip gloss I liked the most! I also had a blue rollerball eyeshadow from Boots - I remember buying it because my Mum told me that the colour would compliment my eyes, although I never wore it. 

2. What is the number one beauty product on your wishlist at the moment? 

At the moment I've been on a bit of a spending ban - I've been trying to use up the products that I already have rather than buying more. One product I do really want is the new Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 palette - the shades look really useful for everyday wear.

3. How many different foundations do you own and which is your favourite? 

I'm not sure exactly but maybe around five? On the scale of things that's quite small, although I've been throwing the oldies away. My two favourites are the L'Oreal True Match and the Bourjois Healthy Mix - it's too close to call one favourite. True Match has the best shade selection, although the coverage and wear on the Healthy Mix is lovely. 

4. What is the type of beauty product you hoard the most? 

Lipsticks. I'm awful - I've got so many similar shades although it always seems 'worth it' because they're from different brands. The worst thing about my lipstick hoarding is that most days I wake up and can't be bothered to wear lipstick!

5. How many steps do you have in your morning skincare routine? How about your evening skincare routine? 

My morning skincare is absolutely awful if I'm being honest, I'm usually quite rushed so I usually wash my face with water, apply moisturiser and then apply my makeup. My skincare routine is slightly better - I'll take my makeup off with a hot cloth cleanser and sometimes my Clarisonic, followed by a toner and then some moisturiser. As I have combination skin I'll sometimes put an oil on my cheeks too, as that is where my face is most dry. 

Now onto a few quick fire this or that questions... 

1. MAC or Nars? Mac!

2. Rimmel or Revlon? Rimmel

3. Mascara or Concealer? Mascara - I have very light eyelashes so I look like a zombie without it!

4. Skincare or Haircare? Skincare.

5. Purifying mask or hydrating mask? Hydrating

6. High end or Drugstore? Drugstore - there are so many dupes out there that it's almost not worth buying high end, in my opinion. Why spend £22 on a mascara when you could get one for under £10?!

7. Blog or Vlog? Blog

8. Hair up or hair down? Hair down

9. Red or Pink Lipstick? Pink!

10. Highlight or Contour? Contour 

Thank you so much to Chloe for answering these questions for me, they were so well thought out and you can tell she actually put some time into it. Make sure you go check out Chloe's blog (HERE) and give her some love on Twitter (HERE). 

Lots of Love, 

Shannon 

Disappointing Products

I feel like a bit of a Debbie downer as I write this post but I also really enjoy reading them when other people do these kinds of post… so it’s happening anyway. I would like to think I’m pretty lucky with the fact that I do enough research into the things that I buy and I don’t often come across duds. That being said, when I’m feeling crazy and buy something blind, it doesn’t always end well. 

Formula 10.0.6 Down to the Pore
This product disappoints me the least because I didn’t have very high hopes to begin with. I’d tried Formula 10.0.6 products before and not been pleased but I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and try these blackhead banishing pore strips. Needless to say, I wont be doing it again. They just didn’t do anything. It hurt so badly to remove the thing that I at least hoped my nose would be beautiful and clear but it was exactly the same as before I put myself through the pain.  

Josie Maran Argan Infinity Lip and Cheek Creamy Oil
Of all these products, this is the one I use the most. That is my trying to tell you that it doesn’t totally suck. The thing about this is that it doesn’t live up to my expectations. On the cheeks it is hard to spread (felt like I was talking about crunchy peanut butter for a second there) and moves the foundation on my cheeks around. It’s also quite oily so when I use it I need to set it with another blush, which often leaves me with too much blush. On the lips it is quite nice though it isn’t as moisturising as I had hoped an oil would be, especially after it didn’t work too well on the cheeks. 

Gold Delicious Foundation for Hair
Admittedly this is my Mum’s product, not mine, but I think it deserves a mention anyway because of it’s hefty price tag and dismal results. My Mum suggested that I give this a go after it weighed down her short, fine hair and at first I was very excited about this. It is not often I get the chance I get to use my Mum’s expensive salon-bought products that even she saves for a special occasion. When I was going to a party the other week I massaged two pumps of this ‘luxurious style extender to define bouncing curls and for extra hold’ into my hair and found that it left large chunks feeling sticky and gross. After trying to brush, blow-dry and scrape it out I eventually had to give up and get in the shower to wash it out. This product has no instructions for usage on the back so I just had to go with my gut on how to apply it. It was so gross and not at all worth the price. The only upside is that it smells nice.  

Maybelline The Rocket Mascara
Upon entering my first CVS in America earlier in the year, the first thing I did was run to pick up this mascara. I’d heard glorious things, many of my favourite bloggers call this their favourite mascara and that was good enough for me. The first thing that shocked me when I went to put it on was the fact that it is actually dark grey in colour rather than black, the second was that it isn’t very good. It doesn’t do anything spectacular to my lashes. I personally like a lot of separation and length and it certainly didn’t do either. It clumped my lashes together so that they resemble four very thin eyelashes, left them looking stumpy and didn’t hold a curl for longer than five minutes. Even though it is called ‘volume express’ it doesn’t really do that either, leaving the clumps of lashes looking a bit sad really. 

Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner in Black
‘For precise lines, smudge-proof colour and easy application’, yeah right. Recently when I began to run out of my old classic Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Liner, I decided to mix it up a bit and pick up something new. I was tossing up between the L’Oreal, Eyeko and Stila liners because they’re all around the $30AU mark and I had heard good things. I expected the Eyeko one to be at least half decent when I received it in the post from an online order, but boy was I disappointed. It has a felt tip not unlike a marker and that is where it’s problems lie. 

I don’t know where they got the phrase ‘skinny’ from because if you want to get any product out of this thing you need to press it firmly at the base. This not only makes the line very thick but it also hurts if you try to do it on your actual eyelid. The product itself is jet black and seems very nice when heavily swatched on the hand but the colour doesn’t come off onto the eye because of the pressure needed to produce it. All in all, this was a total and utter waste of money because when I use it all I can get is a very thick, uneven grey line. I think I will go back my my Maybelline one now.  

Now lets hope that I don’t have to do another of these posts for a good three decades! 

Lots of Love, 

Shannon

October Favourites

It's been a while since I've done a good ol' favourites post, so I thought I'd better get back on the train. October has been the month of the spending ban for me, so there isn't as many new products in here as there usually would be. That being said I think there is a pretty good mix of the new, the old and the totally random. 

Body Shop Honey Bronze 
If you've been around these parts for a while you will know that I picked this shade up by accident, I was actually aiming for a lighter bronze. Because of this, I put it away in my drawer and just ignored it for a while. Eventually I broke it out and I quickly realised that it really isn't that dark and it just brings a bit of life to my face. Not only have I been using this to bronze up my cheeks, I've been using it on my eyes as well. In conjunction with the next product, it forms the perfect simple spring-time eye. 

Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze
This is a long time favourite of mine but I put it to the back of my drawer for a while there. I focused on using my larger eyeshadow palettes and totally forgot about this little pot of goodness. It's long wearing, doesn't budge and can be slapped on with no fuss. My favourite way to wear it has been a quick swipe of this all over the lid, a bit of the bronzer in the crease and a small line of eyeliner on the outer corner. 

Sleek Eye Dust in Antique 
When this pot arrived in my September Bellabox it was no doubt my favourite. The only issue with this is that it is a pigment rather than a pressed powder, something I hasn't delved into before, so it can get a bit messy if you're not careful. I like this best when used with a slightly damp brush and then pressed into the eyelid. It's a beautiful green-tinged brown that is very different from anything else I own. 

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Dim Infusion 
Though I said I was on a spending ban this month, right back at the beginning (maybe it was late September?) I did place a sneaky Mecca order. I got four high end bits that I've had my eye on for ages and though there was some disappointment, this blush came out as the overall favourite. It is nice and subtle, but still lifts the face. There isn't an obnoxious glitter in it, it is just a lighting effect which I think is a lot prettier. The peach colour is also very nice and it goes with most looks. 

Taylor Swift's Album 1989
I've been looking forward to this album dropping for months now and it is finally here! Taylor is one of my favourite musical artists and I just knew that I would love her newest offering. A combination of Taylor Swift's lyrical stylings and an 80s pop sound? I was sold. It has been on repeat ever since I got it last week and I don't see that stopping anytime soon. My favourite songs are ever changing because I really love them all, but for now I'm going to have to go with Out of the Woods, Blank Space and Bad Blood. 

Listerine Oral Care Strips 
I told you there would be some random stuff, don't say I didn't warn you. These are a rediscovery that I'm so glad I made this month. They're basically tiny squares of paper that you put on your tongue and they dissolve almost instantly, leaving you with super fresh breath. The packs are so small that you can take them anywhere. 

Old Family Photos 
You may have been wondering about the slightly different background of the photo, but I am finally getting to explain myself. This month I have been loving going through old photos and reminiscing about 'the good old days'. I think it's great that people take so many photos but we often forget about most of them straight after they are taken. Older photos are tucked away in albums or, god forbid, ripped boxes collecting dust and newer photos are in folders on the computer, never to be opened again. Even if you don't look your best in a photo, it can still remind you of some great memories. 

Another month is down the drain and as quickly as time is flying, at least we're getting closer to Christmas!! 

Lots of Love, 

Shannon