Bits From Beauty Bay

It's getting closer and closer to Christmas so I thought I should squeeze in a buy from Beauty Bay.
My mother has bought me a present from there, but I cannot show you until after Christmas. So I thought I would show you the two things that I purchased myself.

The two products that I purchased are from a brand called Morphe Brushes. I've only recently heard about their products from Instagram and Youtube. I bought one of the brush sets and an eyeshadow palette.

Morphe Brushes - 35N 35 Color Matte Palette - £15.95
This eyeshadow palette basically does what it says - matte eyeshadows. It has not got any shimmers or frosts in so it's nice to actually just have a palette with a range and selection. This palette is incredibly cheap and has amazing quality!

Morphe Brushes - R15 15 Piece Brush Set - £23.75
Collection contains:
Angle Contour
Oval Fluff
Angled Fluff
Chisel Fluff
Detailed
Soft Fan
Concealer
Angled Liner
Oval Lip
Pointed Liner
Spoolie
Flocked Sponge
Brow Groomer

A Trip to the Hairdressers

Day 15 of blogmas and if you can't already tell by the title, today, I went to the hairdressers. I've been way overdue a cut, but I've been doing it by myself for a while 9I would not advise).

As you can probably see by the photo, my roots were growing through so I also went for a dye - dark brown. I normally go brown, but it tends to fade to an auburn shade. I am trying to grow my layers out and I really needed a trim so it's slightly annoying as I'm only just starting to feel comfortable with the length of my hair.

I can never seem to find I hairdresser that makes me think 'WOW' or 'I actually like my hair' even three months after. So what I tend to do is, go to different salons every time. It is a massive risk because when I've said just a trim, once they chopped 2 inches off and I was gutted! Also, I love meeting new people so it's nice to talk to others and get to know them.

This time, the: dye, wash, cut and blow dry cost £65. Obviously, due to me travelling to different places, the price varies, but this is normally the average price.

The pictures do not really show any improvement, but basically, my hair was auburn and it's now dark brown. It also is super glossy and has a much better shape as I've had quite a bit cut off.

Dealing With Acne

It's day 12 of blogmas and this is a rather personal topic for me. I have to deal with a lot of break-outs - nearly one a week. They also nearly last around a week too. Therefore, I constantly have spots; I don't just mean blackheads.

I do drink between 2-3 litres of water a day and then additional drinks such as: Vimto, sparkling lemon & lime and soya milk. I also have what I'd call, a balanced diet. I normally just listen to what my belly is telling me - if I feel hungry, I eat and if I do not want something too big, I get a snack.

There are two products that I use to try to control my acne and those are: a prescription from the doctors called Zineryt and the Super Spot Remover by Origins.

Zineryt is erythromycin mixed with zinc acetate to produce a solution that can be used on any part of acne. I must admit, it has a very strong, potent smell that is not pleasant, but it does the job. I also stings like hell if you've squeezed the spot beforehand.

Origin's spot remover is a must have! You might think that £15 for a 10ml solution is expensive, however, the product lasts for such a long time. I am on my second one and the first one lasted me for just over a year! With the amount of spots I get, it sure is a great product getting rid of them.

The Best Bronzers

The 9th day of blogmas and if you can't already tell, I'm getting excited for Christmas! Carrying on with the products you apply after your base, I thought it was about time I talk about bronzer. The majority of the products that I own are High-End, but that's only because I believe that they would be worth the money - otherwise, they wouldn't be classed as 'High-End'. I have also not found any alternatives/dupes for these products so that is also something I'm looking out for.

You can look for/buy the following from: Selfridges and Debenhams.

Chanel - Soleil Tan De Chanel - £32
You might think that £32 for a bronzer is quite expensive, but Chanel, to me, is a luxury brand. Therefore, I don not feel guilt for purchasing something rather expensive every one and a while. Also, I have used this product for so long now and I can't even see any sign of a dint - there's so much product! The bronzer does not have any fall-out so the formulation is incredible. This is an all-roundeer product. I is long-lasting, gives a healthy/natural-looking finish and is totally worth the amount.

Naked - On The Run
This is a set that includes: 5 eyeshadows, a mascara, an eyeliner, a blush, a highlighter and a bronzer. The bronzer inside of this is half the size of what you'd get in the Flushed palette, however, this set is really good as it gives you a bit of everything that you need.

MAC - Mineralize Skinfinish Natural
I've had this product for 2 years now and it is amazing. I am no where near hinting pan and I use this product almost every day. This gives a natural finish and can work for contouring too.

bareMinerals -Warmth
Not the best out of all of the other products mentioned, but still does the job. This is a loose powder so as you can probably imagine, this job is not an easy one.

Charlotte Tilbury - Filmstar Bronze and Glow
One of my favourite palettes. The highlighter and bronzer that you get are just amazing. They total balance each other out and neither of them look ridiculous when applied. The bronzer is so perfect and it doesn't leave any fall-out. Definitely worth the value!

It's Powder Time

Day 8 of blogmas and I thought it'd be about time I do something a little bit different. I'm still trying to get back onto the theme of beauty, but it's about products I have never really mentioned before. Powder is the bane of my life. As I have quite an oily T-Zone, but am dry everywhere else, it's hard to find a good balancing foundation. Therefore, my alternative option is a powder. I will usually put the powder everywhere to set my makeup and then go over the places that are oil just to give it a matte-looking finish.

I don't think I've ever spoken about bareMinerals in any of my posts before. One reason being, I think that their products can be hit and miss. Sometimes, I am really satisfied withe the product and then other times, I'm confused as to why the products are sold at a particular price due to the quality not being great. On the other hand, if you've read some of my previous posts, you'll see how much I love all things MAC. I have two powders from each of these brands and in some respects, they're all similar.

bareMinerals - Medium Beige and bareMinerals - Mineral Veil  are both from the limited edition - Original Foundation Get Started Kit in Light. This basically gives you a kit with step-by-step instructions as to how to apply the makeup provided. It's handy, but I don't think that the brush quality is very good.

MAC. I literally love every product that I've ever bought from MAC. I think the quality of all the products are great, the prices are fair to the product and the quality is unreal. This brand is an all-rounder. DISCLAIMER: I have not been paid to talk to you about any of these products and they're just my own personal opinion. I do not know what I would do without MAC as they sell some of my favourite makeup. I'm so upset that they discontinued one of their mascaras because it was the only one that made me eyelashes look amazing. Anyway, onto their powders. The two that I own are: Studio Fix in the shade NW25 and the Pro Longwear Powder in the shade Light Plus. The Studio Fix powder only really suits my skin tone when I have fake tan on. The lady who colour matched me in the store matched me while I was on holiday and therefore, I was darker.

Try Not To ... Blush!

It's a week into blogmas and time feels like it's going so fast! I cannot believe that I started this blog nearly 12 months ago! This is my 51st post and if you didn't get the pun, it's one about blusher. I'm not the world's biggest fan of blusher, but I do like to add a bit of colour to the apples of my cheeks every now and again. I like quite natural-looking blushers so it doesn't look too heavy or fake. I have two single blushers to talk to you about and then there are a few in some sets. Let's get to it...

Okay, first up is an oldie. It's 'thrrrol' from Benefit, but unfortunately, it got discontinued! Boo... There's nothing worse than a product that you love being discontinued. Anyway, when first looking at the product, it looks incredibly light and almost too unrealistic. It has quite a lot of pigment is so it sort of acts like a highlighter too. However, when applying on top of a BB cream or foundation, it looks really nice - almost giving the face a healthy glow.

Next up is one of my all time favourite brands for blush - Nars. The single blush that I own is called Gilda and it's just SO amazing. It is rather pricy for a blush - £23 - however, it has lasted me for nearly two years now and I'm no where near hitting pan. It's a deep pink and you only need the slightest amount on your brush when applying. The good thing about Nars blushers are that they leave you with hardly any fall-out, if any. It's going straight in my basket!

So the previous Christmas, I was very lucky in the sense that my Mother was able to get her hands on the limited edition Nars - Virtual Domination palette. What a babe. She gave it to me as a Christmas present and I was just so shocked! The palette contains: 3 blushers - Sex Fantasy, Deep Throat and Final Cut (the names are rather... let's say... unusual, but the quality of product is incredible), a bronzer - Laguna and a highlighter - Miss Liberty. I think this palette was around the £50 and that's such a bargain! The bronze is full-sized and the blushers and highlighter is half the usual size of the separate products.

The blusher inside the Naked - On The Run palette is a bit to much for me, however, the palette itself is very good and handy.

Last, but by no means least, is the Urban Decay - Naked Flushed palette. This contains a bronzer, highlight and blush and the finish from the blush just completes the face.

A Tame Smokey Eye

It's day 6 of blogmas and I haven't really done much on makeup. I've decided to show you my go-to easy smokey eye look. When my eye makeup is not very heavy, I tend to wear a lipstick that is 'more in your face' - basically not nude. My base makeup is not really heavy either. There's a slight amount of contouring, but nothing too serious. I have highlighted underneath the arch of my brows as it not only makes them stand out, but it makes the eyeshadow from the crease seem more defined; not harsh. As you can see from the image, I am not wearing any eyeliner - shock horror! I love having really long, extended lashes and if you've got eyeliner on with a smokey eye, it can get a bit too much. Therefore, the lashes looked super long without eyeliner.

So to get this eye look, I used a range of different products that I built up on. These include: Illamasqua - Wolf, MAC - Wedge, MAC Embark and Zoeva - Pure (part of the Naturally Yours palette).

This four eyeshadows combined can give you a very build-able brown smokey eye. As all the colours are similar in terms of texture, they're easy to blend. They're completely matte so they have no pigmentation.

To start with, I prime my eyes with the Urban Decay - Primer Potion. This is a long-lasting eyeshadow base - it certainly holds it for a good 10 hours! Also, for those that have a Sephora near you, their primer works wonders! To follow, I applied the shade pure in the corner of my eyes. As this is the coolest and lightest shade that I used, I helps create a gradual blend. I then went on to doing my crease. I really didn't want this look to be dramatically heavy so I applied the tiniest amount of product on to a MAC 217 - Blending Brush and built it up. I used both Wolf and Embark to do this. To finish with, I applied Wedge all over the lid. Blending it into the crease and inner corner - next to the tear duct.

As I said before, I love my lashes to be super long so I used the mascaras: Chanel - Le Volume, MAC - Black Extreme and Clinque - Bottom Lash Mascara.

A MAC and KIKO Haul

Why does this year feel like it is going so fast? Ahhh... Anyway, it's the 3rd of December and the third post I have for you for blogmas. As I previously mentioned, I am still doing main posts on Thursdays and today, I'm showing you my most recent purchases from MAC and KIKO.

So for those of you who have already followed me on Instagram - jodiemoon__, or my Snapchat - jodielmoon, you'll have seen that I went to Manchester on Monday. This was to spend some of my birthday money and hint to some of the things that I would like for Christmas.

KIKO - I haven't been to KIKO since August and this was while I was in Portugal (I did a post on what I bought there - click here to view). The Trafford Centre have just opened a KIKO shop and when I saw it a literally was so shocked! I didn't know that there was one being put there so I was so happy! The quality is unreal and it's so cheap.

Things that I purchased from KIKO:

Mascara - £7.90
Nail Varnish - £4.90
Travel Jar (10ml) - £1.00 x2
Eyeshadow - 124 - £2.90
Eyeshadow - 134 - £2.90
Pencil Lip Gloss - £3.90
Long Lasting Stick - 04 - £6.90
Long Lasting Stick - 19 - £6.90


MAC - Never in a million years, at the age of 16, would I think that I'd have 16 MAC lipsticks. I'm so incredibly fortunate to be able to buy these products; it's such a luxury! Some of you may think that 16 is obsessive, but this is my only really big collection and I'm proud of it. The on that I've recently got was - High Strung. I did 'Back 2 MAC' - sending back 6 of your old packaging in replacement for a lipstick. The finish is Frost and it would go so well with a heavily pigmented eye. Not only that, but I think it suits every hair colour. I also repurchased the brush cleanser - better than any I've ever tried and the eye brow applicator in the shade Lingering. I really wanted an orange eyeshadow for the crease when creating a smoky eye. I've seen so many tutorials where people do this and it just makes the eye look perfect. I got the eyeshadow, the refill, in the shade Rule.

Things that I purchased in the MAC section of Selfridges:

Eye Brows - Lingering - £14.00
Eye Shadow - Rule - £10.00
Brush Cleanser - £12.00
Back 2 MAC lipstick - High Strung - Normally £15.50

Lee Stafford's Hair Treatment

Ever since I got my hair cut to my shoulders, I've regretted it. Around 7 years ago, my hair was so thick and long (falling just above my hips). A year later, I decided to get about 6-7 inches cut off. This meant that my hair was classed as a 'medium length'. During this period of time, I did not use hair straighteners, curlers or crimpers so my hair was in pretty good condition. However, I started getting into watching TV and I noticed that some of the celebrities had really nice short, blonde hair. I am currently a brunette and have been for quite a while now, but about 5 years ago, I dyed my hair blonde and got it cut to my shoulders; this look really did NOT suit me, but at the time, I was adamant that I wanted it done.

Anyway, since that stupid time where I thought it would be a good idea to cut all my hair off, I've been trying to find ways to grow it/ make my hair look longer. I did go through a stage of wearing extensions, but nothing annoys me more then when people's extensions do not match their hair colour. So since I dyed my hair quite a lot, they were not the option for me, however, I did wear them for a considerable amount of time. Due to dyeing and using extensions, my hair became very damaged. This did not help with all the heat products I was using on top of this. Your hair is one of your main characteristics so you've got to make sure you like it; it needs to look healthy!

I've previously mentioned Lee Stafford's products in a haul post and I'm using them again. There are 3 things: a shampoo, treatment and a conditioner.

Lee Stafford - Hair Growth Set
Lee Stafford - Hair Growth Shampoo
Lee Stafford - Hair Growth Conditioner 
Lee Stafford - Hair Growth Treatment

Makeup and Skincare Haul

I feel like my last few posts have all been about hauls and yet again, I have another for you. Recently, I've just been obsessed with trying new products and re-purchasing others. Last week I did two orderers online - Debenhams and Beauty Bay.

Debenhams order -
With the Debenhams order, if you ordered two Lancôme products, you got a load of free goodies and everyone loves free goodies, right? Also, if you bought the La vie est belle perfume, you got a free body lotion (which I love!). I'll link everything below and I'll state with were the products that I got for free; there's a lot that were free! To top that off too, there was 10% off on all beauty and fragrance.

Beauty Bay order -
I've never tried anything from the Anastasia Beverly Hills range and I've see that their products are very highly rated. I thought I'd give an eyebrow products for a go as I feel like that's the thing I lack the most in my collection. I've also never tried anything from Shavata before. I normally get the Brow Enhancing Serum from Boots but paying £38 to see a slight improvement is a little bit disheartening - especially when you've bought 3! So I thought I'd give this ago; so far, so good. I do realise that this order was slightly risky in the sense that I'd never tried any of these things, but you never know unless you try.

Debenhams order -
Lancôme - La vie est belle - 100ml perfume x2
Lancôme - La vie est belle - body lotion (free)
Lancôme - Brush (free)
Lancôme - Lip gloss - Glow in Love (free)
Lancôme - Hypnôse Mascara - Black (free)
Lancôme - Eyeliner - Black (free)
Lancôme - Moisturiser - Hydra Zen (free)
Lancôme - Blusher (free)
Lancôme - Makeup bag (free)
MAC - Cremesheen Glass - Double Dare
Clinique - Bottom Lash Mascara - Black

Beauty Bay order -
Anastasia Brow Wiz - Auborn
Shavata - Brow Strengthener

You can see this post on my Instagram page - jodiemoon__

The 4 Perfect MAC Lip Liners

One of my favourite beauty brands is MAC and their range in shades just continues to get better. I think it's fair to say that I'm notoriously known for my collection of MAC lipstick collection. Recently, I've got into the lip liners and I'm going to talk to you about the 4 that I've recently purchased. Not only is the quality great, but they're also such a great price - £12.50. For high-end brands, this is a very reasonable price. Also, if you want to get MAC products slightly cheaper, you can order them online at Debenhams; they do discounts of 10% ever season. Depending on whether you shop at Debenhams regularly, you can also sign up for their Beauty Club Card where you get 3 points for ever £1 you spend. Then, once you've collected 500 points, you get a £5 reward at the end of that month. Therefore, it's better to order all you MAC, Chanel or Too Faced products online there. They also sell Tom Ford products so you can get some really good offers there. Now, onto the lip liners... 


Dervish - A pink liner with a slight hint of beige

Cherry - A classic red. Perfect before apply a lipstick on top or by itself

Subculture - A classic nude; perfect for everyday 

Beet - A purple-tone plum shade. Great followed by Odyssey

Check out my Instagram to keep up-to-date with the products I buy and places I got to - jodiemoon__

Three Quick & Easy Hairstyles

An Extended Ponytail -

This look is so easy to do and can be done in a few quick and easy steps. It's ideal for anyone who wants longer hair but doesn't want to fuss around with extensions. To begin, you will need to section your hair into two parts - a top and bottom layer. Then, place the top layer into a ponytail. To make this look more natural, you could backcomb the top to add more volume. Now that your bottom layer is down, try an pull all of the hair together, directly underneath the top one, and create another ponytail. To disguise it, simply ruffle up the ends to create a 'layered' look. This look would also look good with curled ends of wavy hair. You could also use hairspray to make sure that everything stays in place. This should take around 10 minutes.

Straight - 
For some people, this hairstyle will be so easy as it's the way your hair falls naturally. However, my natural hair is literally a frizz-bomb. It's so hard to actually style it and if I try to on the same day as I've washed it, it just doesn't work. So, the night/day before, I was my hair and leave it to dry naturally; I constantly brush my hair to try and get is as straight as possible while it's damp. Then, the day after, I use the Platinum GHDs to straight my hair and it takes around 20 minutes to do so. If any of you are conscious about heat/ damage to your hair then I recommend using the TRESemmé Heat Defence Styling Spray. You apply this before you use any heat on your hair. e.g. blowdrying, straightening or curling.

Wind-Swept Waves -
Again, depending on your natural hairstyle, there may be a few extra steps to follow. If your hair is straight, I recommend applying a mousse before styling. To style, I'd use a pair of straighteners. This look depends on how you want your hair to look and how long your hair actually is. As I only have short-medium length hair, the waves go quite high up. Whenever I'm styling hair, I always take the hot object away from my face. This gives a better result as it opens your face and looks so much better than the waves going into your face. If your hair is naturally curly/ wavy, try to straighten your hair then apply the method of waving. Once you get the hang of the concept, it's really easy. This should take between 10-20 minutes.

The Best Set of Autumn Lips

MAC Viva Glam III and Sephora's Lip Ink in the shade Ruby Extract (11) is your answer.

In my other post, What I've Been Up To, you'll have seen that I purchased two more lipsticks from MAC. One of which is also perfect for Autumn - Studded Kiss.

Lipliners play a massive part in perfecting the look. The ones that I recommend from MAC are: Soar (Mid-tone pinkish brown), Whirl (Dirty rose), Chestnut (Intense brown), Cherry (Vivid bright bluish-red), Beet (Vivid reddish-pink) and Auburn (Intense orange-reddish brown). I think that you can get the majority of these lipliners in lipstick version.

To compliment the look, warm/ golden-toned eye looks are perfect during autumn. MAC's All That Glitters is my favourite golden shade to apply over the MAC eyeshadow Wedge. The 'glitters' in the eyeshadow are not harsh and they given a nice cover go pigment across the lid. Also, Radar and Whiskey from the new Urban Decay smoky palette compliment each other very well.

To complete the look, perfecting your eyeliner can play a massive part. Eyeliner and eyebrows are the main parts of the face that women want to perfect. Using a decent eyeliner pen will ensure you to create a decent base to play with. Then, as you feel more confident and inspirational, you can increase the style of the flick. If you start with just lining your eye, creating a cat flick and then adjusting to the look you like best, then you've got perfection. I'd recommend practising a few times as the better you are, the more compliments you're going to get.

A Make Up Menu

It's been a while since I've last done one of these posts so I thought it was about time I show you my changes and keeps. If you follow me on Instagram, jodiemoon__ , you'll have seen this post. I've actually restarted my feed and I'm trying to post things more beauty related photographs.

I'd say that this look is perfect for an evening as it's quite heavy around the eyes and lips.

If you want to see an autumn lip then keep following for a post in the next few weeks!

Disclaimer: All these products are paid for by myself and I've not been paid to talk to you about them.



Benefit's Porefessional for my nose
Smashbox Primer all over the face
Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser
Urban Decay's Creamy Concealer
Real Technique's Miracle Completion Sponge to blend in the concealer
MAC powder
MAC 129 powder brush
MAC Bronzer
Real Technique Contour brush
Urban Decay's Brow Box
Soap and Glory Archery Eyebrow pencil
MAC 266 angled brush
Louise Young Brow brush LY34
Urban Decay eyeshadow - Tease
MAC 217 brush
Soap and Glory Supercat eyeliner
MAC Superbold mascara
Urban Decay Pervision mascara
Clinque Bottom Lash mascara
MAC Odessey lipstick

A Sephora and Kiko Haul

Okay, so continuing on the things that I purchased while I was in Portugal, I found a Sephora and a Kiko. I felt like such a little child when I approached these shops because I was just so happy! I knew what I want, got it and the lady who helped me showed me how to apply certain products. We don't have these shops in the UK so it's a long time before I'll be going back to one. Let's get started...

Kiko -

213 Brush

Power Pro Nail Lacquer in black, blue, pink and purple.

Nail Lacquer in a shimmery pink shade

102 Color Fever Eyeshadow Palette 

Tweezers

Sephora - 

2 waterproof makeup removers

2 lip glosses - Ruby Extract and Rosewood Elixir

Candy Apple lip balm 

Eyeshadow in the shade Colorful

Nail-varnish in the colour Icy Cocktail

2 creamy body washes in the scents - Chocolate and Vanilla

Eyeshadow primer

73 brush

13 brush

90 brush

Clarins Sun Care Cream

Duty Free Goodies

Recently, I've been on holiday in Portugal. Some of my posts have not uploaded when scheduled and have all jumbled up. I'm going to be posting a bit more than once a week as I've got a bit more free time (I normally post once a week on a Thursday). This post is about 4 of the things that a purchased while I was at the airport and on the plane.


Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer - Originally £25.
I bought this product while I was on the plane and they normally already have good discounts because you don't have to pay tax. Anyway, our plane also provided 20% off - result! In the end, I think I payed £16.40 for this product and I can't wait to us it. I've red the reviews and it seems to be an amazing primer.

Victoria's Secret Scents With Love - Originally £20.
Again, I bought this set of scents while I was on the plane. I think I ended up paying £16 for these which is basically just the 20% off. They didn't have any deals on these as they're fairly new. I have been looking on other websites and I've found them cheaper, however, they're sold out. The website actually has really good offers on everything - Polyvore.

MAC Pro Longwear Powder in the shade Light Plus - £21
I bought this while I was at the airport in the UK. This is where you can also get tax-free goods. I got 10% off whig made the powder come to £18.90.

Michael Kors Perfume in Sexy Amber - Originally £79
I payed 83 Euros and this came to around £60 - bargain! This time last year, I bought the 30ml version and I still have some left. I decided to get the 100ml one this time as it worked out a lot cheaper to buy then getting the 30ml.

Doing a Charity Event

Last year, I took park in the 2014 Race For Life. It was a 5k run for Cancer Research. You could either walk, jog or run the course. I did this for my Mum's best friend who survived and all the other people that have been affected by any type of cancer. I managed to jog 3.5k, walk 0.5k and then jog the last 1k. I managed to do this in exactly 35 minutes. I loved every minute of it. So... This year, I decided to up it and do the Pretty Muddy 5k run. This was an obstacle course with various things that get you soaked and covered in mud. Because it's tough going when you get near to the obstacles, our group decided to run the parts that were not near to them. So we probably ran 5 strips of 0.5k and then walked the other 5 0.5k strips that lead to the 5 different obstacles. 

It costs £20 to entre into the run as part of your donation and then if you want, you can get sponsors. Next year, I'm hoping to do one of these runs next and then the colour run as it looks amazing! I recommend doing something for charity as not only does it help people, but it's great fun too! 

My Beauty Bay order

This week's post is back on the theme of beauty - yay! It feels like I haven't officially posted about beauty for so long but I'm sure there'll be quite a few in the next couple of months. Anyway, let's get on with it...

So recently, I placed an order on Beauty Bay; I love this website! I only came across it about 6 months ago and since then, I've been ordering all sorts like: Zoeva brushes, Louise Young products and other little bits and bobs. This time, I've ordered something from Kevin Aucoin. I don't normally like to spend a ridiculous amount of money makeup but sometimes, you just have to treat yourself. I always feel that little bit better when I have the products on me and that's why it's worth buying more luxury items every now and again. 

The products that I bought:

Zoeva eyelashes - I've never actually used false eyelashes before but I'm trusting Zoeva!

Zoeva 142 brush - The 142 Zoeva brush is a concealer brush and I'm sure I will like it. I love the other Zoeva brushes that I have and they still stay as good quality once they've been washed.

Zoeva Naturally Yours eyeshadow palette - The palette by Zoeva includes 5 mattes and 5 shimmers: Pure, Soft & Sexy, Smooth Harmony, Forever Yours, Slow Dance, First Love, Casual Elegance, Sweet Sound, Lovely Monday and Timeless Chic. All of the shades look incredible. However, I'm not too sure on the packaging. The price is so cheap for the amount of shades and the brand etc, but I do think the packaging could be so much better. It just seems to be rather messy and you can't really tell what the brand is or the name of the palette. 

Kevin Aucoin lip gloss in the shade Absinthia - Again, this is my first time trying a product from Kevin Aucoin so I'm sure it'll appear in another post if I end up liking it.

Louise Young highlighter -  I've been hesitating for a few weeks whether or not to get the Louise Young highlighter as I've been meaning to get one for a while. On the Beauty Bay website, the picture of it looks quite big so I thought it was a bargain for £14. However, when I opened my parcel, it was tiny! Even when you take it out of the box, it's small. So I checked the website to find the weight and it was 3.5g. I should've checked before I bought! It's just slightly bigger than an eyeshadow but I thought it would be slightly bigger as not many people, that I know, have even heard of the brand so I thought it would be cheaper for that weight or bigger for the same price. On the other hand, it is a very nice highlighter and I think I'm just going to try it out.

Overall though, I can't wait to try the products and if I like them then I'm sure you'll see them in a post again! 

These are all my opinions so please don't take it the wrong way. I'm just a big fan of packaging and the way things are presented as I love everything to look nice!

My Makeup Brush Collection

This post is basically just going to show you the makeup brushes that I own. There are quite a few from different brands and they're all used in different ways or to apply different products. There are a few of the brushes that have been apart of sets and there are a few that have been given to me as gifts etc. I am not being payed to advertise these brushes.

My brush collection:                     
MAC 129
MAC 266
MAC 217
(RT = Real Techniques)
RT MC Sponge
RT Silicone Liner
RT Expert Face
RT Contour
RT Shading
RT Pointed Foundation
RT Buffing
RT Lip
RT Setting
RT Blush
RT 201
RT 301
RT Duo-Fiber Face
RT Duo-Fiber Contour
RT Duo-Fiber Eye
Louise Young LY22
Louise Young LY34
Ecotools Eyeshadow
bareMinerals Full Flawless Face
bareMinerals Max Coverage Concealer
Zoeva 224
Zoeva 122
Zoeva 127

I also have 3 mini brushes and a blusher applicator from Benefit

Trying Lancôme products

Disclaimer: This post is out of my own discretion and I'm not being payed to advertise these products. They are all my own opinion.

Recently, Debenhams have been having all different types of sales and offers and the one that grabbed my attention the most was the Lancôme offer - Buy two products and get a free goody bag. Perfect, right? I've never actually purchased anything from Lancôme before but quite a few people that I know rave about it.

I bought the two perfumes La vie est belle and Hypnôse. My favourite one out of the two is La vie set belle and I think that it's my new favourite of all time! Closely followed by Elie Saab - La Parum of course...

Now, the goody bag...
Due to me never trying any Lancôme products at all, I was a bit hesitant when it came to the makeup but I have had no problems whatsoever and love all of the products. The goody bag included: A mini nail varnish, a mini mascara, a mini eye serum, a mini sample of La vie set belle, a mini lipstick, two eye creams and an eye makeup remover.

I have contact dermatitis and I struggle to find products that don't irritate my eyes when I remove eye makeup but Lancôme's Bi - Facil eye make up remover is perfect and it really does sooth my skin. There were also two eye creams in there. One being Hydra Zen Neurocalm and the other being the Hydra Zen Neurocalm Night Cream. Both are very easy to apply and not too creamy.

I'm very happy with the other products too and I will be purchasing the full sized versions when I have run out. The nail varnish that I got was a really nice rich pink colour and I think it will match anything that you wear; the lipstick corresponds too!

Skincare Routine

This post is just going to go through the steps you should think about when doing your morning and evening routine. Depending on your age, not every step is recommended. For instance, there's a 'serum' step in both routines. I would only really recommend using a serum if you're over the age of 25. I hope this post helps and gives you a clearer understanding of how to take care of you skin.

Skincare Routine:

- Cleanser

- Exfoliate

- Serum

- Day cream / Night cream

* Extras

- Makeup remover

- A face mask (recommended 1-2 times a week)

- Creams for sensitive or dry skin

- Spot treatment

A recommended Morning + Evening routine:

                       Morning:                                                            Evening:

                             - Cleanser                                                              - Eye makeup remover

                             - Toner                                                                   - Cleanser

                             - Moisturiser                                                          - Exfoliant 3 times a week

                             - Serum                                                                  - Serum

                             - Eye cream                                                           - Eye cream

                             - Day cream                                                           - A face mask (optional)

                             - Primer                                                                  - Spot treatment

                             - Make up 

Disclaimer: All products bought by myself.

I have already done a post on the 3 products that I use to Cleanse, Tone and Moisturise so make sure to check that out. Also, I've been using the Liz Earle muslin cloths for removing my cleanser and cash wash and they're really great!

 If you have any questions, just leave a comment below. I'm going to be doing a Q&A post soon so I need as many questions as possible please! 

A Personal Thing - Brows

Normally, I would never let people see my eyebrows without there being some product on them. However, recently, I purchased a product that I've been using since January. It is a little pricy and I have gone through 2 but it's the best thing I've ever invested in. Disclaimer: Product has been purchased by me or has been a gift. (Basically, I haven't been payed to talk to you about this)

Right okay, this is the product - RapidBrow Eyebrow Enhancement Serum. This is probably a purchase that I have benefitted from and finally regained confidence in my face. After all, eyebrows make or break your face. I still fill my eyebrows in but I never go OTT or anything. Just for you lovely bunch, I will insert some before and after pictures. The before picture is horrendous so please excuse them.

Plucking, Waxing or Threading?
Before I did any, my eyebrows were brushy, tatty and needed tiding up. I got to the stage where I found my Mum's tweezers and plucked them until they were just a thing patch; not even a line. Stupid right? So since then, my eyebrows just didn't seem to want to grow back and treatment was the only option for me. In between all the plucking, I had waxing (which I found was terrible) and threading (I think this is the best out of all of them, but is very painful). No pain, no gain!

TIP: If you want to grow your eyebrows, LEAVE THEM! The best way to let them grow is by simply letting them grow. Don't 'just pluck that hair because it's messy', leave it. You will see some sort of result if you do. If you don't, get the treatment! It's the best thing I've ever bought!!

Okay, so my eyebrows are still growing and I'm still using the treatment because I would like them just a little bit bushier/ thicker. Excuse the fact that I have no make up on but I thought the results would be clearer if you could actually see my face properly.


The product I currently use to fill in my eyebrows - UD Brow Box with a MAC 266 brush.

P.S. Make sure to comment with some questions for a Q&A post which will be coming when enough questions have been asked. Thank you!

Makeup Menu (Including me!)

This week's post is heading back onto beauty and it feels like it's been so long since I've posted about something actually beauty related. This week's post is going to be about my makeup during the weekends - afternoon and evening. ALSO, I've changed my address to www.jodiemoonblogs.blogspot.co.uk (sorry for any confusion).

So basically, this is my afternoon look. The picture is quite hard to see my eyeshadow etc, but I'll give you a run through...
Base:
To start with, I use the MAC Prep + Prime Skin as a primer. Then I use the Chanel Vitalumière Aqua foundation. To cover up spots or hide blemishes, I use the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer. I then go on to fill in my eyebrows with the Soap and Glory Archery 2-in-1 Brow Filling Pencil and Brush. Now this is the part where I kind of take my own path and go on to do my eyeshadow: Foxy and Tease from the Urban Decay 2 Palette and Fix from the Urban Decay Naked On The Run Palette. After eyeshadow, I like to use the Soap and Glory Supercat eyeliner for my lid; followed by MAC Eye Kohl in the shade Smolder. Mascara is next and I love using the Clinique High Impact Mascara with the Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara; both being in the colour black. If I think my face needs a bit of bronzer or a slight attempt to contour, I will build up a suitable amount of the Chanel Bronze Universal on the sides of my face and done either sides of my nose. I love this product because you don't need a lot on your brush and it's easy to apply. To finish my makeup, I will apply a MAC lipstick in the shade Patisserie or Modesty.


For my evening approach, I like to pretty much have a similar look, however, I go a bit heavy on the eyeshadow and do a full on contour. Also, depending on my outfit, I like to go bold on my lips and not so harsh on the blush. Again, I like to use the shades from the Urban Decay 2 Palette and for my evening look, I use Half Baked, Snakebite and Busted (all of which are pigmented... shimmayyy). Then when I use the Chanel Bronze Universal, I like to apply this a bit heavier and define my nose. I only tend to us highlighter during the evening because I like to have a more natural look in the afternoon. So for highlighter in the evening, I like to use the 5050 from the Urban Decay Naked On The Run Palette.

Sorry for the selfies but hopefully, you've enjoyed my makeup menu and like the fact that it's finally a beauty related post again. Next week's blog is going to be something fashion related... Off the topic of beauty again... Whoops. Have a good Easter term if you're off!

Perfect Palettes

Perfect Palettes...
Back on to the beauty topic this week and I felt like I should talk about palettes.

There's nothing better than buying something for a new palette or getting a completely new one with gorgeous shades and pigments.

For my choice, I've chosen 2 face palettes and 3 eyeshadow palettes.

Disclaimer - Please realise that these are all my opinion and I do purchase them all or have been given them as a gift from family. I do spend quite a lot of money on make up, but that's what I enjoy spending my money on so why not?

Let's get started...
Urban Decay Naked Flushed - £22.50
Urban Decay are really doing well with their products recently. I love pretty much everything in their range and this is my favourite face palette out of it. It's not too pricy and the highlight has a slight pigment. The blush is gorgeous and the bronzer is great. I'm sure you can get other shades for different skin tones?

Benefit Peek-a-Bright Eyes - £25.50
Benefit is a bit hit and miss for me... I love their Porefessional and They're Real mascara but I'm not too keen on the Lolli Balm (total rip off for £14.50!) However, I love this eyeshadow palette. It comes with 2 small brushes, 3 eyeshadows and an eye brightener. The shades are very similar to the eyeshadows in my MAC quad...

My MAC Pro Palette - £45
The refillable compact is 4x4 and was £5; it's also available in different sizes. The 4 Pro Palette shades that I have put in are: White Frost, Girly, Woodwinked and Embarked. These are definitely my favourite shades and my Mum pretty much has the same shades as me in hers! Each Pro Palette Refill Pan eyeshadow is £10

NARS Virtual Domination Cheek Palette - £45 - £55
For £45 I think this palette is amazing. I think NARS was selling them for £45 originally but they sold out super quick! So Selfridges brought it out for £55. You get 3 blushers, a highlighter and a bronzer. Great for £55 right?! (some of the names of the blushers are rude so I'll leave you to see if you click on the link!) Amazingly, the palette contains the Laguna bronzer in it's full size! This is normally £27.50!

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette - £38
You can't go wrong for 12 shades for £38. This is my favourite eyeshadow palette that I've ever use before; trust me, there's been a few. I'm thinking about purchasing the Naked 3 but I don't think I'd use all the shades. Whereas with the Naked 2 palette, I use them all!! Amazing value for money!

Top left - Naked Basics - Urban Decay
Top right - Peek-a-Bright eyes... - Benefit
Left middle - My 'build your own' Pro Palette - MAC
Right middle - Virtual Domination Cheek Palette - NARS
Bottom - Naked 2 - Urban Decay

Cleanse, Tone and Moisturise

Cleanse, Tone and Moisturise 
For my CTM routine, I use products from the Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare range. Previously, I have used more affordable products from Simple and Olay but since Christmas, I've fallen in love with these.

If you seriously want to enhance your skin and make it feel replenished then using a cleanser, toner and moisturiser, twice a day, will improve your skin short term and long term. I've done some research and they say you should start as young as possible; this can apparently reduce the appearance of wrinkles.

These Liz Earle products are pricy but you're paying for good quality - not just the brand. I have found that in the past month, my skin has started to feel great. I use these twice a day and you only need a small amount of both. There are definitely more affordable drugstore products in Boots etc, but sometimes, you just have to treat your skin. I do think that they are reasonably priced for the quality and I've already repurchased the toner.

Products mentioned:
Liz Earle Cleanser
Liz Earle Toner
Liz Earle Moisturiser

All About That Base

In this post, I'm not going to be singing or participating in Meghan Trainor's 'All About That Base' video... but I am going to be telling you about my go-to base products. I've tried to pick one from each of these categories: BB Cream, CC Cream, Tinted Moisturiser and Foundation.

Okay, so for those who aren't too sure what each of the products do, keep reading!

BB Cream: BB creams are short for blemish base or beauty balm. They basically are like a lighter foundation with a few skin care benefits thrown in.
CC Cream: CC creams are short for colour correcting. The products are supposed to address issue like redness or sallowness (usually with light-diffusing particles).
Tinted Moisturiser: Tinted moisturisers are a moisturising cream or lotion that has a slight tint to it, allowing it to provide some skin coverage.
Foundation: Foundations are used to cover up un-even skin tones, blemishes and give a nice base to work on.

My go-to base products:
BB Cream - Garnier Pure Active BB Cream in Light.
CC Cream - Olay Total Effects CC Cream for Light - Medium Skin Tone. This is a great CC cream from Boots and is quite affordable; it's on offer now!
Tinted Moisturiser - Laura Mercier Tinter Moisturiser with SPF and Oil Free. I have it in the shade Sand. Next time I will be purchasing in a lighter shade as I ordered online (BIG mistake!)
Foundation - Prepare for a few goodies... From Boots again is the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Gel foundation in the shade Vanille. The next is from Selfridges and it is the Chanel Vitalumière Aqua Ultra - Light foundation. It contains SPF 15 and really is light! It's such a great product. Last, but not least, is the MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation in NW20. This also has SPF 15 and has great coverage.

Mascara this, Mascara that...

The 3 must-have mascaras:

These mascaras are by far amazing. Either just by themselves or all at once, they give an extended look to your lashes.

From left to right:
Clinique - High impact mascara With this, you could just apply by it's self and get nice thick lashes, but when you apply the MAC mascara beforehand, it finishes the look beautifully. As you can see by the picture, I am way overdue a repurchases. This product has lasted me around 6 weeks. 

MAC -Studio Fix Boldblack Lash
As I said, applying this before the Clinique mascara, you will get a great set of lashes. Even just using this product alone, your eyelashes will look even and long without clumps of mascaras here and there! This product is still on the go after 8 weeks!

Clinique - Bottom Lash Mascara
By far my most favourite bottom lash mascara. In previous experiences, I've been left with panda eyes due to a bad formula, wearing my makeup all day, or being out in wild conditions. However, with this mascara you don't need to worry about that! It is literally perfect in the sense that it doesn't do any of the above. Got to love a great mascara that won't budge right? Currently on my second week of using this; it's staying strong.

Choosing the perfect MAC lipstick

 From Matte to Frost and red to pink, finding the perfect MAC lipstick can be hard. You don't want to be in stores or ordering online for hours trying to find the right shade for yourself and not getting anywhere. So this is when I come in to help you choose your favourite Mac lipstick instead of £15.50 going down the drain on a not-so-you lipstick.

My MAC lipstick collection:
Patisserie - Lustre
Chatterbox - Amplified
Snob - Satin
Ruby Woo - Matte
Hot Gossip - Cremesheen
Modesty - Cremesheen
Crème de la Femme - Frost
Odessey - Frost


We've all been there when you're in a MAC store and you just can't resist to buy another lipstick... With my help, I'm going to make sure that you choose the right one.

In need of a bright, bold red? Ruby Woo is your answer. If you ever run out of time while doing your makeup, fear not. Ruby Woo is great for finishing any look. Simply apply a gold eyeshadow all over the lid and be done with it. For even better results with this lipstick, apply MAC lip liner in the shade Cherry. This will enhance the look and make it long-lasting. Who doesn't love a Matte finish?

Searching for the perfect nude? Modesty will do the job. It's texture is smooth, but not overly creamy or pigmented. This means that they will not budge for a few hours. A lipstick which is similar to Modesty is Patisserie; might I add that this is my favourite MAC lipstick! Patisserie gives sheer coverage and appears to be a lot more pigmented. However, on the lips, it give a beige-pinky tone with a slight shimmer.

Around Autumn time you're dying to find the perfect plum-shade, right? Odessey is the one. Frost finishes tend to last for around 2 hours. They're slightly glossy, but not too much, and provide good coverage. If you're thinking about purchasing Odessey, it is a lipstick that you will have to reapply during the day. Definitely a goody though.